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Novell Distributed Print Services Increases Business Efficiency for Customers of All Sizes New Architecture from Novell, HP and Xerox Offers Breakthrough Network Printing Capabilities for Administrators, Users and Developers PROVO, Utah -- September 22, 1997 -- Novell, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Xerox Corp. today announced availability of Novell Distributed Print Services™ (NDPS™), an advanced printing architecture co-developed by the three print technology leaders that eliminates a majority of costs associated with network printing. NDPS takes advantage of built-in printer intelligence to reduce the time and cost of managing printing resources, improve overall network performance and give users easy and intuitive control of printers distributed across business networks and intranets of all sizes. NDPS draws upon existing IntranetWare™ components to provide an advanced printing environment for a wide spectrum of users. Enabled by the industry's most robust directory technology, Novell Directory Services™ (NDS™), NDPS lowers the overall cost of network ownership by providing customers with a centralized management and security mechanism for control of distributed printing resources. NDPS is also integrated with IntranetWare administration utilities, enabling comprehensive management and control for multiple vendors' printers. "NDPS represents the cutting edge in network printing functionality," said Coleman Barney vice president of marketing for the Platform Services Group at Novell. "With this technology, all business environments, from small workgroups to enterprise operations, realize significant cost savings through ease-of-use and greater control of network printing devices. As the leading provider of networking software, Novell is pleased to partner with HP and Xerox, the leading providers of printing hardware, to ensure our customers have simple, intelligent printing solutions." "Novell approached HP with an opportunity to co-develop NDPS because we have a thorough understanding of users' network printing needs," said David Harris, general manager for HP's Network Peripheral Solutions Division. "We were pleased to bring our breadth of industry experience to the table." "NDPS is the first fully distributed print service for networks," according to Jeffrey Sisson, vice president and general manager of the Networked Products Business Unit at Xerox. "It simplifies and streamlines the administration of network printing, enables third parties to develop value added services and gives network users greater control over printing. NDPS is a critical part of our growing print services portfolio as NDPS means smart printing, higher productivity and reduced costs in the workplace." Easy Administration of Printing Resources NDPS eliminates significant administrative costs by simplifying and streamlining management of printing resources. Leveraging IntranetWare's single network view, NDPS enables network administrators to use Novell's NWAdmin™ utility to create, configure and automatically install printers from a single workstation. In addition, improved monitoring and control of network printers and individual jobs is a key to reducing users' printing problems and related support visits. Used in conjunction with the HP printer gateway, NDPS allows customers to plug a printer into the network and immediately employ the new device with no additional configuration. In addition, this gateway enables more than a 10 percent increase in network bandwidth by reducing network printer SAP traffic. Customers with Xerox printers and the Xerox gateway also enjoy simplified administration through the Xerox Setup Wizard. Users Gain Power Over Network Printing NDPS improves personal and group productivity by giving network users greater control over printing. Advanced capabilities, such as bi-directional feedback, provide users with real-time information about printer status, configuration properties and various features. For example, if a standard printer is busy or disabled, a print job "move-and-copy" function lets users transfer or replicate jobs to a different printer location. In addition, users can quickly access information about various devices on the network to select the optimal printer for customized jobs. And automatic driver downloading and installation lets users print without worrying about the print driver installed on their workstation. "NDPS represents a major victory for Novell," said Art Lamb, owner of DataCom. "It is the only printing solution available that provides centralized control of printing resources and management tools, saving valuable time for administrators. In addition, the new technology notifies administrators of printer problems before they affect users, ensuring uptime of devices during critical business activities." New Architecture Offers Robust Development Environment With NDPS, Novell is providing a robust development environment for ISVs and OEMs to add value to their network printing devices or software. The new architecture offers a single API for quick and easy development of advanced, customized applications for over 60 million Novell customers. NDPS is portable, protocol- and platform-independent, enabling developers to create new printing solutions without developing proprietary network print management software. NDPS is an open development platform, based on the International Standards Organization 10175 Document Printing Application specification and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Standard Printer Management Information Base (MIB). NDPS Provides Full, Backward Compatibility As part of its commitment to heterogeneous customer networks and preserving customer investments, Novell ensures NDPS customers of cross-platform support and backward compatibility. HP and Xerox are now shipping gateway solutions to enable their existing printers to take full advantage of NDPS' advanced features. NDPS is fully compatible with all types of printers, whether or not they have been configured to utilize the new capabilities. However, only printers with an NDPS-aware gateway yield the full benefits of bi-directional feedback, increased network performance and NDPS-specific functionality. NDPS can also be configured to work with NPRINTER and queue-based technology in conjunction with NetWare 4.11 and Intra netware. Clients in mixed environments that are not NDPS-aware, but use queue-based print service, can also print to NDPS printers without losing any current functionality. Pricing and Availability NDPS is available immediately for NetWare 4.1 and IntranetWare environments. The product is sold on CD-ROM for $49.95 per copy. CDS can be obtained by calling 1-800 395-7135, faxing requests to (800) 513-2800 or e-mailing requests to novellcs@kaoinfo.com. International customers should direct requests to (510) 463-7391 or fax requests to (510) 657-1473. Customers with questions about NDPS should call an authorized Novell reseller or dial 1-800 NETWARE. Founded in 1983, Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) is the world's leading provider of network software. The company offers a wide range of network solutions for distributed network, Internet, intranet and small- business markets. Novell education and technical support programs are the most comprehensive in the network computing industry. Information about Novell's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com. Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 114,600 employees and had revenue of $38.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com. Xerox is a global enterprise serving the worldwide document market. The company's document processing business develops, manufactures, markets, services and finances a complete range of products and services deigned to make offices around the world more productive. Xerox offers a broad array of color and black- and-white laser printers, including the growing DocuPrint line of products designed for networked offices and sold through indirect channels such as value-added resellers and dealers. Novell is a registered trademark and Intra netware, NDS, NDPS, Novell Directory Services, Novell Distributed Print Services and NWAdmin are trademarks of Novell, Inc. All other registered trademarks and trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Hewlett-Packard and HP are trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company. Xerox is a trademark of Xerox Corporation.
Media Contacts:
Nan Stillinger (for Novell) |
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