In case you haven’t heard, IBM has announced it will discontinue support for AFP (Advanced Function Printing) Utilities as of version IBM i 7.3.
Here is the memo released by IBM:
The last release for IBM Advanced Function Printing Utilities (5770-AF1) was IBM i 7.2. The Advance Function Presentation data stream is now an open architecture managed by the AFP Consortium. Replacement products, which offer support for a wider range of image formats and modern font technologies, are available from several of the companies that are members of the AFP Consortium. Among the replacement products are DocPath Boulder Suite (from DocPath) and Overview AFP Designer for iSeries (from Isis-Papyrus). This is not a comprehensive list of replacement products, as other companies may also offer function which replaces Advanced Function Printing Utilities.
What does this mean for you?
One thing to keep in mind. There is a difference between AFP Utilities and AFP. While IBM is indeed dropping support for AFP Utilities, AFP resources such as overlays and page segments will still work for you.
If you use AFP Utilities to design, print, and maintain your forms and labels, you will, unfortunately have to move on form those forms and labels.
Replacing AFP Utilities
If you’re looking for a similar tool to replace AFP Utilities, MarkMagic supports these file types:
- AFPDS
- IPDS
- PCL5
- PCL5e
- PCL5Ce
But, don’t worry! The MarkMagic team has your back. Contact us if you need a hand replacing your label and forms. We can help you get rid of your AFP Utilities dependencies like your overlays, page segments, etc. With MarkMagic, you can easily replace your AFP based labels and forms. Keep the printers you have. Design the forms and labels you need with MarkMagic’s WYSIWYG editor. And, maintain formats on your own server.
If you have any questions at all, contact our tech support team.
