ThinPrint .print – the platform for printing in Citrix MetaFrame® Presentation Server

ThinPrint specializes in mobile enterprise solutions and for printing in distributed network architectures. The company´s success is based on its print management solution, ThinPrint .print, which is successfully employed in companies of all sizes in all sectors around the globe. Subsequent product generations consolidated the software manufacturer’s leading market position through the development of a wide range of technologies and components that cover almost every aspect of printing in distributed network architectures.

The Companies Citrix and ThinPrint have been working as partners since 1999, making a part of The Global Citrix Business Alliance for server architectures optimization. For today Citrix is the absolute contemporary leader on the access infrastructure market, ThinPrint, owing to its technology and contemporary partners’ network which is spread in more than 45 countries, has become a leader in the sphere of printing optimization. Accounts, invoices, verbatim reports, orders - enterprises print all kinds of data. Unfortunately, such an important process as printing is often forgotten or neglected in cases of IT Infrastructure planning. Server architectures can face serious printing problems. Such problems usually appear in the course of production operations and can threaten the project’s normal completion.

Thinprint is the only enterprise in the world which offers comprehensive platform for printing in MetaFrame environment. This platform is called ThinPrint .print, it enriches functionality and optimizes printing in your MetaFrame environment:

• Safety
• Printing dataflow encryption
• Reliability
• Regulated connnections and improved noise immunity
• Effective Bandwidth Management
• Considerable printing data cut, bandwidth controll depending on the type of connection
• More Platforms Maintainance: Protocols RDP, ICA, TCP/IP maintainance; maintainance of OS, dedicated printing servers, thin clients, local print servers, network and server printers
• Integraion Process
• Printing from SAP and Unix print servers

Thinprint .print и Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server opens up better opportunities for effective and efficient IT- infrastructure implementationits to its enterprice clients.

In spite of the fact that security issue is that one of the most thoroughly considered, it is seldom applied to security in printing. Nevertheless, printing data often contain "plain text" information, which should be carefully protected. Even using Citrix MetaFrame, data encryption is posible only by means of ICA protocol. Printing data are usually sent via TCP/IP protocol (for example, while using  dedicated or local print servers, network printers or just with the purpose of ICA protocol load cut). Owing to Thinprint .print, such a gap in security is also filled in. Thinprint .print allows the data to be printed only from reliable end devices. That is why confedential printout information will never be available to business rivals.

SSL- Print Job Encryption
Owing to SSL-Encryption and high security sertificate management, .print Engine ensures supreme security clearance  while transfering printing job. In the course of  activation, print Engine is requesting certificate from each client, that sends printiing job; is checking whether the client is authorized to receive printing information  and dispatching the job only on reliable end devices.

Reliability

There are many reasons  according to which in geographically distributed systems the document can not come to hand, such as connection breakdown, defects in end devices or tough users. Thinprint .print considerably increases reliability of printing in Citrix MetaFrame.

Queue Manager
There are many circumstances in distributed networks that can delay or completely disrupt printing. Causes are usually short-term disturbances in the connection as often occur with DSL lines. Other problems that can be traced to the printer hardware (like a paper jam) can also prevent smooth print processing. In larger, trans-regional networks, there is often an added problem: printers or computers that are not running simultaneously because, for example, they are in different time zones cannot receive the print jobs at all. Even the user himself can instigate unsuccessful transmission of print jobs; for example, if he is working in a Microsoft Terminal Services or Citrix Presentation Server environment and closes his session before printing has been completed.
.print Queue Manager offers the ideal solution to all of these obstacles. It enables transmission settings to be defined individually for each printer queue. Settings include the number and intervals of retries and the total amount of time retries are to be attempted before the print job is finally deleted.

Connected Client Gateway
The change from expensive leased and dedicated lines to cost-effective VPN connections, usually based on the affordable DSL standard, is nowadays a key requirement for every IT manager. Printing via these VPN connections, nevertheless, presents a number of challenges in terms of administration. The need to abort all print jobs due to even the slightest instability in the DSL connection, the inability to address printers in masked networks, or the need for the drivers of branch office printers to be made available centrally are only some of the difficulties that administrators have to overcome. Moreover, the costs for volume-metered VPN connections can easily spiral, especially on account of the large data volumes required for print jobs. The .print Connected Gateway offers the ideal solution for all these problems. It stabilizes the transfer of print jobs even in the event of a disconnection, for up to 90 seconds. Unlike the standard communication direction, the Connected Client Gateway also enables connections from the remote location to the central server, and thus allows the addressing of network printers via TCP/IP also in masked networks. Thanks to an adaptive compression technology, these .print components allow the reduction of print data by up to 97 %, even in client gateway configurations. The patented Driver Free Printing technology also makes central administration of printer drivers unnecessary. In conjunction with the .print Engine, the Connected Gateway offers the ideal solution for simple, fast and cost-effective connection of remote offices.

Bandwidth Management Optimization

One of the main functions of .print technology is the effecive bandwidth management, thanks to which you can reduce the costs for data transmition via  WAN, at the same time increazing producivity of applications in MetaFrame sessions, even while despatching voluminous jobs. Bandiwdth management can be implemented by means of two functions: bandwidth controll on the level of connection and high performance adaptive compression.

Advanced Adaptive Compression
Innovative method of compression, which is used in .print technologies, allows to reduce the volume of print jobs utill 2% from the initial value.  Before the job's sending the componets of the documant are analysed and then compressed according optimal algoritm. User can choose one level of comptression and print out te documents without quality loss even using the highest level of compresion. As far as Advanced Adaptive Compression technologically excels the more spread method of jpg compression, there is no evident loss in quality occured.

Bandwidth Cotroll on Connection Level 
Besides the compression set-up required, ThinPrint .print helps you to controll  the bandwidth. Unlike Citrix MetaFrame printing system, the volume of the bandwidth used can be installed for a certain connection. It is possible to determine bandwidth utilization limits for remote offices, depending on their their objectives and the type of connection with the central server and change these instalaltions while the number of users changes.

More Platforms Maintainance

Citrix MetaFrame assists effective working in heterogeneous environments, which is often specified by variety of printetrs, end devices and operation systems. Whereas print controll in Citrix MetaFrame is basically conserned in ICA channel print optimization from MetaFrame server to the printer atached to the work station; ThinPrint optimizes this method, providing other platforms' implementation. Using ThinPrint .print, one can cocatenate dedicated print servers, thin clients, local print servers, network printers and other devices on TCP/IP, RDP and LDP protocols. Thus, Thinprint - is a complex solution, which can be used with  practically any device in Citrix MetaFrame environment.

DRIVER FREE PRINTING
ThinPrint DRIVER FREE PRINTING technology provides with no printer drivers used. This patented system works much more effectively than Universal Driver Printers (UDP). Instead of reforming, which is inevitable while using UDP, DRIVER FREE PRINTING uses standard print process Windows, but optimizes it for distributed systems. As far as spooling vizualization processes are twice abridged and there is no need to «translate» the job from one format into another, server MetaFrame and client workstation load is deminished, the optimal printing is ensured. DRIVER FREE PRINTING special preference is making it possible to maintain all Windows platforms, beginning with  Windows 95, and use practically any printer. For example one can use printers with drivers which can not be installed on MetaFrame server. USB-printers and «all-in-one» devices' maintainance is of supreme importance in case of home users' ceconnectionand mobile workers maintainance.

Built-in Thin Clients' Support
One of the ThinPrint .print's  preference solutions is their support from HW producers. In practice today every producer of thin clients equipes his products with integrated .print client with appropriate updates. The devices with integrated .print client can both print out directly on connected printers and map the local printer queues as well as send print jobs directly on network printers by means of LPR.

Network Printers and Print Servers Maintainance 
Besides the usage of thin clients, .print technology is supported by network printers and print servers from many leading producers. The print job is compressed by the device, аnd bandwidth controll allows to print on network printers.  The full list on terminals, print servers, network printers and other devices, compatible with .print Client you can find here.

Reduiced-order controll and high scalability level

.print technology gives not only the necessary lever of security, print reliability, effectiveness amd variety platforms' maintainance, but it also simplifies the management of MetaFrame environment and provides rich scalability. This is especially important, since MetaFrame environments are in constant change. New models appear, the number of clients and servers varies. ThinPrint .print has a wide range of possibilities in printer controll, and, owing to the supprot of dedicated print servers it can be used in growing environments.

Professional Printer Mapping
.print technology allows to automatically create printers on your MetaFrame server. .print AutoConnect option generates printer objects using no printer drivers automatic loading.  .print AutoConnect solution helps you to fully controll the process of client printers utomatic generation in MetaFrame session, regardless of, whether they are local or network or open in order to be used by local  printers on another PC. Various  printers can be integrated due to the type or printer location in the class of printers. Owing to the tables of names' translation, which allows the usage of wildcards (* and?), one will be able to easily generate classes and bind printers.

Print Load Balancing (port-pooling)
.print technology admits port-pooling for equal print job distribution among ports, and load balancing. Thus, the number of the print jobs, passed simultaneously, can be increased considerably. In addition, port-pooling makes your control to be easier and more convenient.

Microsoft Management Console Integration
Owing to Microsoft Management Console, ThinPrint technology can be completely integrated by Windows system. As far as .print Engine fits WMI interface specification, all the configuration can be done by means of scripts.

Dedicated Print Servers
ThinPrint .print – is the only one print controll program solution, which supports print dedicated servers without any functional limits. The options used for print optimization, such as: DRIVER FREE PRINTING, Advanced Adaptive Compression and .print Autocorrect also can be used in these environments. Besides the ability to print via TCP/IP channel, you also possess Citrix virtual channel maintainance. ICA protocol can be used for dedicated print servers data transfer. With Thinprint .print you can send ICA protocol jobs generated on centralized print server. This simplifies client addressing, even if the user works in another work station, which means, that new TCP/IP ports should not open up in masked connections.

Briefly about  ThinPrint .print features:

• DRIVER FREE PRINTING
• Advanced Adaptive Printing
• Bandwidth Cotroll on Connection Level 
• SSL-print job encryption
• Microsoft Management Console controll
• Feed tray and duplex printing machine recognition
• Class printer controll
• Port-pooling for load balancing
• TCP/IP, LPD, ICA RDP print
• Print with the "native" printer drivers on the server Printer drivers sort
• Thin clients maintainance
• Network printers maintainance
• Linux, Windows Mobile и Symbian clients maintainance
• Print  by means of dedicated print server
• Virtual channels' maintainance for dedicated print servers
• Windows Cluster Service maintainance
• Noise immune print job transfer 
• Optimized print via VPN-connections
• SAP/Unix print servers integration

The “.print” system components:

.print Application Server Engine
The main ThinPrint .print component – Application Server Engine, can be used in any MetaFrame server, providing the highest security level and effective printing control in your Citrix MetaFrame environment.

.print Server Engine
Is necessary solution for network environments with dedicated print servers. It provides both printing via TCP/IP protocol and data transmition via ICA virtual channel.

.print Queue Manager
Is the product, providing the highest reliability level while transfering the print job. Independent determination of the number of pass attempts for every print queue allows to solve the problem apearing in the course of print job processing.

.print Connected Client Gateway
This is ideal solution for fast, easy and cost-effective connection with remote offices. The .print Connected Client Gateway solution stabilizes print data transmition and allows to direct them to netwrork printers siatuated in masking fields via TCP/IP protocol.

.print Host Integration Service
With the help of this product, the print job in SAP or Unix environment can be transfered via ICA protocol, without the necessity to use SAPLPD. Print information may be then sent via connections with bandwidth controll.