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Chapter 1. Introducing Advanced Print Utility
Use this chapter to gain an understanding of what the IBM PrintSuite for iSeries
Advanced Print Utility (APU) can do for you, including:
v “What is APU?”
v “What You Can Do with APU”
v “Why Use APU?” on page 4
v “Printing with and without APU” on page 4
v “APU formatting instructions” on page 6
v “Steps in Creating an APU Document” on page 7
What is APU?
Advanced Print Utility (APU) is part of the Advanced Function Presentation (AFP)
PrintSuite family of document-creation systems that enables you to use SCS files as
input to APU and then to transform that input to “full-page” electronic output,
with pages that include electronic forms, image, bar codes, lines, boxes, and text in
a variety of fonts.
APU provides an interactive design approach that is independent of the
application program.
v The input to APU is the line-mode (SCS) output file that the line-of-business
application creates.
v The output of APU is an AFP spooled file.
What You Can Do with APU
Output specifications for iSeries application programs generate either SNA
Character Stream (SCS) or AFP spooled files. APU works on SCS spooled files. SCS
is a line-oriented datastream that for the most part uses preprinted forms to create
the final document. With APU, you can eliminate the need for preprinted forms.
Instead, you create a completely electronic document. With APU, you can:
v Create multi-copy documents, with each page customized
v Use data that is contained within a page to determine which of multiple output
formats to use
v Remap any field that the input SCS pages contain (change position, font,
orientation, color, and so on)
v Print application data in any of the standard bar code symbologies
v Add document elements such as electronic forms (overlays), images, lines, boxes,
and constant text
v Place a new application into production for automatic processing
v Manage the production of input and output files, including the routing of
different output files to different queues, printers, and output bins
v Implement user-defined programs that can address unique document or
document distribution requirements
APU provides an interactive interface for defining new output applications. For
simpler applications, APU provides a “fast path”. You use the current spooled file
(SCS) interactively to redefine the formatting of application data.
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