January 2nd, 2011 by Daniel under Environmental Solutions. No Comments.
The Businessman’s Argument Against the Green Movement:
- Climate gate has officially debunked man made global warming.
- Al Gore, the poster child of global warming was warning us about a coming ice age in the 70s.
- One volcanic eruption puts out more carbon dioxide than every factory and car there is.
- Cows emit more greenhouse gasses than cars. Then the one two punch of
- Historical Climate Cycles existed before the industrial revolution
- Two straight incredibly cold winters. (more…)
Tags:Business Improvement, environmental benefits, total cost of ownership.
January 2nd, 2011 by Daniel under Print & Copy Best Practices. 1 Comment.
- Hard Costs – Every one knows this one; the old tried and true pennies per page.
- Energy Costs – Look carefully at energy management this year as provider costs are on the rise.
- Technical Costs – The hidden monster. Most companies don’t calculate this though its by far the largest. (more…)
Tags:administrative costs, document management, equipment cost, total cost of ownership.
February 26th, 2010 by admin under Multifunction Printer MFP, Uncategorized. 8 Comments.
Know its Bi-Directional Communication Capabilities
Want to have your IT department babysit that new multifunction printer you installed in your office? Get a device without adequate bi-directional communication.
An often under-rated feature of multifunction printers, bi-directional communication refers to the ability of the device to exchange information with the user’s PC.
Bi-directional communication, at its most basic level, will allow the printing device to report back to the user, notifying them when print jobs are completed and when it is ready for the next job. While nice to have, basic functionality isn’t good enough today. You want users to know why their job didn’t copy or print or fax and what to do about it; all without draining IT resources. So look for a device with more advanced bi-directional communication capabilities.
The device with this capability will report its status back to the user’s workstation thru the print driver, notifying them of toner low, paper out, paper size mismatch or other error conditions. The best devices will give step-by-step instructions simultaneously on the users screen and at the device telling them what they need to do. Some devices go further, if needed, by opening up a service ticket through the internet, then running a diagnostic on the machine which will then report back to the user with resources for how to correct error conditions.
Typically, advanced bi-directional reporting is not an option and doesn’t cost you anything. It just automatically comes with good equipment. So, give your IT guys a break. Understand your device’s bi-directional communication features and make sure you purchase a machine that helps users help themselves.
Does anyone have a story to share related to this? Please write back!
Previous articles:
1. Know your requirements
2. Know the Total Cost of Ownership
3. Know what third parties have to say
4. Know how easy it is to connect to an existing network
5. Know how easy it is to use
6. Know its multitasking abilities
Upcoming articles:
8. Know the available device management, remote intelligence, and support
9. Know whether it provides the level of security and confidentiality you need
10. Know what software and solutions are available
Multifunction printers can help you streamline duplicated and cumbersome document processes and electronically organize, edit and archive your paper documents. With an MFP and a simple software application you can turn paper documents into electronic format and send to multiple destinations – email, document repositories, network folders, even remote printers – with a single scan.
Once you’re armed with the knowledge you’ve gathered by asking these questions, you’ll be prepared to make the right decision for your business.
Please contact us with any questions. DocuSense 1-800-422-0080
Tags:administrative costs, Business Improvement, DocuSense Business Education, Printer cost of ownership, total cost of ownership.
November 17th, 2009 by admin under Complexity Simplified. No Comments.
Devon, PA
Earth First Thinking
While many companies announce their green initiatives with great fanfare, Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors, the largest real estate firm in the Mid-Atlantic region has quietly adopted an environmental strategy that allowed them to stop generating over 29,000 pounds of plastic and metal waste during a 14-month period by changing the way they print color documents.
(more…)
Tags:document consulting company, DocuSense, overspending, service cost, solid-ink, total cost of ownership.
October 1st, 2009 by admin under Multifunction Printer MFP. 9 Comments.
How Easy Is It To Use?
Recap:
You’ve determined your requirements, calculated the total cost of owning and operation, listened to comments from third parties and looked at all the ways to connect the multifunctional printer to your network. What’s the next question to ask yourself? How easy is it to use?
Summary:
Whether your office is small with one or two users or large enough to require multiple units, people want the equipment that’s easy to use. You can teach people the functions of the machine but usually training is easily forgotten and users will rely on intuitive use.
As discussed in previous articles ease of connection and print driver installation are important factors and apply in this topic as well but the five things that should be considered are the display, driver, cartridge replacement, paper feed and trouble shooting.
Visit with your dealer or get a demo in before you buy, then look at these five:
1) Display:
The display should be large enough for fat fingers, easy to read and maybe more importantly, intuitive to follow. Functions, number of copies, and trouble shooting hints should be readily displayed.
2) Driver use:
If you have to click into the menu more than once to get to easy tasks like duplex printing, tray choices and paper settings, you’ve probably got the wrong machine.
3) Cartridge replacement:
It has to be done sometime, but is often the one thing a user doesn’t want to do. The cartridges and/or imaging components must be easily accessible and replaceable. Color devices are more complicated; sometimes requiring nine or more separate component replacement consumables. Make sure even your congressman could replace them without any advice or be prepared to train a key user. Oh, and it’s a good idea to have spares around.
4) Paper feed:
Whether original documents going in, or copies, faxes or print jobs coming out, it’s vital that the paper feed works correctly. Jams are the most frequent problem. Paper paths should be easy to access and jams have to be easy to clear. The original feeder should be labeled to let the user know whether to feed face up or down, sounds elementary but think about the time wasted collating or re-printing jobs because the paper was fed wrong. Paper trays must be easily marked, accessible and easy to fill; now that’s elementary.
5) Troubleshooting:
Sooner or later something will go wrong and that’s when troubleshooting comes in. Look for a device that has troubleshooting on the display showing the problem and the solution immediately. Some require running thru the menu at the device. The best workgroup devices will report the problem and the solution back to the printing user’s screen. For the harder problems, you’ll want easily accessible, on-line help from the manufacturer’s website listing issues and their remedy.
Next topic. Know its Multitasking Abilities. Have any questions or comments about this article? Visit us at DocuSense or post a reply
Previous articles:
1. Know your requirements
2. Know the Total Cost of Ownership
3. Know what third parties have to say
4. Know how easy it is to connect to an existing network
Upcoming articles:
6. Know its multitasking abilities
7. Know its bi-directional communication capabilities
8. Know the available device management, remote intelligence, and support
9. Know whether it provides the level of security and confidentiality you need
10. Know what software and solutions are available
Multifunction printers can help you streamline duplicated and cumbersome document processes and electronically organize, edit and archive your paper documents. With an MFP and a simple software application you can turn paper documents into electronic format and send to multiple destinations – email, document repositories, network folders, even remote printers – with a single scan.
Once you’re armed with the knowledge you’ve gathered by asking these questions, you’ll be prepared to make the right decision for your business.
Please contact us with any questions. Docusense 1-800-422-0080
Tags:document management, DocuSense Business Education, equipment cost, managing devices, multitasking, printer consumables, total cost of ownership.
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