Optimize corporate printing with YSoft SafeQ
Printing in a modern office is one of the everyday procedures. And very expensive. But it can be optimized by significantly reducing costs and increasing safety. One of the leading solutions for this is the YSoft SafeQ system.
YSoft SafeQ is a server application that provides additional functionality for printing devices and elements interacting with them. With it, you will be able to build a corporate printing system, monitor and manage it, ensure the security and protection of confidential data, save a lot on paper and prevent any abuse by employees.
One of the main advantages of the product is the ease of scanning and control. By the time it takes 1-2 days, and to manage the printing system will need one or more administrators.
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The YSoft SafeQ system is controlled via a web interface. The administrator can enter it from any device connected to the Internet through a supported browser. Inside, besides device management, there is also work with users. For each individual employee, you can configure the level of access to different devices and create rules for them. In total, there are about 20 different rules for employees at different levels in the arsenal of the system.
These rules limit certain functions of printers in accordance with predefined conditions. For a particular printer or MFP, this may be a limitation of the number of pages printed in one job, determining the maximum number of color sheets, forcing the inclusion of two-sided or black-and-white printing. For employees, these rules govern access to certain device capabilities. For example, management can use any functions of printers, and accounting - only black and white printing.
The most important security tool in YSoft SafeQ is user identification. It is carried out using special terminals that connect to printers and multifunction printers (or installed on them when it comes to software). Until the user holds the card on the reader or enters his password, access to printing will be denied to him. This system allows you to determine which employees can use these or other printing devices. For example, the manual can print on any printer in the office, and the staff only on those that are installed in their departments.
This feature is called " Secure Queue ." In practice, it looks like this. An employee sends a print job. It gets to the server, where each user has his own print queue. Going to the printer or the MFP, it is authorized, and then printing begins (in the advanced terminals, you can view the document previews and print only what you need). Through the web interface, you can configure how much work should be stored on the server until it is printed, as well as the size of the repositories.
Within the “Protected Queue”, you can use the Follow Me function. Since print jobs are sent to the YSoft SafeQ server and not to a specific printer, they can “follow” the user to any printing device on the YSoft SafeQ network. For example, a manager or secretary may come to one department and print documents for his employees on a local printer, in another for another, in the third for the third, etc. He does not need to carry a flash drive or a pile of sheets of paper printed in advance. There is a similar function for long distances. It is called Far Roaming. For example, a task in Kiev can be printed by an authorized user in Washington.
There are other options. For example, “ Simple queue ” - when print documents are sent to a pre-selected printer. YSoft SafeQ processes and analyzes the task in order to determine whether the user is authorized to perform it. After printing is completed, the system records all the information about the completed task for reporting.
The “ Shared Queue ” feature allows staff to send print jobs, for example, to a shared department's print queue. These tasks can be confirmed by any member of the department who has the authority to do so. They are credited to the user who has physically confirmed the print job.
Individual users may be available " VIP print queue ." They have the opportunity to decide whom to give permission to confirm assignments on their behalf. This feature is especially useful where managers would like assistants to confirm their assignments. After the task is confirmed by an authorized person, it is recorded on the account of the initiator, for example, the manager.
The system also has the ability to make certain tasks elected . They remain accessible from the user’s stored tasks folder on the terminal. This eliminates the need to repeatedly print the same documents, for example, forms for cost accounting or leave requests.
Three types of terminals are used to identify users:
- The UltraLight terminal is a small device without a screen, only with a keyboard. It is intended for small and medium organizations. There are two versions of the UltraLight terminal: “Print and Copy” and “Print”. The terminal only for printing is designed for specialized printers and provides security printing. The terminal for printing and copying has the same capabilities as the terminal only for printing, but with additional functionality, including unlocking the MFP for copying and scanning.
- A more advanced Terminal Pro is equipped with a color touch display and allows users to manage tasks directly from the terminal, rather than using the MFP interface. Terminal Pro allows you to confirm printing, copying and scanning, manage tasks, process saved tasks and keep records.
Terminal Pro with touchscreen and working interface
- The built - in terminal is a program that is installed directly on the multifunction device. It uses the control panel of the printing device itself, so there is no need to connect external terminals. The built-in terminal can be used in combination with readers for contactless cards, with which the user can identify themselves on the MFP. Such terminals have the same functionality as Terminal Pro. But besides this, they support multitasking of the MFP (when it simultaneously performs several operations) and additional functionality of the YSoft SafeQ scanning control.
YSoft USB Reader can be connected to such a terminal, through which you can authenticate on the device using a special card, not a password.
Plug-in card reader for reading employee cards
- Mobile terminal - an application that is installed on an Android or iOS device and allows you to send documents directly from a smartphone or tablet to print. User identification in this case occurs using QR codes, and in some cases using NFC technology.
Another important security element is the absence of a password store in the system. All secret combinations that users enter for authorization in the web interface or on a printing device are checked by the system through their MD5 sums. Thus, a person who once entered the system will not be able to gain access to user accounts or printing devices unauthorized, because hacking MD5 sums will require enormous computing power and no less amount of time that does not fit into any reasonable framework.
The monitoring and monitoring system YSoft SafeQ can analyze and audit even for individual print jobs. There are such features as a preview of the first page, the output of the name of the print job, the date of acceptance and the time it was completed, as well as the number of printed pages and the percentage of their completion. For this, the following methods of communication with devices are used:
- Function " Simple Monitoring ". This tool allows you to record all operations for a specific device and stores information about individual tasks. After the user logs out, the device transmits information about the operations performed to the YSoft SafeQ base. This feature is configured separately for each device.
- Online monitoring . Function allowing YSoft SafeQ to communicate directly with devices via SNMP. The system sends requests within the specified limits and determines the current state of the device counters. With this method of communication, YSoft SafeQ tries to determine the exact number of printed pages, although there may be discrepancies and inaccuracies. They can be caused by a paper jam or interruption of tasks performed by users.
- Offline monitoring . Used in situations where inline or online tracking is not supported by the printing system. When using this method, the print job is taken into account immediately after execution, without checking the status of the job during printing.
- Monitoring the filling of the toner . The tool analyzes the level of actual toner filling for each page of the print job. The analysis is carried out on all points of applying toner on each page of the document
If the enterprise has printers that are not connected to the network, they are monitored locally. Software is installed on each workstation to track print queues at that station. This print data is then sent to the YSoft SafeQ server, where it is processed and stored for reporting.
The system can work with industrial printers. To do this, they must be equipped with an external controller, such as an EFI Fiery or FreeFlow.
YSoft SafeQ is able to monitor the working status of printing devices. If a device fails or needs attention, YSoft SafeQ immediately notifies the administrator or person in charge of a breakdown via the web interface or by e-mail, which allows you to quickly and promptly fix the problem.
To provide the collected information to management and administrators in YSoft SafeQ there is a convenient reporting system. Reporting can be made both for the company as a whole, and for individual devices, divisions, projects, users, etc., as well as in different combinations. Its main functions are:
- Accurate tracking of all printing, copying and scanning operations;
- Automatic sending of reports according to the schedule to your mailbox or to the specified folder;
- The output of reports in various formats (html, xls, xml, csv), the construction of visual infographics and charts.
Reports can be created manually or automatically. The second option is more convenient - they will be regularly configured without administrator actions and sent to specified mailboxes or folders (for example, management or auditors). To do this, simply enter the type of report, period, recipients and output format. You can use report templates. With them, you can easily create, for example, regular reports for managers of specific departments or feedback on the performance of individual users for heads of departments. Reports can be generated at any time and modified according to your requirements.
The central reporting system allows you to collect information from all branches and offices of the organization. It can be configured for a small company with several offices, and for an international corporation with many departments and divisions.
Statistics and reporting is also available for ordinary employees. To view this information, they need to log in to the system’s web interface via a supported browser. Information available to the user is determined by the administrator. For example, this may include print statistics for a selected period, information about devices used, etc.
The YSoft SafeQ system is primarily aimed at managing and optimizing printing. But there is another important aspect of office activity - document scanning. Here YSoft SafeQ will also come to the rescue. The system will help organize the monitoring of the routing of scanned files. Devices equipped with YSoft SafeQ terminals allow users to send scans to their mailbox or folder without having to enter an email address or folder path. And, of course, all the functions of monitoring, reporting and security are also present.
By organizing the system in your company, you can count on the help of Ysoft specialists. If necessary, they will conduct training of staff and administrators, help in project management and will provide support in the field of software.
YSoft SafeQ system allows you to optimize all processes related to printing. It is suitable for small companies with one or several departments, as well as for giant corporations with many offices and divisions. The system has a flexible configuration, high security and a well-thought-out work optimization system. All this makes it possible to significantly reduce the cost of printing in the long term. Some YSoft customers claim that this way you can save 30% of the money spent on printing and even more.
YSoft SafeQ is a server application that provides additional functionality for printing devices and elements interacting with them. With it, you will be able to build a corporate printing system, monitor and manage it, ensure the security and protection of confidential data, save a lot on paper and prevent any abuse by employees.
Management and Security
One of the main advantages of the product is the ease of scanning and control. By the time it takes 1-2 days, and to manage the printing system will need one or more administrators.
')
The YSoft SafeQ system is controlled via a web interface. The administrator can enter it from any device connected to the Internet through a supported browser. Inside, besides device management, there is also work with users. For each individual employee, you can configure the level of access to different devices and create rules for them. In total, there are about 20 different rules for employees at different levels in the arsenal of the system.
These rules limit certain functions of printers in accordance with predefined conditions. For a particular printer or MFP, this may be a limitation of the number of pages printed in one job, determining the maximum number of color sheets, forcing the inclusion of two-sided or black-and-white printing. For employees, these rules govern access to certain device capabilities. For example, management can use any functions of printers, and accounting - only black and white printing.
The most important security tool in YSoft SafeQ is user identification. It is carried out using special terminals that connect to printers and multifunction printers (or installed on them when it comes to software). Until the user holds the card on the reader or enters his password, access to printing will be denied to him. This system allows you to determine which employees can use these or other printing devices. For example, the manual can print on any printer in the office, and the staff only on those that are installed in their departments.
This feature is called " Secure Queue ." In practice, it looks like this. An employee sends a print job. It gets to the server, where each user has his own print queue. Going to the printer or the MFP, it is authorized, and then printing begins (in the advanced terminals, you can view the document previews and print only what you need). Through the web interface, you can configure how much work should be stored on the server until it is printed, as well as the size of the repositories.
Within the “Protected Queue”, you can use the Follow Me function. Since print jobs are sent to the YSoft SafeQ server and not to a specific printer, they can “follow” the user to any printing device on the YSoft SafeQ network. For example, a manager or secretary may come to one department and print documents for his employees on a local printer, in another for another, in the third for the third, etc. He does not need to carry a flash drive or a pile of sheets of paper printed in advance. There is a similar function for long distances. It is called Far Roaming. For example, a task in Kiev can be printed by an authorized user in Washington.
There are other options. For example, “ Simple queue ” - when print documents are sent to a pre-selected printer. YSoft SafeQ processes and analyzes the task in order to determine whether the user is authorized to perform it. After printing is completed, the system records all the information about the completed task for reporting.
The “ Shared Queue ” feature allows staff to send print jobs, for example, to a shared department's print queue. These tasks can be confirmed by any member of the department who has the authority to do so. They are credited to the user who has physically confirmed the print job.
Individual users may be available " VIP print queue ." They have the opportunity to decide whom to give permission to confirm assignments on their behalf. This feature is especially useful where managers would like assistants to confirm their assignments. After the task is confirmed by an authorized person, it is recorded on the account of the initiator, for example, the manager.
The system also has the ability to make certain tasks elected . They remain accessible from the user’s stored tasks folder on the terminal. This eliminates the need to repeatedly print the same documents, for example, forms for cost accounting or leave requests.
Three types of terminals are used to identify users:
- The UltraLight terminal is a small device without a screen, only with a keyboard. It is intended for small and medium organizations. There are two versions of the UltraLight terminal: “Print and Copy” and “Print”. The terminal only for printing is designed for specialized printers and provides security printing. The terminal for printing and copying has the same capabilities as the terminal only for printing, but with additional functionality, including unlocking the MFP for copying and scanning.
- A more advanced Terminal Pro is equipped with a color touch display and allows users to manage tasks directly from the terminal, rather than using the MFP interface. Terminal Pro allows you to confirm printing, copying and scanning, manage tasks, process saved tasks and keep records.
Terminal Pro with touchscreen and working interface
- The built - in terminal is a program that is installed directly on the multifunction device. It uses the control panel of the printing device itself, so there is no need to connect external terminals. The built-in terminal can be used in combination with readers for contactless cards, with which the user can identify themselves on the MFP. Such terminals have the same functionality as Terminal Pro. But besides this, they support multitasking of the MFP (when it simultaneously performs several operations) and additional functionality of the YSoft SafeQ scanning control.
YSoft USB Reader can be connected to such a terminal, through which you can authenticate on the device using a special card, not a password.
Plug-in card reader for reading employee cards
- Mobile terminal - an application that is installed on an Android or iOS device and allows you to send documents directly from a smartphone or tablet to print. User identification in this case occurs using QR codes, and in some cases using NFC technology.
Another important security element is the absence of a password store in the system. All secret combinations that users enter for authorization in the web interface or on a printing device are checked by the system through their MD5 sums. Thus, a person who once entered the system will not be able to gain access to user accounts or printing devices unauthorized, because hacking MD5 sums will require enormous computing power and no less amount of time that does not fit into any reasonable framework.
Monitoring
The monitoring and monitoring system YSoft SafeQ can analyze and audit even for individual print jobs. There are such features as a preview of the first page, the output of the name of the print job, the date of acceptance and the time it was completed, as well as the number of printed pages and the percentage of their completion. For this, the following methods of communication with devices are used:
- Function " Simple Monitoring ". This tool allows you to record all operations for a specific device and stores information about individual tasks. After the user logs out, the device transmits information about the operations performed to the YSoft SafeQ base. This feature is configured separately for each device.
- Online monitoring . Function allowing YSoft SafeQ to communicate directly with devices via SNMP. The system sends requests within the specified limits and determines the current state of the device counters. With this method of communication, YSoft SafeQ tries to determine the exact number of printed pages, although there may be discrepancies and inaccuracies. They can be caused by a paper jam or interruption of tasks performed by users.
- Offline monitoring . Used in situations where inline or online tracking is not supported by the printing system. When using this method, the print job is taken into account immediately after execution, without checking the status of the job during printing.
- Monitoring the filling of the toner . The tool analyzes the level of actual toner filling for each page of the print job. The analysis is carried out on all points of applying toner on each page of the document
If the enterprise has printers that are not connected to the network, they are monitored locally. Software is installed on each workstation to track print queues at that station. This print data is then sent to the YSoft SafeQ server, where it is processed and stored for reporting.
The system can work with industrial printers. To do this, they must be equipped with an external controller, such as an EFI Fiery or FreeFlow.
YSoft SafeQ is able to monitor the working status of printing devices. If a device fails or needs attention, YSoft SafeQ immediately notifies the administrator or person in charge of a breakdown via the web interface or by e-mail, which allows you to quickly and promptly fix the problem.
Reporting
To provide the collected information to management and administrators in YSoft SafeQ there is a convenient reporting system. Reporting can be made both for the company as a whole, and for individual devices, divisions, projects, users, etc., as well as in different combinations. Its main functions are:
- Accurate tracking of all printing, copying and scanning operations;
- Automatic sending of reports according to the schedule to your mailbox or to the specified folder;
- The output of reports in various formats (html, xls, xml, csv), the construction of visual infographics and charts.
Reports can be created manually or automatically. The second option is more convenient - they will be regularly configured without administrator actions and sent to specified mailboxes or folders (for example, management or auditors). To do this, simply enter the type of report, period, recipients and output format. You can use report templates. With them, you can easily create, for example, regular reports for managers of specific departments or feedback on the performance of individual users for heads of departments. Reports can be generated at any time and modified according to your requirements.
The central reporting system allows you to collect information from all branches and offices of the organization. It can be configured for a small company with several offices, and for an international corporation with many departments and divisions.
Statistics and reporting is also available for ordinary employees. To view this information, they need to log in to the system’s web interface via a supported browser. Information available to the user is determined by the administrator. For example, this may include print statistics for a selected period, information about devices used, etc.
Additional features and services
The YSoft SafeQ system is primarily aimed at managing and optimizing printing. But there is another important aspect of office activity - document scanning. Here YSoft SafeQ will also come to the rescue. The system will help organize the monitoring of the routing of scanned files. Devices equipped with YSoft SafeQ terminals allow users to send scans to their mailbox or folder without having to enter an email address or folder path. And, of course, all the functions of monitoring, reporting and security are also present.
By organizing the system in your company, you can count on the help of Ysoft specialists. If necessary, they will conduct training of staff and administrators, help in project management and will provide support in the field of software.
What is the result
YSoft SafeQ system allows you to optimize all processes related to printing. It is suitable for small companies with one or several departments, as well as for giant corporations with many offices and divisions. The system has a flexible configuration, high security and a well-thought-out work optimization system. All this makes it possible to significantly reduce the cost of printing in the long term. Some YSoft customers claim that this way you can save 30% of the money spent on printing and even more.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/315844/
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