IBM Intelligent Printer Data Stream

Info Print Solution Company
Industry	Printing technology
Products	Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS)

Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) represents Info Print Solution Company's implementation of the Systems Application Architecture data stream designed for host-to-printer communication within Advanced Function Presentation environments. This protocol offers a device-independent interface to control and manage all points addressable (APA) printers, capable of rendering pages composed of diverse data types such as text, graphics, images, bar codes, and object containers. IPDS is utilized by multiple Info Print and OEM print server solutions to operate medium- to high-speed APA page printers.

One significant benefit of IPDS lies in its ability to allow separate applications to produce source data for individual data segments, which the printer then combines into a cohesive mixed-content page.

The architecture of IPDS facilitates two-way communication for both spooled data transfer and print job management between the print server (or driver) and the Printer Controller.

Controls available through print job management include:

Resolution settings of the printer
Handling of media jams
Exceptions during pre- or post-processing stages
Monitoring storage consumption
Capabilities related to paper trays
Duplex (double-sided) printing functionality

Examples of spooled data consist of:

Object placement coordinates on the page
Fonts
Text content
Images
Bar codes
Electronic overlay elements

IPDS streams transmit print information above the network transport layer—commonly over TCP/IP or SNA—as well as over underlying hardware such as LANs and network interface controllers.

Data and commands are encapsulated in structured fields; the printer controller interprets these IPDS instructions and provides acknowledgments back to the print server.

Although IPDS employs binary-encoded commands similar to those used in PPDS, it is not interoperable with PPDS.

IPDS serves as the primary online printing protocol for AFP (Advanced Function Presentation) documents, while AFP documents can alternatively be printed offline using the AFPDS format.

Printers

A variety of printers offer native support for IPDS:

Compuprint—Heavy Duty IPDS Desktop Matrix Printers with speeds up to 1100 characters per second (CPS)
HP—multiple models equipped with plug-in Flash memory modules
IBM—no longer produces printers
Printronix—IPDS Matrix Line Printers ranging from 500 to 2000 lines per minute (LPM)
Ricoh—IPDS Matrix Line Printers operating at 500 to 2000 LPM; Heavy Duty Desktop Matrix Printers reaching up to 1100 CPS
Tally-Dascom—Heavy Duty Desktop Matrix Printers capable of up to 1000 CPS
Zebra—Thermal and thermal transfer printers designed for labels and bar code printing

IPDS-compatible print servers are available from MPI Tech, IPDS Printing Solutions, IOCorp, Xerox, and Microsoft.

Printers

See also