IS THERE A UTILITY TO CONVERT HPGL OR POSTSCRIPT FILES TO PAGE SEGMENTS?
ITEM: RTA000053239
QUESTION:
Customer uses CADRA a third party graphics package that runs on RS/6000
and after a convuluted process (more detail below) converts output
from this program into page segments to be merged with text data and
printed to an AFP printer. Can you propose a simpler solution based on
the following info - preferable one where the graphical data remains
on the RS/6000? Is there any tool to convert hpgl or postscript to
page segments?
Todays process:
CADRA is capable of storing graphical plot data in the HPGL, postscript,
CALCOMP, and versatech formats. The customer currently stores plot in
HPGL. The customer uploads the plot to MVS where he uses GDQF to
convert the HPGL file to a GDF file and finally to a page segment.
The pseg is merged with print data and sent to an AFGP printer, usually
a 4028. The conversion operations are the number on user of CPU cycles.
We would like to have the conversion process take place on the
workstation and possibly to store the pseg in a workstation library
to be accessed at print time. This would eliminate the upload/download
process currently in use. Since the job is a major user of CPU time
we can easily justify multiple (8-12) PSF/6000 licenses if we can
perform the conversion at the workstation where excess CPU cycles are
available. Any suggestions?
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A: We definitely have a solution for you˘ The PostScript transform,
which is part of PSF/6000, today accepts PostScript Level 1 (with
PostScript Level 2 in plan) as an input data stream, and can produce
page segments in one of the following image types: IM1 (uncompressed),
IO1 (IOCA uncompressed), IO1_G4 (IOCA compressed with CCITT G4 MMR
format), or IO1_MMR (IOCA compressed in MMR format). IO1_G4 is the
default. You can also specify either 240-pel or 300-pel resolution
(240 is the default).
The output of the transform is a file that can be stored in a library
for use by PSF/6000 in printing (or, if you need, for use on an MVS or
VM system after uploading and reblocking).
If OS/2 is an option, I should also point out that PSF/2 has the same
capabilities.
Please see announcement letter 294-793 for information on the new
terms and conditions (e.g., new, lower price˘) for PSF/6000 effective
January 6, 1995.
I hope this helps.
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QUESTION:
Thanks for your response. Can you tell me a little more about the
page segment that is created in this process. My understanding is the
page segment will be AFPDS. Our print job originates on an MVS system
and we would like to store the page segments in a workstation
library. Assuming
we use DPF from MVS to PSF/2 we can use resources stored at the PSF/2
server but these resources must be stored in IPDS format. Therefore
in order to get these resources to the PSF/2 server it seems that
the page segment we create with the conversion will need to be uploaded
to MVS and sent back down and stored in IPDS format using PSF/MVS.
Is this correct or is there a way to create the IPDS resource at the
workstation for use with an MVS originated job?
Since resources are stored in IPDS format it seems that I would require
a separate set or resource librarys for different printers (for example,
3825 vs 4028) - is this correct?
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QUESTION:
Customer is also considering using PSF/6000
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A: You can use the Postscript to AFPDS transform program in PSF/6000
to convert the graphics files in Postscript to AFPDS. Then, you could
use the AFP Workbench for Windows on a PC running Windows or WIN-OS/2
to view the converted AFPDS file, and turn it into a Page Segment. This
solution doesn't run entirely on the AIX workstation, but it does get it
off the mainframe.
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This item was created from library item Q676950 FFMTM
Additional search words:
AFP CONV CONVERSION CONVERT CONVERTING FFMTM FILES HPGL JAN95 OZNEW
OZNOTPID PAGE PAGEABLE PAGES PAGING POSTSCRIPT PRINT PRINTABLE
PRINTER PRINTING PRT PSF6000 SEGMENTS UTILITY
WWQA: ITEM: RTA000053239 ITEM: RTA000053239
Dated: 01/1995 Category: PSF6000
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