Print Policy Standardization with BlueServer™

Success Story – A Major American Insurance Company

Secure printing
Entreprise francaise internationale 1 | mpi tech

Print Standardization

The IT department of a large American insurance company needed digital copies of all printed documents for archiving purposes… The challenge: provide digital copies of all printed documents

Problem

For the past 15 years, one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. has been using MPI Tech’s conversion solutions and a fleet of HP LaserJet printers for printing from its IBM host mainframe.

When the IT department requested a copy of all the printed documents, they had only two options.

Ipds printing
I-series printing

Proposed Solution: A Double Copy of Each Print Job

The first option was to scan each print job and save these images in their archive directory. This option, in addition to being very time-consuming, would also have been very expensive.

The second option was to change their existing printing solution to a more efficient way of printing and generating PDFs for archiving.

BlueServer Converts AFP and IPDS to PostScript and PCL

BlueServer was chosen because of its compatibility with its printing process, ensuring that every printed document was properly archived as a fully searchable PDF file, greatly simplifying document searches.

BlueServer Generates PDF Copies of All Printed Documents

BlueServer also offers the ability to rename the PDF file with the specific name used by the IBM Host system, ensuring a perfect match between the archived PDF and the original document from the Host system. BlueServer was a simple solution to the initial problem while providing an excellent return on investment.

 

A Powerful Conversion Solution for Windows, Linux, or AIX servers

Advanced Function Presentation/Intelligent Printer Data Stream (AFP/IPDS) and Systems Network Architecture (SNA) formats are usually reserved for expensive printers dedicated to printing from IBM systems. These host printers can natively handle AFP and IPDS, with all the complex applications coming from IBM systems (z/OS, OS/400…) such as barcodes, backgrounds, and verifications… necessary for critical applications that require full control of the printer while ensuring error recovery managed by IBM PSF drivers.

BlueServer – Host Printing on Desktop and MFP Printers

MPI Tech has developed the BlueServer software solution that converts AFP and IPDS jobs from your IBM system to PCL/PostScript (for printing) or to PDF/Tiff for document viewing, archiving, or electronic distribution (email, fax, web server). The bi-directional communication with your IBM system guarantees total control and complete error recovery.

There is no need to buy expensive dedicated printers because the BlueServer solution can interface with any laser printer supporting PCL or PostScript, ensuring full processing of complex AFP and IPDS documents.

All AFP and IPDS features (tray selection, finishing options) are supported. BlueServer can also fully index the PDF output file for easy integration into your Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system.

Afp ipds printing
Advantages blueserver printing

Advantages

  • Single printer printing from Windows, Linux, and IBM systems
  • Bi-directional dialogue with printers (error recovery)
  • Full-color IPDS document printing on color LaserJet printers
  • Support for all IPDS features (barcodes, images, outline fonts)
  • High-speed IPDS printing
  • No modification of system applications
  • Converts AFP, IPDS, and SCS streams to PDF for viewing archiving, or electronic distribution (email, fax…)
  • Blue Server’s graphical user interface (GUI) gives you full control over your production printing with job lists and printer status.

BlueServer: A Printing Solution for American Insurance Companies

Several U.S. insurance companies have implemented BlueServer as part of their document management system. BlueServer converts document streams from IBM host systems to common output formats and delivers them to printers. At the same time, BlueServer generates a PDF copy of each printed document specifically for archiving. These electronic copies are retained for future use in the event of a need for post-verification.

Streamlining the Document Production Process

Reduce Infrastructure Costs

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Standardize Documents

Reduce Printing Costs