ESPUL

The Extended Spool Utility for the HP3000 MPE operating system

ESPUL's PRINTPATH extensions enable enterprise network printing on Xerox DocuPrint Network Printing Systems (NPS) within HP3000 environments. ESPUL and Xerox DocuPrint NPS printers are the ideal replacement solution for HP 2680s.		ESPUL, utility for system managers, operators, and expert users: Replaces HP's SPOOK utility and compliments the MPE commands for spoolfile manipulation. Provides a user-friendly display of the MPE output spool and job queues. Enables SHOW, ALTER, COPY, PURGE, VIEW, and ARCHIVE spoolfile selection by any spoolfile attribute or combination of attributes with wildcards. Transfers spoolfiles between networked HP3000 systems. Allows production of spoolfile tapes compatible with microfiche production and transfer of spoolfiles to non-HP systems. Prints spoolfiles on printers attached to terminals or PCs. Offers automated archiving, report distribution, and $STDLIST error analysis. Runs on MPE/V, MPE/XL and MPE/iX. Features other capabilities to assist users with system operation/management and systems development. ESPUL also features PRINTPATH, a set of built-in network printing functions that: Supports a wide variety of network operating systems, including UNIX, NetWare, and Windows NT--all using TCP/IP. Allows direct enterprise network printing via many popular network printer interface devices. Extends HP3000 spooling to TCP/IP networked printers. Makes HP3000 printers accessible to network clients. Offers full support for such printing features as bannering, environment files, insert/append files, and form packages. Enables connectivity between the HP3000 and Xerox DocuPrint NPS network production printers, including the 4050, 4090, 4850, 4890, 4635, and 180.
Contact: Xerox Corp. www.xerox.com or Software Devices 1-360-357-9572 www.swdevs.com

The Xerox Production Systems Group and Software Devices now offer a long-term enterprise printing solution to address HP3000 production printing requirements.

Software Devices's ESPUL, an extended spool utility with built-in networking capabilities, enables the Xerox DocuPrint 4050, 4090, 4850, 4890, 4635, and 180 Network Printing Systems (NPS) to process legacy HP3000 applications with little or no reprogramming.

The Xerox-ESPUL solution comes at a critical time for customers with HP 2680 printers. In March 1997, Hewlett-Packard withdrew support for the printers, which allowed for special formatting that can not be carried over to other printers without the use of a third-party utility. Additionally, the HP3000 has no native networking capabilities, making the migration to enterprise printing a challenge.

In light of these limitations, many customers believe their future printing capabilities will be hampered. But the DocuPrints and ESPUL can take legacy HP applications virtually unchanged and print them directly or across the enterprise. "The HP3000 marketplace is very mature and many customers have great investments in their applications," said Richard Corn, managing partner of Software Devices. "We and Xerox offer a supported solution that will take customers into the next millenium while introducing additional formatting and printing capabilities."

It is estimated by industry experts that more than 2,000 HP 2680 printers installed since 1983 are still in use today. ESPUL provides users the opportunity to introduce an enterprise solution to the printing architecture via its network enabler, PRINTPATH. PRINTPATH is a powerful set of network extensions that eliminates the restrictions of a direct connection to the HP3000 and drives printers anywhere on a network

"Xerox is committed to maintaining customer satisfaction, quality products, and transparent solutions for HP3000 customers," said Paul Bristow, marketing manager for the Xerox NPS family of products. "When used in conjunction with the Xerox DocuPrint network printers, ESPUL PRINTPATH is a highly viable solution for those customers migrating to enterprise printing."

The Xerox DocuPrint NPS Series is a family of PostScript and PCL laser printers ranging in speed from 50 to 180 pages per minute. They offer support for a wide variety of network connections and emulations. Other key features include up to six programmable input trays, simplex or duplex printing on a wide range of paper weights and sizes, numerous finishing options including stitching and stapling, high-capacity output stackers, and highlight color.

ESPUL runs under the HP3000 MPE/V, MPE/XL, and MPE/iX operating systems. Because it is script-language-based, system managers, operators, and expert users can easily control formatting and printing commands. PRINTPATH enables HP3000 network printing via TCP/IP connections to Xerox DocuPrint NPS printers. PRINTPATH also supports printing over a wide variety of network operating systems, including UNIX, NetWare, and Windows NT.

A Xerox DocuPrint 4050 coupled with ESPUL PRINTPATH proved a valuable solution for the City of Spokane, Washington, when it sought a new solution for its utility billing and other applications. The City adopted the Xerox-ESPUL solution to help ease a future migration to client/server computing and because of the extended features offered by the DocuPrint 4050. "The only printer that could do everything we needed was the DocuPrint," said Tom Tate, acting director of MIS, City of Spokane. "The solution has saved us up to two hours each time we run the City's utility bills."

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