News Clipping, January 7, 2008

Microboards Brings Flash Duplication to Content Distribution Market

Microboards announces offering of flash media and duplicators In a surprising move in the optical industry today, duplication leader Microboards Technology announced an offering of hardware and supplies for duplicating on Flash media. Known for its broad range of DVD, CD, and Blu-ray duplicators and printers, Microboards has expanded its offering to include the write-many media that is taking the data world by storm. Flash Media has taken off largely because of its portability and non-volatility. Increasing capacity and near-instantaneous access speed makes it more popular every day, especially in mobile applications.

ˇ§Flash media is more than the memory stick for your camera or your USB thumbdrive ˇV it is everywhereˇ¨, says Microboards CTO John Westrum. ˇ§It is in cellphones, the iPod, GPS devices, and carsˇ¨. Despite the groundbreaking news from Microboards, no indication was given that Microboards is moving away from their CD/DVD mainstay business. ˇ§Optical media still has a growing place in the content worldˇ¨, says Aaron Pratt, Microboards Director of Marketing. ˇ§CD/DVD still has a much better cost-per-distributed-unit. It has a great printable surface for labeling, a process Microboards is well-known for in the optical market. And the optical disc is the only solution when write-once permanence is important. Even though the cost-per-megabyte is dropping rapidly with flash, and obviously people are moving a lot of their content onto flash, widespread distribution of data, video, and audio is still being done on CD and DVD.ˇ¨ Instead, Microboards acknowledges that there are emerging applications and needs that Flash works well for.

ˇ§Flash has a unique and rapidly growing place in the market, and we are positioned to help organizations benefit from itˇ¨ says Pratt. Microboardsˇ¦ channel of professional A/V resellers, for example, has expertise in helping content owners distribute digital video and audio, and the added offering gives them another tool to use to benefit their customers. Microboards offering includes a multi-drive standalone duplicator (operating without a computer) that automatically erases, formats, or copies thumb drives asynchronously. ˇ§Keeping with our tradition of high-speed and ease-of-use, our flash duplicators are designed to enable flawlessly copying from master to target without intensive setup or operator trainingˇ¨, says Westrum.

Microboards will also offer a complete line of blank flash drives. ˇ§We anticipate a broader offering in the very near future, as we continue to gather feedback around the types of media that our users would like us to support, as well as the way they are using the new mediaˇ¨ says Westrum. ˇ§As always, we design our products for our users ˇV making them simple to use so that they can focus on their business.ˇ¨

 

News Clipping, June 4, 2007

Microboards Technology Expands Disc Printer Offering

Microboards announces expanded offering of disc printing solutions Microboards has announced an expanded solutions offering encompassing economical disc printers for entry-level professional publishing. The enhanced offering will directly complement its flagship GX publisher product, and will cater to a number of new customers ˇV including small/home office, independent recording, and other small professional services organizations.

John Westrum, Chief Technology Officer, comments: ˇ§The expansion of our offering is in line with Microboards enhanced hardware and consumables strategy, and our objective to remain the leading solution provider in the disc duplication industry. In short, our purpose is to offer the market at large, and our extensive customer base, a substantially more compelling, unique and comprehensive range of printers - without moving away from our core focus which still remains end to end optical disc publishing.ˇ¨

ˇ§The change in our offering is in line with customer feedback and requirements as well as the exponential growth in the optical recording arena.ˇ¨ Says Westrum: ˇ§The last year has seen the successful launch of the GX-1 disc publisher for entry level recording & printing for both Mac and PC. Now our regular interaction with our reseller base indicates that the next step is providing a product that reaches an even wider base of users.ˇ¨

The two products, a manually-fed GX Disc Printer, and a 50-disc GX Disc Autoprinter, will street at US$695 and US$1095, respectively. Simultaneously, Microboards is announcing a price reduction on the GX Publisher, which combines printing and recording into a single unit. With the GX Publisherˇ¦s new street price of US$1495, the three printing solutions represent the best value in the industry. All three feature high-resolution, photo-quality inkjet printing and include label design software and a starter kit of media and ink. And the cost-per-disc in consumable (ink) cost remains the lowest in its class by as much as 60%.

The broad offering that Microboards brings to optical users is split into two core components, hardware and consumables. And although still focused around providing the high quality Taiyo Yuden recordable media and tower duplicators for stable, quality duplication, the offering has been expanded to include a complementary range of printing and publishing products to meet a broader set of customer requirements. ˇ§Our accumulated expertise from the past 14 years enables us to offer products that meet the needs of a wide range of peopleˇ¨ says Westrum. ˇ§Anyone can benefit from in-house control of disc publishing jobs. Not only can they customize content and labels, users also find that they can better ensure quality, up-to-date versioning, and control costs and inventory. Thatˇ¦s a pretty powerful combination.ˇ¨

 

News Clipping, September 5, 2006

Mac Support for Microboards GX-1 DVD/CD Publisher Added

Setting an astonishing new standard for disc publishing, support for the Mac operating system has now been added to the GX-1 Disc Publisher. Microboards Technology, the leading manufacturer/distributor of disc duplication and publishing products, has introduced a software package that revolutionizes disc printing and recording on the Mac.

Strong support for Mac users has been a longtime shortcoming in our industryˇ¨, said John Westrum, Microboardsˇ¦ Chief Technology Officer. ˇ§The few solutions available in the market fell far short of user expectations, so we worked hard to produce a more user-friendly solution.ˇ¨ Among the unique capabilities in the new solution is the ability to design labels in standard software applications. Users can link virtually any file type to use as the label from the included recording software for automated, integrated publishing and recording. Besides its durability and good looks, the GX-1 disc publisher is rapidly gaining attention for its output capabilities.

Since its launch, internal and third-party testing have confirmed that the GX-1 wins in its class for cost-per-disc in ink, speed of print and print quality. ˇ§Microboards Technology is well-known in disc printing for our low ink cost. But the distinct gains in print time and print quality are so immediately and plainly visible with the GX-1, that users are quickly convinced of its overall superiority in the market,ˇ¨ says Westrum. ˇ§Graphics and text are distinct, clear and crisp. And our print time is up to 40% faster when compared with other desktop-type solutions.ˇ¨ Microboards co-developed the Mac solution with Hewlett Packard, who also provides the print engine to the GX-1 publisher.

ˇ§HP continues to be our most important partner in developing CD and DVD printing solutionsˇ¨ says Westrum. ˇ§Their expertise in inkjet printing, combined with our recording and dispensing patents, is resulting in products that impress everyone, from end users to industry experts. Gains in print time and quality come in part from utilizing a new inkjet engine from HP, the improved handling of the disc under the print head, and HPˇ¦s new Vivera inks, which deliver brightness and durability for photo-quality printing.

 

News Clipping, August 23, 2004

Microboards Adds Ten-Recorder DVD Duplicator to Product Line

Microboards Technology announced the addition of a ten-recorder duplicator to their award-winning tower duplicator line. This affordable, professional-level CD/DVD copying system is easy-to-use and fully contained, operating without being connected to a computer.

Highest Throughput Solution

The CopyWriter Tower provides the highest throughput and most reliable capability of any tower duplicator in the industry. It is the only duplicator on the market available with up to ten drives in a single tower. In addition, the CopyWriter tower series has configurations of up to 16 recorders in a twin-tower system.

"With the introduction of the new 10 drive configuration, Microboards has even further distinguished itself from the competition " says Mitch Ackmann, President and COO of Microboards Technology. "It creates a new level of capability far above the industry standard of 7 drives. " Feature-Rich and Easy-to-Use The CopyWriter Tower series of duplicators combines a stable design, feature-rich controller technology, and robust recorders to give users access to advanced abilities without sacrificing reliability.

Advanced features include the ability to store disc images, change recording speeds, keep job counts, and perform audio track extraction. A two-line LCD display and simple two-button interface make accessing those features easy for even novice users.

John Westrum, Microboardsi VP of Operations and CTO, commented: "The CopyWriter Tower series was designed based on 15 years of experience with recordable technology. It brings back the ten-bay capability that was popular in our early CD duplicators and combines it with functions that we have incorporated in many of our other products. Microboards truly designs with the user in mind.

 

News Clipping, April 7, 2003

Rimage Releases New Line of Desktop CD/DVD Publishers Featuring Liberty--- The New HP-Enabled Label Printing Technology

Rimage Corporation announced it is now shipping a completely new version of the popular Desktop Family of CD/DVD publishers. The new Desktop products feature a complete redesign, with increased disc capacity, updated software (now with client applications for PC and Mac environments), and a new HP-enabled, inkjet print technology called Liberty.

The new Desktop Family has been completely updated to meet the diverse needs of new and expanding markets. The line features a fresh look, increased disc capacity, updated software, and new configurations. While the product has been significantly enhanced, each Desktop CD or DVD publisher continues to offer networkability, unique publishing and duplication capabilities, world-class software, reliable automation, ease of use, quick and simple setup, and the versatility of a wide-variety of configurations tailored to the specific needs of any given environment.

Versatility-Specific Solutions for Specific Environments

The Desktop Publishers are available in configurations of 1, 2, or 4 recorders, with choice of CD, DVD or both. The 1500, our lowest cost, highest quality solution, comes with 1 or 2 drives (CD or DVD), removable spindle based disc output, and a 100-disc capacity (100-disc input/150-disc output). The 4500 is the most versatile duplicator with 120-disc capacity, and a rotating 3-bin carousel that can be configured for simultaneous CD and DVD production, and comes in your choice of 2 or 4 drives with CD, DVD or both.

Liberty Thermal Inkjet Printing Technology

As part of a total CD/DVD production solution, each Desktop publisher features world-class label printing. Every new Desktop publisher is equipped with a new HP-enabled Liberty inkjet printer. Liberty prints labels directly on the surface of CDs and DVDs and features: 4800 dpi Full-Color Spectrum of 16.7 Million Colors pixel Density of 5.76 Million Pixels Per Square Inch HP ColorRET Color Management System dual Ink Cartridges (1-Black and 1-CMY) Industry Smallest Ink Droplet Size for Impeccable Ink control

Smallest Ink Droplet Size-Only 4 Pico-Liters

With a droplet size of only 4 pico-liters (compared to others with a droplet size of up to 11 pico-liters) the Liberty printer is able to maintain greater ink control. The size of the ink droplet is important because surface coatings for inkjet media can only handle so much ink. Printers with larger droplet sizes run into a number of problems including, smudging, ink-pooling, lengthydry times, color-shifting and migration, among others. With Liberty miniscule droplet size, those issues are virtually eliminated.

PC and Mac Client Interface

The new Desktop units will also feature an updated version of the OfficeNET Software Suite, which now has a java based client application and API tools for multi-platform environments, including Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix environments.

Growing Demand for Digital Asset Management

"The introduction of the new Desktop line allows us to bring forward a product possessing the feature sets necessary to shape and grow this emerging Office/Desktop market. Features like multi-platform support, increased disc-capacity, performance, networkability, a wide-variety of configurations-all these were built into the Desktop line specifically for their ability to adapt to these markets as they grow and their needs change,” Observed Jim Lewis, Vice President, Marketing.

 

News Clipping, October 29, 2002

Microboards announces CD-R / DVD-R Inkjet Printer Print Factory Utilizes Hewlett Packard Inkjet Technology

Microboards Technology has formed an alliance with HP's Specialty Printing System Operation (SPS) to develop a CD and DVD inkjet printer with the highest throughput on the market. Targeted at users with high volume, fast turnaround requirements, the printer is capable of 4800 x 1200 dpi print resolution, the highest available in CD and DVD printing.

Fully Integrated Automation Microboards combined their patented autoloading system with HP's new inkjet printer engine to give users the highest output possible, both in image resolution and print speed. Since Print Factory is an autoloading printer, no calibration of robotics or manual feeding of discs is required. Print Factory connects by USB or Parallel interface to the computer, and comes with label design software. "We are pleased to be working with Microboards on bringing innovative products to market that take advantages of HP inkjet technology in CD/DVD printing applications", said Ron Firooz, Worldwide Sales Manager for HP's Specialty Printing Systems. "The CD Duplication system buyers are asking for solutions that improve their flexibility with short to medium run duplications and on-demand printing without sacrificing quality or cost. The alliance between Microboards' CD/DVD expertise and HP's inkjet technology delivers what this market is asking for."

"This new printer incorporates our rugged gravity-feeding system, which for years has been incorporated in several of our award-winning products", said Mitch Ackmann, President and COO of Microboards Technology. "We are very pleased to be able to integrate our CD and DVD expertise with HP's world-renowned inkjet technology." Flexibility and Speed for Any Application While Print Factory was designed to fill a need in the high-volume arena, it also has the ability to print at 4800 x 1200 dpi on both DVD and CD media. With the included design software, users can enjoy its benefits whether making a few discs or a few hundred. "We believe Print Factory does an excellent job of delivering speed and image quality while reducing the cost of printing," Firooz says. "HP's inkjet technology ensures high quality and durability for CD duplication applications that demand high uptime, durability and supplies availability."

Print Factory is capable of producing up to 200 discs per hour. In addition, Print Factory uses standard HP color and black ink cartridges. The cartridges have a very high yield at a competitive cost, which allows for printing costs of a few pennies per disc.

 

News Clipping, September 24, 2002

Microboards announces 16 Drive Tower Duplication

CopyWriter Pro Series Features Highest Throughput in the World

Microboards Technology is now shipping the fastest manual loading duplication system available in the world. CopyWriter Pro features high-speed recorders and is expandable to carry up to 16 CD-R Recorders. "The CopyWriter Pro with 16 recorders is designed to fill the multi-drive market previously serviced by our Inferno duplicator.", said John Westrum, Director of Operations for Microboards Technology. "We introduced the concept of multiple multi-drive towers to the market, and now we are able to offer it with high-speed recorders for optimal throughput."

"The innovation that went into CopyWriter Pro is what earned it the prestigious Editor's Choice Award", said Mitch Ackmann, President and COO of Microboards Technology. "Between our distributed products and our award-winning towers and autoloaders, Microboards is able to service any requirements for CD and DVD recording and duplication systems." Microboards will be demonstrating the capabilities of the CopyWriter Pro at the SGIA show (October 30th through November 2nd, 2002) in St. Louis and the AES show (October 5th through October 8th, 2002) in Los Angeles. The CopyWriter Pro comes in configurations from 2 to 16 drives. A DVD version is also available.

 

News Clipping, August 12, 2002

Microboards announces Karaoke CD Duplication Support

CopyWriter Pro and DSR Pro Series of Tower Duplicators will copy CD+G

Microboards Technology announced CD+G support for their CopyWriter Pro and DSR Pro series of Manual CD Duplicators. CD+G, commonly known as Karaoke Mode, has gained popularity as a format despite the fact that a limited number of CD Readers and Recorders can read or write CD+G. "The addition of Karaoke support is especially exciting because our Pro series is already tailored to the professional audio market", said John Westrum, Director of Operations for Microboards Technology. "The ability to perform track extraction and create customized audio CDs are among the reasons our duplicators are the most popular in ProAudio."

"We have seen a growing need for machines with Karaoke support, and because of our commitment to the recording world, we moved quickly to add CD+G to our supported formats list", said Mitch Ackmann, President and COO of Microboards Technology. "The competitive price point of our duplicators combined with the extensive feature set make them the most popular in the world."

 

News Clipping, May 15, 2002

High-Speed 40X Duplication Announced by Microboards Technology

Most Popular Tower Duplicators Fastest in the World

Microboards Technology announced it is shipping the fastest duplicator line available on the market. The new models' significant features include support for 40X record speed and a new brushed-aluminum style casing.

With the new CopyWriter Tower Series, Microboards not only maintains their position as the leader in standalone duplication technology, but the CopyWriter brand name is brought back to the tower duplication arena. "CopyWriter was the name of the world's first standalone CD duplicator, which was brought to market by Microboards" said John Westrum, Chief Technology Officer at Microboards Technology, "and it was only appropriate to bring it back as we reach this new benchmark for speed and throughtput." Pricing on the CopyWriter Tower starts at US$1595 (MSRP), making it practical for a variety of markets.

Configurable with anywhere from two to eight recorders, the CopyWriter Tower is designed to be both economical and scaleable. Since all Microboards Tower Duplication equipment comes with a built in reader, the user is able to make up to eight copies simultaneously from a single master. In addition, the CopyWriter Pro version comes with an integrated hard drive and user interface module that gives the user access to advanced features. These include speed selectability, image archival, and track extraction for creation of customised audio CDs.

 

News Clipping, February 20, 2002

New CD Recorder/Duplicator with Support for Live CD Audio and CD Video Recording Announced by Microboards Technology

Microboards Technology announced the release of a combination duplicator-recorder. The unit will begin shipping March 30th, 2002.

Tailored to the needs of the education and church recording markets, the CopyWriter Live features Disc-to-Disc recording capability combined with RCA and XLR inputs for live video and audio feed. The unit is configurable for use as a desktop or rack mount device with a remote for access to its full range of features. In addition, the CopyWriter Live is able to span from disc to disc, continuously recording from virtually any source. As one disc reaches capacity, the second recorder begins writing, allowing the user to record without pause for as long as the application requires.

"CopyWriter Live was designed with the needs of the church user in mind," said Microboards Technology's President Mitch Ackmann. "We invested considerable effort in visiting with end users from around the country and identifying a feature set that would allow the user to economically add CD mastering and duplication to their capabilities."

"We are pleased to be able to offer this product at a very reachable price point. Markets that are still holding on to tape will be able to add CD Recording without upsetting their current configurations, and the industry will benefit as a whole, as well as the end user."

The CopyWriter Live will be available through Microboards VARs and Resellers beginning March 30th at a list price of US$799.

 

New Clippings, October 15, 2001

DVD Duplication system announced by Microboards Technology

Microboards Technology announced the release of its new DSR DVD series of standalone tower duplicators. The duplicator will begin shipping October 15th.

Featuring the Pioneer A03 DVD Recorder, the DSR DVD series offers simple operation using Microboards easily navigable "menu-mentor" interface, a hard drive for image archiving and CD-DA track extraction, and dual CD and DVD recording capabilities. In addition, users can connect the tower directly to a Mac or PC to create the master disc. "Direct Connect" eliminates the need to purchase a separate recorder to create the master. The Fire Wire feature gives the unit both standalone and PC/Mac-connect functionality.

"The DSR DVD series is a natural progression from our very popular DSR series of CD duplicators." said Microboards Technology's President Mitch Ackmann. "Our extensive experience with tower duplication made this a logical step." "Microboards has always been focused on integrating advanced capabilities at very competitive price points," said Jim Filkins, Director of Sales and Operations. "Combined DVD and CD recording in one unit is just another extension of that focus." The DSR DVD series is available in tower and rack mount configurations containing 1 to 4 recorders.

 

News Clippings, July 2, 2001

Microboards Announces DVD-R Support for Award Winning Orbit II Office Copier

Microboards Technology LLC announced that the Orbit II Office Copier now supports the Pioneer DVR-A03 DVD Recorder, with 2X DVD Recording and 8X CD Recording.

The Orbit II, designed and manufactured by Microboards's manufacturing division in Livermore, California, has been shipping with CD-Recording functionality for several months, and won the industry magazine E-Media's Editor's Choice award. The product has won praise from users and resellers in various industries, because of its useability in any environment that requires CD Copying.

"We are pleased with the overwhelming market acceptance of office-oriented CD/DVD duplication equipment," said Mitch Ackmann, President and COO of Microboards Technology. "Our long-standing relationship with Pioneer, the DVD-R leader, allowed us to quickly support integration of DVD-R Technology into this product. The release of the new lower-priced DVD-R drive made this product practical for a wider range of applications." "The Orbit II brought duplication equipment out of the back room and into the front office." said Jim Filkins, Director of Sales and Operations at Microboards. "Our industry is thriving on the acceptance of CD-R and DVD-R into almost every application. And with support for DVD-R now available, it retains its position as a leading-edge technology product"

 

News Clippings, October 2, 2000

Rimage Launches the Cedar Network Publisher Product Family

Rimage Corporation announced that they have begun shipping Cedar Network Publisher products. These network ready products are small enough to fit on a desktop but powerful enough to handle CD production for an entire company.

The new CedarNet software platform included in the Cedar Network Publisher brings affordable CD production and network convenience to small businesses, allowing users from many interoffice departments to download images and data to a single CD production station.

The CedarNet platform is available on the Cedar Network Publisher 1000, a dual 12X recorder device, and the Network Publisher 4000, which includes four 12X recorders. Compatible with all Windows 95/98 and NT platforms, the Network Publisher prints up to 50 CDs automatically with silkscreen quality labeling in unattended operation.

The Network Publisher Family extends the Cedar Desktop Publisher family, offering full functionality to the Cedar Desktop Publisher, the flagship product introduced in 1996. "Offering plug and play interactivity, the Cedar Network Publisher delivers quick, simple integration and the exceptionally small footprint fits beautifully into any office environment," said Chuck Alcon Jr., vice president at Microboards Technology, Inc. "This new platform is an exciting addition to the Cedar Desktop Publisher family of products. The Network Publisher systems now complete a very popular and very affordable line of products that we can offer to our customers."

 

News Clippings, August 2000

Cognicity Joins With IDDN to Protect Rights for Digital Works

Cognicity has entered a partnership with InterDeposit Digital Number (IDDN), an international federation composed of organizations concerned for the protection of intellectual property rights for digital works. Under the terms of the agreement, Cognicity will provide the AudioKey watermarking solution to allow InterDeposit members to embed IDDN digital identifiers in their audio content to identify their music files by the IDDN. AudioKey is included in Microboards PlayWrite MP3 Pro, a MP3/audio CD recordable system for creation of customized, and copy protected, audio CD's. In exchange for the using rights of the AudioKey, InterDeposit will offer AudioKey software users the ability to access the IDDN on-line license system.