Selecting the Right Print Server for Your Xerox D-Series Printer
The Xerox D-Series is one of the fastest and most robust high-volume printers on the market today.
With print speeds exceeding 100 pages per minute, it is able to deliver great results in even the most demanding environments. It features a host of additional finishing options, making it an ideal in-house solution for large institutions and pay-for-print centers.
However, many of the customers who could benefit from a D-series printer don’t know about one of the most powerful features this printer offers – print server architecture options.
While most commercial printers offer a single, unified print server – the on-board brain that organizes and executes actions employees send across the network – Xerox offers two print server options for the high-volume D-Series. Xerox users may choose between the Integrated Copy/Print server and the FreeFlow Print Server.
Introducing the Integrated Copy/Print Server
It can be helpful to think of the integrated copy/print server as the standard D-series server. However, its huge selection of features makes it stand out when compared with “standard” options on other printers.
It features a 10.4-inch touchscreen display that gives employees immediate, intuitive access to the printer’s most important functions, including scan-to-email and scan-to-folder functionality. It features 256-bit hard disk data encryption and email-over-SSL capabilities that ensure employees follow industry-standard cybersecurity protocols.
Additionally, this server supports two-sided prints, secure prints, delayed prints, watermarks, banner sheets, and paper size fitting.
Print process owners looking to cut costs will enjoy the accounting features that the integrated copy/print server offers. These features extend beyond Xerox Standard Accounting and includes job-based accounting and Auditron compatibility.
You can use this server architecture alongside Xerox CentreWare Software to remotely manage your device. The embedded web server lets you perform installation, troubleshooting, feature setup, and system upgrades from the comfort of your own office even when the D-series device is offsite.
This print server supports thumbnail previews, bates stamping, and extensible interface support, which allows employees to create department-specific workflows. It is client-compatible with Windows XP1 and above, Mac OS 10.4 and above, Linux Fedora Core 1/5, and Citrix, among other operating systems.
For many office environments, the integrated copy/print server is sufficiently powerful to handle extensive printing and copying needs. However, power users and enterprises will want to upgrade to the Xerox FreeFlow Print Server.
Introducing the Xerox FreeFlow Print Server
With a 19-inch display and its own dedicated 3.2 GHz dual-core CPU, the FreeFlow print server is a dedicated print computer that allows for highly customizable printer performance.
Some of the workflow benefits that this print server offers include:
- Flexible Sampling. You can check document image quality in the middle of a print run without stopping the process. The sampling process can occur at a specified time or run right in the middle of a print run dynamically.
- Ordered Stock Recovery. When an employee interrupts an ordered stock job, the FreeFlow server can automatically continue where the job left off without restarting.
- Programmable Print Queue. Print process owners can program print queue priorities and set up customized, repetitive workflows that are job-specific.
- Simultaneous Print Fulfillment. The FreeFlow server can receive, select, process, and print jobs at the same time.
- Fully Customizable Security Profiles. If there is more than one print process owner, each individual can have a different security profile.
- Variable Printing. Variable caching and background form support lets the FreeFlow print server produce variable prints with ease.
- Simple Interface. Despite the additional functionality FreeFlow offers, it is simple and intuitive to use. Walk-up employees can submit jobs using the included Xerox Print Driver software, while process owners can make last-minute changes on individual pages, jobs, and queues in real-time.
Additionally, the FreeFlow Print Server includes industry-standard Adobe software technology. Offices that regularly need Adobe PDF normalization, conversion, or PostScript imaging have all of the needed software bundled in automatically.
Conclusion
Both print servers are intuitive, highly secure solutions for managing Xerox D-Series high-volume printers. Pay-for-print shops will generally find the integrated copy/print server sufficient for fulfilling the needs of customers on a walk-up basis.
Offices with centralized printing departments may find the integrated copy/print server sufficient for managing their print orders, as well. Generally, this remains the case until too large a team needs to share the device – this is when the additional processing power the FreeFlow print server offers becomes invaluable.
Institutions that rely on D-Series printers to support complex employee hierarchies and last-minute verifications and changes will get more use out of the Xerox FreeFlow technology. The ability to enjoy benchmark security encryption and variable printing with a robust interface for implementing quick changes is valuable for any fast-paced business environment where more than a small team of individuals will use a single device at any one time.
Still not sure which print server is best for your Xerox D-Series Printer? Our team of specialists can point you in the right direction, call us today!
