Thursday, August 6, 2009

Printing, Scanning and Copying as a Sport

By Margaret Anne I.Garcia


In its recent outburst of various teams and varsities, especially with the UA&P season in full swing, the administration has forgotten to acknowledge its most widely known and highly anticipated sport: Printing Scanning and Copying within the campus.

For those who aren't familiar with the game, here are a few basics. It is midterm season, and waves of stressed out students are rushing to the nearest photocopying machines to get the latest copy of readings, thronging at every printer in school to reach deadlines. Papers are crucial to the game; players without papers to submit or readings to study are immediately disqualified.

The pressure is on. There is a reading that needs to be photocopied in SOM, some scanning and printing to be done at RMT, then a test to rush to right afterwards. Competitors hurtle down the hallways at breakneck speed, obliviously knocking down anyone in their path. This is when players are in the zone.

Most outsiders view this as a harmless and nonviolent pastime. To those who actually take part in the activity, it is anything but.


Is there no way to make life simpler for the mind-wrecked drones of students? Will our photocopying Ates and printing Kuyas ever be safe from the harassment of academically abused students? Well, maybe not, but luckily technology has its way of mitigating even the worst situations. The key: Multifunctional Devices. It is a machine which incorporates the functionality of multiple devices in one to provide more systematic document management, distribution and production. That’s right, it can print, scan and copy and the best thing is, it’s all in one machine. Why run from one computer room that can’t print in colored to one that can but can’t scan then rush to another part of school that has a photocopier but not a printer and a scanner? If every place in school had complete capabilities, we could save our energy for our philo orals instead of running around.


Aside from not having to move around so much just to get a copy and print something on the other side of school, MFD´s offer a convenient way to move documents digitally. Many MFD’s are network compatible and have a built-in network card so they can be hooked into the company’s network to be used by anyone connected to the network.


However, PSC demands skill, technique and competitiveness. And these machines have actually come a long way from its humble beginnings. These babies are on high speed, high on quality output, and highly advanced in functionality and productivity. With the need for effective document distribution becoming more and more important in today´s school environment, MFDs can provide meaningful benefits for everyone who needs the functions and those who want to make money out of providing these services.


The main advantage of MFDs is multi-location usage; they can be conveniently used in the office or at home. For general applications, scanning, printing and faxing is as good with standalone machines. However, for specialised usage, standalones serve the purpose better. For instance, the quality of the zoom and sorter feature in our MFD's scanner is almost same as that of a regular office-use scanner. The image quality and resolution in printing is as good as that of a regular office-use printer.


According to a new report from InfoTrends entitled U.S. Consumer Imaging End-User Scanner Survey: 2008, the trend toward using multifunctional devices with scanning capabilities for scanning is becoming as prevalent in the consumer environment as it is among business users. When asked to describe their primary scanner (i.e., the one they used the most), nearly 85% of survey participants indicated an all-in-one (AIO) device of some kind. Survey participants were also asked to identify the type of scanner that they would most likely purchase if they did not have a scanner and were planning to buy one. All-in-one devices with scanning capabilities were the clear favorite, capturing nearly three quarters of the responses.



In addition, owners of all-in-one devices were asked why they would choose to use an all-in-one scanner over a single-function device. The most common responses were that all-in-ones are easier to use, faster, or offer better image quality. Multifunctional devices with scanning capabilities have helped breathe new life into this market because they can also be used for printing, copying, or faxing.


If your school or office is currently littered with multiple scanners, printers, copiers and faxes, you can save on equipment costs and service agreements, as well as space, by investing in MFCs that can each do the work of four machines. And there are plenty of very smart machines available, it’s just a matter of searching for the one that suits you best. For general applications, scanning, printing and faxing through MFDs is as good as that offered by standalone machines. But then, you might have more specialized needs.


Sources:

Scanning in Consumer Environment Shifting to Multifunctional Devices. InfoTrends. 27 May 2008. Taken from the database of InfoTrends.com: http://www.infotrends-rgi.com/public/Content/Press/2008/05.31.2008.html.


Multifunctional Device Buying Guide. Multifunctional Devices. Retrieved on: 4 August 2009. Taken from the database of MultifunctionalDevices.co.uk: http://www.multifunctionaldevices.co.uk/multifunctional-device-buying-guide.html


Are MFD’s Better than Standalones?. Team Digit. 1 March 2005. Taken from the Database of ThinkDigit.com: http://www.thinkdigit.com/General/Are-MFDs-Better-Than-Standalones_1853.html

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