Missing overlays or wrong duplex output

In the AFP data stream, you can use the form definition resource to specify several aspects of the printed output, including the addition of overlays to the data, whether printing should occur on one or both sides of the sheet, and whether a side should contain only an overlay and no print data (also called constant back).

One form definition is needed for each AFP print job, but a form definition can contain multiple medium maps, each of which sets the properties for a set of pages until the print file requests a switch to another set of properties. For example, the first five pages of an insurance application might have one set of overlays for the front and back sides, but a different set of overlays is needed for pages 6 and higher to handle state-specific information. Each set of overlays is specified in its own medium map. To switch from one medium map to another, an Invoke Medium Map (IMM) structured field is included in the AFP data.

With the AFP Support feature, when you use the IdentifyDocuments step to divide an AFP job into individual documents, RICOH ProcessDirector needs to keep track of the medium map information that is required for each document. The step templates that create new AFP files (CreateAFPJobsFromDocuments and BuildAFPFromDocuments) build a new form definition for the jobs they create, so they must have the medium map information available to make sure that all the medium maps needed for all the documents in the new AFP file are included in the form definition they build. If that information is not available, the step might build an AFP file that does not reference the overlays that were in the medium map when the job was received in the system or that does not contain the correct duplex specification.

To make sure that the AFP files built by these steps have access to the correct medium map information, do one of these:

  • Build the AFP with an Invoke Medium Map structured field inside each named group in the file. If the medium map is defined this way with each document when it is received into RICOH ProcessDirector, you should not see a problem with new AFP files built from those original documents. For information about standard AFP requirements, see the associated related topic.
  • If the AFP is not in the required standard form, you can add a step to your workflow that calls a program provided with the AFP Support feature to add the medium map information to the AFP file before it is divided into documents. To do this, see the related topic about handling references to medium maps in non-conforming AFP.

Parent topic: Problems with document processing