Extensis® Universal Type Server™ Offers a Modern Approach to Centralized Font Management

New corporate solution delivers for cross-platform workgroups.
PORTLAND, OR.– Extensis, a brand of Celartem Inc., today announced availability of Universal Type Server, its next generation server-based font management solution for both Macintosh and Windows environments. Universal Type Server will ship on June 18, 2008. Extensis will begin taking pre-orders for the product immediately.

Extensis, a brand of Celartem Inc., today announced availability of Universal Type Server, its next generation server-based font management solution for both Macintosh and Windows environments. Universal Type Server will ship on June 18, 2008. Extensis will begin taking pre-orders for the product immediately.

Universal Type Server is a new breed of font management solution. More than just a “distribution” system, it is a true client/server solution that genuinely manages fonts and font metadata such as licenses, classifications, foundries and keywords, allowing users to collaborate in shared environments. Using granular and role-based permissions, Universal Type Server manages font licenses and compliancy by ensuring that users have access to only the fonts they are licensed to use, and that rogue fonts cannot be added to the system. Automatic font classification and font family grouping, dynamic smart sets and shared sets, all ensure a high level of productivity and usability.

“We listened to our users and they told us what they really needed from a font management solution,” said Brian Berson, General Manager at Extensis. “They asked for centrally managed fonts in a controlled but easy to implement environment. Universal Type Server delivers web- and Flex-based tools; a usable, modern interface; and reliable, open SQL-based architecture. Universal Type Server is an extremely capable and powerful solution that is also easy and fun to use.”

Designed to meet the needs of IT environments, Universal Type Server leverages a modern Java-based server architecture built on top of industry-proven open source technologies. This enables Universal Type Server to deliver stability, scalability, and speed while requiring very low overhead. Due to its services-oriented architecture, administrators can manage the server and users from anywhere via the web-based administration interface, and package-based installers distribute the client software from a central location, allowing IT administrators to deploy and manage the entire solution without ever needing to visit a client workstation. Active-Directory import and automated backup are just a few more of the features that contribute to making Universal Type Server extremely IT-friendly.

“Font management is vital and necessary in our business and the introduction of Universal Type Server has been one of the most anticipated software launches in the publishing industry,” said Ed Haynes, Customer Support Manager of Future Publishing in the U.K. “We have been working with the pre-release version of Universal Type Server for the past few months and are convinced it will provide a solid foundation for centralised font management whilst offering easy-to-use functionality for our creative staff.”

Universal Type Server allows users to forget about font management and focus on their work- uninterrupted. The client provides an offline mode for mobile users who are not connected to the network but need access to fonts while on the road. The Universal Type Client includes a modern SQL-based architecture that runs as a background application, delivering fast font handling, even when the client application is not open. Through the new state-of-the-art modern user-interface, end users have access to unprecedented font previews, immediate font activation / deactivation, and superior metadata handling and searching capabilities.

Also included in the product are all new auto-activation plug-ins which automatically turn fonts on and off within the professional creative applications users leverage every day including: Adobe® InDesign® and Illustrator® and QuarkXPress®. Auto-activation operates in the background and provides creative professionals with the ability to seamlessly work in their chosen applications while automatically activating the exact fonts. Universal Type Client eliminates font conflicts and silent substitutions with Extensis’ proprietary Font Sense™ font matching capabilities. The patented Font Sense technology creates a unique ID for each font – like font fingerprinting– to ensure font consistency as documents move from design, to editing/review, to production.
Product Configuration

Universal Type Server is available in two different versions: Universal Type Server Professional for larger departments and corporations and Universal Type Server Lite for small environments up to 10 users.

Universal Type Server Professional – Developed for mid-size to large corporate workgroups. It allows for the ability to purchase an unlimited number of concurrent client connections. The built-in controls allow an Administrator to create an environment as open and flexible or as locked-down and controlled as necessary.

Universal Type Server Lite – Designed to be robust yet affordable, this edition allows customers to use a maximum of 10 concurrent client connections. The Lite edition is ideal for smaller creative workgroups or design firms that need access to shared fonts but may have little or no IT support.
Pricing and Availability

Universal Type Server will ship on June 18th. Extensis will begin taking pre-orders for the product immediately.

The Windows client for Universal Type Server will be released in Summer 2008.

Universal Type Server Professional is available at an estimated retail price of US $1,800.00 for the Server plus $165.00 per Client Connection. Universal Type Server Professional and associated clients include a one-year Annual Service Agreement.

Universal Type Server Lite sells for an estimated retail price of US $1,395 and includes 10 Client Connections.

Font Reserve Server and Suitcase Server customers, under a current Annual Service Agreement, will receive both the server and clients for free. Customers with Font Reserve Server version 1.5 (and higher) or Suitcase Server 11.0.4 (and higher) without an Annual Service Agreement are eligible for upgrade pricing.

Universal Type Server is currently available in English, French, and German. For information on where to purchase the Universal Type Server family of products visit http://www.typeserver.com
System Requirements

Universal Type Server will support Mac OS X v10.4, 10.4 Server, 10.5 or 10.5 Server; G5 or faster processor; 1 GB RAM; 250 MB Hard Drive space + space for fonts; Safari 2.0 or Firefox 2.0 or higher; Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher.

Universal Type Server will also support Windows 2000 Server SP4, Server 2003 SP2, or XP Professional SP2 (32-bit versions only) P4 or faster processor; 1GB of RAM; 250 MB of hard disk space + space for fonts; Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2.0 or higher; Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher, Adobe Reader 7 or higher (to read PDF documentation).