IDEAL Newsletter - Volume 2 Issue 3

Who would ever have thought of integrating ScanDEX with the $1 million SAP/R3 system? L.M. Ericsson, Inc., a world-leading supplier in the fast-growing and dynamic telecommunications and data communications industry, did just that and has saved man hours on order processing by implementing ScanDEX into their order execution, document control, and production processes.

Ericsson is a total solutions supplier for network operators, service providers, enterprises, and consumers. Ericsson has more than 100,000 employees, representation in 140 countries, and is clearly the world's largest customer base in the telecommunications field. Ericsson has its site set on establishing itself as a leader in the emerging market of mobile datacom. Ericsson acquired Qualcomm's infrastructure business to further improve Ericsson's "pole position" for the third generation wireless Internet systems. The company has taken on the role as a driver in the development of networks that make the Internet mobile.

Internet access and mobile multimedia are examples of services in which very high data transfer capacity is required in the mobile networks. ScanDEX and SAP/R3 "The ScanDEX solution at Ericsson runs integrated with SAP/R3 to give a fully integrated solution that provides control of all aspects of the workflow and production," said Kenneth Hemmingsen, Production Manager at L.M.Ericsson, Copenhagen facility. "By implementing ScanDEX into our production phase," he added, "Ericsson has saved a considerable number of man hours on every single order processed."

"Ericsson is working with ScanDEX from a different angle," noted Hemmingsen. "As a production and planning tool, and as a productivity control tool for all active orders, ScanDEX is used to execute and control all orders." Ericsson has been working with ScanDEX for more than two years and has worked with our ScanDEX programmers in further customization for their unique requirements.

ScanDEX is used in Ericsson's revamped workflow for populating and monitoring the database related to incoming orders and fulfillment. The Ericsson installation consists of one seat of ScanDEX/Pro and 20 seats of ScanDEX/View in a floating network license, shared by multiple users throughout the company. Ericsson uses a Contex TDS8000 A3 scanner, and because of ScanDEX, every incoming order, and related document, is scanned, automatically multi-field indexed, and archived. Integrating ScanDEX on the front end of their workflow process allows individual departments to estimate their time usage and expected delivery dates before passing on the order to the next department. When Ericsson's Sales Department, for example, gets a new order for a repeater station for a wireless phone network, the customer's order is scanned into the database with a specific ID number. Incoming orders typically contain both technical documents, as well as correspondence and internal comments of both a technical and administrative nature. The order Administrator in the Logistic Department is then notified that a new order has arrived. Each digitized order document is then routed through the relevant departments that will be involved in order processing and fulfillment. Each department inserts their comments, and the order is returned to the Administrator. From here, with descriptions of the customer's order and unique requirements, the Administer decides the order in which order each department will receive the digital document for carrying out their specific tasks. The digital document is then routed to the Production Department for fulfilling the customer's order.

While Ericsson's Logistic Department oversees the digital document's routing pattern, each recipient along the way has limited writing and editing authority specific to each department's responsibility area using a customized list button in ScanDEX/View. Erricsson set up the database to have 115 form and template fields. In this workflow model, the Logistic Department can only set the list and priority of recipients and the last recipient will always be the Logistic Department. After the last department has filled in its data regarding the new order, the Administrator in the Logistic Department has one complete set of data in the database containing all the information captured from all involved departments regarding the usage of materials, man hours on the project, as well as any other comments. This allows the Administrator to have a complete picture of the process, time usage, and final delivery date of the pending order in question. When the order is released for production, the above process is repeated, but this time the individual departments of course carry out the actual tasks related to processing the order. All processes are logged in ScanDEX, and the Administrator can at any time monitor each department's status in fulfilling the order, and if the usage of resources comply with the estimates given by the individual departments.

Wireless Internet access is on the way. ScanDEX plays a crucial, behind the scene role at L.M. Ericsson, Inc. in cost containment and process management. ScanDEX, by the way, can be had for less than the $1 million SAP/R3 system.

IDEAL's customers value the crucial role that our After Market Service and Support team plays in their day-to-day operations. After all, what is a company to do when the scanner does not turn on? Or when one of the new guys tried to scan media with staples still in it? Or when someone dropped the scanner? Or left it outside, not knowing it was going to rain? Well, believe it or not these things do happen. These dilemmas may sound funny, but they are not, especially when there is a lot of work to do and a scanner goes down for obvious or unexpected reasons.

Enter IDEAL's After Market Service and Support. Serving as an After Market Service and Support Account Manager, who is on the first line of screening and handling of customer care calls, Fred Allen has encountered perhaps every imaginable scenario. When those IDEAL/Contex scanners go down, Allen is the first person the customer talks to regarding the need for an immediate repair, an upgrade, warranty status check, or a new service plan.

Because there is a demand for After Market Service and Support, Allen gets a lot of calls and emails every day. Everyone who calls or emails him has a different problem. It could be anywhere from a spec of dirt on the glass to a completely burned out motor. Sometimes, Allen may not be able to help a customer trouble shoot a scanner that has gone on the blink. In these cases, he connects the customer with IDEAL's Technical Support. Fred Allen can be reached at 301-468-0123 ext.1213 or 1-888-52-IDEAL, or e-mail him at fallen@ideal.com.

Problems that businesses can experience with their scanners cover the entire spectrum. They could need a whole new scanner, or they may simply need to perform a thorough cleaning of the surface glass, noted Allen. One of the most frequent problems is an old scanner that has stopped working. It happens. Oftentimes, it may not be broken or "plum tuckered out" due to old age, but may be incompatible with the newer computers recently installed in the company.

Allen will normally suggest IDEAL-CloudOS. This program is the scanner operating system that interfaces with the computer and drives the scanner. IDEAL-CloudOS works with Windows 95/98/NT operating systems. While IDEAL's team of programmers developed IDEAL-CloudOS with the Aperture Card Scanner (ACS) 4200 in mind, it also drives any IDEAL/Contex scanner. This program will work with any scanner from IDEAL/Contex, as well as most small format scanners. In addition to the SCSI interface, IDEAL-CloudOS also works with the two main scanner interfaces, TWAIN and ISIS - the standard for most page-sized scanners. "IDEAL-CloudOS is the mainstay software of IDEAL," noted Allen. IDEAL-CloudOS is what is typically bought and is used for most large and small format black and white scanners. The added benefit with IDEAL-CloudOS is that it not only solves problems associated with an older scanner's incompatibility with newer computers, but it also provides automated single field indexing in the scanning process, as well as a popular scan-to-print feature.

WIDEimage is somewhat similar, but it serves the world of color scanning. One of these two programs will often solve almost every problem involving the scanner not working with older software or operating systems, he added. He may offer IDEAL-CloudOS or may direct the person to download a free demo off of IDEAL's web page. More often than not, they like the ease of use and functionality of IDEAL-CloudOS, and the customer will make the investment.

A broken scanner is another issue. Typically, people come through to Allen as a result of word of mouth. "Most people with a malfunctioning scanner," noted Allen, "call IDEAL because they have been looking around for someone to fix their scanner, and could not find anyone, and someone finally mentioned IDEAL to them." IDEAL offers either on site or ship to depot options for scanner repairs, he added. The on site service team can cost a little more, he noted, but for many of his customers, it is worth the added expense.

"My job is gratifying," noted Allen. He brings a friendly, human voice to the phone, and is able to bring the customer's frustration level down. "Most scanners do not need to be repaired," he noted. "The situation can often be diagnosed over the phone." Once the problem is identified and scanner is up and running again, Allen will offer an optional warranty, or a software upgrade.

Warranties and Service Plans can be very important because they address various needs and also insure scanner owners against expensive problems that may occur during ownership. IDEAL's new warranty plans are comprehensive, noted Allen, and include items from training, phone support, basic diagnostic services, to a major overhaul.

IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. was founded in 1978 and remains committed to Quality, Service and Value in document management. We pride ourselves in developing ongoing relationships with our customers, suppliers, and partners in establishing a common vision for the future of our technology in order to sustain mutual profitability and growth. Our mission is to provide the best possible value, leading edge technologies, quality and services to our customers at a competitive price while keeping customer satisfaction and loyalty our main objective. We derive our professional fulfillment by providing understandable software and hardware solutions and bringing all our clients' large format and office documents into the Internet Age.

What would it be like to be able to access any document, from any place, and at any time ... from the company's server? Utopia, maybe? That is the very word used by two focus groups held at Shugoll Research in Bethesda when a third party described the features and benefits of the new Intranet / Web-based network appliance that IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. (IDEAL) has developed. This ground breaking development from Rockville-based IDEAL is the Digital Container™, which will be rolled out at the AEC Systems 2000 trade show at the Washington Convention Center this June. It is what the name suggests - a digital container - a secure vault for a corporation's digital assets, the crown jewels.

Digital Container™ is a secure information management solution that web-enables the network and allows workgroups easy, browser-based access to any large or small format document. Even if they are out in the field, or around the globe. Documents can be quickly viewed because there is no file downloading, and no time lag due to bandwidth. Users can easily search and retrieve documents by content, date, drawing number, author, project name, or other criteria as specified in set up. Multiple levels of control allow for secure management of the type, frequency, number, or date of documents accessed.

"For years, IDEAL has been working on addressing solutions to meet customer-driven demand for Web-based transmission of large format raster images generated by wide format scanners," says Jay Magenheim, IDEAL's President. "After years of research and software development, we made a break through in our imaging technology that allows our customers to work with original files instantly, using an ordinary, dial up Internet connection - independent of bandwidth constraints - on any PC, MAC, or Unix platform."

Large and small format images and documents are scanned, automatically multi-field indexed, and archived into the Digital Container™. This can be done at IDEAL's Service Bureau, or it can be done by the user at their place after they have purchased. Once the documents have been digitally indexed and archived, various users with the appropriate user rights using a browser can query, retrieve, view, pan, zoom, and print what they need, when the need it. Companies with satellite offices will be able access and more easily collaborate on projects. Telecommuting can become a fact instead of a dream. Utopia.

Since users requesting documents are only viewing, Digital Container™ eliminates the per seat cost of a software package. Users can pull up a drawing, blue print, map, poster, or a document on their Intranet or over the Web, view it, and print it without having the software required for that particular file format. Also, file size and bandwidth are not issues because of the use of Thin-Client Computing Technology. Everything is viewed directly from the server. Utopia.

Digital Container™ comes loaded with IDEAL's IntraNetix™, the operating system that facilitates the multi-field indexing and archiving for scanning and web enables the network with the built-in query and browser display.

Digital Container™ utilizes high levels of security. IntraNetix™ uses native Windows NT authentication and security to provide unparalleled protection against unauthorized access. Microsoft has built IPSec into Windows 2000, which will allow the administrator to implement a secure NT network without having to change any of the existing applications or network hardware. With Windows 2000 IPSec, security policies can be defined for the entire organization, departments, groups, or individuals. Moreover, specifications can be established so that the NT computers can recognize who to trust and talk to, and what security methods those computers are to use for communications. IPSec in Windows 2000 will be an important component of network security.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/server/feature/vpnovw.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWS2000/library/howitworks/security/ip_security.asp

Digital Container™ is a dual server, so all specifications are for each CPU. Because IDEAL will build to the unique requirements of each customer, specifications are listed below as a range:

Casing Titanium Server Case on Castor Wheels

Memory SDRAM 1 - 2 GB

Processors Dual Pentium III

Speed 750MHZ Scalable with Improvements in Technology

Storage Capacity 66 to 600 Giga Bytes of Hard Drive

Storage Speed 36 GB/10,000 rpm SCSI (Upgradeable to RAID)

Motherboard Adaptec UltraWide 2-SCSI

CPU Switch - VGA/ RS-232

Touch Panel Flat Screen or 15" Liquid Crystal Display 1024x768

Mini Touch Key Board

PS2 Intelli-Mouse with Wheel

Drives 3½" Diskette

Drives CD / ROM (DVD optional)

Drives (Iomega ZIP / JAZ optional)

Additional software configurations will vary based on user requirements. For example, installations heavy on black & white technical documents with drawings 36" to 50" wide will need Digital Container™ loaded with IDEAL's I/Vector™.

I/Vector™ is a fast, 32-bit, application independent, raster to vector translator that converts scanned raster images to vector DXF or DGN files that can be loaded into any CAD system. It intelligently recognizes circles, arcs, symbols, OCR text (at any angle), line styles, line widths, hatching, arrows, and area outlines. There is a Calibration Utility included to correct distortions that arise from scanning, creation, or aging of the original document. Tools include a Raster Editor, Region Editor, Text Editor, Layer Manager, and Message Center. A GUI interface allows parameters to be changed and saved for later recall. Results can be verified by viewing the vectors as an overlay on the original raster image. All entities are sorted logically into appropriate layers. Drawings can be grouped according to similarity and processed in single or batch mode.

AutoCAD©, or other CAD software required to edit raster images to convert to CAD or native vector files, can be loaded as an option. Files saved in DWF format can be viewed on the web.

Installations working with 36" to 50" wide color graphics will need Digital Container™ loaded with WIDEimage™ and either IDEAL's JETimage™ or DigitalPhotoLab® for photographic quality output.

WIDEimage™ is a fully integrated scanning, viewing, converting, and printing system for IDEAL/Contex monochrome and color scanners. It is the perfect link between IDEAL/Contex scanners and a wide range of popular software for Graphics, Reprographics, Copying, GIS, CAD, Desk Top Publishing, Drawing Archival and Interchange. WIDEimage™ is the latest addition to the IDEAL/Contex series of software tools for efficient capture and management of scanned documents on WINDOWS platforms.

JETimage™ is a complete color copying software for IDEAL's Large Format Color and Monochrome Scanners. The application is designed to interface IDEAL's Scanners with a wide range of popular inkjet printers for scan-to-print applications. JETimage™ is a powerful, professional tool enabling easy production of vivid, high quality color corrected copies and also exploits the monochrome scanning features for perfect black and white copy assignments.

Digital PhotoLab® is over 16,000,000 times more color fidelity accurate than a professional densitometer. Literally no other software, or scanner/software combination can perform equally to the photo quality image rendering to 64,000 DPI or 4 giga byte scan files, speed and performance of the Digital PhotoLab®. Every scan is film density calibrated to 48-bits, with large format output direct scaling to over 90,000%.

Of course, since IDEAL is a leading expert in large format document management, small format documents are no problem. Digital Container™ can also come loaded with a favorite office suite, such as MS Office, Corel Office Suite, or Lotus Smart Suite.

Digital Container™ starts from $59,950 with pricing varying based on hardware and software configuration. Pricing includes configuration per customer's specifications with a plug-and-play result.

See us at Booth 1327

June 5 - June 8, 2000

Washington Convention Center

IDEAL will host a Press Conference at the AEC Systems 2000 event on Tuesday, June 6, 2000 between 1:15 pm and 2:00 pm. Mr. Magenheim, as well as the IDEAL staff, will be on hand to provide an overview on our innovative web management solution and address questions.

If you cannot attend AEC Systems 2000, IDEAL will also host a series of Online Press Conferences at 4:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time) on Tuesday, May 23 and Thursday, May 25. To attend, log onto the Web, call (301) 468-0123 and let the receptionist know that you would like to attend the Online Press Conference. You will be guided to a URL to see a LIVE and interactive demonstration of IntraNetix™ in action over the Web.

IDEAL knows that scanning can be a real chore and divert a company's resources from their core responsibilities. As a result, IDEAL will scan and "load" the Digital Container™ with the first 500 large and small format documents at no cost. Pricing on additional scanning will vary based on quantity and specifications.

IDEAL began in the late 1970's as a blue print copier, and was a pioneer in digitizing large format documents with wide format scanners. Since the mid-1980's, IDEAL took on an OEM role and has served the large format imaging and document management vertical markets as a software developer, systems integrator, and has been selling and servicing small format, aperture card, and large format scanners connected with:

IDEAL has earned a reputation the world over for not only being North America's largest distributor of Contex scanners - the most popular wide format scanner with 70 percent global market share, but for also providing its diverse customers with industry specific solutions sets. IDEAL's customer base is a Who's Who among US federal, state, and local governments and agencies; foreign governments and businesses; leading transnational corporations; and the foremost architects, engineers, service bureaus, and graphic artists across the country.

IDEAL's clients and business partners cover the spectrum from small architectural design firms and scanning service bureaus to Fortune 1000 companies including Caterpillar, Pitney Bowes, Marriott, Boeing, Shell Oil Company, and Arco. IDEAL has strategic alliances with Kodak, Aztek, Autodesk, Xerox, ESRI, EDS, Softdesk, IBM, and SUN. Federal agencies implementing solutions from IDEAL include NASA, Navy, Army, Air Force, U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Park Service, and the U.S.D.A. Forestry Service.

IDEAL is "... ranked as having a product that does what the manufacturer claims, improves productivity, is easy to use, and is also a valuable tool." (Cadalyst, January 1999 issue).

"From an engineering perspective, Digital Container is spectacular." - Howard Stein, Industry Promotion Coordinator with DPIA.

If I can be of further assistance, or if you would like to arrange an interview with Mr. Magenheim prior to the previously scheduled press conferences, please email me at kmagenheim@ideal.com or call me at (301) 468-0123 ext. 1230.

IDEAL Introduces Indexing Solutions To Internet Enable Large and Small Format Drawings

April 12, 1999, Rockville, MD - Today IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. introduces ScanDEX Solutions, internet-enabled scanning and automatic indexing solutions for 50" wide and small, office type documents. ScanDEX Solutions are for architects, engineers, and corporations with paper document specifications and drawings up to 50" wide that want instant, on-line access to their archives. ScanDEX will automatically scan, index, and build a database archive for those drawings in one process. The ScanDEX Solutions allow users to scan images of any size, store them in an ODBC compliant database archive, index them for easy retrieval, edit the index, and print the images directly to the new Xerox 8825 (aperture card and large format) engineering printer, or small format Windows compatible output device.

The ScanDEX Solutions for 50" wide and small office type documents consists of an IDEAL 36" wide monochrome scanner, or an IDEAL aperture card scanner, and/or a TWAIN or ISIS compatible small format document scanner with ScanDEX software. This solution handles large and small format drawings, and provides multi-field indexing for easy retrieval. Users can scan, index, and archive drawings and technical specifications in one database for easy retrieval. ScanDEX Solutions offer full-page OCR for small, office type documents and zonal OCR for title block information on large format drawings. To speed up the archiving process, ScanDEX supports multiple scanners on a single workstation all populating the same database. ScanDEX/View, a module of ScanDEX, provides easy network access to the archives. IDEAL's ReproWEB, a document management web server, provides viewing capabilities of large and small format drawings on the Internet.

"Other companies cannot come close to IDEAL's ScanDEX Solutions offering scanning and indexing with one interface for both large format engineering drawings and small format office type documents," states Jay Magenheim, president of IDEAL Scanners & Systems. "Since one interface handles all types of documents, work productivity and cost savings increase because scanning and indexing are done in one process."

The ScanDEX Solution has multi-user functionality making it possible for one person to feed large documents into the scanner while the other person sets up the indexes and checks the results. Data from one document can be added to the index while another document is being scanned or rotated. For tracking purposes, ScanDEX produces an ordered list of documents awaiting indexing and an ordered list of documents with indexing completed. In addition, ScanDEX Solutions handle aperture cards and color images.

IDEAL Scanners and Systems, Inc. integrates, markets, and supports a wide range of scanning solutions sets for large and small format drawings and technical documents. These solution sets cover a range of document sizes, platforms, and operating systems, as well as scan to the Web. IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. will be demonstrating their 36" wide, monochrome scanners with indexing software at AIIM, the IRgA Show, the A/E/C SYSTEMS SHOW, and ESRI. For more information please contact Kathy Magenheim at (301) 468-0123 ext. 1230 or contact via email at kmagenheim@ideal.com.

Scan and Index Large and Small Documents with One Interface with OfficeStation Plus from IDEAL

April 3, 2000, Rockville, MD - IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. introduces OfficeStation Plus, a scanning and indexing solution for both large and small documents with one interface. OfficeStation Plus is targeted to the office market for scanning and indexing documents as well as to the Reprographics, CAD, and GIS markets that have large, 50" wide drawings, that need to be scanned and archived for easy retrieval. OfficeStation Plus can handle 50" wide drawings and the 8.5" x 11" or 8.5" x 14" technical specifications that accompany these drawings. "The beauty of OfficeStation Plus is that it allows the user to run one interface for both large and small documents, " states Jay Magenheim, president of IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. "The learning curve is minimized since the user of OfficeStation Plus only needs to learn to use one application software," Magenhiem adds.

The IDEAL OfficeStation Plus Solution consists of a 75 page per minute small document scanner, an 50" wide, 800 dpi, monochrome scanner that scans at 6 inches per second, and ScanDEX, IDEAL's scan, index, and archive software. OfficeStation Plus supports large and small format scanners, full page OCR for small format documents and gives the user unlimited ways to search and sort through the drawing/document archive. The IDEAL OfficeStation Plus is a secure system using Windows NT security. OfficeStation Plus is a plug-in and ready to scan solution that comes with ISIS drivers to support any ISIS scanners as well as SCSI connections that support IDEAL's full line of large format and aperture card scanners. OfficeStation Plus supports black & white drawings and documents. It runs under Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT 4.0.

Users of OfficeStation Plus can manage documents and increase work productivity. OfficeStation Plus features auto feeding and a short paper path that can throughput up to 75 small format duplex pages per minute. Plus, it offers a 8.3 second scan for an E-Size drawing. OfficeStation Plus has the capability to scan bound materials and exceptional documents that are fragile or damaged. It can be used to handle overflow in a high-volume office environment as well as scan large format documents. In addition, OfficeStation Plus has built-in image stamping and form processing to facilitate image tracking and ISO 9000 certification requirements.

"Most of the applications that we have require automatic indexing and we use the macros feature of ScanDEX to populate the fields," states Norman Katz of NFI, located in Mount Prospect, IL.

There is an optional module, from IDEAL, that users of OfficeStation Plus can purchase that allow users to Scan to the Web. This optional module allows companies with remote office locations to have access to drawings and documents for viewing and printing. IDEAL is offering prospective customers of OfficeStation Plus the opportunity to attend an online, live, interactive product demonstration of this solution before purchasing it. This online, live demo can be done without the prospective customer leaving the comfort of his/her office. For online, live, interactive product demonstrations on scanning and indexing register at www.ideal.com.

IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. integrates, markets, and supports a wide range of scanning solutions sets for large and small format drawings and technical documents. These solution sets cover a range of document sizes, platforms, and operating systems. IDEAL covers applications including Scan to CAD, Scan to Index, Scan to CD, Scan to Print, and Scan to the Web. For more information on OfficeStation Plus and/or a screen shot of the software interface please contact Kathy Magenheim at (301) 468-0123 ext. 1230 or via email at kmagenheim@ideal.com.

IDEAL Introduces Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme Scan to Print with High Resolution Photo RIP

April 26, 2000, Lake Buena Vista, FL - This week at the IRgA and ISA tradeshows, IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc.(IDEAL), the leader in scanning technology, introduces Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme, a 50" wide color scan-to-print solution with high-resolution photo RIP and Intranetix software for the ability to scan and index directly to the Internet. IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme provides the best possible scan-to-print solution for high resolution color renderings, maps, large color graphics, and photographs as well as chromas, negatives, and transparencies. This solution is targeted to Reprographics, Service Bureaus, Graphics Arts and Sign Industries, Advertising Agencies interested in maintaining color fidelity in their scan to print applications, as well as web enabling their archives in a secured location. IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme allows a company to take their existing network to the web for improved workflow and soft proofing.

IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme includes IDEAL's SuperWIDE 12050, a front-loading 50" wide color scanner that can handle media over a half-inch thick including foamcore. The 50" wide color scanner provides 50 to 1200 dpi resolution selectable in preset increments to match user requirements. With the SuperWIDE 12050, color scans are captured at 36 bits for maximum color precision. Scanning productivity increases with the new SuperWIDE 12050 color scanner because drawings can be scanned in landscape instead of portrait mode. This allows the scanner to capture more data. The SuperWIDE 12050 color scanner is fast, scanning a typical E-size color original in 18 seconds at 200 dpi.

"Scan photo quality color originals, including maps, and print them to any inkjet plotter without losing color fidelity," states Jay Magenheim, president of IDEAL Scanners & Systems, Inc. "The SuperWIDE 12050 is an appropriate front-end to photo quality printers or inkjets," notes Magenheim.

IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme can simultaneously render wide format output up to a maximum of 1200 dpi or can input direct to sized output up to 17 by 17 feet at 300 dpi. High resolution images can be processed and ready for output in a matter of seconds. IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme can be easily integrated into a company's workflow and supports optional photo printers including DDS Lambda, CSI Lightjet, and large format inkjet printers such as Display Maker, Roland HiFi Jet, HP Design Jet 2000/2500CP, Encad Novajet II and Novajet III, and many more. IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme also supports both PC and Mac output devices.

With IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme, you can also scan and index directly to the web. IDEAL's Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme includes Intranetix, which allows scanned images to be accessed over an intranet or over the Internet using a Web Browser. IDEAL's Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme operates in a secured environment allowing predefined user access from anywhere. You can quickly View, Pan, and Zoom documents without downloading and, when the appropriate document is chosen, you can also print. Work groups can improve workflow with a built-in feature that allows users to send URL links via email instead of an entire document.

IDEAL Scanners and Systems, Inc. integrates, markets, and supports a wide range of scanning solutions sets for large and small format drawings and technical documents. These solution sets cover a range of document sizes, platforms, and operating systems, as well as Scan to Print and Scan to the Web. IDEAL will be demonstrating Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme at the IRga, ISA, and ESRI tradeshows. For more information on IDEAL's new Color ScanCENTRAL Supreme and/or a color TIFF image of the solution, contact Kathy Magenheim at (301) 468-0123 ext. 1230 or via email at kmagenheim@ideal.com.

IDEAL Introduces New SuperWIDE 50" Monochrome Scanners Setting New Standards in Scanning Speed At 6" Per Second

April 26, 2000, Lake Buena Vista, FL - Today at IRgA, IDEAL Scanners and Systems, Inc. (IDEAL), the leader in scanning technology, introduces its new, SuperWIDE50 monochrome scanners that set new standards in scanning speed for oversized, monochrome images including blueprints, maps, and large graphics where heavy production is very important. Increased productivity in scan-to-print is now available for Reprographers and Service Bureaus. The SuperWIDE 50 Monochrome Scanner Model 2250, a 400 dpi scanner, and Model 2251, an 800 dpi scanner, can scan a 50" wide drawing at speeds of 3"/second and 6"/second respectively. The SuperWIDE50 Monochrome Scanners are used in the Reprographics, CAD, GIS, and Graphic Arts industries for grayshade scaling for vectorization, storage, retrieval, conversion to CAD, and monochrome scan-to-print. Scan E-Size drawings in landscape mode for increased productivity. The SuperWIDE50 monochrome scanners are front-loading and can handle media over a half-inch thick including foamcore. These scanners support 256 grayshades. The SuperWIDE50 monochrome scanners have two SCSI interfaces allowing scan-to-file and scan-to-print. There is an optional Copy Kit that will allow you to mount a PC and touch-screen directly to the scanner for a convenient scan-to-print solution.

"Service Bureaus can create new profit centers with scan-to-file customers when the SuperWIDE 50 monochrome scanners are combined with our ScanDEX auto-indexing software," states Jay Magenheim, president of IDEAL Scanners & Systems, located in Rockville, MD. "Reprographic shops can add high-speed scanning to their existing print systems at prices substantially lower than expected. Some scanners built for high-speed engineering printers can cost as much as $50,000, but IDEAL Solutions are less than half that amount," notes Magenheim.

Using the new, high-speed SuperWIDE 50 monochrome scanners with ScanDEX, computer-assisted indexing software, provides for quick and highly automated database population for customers that are placing engineering and architectural drawings on the Internet for quick viewing and soft proofing with IDEAL's ReproWEB product. Manufacturers, engineering firms, and construction companies are moving to web-based viewing systems to provide remote access and collaboration on design projects. Data acquisition and population of a searchable database is no longer a stumbling block to this technology with this new solution from IDEAL. For instance, a ScanDEX database with scanned images can be directly loaded to IDEAL's ReproWEB for full web viewing for large-format scanned drawings and original CAD files.

The SuperWIDE50 Monochrome Scanners include an entry-level copier interface, called JETimage Base. This copier interface takes advantage of the scanner's Dual 2-D adaptive enhancement features with Area Diffusion Logic and Error Diffusion Halftoning, which allows documents containing mixed photographic and line-art (including text) areas to be captured with greater detail. For more advanced scan-to-print features there is an optional copier interface, called JETimage Pro, that supports advanced layout options such as paneling, tiling, and nested of printed output as well as tracking capabilities of paper and copying usage.

The SuperWIDE50 monochrome scanners require IDEAL-CloudOS for scanning and single-field indexing of monochrome images. With IDEAL-CloudOS, the scan and print information is stored in a database archive. Users can print to multiple monochrome printers/plotters. IDEAL-CloudOS is upgradable to IDEAL's ScanDEX, for data acquisition of drawing title block information to an ODBC-compliant database.

IDEAL Scanners and Systems, Inc. integrates, markets, and supports a wide range of scanning solutions sets for large and small format drawings and technical documents. These solution sets cover a range of document sizes, platforms, and operating systems, as well as scan to the Web via WebOS and ReproWEB. The price for the SuperWIDE50 monochrome scanner Model 2250 is for $17,900 and Model 2251 is $19,900. For more information or a TIFF image of the scanners, contact Kathy Magenheim at (301) 468-0123 ext. 1230 or via email at kmagenheim@ideal.com.

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