Bill Lancaster <[log in to unmask]> writes
>Hi all,
>
>I am curious how different sites are creating letters on the 3000
>destined for laser printers.  Are people using Fantasia, and other
>like products?

Hi all, this could be considered a bit of a plug for our software.
We sell a product called Spinner, which can now take any PC package
output and use it in a merge process that resides on the HP3000 or HPUX.

The standard letter or pro-forma document is created on the PC or a
textual based form designer for really dense data documents. The
resultant output is placed in a group/directory on the host.

The fields that are to be filled in by the host are defined in a similar
way to a mail merge field eg:{(total)>} right justified against the }
character. Each field can have upto 255 elements and can be manipulated
before the merge takes place. The data when merged will inherit the font
characteristics that the field definition was typed in on the original
document. Because each field can have many elements, a row of quantities
or net prices can be placed on a form with a single field mark.

In a more complex environment it is possible to ask if there is enough
room at the end of the page thereby ensuring that
Yours sincerely,

<signature>

Your name
never spilts across a page.
Complex graphics can be called up from the document or at a page
processing level which saves an enormous amount of data being sent down
to the printer. This is due to the abiltity to have the printer
interogated for the presence of electronic forms either in standard
memory or in flash simm.

Foreign language variations are catered for by calling up the foreign
form and then changing english data phrases to the local language
variants before merging the data on the form. Last but not least the
actual receient printer is not deceided until the destination country
and user have been determined.

If anybody is interested in finding out more information on the above,
please e-mail me. I will sent back in return a file that can be sent
straight to a laser showing exactly what I am talking about.

Kirk Whelan,                               Tel:01784-436234
Technical Director,                        Fax:01784-433315
SMM Software Ltd,
42a High Street, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9DP.