Convert Legacy Print Files

Convert Legacy Print Files: Overview

Print files generated on the mainframe tend to fall in the category of legacy streams. They are often AFP, Metacode, or LCDS.

Convert Legacy Print Files:  Challenges  

In order to enable mainframe printing on modern devices, print streams from the host have to be converted to modern formats such as PCL, PostScript, PDF.

Convert Legacy Print Files:  Barr Systems' Solutions

The first step in the fully automated solution we offer for this challenge is to download the print files from the host.  This occurs through one of the four methods highlighted in the Distributing Mainframe Print guide.

Once we have the print files in our spooler, our Print Conversion Suite performs the necessary transformations.  This is an automated process, and can be dynamically driven by the contents of the downloaded job.  We support conversions from all legacy streams (AFP, IPDS, Metacode, DJDE, LCDS, EBCDIC) to any of the modern file formats (PDF, PCL, PostScript, ASCII).

After the conversion, the newly created files can be delivered to the desired destination via our powerful Document Distribution and Delivery technology.