Managing A Document's Workflow

Controlling the input, management and distribution of documents could bring in-plants more business. New systems are the key.

by Bob Neubauer

These days, printing is only part of the picture for an in-plant. It's becoming increasingly necessary to get involved in other areas of a document's life, particularly the creation, management and distribution stages. Otherwise, in-plants will miss out on a valuable source of new business—something sorely needed as e-mail and the Internet replace traditional distribution methods.

Knowing this, vendors are developing imaging systems that give in-plants control over digital storage and distribution, in addition to printing. Two such devices were recently unveiled by Ricoh at a New York press conference, held at the trendy "W" New York Times Square hotel.

The Ricoh Aficio 1060 and Aficio 1075 digital imaging systems not only print black-and-white pages at high speeds (60 and 75 pages per minute respectively), but they enable in-plants to scan documents and then e-mail them to 2,000 different addresses. Pages can be saved as TIFFs, JPEGs or PDFs. By controlling this form of digital distribution, in-plants can avoid losing business when customers opt to e-mail instead of print.

Though scan-to-e-mail capabilities are also offered by other vendors, Ricoh touted several interesting features on the Aficio 1060 and 1075, among them digital document storage. Increasingly, noted Robin Henry, manager of production systems marketing, customers are converting legacy paper documents to electronic files. The Aficio 1060 and 1075 can store those files, eliminating the danger of losing them, ending the need for off-site storage and reducing retrieval delays. The systems can store up to 10,000 pages of data.

With a secure printing feature, a password must be entered before stored documents will be printed. Another feature lets you print just the first page of a stored document to make sure you have called up the correct file.

The key to both document storage and e-mailing is the scanning. Ricoh's new devices boast one-pass duplex scanning technology. Two separate contact image sensors scan each side of the page as it passes, letting the systems maintain their high speeds. The 1060 scans 60 images per minute (or 30 sheets) and the 1075 scans 75 ipm. (When scanning to file or e-mail, both can scan 75 images a minute.) Mixed size originals can even be scanned as part of the same job.

Ricoh stressed the document management capabilities of the Aficio 1060 and 1075. The units' Document Server capability lets users manage all stored information from their desktops. SmartNetMonitor lets users monitor and manage the systems remotely, checking such things as availability and toner levels. The DeskTopBinder document management program lets you display saved documents, combine documents and print them from the toolbar.

And They Print Too

For all of their exciting digital and management capabilities, though, the the Aficio 1060 and 1075 are, after all, printers. They boast 1,200 dpi output and a 4,300-sheet paper supply. An optional 4,000-sheet supply brings that total to 8,300 sheets. A twin paper tray holds side-by-side stacks of 8-1⁄2x11˝ paper. A 100-sheet bypass tray accepts thicker sheets—up to 110-lb. index. Also, an optional interposer lets users integrate color sheets into documents after the fusing stage.

The 1060 and 1075 are currently available with two finishers: a 50-sheet stapler and a saddle stitch finisher. A 100-sheet stapler will be available in the fall.

Also coming in the near future is the capability of connecting two systems, effectively doubling output speeds up to 150 ppm.