AFP Consortium publishes new version of the Bar Code Object Content Architecture (BCOCA) Reference
BOULDER, Colo., December 6, 2023 – The Advanced Function Presentation Consortium (AFP Consortium), an international consortium of print and presentation industry stakeholders working together to further enhance the Advanced Function Presentation document architecture, is pleased to announce the availability of the eleventh edition of the Bar Code Object Content Architecture (BCOCA) Reference, version AFPC-0005-10.
The leading bar code architecture for high-performance transaction printing, the BCOCA architecture is an object content architecture used to describe and generate bar code symbols in a way that allows bar codes in an AFP document to be fully described in device- and process-independent terms.
New in the eleventh edition of the BCOCA Reference is support for the following:
About AFP and the AFP Consortium
Advanced Function Presentation is a document architecture that offers performance, manageability and integrity benefits meeting the needs of large volume, variable data applications. AFP technology has historically been used to produce mission critical documents such as bills, statements and policies and contains methods for job ticketing, effective server-based resource management and the powerful Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) for total output integrity. In addition to being a rich, self- contained native document language, AFP is also a powerful container architecture capable of bringing full resource and production management capabilities to bear on encapsulated formats such as PDF and TIFF.
The AFP Consortium is an international open standards body consisting of around 30 companies committed to the continued development of the AFP architecture. Since 2004, the AFP Consortium has developed open standards for accurate and consistent ICC-based color management, high-speed complex text, page group recovery within high-volume production, the IS/3 interchange set for compliance, and metadata support for AFP Archive and future applications, such as accessibility features. The AFP Consortium will continue in its role to grow and maintain the complete set of AFP architecture.
For more information, visit the AFP Consortium website: https://www.afpconsortium.org.
The leading bar code architecture for high-performance transaction printing, the BCOCA architecture is an object content architecture used to describe and generate bar code symbols in a way that allows bar codes in an AFP document to be fully described in device- and process-independent terms.
New in the eleventh edition of the BCOCA Reference is support for the following:
- Aztec Code
- Intelligent Mail Package Barcode
- Extended Rectangular Data Matrix, an extension of the Data Matrix bar code with 18 new rectangular sizes
- QR Code with Image, which allows a variety of AFP data objects (company logos, country flags, etc.) to be put on top of (or adjacent to) a QR code symbol
- Support for a new “too much data” special-function parameters control flag, specifying what to do if there is too much data to fit in a requested bar code size – for the existing Data Matrix and QR Code, and the new Aztec Code
- Additional information and clarifications to improve readability
About AFP and the AFP Consortium
Advanced Function Presentation is a document architecture that offers performance, manageability and integrity benefits meeting the needs of large volume, variable data applications. AFP technology has historically been used to produce mission critical documents such as bills, statements and policies and contains methods for job ticketing, effective server-based resource management and the powerful Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) for total output integrity. In addition to being a rich, self- contained native document language, AFP is also a powerful container architecture capable of bringing full resource and production management capabilities to bear on encapsulated formats such as PDF and TIFF.
The AFP Consortium is an international open standards body consisting of around 30 companies committed to the continued development of the AFP architecture. Since 2004, the AFP Consortium has developed open standards for accurate and consistent ICC-based color management, high-speed complex text, page group recovery within high-volume production, the IS/3 interchange set for compliance, and metadata support for AFP Archive and future applications, such as accessibility features. The AFP Consortium will continue in its role to grow and maintain the complete set of AFP architecture.
For more information, visit the AFP Consortium website: https://www.afpconsortium.org.
