Thursday, January 28, 2010

Paradigm Imaging Releases imageFLOW® 2.O


PARADIGM IMAGING GROUP
1590 METRO DRIVE #116
COSTA MESA, CA 92626
714-432-7226
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jane Napolitano
Email: jane@paradigmimaging.com
Web site: http://www.SCANtopia.com

Paradigm Imaging Releases imageFLOW® 2.O

Costa Mesa, CA – January 28, 2010 – Paradigm Imaging Group, a leading distributor of large-format scanning and printing solutions, announces the release of imageFLOW® 2.0 – an enhanced version of their popular document imaging software.

Paradigm Imaging’s exclusive imageFLOW® 2.0 is powerful, user-friendly document imaging software that interfaces with all current Graphtec large format scanners, Paradigm’s imagePRO® large format scanners, imagePRO® FLEX and EIS multifunction systems. imageFLOW® 2.0 boasts faster scanning speeds and other enhanced features such as:

• Scanning presets for a variety of color, grayscale and black and white formats
• Over 550 included printer drivers
• More than 325 certified ICC profiles
• Color calibration wizard for editing existing ICC output profiles
• Custom media creation
• Batch scanning and job set creation
• Interactive, intuitive user interface

With its full-featured and easy-to-use graphical interface, imageFLOW® 2.0 incorporates the feel and touch of conventional office equipment. A variety of large format applications such as document archiving, copying, reproduction and file communication are managed seamlessly without extensive operator training. imageFLOW® 2.0 provides optimized default settings for a variety of original document types including maps, drawings, blueprints, photos and posters, thereby providing touch-button operation for many projects involving large format scanning and copying.


Says Randy Geesman, President of Paradigm Imaging Group, “The enhancement of imageFLOW® is another step forward in our ongoing effort to promote innovative products while offering the utmost in customer service and support. We will continue to expand our product offerings to meet the demands of an ever-evolving market.”

About Paradigm Imaging Group
Paradigm Imaging Group is a large format solutions provider whose expertise extends from scanning and printing products to imaging systems integration, software development and product distribution. Paradigm counts among its clients companies in reprographics, architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing, as well as numerous public agencies at all levels of government. Since 1989, Paradigm has grown to become a leading provider of large format scanning and printing solutions.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

New Print Audit® Case "School" Study Showcases a MPS Success Story



Print Audit 6 helps Ohio public schools reduce paper waste by 2.2 million pages and sets an example of environmental responsibility for students and staff

CALGARY, ALBERTA (January 27, 2010) – Factoring in the printing habits of teachers, students, and administrators, schools often use considerably more paper than is necessary. With almost 4,000 students and 1,000 computer workstations, Garfield Heights School District in Ohio consumed literally tons of paper each semester. The school contacted their office equipment provider ComDoc with the duel goal of conserving resources and reducing their impact on the environment.

The results of ComDoc’s solution, which have been published in Print Audit’s newest case study, include an 11-ton reduction in paper waste and a 32 percent decrease in color printing volumes.

“Print Audit 6 has allowed us to virtually eliminate our school’s inefficient document creation practices,” stated Shari Bailey, IT Administrator for Garfield Schools. “We can now control what the staff members and students are printing and copying and we have a much better understanding of how our printing devices are being used.”

ComDoc’s solution for Garfield Schools combined the power of 29 new, high-efficiency print devices with Print Audit’s flagship suite of print management tools, Print Audit 6. Print Audit Rules gave administrators the power to dictate where and how documents could be printed while Print Audit Analysis allowed them to better understand how their print environment functioned. At the same time, Print Audit Embedded and proximity cards allowed the schools to accurately track and manage the usage of multi-function devices and walk-up photocopiers.

All in all, the school system reduced its paper consumption by 2.2 million pages in one year – an amount equal to 285 trees, 244,407 gallons of water waste, 64,703 pounds of CO2 emissions, and 329,000,000 BTUs.

Please visit the following link to read the full case study:
http://www.printaudit.com/downloads/pdf/casestudies/Garfield_Schools_Case_Study.pdf

About Print Audit®:
Established in 1999 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Print Audit is the fastest growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print management software solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $150 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 190,000 trees a year. Print Audit has offices located in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

For more information on Print Audit, please contact:

Angela Onstine
1.877.412.8348
pr@printaudit.com
www.printaudit.com
Facebook: http://www.printaudit.com/facebook
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PrintAudit

Outside of North America, please contact:

Print Audit - Europe
+44(0)1483 726206
www.printauditeurope.com
inquiry@printauditeurope.com

Print Audit - Australasia
+612 9922-3756
http://www.printauditaustralasia.com


Print Audit - South Africa
+086 110 5777 (Within South Africa)
+27 11 531 1869 (Outside South Africa)
www.printauditsa.com
info@printauditsa.com

Print Audit – America Latina
+55(21)2220 0939
www.printaudit.com.br
Informações em Português:
suporte@printaudit.com.br
Informaciones en Español:
espanol@printaudit.com.br

-=Cheers=-

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

New A3 Color Workgroup Printer, MFP, From Kyocera Mita


New A3 Color Workgroup Printer, MFP, From Kyocera Mita List at $5,973 And $20,168 Respectively

January 26, 2010 - Kyocera Mita America is introducing two new color imaging systems for workgroups and offices, the FS-C8500DN laser printer and TASKalfa 552ci MFP, which list at $5,973 and $20,168 respectively and are being distributed through authorized dealers.

Both imaging systems use Kyocera Mita's long-life consumables, and have a 300,000-page preventive maintenance (PM) schedule. They're based on the same A3 600 dpi 55 (black)/50 (color) ppm engine, and have a 225,000-page maximum duty cycle. The TASKalfa 552ci adds network scan and copy (with optional fax), and incorporates the company's open-development platform, Hybrid Platform for Advanced Solutions (HyPAS).

Specifications

Network print is standard; the FS-C8500DN is equipped with 1 GB of memory upgradeable to 2 GB), while the TASKalfa 552ci is equipped with a standard 2 GB of memory. Kyocera Mita includes Adobe PDF and Microsoft XPS file printing capability (including Kyocera’s Direct Print utility) and departmental accounting and tracking capabilities. The systems are compatible with Apple Macintosh, Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems (including Windows 7). A USB host port is available for printing from USB memory drives in PDF, JPEG, TIFF and XPS file formats. The TASKA 552ci can also be used to scan to USB memory cards.

Media handling for both printer and MFP includes automatic duplexing and standard 1,100-sheet paper capacity. Options include a 3,000-sheet document finisher that can support up to 120 lb. index stock, and paper capacity can be expanded to 4,100 sheets for four paper sources.

Network and device-management tools include KMnet Viewer, PrintQ Manager, Status Monitor, and PRESCRIBE. PrintQ Manager is a server-based software tool that enables administrators to monitor, maintain and analyze print jobs and usage on all Kyocera networked printers. Also available is Color Optimizer, a KX Driver plug-in that provides color-enhancement for prints.

Security includes a standard IPv6- and IPsec-compliant network interface, and password-protected printing. An optional Data Security Kit provides hard-drive encryption and overwrite (date can be overwritten up to three times). (The TASKalfa 552ci's optional data security kit is currently under ISO 15408/Common Criteria evaluation).

Check back here soon and I'll have the cost per page for this device along with life for consumables.

-=Cheers=-

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Weekend Document Imaging Notes


Gathered from Print4Pay Hotel Members from around the world and a few moles in very good places!

- Cintas Corp. of Cincinnati, Ohio, best known as a provider of commercial uniforms, announced that it has expanded its document management division. It opened a new data storage facility in Chicago, which it hopes will allow it to serve 160,000 customers.

- The Department of Health & Human Services announced it has published the “meaningful use” rules for medical practices to use EHR so they can qualify for reimbursement through Medicaid and Medicare, under the ARRA program. With ARRA, physicians serving Medicare patients can be eligible for up to $44,000 in funding to adopt EHRs, and up to $63,500 from Medicaid.

- Healthcare IT acronyms and their definitions:
- ECM = Electronic Content Management is a set of technologies used to capture, store and deliver content and documents and content related to organizational processes.
- EMR = Electronic Medical Records is a medical record in a digital format.
- EHR = Electronic Health Records, of which EMR is one type
- PMS = Practice Management Software that deals with day to day operations of a medical practice
- DMS = Document Management System is a computer system used to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents.

- The Top 10 trends to drive healthcare IT market in 2010, according to Healthcare Technology Online:
- Electronic Medical Records (EMR) adoption will gain momentum
- Personal Health Records (PHR) will become recognized as a viable method to transport patient data to complement EMRs and EHRs. Advances in secure personal storage, smart cards, and software technology will help drive this trend.
- Cost Containment Will Be Paramount. The U.S. currently spends $2.5 trillion per year on healthcare, and this is expected to climb to $4 trillion by 2015.
- Alternative Care Delivery Models Will Emerge. Expect to increase in worksite and health clinics, as well as home health services.
- War Waged On Medicare Fraud. Document management will be instrumental in reducing the estimated $60 billion per year in fraud.
- Increased Focus On Outbreak Preparedness. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies can help plan for potential emergencies.
- Patient Safety Initiatives Intensify. Bedside medication administration systems, diagnosis support software and patient tracking systems will be used.
- Healthcare Professionals In Short Supply. Demand for healthcare services will begin to outpace supply of healthcare professionals. Workforce management and advanced scheduling technology will be needed.
- Storage and Business Continuity Concerns Abound. Nearly 30% of data stored on world’s computers today are medical images, and this will increase. Institutions consistently need to upgrade their storage systems, with ease of replication and restoration.
- Physician Groups Join Healthcare Systems. Many physicians don’t want to deal with headache that comes with installing an HER system. By joining a healthcare system that already has an HER established, the physician group can quickly become eligible for ARRA incentives.

-=Cheers=-

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Toshiba announced a new option for its color MFPs


Toshiba announced a new option for its color MFPs, the eBRIDGE Color Profiler Tool featuring:
- Works with ES1000 spectrophotometer ($1299)
- Software that enables the creation of ICC device output profiles
- Target Reader creates characterization data files used to build custom color profiles
- Data Viewer allows end user to view character data in several ways
- Profile Builder initiates construction of the ICC profile
- Profile Viewer assists in verifying the integrity of the ICC profile
- ICC stands for International Color Consortium, a standard in color management
- Base MSRP of $499 for software
- Provides color management, without owning an EFI Fiery

-=Cheers=-

Friday, January 15, 2010

Top ten challenges to implementing electronic content management programs


According to Jim Thumma, CP of Optical Image Technology, here are the top ten challenges to implementing electronic content management programs:

- Budgeting inadequately, as most do not include necessary funds for:
- planning, consulting, designing, testing, implementing, training, evaluating and improvement
- professional services fees for customization
- staff resources
- temporary staffing for back file conversion
- ongoing training expenses
- Failing to see things through from start to finish
- Dropping the ball, by not following plan
- Staffing inadequately, by not putting extra resources in place during implementation
- Interrupting with 1001 questions
- Cutting corners that compromise system performance
- Poor communication

-=Cheers=-

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

8 Great Tips for Buying or Leasing a Copier!



Here's an email I received today from "K"

I am desperate for advice. I'm am in the process of leasing a color copier (of which I knew nothing until 2 weeks ago) for a non-profit organization that I work for. I am down to choosing between the Konica-Minolta Bizhub C360, Ricoh Aficio MP C4000 or Sharp MX 3100. We are coming off of a b&w copier with no networking so are really just looking to start up with some basic color copier features with networking that all these machines offer. My main concern now is durability and quality of service. I know that latter will depend on who we lease from but ANY insight to help would be greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!!!!
i.e. Tell me which you would choose!



First, I would rule out the Sharp, and here's my reasoning. Sharp is not a top tier manufacturer when it comes to multifunctional copiers. My experience is that they are inexpensive and built to stay that way, meaning alot of plastic and inexpensive parts seem to be used over and over.

KonicaMinolta and Ricoh are two very good choices. Durability wise...both should be able to last 5 years or longer. Feature wise they are both equal except for a few bells and whistles.

I can't tell you which to choose among these two. What I can tell you is to do a little digging with the company that is trying to sell you these units. Here's some questions I would ask.

1) How long the rep been with that company? The longer the better
2) If buying from a dealer, how long has the dealer been servicing that product line? 2 Years or less = not good
3) Ask for three to five references of service for that model from your reps, and then call those companies and ask them about billing practices, how fast they respond to a service call and if they think the service reps are competent, clean and friendly.
4) Take a trip to their web site, if their web site is out of date, so are they!
5) If you have the resource do a D & B check on them, if they are not paying their bills they are in dire straits and you will be too if you buy from them.
6) Ask for a sales contract for you to review first, read the fine print.
7) Ask for a lease contract to review first, read the fine print (especially about your option to own at the end of the lease)
8) Go see the units, ask if you can go to their location of business to get a demonstration. Seeing is believing, you can get a good look at their operation and if they conduct business in a professional manner.

Hope this helps, if you would like me to review sales contracts and leasing, I can do that also! Visit the New P4PCafe!

-=Cheers=-

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Canon U.S.A. Unveils imageCLASS MF5800 Series Black-and-White Laser MFPs for Demanding IT Professionals



LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.-- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in document imaging and advanced office solutions, today announced two new additions to its award-winning imageCLASS line-up – the imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn black-and-white laser multifunction printers (MFPs). These MFPs will enable IT administrators to better position small businesses and workgroups for short- and long-term growth, while delivering the exceptional quality and reliability of the imageCLASS line.

“These new imageCLASS models meet the needs of small businesses that need an MFP that allows its users to be more productive, while also enabling administrators to accurately track and control device usage”.“These new imageCLASS models meet the needs of small businesses that need an MFP that allows its users to be more productive, while also enabling administrators to accurately track and control device usage,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A. “The imageCLASS MF5800 Series adds advanced Canon technologies for electronic document management and reduced energy consumption in a single, compact device.”

The new MF5800 Series provides IT and system administrators advanced levels of device management to ensure cost-effective yet powerful usage by general staff. Department ID management allows administrators to set up to 100 User IDs and passwords, enabling them to retrieve output numbers and set limits on how much employees can print, copy or scan. An embedded Web server provides an administrator the ability to manage the device remotely through a standard Web browser where they can view and modify settings such as address books, device activity logs and network information. Both models support USB 2.0 and 10/100 Base T Ethernet as standard interfaces, allowing the device to be used by one or shared by many and a wireless option is also available.

Further enhancing the capabilities of the new imageCLASS MF5800 Series, both models come bundled with an assortment of document management tools that help empower employees to be more productive. The fax forwarding mode allows a user to forward incoming fax and internet fax documents to an e-mail address, network folder or another fax numberI. Documents can be scanned directly to a USB flash drive in Canon’s Hi-Compression PDF mode, which significantly reduces scanned file size while maintaining outstanding text and image quality. The MF5880dn adds advanced sending capabilities, allowing users to scan and send documents directly to an e-mail or network folder.

Both new imageCLASS machines offer all-mode auto-duplexing functionality and utilize Canon’s On-Demand SURF (Surface Rapid Fusing) technology, which uses a linear ceramic heater that heats instantly for reduced energy consumption and fast warm-up speeds, resulting in first print and copy pages in approximately six and eight seconds, respectively. The imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn also boast print speeds of up to 30 pages-per-minuteII.

In addition, a 250-sheet cassette and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray come standard, while an optional 500-sheet cassette is also available. The new MF5800 Series utilizes Canon’s Single Cartridge System, which requires customers to only replace one consumable, ensuring consistent imaging quality and reducing total cost of ownership.

Today’s IT environments are increasingly complex, and it is essential that all the parts work together. The MF5880dn is the first Canon imageCLASS model approved by SAP® AG through the SAP Printer Vendor Program, meaning users will be able to enjoy the functionality of the device on their SAP solution platform. The MF5880dn also features support for PCL (Printer Command Language), while both machines utilize Canon’s proprietary host-based printer language, UFRII-LT (Ultra Fast Rendering), which takes full advantage of a PC’s processing power. IP address filtering and MAC address filtering help prevent access to a company’s network and its confidential data.

The black-and-white imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn meet the ENERGY STAR guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE). Canon is a long-time ENERGY STAR partner and is a strong advocate of consumer education of energy-efficient products through its product labeling and environmental programs.

The Canon imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn will be available through select authorized Canon resellers at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $995 and $1,195III, respectively.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Ricoh Aficio MP 2851 and MP 3351 "Spec Review"


Ricoh launched the Aficio MP 2851 and MP 3351 offering:

Couple of interesting notes on this from Print4Pay Hotel Members, seems Ricoh will be keeping the 2550B and the 3350B versions around for bids. There are almost no generational improvements in these outside of App2ME, standard PPDM, and the optional keyboard.

- 28ppm and 33ppm top speed
- Base MSRPs of $7600 and $9250
- A3 laser b/w models handling up to 11”x17 ledger sized paper
- Optional Personal Paperless Document Manager (PPDM)
- Scan to PDF
- Scan to MS Office (Word, Excel or PowerPoint)
- Scan to email/FTP/folder/web folder
- Can scan in color, even though output is b/w only
- Can convert to WAV audio files
- Data from fillable forms can be extracted in a .csv file
- Optional App2Me features:
- Can create custom workflow
- User can create custom control panel interface
- Optional eCopy
- Optional Ricoh GlobalScan NX
- Finishing options include stapling, hole-punching and booklet making
- Full color touch screen control panel
- Optional 50 sheet document feeder (does NOT scan both sides of original at same time)
- Top color scan speed of 50opm for b/w and 29opm for color at 200dpi
- Optional fax board
- Optional controller
- Actual maker unknown (most likely Oak Technologies)
- 533MHz processor
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports standard
- PCL print driver standard, but PostScript is an option
- 768MB RAM (can not upgrade)
- 40GB hard drive
- 600x600dpi
- 22 second warm-up time
- 4.5 second first copy out time
- Comes standard with two 500 sheet paper drawers and a 100 sheet stack bypass
- Can add up to two more 500 sheet drawers, or a 2,000 sheet letter size paper deck
- Drawers and auto duplex up to 28lb. bond paper only
- Bypass can hold up to 42lb. bond paper

-=Cheers=-