New Software from IPS Connects iSeries to Any Remote Printer

by Alex Woodie

Companies looking for a way to allow remote workers to print graphical documents, such as logos and barcodes, from iSeries servers on any local printer now have a solution from Integrated Print Solutions. The Plano, Texas, company is introducing its new product, internet OnePrint Solution (iOPS), this week at the COMMON conference in Indianapolis. The iOPS lets OS/400 hosts assign temporary print device IDs, allowing IPDS documents to print to practically any printer, over the Internet.

The problem of allowing remote workers to connect to AS/400s using PCs was solved with terminal emulation software years ago. Users are provided IP addresses by their Internet service provider, and, based on that IP address, the OS/400 host is able to establish a connection and the user initiates a session.

"Printing is different," says Julian Leibowitz, founder, president, and chief executive of IPS and a mainframe and OS/400 host printing guru. "The AS/400 needs to initiate the communication" to print graphical IPDS documents. Because of this limitation in the way OS/400 and Print Services Facility [PSF/400] work, remote users are unable to establish a direct connection from their local printers to the OS/400 host. "That's the problem that everybody faces: printing graphical documents from an AS/400," he says.

That's why IPS developed iOPS. The key to iOPS is an OS/400-resident component called the OnePrint internet Enabler. When a remote user with a valid user ID and password logs on to an OS/400 host, the OnePrint internet Enabler automatically creates a unique printer definition for that session. This printer definition is then mapped to the IP address of the user's Internet connection, and the user is prompted with a newly created printer ID.

The second iOPS component, called OnePrint Client Express, resides on the Windows-based PCs, laptops, or workstations of remote users and receives and converts the IPDS print data stream to a language supported by their local printer. The iOPS supports a broad range of print data streams commonly used on laser, inkjet, and line impact printer, including PCL4, PCL5, PCL5e, PCL Level 3, Epson FX, and LQ emulation. The iOPS emulates 4028-, 381X-, and 4230-type IBM printers. The iOPS supports about 95 percent of the laser, inkjet, and impact printers in use today, Leibowitz says.

The iOPS automatically detects the types of local printers attached to a remote user's PC and automatically formats the document to fit on that printer. Very little technical expertise is required on the part of the user, says IPS sales manager Bryan Bristol. If a printer is not working, for whatever the reason, the software allows the user to redirect the print job to a printer that is available. Once the print session is closed, the OnePrint internet Enabler automatically removes the printer definition from the host system, which ensures the security of the documents.

"The beauty of iOPS is that you don't have to create a permanent printer device definition," Bristol says. "It's done automatically, and it's done in a way that lets the users get what they need to print."

IPS has been developing AFP, SNA Character Stream (SCS), and IPDS print-conversion utilities for OS/400 and mainframe hosts since 1993. Today, the company has about 130 customers--from Gap Inc. to the Social Security Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. However, none of its customers, which are equally divided between using OS/400 servers and IBM mainframes, is able to print OS/400 IPDS documents to local printers.

"We've had insurance companies and transportation companies who have agents in the field," Bristol says. "They wanted to be able to connect to host systems to print--at home or at a customer site--rate quotes, freight bills, and policy statements. But they weren't able to do this kind of printing on-the-fly from any location."

The iOPS is available now. The only requirements are OS/400 V4R4 and higher and PSF/400; OnePrint Client Express supports all versions of Windows (future releases may support Linux, on both the host and the client) and works with any 5250 emulator. Unlimited, perpetual-use licenses for the OnePrint internet Enabler server component cost $1,500. Single user licenses for the OnePrint Client Express client start at $635 per copy, with volume discounts starting at 10 clients. For more information, go to www.ipslc.com.

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