10ZiG Launches Print Management Solution

July 14, 2009 Alex Woodie

10ZiG Technology (formerly BOSaNOVA) last week unveiled a new print management product called ProximityPrint Q (PPQ) that’s aimed at ensuring the security of printed materials, while tracking printouts and reducing waste at the same time.

PPQ is composed of a physical device that’s installed at the printer or copiers (see Figure A.) and software that installs on the server. Print jobs are held on the server until a user is authenticated at the device with an RFID-enabled smartcard.

Figure A. Users must authenticate themselves before picking up their print-outs when 10ZiG’s new PPQ print management device is installed on a printer or copier.

By providing authentication, PPQ ensures that no document is accessed by a person other than the intended recipient. The company cites research that shows that up to 20 percent of all print-outs are not picked up by the intended recipient, either because they were inadvertently left at the printer or they were picked up (mistakenly or intentionally) by somebody else.

PPQ can help to reduce the number of documents printed or copied by tracking printer output (and communicating the findings to the offenders). The product also enables “follow-me” printing functionality, which allows a user to pick up his print job at any printer, regardless of where it was intended to be printed.

“Most companies are looking for ways to cut back, but oftentimes the result is that security is overlooked,” says 10ZiG president Martin Pladgeman. “With PPQ, security is enhanced while printing costs are cut. Using a secure print management solution allows companies to easily and quickly cut costs and lessen their impact on the environment by reducing wasted paper.”

PPQ works with any printer and most copy machines. A Web interface is provided for management functions and for tallying each user’s use of the printer or copier. For more information, visit www.10zig.com