University Business - January 2012 - (Page 49)
low-priority print jobs, eliminating waste. These printers feature large, on-board hard drives, larger LCD display panels, and additional settings that enable the printer to delay printing until people get to the device. The added technology makes it possible to require users to swipe an ID card to get a job printed, providing the opportunity to charge for pages or ensure that only authorized parties use the device. It also prevents waste, as the only jobs that people print are the ones they need urgently enough to go to the printer and wait for. Mobile Printing Capacity The capacity to print is not what some people would call a new feature. However, higher ed leaders seeing a growing uptake of tablet PCs and mobile devices on their campuses might disagree. Mobile devices that don’t run Microsoft Windows also don’t have the Windows printing system that most printers use. To enable printing, vendors are supporting working through a Wi-Fi router that is connected directly to a printer. The feature “is a clever way for printer vendors to allow printing to their devices,” explains Ken Weilerstein, vice president of research, imaging, and print services at Gartner. But with this approach, Windows computers may bump mobile print jobs. Cloud printing attempts to resolve these issues by routing print jobs from mobile devices through a wireless network to a designated printer. “Unfortunately, current cloud printing solutions do not work across different local platforms, multiple printer devices, and differing wireless carriers, which is necessary to make these solutions work properly,” says Weilerstein. Small, all-in-one printers with wireless connectivity, memory card slots, and quiet operation are also available for mobile devices. The advantage here is that PCs are not required to print, according to Richards. Memory card slots enable users to print photos faster, while wireless connectivity and the minute size of these printers enable people to connect and print quickly
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and easily without wires, clutter, or bulky computers, Richards explains. Future Trends: MFPs Get Smarter In the future, count on increasing multifunction printers to save management costs. While today’s MFPs report usage statistics, consumable requirements, and service events, service providers and manufacturers have not kept up. “We expect to take full advantage of MFPs by having these devices self-report all necessary data directly to the vendor, enabling fully automated billing, consumable replenishment, and remedial self-reporting solutions,” says Kevin Drake, assistant director of Cornell Business Services. With these advances, the university can save printer management resources. For example, automated, usage-based billing will include electronic invoice generation and submission so that tasks such as ordering toner or submitting remedial service requests no longer burden administrators and IT staff. Printer Replacement Planning As with computers, printers have lifecycles of three to five years, according to Weilerstein. Organizations keep printers because they don’t have control of the lifecycle. This leads to a high printer-to-user ratio. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville, for example, has about 500 printers on campus for its 8,000 students, shares Erickson. “Enforcing the lifecycle will rid the institution of equipment that is costly to maintain due to added power usage and higher supply costs,” notes Weilerstein. As colleges and universities scuttle older printers, administrators should not simply base new purchases on the number and type of printers they bought before. “Because most universities have too many printers, they need to look closely at what they really need for print, scan, copy, and fax for each target environment, rather than do a printer-for-printer replacement,” says Weilerstein. At Keene State College (N.H.), doing this kind of assessment resulted in the
Print Like a Pro
Epson’s WorkForce Pro series (WP-4540 and WP-4530 all-in-ones and the WP4020 ink jet printer) delivers ink cost savings of up to 50 percent compared to color laser printers. The all-in-ones feature 16 ISO ppm black and 11 ISO ppm color single-sided printing and the fastest two-sided printing on the market at 9.2 ISO ppm black and 7.1 ISO ppm color. Other features include a built-in 30-page automatic document feeder to copy, fax, and scan two-sided originals, PC-Fax for direct faxing from a computer, Scan-to-PDF for archiving documents and images digitally, the ability to upload files straight to a computer through the printer’s USB port, and built-in Wi-Fi networking. The WorkForce Pro series ranges in price from $179.99 to $399.99. For smaller spaces, the Stylus NX430 Small-in-One (shown), priced at $99.99, comes equipped with Epson Connect, cloud and mobile services that enable mobile users to print documents and photos directly from a mobile device. Learn more at www.epson.com.
Long-Lasting Ink Cartridge
The Dell 2155cdn Multifunction Color Laser Printer has print, copy, fax, and scan capabilities. Priced at $799.98, the device features 24 ppm print speed and 600 x 600 dpi resolution. The printer is Energy Star certified, uses a 2,500-page yield color toner cartridge, and has a built-in automatic duplexer for double-sided printing. Visit www.dell.com.
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http://www.epson.com
http://www.dell.com
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - January 2012
University Business - January 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Human Resources
Campus CFo
Getting Carded
Choosing telepresence
boosting the bottom line
Printer Purchase Pointers
Money Matters
Viewpoint
End Note
University Business - January 2012
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