Simply put, would you rather purchase and have a new hardware print server shipped to you, then install and configure it? Or, would you like to download and install a software upgrade to your print server software?

Advantages of Software over Hardware Print Servers

Receive multiple jobs simultaneously

RPM Print Server software will receive multiple jobs simultaneously without losing jobs. Hardware print servers can receive and print only one at a time.

Multiple print queues

RPM can have multiple print queues each going to a different printer or configured differently for the same printer. Hardware print servers have one queue and can only print to one printer (if a single-port print server). Multiple port print servers can still only receive a single job at a time.

More than just “pass-through” printing

RPM has text and filter queues. Hardware print servers are limited to pass-through only. No saving to disk and no reformatting the data for the printer.

Restrict user access

RPM can restrict access to users based on their host name or IP address. Print servers cannot.

Low-cost upgrades, no new hardware required

When issues arise, print servers are not easily upgraded. RPM is upgraded often.

Print to ANY Windows-based printer

Hardware print servers are limited in the “kind” of printer they can print to. For instance, if your hardware print server supports parallel printers, then you buy a new printer and it supports only USB, you must buy a new (typically more expensive) print server that supports the new technology. RPM does not care how the printer is attached, only whether Windows can print to it.

RPM - flexible and scalable

You have to buy a new hardware print server for every printer you want connected to the network. RPM can print to the printers you have today, and new ones that you will buy in the future.

RPM allows you to receive a print file from a host system and process the print files with RPM’s print queues. Managing RPM’s print queues is one of the key features setting RPM apart from others LPD servers.

Print to File, Print to a Printer, Email and more

• RPM provides text formatting not found in any other print server. RPM text printing supports printing from the host system to unsupported PC print devices. Text printing sets RPM apart from all LPD products. The ability to handle many text formats intelligently has been a key reason for administrators and other IT professionals to make the switch from their existing print server to RPM.
• Incoming data can be written to a file for archiving or other purposes. RPM checks for duplicate filenames before saving and has many file naming options. RPM can be configured to open print data in other applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, or other programs. RPM’s filter processing is used to integrate third-party software and solutions into RPM.
• RPM can pass raw information from the host system to the PC print queue. RPM processes print data without modification as if the printer were connected directly to the host system through a parallel or serial connection. RPM’s raw printing supports the advanced queue features such as transforming data, adding and appending bytes or files, etc.

Read more about RPM’s print queue features

The Host System (mainframe, Windows, UNIX, AS400, OS390, etc…) sends the spool file (print job) via TCP/IP using the LPD or Telnet protocol. Once RPM receives the file on the Windows PC it can do many things. You have the choice of saving the file to disk for archiving, or save to file to open or manipulate with another program. Or, print the raw data straight to your printer.

End users have control over fonts, margins, line wrap, printer setup, and a variety of other print features sought by mainframe users such as suppressing trailing blank pages, and scaling down the font to support a given line length.

With RPM, you have the flexibility to print data from across the world, or even from the mainframe down the hall!

RPM Case Studies

• AS400 Host Label Printing
• Archive Print Jobs from Mainframe
• Advanced formatting and UNIX finishing functions
• Post HP files to the network for printing
• Printed output down 60%, huge cost savings

Host Print File Converted to PDF

RPM will automatically convert Host Print Files to PDF and email them or print to file. Now you’ll have a print history of everything printed from your host system. Email them for easy electronic disbursement or simply print the PDF.

Remote Print Administrator

RPM’s Remote Print Administrator (RPM Elite only) was designed to provide administrators the ability to remotely manage software configuration and job processing:

• View logs for remote troubleshooting
• Comprehensive management of queues, jobs, and other settings
• Remote administration through web browser

License Manager

Brooks License Manager displays license information and provides useful tools to administer the license. The license manager transforms a trial license to a registered license upon purchase, maintains license codes for reinstallations, and tracks add-on module registrations.

• License wizard enhances ease of use
• Supports advanced products and features
• Enhanced support for license re installation
• Web-unlock can connect through a proxy server/firewall

User Interface

Users and administrators can now view and configure the RPM software through a modern interface which provides advanced sorting and management of queues and print jobs.

• Displays long job names
• Updated default settings
• Added support for importing and exporting configuration
• Changed “Resume” to “Suspend”
• Enhanced support for specifying control file destination
• Filter queue disables printer selection

Emailing host print files

RPM will email Host print files to one or many recipients allowing you to electronically disburse the mainframe print files and also keep a print history of every print job.

Text Printing

One of RPM’s major strengths is its ability to adapt text to the Windows fonts and printers.

• RPM allows selection of any Windows printer
• RPM stores the printer setup for that printer, including standard features such as landscape vs. portrait, and printer-specific features included by the manufacturer
• RPM allows the selection and use of any font supported by the printer
• RPM also supports overstrike, bold, and italics effects with selected font

Zero-Byte Files

RPM is one of the few commercial LPD servers on any platform that accepts zero-length data files. RPM interprets this to mean the length is unknown or unspecified, and accepts bytes until the connection is closed. RPM Elite or Select can be configured to close the connection after a specified amount of time.

Page Processing

• RPM can scale the font to fit desired number of lines per page and/or line width
• RPM supports “pr” style printing with page headers
• RPM can override the starting and ending page on any print job
• For non-text printing, RPM allows definition of a page delimiter string

User Controls

• Start and stop processing for any queue, or individually by job
• Let RPM run “hands-off” or control the process as much as required
• Control the starting and ending page printed for a job
• RPM shows you the status for each queue/job and the printer status from last print request

Non-Text Printing Options

• Pass the data directly to a Windows printer, including networked printers
• Invoke a program, passing the data file as an argument
• Pass a handle to a COM object (Note: this is the most efficient method possible)
• Write the file to disk, giving control over the location and name

Protocols Supported

RPM supports the LPD protocol as documented in RFC 1179, and the stream or reverse telnet protocol as is widely practiced. Our LPD support is second to none in the industry, providing a high level of confidence. If your business system supports LPD, then RPM supports you.

Named Queues

Unlike typical PC-based print servers or hardware print devices, RPM provides flexibility by allowing the creation of unlimited named queues, and with each queue associates any combination of processing type and related options.

AS/400 to PDF SCS Print Files Conversion

RPM takes an AS400 text print file and converts it to PDF for easy viewing. RPM can handle *SCS, *USERASCII, and *LINE converting the file into formats such as HTML or PDF.

Multiple Print Requests

RPM supports multiple print requests in a single connection; this is not allowed by the standard but is practiced in certain free UNIX systems.

UNIX “Filter” Support

The filter queue provides the user more control and options for naming files and handling illegal filename characters. Filter processing is now scheduled more efficiently for greater throughput.

RPM Supports Number of Copies

The LPD standard does not include a provision for printing copies, but popular print clients use several non-standard means for this request. RPM supports most, if not all, including AIX and Linux/UNIX.