Lexmark announces MarkVision enhancements and support for new Optra Color printers.

LEXINGTON, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 15, 1998--

--Family focus for color business printers gives printer

administrators complete control through a common interface--

Lexmark International, Inc. today announced enhancements to its powerful printer management software to support OS/2 Warp, UNIX, Mac-OS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT and Windows 3.x environments. MarkVision, the powerful printer management application, supports the new Optra Color family of printers announced today and is enhanced to make administration of network printers simple and easy.

"Color business printing is easier than ever with MarkVision's powerful management features," said Glenn Hudson, vice president for attachment products at Lexmark. "Lexmark customers now have more color printer choices and MarkVision makes it simple and cost-effective to print on a network."

MarkVision allows organizations to easily set up, maintain and manage printers, ultimately reducing help desk costs and increasing productivity for printer and network administrators. The benefits and features of MarkVision include real-time remote printer access, an alert-driven architecture (no constant polling across the network), a common graphical user interface and management reporting features.

New features in MarkVision

Recent MarkVision function enhancements for OS/2 Warp, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT and Windows 3.x include:

-- Color toner and ink gauges for all Optra Color family members,

including inkjet cartridge identification for printers with

six-color cartridges installed -- New Web links for direct supplies ordering, firmware or driver

access and technical support -- Job statistics now include reporting of multi-up printing,

tallies of fax-receive jobs through a serial port and copy jobs

originating with OptraImage (a recently announced Lexmark product

that turns a printer into a convenience copier, using a scanner,

to make either black and white or color copies); managers can

assess and monitor color printer use by individual workstations;

managers can also see who is utilizing money-saving multi-up

printing and how often that technology is employed; managers can

calculate how copier and fax volumes are moving to network

printers after implementing new Lexmark hardware and software -- Property tag column for quick identification of a specific

printer -- Photographic renditions of printers to display the precise

configuration and condition of the printer

-- Communication configuration for serial ports to utilize the new

fax-receive capability of Optra S and Optra Color printers;

configuration of the printer or the MarkNet Pro 3 family of

external print servers to communicate with the fax/modem, set the

fax ID number and set the fax initialization string 

-- Reporting of optional emulators installed in many printers,

including Lexmark's SIMM for IPDS and the new ImageQuick TIFF

SIMM, in addition to most third-party SIMM solutions; Network

administrators can now determine which optional firmware SIMM, if

any, is installed in the printer -- Flash memory defragmentation can now be done in many Lexmark

printers to save network resources

Recent MarkVision enhancements for Windows 95 and Windows NT also include:

-- Flash memory downloads can now be broadcast to multiple printers

simultaneously across the network, saving set up time and

assuring common configurations across all printers

-- Enhanced search capabilities including string searches from any

column of the main view screen

-- An operator panel locking feature allowing only the job in

progress to be purged by a user

-- Automatic updates of font information in the PCL driver when

fonts are downloaded to a printer through MarkVision to maintain

system and driver integrity and reduce manual administrator

interventions

Network management console integration

Network administrators choosing to manage network resources through a single management console will find that MarkVision makes printer management delightfully simple by integrating into their favorite tool. Recent announcements include the following new environments:

-- MarkVision for Windows NT 4.0 now integrates into HP OpenView

Network Node Manager for Windows NT and CA Unicenter TNG for

Windows NT -- Integration of Lexmark alert technology into the Tivoli Event

Console (TEC) of Tivoli's TME 10 in Windows NT 4.0 environments

-- MarkVision for Windows 95 now integrates into Novell ManageWise

for Windows 95

Integration of MarkVision into popular network management platforms provides network administrators an easy, intuitive way to manage printers. Opportunities to prevent problems can be identified early when printers are included in the diverse mix of network components and services viewed through the management interface.

Previously announced MarkVision products with management console integration included:

-- Integration into Tivoli's TME 10 NetFinity 4.0 and IBM SystemView

for OS/2

-- MarkVision for Windows 3.x integration for Novell's ManageWise

for Windows and HP OpenView Network Node Manager for Windows

-- MarkVision for Windows 95 integration for Novell NWAdmin

-- MarkVision for Windows NT integration for Novell NWAdmin

-- MarkVision for UNIX integration for Tivoli's TME 10 NetView/6000

and SystemView for AIX, HP OpenView Network Node Manager

MarkVision history

Lexmark's MarkVision printer management software offers the broadest network and workstation support in the industry. Lexmark supports more operating systems and more release versions of those operating systems than the leading competitor. MarkVision has advanced printer management features for some environments that can't be found in major competitive offerings, such as job statistics, inventory management, font and forms management and real-time remote operator panel.

Originally released in 1994, MarkVision was the first network printer management software with an intuitive graphical user interface, and continues to be the only management tool that minimizes network traffic by not continually polling the printers for status updates. In 1997, MarkVision for the Intranet was the first browser-based management tool to incorporate the use of Java technology for real time status updates. MarkVision supports all major network operating systems and environments, including UNIX and Windows NT Intranet Web Servers, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 3.1, various popular UNIX operating systems, including Sun Solaris, IBM OS/2 Warp Server, Apple Mac OS, Novell Netware, Microsoft LAN Manager and TCP/IP.

Pricing and Availability

MarkVision for OS/2 Warp, Windows 95, Windows NT and Windows 3.x is available today free-of-charge on CDs shipped with Lexmark printers and the MarkNet Pro family of external print servers. MarkVision can be downloaded from the website at www.lexmark.com or from the Lexmark bulletin board service 606/232-5238 or CompuServe (Go Lexmark).

Lexmark International, Inc. is a global developer, manufacturer and supplier of printer solutions and products, including laser, inkjet and dot matrix printers and associated consumable supplies for the office and home markets. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lexmark International Group, Inc. (NYSE: LXK). Lexmark, which had sales of $2.5 billion in 1997, has executive offices and a manufacturing center in Lexington, Ky.; other manufacturing centers are in Boulder, Colo.; Juarez, Mexico; Rosyth, Scotland; Orleans, France; and Sydney, Australia. For more information on Lexmark products, including easy-to-use instructions on choosing the right printer, visit the Lexmark home page at www.lexmark.com on the Internet. Customers may also call 1-800-LEXMARK (1-800-539-6275), use the Lexmark bulletin board service at 606/232-5238 or the CompuServe forum "Go Lexmark."

MarkVision, Optra and MarkNet are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc. registered in the United States and/or other countries. Lexmark is a trademark of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Lexmark International, Lexmark

Catherine Stewart, 606/232-7541

[e-mail]

URL: http://www.lexmark.com