IPDS Printing - Questions to Ask Users

Questions to Ask When Determining
Printer Connectivity Options to IBM iSeries AS/400s or zSeries S/390s
 for Laser Printing Devices (Printers, Copiers, MFPs)

1. How is (are) the printing device (devices) currently connected to the iSeries or zSeries?
   (Ethernet, Coax or Twinax)

2. Are there any INTERNAL IPDS options (DIMM, FLASH, USB, etc.) currently installed in the printer?
   Some examples may be internal IPDS options from HP, I-O Corporation, Lexmark, MPI, Ricoh, or others.

3. Are there any optional EXTERNAL IPDS Print Servers or Interfaces, or IPDS Print Server Software  currently being used to connect the printer to the iSeries or zSeries:
   Some examples may be external interfaces/print servers from manufacturers such as Agile, Axis, Attachmate, CableNet, i-Data, I-O Corporation, MPI, Praim and others.

4. What are the printers currently configured as (Device Type) on the iSeries - "3812? or ?*IPDS??
   You can use the iSeries commands WRKDEVD or DSPDEVD to obtain this information

5. Are you printing checks - Are you printing MICR characters on the bottom of checks?

6. Are you printing any graphics now ? Logos, Barcodes, Forms Overlays, Fancy Text, etc.?  Or are you only printing numbers and text characters?

7. If printing any graphics are there any control codes being embedded in your output to enable any of these graphics or graphics capability specific to the printer currently being used?

8. Do the printing devices have any special graphics options installed such as special barcode font cards or graphics options?

9. Are you using any forms design programs to generate your output?

10. If any printers are configured as *IPDS is PSF/400 currently installed as an Operating System Option?? (CLICK HERE to download "PSF-How to Check for PSF400.pdf"  )

11. Are any printers using ?Host Print Transform??
    You can use the iSeries commands WRKDEVD or DSPDEVD to obtain this information.
    If so, what Mfr. Type is selected (ie. ? HP5000, HP4000, etc.)
    Also is there any ?Workstation Customizing Object? ?
    If so, what is listed?
    
    The following two questions are only necessary when the printer is a Twinax Interface printer.

12. How are these printers currently connected -
    1.  Actual Twinax Cable with ?daisy chaining? or
    2.  Active Star Hub with CAT5 Cable and Twinax‑to‑RJ45 Baluns

13. If actual Twinax cabling, how many Twinax Host Ports are currently being used for these printers on the iSeries 8-port Twinax ?brick??

Give us a call at 1-800-597-2525 or 1-908-855-8100 if you have any questions.