SAO PAULO, BRAZIL and BOULDER, CO--Feb 17, 2005 -- Print Laser Service, one of Brazil's largest print service bureaus, selected IBM to update its print management environment through a comprehensive print solution that includes IBM Infoprint Manager for AIX V4.1, and IBM Infoprint XT for AIX software and a mix of IBM Infoprint continuous forms, cut sheet and workgroup printers. Print Laser reports it has experienced enhanced print quality as a result of more efficient data stream conversion and output. In the past few years, Print Laser experienced rapid growth and a significant increase in its outsourced print volume. Based on its current rate of growth, the company hoped to increase its print volume by more than five times the current amount in the next few years. Accommodating this growth, however, required an improved print management environment and more robust information technology tools. The company needed to be able to produce high-quality documents using flexible, reliable technology that would enable it to offer a competitive price to its customers. In order to execute on its aggressive business goal to increase its outsourced print volume, Print Laser required a solution that could convert various datastreams to the Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) format. IBM recommended an upgrade to IBM Infoprint Manager for AIX V4.1 software, along with additional conversion capabilities delivered through IBM Infoprint XT for AIX software. According to Print Laser, the software combination of Infoprint Manager and Infoprint XT proved easier, better and more cost effective than its existing solution. "We needed to expand the range of data system types we could convert to AFP and print. Many of our customers used older data stream types such as line conditioned data stream (LCDS)/metacode, which were difficult to convert using the existing tools," said Celio Silva, Operations Director of Print Laser Service. "After evaluating a number of different print management solutions, we knew that IBM's comprehensive print solutions would best suit our heterogeneous business environment." Additionally, Print Laser staff members now utilize Infoprint Manager for AIX software to help manage and monitor all print jobs for the company's printers from one central location -- including jobs sent to non-IBM printers. Employees can quickly start, stop, delete or move print jobs while monitoring the status in real-time, which can help prevent potential costly mistakes. "As a result of the implementation, we expect to meet our goal of increasing business five-fold over the next few years," Silva said. "In addition to improved flexibility and reliability, the solution integrated easily with our company's existing technology, which helped drive down costs during implementation allowing for us to offer more competitive prices to customers." "Print Laser required a printing environment that would expand and grow with their business needs," said Angel Bustamante, Worldwide Product Manager, Infoprint Manager, IBM Printing Systems Division. "IBM is committed to delivering durable and scalable printing solutions that work within the customer's existing heterogeneous infrastructure with ease. Through IBM's proven hardware and software solutions, we believe Print Laser can continue to be a major competitor in the print service marketplace." Print Laser reports that the implementation has also brought unexpected storage benefits. Since the files converted by Infoprint XT for AIX software are smaller than those converted by the previous conversion tool, Print Laser has been able to save a significant amount of storage space. The solution also enables the company to balance the workload across its print environment, which has helped maximize company resources.