Lexmark's Optra C Color Laser provides unparalleled functionality in price range.GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 1995--Lexmark International Inc. today announced the Optra C, the company's first color laser printer A laser printer that prints in color using four toner cartridges (CMYK) of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The colors are applied one at a time to the drum and are then adhered to the paper. See printer. that sets new standards for value and quality in the color laser market. The newest member of Lexmark's award-winning Optra family of lasers, the Optra C is a desktop size color network laser printer that prints at speeds of 12 pages per minute in black and 3 pages per minute in color. Its output, at 600 x 600 dots per inch and Continuous Tone, provides photographic-quality CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow blacK) The color space used for commercial printing and most color computer printers. In theory, cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY) can print all colors, but inks are not pure and black comes out muddy. color on plain paper with support for the major color management standards. Like the other Optra family members, the Optra C also benefits from Lexmark's industry leading network connectivity and MarkVision network printer management utility software. With an estimated street price of $6,400, the Optra C is among the more affordable color lasers on today's market. Part of the Family The Optra C's similarities to its fellow Optra family members don't end with MarkVision support. The Optra C comes with PostScript Level 2 and enhanced PCL (Printer Command Language) The page description language for HP LaserJet printers. It has become a de facto standard used in many printers and typesetters. PCL Level 5, introduced with the LaserJet III in 1990, also supports Compugraphic's Intellifont scalable fonts. 5 with Color emulations at no extra charge, so it works with virtually any software applications. Also, the Optra C uses the same connectivity options available to the Optra monochrome laser family, which saves money for existing users of Optra printers. Past Optra customers will also recognize the "look and feel" of the Optra C. The operator panel has the same 4-line by 20-character LCD screen and four easy-to-push staggered buttons for simple selection of modes and settings. All of the Optras also use the same hard drive and flash memory options and internal network adapters, making it easy for customers to order and utilize similar features. Photographic Print Quality The Optra C's photographic-quality output follows a long line of print quality industry standards for Lexmark, which also delivered the market's first monochrome lasers boasting true 600 x 600 and 1,200 x 1,200 dpi resolutions. By providing photographic quality on plain paper, the Optra C eliminates the need for users to buy expensive special papers to get outstanding color images and black text on the same document. The Optra C supports three screening techniques for color printing “colour separation” redirects here. For other uses, see colour-separation overlay. Color printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color (as opposed to simpler black and white or monochrome printing). : Continuous Tone (or Contone), Color Grade and Stochastic. Depending on the type of image to be printed, each mode produces superlative quality output. In Contone, the image's tones realistically blend together to show a continuous density range between lighter and darker areas, providing outstanding photographic quality. ColorGrade enables the Optra C to use a unique combination of screen frequency, screen angle and spot function to provide high quality halftone In printing, the simulation of a continuous-tone image (shaded drawing, photograph) with dots. All printing processes, except for Cycolor, print dots. In photographically generated halftones, a camera shoots the image through a halftone screen, creating smaller dots for lighter areas and images. In Stochastic mode, the Optra C uses pseudo random placement of same-size dots to eliminate recurring patterns in images and graphic fills. The Optra C also provides adjustable gloss levels, allowing users to select the image gloss to suit their individual needs. It supports most major color management standards, including ColorSync 2.0, Windows 95 ICM ICM Intercom ICM Integrated Crop Management ICM International Congress of Mathematicians ICM Information Classification and Management ICM Intelligent Contact Management (Cisco) ICM International Creative Management , Agfa PhotoTune and key DOS application support, as well as PANTONE CALIBRATION for solid color an even color; one not shaded or variegated. See also: Solid simulations. Fast Processing & Printing The Optra C's fast print speeds of 12 ppm in black and 3 ppm in color eliminates the need for a dedicated color printer A printer that prints in color using three (CMY) or four (CMYK) colors of ink, toner or dye. Four color ribbons have been used in dot matrix printers, but these are rare today. See color laser printer and printer. in a workgroup environment, since many typical business color applications will print quickly and won't monopolize mo·nop·o·lize tr.v. mo·nop·o·lized, mo·nop·o·liz·ing, mo·nop·o·liz·es 1. To acquire or maintain a monopoly of. 2. To dominate by excluding others: monopolized the conversation. the printer and black-only print jobs will print up to 12 ppm. The Optra C combines fast processing with advanced data compression data compression Process of reducing the amount of data needed for storage or transmission of a given piece of information (text, graphics, video, sound, etc.), typically by use of encoding techniques. and high-speed drivers and data transfer to provide optimized performance. Its standard 8 MB of memory, combined with Lexmark's RAMSmart advanced memory compression Encoding the contents of memory to take up less space. Similar to data compression, memory compression works with the live contents of memory as it executes instructions and processes data. It works at the lowest levels of the system. , can print most jobs from the common color business applications, but the memory is expandable up to 64 MB to optimize performance for the most complex image applications. Network Connectivity The Optra C takes advantage of Lexmark's heritage of providing the broadest network connectivity in the printer industry. Like its Optra counterparts, the Optra C has two internal network adapter (INA Ina (ē`nä), city (1990 pop. 60,062), Nagano prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on the Tenryu River. It is an agricultural and industrial center with a famous agricultural school. ) slots to receive MarkNet XL INA cards from connection to a wide variety of network operating systems. Lexmark's highly acclaimed MarkVision network printer management utility software, which provides easy installation and management of network printing, is a standard feature of the Optra C and Lexmark's other network printers. Now users in Windows 3.1x
Windows 3.1x is a graphical user interface and a part of the Microsoft Windows software family. and Macintosh environments, including those operating on Novell networks, can manage their Lexmark printers through MarkVision. The Optra C is compatible with major operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. and environments including Windows 3.1x, Windows NT, OS/2, DOS, Macintosh, UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). and AS/400. The Optra C is also Windows 95 Plug and Play compatible. Unlike some color lasers whose toner replacement is messy and difficult, the Optra C's easy-to-install toner cartridges are simple to access and replace. The Optra C also has automatic monitoring and calibration to ensure its outstanding print quality during temperature and humidity fluctuations. It complies fully with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Printers program. The Optra C includes a one-year onsite warranty and is available from Lexmark's distributors and dealers. Lexmark International is an independent worldwide company that develops, manufactures and markets network and personal printers, typewriters, information processing supplies and keyboards. For more information about Lexmark network printer products, call 1-800-891-0331. Internet users can find press releases and product information on the Lexmark home page at http://www.lexmark.com. -0- Note to Editors: Lexmark, MarkNet, MarkVision and RAMSmart are trademarks of Lexmark International Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. CONTACT: Lexmark International Inc. Ken Bissell, 606/232-3035 bissell@lexmark.com or Network Associates Cheryl Snapp, 801/373-7888 70754.2611@compuserve.com |
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