Ricoh updates its ProcessDirector and InfoPrint Manager software

The updates address key issues for printers hoping to broaden their reach into multi-channel communications. “We work with a lot of print service providers, many of whom have been trying to make the jump to multi-channel communications,” said John Fulena, Vice President, Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh Americas Corporation. “We identified the struggles they’re experiencing as they try to efficiently operate additional communication channels. For some of our customers, three times as many channels could mean three times as much work – so we see an opportunity to enhance components of our legacy workflow offerings to help make their transition as smooth as possible.”
New capabilities added to Ricoh ProcessDirector will help users achieve key objectives including goals to:
• Cut costs, change an approach, or meet customer demands by sending all or part of a job’s documents via email. Emailed documents can be set to dynamically pull key information into subject lines, arranging the message in the manner most useful to the reader.
• Allow users easy, secure access to their documents on their terms by setting all or part of a job’s documents to be represented in an accessible electronic format. With these electronic presentation capabilities, users can set separate versions for different audiences, such as internal help desk and external customers, with different kinds of information available.
• Engage customers via the medium they prefer by leveraging a preference management system that matches communications addressed to a customer to their preferred channel – pulled from a database collected from reader responses that the user gathers.
• Reduce waste and increase workspace by utilizing preset AFP forms that are dynamically filled in at the time of printing, so users no longer have to store pre-printed forms, many of which go unused.
• Keep data safe while making Ricoh ProcessDirector easier to use, integrating its security system into users’ own infrastructure and allowing user accounts to be more easily managed across various users’ systems.
• Pinpoint errors and learn from past successes with the ability to archive one’s entire production history.
Ricoh has also enhanced its InfoPrint Manager solution that enables printers to have centralized control of their operations to improve visibility and efficiency. InfoPrint Manager now offers added support for Linux platforms, bringing the power of the enterprise output management solution to a broader range of users.