The Datamax Thinking Blog

The goal of MEAP (Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform) is to better leverage imageRunner Advance devices to improve document access and integration tasks for law firms of all sizes.

In any law practice, the billable hour is sacred. To maximize those hours you need an efficient workflow, and that requires using the right technology. If the right technology is used correctly, your firm can save time and money by automating a sizable portion of your legal processes.

Canon is a leader in digital imaging solutions and has the hardware and software that can help you achieve an efficient workflow. One of the key technologies Canon offers is its MEAP software, which runs on the imageRunner Advance platform and certain imageRunner MFPs.

But before you can take advantage of MEAP, you have to understand what it is. Knowing that can help your practice take its next steps in optimized case management.

Before you start to panic thinking about an additional line item on your capital expenditures budget, consider the economic and functional benefits of getting a 4-in-1 machine.

If you've ever moved offices (or just needed to redo your current office), you know what a hassle it is to pack equipment. You might have even questioned the necessity of carting around a scanner, fax machine, copier, and printer. Turns out that it's not necessary: you can move into the modern age with a multifunction copier. Before you start to panic thinking about an additional line item on your capital expenditures budget, consider the economic and functional benefits of getting a 4-in-1 machine.

When it’s time to select the specific copier to meet those needs, there are a number of considerations to make. Here are a few thoughts to get you started.

Stop looking for “the best” copier and start looking for the copier that best fits your business’ process requirements.

We like to use the analogy of regular maintenance of your vehicle to illustrate the need for regular maintenance of your office equipment.

When it comes to selecting the right office equipment for your business, the vehicle analogy still works. For you and your family, you may need a van or an as SUV – something that has plenty of seating and space, is rated high in safety, is comfortable, but still nice to look at. But your neighbor – who has a long commute to work – may want a small car that’s extremely dependable and gets great gas mileage. Or you might just want a two-seater that hugs the curves in the road like a race car.

That last thing that should be on your plate is the backbone of your document production – your printers/copiers – when they need to be serviced.

Your title may be office manager, but most days you’re more like a triage doctor, deciphering and prioritizing what needs to be done first. And, you also have the “fun” task of dealing with (some) lawyers’ oversized egos. This is what makes you the glue holding your law firm’s practice together from behind-the-scenes.

You don’t have time to handle everything. You’re there early. You stay late. You shouldn’t have to juggle it ALL.

There IS something all copiers have in common: they can kick start office-wide productivity boosts and allow you to get more done in less time.

“The copier’s down . . . Again!” 

Not only can you hear the frustration, you can see it – since your co-worker is staring unhappily in your direction. 

You’ve repaired and duct taped your copier to coax it along as long as possible. It’s unavoidable now – you have to get a new one into the office or risk an uprising from frustrated co-workers. 

Not everyone needs to understand the intricacies of how to do everything on the equipment, but understanding the capabilities of the office copier(s) could save money.

Everyone in your office knows how to use the copier, right? 

If you mean do they know enough to copy a document or print to the copier or printer, then you’re right. 

But . . .

Is your partner strategic or tactical? You want a partner who keeps on top of changing technology trends and can adapt new technology and strategies to help you succeed in the future.

Pursuing a managed print services strategy with an office equipment provider is a big investment in time and money. It’s critical that you take the time to ask the right questions of your potential partner – and that they give you honest answers!

We already wrote about seven critical questions a few weeks ago (Crucial Questions to Ask Your Next Equipment Provider, Part 1); here’s part 2.

Your managed print service provider (we prefer to think of this as managed services “partner”) can help show you ways to reduce your printing costs.

Here’s what managed print services is in a nutshell:

You pay for a set number of prints and copies per month (and a pre-determined fee for anything over that set number) from equipment managed by your partner.

For most contracts, you supply paper and staples. The mix of copiers, multifunction printers, printers, and/or fax machines and software to track and manage the printing and copying is supplied by your partner. Printing costs are rarely tracked, but these costs eat into your bottom line. By exposing the costs of printing, you improve your budget AND productivity by printing only what you really need.

As technology has improved, and as these devices now rely on digital technology rather than light and heat to make copies, you can find big productivity in a small footprint.

Anyone with children knows the outsized impact on your life that something so small can have on everything you do. You begin to worry about things and imagine dangers where none were before (how many of you have crawled around your house at child-eye level looking to remove anything that could be crammed into a tiny mouth or that could be pulled over?). Your thinking changes and your lifestyle certainly changes.

And, as all parents would say (though you might hesitate on “those” days – you know the ones): It’s worth it.

At its most basic, a multifunction printer does the work of two or more machines, usually combining the capabilities of a copier, fax machine, printer, and scanner.

These days it's almost impossible to be one-track minded or single-focused. We're all multitasking, responding to emails while we eat our lunch or working out while we catch up on the day's news. We have high goals to achieve in our businesses and no time to waste. Sometimes this multitasking hurts our productivity, but we know that it's a necessary part of 21st century business life.