The Datamax Thinking Blog

Technological advances have resulted in many different printers, but of course not all printers will print the same quality. There are many different types of printers on the market, and all of them have different functions and characteristics.

Some questions you may want to ask before buying a printer are:

· Are you a large or small company?

· What will this device be used for?

· What quality and performance features are you looking for?

· What is your budget?

Before buying a printer, be sure that you research your options and discover what needs your company has. Although there are many low-cost printers on the market, it may not be worth buying the least expensive if it does not provide the services that you need. If you are a big company that runs many operations, you may want to purchase a multifunction device which can print, scan, fax, and copy all in one device, this is one way to save you money and keep your company efficient.

When purchasing a printer you must consider the quality, durability and performance. Most businesses need printers that have great results in speed and quality. Do your research and figure out what you need before you go out to buy.

Color helps you communicate more effectively with your customers, and it also helps you communicate more effectively internally.

Color Improves Customer Communication

Did you know that color invoices get paid faster, reducing collection time? Color marketing materials and proposals command attention. Color newsletters and publications keep your clients informed of your new offerings.

Color Improves Internal Communication

Did you know that training materials are more effective in color? Spreadsheets and financial reports are more understandable in color – and color even helps to reduce errors when working with reports. Key memos and internal flyers capture attention in color.

Add Color and Save Money

New color-enabled MFPs allow you to add color to your office copier for about the same monthly lease amount as a black-and-white system. Plus the color output costs from these systems are far less than the cost of printing on color ink jet and laser printers.

All too often, we hear and even use terms assuming others know exactly what we mean. One term used in the document industry is workflow- but what does it mean?

According to Wikipedia

A workflow consists of a sequence of connected steps. It is a depiction of a sequence of operations...

The flow being described often refers to a document that is being transferred from one step to another.

A workflow is a model to represent real work for further assessment, e.g., for describing a reliably repeatable sequence of operations. More abstractly, a workflow is a pattern of activity enabled by a systematic organization of resources, defined roles and mass, energy and information flows, into a work process that can be documented and learned. Workflows are designed to achieve processing intents of some sort, such as physical transformation, service provision, or information processing. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workflow )

Why is Workflow Important to Me?

Understanding workflow and its connection to documents allows companies to map current processes then actively simplify the steps involved. While some redundancy in process can be a safeguard against errors, unnecessary steps may be costing your company significant resources.

Some document management programs can directly impact your workflow by electronically transferring documents from one step to another- and can even be programmed to repeat these steps automatically. Over time, the initial cost of a document management program will be more than offset by the time and resource savings to your company- provided you analyze and measure your workflow.

Everyone knows how bad the economy was this past year and this downturn caused many companies to put their IT strategies on hold. Others however, saw this as an opportunity to be proactive and begin implementing automation and moving forward with new ways of getting the job done. As we head into the New Year, look at these strategies to think about re-organizing and working smarter.

Be proactive! While companies need to react quickly to industry trends and changing economic and world environments, they also need to formulate strategies for the future. Think about creating a team who will think ahead and make sure the company will get where it wants to go in the next few years.

When a company wants to go paperless and begins to scan the contents of their filing cabinets into a document management system many are surprised to find many files previously thought to be lost.

When it comes to document storage, filing cabinets are simple things with no brain. We’re provided a drawer and a key and the rest of the work is left up to us. There’s no advice on where to put documents, we’re not told exactly where certain documents can be found, documents aren’t automatically routed to the right people in workflow, and our key certainly can’t be taken away to stop our access to the files.

Filing cabinets have gained the reputation as the office “Bermuda Triangle” of lost documents. Over the years multiple people in the office file, misplace and not return documents to the filing cabinets. As people organize to their own standards and methods, documents are inevitably filed in the wrong places and the next time a file is needed, it can’t be found.

One of the ways a document management system can resolve the problems of lost files is through the use of OCR technology. An OCR system can capture text and make it searchable on the computer and lost documents can be searched and found in a matter of seconds. By being able to search for a document by vendor or related subject matter, files never remain lost for long.

ARMA—the national association of Records Managers and the independent authority on Records Information Management (RIM) has made public their Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (GARP). As ARMA says in their preamble, “As a key resource in the operation of any organization, records must be created, organized, secured, maintained, and used in a way that effectively supports the activity of that organization.”

Are you interested in going paperless? Do you want to see how document efficiency can help your office go green? If your business is interested in the concepts behind records management, or is looking to implement document management software, this website is a great way to start obtaining information.

Visit this link to get started: http://www.arma.org/garp/

An office printer is one of the most expensive pieces of office equipment to buy. Given the size of the office, it is important to be careful that you are getting the most for your money.

It is unwise to buy the cheapest model of printers available, because to buy a replacement and with maintenance costs, it may ultimately cost you more in the long run. One of the first decisions to make when purchasing a printer is whether you need one that is just for black and white documents or for color documents. This decision can ultimately affect the price. Color printers are typically higher in cost, but definitely worth it if you will be printing images. If the majority of printing in your office comes in the form of text documents and memos, a monochrome printer may be your best choice.

When considering optional add-on features, you need to think realistically about the way you will be using your printer. You may want to consider purchasing a printer with a built-in fax. This feature can lower the amount of machines used in the office and be better off for long-term use.

Many people assume that when it comes to printers, the faster the better. While this is the case for many companies, it is only necessary if a lot of employees are printing on the same machine.

Regardless of which printer you decide on, you need to ensure that you make comparisons between retailers so you can get the most for your money.

Fax Servers and Multifunction Printers offer a lot of the same capabilities and are a great tool for any office.

A Fax Server is a set of software running on a server computer that is equipped with one or more fax-capable modems attached to a telephone line or a software modem emulator that can transmit the signal over an IP network. A fax  server’s function is to receive fax calls and accept documents from users, convert them into faxes, and transmit them, store them, or pass them onto a different user. Users can communicate with the server through a local network or the Internet.

One little known fact is that a Multifunction Printer can offer a lot of the features a fax server can. A Multifunction Printer is an office machine that can incorporate multiple devices in one so a business can have a centralized document management system. A MFP combines the abilities of a printer, scanner, photocopier, fax machine, and email and is great with handling many processes at once.

Both of these machines are useful tools in any office and can increase your business productivity. For more advanced applications, a fax server is usually required, but a Multifunction Printer can do many of the general fax tasks while being able to handle your printing, copying and scanning as well.

Today there are millions of MFPs populating workplaces in every industry. Organizations find MFP scanning appealing because they can combine scanning, copying and printing all on one device. These all-in-one devices allow companies to save money by getting rid of unnecessary technology, increase productivity because of higher page per minute output, and provide a way to add hardcopy documents into their electronic workflows.

With the growth of MFP scanning come questions about how best to utilize and how to take advantage of all the qualities a MFP can provide. Here are a few pointers to take the stress out of implementing an MFP into your document workflow.

· MFPs are not restricted to small-size documents! The MFP document feeder may restrict you to 50 or so pages, but by hitting the “scan more” button you can continue scanning for any number of pages.

· Scanned images from MFPs will not be larger file sizes than images from scanners. MFP scanning software includes image compression so even color pages can be reduced to as little as 200 KB per pages while retaining sharp text and good image quality.

· You can create searchable PDFs with MFP scanning. MFP scanning software allows you to create and save PDFs that are then available for text searches within documents and network folders.

· You can preview a scanned image at the MFP. Previewing will allow you to check the image to be sure it scanned correctly before returning to your desk.

· You can clean up images or drop colors out of images on the fly with MFPs, eliminating scanning errors and saving time.

· All-in-one doesn’t mean wait in line! It takes 30 seconds to two minutes to scan almost all documents and you can scan while someone else is printing.

· You can use barcode recognition to automate routine document scanning tasks and eliminate bottlenecks with automated splitting of document batches and naming of files.

Does your business offer large-format printing services? Here are some key tips and tricks that will help you remain productive when undertaking a large format scanning production and process.

Prep Your Documents. Large-format drawings can require a lot of repair and preparation. Always check for staples and notes—some of which may be attached to the middle of the document—and tape torn edges. If a large document has been rolled up and stored, it may need to be reverse rolled or flattened out for at least 48 hours. Dust can damage a scanner’s glass, so be sure to vacuum stored drawings. Don’t be scared to get out an iron and ironing board to get  drawings flat enough to scan.

Sorting Methods. Determine whether your project’s drawings should be sorted by size and/or by quality. This minimizes the time spent changing settings during the scanning process. Remember that PDF and JPG formats have limitations—up to 100 inches—to scanning.

Drawings-by-Numbers. Consider applying a unique ID number based on project and drawing. Labeled stickers instead of stamps or ink, which bleeds on Mylar, will help identify that the drawing has been scanned. ID numbers also help with quality assurance and avoid duplicating work.

Name Your Files. Unless you have a document management system, you will need to have a special file naming system. When scanning projects, use a constant file name for the project and have sequential numbers to identify and follow individual drawings.

Multi or Single Page Scanning. Sets of drawings can be scanned as a single image or a multipage document. You will need to change your format to a PDF to get monochrome and color images into one file.

To Color or Not. Highlighted data can become a black block if you scan it as a monochrome with incorrect setting. Scanning in grayscale or color allows you to capture the information so that data is as easily readable as is the original. With the correct software you can convert grayscale images back to monochrome images.

Resolution. According to AIIM Standards, large format, 11 x 17 or larger, documents should be scanned at 300 dpi resolution.

Quality Assurance. All drawings should be verified to confirm that the edges have not been cut off and the settings were correctly set to capture the image at the highest quality. If a line is found from dirt or scratches, then the document will need to be rescanned.

Large format documents can be difficult to work with, but are essential to many industries and complete enterprise-wide document management.