Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates was joined on stage by Kinkos president and chief executive Gary Kusin.

The new service has been tagged the File, Print, Kinkos capability. And when launched in mid 2003 it will act like a web-based virtual printer cable, connecting a users PC to Kinkos network of more than 1,100 locations.

The partnership will utilise software built around Microsoft.NET and is based on XML. The service is being touted as an attractive prospect to business because it enables documents to be sent to a professional print shop from an office, hotel room or other remote location. This is similar to the PrintMe system developed by EFI.

EFI PrintMe business development manager Steve Lovatt does not see any cause for alarm at the Microsoft/Kinkos link-up.

Theirs is more of a web-based service, he said. PrintMe is aimed at a different market.
Our product is about making printing more simple and ignores a lot of the transactional and technical implications of the web-based systems.

My own feeling is that the more people that are involved in making printing easier, the more documents will be printed. And that is a good thing for both ourselves, our partners and for others.

At Comdex, EFI was showing a wireless implementation of PrintMe in collaboration with Sharp on a Sharp Zaurus PDA.

Story by Mark Williams

Picture: Gates - virtual printer cable built around Microsoft software