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PRINT.IT
01732 759725
PRINT MANAGEMENT
What’s New in SafeQ6
In addition to its new workflow and
3D printing capabilities, SafeQ6
incorporates two major print
management enhancements:
1
Client-based print roaming (CBPR),
which removes the need for multi-site
organisations with a large number of
satellite offices with just one MFP to
deploy a print server in every location.
SafeQ6 allows them to keep a print
server in larger sites, but store print
jobs on (and release jobs from) a user’s
workstation in satellite locations. “This,”
explained Parkes, “reduces costs,
reduces infrastructure support and
administration and, because you can’t
always guarantee that the links between
the satellite office and the data centre
are going to be strong enough, mitigates
any latency and time-outs by keeping
documents local.”
2
Multi-tenancy, which lets a holding
company, e.g. Kingfisher Group, have one
installation of SafeQ that they can push
out to their subsidiaries, e.g. Screwfix
or B&Q. Rather than having multiple
installations of SafeQ, they can have one
installation and create two tenants, B&Q
and Screwfix, that can each manage their
own devices and their own users and
generate their own reports.
Print management has been
good to YSoft Corporation. The
privately owned company was
founded in the Czech Republic in
2000 and introduced its SafeQ
print management solution in
2003. Since then, it has gone from
strength to strength, to the point
where it now has annual revenues
of $30 million (US), 370 employees
in 16 offices around the world and
14,000 customers (700 in the UK).
Faced with the challenge of
maintaining growth in a mature
market with strong downward
pressure on prices, YSoft recently
announced two developments of
great significance for the future
of the company. One is the
establishment of YSoft Ventures
to mentor and support Central
and Eastern European start-ups.
The other is the latest version of
its print management solution,
SafeQ6.
In addition to two major
enhancements to the core print
management product (see box),
SafeQ6 provides additional
functionality that helps businesses
address evolving document
workflow challenges.
“With SafeQ6, we have produced
a platform for the first time,”
explained YSoft senior regional
sales manager Nick Parkes. “There
are three pillars to it: one is print
management; the second is
document workflow; and the third is
3D printing. We manufacture both
3D printers and develop software
to support 3D printers, just as we
have been doing all these years for
the 2D market.”
More options
In all, SafeQ has seven modules,
available individually or collectively
as a suite licence. Parkes says
that giving businesses the option
to adopt a broader range of fully
integrated modular solutions makes
things simpler and more cost-
effective for the customer.
“Our platform gives end
customers a genuine all-in-
one solution,” he said. “A lot
of customers will have a print
management solution coupled with
document workflow from a different
supplier. Yes, they are integrated
and have single sign-on. But they
have two different sets of licence
agreements and two different sets
of terms and conditions; quite
often you are paying for the same
modules twice; and you have two
different support paths. SafeQ6 is
a genuine all-in-one solution.”
3D Printing
The SafeQ document workflow
module is a logical extension of
YSoft’s traditional business that
dovetails nicely with customers’
evolving digitisation strategies, but
3D printing is a completely new
proposition.
This July, YSoft is planning the
soft launch of an end-to-end solution
developed specifically for the
education sector. This includes be3D
printers, manufactured by YSoft itself
following its acquisition of 3D printer
company be3D in 2014; a SafeQ-
based print management solution
that allows schools to manage and
control 3D printing for the first time;
and be3D Academy coursework,
developed by YSoft in conjunction
with Telford-based Tablet Academy
and educational organisations in the
Czech Republic.
“Whilst schools are introducing
3D into their curriculum, many are
not really pushing it as they have
no control over costs, security and
productivity,” explained Parkes.
“3D printing takes time and
schools don’t want students to send
a 3D model to print and then stand
over the printer for three hours
to make sure no one takes their
model or stops the print job. With
our solution, users send models
to print through YSoft SafeQ 6, the
world’s first 3D print management
solution; walk up to the 3D printer
and authenticate using a card,
PIN or password; then walk away
knowing no one can touch their
model because the 3D printer is
fully enclosed. All the doors are
locked so no one can break into the
3D printer whilst it’s printing unless
they are the owner of that job. And,
because that job is going through
SafeQ, we can measure its cost in
time and materials.”
This capability has already
proved successful for YSoft in the
world of 2D printing. There is every
reason to suppose that it will prove
just as compelling in the emerging
3D sector as well.
The launch of a new 3D print management solution
is just one of several new developments from YSoft
An added
dimension
Nick Parkes,
senior regional
sales manager
YSoft
YSoft :
SoftQ6
Issue 46
2017
