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Choosing a printer for your business has both never been easier and never been harder. It’s harder because printing has become more complex due to factors such as higher print quality expectations from users, the proliferation of multiple devices and printing paths, and the shift towards driverless printing. Narrowing down the options depending on your company needs can be difficult in a crowded marketplace. The choices available in terms of functionality, speed, and connectivity mean that most business needs can be met with ease. However, having too many options can also mean that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what you need and whether the printer you choose will still fulfil your needs over time.
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Adobe Embedded Print Engine is the cutting-edge raster image processor (RIP) technology tailored for office/enterprise printing workflows. A RIP is a mission-critical software component in printing systems. Adobe Embedded Print Engine processes all print jobs with exceptional precision, powering millions of printers from leading print OEMs worldwide across a diverse spectrum of device types, ensuring that every print mirrors the quality and intent of the original. So, what factors do you need to consider when choosing a new workplace device?
What Are You Printing?
First things first, what size paper do you typically print? An A4/US Letter printer will be able to handle most office documents and presentations, but for anything more specialised or if you print at high volumes (design agency or architect’s offices) you may need to consider an A3/Tabloid or light-production device. A device using the Embedded Print Engine can harness Adobe’s PDF technology to ensure that the printed document faithfully reproduces what is created on screen. Regardless of the size the PDF is printed at or whether it’s scaled up or down from the original digital version, quality – such as scaled text and graphics, sharpness and boldness of lines, and headings – is retained.
Single- or Multi-Function?
The type of work you do, or the nature and size of your business, may determine whether a single-function or multi-function device is a better choice for your print needs. AEPE powers both types of devices, single function and multi-function. Your business requirements may involve scanning, in which case having an ADF/Platen scanner function attached to a multi-function printer will enable you to fulfil this need. Most single and multi-function devices will have Wi-Fi and cloud connectivity, meaning that scanned documents can be sent to cloud-based repositories and printed at a later date if needed.
What Does the Finished Product Look Like?
If your business needs stretch beyond the flat piece of paper on the device’s output try, you might want to consider a printer capable of “finishing” the document so that it’s ready for use as soon as it’s printed. AEPE-powered printers can support advanced finishing options also. For example, you might need to print on A3/tabloid paper but require pages to be folded and stapled; the right finisher on your device will be able to handle this for you. Finishers are often additional pieces of equipment that can be added to or removed from a device when necessary, but they reduce the manual steps you might otherwise have to perform as well as removing the potential for error.
How Do You Get the Finished Product?
If you’re using other Adobe technology to create the document, such as Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Creative Cloud applications, a printer based on the Embedded Print Engine is enabled with the same technology as the design applications used to create and view the document. Regardless of the size or type of device you use to print, this common Adobe technology ensures that the quality of output is the same from the design stage to the print stage. With the Embedded Print Engine, your device will be compatible with existing and future workflows, whether you print from Mac, Windows, or mobile devices using iOS or Android.
Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
Whether you’re decentralising your print fleet to smaller devices, or updating your existing devices to the latest technology, regardless of your print needs, a device with the Embedded Print Engine will be able to reproduce documents to the same quality levels as when they are created on the screen. If you have a large organisation with many users, you may need a device with scan (to accommodate various workflows), copy, and fax capabilities. However, a smaller business or different business type may only need a single-function device that prints at low volumes. By standardizing Adobe’s Embedded Print Engine across your fleet, you can be sure of consistent quality output each time you print.
This blog was written with input from Adobe.
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