More information at ...

http://www.atac.com.au/barr.htm

http://www.atac.com.au/emtex.htm

Email David Kirk
or call  +61 3 9521-8070

More information at ...

http://www.atac.com.au/barr.htm

http://www.atac.com.au/emtex.htm

Email David Kirk
or call +61 3 9521-8070

More information at ...

http://www.atac.com.au/barr.htm

http://www.atac.com.au/emtex.htm

Email David Kirk
or call +61 3 9521-8070

More information at ...

http://www.atac.com.au/barr.htm

http://www.atac.com.au/emtex.htm

Email David Kirk
or call +61 3 9521-8070

Emtex 8.4 SP5 Released

Emtex is pleased to announce the release of Emtex VIP 8.4 Service Pack 5, including an integrated VDE 3.0 release.  This version includes support for Asian language Outline Fonts and double-byte PCL.

Since VIP 8.4 SP5 is a Service Pack update rather than a full release, no significant new functionality is included.  The following minor product updates are included:

• AFP

  • In the SP5 (ASIA) release AFP input now supports Outline Fonts (Type 1, CID and Truetype).

• EXEC

  • Enhancements have been implemented to improve the performance of Exec.

• GUI

  • Parent/Child jobs now remain visible until all jobs in the group are complete.

  • Improved memory usage.

  • The documentation menu will support the access of the local language version.

  • User's screen resolution now saved at shutdown.  If the user later logs on to a PC with a different screen resolution, the appropriate adjustments are automatically made to preserve the overall appearance of the information on the screen.

• RES CONNECT

This utility accesses resources that reside on an MVS host.  It consists of an MVS Host component and a VIP enhanced Resource Controller.

• Resources are downloaded only if required by a job, thereby lowering network traffic.

• Data streams do not need to be modified to include the resources.

• Supports PCL/Postscript/PDF/Xerox and AFP resources.

• Documentation

  Documentation updates and corrections for the VIP and VDE software contained in 8.4 SP5 are contained in this update.  Updates are available for the VIP User Guides, Installation Guide, Operator Guide and following Command Guides:

  • IPDS Output

  • PDF Input

  • PDF Output

  • VDE Reference Guide

Pitney Bowes to acquire Emtex

STAMFORD, Conn. January 31, 2006 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Emtex Ltd. for approximately $41 million.  Emtex's software and services allow large-volume mailers to simplify document production and centrally manage complex multi-vendor and multi-site print operations.  Upon completion of this transaction, Emtex will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes within its Document Messaging Technologies division.  Subject to regulatory approval and completion of other customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2006.

This acquisition is part of the company's strategic framework for growth, according to Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes.  "We are successfully growing our mailstream presence by continuing to add value for our customers.  Emtex helps us fill a critical gap between document creation and mail finishing operations in large production mail environments."

High volume mailers produce hundreds of thousands of critical business documents such as statements and personalized mailings.  Their print operations are often dispersed in multiple locations and feature a mixture of printer brands.  Emtex's software and services help bring added efficiency, simplicity and increased productivity to these complex environments.  This includes transforming print data to a common format that can be easily manipulated for any brand of printer or for electronic output.

Emtex is headquartered in Kings Langley, U.K. with offices in Toronto Canada; Boca Raton, Florida; Dallas, Texas and Canoga Park, California.  It employs approximately 105 people worldwide.

Pitney Bowes provides the world's most comprehensive suite of mailstream software, hardware, services and solutions to help companies manage their flow of mail, documents and packages to improve communication.  Pitney Bowes, with $5.4 billion in annual revenue, and approximately 35,000 employees worldwide, serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations.

More information about Pitney Bowes can be found at www.pb.com

More information regarding Emtex can be found at www.atac.com.au/emtex.htm.

Barr Services, Rights & Permissions

Barr's Windows product utilises several portions of the Windows environment, including existing USERS and GROUPS.  Barr must be installed by a user with LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR rights, and typically, the Barr Services are assigned a LOCAL ADMIN logon ID and password.

It's important to understand how this works and why it was built this way.  Think of Barr as a client/server setup; the engine runs as a series of NT Services which start when the machine powers on.  These services login automatically and route jobs from one location to another.  If power goes down in the middle of the night, as the machine restarts, the Barr Services restart and printing resumes without anybody even logging in!

If files are polled from a LAN location, then it is the Barr Service account which requires permission to read from the LAN and ultimately delete source files.  Typically the Barr Service Account requires FULL PERMISSIONS to any LAN directories it polls automatically.  Additionally, it is the Barr Service account which requires permissions to use LAN printers and directories etc. for output as well.

The current logged in user is granted permissions to access various Barr SPOOL window features which trigger the engine to do the actual work.  By using Barr's UserRightsConfig program to assign existing NT Users and Groups permission to use various Barr features, you have complete control over what various users are allowed to do.

However, keep in mind that it is the Service Account user doing the actual work and accessing LAN resources.  This is the only user which requires Windows permissions to be assigned.

Q & A

Q.  How do Overlays work in Barr, and for what are they used?

A.  Barr allows you to store static information on disk which can be sent to the printer before or after a job.  This static information can be used to -

1. Set a specific print format (landscape, 12cpi, 8lpi, fixed-width chars. etc.) before printing.

2. RESET a printer at the end of printing, back to defaults.

3. Initialise an actual FORMS OVERLAY into the printer, and tell the printer to repeat it on every page until told otherwise.

4. Insert a printer command between multiple SPLITS of the same job; for example when they are being sent to the same printer and you want to insert a STAPLE command at the end of each chunk.

Overlays can be stored on DISK in ASCII, EBCDIC, S/370 or BINary format.  Overlays are usually selected by the contents of a field (variable), or you can setup Barr to send a single default Overlay in all cases.  You can send an Overlay before or after the banner, before or after the job, and before or after the trailer if banners and trailers are also being added by Barr.  A different Overlay can be sent at the end of a job to de-initialise or reset the printer, if required.

Overlays are very flexible and can be used to setup your print device to the exact state you require before, during and after printing each job.

Q.  Who is/are Atac?

A.  Atac is the Barr and Emtex Distributor for Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia.  With over thirteen years experience in the market, we support systems running 24x7x365 from Christchurch to Tokyo and Perth to Mumbai, in most of the largest print shops in the region.

Our customers include banks, print bureaux, financial institutions and petro-chemical companies as well as printer and mainframe vendors.  Outsourcing organisations and facilities management companies make extensive use of Atac's expertise.

Atac is privately owned, with an extensive technical background stretching back over thirty eight years of continuously profitable operation.

Feedback

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