Adobe Systems ships Power Macintosh and Windows NT versions of Color Central 2.5 OPI server software

Business Wire, July 5, 1995

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 5, 1995--Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) today announced that the company is now shipping Color Central version 2.5 for the Macintosh and Power Macintosh platforms and the Windows NT operating system.

As a free upgrade to all registered users of Color Central version 2.2, the new software features improved job tracking and management to help high-volume prepress professionals simplify server administration.

Adobe Color Central software is the leading worldwide Open Prepress Interface (OPI) print and image server software for the graphic arts market. With Color Central 2.5, Macintosh users will benefit from enhanced AppleScript support, improved font management, and an updated user interface. Prepress operators using the Windows NT operating system will gain higher server capacity with the ability to manage more printers through an increased number of queues.

"Our goal with Color Central 2.5 is to continue offering high-volume prepress businesses a high-performance solution for image replacement while supporting more efficient production workflows," said Doug Rank, Adobe Prepress Group program manager. "Shaving time from processing print jobs while increasing a system's reliability is mandatory to success in the increasingly competitive world of electronic prepress. Color Central 2.5 delivers these requirements as an easy-to-use, cost-efficient tool in a server environment that rivals more expensive, yet limited systems."

New Features in Color Central 2.5

For the Macintosh and Power Macintosh platforms:

- Improved font management yields quicker print times. Once a job is sent to a print queue, Color Central version 2.5 software reviews the file's font requirements automatically and includes missing fonts from the server's hard disk as necessary. With this feature, Adobe PageMaker 5.0 program users can print files more quickly by turning off the "Include Downloadable Fonts" print option. The fonts are then included by the server instead of moving over the network, acting much like the OPI specification does for high-resolution image replacement.

- Improved AppleScript support lets Macintosh users customize Color Central version 2.5 to fit within their production workflows. Included scripts handle common server tasks such as file management, the downloading of Adobe PostScript language files, and the generation of low-resolution images, or "Samples".

- An improved user interface provides convenient job tracking and administration. A job log can be sorted by any category such as by user name, job name, time, page count, queue or image processing time.

For the Windows NT operating system:

- The ability to manage up to 22 printers through 56 queues with hot folders that will automatically add PostScript language files to a queue.

- Automatic resending of jobs when network errors occur.

- A Sampler option that guarantees compatibility with the Adobe TrapWise software product, thus providing further integration among Adobe prepress products.

For both the Macintosh platform and Windows NT operating system:

- Error files can be automatically deleted, thus enhancing job tracking and management.

- Color Central version 2.5 is compliant with the Adobe OPEN Aware integration specification to fit easily within the Adobe OPEN prepress workflow automation system.

About Color Central Software

Color Central software generates low-resolution "for-placement-only" (FPO) files from high resolution images in common prepress image formats. The FPO files are typically only 5 percent of the size of the original, but appear exactly like the original when viewed on the monitor. When the document is ready to be printed to an output device such as an imagesetter, users print directly to the server, therefore freeing their machines for other work. Color Central software then automatically replaces the low resolution working files with their high resolution counterparts using the Adobe-developed OPI specification. The Color Central program routes the files to the output device.

System Requirements

For the Power Macintosh platform, the recommended system requirement for Color Central version 2.5 is a Power Macintosh or Apple Workgroup Server with 16MB of RAM and a 1GB hard disk.

For 680X0-based machines, the minimum system requirement is a 68030-based Macintosh, 4MB of RAM and a 120MB hard disk. The recommended system requirement is a Macintosh Quadra computer or Apple Workgroup Server with 16MB of RAM and a 1GB hard disk.

For the Windows NT operating system, the recommended configuration is a single or multiprocessor Intel Pentium or DEC Alpha-based system, 64MB of RAM, an EISA or PCI bus, one or more Ethernet or fast Ethernet adapters, and a 2GB or larger hard disk or disk array. The minimum configuration to use the Windows NT version is a 486/25Mhz-based system, 32 MB of RAM, an Ethernet adapter, and a 1GB hard disk.

Pricing and Availability

Color Central version 2.5 for the Macintosh and Power Macintosh and Color Central version 2.5 for Windows NT are now available worldwide from Authorized Adobe Prepress Dealers.