Image Is Everything - Industry Trend or Event

Computer Technology Review,  June, 2001  by Joshua Piven

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

The imaging market has always had an image problem: document management just isn't sexy. While advances in imaging technology--particularly forms submission and processing via the Web--have brought scores of new companies into the market, the once-vaunted paperless office remains a mirage. Even with nearly-free scanners, digital cameras, and expanding digital storage choices, the vast majority of us still write checks, receive bills through the mail, and waste reams of paper.

Of course, this isn't to imply that there aren't exciting technologies at work in document management; only that they are not necessarily apparent to consumers--many are used in the legal and insurance industries, traditionally the biggest consumers of paper. At this year's AIIM show in New York's Javits Center, both the old guard and the upstarts were in evidence, pushing paper press kits (!) at journalists and expounding on the wonders of everything from Internet printing to high-flow document scanners. What follows is a selection of interesting technology demonstrations and announcements from the show.

Xerox Corp., once the 800-pound gorilla in the document imaging market, has seen its earnings and share price plummet in recent quarters, and rumors of bankruptcy and asset sales have swirled around the company since late last year. In fact, while the company is trying desperately to distance itself from its "just copiers" reputation, Xerox has always been at the forefront of imaging technology; it's just that now, there are lots of other players on the field.

The company is now focusing on secure, wireless access to behind-the-firewall corporate documents, and in this vein has partnered with GoAmerica, the nationwide wireless carrier, to offer an enhanced version of Xerox's MobileDoc. MobileDoc 2.0 with GoAmerica service enables remote workers to connect to a corporate network via a PDA or mobile phone, access documents on the network, and email or fax them to a recipient. Storage on the wireless device is not necessary, but the device must support HTML 3.2 and WML 1.1. Servers must have Xerox DocuShare and Microsoft's NTFS. Prices for MobileDoc start at $12,000 plus $995 (support) for a 50 user license. Visit www. xerox.com for more information.

Several companies at AIIM were demonstrating products based on the Internet Print Protocol (IPP). IPP is an TETF standard that was created by the Printer Working Group, a consortium of printer makers including HP, IBM, and Xerox. IPP is generally implemented on newer, networked printers, giving them a Universal Resource Identifier (URI), an IP address, and the ability to print jobs that users send over the Internet.

PrinterOn Corp. has added a new wrinkle to this technology: it adds a software layer to eliminate potential problems associated with IPP, including proprietary and incompatible drivers, changing printer addresses, and changes in installed page sizes. PrinterOn has created a universal print driver for Windows, called PrintWhere, which allows users to print to any Internet-enabled printer without knowing the details of the printer driver's requirements. It also adds the printer to a global Internet directory of IPP-enabled printers, allowing users to easily find the printer using a Web search. PrinterOn has also created software- called PrintEnvoy-for remote, wireless printing of files located on a PDA. The company has also developed software that IPP-enables legacy printers, allowing older devices to receive print jobs over the Internet. Visit for more information.

Even as DYD-RAM drives continue to price themselves out of the consumer PC market, they seem to be finding a home in near-line storage devices. PowerFile Corp. has introduced the PowerFile Solo Writer, a $3,000 jukebox that reads/writes DVD-RAM discs, and reads CD-R, DVD-ROM, and DVD-R (Authoring). The systems holds 200 discs with up to a terabyte of storage capacity, and supports Windows or Mac and a IEEE-1394 (FireWire) interface. Visit www.dvdjukebox.com for more information.

Panasonic Document Imaging Company (a division of Matsushita) was also showing its newest DVD-RAM offering, the easy-to-remember LF-D201U. The drive reads and writes single-sided 4.7GB DVD-RAM discs, as well as double-sided 9.4GB cartridgebased media. (Note that the drive will read only Panasonicbranded DVD-RAM discs.) The unit also reads standard DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-V, and CD media types. The unit is scheduled to be available in July for $549 (MSRP). The company also rolled out its new portable CD-RW drive, dubbed the KXL-RW21A. The drive offers 6x write/4x rewrite/6x read times and a 2MB buffer. The unit offers a USB interface and is a slim 5.43 x 6.93 x .83 inches (wdh).

It runs under Windows 98/Me/ 2000 and is priced at $449 (MSRP).

Unfortunately for Panasonic, the company may be bailing water on a quickly-sinking ship. While DVD-RAM for proprietary storage jukeboxes may be a viable prospect, the technology is losing ground in the optical standards race. The optical industry appears to be moving away from DVD-RAM as a universally accepted format for high capacity rewritable media. The DVD+RW standard is now supported by virtually all the other major optical players, including Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi, Philips, Ricoh, Sony, and Yamaha. While DVD-RAM offers larger capacities (using based, double sided media), the format has been hampered by a lack of read compatibility with early DVD-ROM; DVD+RW drives read all CD/DVD media (except DVD-RAM). DVD+RW also does not use cartridge media, an advantage for most consumers, who have no experience with such media types.