AFP & IPDS: Printing and Conversion Solutions

Advanced Function Presentation & Intelligent Printer Data Stream

IPDS (Intelligent Printer Data Stream) is the print description language (PDL) for printing online AFP (Advanced Function Presentation) documents.

AFP: Simplifying Complex Mainframe Data – Our Field of Expertise for 40 Years

Created by IBM in 1984, as part of the Systems Application Architecture (SAA), Advanced Function Presentation uses bidirectional communications between computer systems and printers (informing the systems about the resources available and the status of the printer, allowing instant error recovery…). It remains the fastest PDL (print description language) used in transactional printing.

AFP: the Industry Standard

AFP is the most widely used format for high-speed transactional printing across various industries including banks, finance, insurance, manufacturing, health care, education…

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Several Multi-platform AFP Solutions Available at MPI Tech

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Online & Offline Printing

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AFP: the Industry Standard

“AFP is generated by applications in the insurance, banking, and mission-critical industries who need to ensure reliable reproduction across the print and viewing environments and complete page integrity in the production environment. “

– AFP Consortium –

MPI Tech is Proud to Be a Core Member of the AFP Consortium.

AFP & IPDS

AFP can be printed “offline”, using the AFPDS format converted on the fly into the most popular PDL (no control of printer status, availability of resources at printer level, no error recovery…).

AFP can be printed “online” through various software like PSF (Print Service Facility) on an IBM system or through a spooler like S2P, or IPM… creating IPDS on the fly and offering full bidirectional control of the printing operation.

MPI Tech

Since 1988, MPI Tech has created a complete range of solutions (both software & hardware-based) converting AFPDS into the most popular PDL (PCL, PDF, PS…) on almost any available platform (Mainframe, Power systems, Windows, AIX, Linux, Solaris, Unix…)

As a founder and member of the AFP Consortium™, MPI Tech supports the latest enhancements of that technology.