PDF files on the HP e3000 offer many advantages. These include:

• PDF files can be stored directly on a web site, especially as the Apache Web Server is supported officially on MPE.
  
  
• PDF files can be stored on CD, which means a reduction of printing costs for manuals and large reports
  
  
• PDF formatted reports can easily be distributed by e-mail, if required.
  
  
• PDF formatted documents can be outputted on any printer which will print from Acrobat, such as small desktop inkjet printers - freeing HP e3000-connected laser printers for other tasks.
  
  
• Read-only report archives, such as month-end reports, can be created and stored in PDF format anywhere on the network without having to run HP e3000 based reports or jobs on the central application.

The cost savings mean that OpenPDF should pay for itself within six months.

New features planned for future releases include the ability to place hyperlinks in the PDF document produced by OpenPDF, allowing users to create 'living' manuals which reference patches, updates, FAQs or complimentary products on web sites.

OpenPDF Spool is an optional module which handles MPE spool files, preprocessing the spooler control characters before passing the PCL over to OpenPDF to convert to PDF.