Companies are looking for new and smarter business applications that help them make their business process perform better. With the advent of new technologies, the printing technology has also grown. The inclusion of barcodes in the business processes has also stressed upon the need of smart printing technology. The barcode printing procedure is similar to any other printing but requires smart printing device to perform the job at a faster pace and in the most accurate manner. These smart printers optimize the printing procedures in such a way so as to reduce the overheads, operating expenses while improving the reliability. The basic technological difference between an ordinary and smart printer is that a smart printer can work as per the programmed instructions. The control switches and LCDs do not actually determine the smartness characteristic of any printer. The programmability if the main characteristic that sets apart a smart printer from an ordinary one.
The smarter printers comprise of more integrated memory to handle the jobs, LCD screen, function keys and inbuilt processor. The LCD screen and function keys assist in user inputs. Further more, it has peripheral interface that enables its interconnection with devices such as keyboards etc. The mobile printers also contain certain smart printing features.
Some of the salient features of smart printers are;
1) Can perform printing jobs without a computer;
2) Can store records and maintain information about product codes, client ID, unit costs and can instill the record in the printed output automatically;
3) Can handle payments and other transactions;
4) Can be connected to barcode scanners and other peripheral devices;
5) Assist in formatting input data into information on a receipt, label or document printed by it;
6) Can be connected to local area network through the wireless link or network cable;
7) Monitors and regulate peripheral devices;
8) Carry out self diagnostics and troubleshooting.
The main characteristic of smart printer is its self management capability. In case of any technical or printing breakdown, the expert algorithms of the printer assist the device in self diagnostics and troubleshooting. This capability makes this printer very useful. The uptime of the printer is more than any ordinary printer, thereby resulting in the increased productivity levels.
Company’s benefits
The use of smart printers is very advantageous for the companies that desire to boost the performance of various printing functions. These printers can produce prints as per the programmed instructions. A smart printer can perform batch printing tasks and saves space and efforts.
Functions that Smart Printers can perform
On-demand output
On of the main feature of smart printer is that the user can print the job as per the desired style and layout. The interfaces such as keyboard help in selecting the layout, quantity, and other instructions as per the requirement, at any given time.
On demand printing is just one facility provided by the smart printer. Since, the user has to interact with the printer only, the overall output is fast.
Label production and shipment authentication
The smart printing technology finds many uses in the label production and shipment authentication. The Barcode or the RFID tag of the material to be shipped can be scanned by the reader attached to the printer and the labels can be printer as per the details fetched.
This way an authentic application of the smart printing technology can be utilized by the industry.
Process control
The smart printers can control the attached peripheral deices also. Rather than doing the printing, the smart printer’s inbuilt functions and user-fed instructions can automate the management of peripheral devices.
The communication with the sensors, electronic tags and other control systems can be easily handled by the in-built features of the smart printer. For example, the printer can print the requested label after the receipt of the request from a shipment sensor. The printer can also instruct the applicator to paste the label on to the shipment as per the business process. After the applicator has pasted the label, the printer can give command to the conveyor belt’s sensor for movement. This way, the smart printer can be very useful in the material management functions.
Advantages – Direct and Indirect
The new smart printing technology setup helps in reducing the operational expenses and overheads. At the same time, it improves the quality of the work and yields various advantages in every business process.
There is a lot of cost saving that a company can bring in by adopting smart printers. The companies would not require costly computers, network cards, costly software licenses, additional control systems and whole lot of peripherals that the traditional printing technology would demand. The smart printers would eliminate the requirement of much computer hardware and associated peripherals. The budget estimates of using a 20- printer workplace for 3 years would be far more than the investment in the smart printing technology.
The installation, maintenance and trouble shooting of these smart printers are very easy and cost less. The overall deployment charges would be suitable for even small to medium enterprise. The in-built features avoid the use of computer software programs resulting in cost reduction. The troubleshooting cost is also less as these printers are self-manageable.
The intelligent expert system built inside the printer assist in better communication and job management and reduces the downtime. The interfaces are smart and clear. The users or the workers on the assembly lines can communicate with the printer without the help of IT staff. There are lots of user-friendly options present that facilitate ease in operation and maintenance.
The smart printer posses the communication ports that can be used to establish the connectivity with the other expert systems present in the production line. This way the smart printer can easily interface with the enterprise software application. Even the diverse specifications of a particular device can not pose any issue for a smart printer. You can include a middleware software application than can convert the data from a non-standard format to a printer readable format. The XML is one such standard that helps the smart printers interface with the legacy enterprise applications.
Conclusion
The smart printers assist many growing companies to save cost and increase the operational performance by bringing in the latest printing technology. The companies can install the printers at the desired location and interface the peripherals with them for obtaining the maximum benefits. The ease in maintenance, quality of the printing output and automation of printing tasks are some of the direct advantages of smart printing technology.
