Standard and custom filters and plugins
BENS filters and plugins can be used to process print data as well as PDF files, graphic files and e-mails.
In the context of digital document processing, filters on the BENS server can be used to perform many tasks at the same time:
- The merging of print data and digital templates, such as letterhead or logo.
- Adding a page with general terms and conditions to the print data. The terms and conditions can be printed on the back of selected pages or as an additional page.
- Creating electronic copies of individual pages or copies of entire documents.
- The application of various watermarks to individual carbon copies or copies.
- Management of paper control for different pages, copies or carbon copies. Automatic selection of paper types or paper trays for individual pages or copies of a document.
- The final processing of documents at the printer, e.g. stapling or punching, output to different trays.
- Converting the print files into PDF files and storing them in a hot folder
- Distributed sending of document copies to different destinations, e.g. printing a copy of an invoice in the mailroom and on the printer in the accounting department.
… and much more.
Converter (Conversion with BENS Filters)
With the appropriate filters for the BENS Server, various data conversions can be carried out:
- IPDS/AFPDS to PCL
- IPDS/AFPDS to Postscript
- Postscript to PDF
- PCL to PDF
- Prescribe to PCL
- ZPL (Zebra) to PCL
- PCL to ZPL (Zebra)
- Almost all input data can be converted into a graphic format (PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP etc.)
Standard filters and plugins
Many processes can be realized with standard filters and plugins (out of the box).
Processes
Workflow
BENS PCL Barcode Filter
Adds on-the-fly generated barcode images to PCL5 print data. Mostly used with SAP systems.
BENS PCL Unicode Filter
Converts Unicode data into ASCII data. Used on printers that do not provide Unicode fonts.
BENS Prescribe to PCL Filter
Converts Kyocera Prescribe print data (!R!) into standard PCL5 print data
BENS OCR-A/OCR-B Filter
Enables printing of data formatted for output with OCR-A and OCR-B fonts
BENS Carbon Copy Filter
Creates on-the-fly copies of pages or documents with the ability to define different paper sources for specific copies, finishing, etc.
BENS PCL Macro Filter
Adds PCL5/PCLXL macros (overlays) to the PCL5/PCLXL data stream. Macros are stored centralised on the BENS server instead of decentralised on the target printers. With the free Macro Configurator for Windows, a configuration is created in which it is defined which macros are printed on which page. Macro control sequences in PCL5 files are also supported. Macros can be created from different templates (PDF, XPS, PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF) with the chargeable program for Windows “Barcode Generator Enterprise”.
BENS Postscript Macro Filter
Adds Postscript macros (overlays) to the Postscript data stream. Postscript macros are stored centralised on the BENS server, instead of decentralised on the target printers. In a configuration it is determined which macros are printed on which page. Postscript macros are created with the chargeable program Postscript Macro Generator Enterprise. The configuration required for the filter is created automatically by Postscript Macro Generator Enterprise.
BENS UniversalExchanger
Replaces on-the-fly data in the input file according to rules defined in a configuration file.
BENS SplitSpool Filter
Splits large spool files into individual documents contained in the spool file (e.g. invoices).
BENS MergeJobs Filter
Merges several documents into one spool file.
BENS Alias Filter
Replaces the user name from the SAP system with the user name of the same person from the Active Directory.
BENS Follow me option
Allows previously created printouts to be retrieved from any printer in the printer network.
BENS IOS Printing option
Enables printing with Apple devices on printers that do not support IOS printing.
BENS DataCompress Filter
Compresses data before sending it to another BENS Server and decompresses it on the target BENS Server before the data is sent further to the printer. Mainly used for print data transmission over long distances.
BENS Load Balancing Modul
Distributes print jobs from one printer queue to different target printers with the aim of achieving an even utilization of the printers. Alternatively, it distributes the number of desired copies of a document to different printers in order to achieve a higher print throughput.
BENS Failover-Plugin
Automatically changes the output device if the used target device has failed. For higher security, several target devices can be defined one after the other as fallback devices.
BENS PDFFormFill Module
Fills variable fields of PDF files (forms) stored on the BENS server with variable data. The variable data is received as a print job or e.g. read from a hotfolder.
BENS Intelligent Duplexer
Creates duplex documents from simplex or mixplex documents without changing the appearance of the original output. Before the function is activated, it is checked whether this represents a time advantage for the printer. If there is no time advantage, the duplex function is not executed.
BENS PrinterSpoolCheck
Communicates with the printer to prevent printer buffer overflow or loss of print data that can occur when too many print jobs have been sent to the printer.
BENS Scale2OneSize
Scales different PDF documents to one size, according to the media size defined in a configuration file.
BENS Intelligent PDFOMRGenerator
Generates OMR marks for mailing systems and inserts the OMR code calculated for each page onto the respective page. Size and position of the OMR code are configurable.
BENS PDF-Watermark
Prints predefined watermarks stored on the BENS server on PDF documents. Position and pages for each watermark are freely configurable.
IPDS to PCL Converter
Converts IPDS print data to PCL5 print data
IPDS to Postscript Converter
Converts IPDS print data to postscript print data
AFPDS to PCL Converter
Converts AFPDS print data to PCL5 print data
AFPDS to Postscript Converter
Converts AFPDS print data to Postscript print data
BENS Clever Print Filter
Promotes economical printing by forcing duplex, black/white and – if supported by the printer – toner-saving printing.
BENS PrintToBox
Sends received print jobs to the Konica Minolta MFP’s electronic mailbox specified in the configuration. The filter has been developed for users who print from environments without Windows printer driver (e.g. SAP/4 Hana).
Custom filters and plugins
Custom BENS plugins for a variety of tasks
Processes
Custom filters and plugins:
Process Automation
- More than 30 clerks of the customer print tax notices on one printer. Each tax assessment consists of 10 to 30 individual print jobs. Before the project was implemented, the print jobs of individual clients were mixed together and had to be laboriously separated after printing. The customer wanted a solution that prevents the mixing of the print jobs and keeps the printouts for individual clients clearly separated.
- The plugin on the BENS Printserver collects print jobs and sorts them by the tax number.
- All print jobs with the same tax number are merged to one print job. The process for a particular tax number is finished as soon as no print jobs with the same tax number are found after a certain period of time.
- At the beginning of each print job a sheet with the text “Start tax number XXXX/YYYY” and at the end with the text “End tax number XXXY/YYYY” is added.
- As soon as a print job with a particular tax number is finished, it is sent to the printer. The respective bundles per tax number are pre-sorted. The process runs automatically in the shortest possible time and there can be no more errors in the separating process.
Custom filters and plugins:
PDF processing
- The customer creates PDF files. Each PDF-file contains multiple documents. The individual documents are to be stapled.
- There is a barcode on the last page of each document, always at the same position.
- The plug-in on the BENS Printserver searches for the barcode on each page. The page on which a barcode is found is identified as the last page of the current document.
- The PDF file is split into individual documents.
- Each document is given a stapling command and then sent to the printer.
- The documents that were previously printed in a batch now come out at the printer individually, offset and stapled.
Custom filters and plugins:
Replace dot matrix printer with MFP´s
- The customer used to print his business documents (delivery bills, invoices, order confirmations, etc.) on 3-ply paper on dot matrix printers with an EPSON emulation. He wanted to switch to modern colour printers, but without having to change anything in his ERP system.
- Letter templates for the customer’s business documents and general terms and conditions were digitized with the MacroGenerator Enterprise and stored as PCL macros on the BENS Printserver.
- The plugin on the BENS Printserver converts the EPSON print data into PCL-5.
- Overlays with the document templates are added to the converted PCL contents with the BENS Macro Filter. The general terms and conditions are printed on the first back side.
- With the CarbonCopy filter electronic “Carbon copies” – 3 copies per sheet – are generated.
- Each “Carbon copy” is marked with a colour stripe.
- All the “Carbon copies” are printed stapled together.
Custom filters and plugins:
PDF processing
- The ERP of a property management company generates various PDF documents. Each PDF file is dedicated to one topic (e.g. cover letter, statement, etc.). However, each PDF file contains documents for all owners. The documents for each owner are to be separated from each other into individual PDF files so that they can be fed to different dispatch processes.
- Previously, property management staff printed the PDF files, sorted the individual documents apart for each owner, and reassembled all the documents for each owner. This process should be automated.
- The BENS plugin separates the received PDF file into individual documents per owner and sorts them by type (cover letter, statement, etc.). Then, all documents for each individual owner are merged into one PDF file.
- After the PDF files are assembled for each owner, the plugin checks in the property management database whether the document should be printed or emailed to the recipient. Documents that are to be printed are forwarded to the printer, and documents that are to be emailed are emailed by the BENS server to the email addresses read from the database.
