BOULDER, Colo., October 26, 2003. IBM today announced support for TrueType and OpenType fonts in its printer hardware, print server software on various platforms, and new font offerings. This new support will allow applications to use an open, standard font technology with a wide choice of typefaces, and will enable the globalization of applications by allowing the generation of print data in the Unicode format. “As the world's population continues to grow more diverse through immigration and globalization, both domestic and international businesses are looking for more efficient ways to communicate in the language of their customers,” said David Myers, worldwide segment executive, IBM Printing Systems Division. “This latest added support provides the ability to create a document that can be printed in almost every language in the world using this new set of fonts.” Supporting a diverse customer base that spans English and Chinese, Bank of China (Hong Kong) will be one of the first to use this new IBM technology. IBM's latest AFP architecture innovation provides the flexibility to output in a variety of font styles and typefaces. The new support for TrueType and OpenType font technology in AFP is critical in helping Bank of China migrate to Unicode printing and creating a single application that can be output in multiple languages. These new offerings provide significant benefits: • More choices in selecting typefaces. • A truly multilingual environment through support of Unicode, enabling the globalization of applications. • By using Unicode, print data can be generated in many languages without the requirement to switch the font or code page. • Ability to print from Windows applications with the same fonts that are seen on a computer screen, thereby eliminating font substitutions that are often inaccurate. • Eliminates the need to maintain multiple font technologies by allowing customers to migrate to the use of one single font technology across all their presentation environments. Availability IBM support for TrueType and OpenType fonts has been added to the following IBM products: • IBM Print Services Facility for z/OS V3R4 • IBM Page Printer Formatting Aid/370 V1R1 • IBM Infoprint Fonts for Multiplatforms V1R1 • IBM Infoprint 4000 and IBM Infoprint 4100 The printer support is available immediately, with software support availability beginning on December 12, 2003. In 2004, IBM intends to add support for TrueType and OpenType fonts to the following IBM products: • IBM Infoprint Manager for AIX • IBM Infoprint Manager for Windows • IBM AFP Viewer • IBM Windows AFP Driver • IBM Print Services Facility for iSeries Application Support Recognizing the importance of TrueType and OpenType Font support, IBM Business Partners are already planning to implement AFP TrueType and OpenType support in their document automation products. Document Sciences Corporation will be the first to support, with availability beginning 4th quarter, 2003. Others Business Partners that plan to support in 2004 include DocuCorp, Elixir Technologies Corporation, Exstream Software, GMC Software Technology, ISIS Information Systems, Metavante Corporation and PrintSoft.