Is there a Superhero Hiding Inside your Copier?

We’re still calling them copiers, but the reality is most office copiers today are sophisticated IT resources.  However, there are quite a few businesses that simply don’t realize there’s a superhero hiding inside their “copier.” While everyone depends on their machines to churn out prints and copies, advanced features and software applications under the hood are helping automate business processes and allow users to integrate their copier with other IT devices.

Thanks to new customizable software platforms and other advanced workflow tools, businesses can use their multifunction printers (MFPs) as a one-stop shop for most of their document needs. The latest generation of MFPs has the ability to scan, store, and share information from one easy-to-use device. This allows businesses large and small to maximize their return on investment and operate more efficiently.

Open development platforms are at the heart of what enables businesses to do more with their copiers, and just about every major vendor offers one. These software platforms let customers adapt their office devices to operate the way they like. Anyone with software development skills can quickly and easily build applications providing a customized interface for their MFP, using standard Web-based tools. Just as you can customize your PC desktop to prioritize the tools and files you use most, developers can now integrate the MFP with key organizational information resources, and customize its touch-screen, prioritizing the tools their workers use most.

“There have been numerous advancements in multifunction printing and with the aid of open platforms, developers are able to customize devices to match the specific needs of different businesses. This puts customers in control and transforms the way they operate their business, giving them the ability to use their MFP to streamline work. In fact, most devices shipping today have the capabilities of running a customizable platform, however many customers don’t realize they have this powerful tool at their disposal. We have seen applications as simple as an employee time clock that can track attendance, to a sophisticated system that retrieves online records directly through an MFP’s front panel,” states Randy Dazo, Director Solutions & Services, Office Group, InfoTrends. 

For example, a doctor’s office could customize the system’s touch-screen to better manage patient forms. By touching an icon on the display, a healthcare worker could access the office’s Web-based document management system and browse a list of patient forms. The worker could then scroll through the list – which is updated instantly – to preview documents and print. Another program could be used to scan patient records. Customizable display panels are HTML-based, making it as easy to program as a Web page. The user interface can be designed to add graphics, animated content, or Internet access.

By customizing the system so that users only see the buttons they need, document management becomes faster, easier, and more accurate—reducing the time and money spent handling documents. Providing a personalized, streamlined user interface is just the beginning.

Share and Store
Today’s top printer and copier vendors are adding new features that take advantage of the MFPs’ network capabilities improving their value as a document workflow resource. Many now offer more options to share and store documents to help simplify day-to-day business processes. In the past, scanned documents had to be manually named and distributed – a tedious and error-prone process. Now, users select a file name and destination – such as an email address, network folder, or document repository – from pre-programmed tabs found on the MFP's touch screen, reducing distribution errors and simplifying document processes. Using the variety of software applications available, documents can be routed or stored based on bar-coded information within the document, or even information extracted from the document via optical character recognition (OCR) processes. With some of these applications, users can preview documents from the display panel for accuracy before storing them online in any number of document management systems. Similarly, many offer capabilities to browse and print those documents directly from the MFP touch-screen.

MFPs now act as a centralized communications management system for secure scan-to-fax, email, and broadcast notification. Enterprise, government, healthcare, and educational institutions can deliver critical information, such as patient information, employee performance reviews, and more – securely and with immediate results.

Keeping Confidential Information Secure
Due to the vast amount of information passing through today’s MFPs, it’s critical to keep these devices secure. MFPs are sophisticated, networked machines complete with their own operating systems, hard drives, and supporting subsystems. Multifunction systems act as the center of activity for many businesses and large quantities of confidential information run through these machines on a daily basis, so they should be treated similarly to other network devices. The need for information security from your MFP provider is as vital as it is with any other networked system that supports your business.

These new MFPs improve workflows allowing users to simplify and automate the capturing, routing and storing of documents. To keep information routed through MFPs secure, an array of authentication methods are now available ranging from entering credentials at the MFP’s soft keyboard, to card-based “swipe” systems. These user confirmation capabilities not only provide the means to deliver secure, personalized workflows, but also provide the basis for keeping track of activity. And, increased security does not mean less productivity. In fact, just the opposite is true; with one secure swipe of a card, the MFP quickly adjusts the touch-screen interface to accommodate each user’s preferences, increasing ease of use, while keeping confidential information secure.  Although businesses may be reluctant to implement numerous security measures they feel are “unnecessary,” what most customers don’t realize is that vendors can help personalize the specific security measures that are most important to their individual business needs.

User authentication also allows users to pick up their print job from any printer in the network – regardless of whether or not they have the appropriate print driver installed for the MFP they choose. Jobs are sent to a virtual print queue, and using a swipe card, the print job can be retrieved from the most convenient MFP. Users can also pick and choose the documents to be released or deleted, adjust the number of copies desired, and save documents for printing later. This provides flexibility to mobile workers who work in more than one location, and ensures prints are kept confidential; no documents are left in or near the device that can be viewed by prying eyes. Print jobs that are never retrieved can be automatically deleted after a pre-determined amount of time, helping eliminate waste.

Of course, different MFPs offer different options. It’s worth checking with your sales person or vendor to find out what’s under the hood of your hardware. By taking advantage of all the features available on today’s MFP, businesses can simplify their daily work processes and keep data secure. With multiple capabilities condensed onto one machine, there’s less IT support required, giving the business a stronger return on investment.

Roger Ellefson is manager, office solutions marketing, Xerox Global Business Group.