Konica Minolta Signs Up for JScribe, Unveils New Printers and Software

Published: March 7, 2006

by Alex Woodie

It was a busy week for Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., the New Jersey-based subsidiary of the Japanese office printer giant, which last week unveiled two new multi-function printers (MFPs), three new software solutions, and announced that it's working with IBM to incorporate into its hardware and software a new print monitoring technology from IBM called JScribe.

JScribe was developed by IBM to be a cross-platform, object-oriented scripting system based on JavaScript for providing greater intelligence about the usage of print output devices. Konica Minolta plans to incorporate JScribe support into its MFPs to boost printer monitoring and cut costs, as well as to provide new security capabilities.

Konica Minolta says it will deliver four business output optimization (BOO) applications based on JScribe technology. In terms of security--which arguably is the most exciting component of JScribe--the companies will introduce several new elements to output environments, including SSL encryption between all steps of the printing process (from the client to the server to the printer), new forms of user authentication before a page can be printed, encrypting data stored on MFPs, and ensuring that temporary jobs are deleted from storage.

There will also be a new development environment for output management applications called JScribe Enterprise Edition. Konica Minolta says this solution will provide form design and form management components, an array of real-time testing tools (including script editing and debugging), and integration with third-party or custom-designed applications through plug-ins.

Finding out how the money is spent is the job of the JScribe Intelligence Server Solution, which will provide monitoring of printers and users' print jobs, and will run on Windows-and Linux-based IBM xSeries servers, and work with those operating systems' printing frameworks. Konica Minolta will offer a similar capability as an outsourced service with Business Output Cost Analysis, the final deliverable in Konica Minolta's JScribe platform.

New Print Utilities

Konica Minolta also unveiled several new products for iSeries and mainframe printing environments last week, including M.I.S. Print, IPDSPrint, and QDirect.

M.I.S. Print and IPDSPrint convert LCDS and IPDS print streams originating from OS/400 and mainframe servers to PostScript, which enables the printing jobs to be printed on any PostScript printer, such as Konica Minolta's bizhub and bizhub PRO series of MFPs. The products, which were developed by Rochester, New York-based Rochester Software Associates (RSA), run on Solaris-based print controllers, and support modern mainframe-oriented network protocols, including TCP/IP, ESCON, Channel, and Bus and Tag Channel. M.I.S. is particularly useful in widening the distribution options of documents created in environments like DJDE, Metacode, and XES/UD, the company says. The software costs from $1,152 to $15,798, depending on the speed of the printers or output devices.

The new QDirect product, also developed by RSA, supports some of the same features as M.I.S. Print and IPDSPrint, such as routing jobs to local or remote printers, and enabling users to consolidate printers. In the end, QDirect is focused on output management, workflow, and managing print jobs from multiple locations through a single point for the purposes of job accounting. The software, which can be integrated with M.I.S. Print and IPDSPrint, also supports the addition of barcodes and banner pages to documents, supports distributed and centralized printing, and costs from $5,760 to $11,520, depending on the speed of the MFP supported by the software.

Konica Minolta also unveiled its new PageScope Workware product, a low-cost content management system based on its PageScope Cabinet Pro product, but designed for use on desktop PCs by individuals or small groups. The software allows users to organize a variety of different types of documents, including text and graphic files, which are all converted to the PDF format, indexed into virtual files, and stored for quick searching and retrieval. PageScope Workware, like its bigger sibling, works with Konica Minolta's bizhub series of MFPs for printing or e-mailing documents, and costs only $200.

In February, Konica Minolta announced it's now selling a line of IPDS and SCS print datastream converters from MPI Tech. These devices, which allow low-cost PCL or PostScript-based printers to print the high-fidelity IPDS print datastream, can save OS/400 and mainframe shops a ton of money compared to buying high-end AFP/IPDS printers from IBM.

The deal covers LinkCom III, a software-based print protocol converter developed by MPI Tech that supports up to two printers, supports SNA and TCP/IP printer connections, and supports TN5250 and TN3270 printer emulation. Konica Minolta's direct sales force will sell the software for between $720 and $11,250.

New Printers

Last week also saw the addition of two new MFPs to the Konica Minolta lineup. The black-and-white bizhub 500 and 420 series of MFPs combine a printer, copier, scanner, and fax into a single device, and support print and copy speeds of 50 and 42 pages per minute, respectively.

The new bizhub 500 and 420 MFPs support duty cycles of 175,000 and 150,000 impressions per month, respectively, and are designed for medium- to large-sized offices that need a dependable and affordable alternative to more expensive color printers, such as companies in the legal, banking, and real estate industries, the company says. The new MFPs also support document finishing functionality, such as 50-sheet stapling, saddle-stitch booklet making, and two- and three-hole punching. The bizhub 500 carries an MSRP of $12,300, while the bizhub 420 will list for $9,720.

The devices support Konica Minolta's PageScope network management tools and its bizhub OP open software environment, which includes the bizhub Architecture, the Emperon Print System, and bizhub Open API. The bizhub Architecture, the company says, provides behind-the-scenes simplicity by utilizing the same circuitry and system software for all functions, including print, copy, scan, and fax, instead of having separate boards, each with their own CPU and memory, to drive these functions.

Users who buy the optional IC-204 Image Controller with their new bizhub 500 or 420 MFP will be using the Emperon system, which opens the devices' printing and finishing options. The IC-204 gets the user emulation for PCL5e/PCL6 and PostScript Level 3 print datastreams, as well as an array of scanning options, including scan-to- desktop, scan-to-e-mail, scan-to-hard drive, scan-to-FTP, and Network TWAIN scanning. The bizhub Open API will provide even closer integration with third-party programs, but it's not yet available.