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Extensis's newly released Universal Type Server is a marriage of Font Reserve Server and Suitcase Server resulting in cutting-edge technology that eliminates the user's missing-font woes — whether or not you're in a large workgroup.
It's easy to anthropomorphize software. I'll never forget hearing a customer opine that he "Spent more time with his computer than his wife." That was back in the '90s, but it holds true today — the average publishing professional may spend six, eight, ten hours a day in front of the computer while getting only a couple hours quality face time with his or her significant other; and like a spouse, you find some little quirks in the software to be endearing while others annoy you to no end. Such is the case with font-management software — except you interact with it a lot less and its quirks bug you a lot more (because nothing stops you in your tracks like a missing font).
Two popular server-based font managers, Font Reserve Server and Suitcase Server, both attack the primary problem with fonts — namely, lacking the right font. Both from Extensis, these font managers centralize fonts and work to ensure that every user has access to the precise fonts they need, when they need them, anywhere in the world. They also provide a slew of workgroup-based font-management features, such as automatic-font activation, font sets, previews, corruption and duplicate handling, and administrator control over who is using what fonts.
“At Quark, we work hard to ensure that every QuarkXPress layout prints — exactly as you expect — but one thing we cannot control are your fonts,” says Tim Banister, general manager of desktop technology at Quark. "That's where you should turn to the experts and their technology: Extensis and Universal Type Server." Click here to download a free trial. |
As with the single-user versions of these products, Font Reserve and Suitcase, the server-based font managers suffer image problems. Font Reserve Server is a workhorse. Robust, powerful, reliable — but old and ugly. Suitcase Server is a racehorse. Simple, elegant, pretty — but light on functionality. (Sounds like the 2008 presidential candidates, right?) What if you could meld the two — and throw in a dash of a ingenuity? That is what Extensis has done in marrying Font Reserve Server and Suitcase Server. The result is Universal Type Server — someone (that is, something) you might actually want to spend time with.
Why 1+1 = 3
What Extensis did with Universal Type Server is combine the raw power of Font Reserve Server with the elegance of Suitcase Server. Then, they completely modernized the product with new architecture, freshened up the interface, and took a good hard look at how to make server-based font management better. First, let's see what this all means to you — the designer or desktop publisher. Then, we'll take a look at why IT departments will love it. As Brian Berson, Extensis general manager, says, "Extensis Universal Type Server solves the all too common font issues within publishing workflows while offering robust controls that allow an environment to be as open or lock-down as needed. It is a solution that IT will embrace, and end users will genuinely enjoy using."
Figure 1 The Universal Type client offers end users an elegant interface for interacting with fonts on the Universal Type Server.
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