Print five times faster thanks to Adaptive Speed
Whether you use the ThinPrint printer driver, Output Gateway, or not, ThinPrint .print greatly compresses print data. In most environments, this is useful because it reduces network traffic and cuts costs. Print data is compressed on the server side and decompressed on the client side by a .print Client. If there is enough bandwidth available, though, or if printing takes place entirely within a local network, high compression is often unnecessary. Printing can be faster if there is less compression. With version 7.6, you have the option of influencing this. 
In the new version, compression can be modified according to the bandwidth control. The GUI now features an option for disabling the bandwidth control. This is useful with leased lines or when printing takes place entirely within the same network - precisely there where broad bandwidth is available: 100 MB or more. In this case, the data is compressed less. The result is that you can print faster. If there is only limited bandwidth available in remote offices, though (e.g., DSL or WLAN connection with 10 MB), you can enable the bandwidth limit as usual and set it exactly with the slide bar (Illus.). Then compression will be greater to ensure a lower amount of data to be transferred.
You can also directly specify that the print data is to be compressed to a minimum. You can thus also influence compression when using native printer drivers. Until now, it was only possible to select a compression level (normal, maximal, etc.) with Output Gateway.
The ThinPrint protocol got better and in the new version generally prints faster than previously. This has a particularly positive effect with broad bandwidths. Now you can print five times faster than before.
In summary: you can print faster with version 7.6, because the compression adapts to your network architecture and bandwidth control.
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Extended platform support and integration
With .print Engine 7.6, ThinPrint is laying the foundation for an even wider range of applications of the .print technology in distributed network environments. Print management can thus be perfected with the new version even outside of classic SBC or Terminal Services environments, such as in the areas of client/server, web, or mobile applications. It can also be used for generally optimizing print job processing over WAN connections.
When developing Version 7.6, we paid special attention to supporting the forthcoming generation of Windows Server 2008 and its new XPS technology. Structural revisions and a multitude of detail improvements ensure that ThinPrint customers also get maximum use out of this new Microsoft technology. A Windows 2008 certification for our solution will be available soon.
Building on this technological foundation, future versions of ThinPrint .print will also be optimally coordinated with the new possibilities of this Microsoft technology. Additionally, numerous new features will provide for maximum security of investment.
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Driver Free Native Printing
Driver Free Native Printing is used when you want to keep the terminal server free of printer drivers (Driver Free Printing), but no Windows machine is available on the client side to render the print job. In order to use the practical Driver Free Printing with thin clients too, for example, Driver Free Native Printing has been available since Version 7.0. A central print server is needed for this. ThinPrint's Output Gateway printer driver sends the print job from the terminal server to the central print server; from there it is sent to the thin client with the native printer driver. This has the advantage that, despite the required native driver, the terminal server can remain free of printer drivers.
In Driver Free Printing of Version 7.6, it is now also possible to automatically transfer most individual properties of the native printer driver (such as paper formats,paper trays, and resolution) to Output Gateway and to display them there (Illus.).
.print AutoConnect: Variables
.print AutoConnect enables automatic mapping of client printers in the terminal session. To simplify printer administration, it is now possible to use variables. In addition to the wildcards, variables (example: %LPSRV%) can now also be used in the name translation table. Several printers can thus be created with one single entry where the variables are replaced by the printer name or the print server name of the printer in the .print Client respectively.
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%LPSRV%
(Local Print Server)
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%LCPRN%
(Local ClientPrinter)
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This variable is replaced by the
print server name
in the .print Client of the user machine.
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This variable is replaced by the
printer name
in the .print Client of the user machine.
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The entries are made in the TARGET field in the name translation table of AutoConnect. Either variable can be used as desired and also used in combination.
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Two license models: server- and user-based licensing
With ThinPrint's .print Version 7.6, we are introducing an alternative license model option where purchase of .print licenses is based on users rather than the previous server-based licensing.
The new user-based licensing allows the application areas of ThinPrint .print technology to far exceed Server-Based Computing (SBC). In addition to Terminal Services architectures, ThinPrint .print is increasingly used for remote connection of classic client/server systems with network printers, but also, for example, for print processing via web and mobile applications or from other applications via WAN connections.
The availability of two license models thus guarantees fair and cost-effective licensing in every environment where .print technology is used to optimize print management. The server-based and user-based license models will be permanently available. Choosing which license model to purchase should be based on the existing environment.
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Central license management: License manager in the MMC
With version 7.6, License Manager is now part of the MMC (Microsoft Management Console). That means that all of the advantages of the MMC can also be used for licensing and distributing licenses. In particular, license keys can be entered and managed at a central point for remote servers. The server on which the license keys are entered can be any server in the network on which .print Engine is installed.
Moreover, licensing has become even simpler; the different colors show you immediately which licenses are valid and which not. An exclamation point next to the key shows that the subscription will soon expire (Illus.).
You can of course install and activate the licenses with unattended installation. With version 7.6, this also applies for remote computers.
The advantages of the new License Manager:
- Central license management
- Display of license status (active / valid / invalid)
- Simple license distribution to remote computers
- Indication of expiring update subscription
- Central unattended installation and activation of licenses
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With the maximum scalability, reliability, flexibility, transparency and security possible, ThinPrint .print technology has established itself on the market as the leading print management solution for distributed environments. Countless features ensure that you retain complete control over the printing activities in your network, even in complex architectures and differing user scenarios.
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