Selecting a DSS

Selecting the right DSS in some cases is obvious. For example, it should be clear when you create an email DSS. Selecting a DSS to drive other printers is more complicated and requires more understanding of the InfoPrint Manager DSSs.

One important factor is the document formats your printer accepts and the document formats of the jobs you plan to submit. The BSD DSS passes through any data streams including PS, PCL5E, and PCL6. The DFE DSS submits jobs to DFE print servers that drive Ricoh engines. The PSF DSS has a variety of attachment types that need to be understood and is capable of converting the following input data streams to IPDS, PCL4, PCL5, PCL5C, PCL6, or PPDS:

  • AFPDS
  • ASCII
  • DBCS ASCII
  • GIF
  • EBCDIC
  • JPEG
  • PCL ( PCL6 and earlier)
  • PDF (1.7 and earlier)
  • PS (level 3 and earlier)
  • PPDS
  • SAP (ABAP and OTF)
  • TIFF

If you send intelligent printer data stream (IPDS) to your printer, you should create PSF printers. Check Selecting an attachment type for PSF actual destinations to see which attachment type to create. Otherwise, the type of destination you create primarily depends on where your print jobs are coming from. The appropriate DSS is different for each of these job submitters:

  • PC-based applications
  • Both PC-based applications and a host system (through DPF or MVS Download)

In this section:

  1. Selecting a DSS for printing from PC-based applications or a host system using IP Printway
  2. Selecting a DSS for printing using MVS Download, DPF, or from a combination of PC-based applications and host systems
  3. Selecting a DFE DSS
    Digital Front Ends (DFEs) can produce high-quality accurate output quickly and efficiently. You can use DFE DSS to submit jobs to DFE print servers that drive Ricoh engines.
Parent topic: Understanding Destination Support Systems (DSS)