Do You Need Better Document Management?

Epson Users: Keep The Clogs At Bay

Do You Need Better Document Management?

Most organizations today rely heavily on paper documents. But all this “paperwork” isn't necessarily better. There are five indicators that can help you remedy your company's glitches when it comes to efficient document management. Here we discuss the first three. Look for the rest in our March issue.

1.  Paper Jam:
Most professionals on average spend about 60 percent of their time managing paper documents. Sometimes all this paper is contained in organized archiving systems, but more often than not, it's in desktop piles, cardboard boxes and endless file folders. All this paper clutter can be replaced with a simple electronic file cabinet that is password protected and searchable by keyword. According to HP's Document Management Solutions Manager Joe Wagle, “using a proper content management system can reduce overheard by two-thirds.”

2. Manual Processing:
Companies that rely on forms-based processes generate an amazing amount of paperwork. In order to effectively manage this, they must hire and invest in manual data entry operators. But data entry is often wrought with errors. Today's document capture solutions are known to achieve an accuracy rate of 98 percent or higher.

If you are concerned about spending money on high ink costs associated with photo printing, now is the time to try something new. Consider using an online photo printing service and watch your costs decrease. A simple search on the Internet will point you in several great directions. Some of the better price points available now range from .15 to .24 per 4 x 6 print. While outsourcing your smaller prints generally saves you money, printing enlargements in-house is the way to go. For example, the cost for printing an 8x10 using an inkjet photo printer averages between $1.23 and $1.68 while an online photo printing service may charge up to $4 for the same print.

It might also be beneficial to look into some of the larger discount retail stores where you can upload your photos online, but pick them up at a local store location, thus saving you shipping and handling costs. It is also important to remember that it pays to shop around. Realize that depending on whatever your photo printing needs are, there is a deal to be found! ■

During the past six months, Buyer's Laboratory, Inc. (BLI) has done extensive evalutions on color multifunctional products from Canon, Ricoh, Xerox, Konica Minolta and Panasonic. Now, BLI has identified the top performers in the office color category with its Fall 2005 “Pick” awards. The honors went to the Konica Minolta Bizhub C450 and C250, while in the production color category, the Xerox DocuColor 250 and the DocuColor 240 ranked highest.

According to BLI Manager of Lab Testing Pete Emory, “The Konica Minolta Bizhub C450 improves upon an already great product, the Bizhub C350, offering faster speed, standard PostScript and optional fax.” Featuring Konica Minolta's standard Emperon controller, the Bizhub C450 proved to be an outstanding performer in BLI's exhaustive lab tests, demonstrating exceptional reliability, excellent multitasking, very good image quality, good productivity and competitive supplies costs. This model is also available with an optional Fiery controller.

While the bizhub C450 gives Konica Minolta an excellent color product in a higher speed range than the C350, the bizhub C250 does the same at a lower speed (25 ppm). This unit also gave an excellent reliability performance, completing its 75,000- impression test with no service required and just four misfeeds. “With its standard Emperon controller, this unit will satisfy the needs of most office users, with very good image quality and a price that makes it an excellent value,” said Emory. ■

Epson Users: Keep the Clogs at Bay!

If you are a fan of Epson printers, you are a fan of their high printing resolution. This occurs because Epson printers are designed with print head nozzles that are much smaller than that of most other printer manufacturer's nozzles. Therefore it doesn't take much for them to clog. How to avoid this dilemma? Think maintenance, because running the cleaning cycle alone just won't hack it. The most common cause of clogged print heads is from infrequent printing. So use it regularly, at least once per week. Print something using black text, as well as a web page with color in it (red, yellow, and blue). These simple tasks will keep the ink flowing through the print head nozzles.

Another cause of clogged heads is not powering the printer down properly. When you are finished printing (for the day), use the printer's on/off switch to turn it off. This allows the print head capping mechanism to fully engage. Of all the “help needed” requests from Epson users regarding branding/streaking or missing color issues, the culprit is most often a lack of frequent use. ■

Staying Current: The World's Fastest All-In-One Is Coming Your Way

HP's PhotoSmart 3310 Color

Flatbed All-In-One produces amazing quality text and generates your favorite digital photos in 14 seconds or less. You can't beat a machine that prints, copies, faxes, and scans up to 32 ppm in black or 32 ppm color. This handy multitasker also comes with 3.6" color image LCD screen, card slots, and PictBridge for direct printing, wired and wireless printing capabilities and so much more. You'll also love six convenient individual ink tanks that let you replace only the inks you need, when you need them. Say goodbye to the hassle of running out of certain inks right in the middle of specific print jobs! ■

Welcome to the wave of the future. Nikon proudly introduces the world's first wireless digital camera—in two revolutionary models: the Coolpix P1 and P2. Both cameras enable users to take top-notch pictures and in moments, wirelessly transfer images to any Wi-Fi-equipped computer or printer—even while shooting new photos!

Loaded with Nikon's Exclusive Feature System with In-Camera Red-Eye Fix (TM) to remove red-eye in the camera; Face Priority AF to automatically focus on faces for great portraits; and D-Lighting for in-camera repair of dark images, anyone can take awesome digital photographs like a pro, and see the finished product almost instantly! ■

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