Provides 3-Up Printing At Speed Of 2,238 Impressions-Per-Minute ANAHEIM, CA-Oct 28, 2002 -- XPLOR 2002, BOOTH 354 -- IBM today once again set a precedent in printing technology, breaking the speed barrier for continuous-forms printing with the expansion of its Infoprint 4100 product line. Adding two new models to the family, the Infoprint 4100 can now print at speeds up to 2,238 6"x 9" impressions-per-minute (ipm) and 1,220 8.5"x11" ipm, offering the highest print quality at this speed for any digital printer. These models can be seen for the first time at the Xplor Conference in Anaheim, California, October 27-30, 2002. With the combination of 19" print width, leading print quality, high-speed and leadership, innovative technology that only IBM can bring to market, IBM now offers six Infoprint 4100s -- a solution to meet any production or print-on-demand (POD) need. Commercial printers can use the Infoprint 4100 to help reduce printing costs and improve the print quality of books or technical manuals; direct mailers and service bureaus can lower costs by running a broad range of papers weights at higher speeds; and enterprise production centers can reduce operational costs by printing statements or publications at higher speeds --printing 60 percent faster than previous Infoprint 4100 models. With the 3-up capability, customers can achieve a rapid time-to-value, realizing an immediate ROI by saving in usage charges per impression, compared to the same size 2-up printing. By converting from 2-up to 3-up statements, customers will also have the potential to save on postage costs. "IBM continues to lead the digital printing industry with the announcement of new ultra high-speed models of the Infoprint 4100 production printer," said Robert Cooper, manager, continuous forms solutions, IBM Printing Systems. "No other high-speed digital printing system can offer the combination of speed and print quality that the IBM Infoprint 4100 offers. The Infoprint 4100 delivers exceptional print speed -- the highest throughput in its class -- allowing users to produce more output with fewer devices and less operator time." Targeted at printing environments where throughput and printing speed are a critical factor, the new HS2 and HD3/HD4 models allow printing at speeds up to 1,220 2-up 8.5"x11" ipm or 2,238 3-up 6"x9" ipm. These new models also incorporate a state-of-the-art blue semiconductor laser printhead, that when combined with IBM's digital Print Quality Enhancement (PQE) technology and new Advanced Function Common Control Unit (AFCCU) technology, enables high print quality at these impressive speeds. Other Infoprint 4100 features that push the envelope for the high-speed digital printing industry include operator switchable resolution for producing 480 dpi or 600 dpi output from 240/300/600 dpi input; switchable speed for printing on challenging media or with MICR; high-speed FICON and Gigabit Ethernet attachments for maximum productivity; integrated pinless and tractor feed paper path; and an enhanced operator console/GUI. The Infoprint 4100 now also supports the Universal Printer Pre and Post Processing Interface (UP3i) -- an industry standard for production printing. Benefits of the UP3i interface include its seamless communication with the Infoprint 4100's AFCCU that directs unwanted blank pages to waste devices; extends error recovery by tracking pages through the entire system; and allows post processing instructions to be imbedded in the datastream for transparent and real time process control. Enhanced IBM Supplies Building upon the success of previous versions of IBM Enhanced Printing Supplies, IBM is now offering Enhanced Printing Supplies Version 3. This new formulation offer many new benefits for both production and POD applications. The Version 3 toner will increase the print quality of solid area fill, bar codes, grayscales, lines and graphics. The toner also improves toner fusing and adhesion to paper -- an important benefit for customers who use post processing equipment and require exceptional toner fusing and resistance to toner rub-off and smear. Availability and Pricing The new models joining the IBM Infoprint 4100 family will be available beginning November 22, 2002: - The Infoprint 4100 HS2, high-quality simplex model, has a U.S. lists price of $490,000.00 - The Infoprint 4100 HD3/HD4, high-quality duplex model has a U.S. lists price of $990,000.00. These products can be purchased through IBM sales representatives.