Digital Signal Processing Solution From Texas Instruments Makes Color Laser Printing Twice As Fast
TI is First to Market DSP-based Solution for Raster Image Processing
February 22, 1999 09:20 AM
DALLAS, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (TI) TXN is first to bring digital signal processing technology to drastically accelerate the performance of desktop color laser printers. Called xStream DSP(TM) Technology, the solution prints documents with complex color images and graphics in half the time with no compromise to print quality. xStream DSP (TM) leaps beyond alternative solutions currently available on the market. The result will be an increased use of color within business enterprise and small office/home office (SOHO) environments.
TI has extended its world leadership in digital signal processing (DSP) solutions to create xStream DSP Technology, which will appear in new desktop color laser printers in the fourth quarter of 1999. Because TI is the first to bring the power of digital signal processing to this emerging market, TI is setting new speed and performance benchmarks for color printing.
"After evaluating xStream DSP Technology from Texas Instruments, we believe that it is the clear choice for unleashing the future of color laser printing," said Mr. Yoshisuke Takekida, Senior General Manager, Imaging Information Products, Minolta Co., Ltd. "Minolta is excited about the unprecedented performance gains that xStream DSP Technology offers and believes it will satisfy the increasing demands of users requiring fast, high-quality color printouts."
TI's xStream DSP Technology is a complete system for controlling a color printer. At the heart of the system is a TI DSP. DSPs are super fast semiconductors that are ideal for very fast, math-intensive computing tasks such as speeding up color printing, or raster image processing. The DSP translates data from a personal computer and processes it in real time, enabling print speeds as fast as the printer's engine can physically print the page. As a result, TI's xStream DSP Technology removes the bottlenecks typically associated with the raster image processing function, allowing printers to deliver complex graphics and image outputs in seconds versus minutes.
"The market for color laser printers is ready for this breakthrough in performance," said Alyson Frasco, Worldwide Research Manager, Printer Market Planning Service, International Data Corporation. "Users want to print Web pages and other graphic-intensive layouts without waiting several minutes for their printouts. By dramatically increasing printer performance, xStream DSP Technology will answer this need, help fuel demand for color laser printers and enable more color pages to be printed in less time."
Today's desktop color laser printers do not perform anywhere near their advertised pages-per-minute (PPM) speed when processing a document that contains color photos, logos and other highly visual elements. A desktop color laser printer rated from three to five pages per minute by its manufacturer can require more than two minutes to print just one page of a Web document. The same printer, using TI's xStream DSP Technology, will print twice as fast, enabling the printer to perform at its maximum PPM -- or True PPM(tm). Businesses will see improved productivity, with no degradation of color print quality.
"The introduction of xStream DSP Technology is part of the company's overall strategic focus to proliferate DSPs into new, high-growth areas such as imaging," said Julie England, Vice President of Computer and Imaging Systems, Texas Instruments. "We expect that the combination of TI's world leading DSP technology, innovative software solutions and imaging systems know-how will have a profound impact on the growing market for color laser printers, as well as tomorrow's tandem print engines and inkjets."
Printer manufacturers benefit from the ease of development, software upgradability and performance scalability that TI's xStream DSP Technology offers, and will deliver high-quality color laser printers to market faster, without incurring additional systems cost. xStream DSP Technology provides a complete suite of hardware, software, tools and documentation for developing embedded controllers for color laser printers. This includes software from Adobe and Wind River Systems.
"Among both consumer and enterprise users, color printing is increasingly becoming the norm," said George Cacioppo, vice president, Adobe Systems, Inc. "At Adobe, we are continually developing new technology that will enable users to print complex data whether color, graphics or text, more quickly. TI's technology will help usher in a new era of high-quality, high-speed color laser printing solutions."
"Wind River Systems is excited about TI's initiative to bring its leading DSP technology to the color laser printer market. The Tornado development tools and VxWorks operating system are rapidly becoming the defacto standards for digital imaging devices. By incorporating them into the xStream DSP Technology solution, TI will enable printer OEMs to realize ease of development and shorten their time-to-market with future generation printer," said Curt Schaker, vice president of marketing for Wind River Systems.
TI DSPs are used in a variety of electronic devices such as cellular phones, modems and hard disk drives, and are a key technology behind the digitization of electronic end-equipment. TI has established itself as the world's leading provider of DSP solutions, approaching 50 percent of the worldwide DSP market in 1998, according to industry analyst firm Forward Concepts.
For more information on TI's xStream DSP Technology or to view a technology demonstration, please visit our website at www.ti.com/sc/xstreamdsp.
The worldwide leader and pioneer in digital signal processing solutions since 1982, Texas Instruments provides innovative DSP and mixed signal/analog technologies to more than 30,000 customers in the computer, wireless communications, networking, Internet, consumer, digital motor control and mass storage markets worldwide. To help customers get to market faster, TI offers easy-to-use development tools and extensive software and hardware support, further complemented by close to 300 third-party DSP solutions providers.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world's leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing solutions, the engines driving the digitization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's businesses also include materials and controls, educational and productivity solutions, and digital imaging. The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at ti.com
Trademarks: xStream DSP is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated True PPM is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated Tornado is a trademark of Wind River Systems VxWorks is a registered trademark of Wind River Systems Postscript is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated
SOURCE Texas Instruments Semiconductor Group
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