Anacomp to deliver first ideograph-capable COM recorder for AFP architecture; general availability expected early next year.ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 1995--Anacomp Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) An audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 standards. AAC, especially MPEG-4 AAC, provides greater compression and better sound quality than MP3, which also came out of the MPEG standard. ) Monday announced that it expects to deliver the first Computer Output to Microfilm (COM (1) (Computer Output Microfilm) Creating microfilm or microfiche from the computer. A COM machine receives print-image output from the computer either online or via tape or disk and creates a film image of each page. ) recorder capable of processing Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese and other ideographic id·e·o·graph n. See ideogram. id  e·o·graph ic adj. languages utilizing the popular IBM Advanced Function Presentation (printer, language) Advanced Function Presentation - (AFP) A page description language from IBM introduced in 1984 initially as Advanced Function Printing. AFP was first developed for mainframes and then brought to minicomputers and workstations. (AFP (1) (AppleTalk Filing Protocol) The file sharing protocol used in an AppleTalk network. In order for non-Apple networks to access data in an AppleShare server, their protocols must translate into the AFP language. See file sharing protocol. ) architecture. Called DragonCOM, the new configuration of Anacomp's flagship XFP 2000 COM recorder is expected to be generally available in both online and offline versions by the first quarter of 1996. Field test release to a limited number of sites is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. DragonCOM is being developed as an extension of an existing codevelopment relationship between Anacomp and the IBM Printing Systems Co. AFP is the base for IBM's national language support for print in the Pacific Rim. The storage of business-critical information on microfilm and microfiche is widely employed by financial, banking, insurance, legal, health-care, retail and manufacturing organizations worldwide, and virtually all of the Fortune 500 list of U.S. companies. ``Ideographic languages such as Japanese and Chinese offer unique challenges for the information systems industry, including providers of micrographics The production, handling and use of microfilm and microfiche. Images are created by cameras or by COM units that accept computer output directly. The documents are magnified for human viewing by readers, some of which can automatically locate a page using indexing techniques. systems,'' said Michael H. Riley, senior vice president, product marketing and development, Anacomp. ``DragonCOM represents Anacomp's continuing efforts to meet the Pacific Rim's surging demand for leading-edge systems.'' DragonCOM will process Double Byte Character Sets (DBCS (Double Byte Character Set) A character code that uses one or two bytes to represent one character. It was developed for the Japanese, Chinese and Korean languages. See Unicode. (character) DBCS - (IBM) double-byte character set. ) to record the ideographic characters found in Asian languages. In its standard configuration, the XFP 2000 requires only one byte to address a character, a process sufficient for the relatively limited number of alphabetic and numeric characters used in the languages of Europe  It has been suggested that List of languages in Europe, Alphabetic list of living languages in Europe and the Americas. In contrast, two bytes are required to uniquely address any of the thousands of characters present in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and similar written languages. Designed for both online and offline environments, DragonCOM will process print data streams generated on computers running IBM's Print Services Facility (printer) Print Services Facility - (PSF) IBM's system software which generates native IBM printer language, IPDS and, depending on the version, PostScript and LaserJet PCL. See also: Advanced Function Presentation. (PSF) software for their MVS or AIX operating systems. Support is provided for any MO:DCA data stream, including line data with a PAGEDEF and mixed mode data (data containing both line data and AFP data). Introduced in 1990, the XFP 2000 COM System is one of the most widely used COM recorders in the industry, supporting the micrographics needs of financial, banking, insurance, legal, health-care, retail and manufacturing organizations worldwide. Faster, more flexible and graphically superior in its imaging capabilities to other systems, it was the first COM recorder to allow micrographic mi·cro·graph n. 1. A drawing or photographic reproduction of an object as viewed through a microscope. 2. An instrument used to make tiny writing or engraving. reproduction of logos, signatures and other customized data. DragonCOM will be available both as an upgrade to installed XFP 2000 systems and on new systems. Eastman Kodak, Anacomp's master distributor for the XFP 2000 and related products in Asia, except in Japan, was instrumental in defining the need and product capabilities for DragonCOM. Under the direction of Richard P. Aschman, Kodak's vice president, Asia Pacific Region, Kodak is expected to serve as distributor in the region for DragonCOM. Pricing and additional information regarding DragonCOM will be made available later this year. Anacomp, one of the world's leading providers of information management systems, supplies and services, has 15,000 clients in banking, insurance, manufacturing, health-care, retailing and other information-intensive organizations, and employs 4,100 people worldwide. -0- NOTE TO EDITORS: XFP 2000 and Anacomp are registered trademarks of Anacomp Inc. IBM and AIX are registered trademarks and AFP and Advanced Function Presentation are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Kris Wm. Chvatal, 619/633-2230 Wendy McPetrie, 619/679-9797 |
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