NEW ORLEANS & REDMOND, Wash.---Sept. 10, 2001-- Understanding the future need of prepress departments to build effective, centralized, Storage Area Networks (SANs), Blanchard Systems and Advanced Digital Information Corporation have entered into an OEM partnership under which Blanchard will market ADIC's CentraVision(TM) file system software to the graphic arts industry under the Vortex brand as the "Vortex Shared File System'' (VSFS). The technology provides a powerful productivity tool that solves network bandwidth problems and shortens project timelines by allowing homogeneous and heterogeneous clients to share files over a dedicated Storage Area Network (SAN). SAN file sharing provides every user with direct access to data connected to the storage network, eliminating the need to move or duplicate files. Under terms of the agreement, Blanchard will be the exclusive integrator of CentraVision for the prepress market. Blanchard has tested and successfully implemented both heterogeneous and homogeneous file systems, running on Windows 2000/NT, Red Hat Linux, SGI IRIX and SUN Solaris operating systems, for use in the prepress industry. Blanchard has seen file system performance results of 70MB per second transfer rate between the Vortex SAN and clients. Centralized Storage Conventional file systems make efficient transfer of data difficult and time consuming. Large file transfers typical in the printing and graphic arts industries clog the IP-based network and users must wait for their data to be transferred. The Vortex Shared File System allows each user to access centrally stored files from local workstations over a dedicated switched-SAN. Files remain on the central disk, available to multiple users, but each user accesses and processes the files at local disk speed. Processing is parallel and fast. File transfers are eliminated, disk requirements are minimized, and there is only one version of the file. With more and more color content on pages, all-digital workflows and the proliferation of computer-to-plate (CTP) processes, printing and graphic arts companies are creating more and larger files. The Vortex Shared File system eliminates network and server bottlenecks, allowing the maximum use of the high bandwidth dedicated Storage Area Network. Vortex Shared File System provides true serverless data access for maximum scalability, flexibility and speed. All data is available directly between RAID subsystems and clients (servers, retouch workstations, scan stations and Rips) completely eliminating the need for dedicated storage servers. This also means that with Vortex Shared File System, new RAID subsystems and clients may be added to the switched fabric quickly and easily without the burden of new server setup and administration. "ADIC's expertise comes to us from the video and entertainment business, where there is a tremendous need for file system performance in the high demanding application of video streaming. We've seen our clients files growing larger and running on a mixture of operating systems,'' notes Fred Padilla, Blanchard Systems vice president, technology. "The Vortex Shared File System integrated with our Vortex SAN, provides the robust solution that the printing and graphic arts industry demands.'' "Because our clients need to handle more files more efficiently, we have been aggressively building an expertise in SAN infrastructure,'' remarks Charles Blanchard, president and CEO of Blanchard Systems. "ADIC's shared file system, combined with our prepress expertise, provides the graphic arts and printing industries with a robust and flexible solution.'' "We are very impressed with the way Blanchard Systems has worked with CentraVision,'' says Dave Uvelli, ADIC executive director for Software. "We expect their significant knowledge of file transfer and workflow in the graphic arts industry will convince others to adopt CentraVision as the SAN file-sharing software of choice.'' About Vortex Prepress solutions Through Blanchard's exhaustive research and development of integrated systems, the company developed a system of integrated solutions combining best-of-breed hardware and software specifically designed to meet the needs of the PrePress, Printing and Publishing Industry. Vortex is an infinitely flexible solution that not only eliminates bottlenecks in prepress systems -- it increases efficiencies and enables them to achieve greater profitability. About Blanchard Systems, Inc. Founded in 1996 by Charles S. Blanchard Jr., Blanchard Systems, Inc. is a computer systems integration company and value-added reseller working exclusively within the graphic arts industry. Blanchard delivers intelligent integration of digital prepress systems by providing its clients the best solutions for optimal performance and return on their investment. Blanchard offers an intelligent approach for integrating digital prepress solutions that automate preflighting and workflow production from ripping, trapping, proofing and color management to networking and server solutions including SAN, RAID, backup and archiving. Blanchard Systems Inc., delivers complete hardware and software solutions, system configuration, integration, installation and training. About ADIC Advanced Digital Information Corporation (Nasdaq:ADIC - news) is a leading storage solutions provider to the open systems marketplace, offering a broad range of Intelligent Storage(TM) products designed to enhance organizations' abilities to store, protect, manage and use their rapidly growing network data. ADIC products include technology-independent automated storage systems, specialized storage management software, and multiple-protocol storage networking (SAN/NAS) connectivity and management tools. ADIC storage products are available through a worldwide sales force and a global network of resellers and OEMs, including Dell, EMC, Fujitsu-Siemens and IBM. Further information about ADIC is available at www.adic.com.