Most successful companies realized pretty early on that with current networking capabilities, it was not cost-effective for each employee to have a separate printer. Most printers are not being put into continuous service by a single employee, so sharing printers is a logical cost-saving measure. As long as the networked printers are within easy access of the employees that need to use them, there is usually no need for additional printers.
Network Printing
Network printing functions through use of a print server, which is a system that allows multiple computers to link through the fileserver to a single printer. Although there are other configurations, in the most common configuration, the printer is cabled to the print server, which receives the print requests from the user at his or her individual computer station and sends it to the printer. Today, these "print servers" are small cards that are located inside of "network ready" printers.
Network Printing and Efficiency
If you are not using a network printing system, you are probably wasting time and money. In addition to the cost of procuring extra printers and the time wasted installing them, having many printers instead of one or two networked printers can be inefficient on a number of levels. There is the cost of maintenance and repair for the extra printers, and the time wasted by employees who do not have their own printers e-mailing documents to employees who do.
Network Printing for Your Company
Setting up quality network printing operation, one where every employee who needs to has easy access to one of the printers and where the connections for each computer to the appropriate printer are running smoothly can radically increase your efficiency. Network printing is a key component of a streamlined business operation in the modern marketplace.
