The Right Printing Hardware to Increase Productivity

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The productivity of your office relies heavily on the business technology you utilize. Without the right equipment in place, you can’t expect employees to perform at peak productivity. Imagine trying to dig a ditch with just a serving spoon; sure, eventually you’ll be able to dig something resembling a ditch, but how much time and effort would be required to do so if you were using a shovel instead?

Does your staff have the printing hardware it needs to operate a peak proficiency? Here are some of the devices available today that could help your organization enhance its productivity.

Black-and-white printers – Modern black-and-white printers, built for speed and efficiency, are the workhorse of any office. These devices are excellent for large projects as well as the daily printing of emails, invoices, and documents. Many printers even come equipped with finishing options—such as stapling, collating, and folding—that will help your team complete their tasks on time.

Color printers – Color printers provide you with the freedom to produce stunning photos, logos, marketing materials, and proposals. With templates and in-house printing, you don’t need to spend days negotiating with external designers on standard jobs. Instead, print what you need, when you need it.

Multifunction printers (MFPs) – One device, multiple uses—in the office, a multifunction printer is your jack-of-all-trades. With copy, print, scan, and fax capabilities, MFPs provide a central piece of hardware to meet multiple needs, saving money, space, and energy.

Wide format printers – By cutting out the designer or print shop, you can get right to the business of printing phenomenal in-house posters and banners when you bring wide format machines in-house. The average wide format printer can produce up to 15 posters in a single hour, without ever waiting in line at the print shop. Quickly and easily create gorgeous images for display in the office or for marketing purposes in public areas.

Your company’s business technology defines your capabilities, and having the right printing hardware in place will substantially improve productivity. To take your office’s productivity to the next level of quality, precision, and speed, contact Infomax today.

Dream Big with Large Format Printing

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Large format printers are getting smaller and easier to use every day. Those leaps in print technology are enabling businesses to bring large format printing in-house, where machines can quickly pay for themselves. With improved simplicity, size, and precision, it’s worth considering the possibilities that large format printing can open for your company.  After all, a blank wall is a missed opportunity!

By combining maximum-impact and in-house access, large format printing will open doors and create infinite possibilities for your company. A little imagination will transform your space.

Here are some ideas for large-format pieces that will extend the reach of your business and your brand.

Storefront billboards
Your windows are priceless real estate. With large format printing, you can print posters or clings and use that space to promote current opportunities and attract the attention of potential clients.

Storytelling landscapes
Consider a gorgeous wall mural to brighten your waiting room, or print posters to promote add-ons that may interest clients or prospects. Wall posters are perfect for promotions and educational content.

Mobile brand ambassadors
If your company has a vehicle, that automobile is must-use promotional space. Create a stunning vehicle wrap and print it on your own large format printer.

Community connection builders
Your community wants to get to know you, so show your company’s face wherever you engage. Is a staff team walking in a 5k for charity? Do you sponsor a children’s football team? Shout out your community spirit with a bold, bright banner.

When it comes to large format printing, these few ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. Large format printing is also perfect for maps and schematics, trade show displays, and signage for events or facilities. Large format printing technology provides you unparalleled flexibility and room to dream big.

Contact Infomax Office Systems today to learn more about how large format printing can boost your marketing strategy.

5 Quick Fixes for Common Printing Problems

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We’re moving to a digital world, but business still run on paper. So what do you do when printing problems appear? Sometimes it’s best to call in the pros, but a few common print issues can be fixed with a little know-how and a simple tweak here or there.

Don’t let minor printer troubles get you down. Try these quick tips before calling for backup.

1. Paper jams. Open the printer, check for anything jamming the paper’s route, and remove any obstruction before gently (but firmly) removing the stuck paper. Try to pull straight and smooth, making note of where the pressure has it trapped. If the paper does tear, just collect all the pieces before closing the printer cover.

2. Slow printing. Complex images and huge files can send your printer—and you—over the edge. Check your file sizes and image resolutions, eliminate unneeded pictures, or take advantage of features to flatten layers or reduce file sizes. If those tricks don’t help, your wireless connection speed may need a boost or your printer might need a memory upgrade.

3. Using too much paper. If a simple project comes out in a stack the size of War and Peace, it may be time to rethink your defaults. Choose automatic duplex (double-sided) printing or 2-up printing (two document pages per sheet of paper), and reduce your margins to fit more content on a page.

4. Nothing is printing. You’ve hit print and are expecting the happy whirr of the printer coming to life. Instead—nothing. So, what happened? First, make sure the printer is powered on, then check your print settings—maybe your document went to another device. If your job is still in your print queue, try restarting your computer and then, if needed, the printer.

5. Low-quality images. Does your printout look like you forgot to put on your glasses this morning? Blurry, over-pixelated images indicate that you need a higher print resolution. Look for images that are 300 dpi (dots per inch) at a minimum. If something is still off, consider switching to paper designed for printing color images.

If these simple solutions don’t solve your printing problems, call Infomax Office Systems today for service, or to learn about alternate business printing options.

How MPS Improves Team Workflows

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Your business workflows are the machinery, people, and processes that make up your day-to-day operations. With Managed Print Service (MPS)—a holistic approach to print infrastructure—your print-related tasks are centralized and outsourced.

Read on to learn how MPS improves team workflows.

Provides customized solutions — From the quality and type of documents you print to the frequency and volume you need, your provider will identify which solutions will work best for your business. Anytime equipment can automate workflow processes, you’ll realize improvements in staff productivity.

Improves device sharing — If your office is like most, you are working with a hodge-podge of printers and devices that your company has cobbled together over time. MPS streamlines your printing fleet, eliminates redundant devices, and integrates group printing needs.

Eliminates interruptions —MPS includes troubleshooting and device maintenance, so your team can focus on their work. These solutions particularly help your IT staff, freeing them from lower-level print concerns.

Optimizes office layout — With a thoughtfully designed print fleet, your office will benefit from fewer machines, located at strategic locations. Individuals will save time, and space is available for other uses.

Automates document finishing — Is your staff spending time on manual activities like stapling, hole punching, and folding? MPS can ensure all of your document finishing needs are met by implementing the right equipment. With the touch of a button, these repetitive and time-consuming tasks can be completed in seconds when you have access to the right devices.

Ends maintenance headaches — Inventory monitoring, ordering, and regular maintenance are all handled for you with MPS. This is a principle tenet of MPS—to streamline the management of your printers and all print-related tasks so your team can focus on critical projects.

Collects data — Today’s MPS provides a vast amount of data to help you understand your workflows. From device usage to individual print habits, you’ll have the information you need to identify and address areas of improvement.

Whether making the most of your office layout or outsourcing maintenance and ordering, MPS will improve productivity and bring your business into 21st century technology management.

To see how Managed Print Services can improve your workflows, contact Infomax Office Systems for a free MPS assessment.

Data Backup and Disaster Recovery – What’s the Difference?

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When a computer glitch strikes and you get the “Blue Screen of Death,” your heart leaps into your throat. Then you remember your automated backup program. Whew, everything is safe.

But is it?

Backups can give us a sense of security, yet there’s a significant difference between backing up your data and recovering it after a disaster. Despite their distinctions, both are critical for a healthy information technology system.

Data backup is a standard and sometimes simple process—saving a copy (or multiple copies) of information in case the original or working copy has a problem. Backup may occur as a process automated by software, a physical action required of a human being, or as part of Managed IT or cloud services. Backed-up data might be stored in an external hard drive on your desktop, on CD- or DVD-ROM, on an offsite server, or even with a cloud-based service. Regular data backup is an essential part of business, often done on a daily basis to keep copies of records.

But data backup alone isn’t enough. Backed-up data is like a parachute: good to have, but not very helpful if you can’t use it! A recovery plan is the parachute pack and deployment system. A tested, staged, and properly deployable pack is mandatory if you hope to survive disaster.

Disaster recovery includes the processes and people that make backed-up data usable. Since disasters happen at any time, it’s essential that your recovery system be ready and available whenever needed, and your staff must know how to activate that system. Disaster recovery is about the outcome.

There are numerous failure points (human or software), and faith in untested systems can provide a false sense of security. Moreover, everything must be accessible when you need it. Do you know who to call? How to get your data back into use?

Using a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can be a critical part of a robust backup and disaster recovery system. Through service-level agreements, your provider becomes an extension of your company, but one with industry-specific expertise and tested recovery systems. A relationship with a Managed Service Provider also functions across your organization, rather than through isolated departments or individual sets of files.

To make sure you’re prepared to bounce back if the worst ever happens, contact Infomax about backup and disaster recovery solutions.

Perfect Color: Designing Documents for Print

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Color is everywhere in printed media. It gets your attention, sets the tone, and shares information. Printing in color can help your business project a polished and professional image, but it’s critical to balance the value of color printing with the cost of color toner.

To make the most of color, consider the following few tips for how to use color in your print documents and publications.

Draw attention. The primary reason we use color is for its impact, and choosing a few select applications of color will make your message pop and give you the biggest bang for your buck. Consider the type of publication and what element you want to draw attention to, and focus your color there. You may highlight a deadline or expiration date, bring some life to your headings, or even use compelling images. Think about where you want to draw your reader’s eye and use color to guide them there.

Convey emotion. The human mind is wired in such a way that we draw inherent meaning from color. Choosing your colors with an understanding of their psychological impact will help you get the most out of each use. Orange is an action color, while purple invokes imagination. Red is the color of passion and anger; blue brings a sense of calm, trust, and dependability; and green is a color of peace, nature, and health. Choosing the right color will help boost your message by playing on the mind’s built-in shortcuts.

Stick to your resolutions. When it comes to color images and art, print resolution can make or break your publication. Use images with a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) or better for the size you want to print. This quality of image will provide your printer the information it needs to create documents that show all the details. A lower dpi can result in blurry or pixelated images, so skimping on image quality is just a waste of toner.

Figure out fonts. Combining selective use of color with different font types will up the impact of your outputs. Avoid messiness and confusion for your readers by sticking to two or three fonts: one for the body of your text, one for headings, and maybe one for call-outs or quotes. Body (or paragraph) text, works best in black, but headings and call-outs thrive in color. A trick for making your text easy on the eye is to use a serif font, like Times New Roman or Garamond. The additional visual detail in these fonts makes text easier to interpret. Headings work well in sans serif fonts like Helvetica.

Proof it. Printing a proof, or test version, is a best practice for any publication, and it’s especially vital when printing in color. Print one copy and review it closely for readability, detail, and color accuracy. This is the “measure twice, cut once” of the printing world: take the time to be sure your publication will print as you expect and you’ll save yourself the headache (and toner!) down the line.

Color printing can be a powerful tool for catching the eye and directing your audience’s attention. From conveying emotion to showing detail, use color wisely for the perfect printed publication.

Surprising Benefits of Managed IT

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Many businesses are now familiar with some of the primary benefits of Managed IT. They include cost control, troubleshooting and problem-solving, and freeing up resources for activities more central and unique to your business. But, in addition to those common valuable features, Managed IT can provide some surprising benefits to you and your business.

With Managed IT, you can:

Stay up-to-date. Complete management of your IT network includes the critical element of patching and upgrading. Easily left by the wayside when you’re focused on troubleshooting, your Managed IT provider includes regular software patches as part of their services. By keeping you on track with the latest updates for your software and operating system, they’ll help you avoid security risks, eliminate glitches, and solve usability issues. Managed IT keeps all of your systems running smoothly.

Get custom insight. Usage reports and service statistics are par for the course, but your Managed IT provider can also design dashboards and reports tailored specifically for your business. Department managers can see at-a-glance which systems are running smoothly and where action needs to be taken. Custom dashboards provide the insight you need to stay on top of your operations.

Be ready for disaster—and recovery. A Managed IT partnership means having redundant and fail-safe systems. Normally this is a significant investment. But, when you work with a Managed IT provider, the cost of network and data center infrastructure is distributed among various clients, so it’s more affordable to incorporate a comprehensive backup and recovery solution.

Take your information technology to the next level. While in-house IT staff must normally be generalists who can solve any number of problems, Managed IT providers employ specialists whose expertise can be leveraged for your business’ strategy. They provide intimate knowledge of device life cycles, software risks and options, and OS upgrades. Periodic reviews by these experts can make sure you’re operating with the most efficient and effective systems.

Working with a partner for Managed IT is so much more than outsourcing your Help Desk tickets. With dedicated resources, specialized expertise, and a strong relationship with your provider, a move to Managed IT means teaming up with a partner that is invested in your company’s success. Contact Infomax Office Systems to learn more about Managed IT and how it can benefit your business.

Get the Graphic Tools You Need to Succeed

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Today’s technology has democratized numerous tools that used to be available only to large enterprises or high-end print shops. With the right multifunction machines and a select suite of specialized tools, it’s easier than ever to create your own professional marketing materials.

Consider the following graphic tools that can take your business to the next level.

Booklet makers and folders can take your production to new heights, enabling you to create a polished product with a clear and coherent message. Transform stacks of single sheets or sloppily stapled handouts into catalogs, magazines, and informational booklets. Promote your services, share testimonials, and document case studies with professionalism and ease.

Trimmers and cutters provide speed and flexibility. With them, you can quickly create materials best suited to your purposes. Hand-trimming 4-up printouts into billets is time-consuming and error-prone. Cutting machines make crisp, consistent cuts in record time, whether you’re printing a hundred standard business cards or a thousand custom-sized postcards.

Shredders give you control over your documents and the data they contain. By having your own machine on hand, you can shred on-demand, preventing piles of accumulated paper that wait weeks to be prepared for disposal. By shredding your documents right away, you’ll avoid the security risk of exposed proprietary data and customer information.

Check signers automate one of your most laborious processes. For high-volume check signing, end hand cramps and eliminate insecure stamps with a dedicated tool.

Laminators transform slipshod printouts into polished documents. From professionally-printed product spec sheets to polished office signage, in-house laminating makes it quick and convenient to create durable materials that communicate value and high standards.

In-house graphic tools will earn their keep in terms of cost, control, and convenience. Your graphic infrastructure will be custom-tailored to meet your business’ needs and can be especially helpful in cost savings for small print runs. You’ll take back control of your production process and data security. Perhaps most powerfully, in-house graphic tools can provide the flexibility and capacity to produce what you want, when you want it —all with the same quality you’ll find in high-end print shops.

Interested in an update to your business’ graphic tools? Whether you’re a small business that has big plans for marketing materials, or you’re a local print shop that wants to upgrade your graphic tools, contact Infomax today. We’ll tell you about the printing solutions and available graphic features that can take your business documents to the next level!

Document Management Can Help Green Your Business

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In the search for sustainability, it can often feel as though we have to choose between the planet and profits. Fortunately, new technologies are making environmentally friendly choices both smart and cost-effective. Document management is a perfect alignment of efficient technology and good corporate citizenship.

Whether the data you manage starts as digital assets or are scanned from paper originals, document management is about using software for the storage, searching, sharing, and tracking of business information.

Read on for a few ways document management systems can help your business go green while saving green.

Reduce printing needs – By going digital, your use of consumables like paper and toner can drop dramatically. Digital forms and customized routing of electronic documents eliminate the need for burdensome duplicate and triplicate forms and prevent the need for copies of copies for sharing purposes.  Document management can also reduce your carbon footprint and printing budget with the implementation of page caps for individual team members, ensuring your business is always printing smart.

Eliminate storage expenses – With document management, piles of paper are turned into streams of ones and zeroes—the language of computers. Instead of filling costly office space with rows of file cabinets, digital documents can be saved on DVD-ROMs, servers, and hard drives, using a tiny fraction of the space needed for physical documents. How would that space better serve your business once all those old paper files are shredded and recycled?

Improve access efficiency – Digital documents can be indexed and searched right from your desktop. This improved efficiency saves your business money, as your employees can easily access files that once took them hours to find in filing cabinets. You can retrieve records from a designated date range, pull up the order history for a specific vendor, and even search the content of documents for keywords. A well-designed document management system makes accessing your data fast and intuitive, whether it’s for daily customer service or infrequent archive searches. This improved productivity means you’ll be going green while saving green—it doesn’t get much better than that!

Document management is a smart and easy way to green your business. It’s kinder to the environment, faster for your staff, and better for your bottom line.

Contact us today to learn more about document management solutions and how Infomax can help you implement this green strategy.

MPS: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference

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Printing is a critical part of daily business processes. But done inefficiently, printing can be a black hole for time and money—making equipment purchases that don’t meet your company’s needs, spending hours troubleshooting solutions to rectify problems, and running out of consumables at inconvenient times. All of these printing pitfalls add up to wasted resources for your business. But, when printing is done right, it can make your operations more streamlined, professional, and cost-effective.

Managed Print Services (MPS) can implement a few small changes that will make a big difference in your office. Here’s how:

Optimize workflows – No two businesses are exactly alike, and MPS will optimize your unique workflows. With MPS, your business’ specific needs are examined to find solutions that click with your systems and improve your processes. An initial MPS assessment can uncover shortcuts to help manage complex tasks like batch printing and document delivery. Or, your Managed Services Provider may identify multifunction machines that will help you accomplish your goals, while saving time, money, and office space. Your MPS partner can also examine your office layout, staffing, and print needs. With a complete picture of your unique business workflows, your Managed Services Provider can determine the best physical location and setup for each machine in your office’s imaging fleet.

Delete daily distractions – Increasingly, we’re learning that “multi-tasking” is a myth. What we’re really doing dozens of times each day is task-switching. And printing comes with plenty of tasks—taking inventory, ordering supplies, performing maintenance, troubleshooting, and more. Every time your IT or admin staff members have to stop and perform a printer-related task, you’re losing time and money. Turning to Managed Print Services means streamlining daily efforts and making all these print-related processes seamless.

End printer panic – How many times have you run out of toner when you’re in the middle of a time-sensitive print job? Consider the disruption that occurs when one of your staff members has to make a “quick run” to the office supply store so you can finish the job. With MPS’ automatic toner replacement, you’re ready to replace that cartridge without skipping a beat.

With Managed Print Services, little changes to your imaging fleet can make a big difference. Printing can become a seamlessly integrated part of essential processes and daily workflows. MPS can get the logistics of printing out of your way and identify solutions to improve your operations. After all, technology is supposed to make our lives easier, isn’t it?

Contact Infomax today to learn more about how small changes with MPS can have a big impact on your business.