Your office photocopier probably doesn’t get a lot of attention. If you’re like most people, the most time you spend with it is probably to reload paper. But when was the last time you really sat down and got to know it? If you did, you might be surprised. The fact is that today’s devices aren’t just photocopiers anymore: they’re sophisticated devices that copy, scan, fax, email and more, all encased in a deceptively simple plastic box. We bet there’s a few things it’s capable of that you didn’t even know about. And we’d also wager that they’re things that would be useful to you and your school. We’re talking about things like:
- Tracking costs
- Folding booklets
- Printing mail-ready envelopes
- Creating editable electronic documents
- Using shortcuts for common functions.
And while that list makes your MultiFunction Device (MFD) a powerhouse of productivity, there’s one thing that it can’t do. More on that later. Check out the list below and we promise you’ll never look at your MFD the same way.
Tracking costs (or full device accounting)
Most schools lease their device and then pay a fixed charge per printed page. Rates will be different depending on the paper size, and whether it’s monochrome or colour. So, wouldn’t it be useful to track your usage to see how much each department is spending on printing? Or allocate costs to individual users using the full cost accounting feature? Most MFDs can do this already, with an embedded ‘meter’ that keeps tabs on the number of prints going through the device each month. Some even allow you to track usage by individual or department to help promote responsible usage, raise user awareness, and eventually reduce cost. Cloud software can take this to the next level, offering larger schools the ability to manage all copying and printing produced across the entire device fleet and display usage analytics from cloud.
Folding & Stapling Documents
If you’ve ever produced brochures or booklets, you know how tedious it can be to hand-fold individual pages for even a small number of documents. And chances are the quality quickly begins to suffer as repetition and boredom set in. So why not let your machine do it for you? For a modest cost, most MFDs can have a finishing module fitted that can V- or Z-fold and staple documents with ease, leaving you to collect the finished professional-quality documents from the output tray with flawless, consistent folds and binding.
Printing mail-ready envelopes
Got a big mailer going out? Maybe you’re going to be like most people and save time by printing a batch of labels to peel and stick onto each envelope. Or maybe you’re going to be even more clever, by using your MFD to print right onto the envelopes! With a few simple adjustments to your paper feed tray, you can feed a stack of envelopes straight into your MFD and print any number of envelopes, all with individual postal addresses. This is a huge time saver for marketing campaigns, month-end invoices, or holiday card batch mailouts.
Creating editable electronic documents
Have you ever re-typed an entire document because it was in hardcopy only? Or have you ever deleted a document, only to find that you needed it again later after the only electronic copy was lost? Make sure that time was your last by working smarter rather than harder and let your MFD do the rest! Most modern MFDs come with Optical Character Recognition technology built-in, enabling the machine to read printed text and convert it into an editable format like Microsoft Word. With a few simple settings and a quick scan, you can convert from hardcopy, to digital, and back again!
Using shortcuts for common functions
If you’re consistently using an MFD for a specific task, like scanning an email to a particular person, why not create a button to do it with a single tap? Most modern MFDs allow users to create a simple to advance task/workflow shortcut button that can do things like scan to a particular folder, open a specific network drive, or email a specific department or person. No more navigation—just tap and go!
We know that seems like a lot, and while your MFD is a wonderful piece of technology with seemingly limitless potential, there’s one very important thing that it can’t do.
Copy money!
Would-be forgers beware, modern MFDs have in-built smarts that automatically recognise most common currencies and prevent them from being copied. It all has to do with special patterns and colours embedded in the notes, which while invisible to the naked eye will trigger an alert in the MFD and prevent it from creating a copy.
Your MFD has many more functions. Visit https://www.fujifilm.com/fbnz/en to learn more or talk to your friendly local account manager at one of our locations nationwide.
