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Agreement to Combine printCafe's Industry-Leading Enterprise Print Procurement
System with WAM!NET's Fully Managed Global Print Production Network EAGAN,
MN -- September 19, 2001 -- printCafe,
the operating system for print(tm), and WAM!NET,
a provider of information technology and digital content management services,
today announced that the companies will offer a combined online print procurement
and production solution that will allow print buyers and their suppliers to conduct
their print buying and print production workflow activities within a single secure,
online digital environment. The
solution leverages WAM!NET's portfolio of fully managed networking and file transfer
services that allow customers to collaborate with their clients and trading partners
in a secure, fully managed global digital print production environment, and printCafe's
EnterpriseSite, an integrated print procurement solution that enables users to
specify virtually any type of print project, obtain estimates, track the status
of a project in real time, manage invoicing, and report on a broad range of performance
summaries and analyses. Made
possible with printCafe's PCX integration framework, users of printCafe's EnterpriseSite
will be able to access WAM!NET's file transport services by selecting a "Send
Via WAM!NET(tm)" button within the printCafe user interface. The production files
can be sent via the public Internet or through the WAM!NET(r) network and can
be received by any trading partner with a connection to WAM!NET's network. The
joint solution initially was established to support the print procurement and
production workflow requirements of AOL Time Warner, a customer of both printCafe
and WAM!NET. printCafe and WAM!NET officials stated that they will seek to commercialize
the solution in the fourth quarter of 2001. Guy
Gleysteen, director of print at AOL Time Warner, highlighted the benefits of the
printCafe/WAM!NET partnership. "Enhancing printCafe's application with access
to WAM!NET's sophisticated file transport infrastructure is powerful because it
links the process of purchasing print with the process of managing and transporting
the print jobs themselves. These two solutions, together, fulfill an important
step in our goal to provide our users with a complete and integrated set of print
production and procurement tools." "WAM!NET
collaborates with industry leaders to deliver increased business value to our
customers," said Tim Elliott, executive director, WAM!NET Global Marketing. "Customers
select WAM!NET services to connect with their trading partners and revolutionize
the way they produce, share, store and manage their digital assets and content.
At the same time, they want access to mission critical procurement applications
that further streamline their workflows, drive productivity, and save money. The
WAM!NET/printCafe solution is a great example of our efforts to support this important
customer objective." "printCafe's
products help to streamline the flow of information across the print supply chain,"
Andy Schaer, senior vice president of marketing for printCafe. "As a result, our
customers, including corporate print buyers, publishers, and printers, can realize
dramatic productivity improvements and cost savings. As part of their procurement
solution, our customers require an integrated and secure file transfer capability
beyond FTP. WAM!NET's managed file transfer services, integrated with printCafe's
print procurement solution, address this need. Now, our customers can focus on
their core competencies as opposed to time-intensive and costly analog steps in
their workflows, and the significant capital investments and system management
requirements often associated with proprietary networks." Today,
WAM!NET serves more than 17,000 printing and publishing, graphic arts, corporate,
agency, entertainment, healthcare and government customers globally. Approximately
2,000 WAM!NET customers access the company's services through dedicated customer
premise equipment. Another 15,000 customers access WAM!NET services through a
secure, managed Internet portal. About
printCafe printCafe,
Inc is a provider and developer of infrastructure software and Internet-based
products for the printing industry. printCafe's approach integrates the most widely
used print management systems with a powerful e-commerce engine enabling users
to specify virtually any type of print project, obtain estimates, manage B2B transactions,
monitor ERP information, set up all stages of the production process, track the
status of a project in real time, manage invoicing, and report on a broad range
of performance summaries and analyses. Services and applications are designed
for a wide range of print projects from complex magazines and books, to medium-to-small
projects such as collateral materials and business cards. printCafe solutions
are installed in or hosted for over 7,500 printing facilities and print buyers
worldwide, including 20 of the 25 largest printing companies in the United States
and over 50 of the Fortune 1000 companies including AOL Time Warner and General
Motors. printCafe has formed strategic alliances with Creo Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:
CREO; TSE: CRE), as well as with a subsidiary of A.T. Kearney, an EDS company,
and is a certified trading partner in Ariba, Inc.'s Ariba Ready(tm) supplier network.
About WAM!NET
Inc. WAM!NET
is a global provider of information technology and digital media solutions. WAM!NET's
services, which include managed network, data storage, hosting and application
services, are delivered in a utility-like model via the company's highly integrated
IT platform, enabling commercial and government customers to access the combination
of IT services they need on a transactional basis. In doing so, customers are
united with their community of interest, which collaborates to specify, create,
print, store, broadcast and distribute content within WAM!NET's online, secure
digital environment. Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, WAM!NET commenced operations
in 1995. The company has more than 17,000 corporate end users of its e-services
worldwide. WAM!NET services are available throughout North America, Europe, Singapore,
Japan and Australia. For information on the company, call 800-611-9006, or visit
WAM!NET's Website at www.wamnet.com.
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WAM!NET is a
registered trademark of WAM!NET Inc. All other trademarks herein are the property
of their respective owners. printCafe
Media Contact: Mary
Murrin Smith 412-690-3055 msmith@printcafe.com
WAM!NET Media
Contacts: Jason
Thunstrom 651-256-5788 jthunstrom@wamnet.com
Irv Press Press
Plus 508-384-0608 irv@press-plus.com |