Canon unveils industry’s first single platform to manage all scanning and print processes

Canon Australia today introduced the industry’s first single platform for the effective management of all scanning and print processes.

Developed by NT-WARE, uniFLOW V5 transforms the way that paper and electronic documents are handled within an office. The uniFLOW platform provides market-leading scanning technology, common document processes automation, as well as strengthening information security and tightening the control of print costs through a single platform.

Luke Maddison, Senior Product Manager - Business Solutions Canon Australia, said: “The multi function printer (MFP) is the heart of the office and the central hub for the flow of information and documents and with organisations handling an increasing volume of information, there’s a real business need to establish more efficient processes at both the input and output stages. uniFLOW V5 is a single management platform that complements the MFP’s central role, enabling businesses to get a grip of cost and security, while providing a boost to worker productivity.”

uniFLOW V5 is the only offering on the market to provide a truly universal driver, which allows IT to deploy one print driver for the entire print fleet, across all makes and models. The universal driver allows each user’s settings to be understood and implemented, regardless of the make or model of the device that processes the job. On Canon MFPs, this feature allows users to change print settings and preview the document before processing the job.

uniFLOW V5 offers heightened information security with user authentication, secure print release and ability to restrict user functionality on the office MFP. In addition, uniFLOW V5 can even detect sensitive data, preventing the misuse of confidential information. For high security environments - such as government or financial services- it uniquely identifies keywords in documents as they are processed. Whether printing, copying, faxing, emailing or scanning, the solution can terminate, hold or seek approval for the requested job as required.

“With this evolution of the uniFLOW platform, we are empowering businesses to take firm control of the security and costs associated with documents, while giving worker productivity a significant boost. With a complete approach to input and output management, uniFLOWV5 represents a new standard for the industry,” concluded Maddison.

uniFLOW V5 will be available in Australia from 11^th October 2010.

uniFLOW V5 offers a broad array of features developed to facilitate cost-effective management of MFP and printer fleets, and to improve printing security and productivity including:

Advanced Scanning Workflow: A dynamic scanning solution is introduced in uniFLOW V5, which offers OCR, barcode recognition, document conversion/compression and integrates natively with, among others, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint and several other DMS solutions

Canon MEAP and non MEAP devices: uniFLOW V5 integrates with Canon MEAP devices, such as its imageRUNNER ADVANCE range, and allows businesses to introduce a secure print function to non-MEAP enabled Canon MFPs without the need to install additional hardware, boosting document security across the entire fleet of MFPs.

3rd Party Device Support: uniFLOW V5 dramatically extends third party device support through the delivery of secure print support for popular non-Canon models ensuring that customers can easily manage mixed print fleets.

SQL Connector for Import/Export of Data: New task-based application allowing greater customisation of back-end functions including importation of cost centre and other essential data directly into accounting and management systems.

Global Workflows: Advanced function for network administrators enabling the rapid administration of printers in large fleet deployments. Customised workflows developed by IT departments can be pushed to an organisation's entire fleet.

Universal Driver Enhancements: The already powerful uniFLOW Universal Driver has been enhanced to support Booklet printing mode.

Production Workflow: uniFLOW V5 can be integrated with Helix Production Workflow, Canon’s leadingweb-to-print and production workflow solution, to merge an office print fleet with the organisation’s inplant environment. For larger organisations operating an inplant, print jobs can be routed according to pre-determined settings. This means that a five-page black-and-white document will be printed at the nearest MFP, whereas a 100-page bound document would be directed to the print room for a more cost-effective solution.