Despite the critical roles networked imaging and printing resources play in the processes and workflows of large and small organizations alike, IT professionals frequently ignore security threats to the imaging and printing infrastructure and often leave it entirely unsecured. Imaging and printing environments aren’t currently a primary target for network attacks, but this will likely change as hackers find traditional servers more difficult to exploit and look for other targets.

If IT fails to safeguard these valuable resources beforehand, attacks against unsecured network communications can endanger data confidentiality, which can increase litigation exposure and compromise compliance with government and industry regulations like

the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Patriot Act, the California Database Protection Act of 2001, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB), the Basel II Accord, the IPv6 Mandate, and SEC rules.1 For example, print and digital-send jobs sent via traditional 802.11x networking can be intercepted, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of the information.

Imaging and printing security threats will undoubtedly increase. For instance, the Computer Security Institute reported in its 2005 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey that unauthorized access rose dramatically in the last year and replaced denial of service as the second most significant contributor to computer crime losses. And recent publications by hacker groups have raised the awareness that imaging and printing devices are more than simple appliances and that these devices have capabilities beyond printing and scanning. Unauthorized data access isn’t the only problem, either — denial-of-service strikes against networked MFPs and printers can diminish productivity, and unauthorized device usage can deplete consumables stocks and increase supplies costs.

Time

1. Spend less time managing devices IT departments spend 15% of their time on printerrelated issues. Consolidation results in fewer hardcopy devices to manage and a smaller inventory of supplies and spare parts to maintain. Plus, network integration makes MFPs easier and less expensive to support than their standalone counterparts.

2. Reduce time spent walking from device to device By combining printing, copying, faxing, scanning and digital sending (scan to email, folder, etc.) in a single device, MFPs give information workers network access to all the capabilities they need to effectively and efficiently handle digital and paper documents.

3. Experience fewer network bottlenecks Where some competitive devices force you to accept performance/print-quality tradeoffs, HP LaserJet and Color LaserJet MFPs feature advanced processing and imaging technology, ensuring you of consistently high-quality output at full engine speeds and realworld performance that often surpasses competing products boasting faster engine specifications. This is because, generally, HP LaserJet and Color LaserJet MFPs and printers are designed to offer their best output quality at full engine speed. Many competing devices slow down considerably in best print quality mode due to issues like formatter bottlenecks or employing solid-ink technology.

By Jamie Bsales, Associate Editor, July 8, 2009

At IBM’s Impact 2009 conference, Ricoh Americas Corp. introduced its new Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) technology for MFPs equipped with the company’s ESA (Embedded Software Architecture) platform. The Ricoh SOA Portal will enable enterprise customers to leverage IBM's WebSphere software in conjunction with Ricoh MFPs to drive complex business processes right from the devices’ control panels. Ricoh is the first MFP vendor to demonstrate SOA integration.

In an SOA environment, complex applications are built out of complementary layers of software services that can be handled by the various systems involved. So, for example, an MFP would handle the data capture and routing, while a back-end WebSphere application would handle the document processing, such as OCR functions or workflow.

With Ricoh MFPs, the SOA solution is a Java application running on the ESA platform. The MFP does not hold any SOA components; rather, it simply is a client that makes requests to the SOA environment using the SOA standards of Web services. Ricoh reports that all ESA-equipped models introduced since 2007 will run the SOA solution.

An Internet-like application on the MFP's control panel will enable users to easily select from a customized list of tasks or services that initiate business processes. Thanks to the bi-directional communication enabled by SOA and ESA, the required actions are pushed to the panel from the back-end system in the form of an icon that clearly represents the business process. This enables complex operations to be handled by the touch of a button, simplifying the workflow for the end user.

The Background

A growing school district was struggling with purchasing expensive HP printer supplies and unreliable devices. The printers were a burden on the school's budget because they were being used for greater volumes than they were designed to handle and they carried a high total cost of ownership.

The Solution

By putting Canon ImageRUNNER multi-function devices on the school's network, MWOS made it easy for faculty to print to several key locations around the building. Another aspect of the solution was the use of the mailbox feature on the Canon imageRUNNERS that allows the faculty to send items to an assigned mailbox. This funtion enables faculty to better manage print jobs by storing them on the device until it is convenient to print.