Brooks Adds More iSeries Smarts to ExcelliPrint

Published: March 21, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Brooks Internet Software has released a new version of ExcelliPrint, a software product used by AS/400 and mainframe shops to print IPDS output on Windows-attached printers. With ExcelliPrint version 3.0, the Idaho Falls, Idaho, company has given users two key new capabilities, including manipulating OS/400 spool files to direct them to the best resource and support for an unlimited number of printers and disk-based archives.

ExcelliPrint is a Windows-based print server that allows any Windows 2000-, XP-, or Server 2003-based computer to be used for IPDS printing. It works by converting AFP documents to PDF, TIFF, EMF, JPEG, PNG, and PCL formats, which can be printed on any office- or departmental-grade laser jet. This is an important capability for OS/400 and mainframe shops that can't justify the high cost of a native IPDS printer from IBM and other manufacturers.

When Brooks first launched ExcelliPrint just over a year ago, the company offered some intelligence in the handling of OS/400 spool files. This first public release, ExcelliPrint 2.0, gave users the capability to control OS/400 spool files, and to hold or release them to ExcelliPrint resources, which can be either a Windows-attached printer or a disk-based library used for archiving documents and reports.

With ExcelliPrint 3.0, the company has added the capability to redirect spool files to any of the supported output devices directly from ExcelliPrint's browser-based interface--a task that would otherwise require accessing the iSeries through terminal emulation software, the company says.

This new feature benefits users by allowing them to shift print jobs to the best resource. If one of the Windows-attached printers is busy, but another one is sitting idle, users can move the job to the idle printer, and keep the business flowing.

Support for an unlimited number of output destinations will also widen Brook's potential market for ExcelliPrint. In previous versions, the product supported a maximum of two output destinations, which cramped the style of some prospective customers looking for a single management interface for controlling their business output. The product could be used to manage an unlimited number of printers, but not from a single interface backed by a single software license.

Now that limits on the number of output destinations have been eliminated, customers will flock to ExcelliPrint, says Jared Miller, the company's marketing manager. "Most calls for ExcelliPrint 2.0 had to do with supporting multiple output destinations. We had to say, we can't do that, you could only do two," Miller says. "With this release, a lot of people are coming in and saying 'Now we can use it.'"

Various other tweaks were made to ExcelliPrint 3.0 to bolster its efficiency, Miller says, adding that the product has proved, in Brook's labs, it is capable of handling the increased demands resulting from the elimination of destination restrictions.

ExcelliPrint's Web interface has also been overhauled in version 3.0 to make it easier to manage a large number of output destinations. The company is also currently testing new language support for organizations in Iceland and the Netherlands.

About 90 percent of Brooks' ExcelliPrint customers are AS/400 (not iSeries) users, and the remainder are mainframe customers, Miller says. The product has attracted a couple dozen customers in the first year of availability.

One of those customers is an unnamed manufacturer that saved thousands of dollars by outfitting its warehouses in Canada and on the East Coast with copies of ExcelliPrint. By utilizing exiting printers and WAN connections, and sending reports from the central OS/400 server installed at its headquarters to the remote sites, the company was able to avoid bringing in IPDS printers, at $1,800 a pop, as well as paying the $300 to $400 per month in dedicated network fees.

ExcelliPrint's base pricing remains unchanged from previous versions at $795 for business institutions, and $695 for governmental and educational institutions. These base configurations come with support for two output destinations.

Organizations that want to go beyond the two output destinations (or most customers, from the sound of it) will need to purchase additional licenses from Brooks. Unfortunately, while Brooks passes the IT Jungle pricing transparency test for the core license, the company is not disclosing how much it costs to add more output destinations. The good news is that it will be cheaper to buy these supplemental licenses than buying a second license for ExcelliPrint.

More information is available at the company's Web site at ipds.brooksnet.com.