Ricoh would like to get your feedback using the IBS Control Center (IBS CC).

Sales related questions:

Questions regarding the offered maintenance extension
Migration of IBS Licenses to another device
Demo / Trial licenses for customer evaluation
Which devices are supported
Presales questionnaire / which product do I need
Why a new enhanced Installation tool for IBS: The IBS Control Center
Where do I get the license file for my device
The printer storage was formatted, where do I retrieve the license file again
How can I locate if a specific device supports IBS
What does IBS version x.yz mean
Why does IBS not support the customer requested device
What is the difference between BOP and IBS
Where to buy
Ricoh EDP codes and stethos part# for IBS
IBS CC replaced the Ricoh BOCR Tool
About stethos

Installation related questions

My printer hard disk or SD was replaced, what do I need to do to get IBS reinstalled and re-licensed
Certain functions within IBS CC like "Import from W-ELP" and "Export from W-ELP", enhanced Quicksets handling, etc. are missing
Does the update/license process transfer any internal data outside my environment
I installed IBS on an SD card, IBS CC displays it as installed, however the barcodes in the test prints are NOT printed
Can I transfer the IBS license in between machines
Which MS Windows platforms for IBS CC are supported
Where to get SD cards
Different IBS versions available during installation
The IBS Installation is in an undefined state
Known Error Messages during the installation using BOCR
Can I uninstall IBS CC after IBS was installed on the Printer/MFD
What is the WIM (Web Image Monitor) credentials storage policy
Do I need to keep the license file after licensing / how to retrieve the original license file
Which TCP Port is used for querying the configuration of IBS after a successful installation

Technical questions

Which type of barcodes are supported, Link to documentation
IBS user documentation
IBS Error codes
Product support matrix with other Java based packages
The main differences between IBS and its server based version: ELP
SD cards: Download special configurations
Installation with a cross over cable
Can we install IBS before the roll-out on all machines, and activate it later just on the required devices
Right after starting the IBS installation the device prints "garbage"
PJL File System Operations must be allowed
How fast is a device scan in a network
SAP: Why is my barcode printed as plain readable text
How can I update IBS CC
How can I see the printer configuration (SD / HDD)
I am in the WEB Extension Installer of the printer, but I can't find the directory with the DC# number
What is the difference for using rules between IBS firmware version v9.5 (first released with IBS 1.18) and the earlier ones
What is the distinction for using rules between IBS firmware version v9.5 release 1.18 and the earlier ones
How can I activate with IBS one of the supported emulation
IBS emulates the Prescribe printing language (Kyocera) including barcodes
Known Issues
History of changes
Using IBS and DOSS on the same device
Using IBS and Enhanced Locked Print v2 on the same device
Using IBS and HPTr on the same device
Using Ricoh IPDS Emulation and IBS on the same device
How to embed additional IBS commands, which are not available in the IBS CC user interface
Limitation of the demo / trial version (watermark)
Where to get additional support
Privacy statement regarding the Internet connection of the software

General note: All major steps done with the IBS CC are logged in a file called log_file.txt, which can be displayed in the File menu.


Which devices are supported
You can find a list in the IBS CC software in the Supported Devices table. Please note that this list is only reflecting the latest device additions once you have the latest version of IBS CC installed. You can follow all the times the links from below to get the most recent version of supported devices:

Technical oriented list of all supported Ricoh devices
Technical oriented list of all supported NRG devices
Technical oriented list of all supported Infotec devices
Technical oriented list of all supported Lanier EU devices
Technical oriented list of all supported Lanier US devices
Technical oriented list of all supported Gestetner devices


How can I update the IBS CC

On every start-up, the IBS Control Center checks the internet for an available update. Updates are all the time provided as a full installer. There is no need to uninstall any previous versions of IBS CC before launching the full installer.

This message informs that a newer version of the IBS CC could be installed. This version does have new features and maybe even other enhancements.

 

My Hard disk / SD was defect, what do i need to do to get IBS reinstalled and re-licensed
Here are the needed steps using IBS CC:

 

The IBS installation is in an undefined state

If IBS CC detects an incomplete or fragmented IBS installation on the device this message is thrown:

 

The reason for this can be e.g. if the HDD was replaced or formatted or if not all needed IBS parts were loaded during the install process.

In such cases you will see at least one extended feature module with the name BOCR (Type J) and/or BOCR.gps (Type C) and/or IBS.bootup (Type C) and/or IBS.gps (Type C) in the startup settings of the Web Image Monitor. In certain circumstances (e.g. HDD was formatted) you might see a Type C module with no name and no description which is most likely the fragment of the BOCR.gps (Type C).

 

Launch the Uninstall section of the Extended Feature Settings and locate the BOCR (Type J) and/or BOCR.gps (Type C) and/or IBS.bootup (Type C) and/or IBS.gps (Type C) and make sure you uninstall it.

 

The same is recommended for an Type C Module with no name (if it exists).

 

After the uninstall is complete the device must be rebooted and a new and fresh scan must be performed in IBS CC.

 

Functions like "Import from W-ELP", "Export to W-ELP" and "Enhanced Quicksets behaviour" buttons are missing
The enhanced features are expert features only and not tested and supported by Ricoh. This means that if you need these features please contact only stethos support in case you have troubles. If you need the options just for the moment, you may click on the green stethos symbol top left corner and click on "Enable enhanced features". On the next program start, the features will be hidden again.

If you have an IBS CC Version where this function is turned off (not visible) then you can turn it ON permanently:

 

I am in the WEB Extension Installer of the printer, but I can't find the directory with the DC# number
You do not need to know any longer the DC# of your printer model. IBS Control Center recognizes this as soon as you mark in the device table the proper device for installation.
If you follow the steps in the instructions on the installation screen, then all you need to do is to paste the mod file address into the Browse... window of the WEB installer. Before starting the installation select a device from the table. The file path and name of the hard disk download file is automatically copied to the clipboard.

Note: If you know that your printer is for example a DC57, you may wonder why IBS Control Center might use the DC51 mod file instead. This is correct, as both devices use the same(!) mod files and stethos had made the decision to save your hard drive space.

 

What does IBS version x.yz mean
The IBS main version - v1.yz pre-Java (requires HDD or SD-Card for certain supported devices), v2.yz with Java (JAVA and HDD required), v3.yz Java-less (requires HDD or eMMC) or v4.yz (requires SSD) - number is increased with each new release of IBS. This doesn't mean that the firmware part CONVERT of IBS is also updated. If a device supports v2.yz and v3.yz and a license was already issued for e.g. v2.yz you can remove IBS v2 from the device and install IBS v3 to the device and license with the already issued license. For this process IBS must not be under maintenance. This process is reversible, so a v3 issued license for that particular device can also be used with IBS v2 on the same device (if supported).

The genuine version of the IBS device firmware is listed in the IBS Technical Reference manual table Appendix A.4 column CONVERT or for easiest access also in the IBS Control Center software in the Extras menu option "Supported devices".

Find here a link to the full list of supported devices once you selected your device brand showing also their Min CONVERT version.

SD Card version v9.51 for those devices above are not officially supported by Ricoh however are available in our download area. By default IBS Control Center installs the CONVERT version 8.x on SD card.

Using IBS version 1.19 and up those older devices are also updated to CONVERT version 9.52: Aficio MP C3001, Aficio MP C3501, Aficio MP C4501, Aficio MP C5501, Aficio MP C300, Aficio MP C400, Aficio MP C2051, Aficio MP C2551. Please note that this version is NOT officially supported by Ricoh! Here you should use BOCR Tool version 1.17 or earlier.

How can I find out if a specific device supports IBS
Ricoh Europe and Japan marketing decide which devices are officially supported by IBS. You have these possibilities to check if a device is supported:

  1. Browse to this matrix and seek for your device
  2. Future planned devices are listed here
  3. Ask us via E-Mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or WebChat


Why does IBS not support the customer requested device

The device Pro1375 for example cannot support IBS due to being a non GW controller.

Solutions for PCL5 enabled devices: Either use the server based version of IBS (Windows, Linux, AIX, Solaris etc.) or the external Appliance Box.

Does the update process transfer any internal data outside my environment
No - the updater just compares the version number of the local stored file version.txt with the version.txt file on the internet. If you wish, you can check the update file manually by using your internet browser by clicking here: version.txt

 

What is the difference between BOP and IBS
Please see here: BOP compared to IBS.

 

Migration of IBS licenses to another device
IBS CC offers in the Extras menu the license migration functionality. Please continue to read here.

 

Where to buy and pricing
BOP and IBS are Ricoh products and listed in most countries world-wide on the Ricoh price list. For pricing please ask your Ricoh representative or dealer.
The Ricoh European and American EDP codes for the product are listed here.

 

What is the difference for using rules between IBS firmware version v9.51 (release 1.18) and newer and the earlier ones
This version is the first one, where Ricoh allowed us to test the additional functionality like forms management and printer handling. Unfortunately from the beginning of the product the interface between the Ricoh firmware and IBS had some problems with these additional functions. This is now fixed with IBS firmware V9.5.

The good news for people who never downloaded a configuration file (convert.ini) is, they do not need to care.

For all others, the location of the ini files and macros did change!

  older then v9.5 v9.5 and newer
SD cards root directory (copy manually) Download the convert files using IBS CC*
Hard Disks pcl\ibs directory (using W-ELP) Download the convert files using IBS CC*

* Use the IBS CC Quicksets function to download configuration files to the devices.

 

How can I activate with IBS one of the Emulations (not officially supported)
IBS comes with an Kyocera Prescribe, Proprinter, Epson, Printronix PGL and Printronix VGL and some other smaller emulations.
Most of them can be enabled very easily with the Quicksets option of IBS CC once the enhanced features (limited support only!) are enabled.

Hints:

  1. Please use for the Prescribe emulation a newer device from Ricoh supporting IBS firmware version 9.51 or newer. The Emulation was enhanced significantly!
  2. Before starting the IBS CC installer the first time, please turn on the enhanced features. The switch is a little hidden.
  3. There is a Quicksset where you can direct enable the requested Emulation.
  4. Especially for Prescribe: It is more or less a programming language, in most cases, you need to make fine tunings. Once you captured with IBS the data streams you might use the server based version of IBS called ELP for setting up the correct Prescribe parameters and then download them to the IBS enabled device, maybe by defining a new Quickset in the IBS control center or import it directly out of the locally installed W-ELP installation. If you or your client uses Prescribe macros. Please make sure that they are either sent in the data stream or once sent to the device at the beginning of your tests.
  5. If you need help or if you think there is an in consistency in the emulation please contact support at stethos.com,

However, you may need to change settings, either using the EDIT option or better copy the config to W-ELP and change the settings with the user interface. See Quicksets for further details.

Unsupported devices
If you are not sure if a model is under no circumstances supported, then please ask This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Some devices are not officially supported, however there is a possibility to integrate CUSTOM devices (e.g. DOMESTIC ones) within IBS Control Center. The IBS CC Quick Install Guide describes the procedure in the Appendix.

The list of supported devices can be found here.

Where to get SD cards for supported IBS v1 devices:
In theory you can use any SD card, but some devices can only address 128 MB per SD card and most of the Ricoh device maximal 1 GByte. As listed in the next chapter, stethos offers a special part number, where the license is shipped in a box including a memory reduced SD card. Even if the card sticker displays the real available memory, the card partition is reduces to 128 MB, and it can be used in any Ricoh device. Click here for a description how to downgrade a larger SD card.

We use a Windows freeware tool to reduce the SD partition. If you are interested how, then please write a short e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask for more information.

Ricoh EDP codes and stethos part# for IBS

  Electronic shipment
(magic number MN)
Box shipment
(MN in a box)
Box shipment
(MN plus 128MB SD Card in a box)
Ricoh Europe 965588 981425 981426
Ricoh America 002253MIU-PS1 002253MIU n/a
stethos BOC2    



Maintenance (please note that no maintenance at all is included in the EDP codes from above)

IBS Support for Ricoh Europe EDP Ricoh International EDP Ricoh America EDP stethos part# 
1 Year 991814 981427 S-IBSSUP-1-PS1 BOC-M1
2 Years 991815 981428 S-IBSSUP-2-PS1 BOC-M2
3 Years 991817 981429 S-IBSSUP-3-PS1 BOC-M3
4 Years 991819 981430 S-IBSSUP-4-PS1 BOC-M4
5 Years 991822 981431 S-IBSSUP-5-PS1 BOC-M4



Ricoh IPDS Emulation and IBS

According to the Ricoh written official technical reference manual for IBS, the two solutions can't coexist.

There are some workarounds:


Known Issues

Downloading configuration files (convert.ini) to devices running IBS on SD card is maybe tricky. Please read here for more details.

 

Using IBS and DOSS

DOSS (data Overwrite) and IBS can co-exist on the same device.

 

Using IBS and Enhanced Locked Print v2

It is not possible to use Enhanced Locked Print v2 and BOCR on the same device. It should be possible with v1. Please note that ELP-v2 does not appear in the Startup Setting of the device:

However it's listed in the Uninstall pages and must be removed:

 

Using IBS and HPTr

It is not possible to HPTr and BOCR on the same device. 

 

 

How to embed additional IBS commands, which are not available in the IBS CC user interface

Question: I have just started working with sales of Gestetner machines and was looking for details on the embedded versions of your software on these machines.
Specifically I was searching for the ability to move X,Y access through the embedded software as I have a potential customer who is very interested in these capabilities.
From what I can see this can be done through ELP commands through the forms manager, I am wondering what is done and where. I understand that parts are in software from a controlling computer, and parts are done in the interaction with the Gestetner machine. I am unsure however on what is done and where.

Answer: Well, you are partially right, however it is even better. Please strictly differentiate between ELP and IBS, they are somehow totally independent products. Even at the end, the job processing software of both products is 100% identical in code. Just the ELP for MS Windows is a little more powerful, but ELP for Linux and Unix, Solaris etc. is absolutely the same in functionality as IBS.

We are working today or latest tomorrow on the new IBS CC and add the possibility to import configurations developed under ELP for Windows and send it to the printer. You no longer need the ELP for Windows version anymore. We attempt to maintain the IBS CC as simple as possible.

All you need to do is generate a rule and add the proper ELP_Command into it. For instance:

[Move my Job X to the left and down]
Trigger_Binary=Invoice Number:
ELP_Command=C1PL-100PS200;



Why a new enhanced Installation tool for IBS: The IBS Control Center
See here for a short presentation.

 

SAP: Why is my barcode printed as plain readable text
Question: I installed a new printer and IBS, but the barcodes are printed as readable text.
Answer: This is a common support question and in over 95% is related to the usage of a new SAP DeviceType which even may come with the printing device.
Especially administrators coming from the MS Windows environment are used to installing for each device the correct driver. In SAP in most cases is not recommended, as it is very common to add functionality to the DeviceTypes. For example, if a larger font is required, or if by default the needed barcode size/width/readable text is not available, the SAP forms developer adds new Print-Controls to the used DeviceType.
If a new DeviceType is used, e.g. for Asian characters printing, those needed PrCo are missing, and the SAP printing process cannot select the barcodes. Here is an example of how a typical SAP data stream selecting barcodes may look:

Correct Esc&a338VEsc&a496H
Esc(s4p12v24670T0002362164
Esc(18NEsc(s1p8.00v0b0s4148T
Esc&a338VEsc&a496H Positioning sequence, vertical + horizontal
Esc(s4p12v24670T Barcode selections sequence, here code 3of9. Normally the selection sequences for barcodes are between ....24600T and ...24900T
0002362164 Barcode information
Esc(18NEsc(s1p8.00v0b0s17004T
Esc(0NEsc(s1p8.00v0b0s4148T
Example for an Asian Unicode deselection sequence (Andale)
Example for a West European deselection sequence (Univers)
Missing selection PrCo Esc&a338VEsc&a496H0002362164
Esc(18NEsc(s1p8.00v0b0s4148T


Solutions:

 

Where to get additional support?
The available national and international support addresses are listed in the contact page.
A global explanation of who is supporting what can be found here.


Where do I get the license file for my device? The printer storage was formatted, where do I get the license file?

An existing IBS license is only connected to the device Machine ID. If the device was replaced, then please check here for the possibilities to receive a new free magic number for licensing the new device.

IBS CC stores the released license files in the LicenseFiles sub-folder C:\ProgramData\IBS_CC\LicenseFiles. When selecting a device in the table, the probably existing license file is automatically displayed and, if not available and an internet connection exists, the stethos database is automatically checked for a device Machine ID record.

So you may resend automatically the license by entering your e-mail address and select the device in the IBS CC license menu device table.
Or just manually using this WEB site.

How can I see the printer configuration (SD / HDD)
The printer configuration is shown automatically in the Install view after a device had been selected in the table. The function has first to be turned on in the Settings menu (File -> Settings)
Note the SP 5200 series and others have a problem not showing SD cards, when plugged into the second slot, as the firmware of the device does NOT mount the media to a PJL accessible volume.

IBS Control Center replaced the Ricoh own deployment software BOCR Tool
IBS release 2.18 which is supplied with IBS CC 5.18.16 has officially replaced the Ricoh BOCR Tool. The BOCR Tool is retired since 2019 and no longer supported by Ricoh.

How fast is a device scan?
The IP range scan does scan 50 IP addresses at once with default 1 second delay in between. The default settings can be configured in the Network Setting menu.

E.g. scanning an IP range with 250 devices and using the default network setting of IBS CC will take approximately 15 seconds (with mainly unused IP addresses).

If not all devices were found you might want to increase the SNMP timeout for scans.

 

Questions around the offered maintenance extension

See also: Migration of IBS Licenses to another device and the IBS CC migration functionality.

IBS demo / trial version (watermark)
Once IBS is installed and not licensed on a Ricoh device it runs forever in demo mode. There is no difference regarding the functionality of IBS in between the demo and the full licensed version.
In demo mode (means unlicensed) there is a permanent watermark printed on every page which ends with a form feed when using the PCL5 language.

PCL6 (PCL-XL), RPCS, PDF or PostScript data streams are by default not touched at all (bypass mode). This is why you will not see any demo watermarks using MS Windows drivers (unless you use a PCL5, PCL5e or PCL5c driver).

In order to have the the watermark remove you must license IBS.

Can we install IBS before the roll out on all machines, and activate it later just on the required devices
As explained in the last question, IBS by default prints a watermark. However, there is a configuration way around this, including speeding up the process time in the device. Just download the pre-built Quickset PassThrough to the device.

In order to test if the new "Setting" is working, click on the Test menu and send any test job. Barcodes etc. will not be printed any longer.

In order to activate IBS later you need to:

  1. Remove the configuration, we suggest using the Remove vom Device in the Quickset menu or any other Quickset as only one Quickset can be active at all
  2. You may want to redo the test again by sending a Barcode test file
  3. License the product

Additional Information:


History of changes
See here.

 

I installed IBS on an SD card, IBS CC shows it as installed, but the barcodes in the test prints are NOT printed
Please check if you did insert the SD card into the correct slot. The slot is listed in the device table. Note: We cannot test the functionality here, but we took the slot information from the Ricoh service manual.

 

Which MS Windows platforms are supported
Server OS: 2008R2 SP1 and higher (IE Enhanced Security Configuration must be Off)
Workstation OS: Windows 7 and higher

If run IBS CC on a Server OS you might see this a message during your usage of IBS Control Center saying "The Device you are connecting to is being blocked by Windows IE Enhanced Security Configuration":

The reason is that the Windows Server has the IE Enhanced Security Configuration switched on ON by default. This will also result to the error below when you use Internet Explorer and browse the WIM of the device:

So either add the device in the trusted zone in your Internet Explorer WEB browser or - if you know what you are doing - you can globally switch off this check in the Windows subsystem:




IBS Error Codes

Please see here in the Barcode Technical Reference Manual: Error



Which type of barcodes are supported
IBS does support all major one and two dimensional barcodes. A list of supported barcodes can be found here.

Links to the technical reference manuals:


Installation with a network cross over cable
To use IBS control center offline with a crossover cable directly connected to the printer, the local network interface should be configured to use automatic addresses, even though there is no DHCP server.

If the used PC/Notebook and device are not in the same subnet, a ping doesn't even work, but IBS CC Scan option finds the device using the option "Local network(s)", broadcasting for devices.
However, to connect later for installing IBS will not work, because the 2 devices have different subnet masks.

Setting both devices to auto-configuration address (DHCP), they will be taken from the subnet 169.254.0.0/255.255.0.0. So both interfaces are then in the same subnet and there is no problem using IBS CC with any cross over cable.

To enable the auto-configuration on your PC/Notebook, start the Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center, click on the interface, click Properties, choose Internet Protocol Version 4, Properties and select the options "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically".

Another method is to proved PC and device a fixed IP address on the same sub net address.

DHCP

 

Machine Settings: Change Firmware Structure

Once the installation of IBS is started and the target device prints a lot of garbage instead of just accepting our software silently please check the WIN settings "Change Firmware Structure" which must be set to "Do no Prohibit":

 

PJL File Operations
Newer Ricoh devices do have a security setting which can prohibit any File System Operation on the HDD:

For almost all tasks IBS CC must perform the permission for PJL File System Opertaion must be set to Permit:

If IBS CC recognizes that certain tasks cannot be performed because of not permitted PJL file system operations a warning is dropped and the task is aborted.

Once your are done with your IBS CC configuration/installing tasks it's recommended to revert the PJL permissions to "Do not Permit".


The main differences between IBS and its server based version: ELP
Should you encounter any difficulty with this IBS CC function please do NOT contact Ricoh: Function only supported by stethos!.

The server based version of IBS is called ELP (Enhanced Laser Printing) and does support a huge amount of additional functionality like:
Forms-, Copy-Management, Barcodes, Watermarks, Color management, Signatures, Compression, Tray management, Mailbox / PIN, and everything is based upon the build in: Rule-based Engine.
Here the list of the major differences

To emulate the limitations of the IBS functionality with the server based version ELP software, set ELP into DIMM Mode.

 

IBS emulates the Prescribe printing language (Kyocera) including barcodes
Q: A customer needs barcode printing and wants to replace Kyocera devices. He uses quite a range of barcode types including PDF 417.

A: Kyocera offers two different ways printing barcodes:

1. Adding an optional Jeida Card to the device with the industry standard for barcode printing. This means that the Escape Sequences do end with 24xxxxT. As IBS is also based on that standard, it is compatible.
2. Using the Prescribe Sequences !R! BARC or XBAR. IBS has an Prescribe Emulation build in. But unfortunately due to Ricoh politic of product releases, the functionality depends upon the released version. Generally IBS supports all 1D Barcodes and with XBAR also most 2D Barcodes including PDF417. Newer IBS releases also support the BARC 100 and 101 commands (Data Matrix and QRCode).

In order to test it just use IBS CC and one of the two Kyocera_Prescribe Quicksets.

In most cases you can also take the Kyocera DeviceType and change the Prescribe barcode sequences to the industry standard. Note. If you use a negative sizing in the escape sequence e.g. -12v then IBS will print the barcodes the same way Prescribe does: From baseline down and not up as everyone else.

 

Product support matrix with other Java based packages

The matrix was generated in mid 2012.

Product Matrix

 

Known Error Messages during the installation using BOCR

WIM Error messages, which where brought to our attention:

E0102 - Selected SD Card slot or Hard Disk is not available / installed in the device
E0208 - Authentication Error - sorry no additional description

 

Can I uninstall IBS CC after IBS was installed on the printer/MFD

Yes. IBS Control Center is not required for IBS usage. It just provides a way to deploy and configure the IBS solution on a printer/MFD.

 

Do I need to keep the license file on my PC after licensing

The license file is linked to the Machine ID of the device. There is no need to keep the license file as it will be either downloaded again automatically within IBS CC (working internet connection required) or can be requested via e-mail send through our interactive web pages (first link ... resend an already generated license) who are responsible for the licensing process.

 

What is the WIN credentials storage policy

In order to enhance the user experience IBS CC stores the last used WIM credentials in an encrypted way in the Windows registry. Once a WIM login is needed IBS CC first tries these credentials. If the login is not possible then it will prompt for new credentials and - once they are valid - overwrites the stored one in the registry.

 

Which TCP Port is used for querying the configuration of IBS after a successful installation

IBS CC communicates with IBS for getting version information using the IP Port 10001. If this port is changed then either tick the option Extensive Scan or specify manually the SEPIAPort=##### in the models.ini configuration file of IBS CC. The SEPIAPort can be specified in the [global] and/or the [model...] and/or the [DC...] section. If you specify it in the [DC...] section this has the highest priority vs. the [model...] vs. the [global] section.