OKI’s multi-tasking printers will save time and money across the entire project lifecycle says Andrew Hall, Oki Systems UK…
Choosing printers can be a big decision, especially now that devices have become far more sophisticated and multifunctional. However, it’s a particularly difficult task for organisations involved in the planning and construction industries, because of the flexibility needed.
Despite the shift to digital design, there is a routine need for hard-copy documents throughout the design/build/maintain cycle. Indeed, the industry is still far from paperless and, in some cases, inefficient workflows could be streamlined to help improve productivity and save overheads.
Many industry organisations often still handle such a variety of different documents that they end up with a diverse mix of specialist and standard devices that are expensive to run and time-consuming to maintain with a range of different contracts all with their own individual terms.
On the one hand planners, architects and engineers need large and detailed drawings, plans and designs. These, together with brochures, reports and display materials require the highest quality images possible, high definition colour and the choice of different sizes.
On the other, increasingly complex supply chains and ‘lean’ processes demand fast and often on-the-spot documentation and invoices, timesheets, bills of materials and other day-to-day administrative documents. Devices here need to be totally reliable – any hold up in the office can cause costly delays on site – and robust enough to be used in a busy site office.
It’s a tall order, but thankfully the print world has seen major advances in devices that meet all these demands, without sacrificing performance for quality and vice versa. OKI has made huge breakthroughs in many relevant areas such as colour print quality, media flexibility, LED technology which ensures reliability and in developing smart printers with embedded software which can help manage document workflow and reduce paper costs.
Anyone involved in planning or design and architecture will be interested in the OKI C931. Ideal for producing high-level graphics for client approval in house, this model can handle sizes from A6 to SRA3 and banner lengths up to 1.3m and print on stock up to 360 gsm single-sided and 320 gsm duplex. It will also print down to a 1 point font level of detail and on a wide range of media including gloss, film, transfer and waterproof paper – and more. But one of the main benefits here is that it is the size of a normal office printer and can be used as such for day-to-day work, doing away with the need for two separate printers for office and design needs.
To complement this, site managers will find OKI’s new MC800 range of multifunction printers (MFPs), well worth consideration. These are 4-in-1 devices with printer, scanner, fax and copier consolidated into one small footprint machine that will sit unobtrusively in even the tiniest of offices. However, perhaps the main benefit of these models are that they also great collaboration tools – for example, a scan-to-email facility enables on-site teams to send drawings and other documents directly to head office, to a network folder or to third party applications such as SharePoint or Dropbox.
Server-based software available at no extra cost allows users to take photos or capture documents on a smartphone or tablet on site and then distribute directly to the company network or again to third party applications. Hard copy project documentation such as timesheets and delivery notes can be scanned in and converted to PDFs for action or archiving.
The total functionality of these compact devices offers numerous incremental gains, eliminating one or two stages of many routine processes, all adding up to considerable time savings. But perhaps just as important is their strength and versatility. As well as these documents management capabilities, these MFPs can also produce plans – and signage such as banners up to 1.3 metres in lengths on waterproof and tear-proof paper if required.
Being able to produce such a wide variety of materials on demand and onsite where necessary can save time – and in many cases outsourcing costs. The combination of the OKI C931 and the MC800 series will provide benefits right through the project chain – from concept through to construction.
For more information see http://www.okismartprinters.co.uk/home.aspx
Andrew Hall
Marketing Manager
Oki Systems UK
www.linkedin.com/company/oki-uk
