For Immediate Release
GrayMatter Software Introduces New Generation of
Print Management Software for Enterprise Printing
ScriptServer PAN Printing Software Being Released in October
Seattle, (September 24, 2001) - GrayMatter Software Corporation, producers of printing software for large-scale environments for over twelve years, today announced ScriptServer Print Area Network, the next generation of print management software for heterogeneous networks.
Based on a three-tiered architecture, ScriptServer PAN provides a scalable printing environment for UNIX- and Windows-based networks in organizations of any size. Providing cross-platform support for virtually all PCL and PostScript language printers, ScriptServer PAN includes a browser-based user interface for centralized management. All features in the product can be accessed through a version 4 or later web browser on any platform supporting browsers, or through a command line interface in both Windows NT/2000 and UNIX.
"By and large, printing software in the industry is platform- or printer-centric," said GrayMatter Software president and founder Timothy Brunson, "ScriptServer PAN is designed with system administrators in mind, without sacrificing any functionality for end-users. By combining a universal printer driver model with centralized network queues, this product delivers mainframe-class printing capabilities in a distributed environment, accessible by the definitive universal client, the web browser."
Automated, Device-Independent Control
Users can access multiple printer features through the selection of a single PAN "form",
which are administrator-defined packages of printing resources. A single form can
simultaneously generate an electronic form, invoke features such as stapling and
duplexing, or setting printer resolution in any combination. Through its late-binding feature,
the actual resources sent to the printer can be determined when the job is despooled,
rather than when the print request is made by the end-user. This powerful capability allows
different print-control commands to be sent to the printer that accomplish the same end
result, such as when a specific media type is loaded in different input trays.
Unprecedented Flexibility in Queue Management
Each printer in ScriptServer PAN is served by a single network-wide queue, eliminating
host contention for network printers and simplifying management. Traditional enterprise
printing environments may have as many queues as one per host and desktop computer,
all competing for the same printing resources on an ad hoc basis. When a particular host
wants to print, it attempts to connect. If unsuccessful, it simply waits for some period of time
and retries the connection. There is no coordinated effort to arbitrate between printing
requests network-wide on a true first-in-first-out basis, much less to provide priority
scheduling between print requests.
A load balancing feature reduces hardware costs by allowing printers to be grouped into "print areas". This feature also allows printers to be grouped geographically, so that end-users can choose to work with the subset of printers in the PAN network that are physically nearby.
For the system administrator, print queue creation and maintenance is a one-step process. Once a queue has been created or modified, those changes are immediately visible to all users of the system. In addition, all printer activities are logged by end user, department, printer, and page count for resource management and chargeback purposes.
Exceptional Printing Capabilities for End Users
With a complete set of tools for printing both preformatted files and flat text files,
ScriptServer PAN affords end users extraordinary control, including text layout, n-up
printing, electronic "soft forms", and flag pages. Whether the job is submitted through the
web browser interface, command line interface, or the interface accessed through an
application's print menu.
By centralizing queues, print job visibility improves significantly, allowing the PAN system to predict completion times for print jobs based on printer throughput history. The system also includes a dynamic, real-time display capability for viewing the current status of print queues and the jobs in them.
To provide support for the widest spectrum of clients, ScriptServer PAN includes an LPD Gateway, allowing print job entry into the system from any network computer that provides LPR/LPD printing, such as Macintosh running Mac OS 8 or later.
Pricing and Availability
ScriptServer PAN server software for Linux will be available in October 2001, including a
free Windows client supporting Windows NT 4, Windows 98, and Windows 2000. Support
for running the server software on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Compaq Tru64, AIX,
HP-UX, and various other implementations of UNIX is expected to be available in the first
quarter of 2002.
Entry level pricing for ScriptServer PAN network licenses is US $1,295. Client software licenses are free of charge.
About GrayMatter Software Corporation
Founded in 1985, GrayMatter Software has been providing print management software for large environments to organizations around the world since 1988. The privately held company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and its web site is located at www.graysoft.com.
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The GrayMatter logo, GrayMatter Software, ScriptServer, Print Area Network and ScriptServer PAN are trademarks or registered trademarks of GrayMatter Software Corporation. PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc., and is registered in the USA and other countries. PCL is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard which is registered in the USA and other countries. Microsoft and Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the USA and other countries. Macintosh and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., which is registered in the USA and other countries.