COLE'S NEWSWIRE, Dec. 4, 1996

Dec. 4, 1996
Vol. 2, No. 52

The NEWSWIRE is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

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AGFA DIVISION OF BAYER CORP.
Agfa, a manufacturer of digital imaging products based in Ridgefield Park, N.J., has introduced two dry proofing products in its Pressmatch Dry system line. Pressmatch Dry News is designed for newspaper and inserts productions, where it meets density, color and dot gain requirements of the cold web market. Pressmatch Dry Positive, available in publication and Euroscale colors, is aimed at publications and commercial markets.

The systems use an exposure unit and laminator to produce proofs as large as 16-by-24-inches in 10 minutes or less.

DAYSTAR DIGITAL
Daystar, a software provider based in Flowery Branch, Ga., has introduced more multiprocessing software packages, which deliver faster results on machines running the Mac OS. Daystar's Genesis MP is a four CPU configuration that provides speed rivaling those of supercomputers. Daystar said it is "close to releasing" three multiprocessor versions of ColorSync, color management software; processing software for images from Dicomed BigShot digital cameras, and Ircam FTS, a real-time sound synthesis and processing engine.

Daystar may be visited on the World-Wide Web at http://www.daystar.com/.

GEAC VISIONSHIFT
This Tampa, Fla., division of Geac Computers Inc., has announced that as part of Geac's acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet Software Services, the THR division located in Tampa, has become a part of Geac VisionShift. THR developed PC-based human resource and payroll software under the brand names of THR and TotalHR. These products, including the client/server version in development, will be integrated with both the VisionShift Accounting and VisionShift Newspaper product suites.

THR currently has a LAN-based Windows version (TotalHR) of its payroll and human resource applications developed with Microsoft tools. The client/server version is currently in development (to be released in the summer of 1997), and VisionShift officials said it "exactly matches" VisionShift on Windows 95 or Windows NT Workstation combined with Windows NT Server and Microsoft SQL Server.

Founded in 1975, Geac VisionShift (formerly Collier-Jackson, Inc.), has its web address at http://www.geac.com/offices/vs/.

HARRIS PUBLISHING SYSTEMS CORP.
Harris Publishing Systems Corp., a pre-press systems supplier and subsidiary of Harris Corp. based in Melbourne, Fla., has received these recent orders:

-- NEW ORLEANS (La.) TIMES-PICAYUNE (264k, all day): DASH display ad software, 2100 display ad software license.

-- DULUTH (Minn.) NEWS-TRIBUNE (57k, morning): add-on database engine software, XP-21 Server Replication software, JPEG hardware and software.

-- OMAHA (Neb.) WORLD-HERALD (227k, all day): additional Sun SPARC hardware.

-- ASBURY PARK PRESS, Neptune, N.J. (166k, evening): database engine software, several Mac software licenses and products.

-- FINDLAY (Ohio) COURIER (26k, morning): NewsMaker copy editor software licenses, NewsMaker wire server software.

-- York (Pa.) Newspaper Co. (YORK DAILY RECORD, 41k morning; YORK DISPATCH, 40k evening): upgrade CASH system from DOS-based to Windows, CASH system generic credit card interface software, training.

-- LA CROSSE (Wis.) TRIBUNE (35k, morning): interactive UNIX upgrade.

NIKON INC.
Nikon, a photographic products manufacturer based in Melville, N.Y., has launched a site on the World-Wide Web -- http://www.nikonusa.com/ -- to provide on-line information about Nikon's products. The theme of the site is precision; it features animation and revolving images.

SOFTWARE CONSULTING SERVICES
SCS, a software developer based in Nazareth, Pa., has announced these recent sales and installations:

-- ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES: AdMAX advertising and accounting.

-- BALTIMORE (Md.) JEWISH TIMES: AdMAX advertising and accounting.

-- ANN ARBOR (Mich.) NEWS (52k, evening): Layout-8000.

-- TRENTON (N.J.) TIMES (85k, morning): Layout-8000.

-- ITHACA (N.Y.) JOURNAL (19k, evening): editorial servers.

CANADA

-- CHRONICLE-HERALD, Halifax, Nova Scotia (97k, morning): Layout-8000.

TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Chicago-based TMS has introduced the first editorial cartoon created for on-line newspapers. Excite Interactive Editorial Cartoons, by Bill Mitchell, combine animation, color, hyperlinks and some audio files.

Free hyperlinks to http://www.excite.com/Misc/Toon.html are available through the Excite web hot list. Cartoons also may be retrieved from TMS' bulletin board service.

For more information about Tribune's syndicated comics and features, visit http://www.comicspage.com/.

Excite, based in Mountain View, Calif., is on the Web at http://www.excite.com/. Excite supplies Internet navigation services, including Excite Search, and content, such as Excite Reviews.

T/ONE
T/One, an image archive developer based in Quincy, Mass., has installed Merlin Archive Systems at several sites recently. The Merlin System, TRAX Assignment Tracking system and Merlin Webmaster provide control of digital workflow, from assignment origination to archive.

At the DENVER POST (285k, morning), HARTFORD (Conn.) COURANT (230k, morning), TAMPA (Fla.) TRIBUNE (285k, morning) and TULSA (Okla.) WORLD (172k, morning), reporters and assignment editors use TRAX to generate photo assignment requests and track all photo assignments. Editors use Merlin's search features to locate images for publication and move them into their production environments. New production-oriented features allow production departments to use Merlin's search tools to locate images and launch the image in Adobe Photoshopú from within the Merlin shell to prepare it for publication.

All four sites will use Merlin Webmaster to enable users on corporate intranets to search Merlin and browse through the images with standard web browsers.

The DALLAS MORNING NEWS (494k, morning) recently installed a Merlin Archive with CD Subsystem, including two 100 CD-ROM jukeboxes, TRAX and Merlin Webmaster. The paper is processing more than 100,000 legacy AP MacArchive images into Merlin.

At the KANSAS CITY STAR (292k, morning) Merlin replaced the STAR's Fetch-based AP MacArchive. The STAR has transferred more than 30,000 legacy-archive images into Merlin. At the DENVER POST, more than 40,000 images were transferred from another Fetch-based AP MacArchive into Merlin.

Microsoft MSNBC installed Merlin as its primary picture desk at its Redmond, Wash., office for its 24-hour Internet news site. Clients at MSNBC's offices in New York can search the MSNBC Merlin System in Redmond on Microsoft's corporate WAN with identical speed and simplicity as clients in Redmond.

The Save the Children foundation in Westport, Conn., installed a Merlin Archive System for storage of thousands of images of children from around the world who are served by the international relief agency.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is compiled by Pete Wetmore and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS, COLE'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING SYSTEMS and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

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