At parties, people sometimes ask me “what do you do for a living?” Normally, I just say I work with computers, since long and detailed descriptions about technical matters are not usually a great way to “win friends and influence people.”
Sometimes I mention that I work for the company that originated the concept of the enterprise print server, LRS. If pushed for details, I tell them a little more about my job, because it’s not so complicated.
What is an enterprise print server and what does it have to do with Enterprise Print Management? Well, an enterprise print server is the heart of a company’s critical line-of-business and office printing. It can eliminate Windows print servers, UNIX servers, and other document conversion servers.
Once in place, an organization’s documents are handled by the enterprise print server, whether they originate on physical or virtual desktops, server-based business applications (including SAP), or mobile devices. An enterprise print server will process these documents by converting them to a different format, if necessary. It can also transform the document contents (adding barcodes, signatures, etc.) or bundle them together. These documents, large and small, are processed into a format that is appropriate for the intended destination, whether that be a physical device (multi-function, production, or label printer) or some non-physical destination like an electronic archive, email server, or cloud repository.
A true enterprise print server does not just send the document to a printer and forget it. Rather, it manages the end-to-end delivery of the information by maintaining communication with the target device until successful printing. This ensures that administrators and end users are always informed in case of problems.
Still with me? Good. Now for the bigger picture.
The term Enterprise Print Management represents the ability of the LRS solution to orchestrate all of this action, with the aim of optimizing management of the company's printing and ensuring reliable operation. How? It's simple!
LRS Enterprise Print Management provides administrators and support teams with an efficient and user-friendly web interface. This tool enables them to manage, with a simple click, all print queues across the company related to office, business, or production printing. They can directly see which printers require attention before users even notice there’s a problem.
On the user side, LRS Enterprise Print Management manages desktop printers and ad-hoc print drivers on employee workstations. The Enterprise Print Management solution displays the exact information about current print status to the user, eliminating any confusion.
Want more? The same LRS Enterprise Print Management solution allows a company’s users to print documents from their smartphones or tablets, regardless of brand and OS. And guess which solution allows users to retrieve print jobs from any device by swiping a proximity badge, entering a code, or using a smartphone app? All while tracking and reporting exactly how many pages were printed and how much this cost the company?
Yes, it’s Enterprise Print Management software from LRS.
This is my job and that of LRS: make printing simpler, cheaper, and more reliable. The enterprise print server is not complicated, but rather simplifies printing in the company and extends the possibilities for the users. And it’s been that way since the company’s origins in 1979.
My friends now know what my real job is ... and so do you!