Cross-vendor printing without printer driver

The operation of the invention GPI

The employees of the docuFORM GmbH have in the course of the worldwide project development for the Daimler AG among others also dealed with the topic of printing without printer driver. The result is the development of a virtual print data interpreter that allows you to dispense with any form of classic or whatever printer driver. The unique selling point of the dynamic workflow consists among others in the self-learning ability of the system. This means for the user an automatic and constant updating of its device database associated with control codes, by means of which a neutral print data stream is then dynamically and automatically adapted to the given hardware environment in real time, just before the printing process itself.

The renunciation of any printer driver and the elimination of all Microsoft print servers reduce the maintenance and operating costs within the company. At the same time, a uniform and manufacturer-independent user interface ensures increased efficiency and ease of use.

The core of this technology is an SNMP monitoring of the printing systems. As part of this SNMP monitoring, all changes to the printer pool are transmitted in real time to a database within the Mercury OMS system. The docuFORM Cloud can then be used to constantly retrieve current control sequences from new devices from the central docuFORM server. As a result, the on-site system is constantly updated automatically even if the infrastructure changes. The actual printing process then consists of sending a desired data stream to be printed, which is then enriched in Mercury OMS Server with the corresponding printer-specific control sequences in real time. At this time, the printable data stream is created, which can then always be optimally output without any compromise to the respective printing system. This patented unique selling point is manufacturer independent and includes all device options including final processing. This guarantees an optimal printout at all times.

Direct Follow“2“Print functionality („pull print“)

As part of this development, an optimized Follow "2" print solution is included. This stands out as a unique vendor-neutral and manufacturer-independent solution. The print data are always optimally printed, in which the neutral data is enriched with the control sequences for the respective device in real time, just shortly before the printing process. Also, this solution dispenses with the use of diversified printer queues. Also part of the invention is the searching and selecting of devices according to the respective properties in real time. This functionality is also made possible by the SNMP monitored device database, which also offers the user all available paper formats and their exchange.

Serverless Printing

In the meantime, docuFORM has also devoted itself to the topic of so-called serverless printing. Soon, in addition to the described GPI workflow, local print data should also be printed directly onto the output devices on site. The combination of GPI with integrated Follow2Print solution as well as the new, Serverless Printing 'aspect represents another milestone in the docuFORM product development Global Printer Interface (GPI).