businessinfomag.uk
magazine
26
Easy maintenance
Samsung’s new Smart Printer Diagnostic
System (SPDS) is a printer failure diagnostic
tool that has received positive feedback
from both technical service engineers and
consumers.
An industry first, the SPDS app gives
users access to the SPDS server featuring
official Samsung service manuals, technical
information, educational videos and real-time
notifications for software updates for Samsung
Smart MultiXpress models.
When a mobile device with the SPDS app
receives an error message from a failed printer,
the app automatically identifies the issue and
displays a step-by-step troubleshooting guide.
Engineers can also share video footage as
references with other engineers.
Konica Minolta’s new colour MFPs, the bizhub
C308/C368, feature embedded Near Field
Communication (NFC) so that users can scan/
print directly to and from a mobile device. Users
can also connect smartphones and tablets using
Konica Minolta’s free PageScope Mobile App.
Canon’s new
i-SENSYS MF700 series of colour
A4 MFPs boasts new NFC Touch
& Print functionality that enables workers to
print directly from NFC-enabled smartphones/
tablets. The new products also support scanning
to Searchable, Encrypted and Digital Signature
PDFs and feature fully customisable colour
touchscreens.
ThinPrint buys ezeep
ThinPrint has strengthened its position in the
cloud printing market with the acquisition
of ezeep, a provider of printing solutions for
co-working spaces. It has also set up a new
business unit, ThinPrint Cloud Services, which
will continue to operate ezeep services and
further develop printing as a cloud service,
with enterprise-grade enhanced features and
management capabilities.
can minimise interventions by allowing
ongoing management of devices and
optimising usage. For example, an MPS
contract will cover automatic firmware
upgrades, which reduces the amount of
customer interventions.”
Steve Mitchell of KYOCERA
Document Solutions says that print
is increasingly becoming a hands-off
area for IT departments. “IDC’s latest
research reveals a 10% growth in the
print services market. This is because
duty cycles are increasing and toner
quality has improved. At KYOCERA, our
long-life ceramic parts mean end-users
only need to replace toner, making it a
lot easier when it comes to maintenance
interventions. Our long-life drums mean
that as many as 500,000 pages can
be printed without having to replace
anything except for toner. On average,
our toner yields up to 70,000 pages
too. Our cloud managed print services
outsource the management of printing
to the cloud – meaning toner gets
automatically delivered, just in time. That
means less waste and less down time for
devices,” he said.
Another feature of modern devices,
explains Alan Clark, is the use of user
replaceable parts. “Xerox designs a
number of key components to be
Customer Replaceable so they can
be quickly and easily dealt with. This
ensures the machine is kept in perfect
working order, and removes the need
for engineers to get involved, which can
involve a lengthy process,” he explained.
“The ConnectKey Devices also feature
the Remote Control Panel; software that
monitors the state of the device. This
allows for authorised figures to pro-
actively monitor the device and take
action remotely before the end user has
even noticed there’s a problem.”
Conclusion
Printers and MFPs today are very
different from earlier generations. Despite
people’s enduring prejudices, today’s
devices are reliable and highly productive.
They require fewer interventions by
users and the engineers that service
them. Remote monitoring, high capacity
consumables and the option of managed
print services reduce the management
burden even further. Yet, with advanced
functionality, from cloud connectivity
and mobile printing to embedded apps
and customised workflows, they have the
potential to transform communications,
processes and business operations. If your
printer is causing you problems, don’t
complain, upgrade!
Printers
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