develop’s winning touch - binfo from sugarcrm and xero (pages 9 and 14); and poor staff training,...

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Develop’s winning touch THE PRINT & DOCUMENT WORKFLOW MAGAZINE ISSUE 47 www.printitmag.co.uk MFPs Innovation Q&A How HP plans to change the way the world prints More details on Toshiba TEC’s new & improved eco copier PrintIT talks to Rob Clark about Epson’s growing inkjet range PAGE 19 PAGE 28 PAGE 22

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Develop’s winning touch

THE PRINT & DOCUMENT WORKFLOW MAGAZINE

ISSUE 47 www.printitmag.co.uk

MFPs InnovationQ&AHow HP plans to change the way the world prints

More details on Toshiba TEC’s new & improved eco copier

PrintIT talks to Rob Clark about Epson’s growing inkjet range

PAGE 19 PAGE 28PAGE 22

2 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

PRINT.IT 3www.printitmag.co.uk

ISSN 2055-3099 (Print) ISSN 2055-3102 (Online)THE PRINT & DOCUMENT WORKFLOW MAGAZINE

PRINT.IT 3www.printitmag.co.uk

Read PrintIT online... www.printitmag.co.uk

@printitmag www.facebook.com/BinfoMag

ISSN 2055-3099 (Print) ISSN 2055-3102 (Online)

05 Bulletin The high cost of ‘clunky’ business processes

16 Cover Story Develop joins the Premier League of imaging brands

19 MFPs HP aims to change how the world prints

21 Analysis Louella Fernandes makes the case for business inkjets

22 Q&A PrintIT talks to Rob Clark about Epson’s successful push into the office market

24 Future Tech Why robots are nothing to fear

26 What’s New New print products and initiatives

28 Innovation Toshiba TEC’s new and improved eco copier

30 GDPR KYOCERA Document Solutions warns of public sector security blindspot

32 Voice Recognition What needs to happen before enterprises put their trust in speech

35 Opinion Why new generation large format graphics arts printers are a game-changer

ISSUE 47 www.printitmag.co.uk

Comment

Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 • [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 • [email protected] Publishing Director: Neil Trim 01732 759725 • [email protected] Sales Manager: Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552116 • [email protected] Media and Web Editor: John Peters 07711 204011 • [email protected] Director: NIck Pledge 07767 615983 • [email protected] Editorial Assistant: Tayla Ansell 01962 843434 • [email protected] Advertising Executive: James Trim 01732 759725 • [email protected] is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT • Tel: 01732 759725

No part of PRINT.IT can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher.

© 2017 Kingswood Media Ltd. Production Design: Sandtiger Media · www.sandtiger.co.uk

The paper used in this magazine is obtained from manufacturers who operate within internationally recognized standards and which is sourced from sustainable, properly managed forestation.

COMMENT

The latest quarterly productivity bulletin from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) tells a familiar tale, with UK labour productivity, measured by output by hour, falling 0.1% between Q1 (January to March) and Q2 (April to June). UK manufacturing performed particularly badly, seeing a 1.3% fall in productivity, compared to a rise of 0.2% in the services sector. Our news pages this month highlight some of the main causes of this persistent problem and some possible solutions. In the first category are time-consuming ‘clunky’ business processes cited in a new report by Tungsten Network (page 5); lack of investment in new technology, highlighted in surveys from SugarCRM and Xero (pages 9 and 14); and poor staff training, epitomised by the lack of basic IT skills amongst UK office workers (page 11). In the second category are new technologies like wearables and artificial intelligence (AI) that businesses across a range of industry sectors are introducing to streamline workflows, principally by removing paper from their operations. New research by ServiceNow indicates that businesses that do invest in solutions like artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline decision-making and accuracy are six times more likely to experience revenue growth of more than

15% than companies with low levels of automation.

How the office might change as a result of these new technologies is touched upon in separate articles on robots (page 24) and speech recognition (page 32). In the former, Volker Spanier, head of robotics at Epson Europe, notes the rise of the co-bot – collaborative robots designed to work alongside humans. As he points out, greater physical co-operation between man and machine is creating new opportunities in manufacturing and service industries such as healthcare and hospitality. What this means for the office environment is less certain. ‘Meet your new

colleague the co-bot’ is much more likely to be heard in a factory or field than an office, but that doesn’t mean white

collar workers are immune from the coming revolution. As the research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) demonstrated so clearly in the man vs. machine head-to-head at September’s inaugural ISG Automation Summit – Europe (see page 14), developments in artificial intelligence will enable computers to complete many of today’s tedious administrative processes much more efficiently than humans. Throw in the ability of speech recognition technologies to transform how we interact with machines and it is clear that a productivity revolution in offices is within reach. James Goulding, Editor [email protected]

QUALITY DRIVES A SMARTER PLANT FLOOR:2017 MANUFACTURING VISION STUDYMANUFACTURERS ARE CONNECTING OPERATIONS TO GAIN GREATER VISIBILITY AND IMPROVE QUALITY ASSURANCE

Order today from your preferred authorised Brother Distributor

* Offer available from 1st August to 30th September 2017. While stocks last, savings based on SMOP £105 to £73 excluding VAT. ** Two colour printing: requires DK22251

Saveup to

30%*

QL-810W

Wireless Label Printer

The new QL-800 Series of label printers is unique in giving users the choice of printing highlyvisible labels in black or red** on a new two-colour continuous length roll. Whether they’re in Facilities Management, Retail or an Offi ce, your customers will see the difference. Also prints in black on continuous roll and pre-sized labels.

An innovationin labelling

PRINT.IT 5www.printitmag.co.uk

Business pays high price for ‘clunky’ payment processes

BULLETIN

bulletin

Easy captureLexmark is bringing out a series of smart capture solutions for businesses and customers in the banking, insurance and retail sectors. Accessed via the touchscreen of a Lexmark MFP, the solutions simplify information capture, processing and validation and streamline the integration of information and documents into back-end systems. The new solutions include: Lexmark In-Store Capture for Retail, Lexmark Smart Document Capture for Banking and Lexmark Smart Document Capture for Insurance.

Clunky payment practices are costing the average UK business £88,725 per year, as employees waste 6,500 man hours chasing purchase order numbers, processing paper invoices and responding to supplier enquiries.

New analysis by Tungsten Network reveals that each week UK businesses spend an average of 55 hours doing manual, paper-based processes and checks; 39 hours chasing invoice exceptions, discrepancies and errors; 23 hours responding to supplier enquiries; 5 hours on compliance-related challenges, such as handling international taxes; and 3 hours tackling invoice fraud.

According to Tungsten Network’s inaugural Friction Index report, the top five sources of frustration are:

1 High proportion of paper invoices received;2 Too many non-PO based invoices; 3 High volume of supplier enquiries relating to invoice or payment status; 4 Lack of automated exceptions; 5 Lack of automated approval.

Rick Hurwitz, CEO of Tungsten Network, said: “Numerous processes in the financial world remain cumbersome and time consuming when they needn’t be. Technology means we can do away with the tiresome and menial tasks that clog business work streams and instead boost productivity and efficiency. It is surprising that in this tech-enabled day and age businesses are still spending so many hours per week managing a process that

could be automated.”He added: “If businesses

aren’t tied up chasing invoices or receiving phone calls from suppliers doing the same, they have more time to explore opportunities for growth with existing customers and go after new ones. If all the data from past invoices is easily accessible, opportunities to identify variances that will target inefficiencies are more visible. The technology exists to remove this supply chain friction, which can cause stress, waste time and ultimately impact the wider economy, and we want to challenge UK businesses to seize the day, embrace digitisation and begin enjoying the benefits of a frictionless back office.”www.tungsten-network.com/articles-interviews/friction-in-procure-to-pay-processes/

Free mono tonerOKI is offering free mono printing for a year on select colour LED printers and MFPs bought before December 31, 2017.

The ‘Maximum colour, zero mono cost’ promotion applies to OKI C332dn, C500 Series and C800 series printers and OKI MC363dn, MC500 Series and MC800 Series MFPs.

Tetsuya Kuri, Vice President Marketing, OKI Europe, said: “With free mono printing for an entire year, this limited time offer makes OKI’s unbeatable range of function-packed colour printers and MFPs for the office even more irresistible.” okieurope.com/promotions

Complete securityRingdale has announced that FollowMe Embedded for Lexmark integrates directly into Lexmark’s latest A3 printers and MFPs, including the CS920 and CX920 series.

In addition to user authentication and secure print release, the document output management solution provides Data Loss Prevention (DLP) functionality for monitoring and preventing the printing of confidential information.

Ringdale Executive Vice President Jan Bollmann said: “As organizations look to address rising security risks and prepare for the rollout of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is important for customers to ramp up security with robust safeguards to prevent data loss. The FollowMe Embedded client enables complete security and regulatory compliance for even the most fast-paced environments.” www.followme.ringdale.com

Order today from your preferred authorised Brother Distributor

* Offer available from 1st August to 30th September 2017. While stocks last, savings based on SMOP £105 to £73 excluding VAT. ** Two colour printing: requires DK22251

Saveup to

30%*

QL-810W

Wireless Label Printer

The new QL-800 Series of label printers is unique in giving users the choice of printing highlyvisible labels in black or red** on a new two-colour continuous length roll. Whether they’re in Facilities Management, Retail or an Offi ce, your customers will see the difference. Also prints in black on continuous roll and pre-sized labels.

An innovationin labelling

ADVERTORIAL

6 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

MORETHE POWER OF

Faster speed. Bigger capacity. Greater reliability.

No matter the breadth of your organisation, and no matter thesector, when it comes to long-term, large-scale, fast-paced A3 scanning, Panasonic’s high-end KV-S81 Series is leading the way.

Save time. Increase operational efficiency. Boost staff productivity.

Discover the power of more today: Visit business.panasonic.co.uk/scannerCall 0207 0226530Email [email protected]

The brand new KV-S81 Series scanners

MOREFaster speed. Bigger capacity. Greater reliability.

1_00115062-KV_S81-Scanner-Series-Launch_Ad_A4_EN_v4.indd 1 22/03/2017 16:06

BULLETIN

PRINT.IT 7www.printitmag.co.uk

UK businesses not the great communicators they think they are Businesses are missing out on sales opportunities due to poor customer communications – yet many of them are unaware of the problem, warns Twilio.

Its survey of 2,000 consumers and 850 businesses in the UK, US and Australia underlines the importance of good communications, with seven out of ten consumers saying they buy more products or services from a company after a positive communications experience. One third have cancelled a service or switched to a competitor following a negative experience.

Bridging the Communication Divide: Customer Communications Report 2017 highlights a disconnect between the customer experience and businesses’ perceptions of their own

performance. While eight out of 10 consumers complain that it is difficult to communicate with businesses, only 34% of enterprises acknowledge that there is room for improvement.

Other findings provide further evidence of a disconnect:n 94% of businesses claim customers are satisfied with the responsiveness of their communications, yet 96% of consumers disagree; n Companies rate the effectiveness of their phone-based communications nearly four times higher than customers do and the effectiveness of their email communications two times higher than customers; n Businesses that offer communications through a mobile app, social media or SMS rate their performance as ‘excellent’ two times more

often than customers.Nor are businesses

satisfying growing demand for multi-channel communications. More than half (55%) of consumers say that communicating with a business via their preferred channel results in a positive experience, yet only 27% of businesses have adopted fully integrated omni-channel communications.

Good customer communications is vital as there appears to be a ripple effect from both good and bad experiences that might disguise their true impact.

So, while 51% of the businesses surveyed have received negative customer reviews as a result of poor communications, dissatisfied customers are more likely to tell their friends and family (66% of the time) or stop doing

business with a company altogether (41%) than write a review.

Good communications also have a multiplier effect, with 67% of consumers giving more of their business to a company following a positive communication experience. Companies who deliver positive communications experiences are 2.6 times more likely to have revenue growth of 15% or more.

MORETHE POWER OF

Faster speed. Bigger capacity. Greater reliability.

No matter the breadth of your organisation, and no matter thesector, when it comes to long-term, large-scale, fast-paced A3 scanning, Panasonic’s high-end KV-S81 Series is leading the way.

Save time. Increase operational efficiency. Boost staff productivity.

Discover the power of more today: Visit business.panasonic.co.uk/scannerCall 0207 0226530Email [email protected]

The brand new KV-S81 Series scanners

MOREFaster speed. Bigger capacity. Greater reliability.

1_00115062-KV_S81-Scanner-Series-Launch_Ad_A4_EN_v4.indd 1 22/03/2017 16:06

BRIDGING THE COMMUNICATION DIVIDE

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS REPORT 2017

Blackbox Solutions ISO certifiedBlackbox Solutions is celebrating a double success after gaining ISO 9001 certification (for quality management) and ISO 27001 certification (for data security and management).

Managing Director Colin Griffin said: “ISO 27001 is a demanding standard and it’s a great achievement for us to reach it. Attaining and following the standard will help keep our information assets secure and reassure our clients that we operate to the highest possible standards and have a management system to secure information provided by them. Achieving ISO 9001 further demonstrates our commitment to excellent customer service and quality standards throughout our operation.”

As part of the ISO 27001 certification process, Blackbox has introduced an information security management system (ISMS) and provided training to all staff members. www.blackbox-solutions.co.uk

Print in storemyHermes is kitting out its network of ParcelShop stores with 1,500 secure devices that enable customers to print a label and pay for a delivery in-store. Until now, customers have been limited to booking and paying for a delivery on the company’s website, before printing the label themselves and handing the package to a courier or ParcelShop. ‘Pay and Print In Store’ devices incorporate a touch screen, card reader and Zebra printer. Users simply enter the recipient’s name and address, plus their own email address, before using a debit or credit card to pay. Once completed, the device will print the label, which the user attaches to the parcel before leaving it with the ParcelShop. Following the transaction, myHermes will send the customer a confirmation email and a link to tracking information.

BULLETIN

8 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

Collection boxThe eye-catching design of HP Office Paper Pink Ream is at the centre of a social marketing campaign that International Paper (IP) and its partner HP Papers US are bringing to Europe. As part of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, IP has been donating €0.10 (10p in the UK) to the Komen European Network (KEN) for every pack of HP Office Pink Ream paper sold. IP has agreed to donate at least €100,000 to KEN, which is part of Susan G Komen, the world’s largest non-governmental breast cancer organisation, but forecasts suggest the final figure could be as high as €150,000. All proceeds will be used for KEN projects within Europe, including an initiative to promote the importance of health and lifestyle to girls aged 12 to 18.

Office workers have no time for long documentsOffice workers don’t have time to read long documents, preferring the immediacy of visual communications, claims video technology solutions provider Kollective in the Generation Now report.

In a survey of 2,000 workers in organisations with 500+ employees, 60% said they find visual content easier to digest and understand than written documents; 46% said they don’t have the time or the inclination to read long emails or documents.

Almost three quarters (72%) agree that video calls are more effective than voice calls for work-related communications, and 64% say they trust a message more if they can see the person speaking. http://go.kollective.com

Public sector missing out on benefits of mobile workingA lack of cohesion in the way public sector bodies manage their information is stopping employees from reaping the full benefits of mobile working, warns M-Files, following research showing that staff in 89% of public sector organisations struggle to find and access documents on mobile devices.

The poll of 250 IT decision-makers by Vanson Bourne also reveals that:

n 49% of respondents would like to be able to access files when using a mobile device;n 52% would like to be able to edit files while mobile;n 45% would like the ability to share or collaborate on documents via their mobile device; andn 44% would like to be able to approve documents with digital signatures on their mobile device.

To find out more, download Addressing information overload – the challenge of taming content chaos fromwww.m-files.com.

The new rules of customer loyaltyBrands that offer a personalised, multi-channel, technology-enabled customer experience enjoy greater loyalty, but only if the experience is right and brands are open about how they use customer data.

In a survey of 5,000 consumers by Adobe and Goldsmiths, University of London, 61% of consumers said they preferred tailored experiences, with 38% expressing a liking for technology-enabled interactions that make use of new technologies like AI-powered chatbots and augmented reality.

The research highlights

the importance of offering an adaptive, consistent experience across printed, mobile and online channels, as the consumers surveyed now do 48% of their shopping online and 25% on their mobiles.

Almost two thirds (62%) said they would take their business elsewhere if a brand didn’t provide a consistent experience across offline and online channels.

Half of UK consumers said they are loyal to brands that tailor experiences to their needs and preferences, and 46% are happy for brands to use their data to achieve this.

However, brands should

not take customer loyalty for granted: 83% of UK consumers demand transparency on how customer data is used and 61% say they would happily buy products from an unknown brand if it offered a better experience.

Based on these findings, Adobe and Goldsmiths have identified four new rules of customer loyalty: Give people an Adaptive experience; Be wherever the consumer loves to be – on any device or platform; help consumers filter Choices by delivering great content at the right time to the right person; and Differentiate through experiences that delight consumers.

Head-to-head no contestThe first head-to-head processing battle between a robot and a human took place in front of a live audience at the inaugural ISG Automation Summit – Europe, hosted by technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG).

A Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software bot – programmed live on stage by ISG Senior Consultant Steve Blundell – took on ISG advisor Thomas Saunders in a race to verify the VAT numbers of 400 companies.

In a clear demonstration of the power of automation to streamline repetitive business processes, the robot completed all 400 checks in 56 minutes and 7 seconds, by which time Saunders had managed just 77.

Homan Haghighi, RPA and automation evangelist at ISG, said: “This first-of-a-kind experiment simply proves the potential of RPA to revolutionise the way we work. Just think about the amount of energy that could be channelled elsewhere within a business by employing RPA to complete these sorts of simple, rules-based processes.” www.isg-one.com

Addressing information overload the challenge of taming content chaos

Intelligence Paper

Generation NowTHE FUTURE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN THE AGE OF NOW

Homan Haghighi

Manufacturing companies to drive out paperFour out of 10 manufacturing companies (41%) plan to increase investment in wearable tech over the next five years in a bid to stay competitive and rid complex supply chains of pen & paper and other manual processes, reveals a new survey by Zebra Technologies.

More than half (56%) of manufacturers still rely on pen and paper to track manufacturing steps, but by 2022 this figure is expected to fall to 24% as the number of fully connected factories doubles.

The Manufacturing Vision Study from Zebra Technologies, based on interviews with 1,100 manufacturing companies, finds that firms across EMEA are set to increase investment in new technologies, like Internet of Things, RFID, wearables and automated systems, to bring goods to market faster (43%), to address supply chain complexity (41%) and to improve connectivity throughout their facilities (40%).

By 2022, 64% of manufacturers expect to be fully connected compared to just 43% today.

The top areas for investment are mobile (55%), voice direction & recognition (49%), location tracking in real-time (47%) and wearables (41%).

Obstacles to further investment include the complexity of these technologies (49%), budget constraints (43%) and integration with legacy systems (39%). www.zebra.com

Highly automated companies more likely to experience revenue growthFour out of 10 UK organisations have started using intelligent automation in one or more business processes, and 35% expect to require even more automation by 2018.

In a survey for ServiceNow’s new report, Today’s State of Work: At the Breaking Point, 91% of organisations agreed that productivity could be improved through the use of intelligent automation, such as artificial intelligence or machine learning, to streamline

decision-making and improve the speed and accuracy of business processes.

The report states that highly automated companies are six time more likely to experience revenue growth of more than 15% than companies with low levels of automation.

Companies with more than 20% revenue growth are, on average, 61% automated. Those with flat or negative growth are only 35% automated.www.servicenow.com

Cost deters half of firms from investing in ITAlmost half of firms (48%) are putting off investing in technology for their sales teams because of concerns about cost, claims CITE Research in a new report sponsored by SugarCRM.

The SalesTech Report also highlights a lack of confidence in installing new technology, with 34% of respondents worried about the complexity of introducing new tech systems and 20% concerned that they lack the skill to use new tools.

One third of the 400 sales executives surveyed cite ‘resisting change’ as the main reason for avoiding investment in new technology

Even so, the research shows that 63% of UK companies each year spend at least £1,200 per sales representative on technology, including smart phones, laptops, CRM systems and web meeting platforms; 22% spend at least £2,400 per sales employee.

CRM remains the most frequently deployed tool for sales teams, with 70% of organisations saying they use the technology.

Epson grows shareEpson’s decision to invest in inkjet technology has helped the company significantly increase its share of the European business inkjet market, from roughly 25% in Q1 2015 to 40% in Q1 2017. IDC expects the business inkjet market in Western Europe to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% to 2020. www.global.epson.com

Canon launches new A4 colour MFPsCanon has expanded its imageRUNNER ADVANCE series of MFPs with three new A4 models offering colour print speeds of up to 35 pages per minute, the convenience of a 10.1in colour touchscreen and compatibility with Canon’s uniFLOW print management solution and Therefore document management software.

The imageRUNNER ADVANCE C256i, imageRUNNER ADVANCE C356i and imageRUNNER ADVANCE C356P use improved drum technology and new CS toners for greater document durability and colour stability and come with enhanced processing features including a time-saving staple and collate function. www.canon.co.uk

BULLETIN

PRINT.IT 9www.printitmag.co.uk

QUALITY DRIVES A SMARTER PLANT FLOOR:

2017 MANUFACTURING VISION STUDYMANUFACTURERS ARE CONNECTING OPERATIONS TO GAIN GREATER VISIBILITY AND IMPROVE QUALITY ASSURANCE

10 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

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Introducing Invoice Manager from NeopostInvoice Manager is a modular blend of scanning, indexing and management technology.

It is designed to reduce the cost of invoice processing, make archiving and retrieval easy

and reduce the effort required to manage supplier or auditor enquiries.

The benefits of Neopost Invoice Manager

CAPTURE invoice information and automaticallyclassify datacaptured

SIMPLE STORAGE makes it easy to search and retrieve invoices and associatedinformation in seconds

Invoice information can be accessed by

AUTHORISED employees via web browser

Free up expensiveoffice space asdigital invoices

eliminate the need to store PAPER COPIES

Storing invoices asdigital copies gives you

ENHANCED SECURITY and disaster recovery capability

Create audit trail of INVOICESwhich helps meetHMRC regulationsfor storing digitalinvoices

INVOICE

INVOICE

Faster invoice capture

Easy search and retrieval

Easy access

Lower storage costs

Secure and reliable filing

Improve regulatory compliance

Join us on

For more information visitwww.neopost.co.uk/invmgr invoice

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Neopost-Invoice-Manager-A4.pdf 1 21/09/2017 09:31

Office workers embarrassed by lack of IT skillsOne in five (20%) British office workers feels embarrassed by their lack of basic IT skills, reveals a survey by memory and storage experts Crucial. Almost half (47%) claim to have good IT skills; 22% describe their knowledge as excellent.n 5% don’t know how to send emailsn 13% don’t know how to scan for viruses or other infectionsn 21% don’t know how to update their softwaren 11% don’t know how to uninstall programmesn 11% don’t know how to open task managern 44% don’t know how to upgrade memoryn 42% don’t know how to upgrade their storagen 13% don’t know how to clear internet cookies and web cachen 29% don’t know how to defrag their driven 7% don’t know how to use Microsoft Office http://uk.crucial.com

Innovation maintains photobook unit sale levelsSales of consumer photobooks in Western Europe are on course to rise slightly to 25.6 million units this year, up from 25 million units in 2016, according to the latest Futuresource Western European Photobook Market Report.

Futuresource attributes the rise to a combination of higher quality products, direct online sales and innovation from new market players, including Google, which recently entered the U.S. market.

Jeremy Wills, Senior Market Analyst of Print & Imaging at Futuresource Consulting, points out that smartphones are starting to have an influence, due to the improving resolution of smartphone cameras, which can now provide images of high enough quality for photobooks, and to the emergence of additional ordering options including apps.

In response to continued demand for personalised photo products, including photobooks and brochures, Antalis has brought out a new range of FSC-certified papers offering vivid, high definition print quality. The E Photo range has four finishes: lustre, for the look and feel of traditional photographic paper; metallic, for an added ‘wow’ factor; matt, for a tactile sensation; and a unique pyramid texture.

Dixons Carphone creates one-stop shop for tech supportDixons Carphone is building a national network of tech support specialists in more than a thousand Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse stores across the UK.

Bringing together the Geek Squad and Knowhow brands, Team Knowhow comprises more than 7,000 trained experts, all ready to deliver, install, support, upgrade and repair everything from white goods to mobiles and laptops.

The network will enable customers to access 24/7 tech support, irrespective of where they bought the goods.www.dixonscarphone.com

Smart device owners keen to automate furtherAlmost one in three consumers has installed at least one smart home device, according to a study of 4,000 consumers in France, Germany, UK and USA by Futuresource Consulting.Analyst Filipe Oliveira points out that once consumers have installed one device they are likely to want to automate other areas of their home.

“Across all segments, 30% of consumers expect to control more of their homes wirelessly in the near future. However, the number is substantially higher among those who already own at least one smart home device, with 89% of advanced users expecting to control more of their homes wirelessly in the next 6 to 12 months,” he said.

Smart home security

products, smart lighting and smart thermostats are among the most popular smart home devices.

Voice Personal Assistant (VPA) speakers are another important driver of smart home adoption. The most common application is music streaming, though a substantial number of respondents use their VPA speakers for home automation purposes such as controlling the heating or lighting.

Almost a third of respondents received their VPA speaker as a gift, in some cases bundled with a smart home device. www.futuresource-consulting.com

AI fears misplacedFears that artificial intelligence (AI) will cause significant job losses in the short-term are mis-placed, according to a new report from by Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute, Turning AI into concrete value: the successful implementers’ toolkit.

The study of 1,000 large enterprises that are implementing artificial intelligence (AI) shows that AI has generated new job roles in 83% of cases worldwide and in 75% of cases in the UK.

Almost two thirds (63%) of respondents from organisations that have implemented AI at scale report no job losses as a result, with 71% choosing to up-skill/re-skill employees

following their AI investment.Almost nine out of

10 UK senior executives (87%) expect AI to increase efficiency and effectiveness within their organisations by freeing staff from having to spend time on repetitive tasks; 68% said their organisations had already seen a 10% uplift in sales as a direct result of their AI investment.

The two areas benefitting most from AI are customer service, cited by 31% of UK senior executives, and finance, cited by 27%.

Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents think AI can increase customer satisfaction scores; 65% believe it could reduce customer churn.

www.capgemini.com

BULLETIN

PRINT.IT 11www.printitmag.co.uk

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Introducing Invoice Manager from NeopostInvoice Manager is a modular blend of scanning, indexing and management technology.

It is designed to reduce the cost of invoice processing, make archiving and retrieval easy

and reduce the effort required to manage supplier or auditor enquiries.

The benefits of Neopost Invoice Manager

CAPTURE invoice information and automaticallyclassify datacaptured

SIMPLE STORAGE makes it easy to search and retrieve invoices and associatedinformation in seconds

Invoice information can be accessed by

AUTHORISED employees via web browser

Free up expensiveoffice space asdigital invoices

eliminate the need to store PAPER COPIES

Storing invoices asdigital copies gives you

ENHANCED SECURITY and disaster recovery capability

Create audit trail of INVOICESwhich helps meetHMRC regulationsfor storing digitalinvoices

INVOICE

INVOICE

Faster invoice capture

Easy search and retrieval

Easy access

Lower storage costs

Secure and reliable filing

Improve regulatory compliance

Join us on

For more information visitwww.neopost.co.uk/invmgr invoice

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BULLETIN

Modern interface and security enhancementsWith its latest release, PaperCut has focused on enhancing the overall look and feel of the solution and on extending its features to reduce security risks associated with printing.

In addition to a slick new interface, which administrators can quickly customise with new branding options, Release 17.2 offers integrated scanning on Xerox and Sindoh devices and easier Find-Me configuration. www.papercut.com/print/management

On-device, next generation supportXeretec has released a new app for users of Xerox A3 iSeries firmware devices that aims to reduce device-related downtime by simplifying and speeding up fault resolution while maximising user convenience and productivity.

Based on the Xerox Extensible Interface Platform, the Xeretec Support Application Suite provides on-device access to customer service and support and is designed to make every aspect of MFP ownership as painless as possible. www.xeretec.co.uk

eCopy ShareScanNuance Communications recently announced a new version of its eCopy ShareScan MFP capture solution, enabling remote workers using mobile devices to effortlessly capture and insert documents and images into business processes.

Developed to make it easier than ever for organisations to deploy, administer and secure document capture workflows, Nuance eCopy ShareScan is ideal for people who need to capture hardcopy documents on an MFP or mobile device for personal productivity and sharing with collaborators.

Useful features include document preview, real-time confirmation and consistent workflows. www.nuance.co.uk

KYOCERA optimises service management processes with IFSKYOCERA Document Solutions Europe (KDE) is implementing a new Service Management Solution from IFS to optimise the customer experience across its EMEA network.

KDE plans to use IFS Service Management software to support the design and provision of present and future services, thereby enabling efficient partner collaboration and enhancing its customers’ experience throughout EMEA.

The solution will be hosted in the IFS Managed Cloud on Microsoft Azure, a full-service, managed single-tenant cloud offering.

Takahiro Sato, President of KYOCERA Document Solutions Europe B.V, said: “IFS offered us a complete, connected and internationally scalable solution for all of our relevant service areas. We look forward to using these capabilities to build on our reputation as an agile, future-ready business.”

A European standard will be developed at the KDE headquarters and go live as a pilot at KYOCERA Document Solutions France, before being rolled out to other KYOCERA subsidiaries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. kyoceradocumentsolutions.eu

Improved usability and security Lexmark has released version 3.0 of Markvision Enterprise (MVE 3.0), its fleet management software solution.

MVE 3.0 features a completely redesigned interface that removes the need for browser plug-ins, enabling faster performance, improved usability, increased security and reduced set-up time. It also provides improved visibility of a multi-vendor fleet of network

printers and multifunction devices.

The software automatically discovers devices on the network and configures settings including security policies, for example by closing unnecessary ports, applying access controls and performing scheduled checks to verify that devices meet security policies, with automatic remediation of machines that are out of policy.

Allen Waugerman, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lexmark, said: “Lexmark’s Markvision Enterprise has a long history of giving customers the ability to centrally manage their entire fleet of enterprise devices, whether they have a few or a few thousand devices. Markvision Enterprise 3.0 improves on that tradition with enhanced usability and security.” www.lexmark.co.uk

Who cares about cyber securityDirectors/senior managers in finance and insurance are the most concerned about cyber security, with 60% classifying it as a very high priority, compared to 15% in the hospitality and food sector, according to SavoyStewart.co.uk’s analysis of findings from Gov.uk’s survey of 1,500 firms.

PRINT.IT 13www.printitmag.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL

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* Lexmark four year guarantee applies to the Lexmark SMB Product Line. To benefit from this guarantee, customers must register their device within 90 days of purchase. For full guarantee terms and conditions visit www.lexmark.co.uk/4yearguarantee

© 2017 Lexmark and the Lexmark logo are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. E&OE.

14 PRINT.IT

BULLETIN

GDPR could be catalyst for improved marketingRoyal Mail Data Services is urging businesses to improve the quality and accuracy of their customer data prior to the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018.

Its new Insight report, How marketers must approach customer data in a post-GDPR world, points out that the obligation under GDPR to take every reasonable step to ensure inaccurate personal information is either rectified or deleted is a good opportunity for businesses to improve addressing accuracy.

Recent research by Royal Mail found that the average cost of poor quality customer data to UK organisations is running at 6% of annual revenues.

The report also warns that GDPR is likely to shrink the volume of available, permissioned third-party data, putting the onus on marketers to work with trusted data providers.

Jim Conning, managing director of Royal Mail Data Services, said: “For too long,

marketing performance has suffered at the hands of poor-quality customer data. At a time when customer acquisition and retention is such a challenge for marketers, it’s worrying to discover that nearly 40% of organisations lack any formal process for cleansing their data and that almost 20% do not validate customer data at the point of data capture. The GDPR is the perfect catalyst for organisations to tackle the data-quality issue head-on by regularly cleansing and enhancing internally held customer data with properly permissioned and compliant third-party data sourced from trusted, reputable providers.”. www.royalmail.com/corporate/marketing/data-services

EFI and PrintReleaf promote reforestationPrintReleaf and Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (EFI) are providing the PrintReleaf reforestation service directly to commercial printers so that they can offer it to customers as a means of offsetting the environmental impact of print jobs.

PrintReleaf CEO and Founder Jordan Darragh said: “PrintReleaf automatically measures paper consumption and plants a number of trees equivalent to paper used in the customers’ desktop printer and copier fleets. Our collaboration with EFI means that commercial printers around the world can bring verified reforestation to many more print customers.” www.printreleaf.com

Quick and easyThe value of the University of Greenwich’s investment in two Canon Océ ColorWave 700 printers was clear for all to see at its recent show of students’ work, which, according to Technical Team Leader Phil Hudson, “took longer to take down than it did to print”.

Suitable for a wide range of graphic art applications, the Océ ColorWave 700 is an all-round printer that produces high quality, instant dry and waterproof prints on uncoated, thick and custom media. It can accommodate up to six rolls simultaneously, giving users access to a choice of substrates without manual intervention.

Hudson said: “The Océ ColorWaves are fast, efficient and cost effective. Two years ago, ink was one of our biggest expenses and we needed to look at making an investment to reduce consumable costs. Since purchasing the Océ ColorWave 700s, we have significantly cut ink costs, increased production capacity and improved flexibility. Now, students can be highly creative and produce work without worrying about the cost of going to an external print bureau. They also know they can complete their work quickly, easily and at a quality that best showcases their work.”

For Hudson, the printers’ fast output was particularly beneficial in the build-up to the show. “Previously there would have been a bottleneck leading up to the show. This time there was still a queue but it was nowhere near as long. Jobs that used to take 10 to 15 minutes took one to two minutes. Another plus for me was the speed at which it produced long banners. This meant there was virtually no outsourcing for the show,” he said.

Three simple steps to paperless invoice management Neopost has introduced a modular solution for scanning, indexing and managing invoices, freeing organisations from the cost and inefficiency of handling, storing and retrieving printed invoices.

Invoice Manager by Neopost offers a simple three-step process for paperless invoice processing:1 Scan. As well as digitising paper invoices on a scanner or MFP and saving images as TIFF, PDF, JPG or BMP files, Invoice Manager captures emails and attachments;2 Index. For easy retrieval, invoices are indexed using metadata extracted from scanned or emailed invoices, such as a business name or account number;3 Manage. Scanned and

emailed invoices are stored in a structured digital library and can be retrieved via a web browser in seconds. Access can be restricted to authorised personnel, with complete audit trails in compliance with HMRC guidelines.

In this way, Invoice Manager by Neopost reduces storage and paper handling costs, minimises the risk of human error and helps businesses respond quickly to enquiries from suppliers and auditors.

Organisations can maximise the efficiency of this solution by using Neopost mail processing solutions, such as automatic letter openers, to speed up the opening and sorting of invoices received in the post.www.neopost.co.uk/invmgr

Almost one fifth (18%) of accountants are still using 13th century accounting tools, such as paper ledgers, claims cloud accounting firm Xero. To mark the release of its Digital or Die report, which looks at technology adoption by small firms and their accountants, Xero has recreated the Portrait of Luca Pacioli, replacing his paper ledger and quill with a notebook and software. Xero claims that using cloud-based accounting could reduce the amount of time accountants spend on administrative tasks by an average of 117.5 hours or 15 days a year, saving £3,153.70 per year, per staff member.

How marketers must approach customer data in a post-GDPR world

Brought to you by In association with

Insight report:

PRINT.IT 15www.printitmag.co.uk17MRS25073

© 2017 Lexmark and the Lexmark logo are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Now get

of total peace of mind

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Lexmark’s range of intelligent laser printers and MFPs deliver top performance, high-speed printing, professional output quality, versatile paper handling and out-of-the-box security features. And on top of all the benefits you typically enjoy with Lexmark devices, we’re now offering you a range of products with a 4-year guarantee!

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16 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

COVER STORY

Develop joins the Premier League of digital imaging brands

The multi-award winning Develop ineo range extends from entry-level printers to colour multifunctional devices (MFD) and high speed digital presses. The recent growth and success of the brand is built on quality because the Develop range is actually ultimately manufactured by Konica Minolta, putting the Develop range at the forefront for design, build-quality and technical excellence.

In addition to outstanding print quality, Develop ineo devices feature cutting-edge design and market-leading environmental credentials, as well as state-of-the-art data security and mobile connectivity and a range of time-saving software solutions.

An outstanding feature of Develop devices is their incredible ease of use. Operation is simple using the ineo MFD touchscreen, which supports functions such as drag & flick and allows users to finger-swipe their way through the menu, while pop-ups ensure users

don’t get lost in any submenus. Since the full-colour display is as big as a tablet PC, it is easy to read, clearly arranged and allows users to see all the functions they need in one go.

Data Security is the KeyAn MFD is a powerful business asset, but left unsecured, MFDs and network printers remain a critical source of vulnerability! That is why Develop has introduced the industry-leading ineo SECURE UK security service.

With the ineo SECURE UK service, a trained service technician will configure the security settings of a Develop device to maximise the security benefits for that particular customer’s requirements, providing peace of mind that the information on their Develop ineo MFD is secure.

A comprehensive suite of security features is offered by ineo SECURE UK, including protection of the hard drive of the MFD, to encrypt data,

In the fast-moving world of office technology, Develop may not be the first brand name that comes to mind, but Develop is actually now one of the market-leading brands for colour printers and copiers, featuring significantly in the top-ten sales figures for the UK market. And now, as Official Imaging Partner of top division new boys Huddersfield Town, the brand really has joined the Premier League!

prevent unauthorised access and to delete and overwrite data as soon as the job is completed.

Following completion of the configuration, an ineo SECURE UK uniquely numbered certification label is placed on the front panel of the MFD, providing visual evidence so that all users can be confident that any sensitive data passing through the device will stay confidential.

Glenn Kershaw, Develop’s UK Marketing Manager, comments: “The threat to IT infrastructures posed by hackers and malware has risen significantly in recent years. Whereas companies spend huge amounts on security technology, they often neglect the huge amount of data residing in and processed by their multifunctional office devices. Yet data, and in particular sensitive data, are one of the most important assets any company can have. We are delighted to introduce ineo SECURE UK to minimise help the risk.”

Mobile printingDevelop offers the award-winning app ineoPRINT, free to download for Android and iOS mobile devices. Providing the administrator has given access to the mobile user to use the network, this app provides extremely simple connection to the MFD; individuals can walk up to any ineo device, scan in the QR code displayed on the home screen, and they are connected.

The ineo range also includes support for NFC (Near Field Communication). The systems’ NFC capability means a mobile device can be used to provide secure print release, replacing traditional authentication tools such as PIN numbers or card readers.

Mobile workers are no longer tied to their desks. They use smart phones and tablets, as opposed to laptops, whilst on the move, but still expect seamless integration into workflows for both printing and scanning of documents. Develop MFDs have been designed to provide uncomplicated mobile usability. Of course, the Develop MFD series support both AirPrint for Apple devices and Mopria for devices running Android 4.4 or higher, but these provide only limited functionality, which is why Develop solutions extend even further.

Develop also offers a direct

COVER STORY

PRINT.IT 17www.printitmag.co.uk

communication capability with popular cloud servers such as Microsoft Sharepoint, Google Docs, Evernote and so on, for both printing and scanning.

Workflow tools to enhance efficiencyThe modern office now demands workflow solutions to help streamline document processing. The latest version of Develop’s easy to use convert+share software brings new functionality and new capabilities to everyday tasks. convert+share does away with manual document processes by allowing original documents to be scanned on a Develop MFD and automatically converted to many different file types, including searchable PDF, xlsx or .docx files. Documents can then be sent straight from the devices to a number of destinations. With the latest release, this includes any cloud-based archiving system.

convert+share uses drag and drop functionality, which makes it incredibly easy to build workflows. Simply capture documents direct from the MFD or via a Watch Folder on your PC, process and edit as required and transfer them to any destination. This workflow can then be saved for all to use quickly and easily. Document access is also secure, managed through authorisation based on user name and password.

Develop UK Product Manager Wayne Snell says: “By using convert+share, many offices will be able to dramatically increase the efficiency of their document workflow by automating processes that until now would have been performed manually. Once again, Develop has the ideal solution to meet our customers’ document management needs at a cost-effective price.”

Develop also offers a range of i-Options, which provide advanced functionality and can be configured to suit the needs of the work environment. Available functions include OCR and searchable PDF creation, versatile file conversion of scanned documents and the newly launched server-less pull printing facility, which allows secure release of print jobs on any Develop MFD in an office fleet.

Minimising environmental impactDevelop puts sustainability at the top of the agenda. The environment-friendly features of the ineo range are proof that the company practises what it preaches. They are also the reason why the manufacturing process and products have received numerous environmental accolades, for example Energy Star, Blue Angel and ISO 14001.

Develop has been instrumental in developing an innovative polymer alloy technology that blends the PET from plastic bottles with the polycarbonate (PC) from water server bottles to create a recycled material of sufficient strength, flame resistance and usability for the outer casings of our multifunctional office devices. The resultant PET/PC plastic material is an industry first.

By equipping Develop devices with features such as duplex printing, N-up printing (several pages combined onto a single sheet), proof print, preview copy and automatic skipping of blank pages, paper consumption can be reduced, helping to save forest resources. Information on how much toner and paper are being saved and cumulative power consumption is displayed in ten steps on the Eco Meter, so users can see what their environmental efforts have achieved. What’s more, this information can be displayed from three perspectives: the entire device, a departmental account or the individual user.

In many offices a multifunctional device will be asleep for much of the working day. Sleep mode saves energy, but the key question for users is how long a device needs to recover from sleep mode. That is why Develop equips its office devices with a proximity sensor built into the operating panel. When a user’s finger approaches the panel, sleep mode is automatically deactivated. Another effective power-saving feature puts the device into an energy-saving state (for example turning the panel display off) when it has not been used for a certain amount of time. This feature does not hold up every day work because the device automatically returns to normal mode when it receives a print signal from a PC.

Heat is needed to fix toner to paper and this accounts for more than 60% of a device’s power consumption. So Develop has introduced a toner that is fixable at about 25°C less than conventional toner. This proprietary polymerised toner helps to reduce power consumption and speed recovery from sleep mode. In addition, imaging quality benefits from using polymerised toner because it has smaller, smoother, more uniform toner particles for more even distribution, significantly better fine line definition and better solid fills. As a result, the patented polymerised toner produces high quality images with a wider colour gamut.

Cutting Edge DesignMany printers and copiers remain dull grey or beige boxes that do little to enhance the aesthetics of the modern office. Develop devices break the mould in this respect, with their distinctive and striking black and white designer casing and stylish touch screen operating panels. Develop also offers a unique service whereby the appearance of the device can be further enhanced with custom-designed ineo ‘decors’, along with unique logos or images on the menu screen, the only limit being the imagination of the user!

National dealership networkDSales (UK) Ltd is the exclusive UK distributor for the Develop range, supplying through a national network of accredited independent dealers. All Develop dealerships are highly qualified and meet rigorous technical quality standards.

Jonathan Whitworth, Develop’s UK Managing Director, concludes: “High-end connectivity and customisation options make the ineo range the perfect devices for flexible working in today’s mobile-centric offices. For customers that demand quality print output, advanced functionality, high productivity, reassuring data security and eco-friendliness from their office technology the ineo+ from Develop provides the ideal solution.”

For further information on the Develop range of printers and multifunctional devices call 0844 980 0377; email [email protected]; or visit www.dsales.co.uk

18 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

ADVERTORIAL

Non-compliance may leave you open to substantial fines under the GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is a regulation by which the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission intend to strengthen and unify data protection for individuals within the European Union (EU). It also addresses export of personal data outside the EU.

The regulation was adopted on 27 April 2016. It enters into application 25 May 2018 after a two-year transition period the Government has confirmed that the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union will not affect the commencement of GDPR.

The GDPR will provide a single legal framework which will apply to all members of the EU, streamlining and hopefully simplifying what is currently a mix of laws for each member country. Directly concerned with the collection, storage and use of personal data, this will impact every business that holds any personal data in any format.

How will it affect your business?If a business collects, stores or uses personal data then the GDPR applies and now there is an obligation for compliance, with serious penalties for those that don’t.

We are confident that most companies will already be looking at how they acquire, store and manage personal and sensitive data.

We have found, however, that many organisations are not aware of the risks concerning the transmission of this data between internal employees and external clients.

Are you able to answer the following points?1 What measures are currently in place for sending sensitive personal/financial data via email?2 How does your business prove it is compliant in this situation?

Consequences of inactionNon-compliance may leave you open to substantial fines under the GDPR. Article 83(5)(a) states that infringements of the basic principles for processing personal data, including the conditions for consent, are subject to the highest tier of administrative fines. This could mean a fine of up to €20 million, or 4% of your total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher*.

How we can helpThe Frama Rmail platform provides a solution to a specific aspect of

What is GDPR?GDPR compliance, regarding the secure transmission of sensitive personal and financial data.

Frama makes secure email simple and accessible, for both your business and your recipients using ironclad protection.

Frama Rmail uses 256-bit AES encryption with options for secure end-to-end delivery ensuring that your message will only be read by the intended recipient.

Unlike other encryption services, Frama Rmail provides true direct delivery of your encrypted message and attachments in to your recipient’s inbox.

Your recipients will not need to register for an account, open a web browser or otherwise leave their inbox to access your secure message.

If you are required to encrypt personally identifiable information under the GDPR requirement, compliance is only half of the requirement. The other half is legal proof. Your registered receipt record serves as legal proof of compliance and can prove that you have met your obligations should a dispute arise.

For further information or to speak to an email security professional, contact Frama on 01992 451 125 or by email at [email protected].

Lenny Wood, marketing manager, Frama UK

ADVERTORIAL

*Source: Information Commissioner’s Office, GDPR Guidance

PRINT.IT 19www.printitmag.co.uk

PRINT

At the HP Reinvent World Partner Forum 2017, which took place last month in Chicago, HP invited print partners to ‘Reinvent How the World Prints’.

To help them do this, it announced both a number of new services to enhance printer security, mobility, servicing and support and the long awaited availability of the first A3 devices to feature HP PageWide inkjet technology, originally flagged up in September 2016.

In total, HP is bringing out seven A3 colour devices based on PageWide technology, an economical, energy-efficient, low maintenance alternative to toner for the production of professional-quality colour documents.

The printers and MFPs are available now, in different versions for transactional (Pro) and MPS (Enterprise) channels and in a variety of configurations.

Enterprise models are faster and benefit from additional security features, including HP Connection Inspector, which will form part of a FutureSmart firmware update due to be released later this year. From Spring 2018, they will also offer improved device monitoring and support through Smart Device

Services 2.0 (see below).New Enterprise devices include

one printer and two MFPs:n the HP PageWide Enterprise Color 765dn printer – 75ppm in General Office mode;n the HP PageWide Enterprise Color MFP 780dn – 65ppm in General Office mode, 4.3in colour touchscreen and 1,200 sheet input, expandable to 4,000 sheets; and n the HP PageWide Enterprise Color Flow MFP 785f – 75ppm in General Office mode, 8in colour touchscreen, 4,000 sheet input, four-corner stapling and offset stacking, and HP Scan and I.R.I.S. Readiris Pro OCR software for capturing and editing text from scanned documents.

Transactional Pro models include two printers and two MFPs:n the HP PageWide Pro 750dn printer – 55ppm;n the HP PageWide Pro 750dw printer – 55ppm, wireless; n the HP PageWide Pro MFP 772dw – 55ppm in General Office mode, 4.3in colour touchscreen and 1,200 sheet input, expandable to 4,000 sheets; and n the HP PageWide Pro MFP 777z – 65ppm in General Office mode, 8in colour touchscreen,

Changing how the world prints

4,000 sheet input and four-corner stapling and

offset stacking.The availability of PageWide

technology in A3 devices is a significant development for HP, which since September 2016 has been building a partner network to take them to market, in addition to HP direct sales. The benefits of PageWide technology, combined with HP’s existing and newly announced security, mobility and device management capabilities, really do have the capacity to ‘reinvent how the world prints’.

HP also announced a number of other hardware devices including workflow scanners, the Digital Sender Flow (A4) and the ScanJet Enterprise Flow (A3), and colour laser printers/MFPs for consumers and micro-businesses, the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M180/181 series and HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M280/281 series printers with JetIntelligence cartridges and easy mobile printing via HP Smart App.

Security & SupportPageWide technology is not the only way HP is differentiating itself in a crowded market. It has also made printer security a key selling point, with features like HP Sure Start, Run-time intrusion detection and whitelisting embedded within its print devices.

This autumn, it is enhancing printer security further with the launch of HP Connection Inspector. Created by HP Labs, this intelligent embedded security feature inspects outbound network connections, which HP claims are typically abused by malware. It determines what activity is normal and stops anything that looks suspicious.

If a printer is compromised, HP Connection Inspector will

Embeddedsecurityinspectsoutboundnetworkconnections,which HPclaims aretypicallyabused bymalware

HP PageWide A3 devices launched with added security features and, from next year, enhanced monitoring and support

Continued...

What is GDPR?

HP: PageWide A3

Issue 47

20 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

PRINT

HP is addressing the growing requirement for enterprise mobility and collaboration with a new cloud printing solution due to be launched in Spring 2018

automatically trigger a reboot to initiate HP Sure Start self-healing procedures, all without IT intervention.

Mobile printingMost of the other solutions and services announced at the HP Partner event are scheduled to be launched next year, including new solutions for mobility, digitisation and servicing.

HP is addressing the growing requirement for enterprise mobility and collaboration with a new cloud printing solution due to be launched in Spring 2018. Replacing traditional drivers and mobile apps, HP Roam enables mobile workers to submit print jobs to the cloud from any device (mobile or desktop) simply by selecting HP Roam instead of a specific printer.

Print jobs are added to the user’s personal print queue, from where they can be retrieved and printed on any HP Roam-enabled printer in the office, at home or in a public location, with secure authentication by mobile device, PIN or ID card.

Through a combination of auto-discovery, GPS and Bluetooth technologies, the HP Roam app will alert a user when they are within six metres of any HP Roam-enabled printer. It will also show nearby public print locations in hotels, libraries, airports and other places.

DigitisationA third area of concern for customers, alongside security

Key capabilities include:n Parts failure prediction, with device components monitoring and chance-of-failure predictions to optimise service calls and parts planning;n Enhanced diagnostics, with scanner dust detection, a print engine failure sensor for core engine issues and improved problem analysis capabilities for unresponsive devices;n Fleet optimisation, with remote remediation and expanded HP fleet support;n Enhanced collection and billing, with detection and notification when the data collection agent (DCA) or devices go offline or when a printer’s serial number is cleared; n Device health alerts, including the ability to select which events trigger real-time alerts and to detect when service counts for long life consumables are not reset after replacement; and n Service requests via a ‘Report A Problem App’ on the device control panel that customers can use to communicate with the reseller when printing problems occur.

These capabilities are of obvious value to managed print service providers, as they help to reduce servicing requirements and associated costs. End users benefit, too, from greater device availability and fewer service interventions.

To find out more about HP’s new printers and solutions, please visit www.hp.com

...continued

HP turns to the experts with new Security Advisory BoardHP has strengthened its cyber security capabilities with the establishment of a new Security Advisory Board and the recruitment of three external security specialists to sit on it.

The Security Advisory Board will work with HP to identify evolving threats and generate strategic conversations about the rapidly shifting security landscape with both HP and the market.

The three new board members all have first-hand experience of hacking and are familiar with the latest developments in cyber security. They include: n Michael Calce, a.k.a. Mafiaboy, a security consultant who in 2000 at the age of 15 unleased a massive cyberattack that brought down Yahoo!, eBay and Amazon. It led to an FBI

manhunt and $1.7 billion in economic fallout;n Robert Masse, a partner at Deloitte (but acting independently), who has more than 20 years’ experience in cybersecurity, including a run-in with law enforcement over hacking in his teens; andn Justine Bone, who began her career doing reverse engineering and vulnerability research at New Zealand’s version of the U.S. National Security Agency before leading security for companies, including Bloomberg LP. She’s now CEO of MedSec, which analyses technology security for healthcare companies.

Security has become a priority for HP and its customers, as cyber criminals have become more skillful, the

adoption of flexible and mobile working has created new vulnerabilities and the number of vulnerable devices has increased. There are expected to be 20 billion network-connected gadgets by 2020 and, according to Bone, it takes just two and a half minutes after a smart camera or smart light bulb is plugged in for an internet bot to compromise that device.

HP’s strategy is to build devices, like its printers, from the ground up to be secure and able to adapt to new threats as they emerge.

“HP is looking to implement security on anything and everything they develop,” said Calce. “That’s the type of mindset we need if we ever want to have some level of security in this world.” www.hp.com/reinventsecurity

and mobility, is digitisation. This, HP is addressing through the HP Solutions Hub, an open platform architecture that allows for the creation of deeply integrated workflows that include mobile access as well as traditional sign-in.

The workflow optimisation platform includes connectors and templates that organisations in paper-centric verticals, such as healthcare, legal and financial services, can use to create custom workflows.

Servicing & SupportAnother significant introduction slated for next Spring is Smart Device Services 2.0. Due to be delivered as part of HP’s existing third party fleet management software, this set of cloud tools and device-based sensing capabilities leverages the power of IoT, big data, machine learning and predictive diagnostics to maximise device uptime and reduce servicing and support requirements.

PRINT.IT 21www.printitmag.co.uk

ANALYSIS

The emergence of professional-class business inkjet printers and MFPs with lower running costs, high-capacity ink cartridges and professional print quality is challenging the traditional dominance of laser devices in the office print environment.

Quocirca research reveals that the shift to inkjet is already underway, especially in the SME sector. One third of SMEs say they have already started the transition to inkjet printers, compared to 19% of large enterprises, with a further 27% planning to do so in the next 12 months.

IDC expects the business inkjet market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% from 2015 to 2020. According to our analysis, the main factors driving this growth are:

n Lower cost of printing. Inkjet printers are claimed to offer up to 50% lower running costs than comparable laser devices.n Energy saving. Inkjets use no heat in the printing process, so consume less power. Epson claims its WorkForce Pro printers use up to 96% less energy than lasers. n Diverse media compatibility. Inkjet printers can print on a diverse range of papers and specialist media. n Minimal service interventions. With fewer components to replace than laser and high capacity cartridges, business inkjets are likely to experience less downtime and require fewer user/service provider interventions. n Less waste. Compared to the laser printing process, which uses drums, transfer assemblies and fusers, a business inkjet printer

A viable alternative to tonerwith a permanent printhead has far fewer components. According to independent tests, Epson WorkForce Pro models produce up to 94% less waste than equivalent lasers.

These qualities ensure business inkjets score highly in the main criteria for print selection – reliability, price and running costs – as well as secondary considerations, such as sustainability.

For all business inkjet’s strengths, laser technology is still best for some applications. Rather than shifting entirely from one technology to another, organisations should deploy both technologies depending on their business need. Quocirca research suggests that organisations that operate a balanced deployment model, with a mix of technologies and distributed and centralised printers and MFPs, are more likely to report reduced environmental impact and lower energy usage.www.quocirca.com

Louella Fernandes, Quocirca Associate Director for Print Services and Solutions, outlines how business inkjet can form part of a sustainable strategy for print

Louella Fernandes

Q&A

22 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

Q&A

With the introduction of the WorkForce Enterprise series, we have an enterprise-level multifunction device that will allow us to take more of the office space

PrintIT: Epson is famous for its piezo inkjet technology. How are you developing the technology to ensure it continues to meet customer needs?Rob Clark (RC): Over the last two or three years, maybe slightly longer, Epson has been challenging preconceptions about what inkjet printing is and is not capable of. In the consumer marketplace, we launched a product called EcoTank – a new version of which we have just launched at IFA – with the intention of turning the business model on its head. Rather than selling low priced hardware and then recouping money over the lifetime of the product through cartridge sales, we charge more upfront for the hardware (which comes with extra-large ink tanks containing up to three years’ worth of ink) and charge very little for replacement ink.

In the office market, which has traditionally been dominated by laser technology, we have taken the high quality, high precision printhead used in our commercial devices and incorporated it into office devices. Unlike a consumer printer, which has a printhead that moves back and forth across the page, our PrecisionCore technology combines multiple heads in a fixed array

spanning the width of the page. The only thing that moves is the paper, which is how we can achieve such high print speeds, and the quality is assured because we use high end commercial technology.

PrintIT: How has the market responded to these developments? Have they been successful for you?RC: On the consumer side, the market for ink cartridge products is reasonably flat, but where we are seeing growth is with our EcoTank product. This new business model seems to have caught the attention of a lot of people and, so far, we have sold about 20 million of these products globally. It answers a lot of the questions that were asked about inkjet technology and the inkjet business model.

We are very new into the business marketplace and, to date, we have been selling into the lower end of the business market. But now, with the introduction of the WorkForce Enterprise series, we have an enterprise-level multifunction device that will allow us to take more of that office space. There are two versions of the Enterprise product, a 100ppm version and a 75ppm version, and you can specify it as a standalone product or with a finisher.

PrintIT talks to Rob Clark, managing director of Epson UK and senior vice president of Epson Europe, about the company’s evolving printer offering

PrintIT: What targets have you set yourself and are you confident that you will be able to hit them?RC: I’ve worked with Epson for 25 years and a couple of years ago I was made senior vice president for Europe. The target I set myself then was to grow the business from 1.5 billion euros, which is where we were in 2014, to 2 billion euros by 2020.

To achieve that I calculated that I would need to grow the business by approximately 80-100 million euros a year. I could see some growth potential in projection and in emerging territories, but by far the biggest opportunity lay in the office marketplace. IDC projects that market to be worth around 38 billion euros in EMEA. If I can’t generate a reasonable amount of revenue from a 38 billion euro market, there’s something wrong.

PrintIT: Where is growth in the office market coming from?RC: Our biggest expectation is that the office print market will shift from laser to business inkjet technology, because business inkjet, as well as delivering the same commercials as laser – cost per page, total cost of ownership, that kind of thing – has a strong ecology message, with big reductions in CO2 and the amount of waste that’s produced. These aren’t small reductions of 5%, 10%; they are significantly different – a 92% saving on waste, a 94% saving on CO2.

Interest in the ecological benefits of business inkjet does vary from country to country; Germany is very sensitive to ecological messages, the UK less so. However, that is changing. The fact that we can deliver such a big energy saving has an ecological benefit, but people also recognise that it will help them reduce their energy bills. If you’ve got one printer, it’s probably not going to make that much difference, but if you’re running a fleet of printers, which a lot of our customers are, then it starts to make a significant difference.

Rob Clark

At the start of the year, Epson extended its business inkjet concept to the enterprise market with the launch of its WorkForce Enterprise MFPs

PRINT.IT 23www.printitmag.co.uk

Q&A

EcoTank’s appeal is as much about the convenience of low intervention as it is about running costs

PrintIT: You showed a number of new business inkjet products at the IFA 2017 exhibition in Berlin, including a new generation of EcoTank printers. How do they differ from previous models?RC: The main differences are, firstly, that the ink tanks are now on the front, so you can see the ink level from the front of the printer – a little bit more convenient than having them on the side – and, secondly, they are easier to refill.

Before, replacement ink came in bottles with a pointed nozzle: you had to remove the seal, put on the pointed nozzle and then squeeze the bottle to get the ink into the tank. If I’m honest, it’s a little messy. With our new printers, there is a keying system, so you definitely can’t put the wrong colour into the wrong tank, and a valve mechanism, which opens automatically. The ink automatically flows into the tank, so you don’t need to squeeze the bottle, and when the tank is full it stops, which makes refilling a lot easier. We always listen to feedback from customers and, out of all the feedback we got, refilling was the one thing people really wanted us to change.

PrintIT: How has EcoTank been received in the UK and what sort of people are choosing it over the traditional razor/razor blade model?RC: When we launched the product, our expectation was that this would be purchased by high print volume customers, because turning the business model on its head means that initially you do pay more for the hardware, which you then recoup because the cost per page is so much lower. But, in reality, we’re seeing a broad spectrum of user, because EcoTank’s appeal is as much about the convenience of low intervention as it is about running costs. You still get more customers at the higher end, but take-up is across the market.

We do a similar concept for the business marketplace that we call RIPs. These devices have replaceable ink packs with enough ink for up to 86,000 pages in each bag, so for a year or so the only thing the customer has to replenish is the paper. RIPS brings the same

experience you get with EcoTank to the office market. It really is a low intervention product.

PrintIT: At IFA 2017 you also introduced a new service called ReadyInk. Please could you tell me more about that.RC: What we’re trying to do in the consumer and SOHO markets is to provide a number of different ways for customers to acquire our inkjet printers: you can buy low cost hardware and go to a store to buy replacement cartridges; you can buy an EcoTank device, with a higher upfront cost and low cost per page; or you can buy the low cost hardware and use it with monitoring software that automatically sends a replacement cartridge when ink levels get low so you don’t have to go to a shop to buy supplies.

The ReadyInk pay-as-you-go print service is another way to eliminate the inconvenience of running out of ink. You can buy into the EcoTank concept or you can go for a convenient, automatic cartridge replacement service.

PrintIT: Finally, I have to ask you about the Paperlab recycling and paper-making machine. Do you know when it might be available in the UK?RC: I’ve been working for Epson for 25 years and Paperlab has generated more interest than any other product we’ve announced. People are really interested in the whole idea of closing the loop. Currently, we’ve got beta test sites in Japan and the plan is to bring it into Europe next year.

At the moment, the device is still very large, so if all you’re interested in is recycled paper it’s probably not the unit for you – you can go to the market and buy recycled paper cheaper than you can make it on this device. But there are two instances where we’re seeing real interest: the first is where an organisation wants to demonstrate its environmental credentials and the second is around security. Because Paperlab shreds used paper down to fibre level, anything that’s printed on it is completely eradicated. You can imagine the value of that for public authorities, hospitals, banks, legal companies, anybody that needs securely to dispose of customer information. There’s a lot of discussion about the management of personal data online; this, if you like, is the offline version of that.

The plan is eventually for Paperlab to be the same size as a WorkForce Enterprise, or even smaller. In the future, Paperlab will sit next to a WorkForce Enterprise, closing the ecosystem within a department and not just the building.

Epson’s new generation of cartridge-free EcoTank printers offers even greater ease of use

ET3750

ET7750

24 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

FUTURE TECH

Volker Spanier

Robots have transformed the workplace and will take industries to new levels in the coming years as technology, workplace practices and industry processes become increasingly innovative. To date, robots have been used mainly in large-scale production, but advances in robotics technology are presenting sizeable productivity and profitability opportunities for a wealth of industries where more small-scale, lean and agile operations are required.

Even though there is some way to go until robots become the norm, the number of industrial robots deployed worldwide is expected to increase to around 2.6 million units by 2019 – that’s about one million units more than in 20151.

Sales of advanced cobots (collaborative robots that work alongside humans) are expected to rise too. While they only accounted for 5% of global robot sales in 2015, Barclays Equity Research estimates that this $120 million market could jump to $3.1 billion by 2020 and $12 billion by 2025. That would mean 150,000 cobots sold in 2020 and 700,000 in 20252.

Reshoring & personalisationThis is all happening because robotics are opening doors to more opportunities for local production (reshoring) and the development of more tailored products for consumers (personalisation).

In addition, as increased cooperation with humans, including physical cooperation, becomes apparent, novel business models and deployment strategies are entering other industries, including healthcare and hospitality. Smaller, smarter and more nimble robots are becoming clear contenders to support the fast-paced and dynamic requests of consumers and a growing sense of sustainability.

At the same time, market

leaders are advancing access to these technologies. The price of robots is coming down as more entry-level robots become available for purchase directly from websites, raising the possibility of a modular approach to robotic solutions, as well as robot systems that can be sold at a low cost and adapted by the end user.

The capacity of robots to adapt to different needs is increasing at breakneck speed. While they may still be 10 or so years away from having the dexterity to pick strawberries as well as a human can, developments in sensing technology, such as Epson’s Force Sensor, are already enabling robots to automatically modulate the force they apply to objects.

This is rapidly expanding their capabilities and allowing the automation of complex tasks that formerly required human sensory perception. Already, certain robots can work at speed with incredible precision, picking up and sorting elements that are neither aligned nor identically positioned.

These trends can be seen in the reshoring activities of two well-known European apparel manufacturers, Adidas, which recently set up a speed-factory near Ansbach that can produce a shoe in five hours from start to finish, and Mango, which is reshoring some parts of its production for the same reasons. Leveraging the benefits brought by new technologies like robots, 3D printers and body scanners, Mango hopes to be able to develop new collections every two weeks instead of three.

While large-scale production remains elsewhere, robotics technology is allowing both companies to react faster to market changes by shortening the value chain and moving production closer to the end-user3.

New robots, like the Dual Arm from Epson, currently in the final stages of development, aim to go one step further and eliminate the need for detailed programming by allowing the robot to create its own preferred trajectories and actions, based on specific objectives. Easy programming reduces the need for a specialised skill set to manage the robot and allows the same machine to be relocated within a factory and used for multiple tasks.

The future of workThe growth of robotics in Europe continues to pose questions for the labour market. Robots may not yet be able to pick strawberries or thread laces but they are learning fast. Understandably, some view this development with concern, as it will enable robots to take on roles previously occupied by humans. Others envisage a different scenario: yes, robots will take over some jobs, but, as with previous industrial revolutions, new jobs will be created.

In a few years’ time, it is likely we will draw parallels between the evolution of robots and the smartphone: consider the size of the first mobile phones and how they have now transformed into essential, go-to mini-machines smaller than our back pocket. Robots will continue to get smaller, smarter and more sensitive – and it is nothing to be concerned about.

In fact, it is more a case of being prepared for a future where our jobs are more stimulating and creative, where we have access to more personalised solutions and greater access to goods. As robots become more nimble, we humans must too.

Volker Spanier, Head of Robotics Solutions at Epson Europe, explains how the evolution of robotics will affect you

Meet your new colleague

1 http://www.eu-nited.net/robotics/market/industrial-robotics/index.html

2 http://www.technologist.eu/robots-vs-jobs-a-new-social-contract/

3 https://reshoring.eurofound.europa.eu/reshoring-cases/mango

Smaller, smarter and more nimble robots are becoming clear contenders to support the fast-paced and dynamic requests of consumers

Stuck on you

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PRINT.IT 25www.printitmag.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL

Stuck on you

20

Capable of 6 distinct binding styles including; strip binding, perfect binding and even hardcover books, the Fastback 20 is ideal for short-run, fast turnaround work.

For a completely unique look; it is even possible to custom brand the book spines with corporate colours and logos.

6 BINDING STYLES, ONE MACHINE YOU’LL LOVE

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26 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

WHAT’S NEW

what’s new

This larger than life, 2-metre sports shoe was 3D printed by Dekom 3D Plus, based in Switzerland. Produced as a concept piece to demonstrate how 3D printing enables sports brands to add impact to their marketing campaigns, the shoe was printed in two pieces on a Massivit 1800 3D Printer in just under 24 hours. Once printed, it was filled with expandable foam and decorated with a combination of self-adhesive vinyl, textiles and paint.

Be secureDSales (UK) Ltd has introduced a new service to help customers secure their Develop ineo MFPs. With ineo SECURE UK, a trained service technician will configure the security settings of a customer’s MFPs to meet their specific needs and label the machines to show they are protected. Security features include HDD lock to prevent unauthorised access; an HDD encryption key so that data can be stored in a password-protected partition on the MFP hard drive; HDD overwrite to obliterate temporary data as soon as a print job is completed; and configuration of the HDD automatically to delete a job in specified user boxes, system boxes and folders.

Cloud-based access controlWorkforce time management solutions provider hfx has developed a cloud-based Access Control solution that enables organisations of all sizes to manage staff time more effectively. hfx Access Control can be used as a standalone solution or be fully integrated with Flexitime Management, Vanquish T&A, Everyone Cloud and other third party solutions. Door access control devices can be used with biometric (fingerprint) or proximity readers, with details of who can pass through which door stored locally so that should the network fail, the doors will still operate. A copy is backed up in the cloud with location details for each member of staff, providing an accurate roll call in an emergency. www.hfx.co.uk

Bolder coloursFifteen years after introducing PRO-DESIGN as a high quality paper for professional laser printers, International Paper has re-formulated it to provide the same quality on high speed inkjet printers, including office and production devices. ColorLok technology, incorporated into the paper during its manufacture, locks ink pigments to the surface, resulting in more vivid colours, bolder and sharper blacks, faster drying and reduced smearing. PRO-DESIGN is suitable for all finishing treatments, from stapling, perforating, folding and binding to laminating, varnishing, sealing and embossing.

White tonerXerox has introduced a White Dry Ink for the fifth print station on Xerox iGen 5 presses. The new colour will enable print providers to add special textures and finishes to printed work, such as a snowflake with textured details, a book cover with a white horse on a dark stock or a clear vinyl window film with white text. Jim Hamilton, group director, Keypoint Intelligence InfoTrends, said: “Designers will love the ability to use white on coloured and transparent substrates to create promotional items like brochures, business cards, greeting cards and invitations, point-of-purchase signage, book covers and direct mail postcards and letters. The opportunities extend to packaging applications like folding cartons.”www.xerox.com

If the boot fits

Simply efficientKonica Minolta has introduced a series of ‘simply efficient’ colour production printers for print rooms that are new to digital printing and for more experienced print providers with large, repeat print volumes. The AccurioPress C6085 (85ppm) and C6100 (100ppm) include a high level of automation, such as automatic colour adjustment, skill-less operation and constant control of gradation and front-to-back registration. Karl-Friedrich Edenhuizen, Product Manager, Production Printing Group, said: “Graphic communication providers, CRDs and Print for Pay operations will all benefit from these simply efficient presses. The Integrated Color Care Unit overcomes some of the biggest pain points in digital print production, such as time-consuming front to back registration, extensive colour set-up and complex paper set-up operations.”

PRINT.IT 27www.printitmag.co.uk

WHAT’S NEW

No print server requiredThinPrint has launched a server-less print management solution that migrates print management to the cloud, while enabling secure printing to take place locally, even when the computer is offline. Thorsten Hesse, chief product officer at ThinPrint, says that by eliminating the need for on-site infrastructure, ezeep Dash enables companies of all sizes to make significant savings. “As Gmail makes the mail server unnecessary and Salesforce makes the CRM server obsolete, so ezeep Dash means print servers are no longer required,” he said. Administrators can use the cloud portal to define printers and assign employees or groups. Everything else, including the installation of drivers, driver updates and adjustments for changes to IP addresses, are automatically taken care of by ezeep Dash and agents on users’ machines. ezeep Dash costs €0.57 per user, per month. www.ezeep.com/dash

Expanded colour range OKI Europe has expanded its product range with new A3 colour MFPs designed for corporate businesses with large print volumes, tight deadlines and a requirement for high quality, 1200 x 1200 dpi output. Ideal for producing reports, white papers and booklets as part of the day-to-day workflow, the ES94x6 MFP Series features a 9-inch, tablet-style, customisable touch screen and full finishing capabilities, including an inner finisher and inline multi-staple and saddle stitch finishers. Options include server-less pull printing, embedded OCR and an embedded card reader. The series includes two models, the ES9466 MFP (35ppm) and the ES9476 MFP (50ppm). www.oki.com/eu

In the frame The Frame from Samsung is a 55-inch Ultra HD TV that can also be used to display artworks from a built-in gallery. Developed in collaboration with Swiss designer Yves Behar, the screen can be customised with a choice of magnetic Frame Bezel surrounds (walnut, beige and white) and comes with a no-gap wall mount for flush mounting. A transparent connection cable pairs the Frame with the One Connect box. www.samsung.com/uk

You’re so veinThe Fujitsu PalmSecure ID Match is now available from Review Display Systems. The secure identification terminal matches the unique pattern of veins in a user’s hand with a biometric template stored on an individual smart card, thus eliminating the need for a central database. Comprising a 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen, an embedded processor board, a multi-card reader and Fujitsu’s PalmSecure M1E sensor technology, the terminal can be used as a standalone or wall-mounted device or integrated into a POS system. www.review-displays.co.uk

Versatile POS systemThe new HP ElitePOS is a versatile, modular, all-in-one point-of-sale (POS) system that also supports interactive signage, employee attendance and self-service applications like customer check-in. For versatility, the display can be separated from the input/output (I/O) base and expanded with optional accessories such as a receipt printer, magnetic stripe reader or barcode scanner. www.hp.com

Cartridge-free printingEpson has launched a new generation of EcoTank printers. Unlike traditional inkjet printers, EcoTank devices have extra-large ink tanks containing up to three years’ worth of ink. They cost more to buy but have very low running costs and require minimal user intervention. For the first time, Epson’s range includes two five-colour models for high quality photo printing. The new generation has a more compact footprint and improved ease of use, with mess-free refills and ink tanks on the front of the device so that you can see ink levels at a glance. Prices start at £249.99. www.epson.co.uk

Printer scrappage schemeDatatrade has launched a ‘scrappage scheme’ for legacy warehouse printers from Mannesmann Tally and TallyGenicom. Until December 29, 2017, it will offer trade-in payments to businesses that upgrade selected legacy printers to more efficient TallyGenicom 6800 devices. Datatrade managing director Peter Laplanche said: “A bit like the scrappage scheme promoted by the automotive industry to take polluting vehicles off the road, our trade-in programme aims to take out older, ineffectual industrial printers and replace them with more efficient line matrix devices. The latest machines offer a 20% improvement in consumable cost per page when compared with the previous generation line matrix spool ribbon.” To find out more, call 01604 666666 or email [email protected].

EPSON: EcoTank Printers

Issue 47

28 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

INNOVATION

In the last issue of PrintIT, we gave the Toshiba TEC e-STUDIO4508LP hybrid MFP series an Editor’s Choice award for its environmental innovation and for the way in which Toshiba has developed and improved its erasable toner MFP since the first model was launched in 2013.

Notable enhancements on the three new models include the ability to print permanent and erasable documents on the same device and a built-in eraser, which removes the need for customers to buy and install a separate unit – though, as we explain below, there are good reasons why you might want to do that.

Since receiving the PrintIT award, the e-STUDIO4508LP series has received other accolades, including a Better Buys Q3 2017 Editor’s Choice Award.

Toshiba launched its new models just as the last issue was going to press, so we were only able to describe a few of the product’s main features. Below, with insight from Toshiba TEC UK marketing director Jeremy Spencer, we look in more detail at the rationale for hybrid MFPs and how Toshiba is making the devices more suitable for busy offices.

Changing habitsPrint volumes, as everyone knows, are falling. However, the decline is not as steep as many predicted, largely because people still like to use paper as a medium for creating, developing, checking and, in certain contexts, sharing content.

So, if printing is still being done, where has all the paper gone? In many offices today, there just aren’t the banks of filing cabinets there used to be, nor the large piles of paper on every flat surface. What

you do see more of are recycling bins. Today, this is where most prints end up.

Jeremy Spencer, marketing director of Toshiba TEC UK, cites a study by Keypoint Intelligence/Infotrends, which shows that only 25% of office workers print for permanent record/retention, with most retaining prints for just a few hours – 51% print because they prefer to edit on paper, 28% print for temporary reference and 12% print and then scan to email/workflow/cloud, after adding a signature for example.

“We conducted some research that revealed 45% of all printed documents end up in the bin on the day of creation,” he said.

The original Toshiba Eco Copier, the e-STUDIO 306LP, reduced the environmental impact of all these temporary documents by printing in blue, heat-sensitive toner that could be wiped clean in a separate unit. Because each sheet of paper could be printed, erased and re-used as many as eight times, the Eco Copier enabled organisations to reduce their paper consumption and carbon emissions associated with paper production, distribution and disposal.

This innovative device was an interesting talking point and a

great way for an organisation to demonstrate its environmental awareness. It was also a luxury and an expense very few could justify, partly because it was an additional piece of hardware – two pieces of hardware when you include the separate eraser unit – rather than a replacement device. Customers would still need a traditional black toner device to print documents that needed to be kept or shared with others.

Hybrid print systemWith the new e-STUDIO4508LP series, Toshiba has overcome this drawback by developing a hybrid printing system that offers both erasable printing (35ppm) and conventional black toner printing (35/45/50ppm) in a single device, with all the functionality and finishing capabilities you would expect from an A3 MFP. It has also added an erase function that removes the need for users to buy a separate eraser unit.

“The e-STUDIO5008LP series behaves exactly like our current mid-range mono MFPs,” explained Spencer. “But it also features the erasable technology unit. What this means is that users can print in both black and erasable blue, and the MFP itself is capable of erasing the toner. You simply place the used paper (A4 and A3) into the designated paper cassette and start the process. The blue toner will be erased and you can then reuse the paper multiple times providing financial and environmental benefits.”

Optional erasing unitToshiba still offers an optional unit for erasing, sorting and scanning up to 100 sheets at a time. This incorporates a

Toshiba TEC’s new e-STUDIO4508LP hybrid MFP series addresses the shortcomings of the company’s first generation Eco Copier

Black, blue & green

Jeremy Spencer

PRINT.IT 29www.printitmag.co.uk

There are long-term financial benefits from reduced paper consumption and associated storage, distribution and disposal costs

single pass duplex scanner so that before they are erased temporary documents can be saved as JPEG, TIFF or PDF files and stored on a company’s server or in its document management system.

After digitisation, documents are erased through the application of heat, which turns the toner from blue to clear. The paper is then sorted into reusable and non-reusable stock and placed in the appropriate output cassette. The entire process – archiving, erasing, sorting – is done automatically and takes just a few seconds.

Rules-based printingWhen it comes to printing, users can select whether to print in B&W or erasable blue toner, or they can let the machine decide for them.

Toshiba’s rules-based printing system enables administrators to apply multiple rules so that emails, for example, or faxes are automatically printed in blue toner. The machine’s ability to switch automatically from one mode to another depending on the

application being used simplifies operation for end users and ensures that businesses maximise the environmental benefits of their investment.

Green benefitsThese are potentially quite substantial. BSI, which verified that the e-STUDIO5008LP series meets ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) standards, compared five-year LCA calculations for the new MFPs to Toshiba TEC’s regular MFPs and found that printing and erasing a page with erasable blue toner five times cuts CO2 emissions by 57% compared to printing five black prints.

Spencer points out that there are also long-term financial benefits from reduced paper consumption and associated storage, distribution and disposal costs.

“There is a small cost premium on the price of the engine, but that’s easily outweighed by the resultant cost savings on paper,” he said. “Assuming that you use a sheet of paper five times and that

you print 4,000 erasable pages per month, you can reduce paper consumption by up to 80%. This means that after five years you will have saved almost 200,000 sheets of paper. In other words, the same amount of paper that you would usually use in one year will now last five years.”

Users can track and monitor the benefits of their devices through e-BRIDGE Paper Reuse Reports.

A practical solutionThe original Eco Copier was an interesting addition to Toshiba TEC’s range, even if it didn’t sell well. It is to Toshiba’s credit that they have further developed the technology and created a new series of MFPs that provides a more practical solution for eco-conscious businesses.

With further additions to the range likely to be launched in 2018, the e-STUDIO5008LP series is certainly worth a closer look.www.toshibatec.co.uk

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30 PRINT.IT 01732 759725

GDPR

Countdown to GDPR

New research by KYOCERA Document Solutions finds UK public sector organisations are unaware of, and unprepared for, the implications of the EU’s forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Cyber security is one of the biggest challenges facing the public sector today, and crucial to this is making sure that sensitive information can’t be accessed by the wrong person. Traditionally, printers and MFPs have been overlooked when it comes to implementing data security strategies. However, this is now changing, as legislation like the

How vulnerable are your MFPs?To help counter the lack of preparedness for GDPR amongst UK organisations (see above), KYOCERA Document Solutions has launched KYOCERA SecureAudit.

Developed in the UK by KYOCERA’s product development team, SecureAudit provides a simple way to scan KYOCERA MFPs for security vulnerabilities, such as default admin passwords and open ports.

Eddie Ginja, head of innovation at KYOCERA, said: “Just like other IoT devices, our printers are now connected to the Internet, as well as corporate networks, creating a massively expanded threat surface.”

Recent research by Quocirca estimates that of the millions of business printers in the world, only 2% are secure, with as many as 63% of businesses surveyed experiencing one or more print-related data breaches.

KYOCERA SecureAudit will be offered

within KYOCERA’s suite of application software, powered by HyPAS.

Other KYOCERA security solutions include biometric identification; user authentication, such as Net Manager, which only releases print jobs once a user has identified themselves at an MFP; data encryption; data overwriting processes; and automatic deletion processes.www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk

GDPR a challengeBusiness analytics company SAS warns that with the deadline for GDPR compliance looming, less than half of organisations (46%) have a structured plan in place. As many as 58% of organisations are still not fully aware of the implications of non-compliance.

Although GDPR makes organisations accountable for personal data protection, including how and where data is stored and how it is processed within the

organisation, and gives individuals the right to request that their personal data be erased or ported to another organisation, 48% of those questioned said finding personal data within their own database would be a challenge.

Mike Wake, Head of Data Management, SAS UK & Ireland, said: “Businesses need properly to assess all their risks, mitigate the risks they uncover and be able to demonstrate what action they have taken to achieve this. The challenge is they often don’t know where to start because of the scale and complexity of the task.”

He added: “Companies cannot get the assurance needed that what they are doing is definitely the right course of action, because while the regulations set out what needs to be done they do not prescribe how you go about it.”

SAS has published further details of the survey in its ebook Working toward GDPR compliance. www.sas.com

Print security revealed as public sector blind spot

Over half (59%) of

those polled were aware

of the implications

of GDPR for their

organisation

EU’s forthcoming GDPR places new obligations on organisations.

To gain an understanding of the key priorities, trends and challenges facing public sector bodies as they strive to balance the need to make their print environment secure and compliant with the need to boost efficiency and drive down IT costs, KYOCERA Document Solutions and iGov Survey recently surveyed 161 public sector organisations.

The survey focused on key concerns relating to print and multifunctional device management, such as whether organisations have a secure printing strategy in place and how they aim to keep their print environment secure.

GDPR ready?Over half (59%) of those polled were aware of the implications of GDPR for their organisation. Yet, only 34% had conducted a personal data impact assessment.

With the implementation of GDPR now less than a year away, and with the public sector continuing to shift towards electronic delivery, this shows that there’s still a lot of work

to be done in order to avoid fines of €20m or 4% of annual turnover (whichever is greater) for the most serious breaches.

Seven out of 10 organisations believe they have a complete overview of their current document and print environment. Just 6% of participants are concerned that their current solution isn’t meeting user needs, compared to 73% who feel well prepared to meet their obligations around document and print management.

Cost main driver More than three quarters (82%) of respondents cite cost reduction as a key consideration in relation to their current print and multifunctional device management solutions, compared to 55% who cite security concerns around access and data sharing.

Other drivers include: boosting efficiency (49%); environmental considerations (55%); legislative issues (23%); ensuring the solution is easy to use and access (60%); consistency in delivery (35%); and sustainability (38%).

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GDPR is a global problemMore than one in 10 UK organisations (13%) believe they are unaffected by GDPR, with a further 25% still unsure whether they need to comply with the regulations before the deadline of May 25, 2018, according to a survey of 1,600 organisations by WatchGuard.

Amongst global organisations, there is an even higher level of uncertainty: 28% of respondents are convinced their organisation doesn’t need to comply, while 37% are unsure whether they have to or not.

WatchGuard warns that many companies mistakenly think they won’t be affected, pointing out that GDPR applies to any company that stores or processes personal information about EU citizens.

Yet, one in seven of survey respondents who don’t believe the law applies to their organisation collects personal data from EU citizens and 28% of respondents unsure about compliance

also collect this type of information. Corey Nachreiner, chief technology

officer of WatchGuard, said: “Once enforcement for this new legislation begins, companies all over the world will feel its impact. Unfortunately, the data shows that an alarming number of organisations are still unaware of, or mistaken about, the need for GDPR compliance, leaving them three steps behind at this stage.”

“In the Americas, just 16% of organisations believe they need to comply. With sensitive customer data and non-compliance fines at stake, every company with access to data from European citizens needs to ensure they truly understand GDPR and its ramifications.”

Currently, just 10% of respondents – including those in the UK – believe their company is fully ready for compliance. Almost half (44%) don’t know how close their organisation is to compliance. www.WatchGuard.com

GDPR best practiceThe Information Security Forum (ISF), a not-for-profit association that analyses security and risk management issues on behalf of its members, has added to the cornucopia of GDPR advice with a new best practice guide.

Building on the recently released ISF digest, Preparing for the General Data Protection Regulation, the ISF GDPR Implementation Guide provides a structured approach for achieving GDPR compliance and includes guidance, actions, tips and reusable templates.

ISF recommends a two-stage approach: ‘Prepare’, by discovering personal data, determining compliance status and defining the scope of a GDPR compliance programme; and ‘Implement’ to achieve and demonstrate sufficient levels of compliance with GDPR requirements.www.securityforum.org

Only 34% have conducted a personal data impact assessment

GDPR

Public sector coming up short When it comes to security, the print estate is just as important as any other part of an IT network. Yet, it is often unclear whose remit and responsibility it is. As a result, many public sector organisations are failing properly to safeguard print devices from threats.

One-fifth of survey participants believe the lack of a joined-up approach to managing the multitude of solutions used is having an effect on security, costs and environmental considerations. While over half have security concerns around access and data sharing as it relates to their printer fleet, only 44% have a printing security strategy in place. One fifth (22%) plan to introduce a printing security strategy in the next six months and another quarter within twelve months. One third (32%) have no plans to implement one.

Of those who do have a strategy, one fifth have no plans to review it in light of upcoming legislative changes, such as GDPR. Only a quarter of respondents plan to take immediate action.

Another oversight when it comes

to data protection is securing printer and MFP hard drives. Just 16% of organisations polled make sure hard drives are protected even when removed from the core device. Just over a quarter (28%) protect themselves by ensuring the hard drive is encrypted, with 38% utilising secure print release functionality, so that only authorised users can access print jobs.

Cyber security challenge Eddie Ginja, head of innovation at KYOCERA Document Solutions UK, warns that public sector organisations need to take printer security more seriously.

“Although cyber security is one of the biggest challenges facing the public sector today, printers and multifunctional devices have traditionally been left at the bottom of the queue when it comes to data security strategies. Thankfully, only 8% of organisations have experienced a print-related security breach to date, but this research confirms our fears that print and document management is a security weak spot when it comes to data

protection,” he said.Despite high profile warnings,

like the incident in February this year when a hacker hijacked more than 150,000 printers accidentally left accessible via the web, only 76% of public sector organisations have a policy relating to the use of USB/external hard drives. Just 40% of policies cover printing via multifunctional devices.

There is also a lack of certainty around current legislation, with 29% uncertain how long documents should be kept for.

“Without adequate protection, cyber attackers can easily gain access to multifunctional devices and the data they store, potentially then gaining access to unencrypted data available across entire IT networks, bypassing company firewalls in the process,” warned Ginja.

“Printing and data go hand-in-hand – just think about how much sensitive information is printed or scanned at your organisation every day. As the new fines draw closer, now is a great time to analyse your print security.” kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk

Eddie Ginja

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SPEECH RECOGNITION

Think how much easier it would be for a physician to say ‘System: update Mary Smith’s chart with the following: Patient experiencing abdominal pain, issue pharmacy order for 200MG of SuperAntiGas, signed Dr. FeelBetter’. Or, in a conference room, instead of struggling with a remote control, just to say ‘System: turn on projector, turn on TV and dim lights’.

Voice analytics firm VoiceLabs has identified the various layers needed to support a voice-first approach in the consumer world. But, to make the move from simple, consumer-based use cases to establishing a voice-first environment in the enterprise world, a few more things need to happen.

Security will be critical if enterprise systems are to start relying on voice commands – should anyone be able to command critical equipment or systems just by speaking? The answer, clearly, is no. Privacy, too, is a top concern. And, while the physician example above seems simple enough, we need to think about this in the context of regulations: are a patient’s rights violated if verbal commands expose their medical information to third parties?

Secure accessWe are already seeing voice recognition technology used for secure access, with banks, for example, introducing voice authentication to telephone banking systems.

This may leave some customers concerned about the security of their account. But my feeling is that voice-based authentication will follow the adoption cycle we saw in e-Commerce, where initial concerns over credit card fraud needed to be overcome before there was a meteoric rise in online purchasing. And we will continue to see innovation in voice recognition systems and improvements that will make voice system security viable in an enterprise environment, so that only authorised users with the right privileges can perform associated actions.

That said, whereas your microwave might not be spying on you, some devices will be always-on, always listening and potentially recording, and a few

well publicised cases of privacy invasion, commercial espionage or legal jeopardy could still stall adoption. This suggests that a big On/Off switch or function needs to be included in voice-first products, giving users the benefits and not the downsides of constant monitoring. Secure software access will also need to be in place in these products to prevent and detect hacking efforts.

Effective voice recognitionThe first use cases of voice recognition have mainly been in voice response systems, whether in a call centre or in our cars and smartphones. As many of us know from firsthand experience, these work marginally at best and recognition and contextualisation need to be refined through technological developments before we can realistically think about enterprise-wide adoption.

Research programmes, such as Carnegie-Mellon University’s Sphinx project, continue to enhance language recognition capabilities. An Internet Trends report by Mary Meeker indicated that in 2016, Google’s voice recognition system could recognise over five million words with around 90% accuracy, but that’s still not extensive or accurate enough. Is 90% accuracy good enough to interact with a utility provider’s network or a life support system in a hospital?

It’s not just about recognition of words; it is also about what to do with those words, which is where cognitive engines and AI come into play.

Solutions from some of the biggest players in the industry – e.g. Microsoft, with its open source cognitive recognition engine – can be leveraged to understand the context of words. ‘How do I get to Green Park?’ may sound simple enough, but it needs to be put

With the popularity of personal assistants, such as Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant, and new startups leveraging AI and analytics to build personal companions, consumers are moving towards a new voice-controlled relationship with technology. It is all but a given that voice-activation systems will eventually make it into the enterprise environment, where they have the potential to simplify and automate activities. Craig Walker, Director of Cloud Services at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, explains what needs to happen before the technology is trusted with mission-critical applications

Coming full circle: are we returning to a voice-first world?

Whereas your microwave might not be spying on you, some devices will be always-on, always listening and potentially recording

Craig Walker

Continued...

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ADVERT

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SPEECH RECOGNITION

into context. Location awareness could indicate you mean Green Park in London and help make assumptions about transportation mode. If you were sitting at Piccadilly Circus, the answer could be ‘Take one stop, Westbound, on the Piccadilly line’. But what if you meant Green Park in Manchester or Birmingham?

The search for a deeper meaningThe real challenge lies in what’s behind the voice recognition system – from the integration of IoT devices to the system itself – and in ensuring that requested commands make sense. To achieve this, we need to use cognitive engines as a check and validation system.

Think of someone accidentally giving a command to ‘Turn off cooling system to reactor 4’, instead of reactor 3, or of a doctor using the system to prescribe a harmful dose of medication because he accidently said 400 grams instead of 400 milligrams.

There will need to be a holistic view of actions being automated to prevent human error and broader intelligence to understand the actions related to voice-controlled requests. For example, even if ‘Turn off cooling system to reactor 4’ was correct, the system would need to understand a set of operational procedures to implement the command.

Creating an API platform for true voice integrated solutionsAn interesting element that could tie in strategically with the development of true voice-controlled enterprise environments comes from innovations in the traditional voice communication world, where we are seeing an explosion of CPaaS (Communication Platform as-a-Service), which uses APIs to integrate voice into other applications.

Some major voice communication vendors are now entering this market, providing CPaaS infrastructures with a standardised set of APIs that enable companies to integrate communications into their business processes.

While we traditionally look at integration in terms of incorporating voice and video services into

existing applications – think of a banking application that allows you to move from an online application to a voice call with a banking advisor – I believe these will play a big part in a ‘voice-first’ environment by leveraging the rich API infrastructure of CPaaS to communicate with applications and things.

How CPaaS and other platforms communicate with devices really needs to be standardised before we see rapid development of voice technology. All today’s consumer-based voice-controlled systems have their own interfaces, their own API integrations and, as with the Beta vs. VHS battle from decades ago, the potential for product obsolescence. Just as a consumer doesn’t want to invest in the latest smart coffee maker only to see the platform that controls it be discontinued, so an enterprise wants to make sure that the investment it makes in new technologies won’t become obsolete before it is able to realise a return.

The good news is that there is a set of technologies in the works to help minimise potential obsolescence, with frameworks like IoTivity being developed to build a standardised platform.

The best is yet to come We are already seeing the value, benefits and rapid expansion of new voice applications for consumers, and in the near term we will see basic use cases move into the enterprise. Longer term, as advances continue to be made in voice recognition, voice security and simplification/standardisation in device connectivity, we will see more and more voice-first activities in both the consumer and enterprise world, helping to reduce complexity and improve our productivity.

Craig Walker is Director of Cloud Services at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE). He has more than 25 years’ experience in publicly held telecommunication companies, start-up ventures and within the partner environment. He has been with ALE since the acquisition of Xylan Corporation in 2000, where he was Technical Director EMEA.

Hands-free simplicityIs voice the answer to office productivity?Anyone who has ever struggled with copier settings and wished for an easier way of completing complex copy jobs will appreciate the Vision-e Voice app for Xerox ConnectKey MFPs, including the new VersaLink and AltaLink series.

The solution, which combines voice recognition technology , an MFP app and an Amazon Dot speaker, lets you interact with an MFP through spoken requests, such as ‘Please make 20 double-sided copies’, ‘Please scan and email to Mike Jones’ or ‘Please request a service call’.

The MFP talks back through Amazon Dot, giving answers to questions like ‘Is there enough paper to complete this job?’.

Vision-e Voice is not just useful for people with disabilities. By providing a quick and easy way to request information, such as toner levels, or to initiate multi-step processes, such as scanning and emailing, it has the potential to improve the productivity of all employees.

Another new voice-enabled application that provides users with instant access to information has just been launched by BrightHR.

It has integrated its people management software with Amazon Alexa, creating a virtual assistant who can answer absence-related queries, such as ‘Alexa, ask BrightHR who is out today?’ and ‘Alexa, ask BrightHR is Dave out on October 23rd?’.

Alastair Brown, Chief Technical Officer at BrightHR, said: “There’s no need to switch to browsers or open an app either. People can keep working while they ask Alexa a question. At the heart of this is the drive to reduce people workloads. Voice is a much more natural way to interact and if voice technologies continue to develop further this is likely to transform the way businesses interact.”

He added: “At BrightHR HQ, on top of keeping up to date with who’s out of the office, Alexa is being used as a brew roulette where it decides who’s turn it is to make teas and coffees for their team. This is decided simply by saying ‘Alexa, ask BrightHR brew-lette’.“

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OPINION

As the markets in which they operate become more and more competitive, every commercial print provider is looking for new revenue streams and new ways to differentiate their business and stand out from the crowd.

At the same time, customers are demanding, or producing, ever more creative designs, putting pressure on the graphic communications industry to provide high quality results with maximum visual impact.

To help achieve these aims, print providers need reliable large format graphic arts printers that deliver brilliant colour, photo-quality detail and lasting, durable results on a wide range of media for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Any solution should make shorter run lengths, faster turnarounds and high output quality more profitable – and that means maintaining productivity and avoiding costly downtime – whilst also enabling providers to satisfy the ever growing range of customer-driven demands.

Inside and OutDemand for printed material that will be displayed outdoors poses particular challenges, as sunlight, pollution and other weather conditions cause outdoor signs, banners and vehicle wraps to fade and degrade. To ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business, outdoor media and ink need to be robust enough to withstand these environmental factors.

In the past, the need for stronger, and often potent, inks meant that print providers had to have different machines for indoor and outdoor applications. In a confined indoor environment, certified low odour inks are critical and because prints will be viewed close-up, it is essential to have high resolution output and accurate print registration.

Print businesses also faced problems with colour quality. Typically, colours weren’t strong enough to

be lit from the back, which ruled out many indoor applications, such as exhibition posters and displays. Nor were they dense enough for applications like wallpaper printing, especially as colour density tended to deteriorate when printing at high-speed or towards the end of a mass production campaign.

For exhibition and other work, such as building wraps, photorealistic prints were not yet possible and, as the industry had primarily focused on outdoor work in the past, neither were the fine detail and small lettering needed for indoor applications.

What can be doneIn light of these challenges, is there anything print services providers can do to deliver the high-quality output increasingly required for large format graphic arts applications?

Yes there is. Recent developments in the large format printer market mean that, for a relatively affordable outlay, print shops and small and medium-sized businesses specialising in this type of printing can now significantly widen their portfolio and open up new revenue streams, leading to a fast return on their investment.

It is now possible to print indoor and outdoor orders on the same machine using low-colour, eco-solvent SX inks that provide the

Wider choiceAndrew Hall, marketing manager of OKI Systems UK, explains how the new generation of large format graphics arts printers is opening up new opportunities for diversification and a rapid return on investment

right print quality and UV stability for outdoor use, whilst also being low odour-certified for use in an indoor environment.

Colour quality is no longer an issue either – at least not for the most innovative of these devices, which, by combining high viscosity inks with advanced print heads, are able to maintain accurate density for vibrant colour and sharp photo quality detail.

Industrial high-frequency greyscale print heads increase the quality and reliability of the printer and print results; high ink pigmentation creates saturated prints for backlit applications; and innovative Dynamic Drop Printing (DDP) technology accentuates fine details and delivers smooth gradients and rich, glossy colours, even at high speed.

Allied to these advances is support for a wide variety of substrates, including wallpaper, fleece, canvas, textiles, whiteback, blueback, poster paper, photo paper, clear or transparent film, backlit PVC, PET, film light box paper and hard PVC.

New applications include light frames for technical textile and backlit materials; over-floor graphics; point of sale (PoS) and point of presentation (PoP); wallpaper; posters; window graphics with clear or transparent film; banners and signs; art reproductions; department store displays; exhibition displays; and many more.

Durability of output means print businesses can also explore markets for outdoor media, from customised vehicle and building wraps to banners, signs and awnings.

Positive ProspectsAll business sectors have their ups and downs. Not so long ago the large format printing industry was in danger of turning into the dinosaur of the commercial print world, beset with a raft of environmental and performance challenges. Today, thanks to the latest technological advances, that’s all changed.

Armed with the latest technology innovations, large format printing businesses can face the future positively, confident in their ability to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive market and to capitalise on a growing array of profitable opportunities.

It is now possible to print indoor and outdoor orders on the same machine using low-colour, eco-solvent SX inks

Andrew Hall