IDEA Announces the IDEA Print Server

IDEA PRINT SERVER PROVIDES IBM MIDRANGE IPDS AND SCS PRINTING ON NETWORKED
PRINTERS

BEDFORD, MASS., April 15th, 1996 -- IDEA's PC Communications Division, a
leading provider of data access solutions, today announced IDEA Print
Server, a Windows-based software solution that allows IBM midrange users
to perform host printing functions using existing local area network (LAN)
printers. IDEA Print Server enables high-end SNA printing capabilities,
including SNA Character String (SCS) or Advanced Function
Printing/Intelligent Printer Data Stream (AFP/IPDS) to be printed on up to
seven LAN printers at a fraction of the cost typically required to perform
this task.

"Traditionally, allowing high-level host printing on networked printers has
been very costly for organizations and has involved the addition of host
printers or protocol converters," said Bob Janiak, IDEA's product manager.
"We are committed to offering organizations an easy-to-use cost-effective
solution that offers users a high-end, stable printing platform without
changing their network or host operating system."

Most IBM midrange sites, coexisting with LANs, have printers dedicated to
each environment, a source of unnecessary expense. Most of the host
printers are centralized near the host and far away from the end users.
Functional upgrades to host printers, such as adding IPDS are expensive.

IDEA Print Server eliminates the duplication of printer resources by
allowing up to seven LAN and/or direct-attached PC printers to be used for
host printing, resulting in significant cost savings. By using LAN
printers, IDEA Print Server is a software solution that enables host
printing near the end users, eliminating the inconvenience of centralized
printing and enhancing productivity. Software options are available for
functional upgrades that provide investment protection, including IPDS
printing and capacity enhancements that increase the number of host
sessions from four to seven.

IDEA Print Server is Windows-based and connects to IBM AS/400, System/36 or
Advanced 36 hosts via twinax, or to AS/400s via Token Ring or Ethernet.
The product then connects to the LAN or direct-attached PC printers using
any Windows-supported protocol or topology, and can be used in standard
LAN environments without network modifications. When IDEA Print Server is
connected to an IBM midrange host via twinax, it enables both SCS and IPDS
printing. When connected to AS/400s via the Token Ring or Ethernet board
in the AS/400, it enables SCS printing for up to seven hosts
concurrently.

For example, IDEA Print Server can be installed in an envrionment with an
AS/400 and a Novell LAN to allow the configuration of up to seven
networked printers as host printers, using the Novell IPX protocol. In the
same respect, in a Windows NT or Windows for Workgroups environment, IDEA
Print Server could use that native network protocol, NETBUI, to print host
data. Other network protocols, supported by Windows 3.X or Windows 95
include IP, IPX, NETBUI, and Vines, and can be used by IDEA Print Server
to print host data using LAN printers.

When IDEA Print Server runs on Windows 3.X or aWindows95-based PC, it
becomes a host printing resource that is available to any terminal or
terminal emulation software, regardless of what emulation or PC operating
system may be running on that PC, or how the user is connected to the
host. This offloads any host printing that the user may have been running
on individual PC's, adding capabilities such as IPDS.

Pricing and Availability

IDEA Print Server is available immediately and is priced from $395 to
$6,995. Pricing outside the U.S. is determined on a country by country
basis by IDEA's worldwide network of subsidiaries and distributors.

IDEA for Information Access

IDEA designs, manufactures and markets client/server, information access
solutions that enable end-users to easily access data located on multiple
hosts and servers within a corporate Intranet. With an installed base of
more than 1,000,000 users worldwide, customers include all sizes of
industrial and manufacturing companies, entertainment and service
companies, financial and academic institutions, and federal and state
agencies.
 
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