Extra Features to Consider
Typical upgrade options include additional paper sources, finishing capabilities, high-level print controllers and security features such as hard disk drive encryption.
A popular way to increase paper capacity is to add a large-capacity tray which provides 1,000 or more sheets from a single drawer, so users don’t have to constantly resupply paper for large jobs. You may also want add additional paper drawers so that you can keep a variety of paper stocks loaded to handle different kinds of jobs. For example, one drawer might hold inexpensive draft paper, while another holds high-quality presentation paper and a third holds legal sized paper. If your MFP can’t handle envelopes through its main paper drawers or bypass tray, it might also be worthwhile to add a dedicated envelope feeding unit if one is available.
Finishers are also useful options for output that needs to be stapled, folded, and/or saddle-stitched to create booklets. Other finishing options include:
- A Cover Interposer-- which automatically inserts cover sheets on booklets;
- A Post-Process Insertion Unit-- which allows users to add pre-printed material, photographs or other media that can’t be put through the heat and pressure of a copier); and a
- Mail-bin-- which automatically sorts copies or prints into different bins, making it easier for users to find their own jobs without having to sort through a stack of other documents.
Graphics-intensive and high-volume printing environments often find it useful to add an optional high-level print controller for advanced functionality such as color matching capability and job ticketing (which helps keeps track of different jobs in print shops).
Today, with HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley laws that hold business owners responsible for protecting data and their clients’ confidential information, most companies will also need security capabilities. These include user authentication (so only authorized people can use the machine), hard disk drive encryption or overwrite capability, secure watermarking, and network security. Read about some security features to consider here.
Finally, if your company does specialized scanning, you will probably want to augment your MFP’s basic scan function with specialty scanning products that allow increased capabilities. For example, users can customize a control panel so that one button might read “scan to legal department”, another “scan to archive” or still another enabling optical character recognition (OCR) that allows users to search scanned documents for specific words or phrases.