I'm a long-time Spoolmate user and have used it to help automate much
     of my Print Operations (report distribution, spoolfile string
     analysis, print banners, network printing, etc.). Due to an business
     acquisition, we ended up with Vista on our system which results in
     NBSpool. To date, we've continued to use Spoolmate for our Print
     Operations.

     However, there are some issues occurring that cause me to consider
     switching over to NBSpool. In considering either tool, I want to be
     able to configure the Print Operations so that no intervention is
     necessary unless a change is needed. Presently, my operator mounts
     paper and distributes reports, all printing is pre-configured.

     For those with experience of both products, can I achieve a similar
     automated environment with NBSpool as I have with Spoolmate? If you
     were to go to a new shop and could buy either tool, which would you
     choose and why (briefly).

     An important consideration is the link between my job scheduler
     (Maestro) and my spool management tool. On certain critical jobs,
     Spoolmate anlyzes my STDLIST searching for specific strings. Based
     upon what it finds, it will either tell Maestro to mark the job as
     SUCC or as ABEND. This linkage is important in that it helps keep a
     lights-out operation. If NBSpool is able to execute a CI command based
     upon strings, then I believe this requirement would be satisfied.

     TIA for your input,

     Mike Gabriel
     Hughes Avicom International
     mdgabriel @ ccgate.hac.com