New Versions of Equitrac Deliver Breakthrough Technical Innovations and Superior Simplicity and Security

Global News

09
Jul
2013

Editor

Nuance Communications, Inc., a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions, today announced new versions of its Equitrac intelligent print management software that helps companies with increasingly complex IT systems and workplaces gain better control and more flexible management of their print environments.

Equitrac Office® and Equitrac Express® print management software versions 5 enable organizations to further reduce costs associated with unnecessary printing and print infrastructures, and increase document security, while providing new solutions for IT departments deploying serverless and mixed-fleet print environments.

“Organizations can no longer take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to deploying print,” said Holly Muscolino, Research Director, Document Solutions, IDC. “User mobility, BYOD initiatives, complex and non-standard hardware fleets, and growing demands on IT infrastructure require organizations to adapt their print infrastructure to support this changing environment. The new versions of Equitrac were specifically designed to help organizations not only meet these challenges, but leverage many of those same technologies and trends to drive greater print control and efficiency.”

The new versions of Equitrac directly address print challenges created by the influx of mobile devices, mixed printer fleets, and workers on the move inside the enterprise. Versions 5 allow users to print how they want and where they want, while removing IT dependencies on print servers and management of print drivers.

Most significantly, the new versions include the new I-Queue feature which enables enterprise-wide printing without the need to process print jobs through print servers. I-Queue printing moves the processing of print jobs from the print server to individual user desktops, eliminating server costs and cutting network print traffic by 50 percent. In addition, a repository called the driver store, where all print drivers for every output device on the network are stored, automatically manages print drivers for IT. Rather than manage individual print drivers for each desktop client, IT departments only need to ensure drivers within the driver store are up to date. The driver store automatically selects the right print driver for a user as needed, based on the client location and device, enabling users to print documents without concern for which printers may be available or whether print drivers have been loaded to their computer.

Other new Features & Benefits of Equitrac Office and Express versions 5 include:

• Easy Integration – Hybrid Print Control™ technology provides users with a choice of how to deploy printing while retaining Nuance’s industry-leading print management features. Equitrac’s Hybrid Print Control provides a single print management platform that supports enterprises in server-based environments, using I-Queue and, in many cases, environments that support both deployment types.
• Enhanced Secure Printing for Mobile Devices – For situations where organizations need to provide secure print access to guests, or don’t want to invest in authentication hardware at a device, Equitrac has extended its Web Release functionality to support secure document release using a web browser – either on a separate PC next to the printer, or now from their mobile device. With Mobile Web Release, users can follow the Follow-You Printing workflow through a simple workflow displayed on their mobile device to release their jobs and charge them to the appropriate account. Locating the printer that they want to release their job to is now easier than ever – users simply select the printer from a list, or can scan a QR Code associated with the printer to automatically select that device.
• Increased Productivity – With the Equitrac Capture & Send add-on, print and scan workflows can now be executed from a single application, allowing users to quickly and easily send scanned documents to email, fax, network folders or Microsoft SharePoint. For users this means reduced time at the MFP and enhanced productivity and documents are instantly inserted into the appropriate workflow. IT administrators benefit from a single console for deploying, configuring and managing both print and scan capabilities.
• Secure Anywhere, Anytime Control – The new web-based system manager for user management extends the functionality of the existing client-based Equitrac System Manager to allow administrators to perform commonly executed tasks from any Web browser. Secure login capabilities and Windows single sign-on support, combined with support for Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari make web-based administration a reality for any organization.
• Business Aligned Reporting – Total print activity is tracked, along with the resulting cost savings and environmental benefits, such as the reduced consumption of trees, gallons of water and CO2 put into the atmosphere. Reports can be filtered by user, department, account and device, and can be run for any defined time period. New built-in reports can show how many pages were printed from a workstation but not released to a printer. Or how many multiple-page jobs were printed from a workstation and automatically converted to duplex through a print rule.
• Convenient Printing – With the Nuance ID Controller, organizations can incorporate even the most basic output devices—single-function printers—into their secure printing network. Comprised of a small form-factor hardware component that attaches to the back of any printer and a card reader, the ID Controller provides users with the ability to swipe their ID card and release their documents stored in the users Equitrac print queue one at a time—or release all documents in a single step. This secure print release option provides maximum convenience to users by giving them the ability to release their print jobs at the device of their choice.
• Added Desktop Value – Equitrac Express licenses will now come bundled with Print Assistant licenses, providing Educational users with more control over printing from their desktops with features such as job cost preview, viewing account balances, job re-naming, and online authentication. Print Assistant was previously an add-on component to Equitrac Express.
• Simplified Deployment – Features such as faster auto-detection of printers, the ability to import and export price lists, rule sets and billing codes, and multiple active directory and LDAP configurations combine to make Equitrac 5 much easier and quick to configure print environments.

“While IT grapples with cloud, consumerization of IT and increasing demands of highly mobile workers, Equitrac is the single solution to satisfy the changing demands around printing,” said Michael Rich, General Manager and Senior Vice President for Nuance’s Document Imaging Division. “Nuance is helping IT deploy print services regardless of the configuration with fewer complexities while empowering organizations to save money, increase security and customize controls.”