Printer Acquisition Strategies

CPIS 210John Beckett

Why Print?

• Documentary evidence– For yourself– For customer

• Working paper– More convenient than something

electronic

Why Not Print?

• Costs money• Reveals information• One more piece of technology that

can malfunction

Types of Needs

• Kiosk– Gas pump

• High-volume transaction– Cash register

• Low-volume transaction– Registration book list

• Batch– Bills for a mailing

Printing Technologies

• Impact– Can make mechanical copies

• Thermal– Simplest, most reliable for transactions

• Ink-jet– Low-volume transactions

• Laser– High-volume

Printer Communication

• Direct connection to PC– May be shared on network

• Direct connection to the network– Perhaps with a

spooler/manager/controller– Could be WiFi

• BlueTooth• FireWire

– Not used much (yet)

Spooling Control

• Can the person who made the mistake, cancel the job?

• Where’s the data?– In the PC– In a spooler/buffer/controller somewhere– In the printer’s buffer memory

Controlling Cost

• As with any technology: Reduce variation in sources and models– Reduces spare parts inventory– Reduces supplies inventory

• Move to preview/print cycle– A printout more than a few pages

shouldn’t happen until inspected in the spooler

Who Pays?

• If the person making the “print” decision isn’t the same person making the “spend money” decision, you have a mis-match

• If printouts are consistently ignored, make printing optional

• Consider electronic distribution