Every enterprise owns, and regularly replaces, printers, copiers, multifunctional products and fax machines. The problem most face is not too few choices, but too many. How do you even begin to select the right one?
Here, in part two of Computerworld Australia's guide to buying a printer for the enterprise we present a checklist of the latest terms and technologies used in enterprise solutions to guide buyers when shopping for printers for their small or medium business.
See part one: Printer Buying Guide: FAQ
Smart MFPs
Smart multifunction products (SMFPs) have an open system architecture and can be programmed to perform custom functions by third party software providers, an organisation’s IT or the MFP manufacturer. SMFPs can be integrated with office and enterprise applications, such as document management systems (DMS). SMFPs generally have a consistent user interface, work well on the network and increasingly are designed around open industry standards. Gartner advises buyers to assess the programming platforms on MFPs and consider choosing between custom software and existing packages from vendors. Providers include Canon, Lexmark, Ricoh, Toshiba and Xerox.
Solid-ink print devices
A solid ink print device uses proprietary printing technology from Xerox that ejects a molten resin-based ink, using an inkjet process to image a page. The high-colour density inks produce vivid colours on a wider range of media than electrophotographic printing or a convential thermal inkjet. Xerox implemented this technology in office printers and high end MFPs. In February 2011 the company announced beta testing of a high speed production press that leverages the same technology the Xerox Production Inkjet System. Gartner says solid ink technology offers several advantages over competing technologies and can be considered a stable and viable technology for office and graphic arts output.
Because the ink is supplied in wax sticks, there are no additional consumables to install or replace, thereby reducing the operating costs usually associated with laser technologies.
High speed colour inkjet printing
High speed colour inkjet technology enables printing of more than 150 letter size pages per minute (ppm) using stationary print heads. Multiple banks of print heads are used to print colours individually or in combination to produce process colour images. This technology can produce compelling communications at high speeds with low cost, making it practical to create targeted and highly relevant direct mail campaigns to individual recipients. Gartner says its ideal for transactional, direct mail and book publishing applications.
Serverless printing
Serverless printing is peer-to-peer printing over and Internet Protocol address. With serverless printing, dedicated print servers can be freed for other tasks. The cost savings on servers is outweighed by the added difficulty of managing the printer fleet without the server. This type of printing is generally adopted by small organisations for its ability to save costs. It is sometimes used for thin clients, but mostly to accommodate printing from business systems such as Oracle and SAP and legacy mainframes and midrange computers. Gartner says serverless printing is feasible for an organisation with one to 49 users. Larger to find it too cumbersome to install print drivers locally on each and every node, which is what serverless printing entails. Providers include HP and Xerox.
Laser printers
Laser printers are in widespread use across the enterprise and are extremely popular. This is because a laser printer can produce high quality text and graphics at rapid speed. As with digital photocopiers and MFPs laser printers employ a xerographic printing process with the image produced by the direct scanning of the laser beam across the printer’s photoreceptor.
Over the page: LED head technology