Fall 2022 AFP Consortium Meeting Recap: Progress on AFP Security, Setup Name and New Bar Code Support now Final, Updated References planned for 2023
By Jack Condon
In October 2022, the AFP Consortium Fall Meeting was again held remotely. This did not stop our AFP Consortium members from continuing their work to improve AFP for all our customers.
At this meeting, the team made progress toward adding encryption support to AFP at the data object level. Formal Architecture Change Requests (ACRs) in support of this were reviewed and voted to consensus. This support will expand existing AFP encryption for PIN and TANs into a more generalized approach, allowing customers to encrypt and protect objects in the AFP output stream, including text, images, graphics, barcodes, object containers, and metadata.
The Setup Name architecture to automate the process of loading job-specific print parameters into IPDS printers is now Final architecture. This allows customers to set up and change printer-specific settings in an automated way to reduce costly printer setup errors and improve output efficiency.
As part of our continuing work on supporting important Bar Codes, Aztec Code and Extended Rectangular Data Matrix (DMRE) have been added to BCOCA as Final Architecture.
Finally, work has begun on new versions of the MO:DCA and IPDS References, with plans to publish these simultaneously in mid-2023. More information will be provided as these come closer to their publication dates.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in this meeting to help keep AFP growing and improving! Our next meeting will take place in person in Windsor, U.K. in April 2023. For those members who plan to attend, we are looking forward to seeing you there!
At this meeting, the team made progress toward adding encryption support to AFP at the data object level. Formal Architecture Change Requests (ACRs) in support of this were reviewed and voted to consensus. This support will expand existing AFP encryption for PIN and TANs into a more generalized approach, allowing customers to encrypt and protect objects in the AFP output stream, including text, images, graphics, barcodes, object containers, and metadata.
The Setup Name architecture to automate the process of loading job-specific print parameters into IPDS printers is now Final architecture. This allows customers to set up and change printer-specific settings in an automated way to reduce costly printer setup errors and improve output efficiency.
As part of our continuing work on supporting important Bar Codes, Aztec Code and Extended Rectangular Data Matrix (DMRE) have been added to BCOCA as Final Architecture.
Finally, work has begun on new versions of the MO:DCA and IPDS References, with plans to publish these simultaneously in mid-2023. More information will be provided as these come closer to their publication dates.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in this meeting to help keep AFP growing and improving! Our next meeting will take place in person in Windsor, U.K. in April 2023. For those members who plan to attend, we are looking forward to seeing you there!
