Panasonic is launching three new models in its series of WORKiO digital imaging systems, designed for workgroups of 20 or more, at this week’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference and exhibition in Las Vegas.
The multifunction WORKiO DP-6010, 4510 and 3510 are document management systems that can be connected to a local area network right out of the box thanks to the built-in 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet interface. They also come with a parallel interface if you really have to connect them to a PC. Panasonic is shipping the DP-6010 (which costs US$17,995) and 4510 ($12,995) to its dealers later this month, and is scheduled to ship the DP-3510 in July. The price for the latter hasn’t been announced.
With the WORKiO series in copy mode, the half-VGA (640 x 240 pixels) display shows both the original image and what the final output will look like, for WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) operation. They copy at 60 (the DP-6010), 45 (DP-4510), and 35 (DP-3510) copies per minute, with a first-copy time of under 3.5 seconds. They offer 600 x 600-dpi resolution (though image enhancement technology can pump up printout quality to 1200 dpi equivalent) and 256-level grayscale. Panasonic has also incorporated new image processing technology in the series, including ultra fine toner and carrier particles that are 20 percent smaller and provide accurate image reproduction, according to Paul Wharton, Panasonic’s national marketing manager for copier/fax/MFP systems.
The new WORKiO models’ standard Ethernet interface enable a number of convenience features, he added. Concurrent Copy allows the system to handle up to 12 jobs at a time. For extra-large-volume copying, Tandem Copy enables two WORKiOs to work jointly on a single job. With Remote Copy, jobs can be sent to another WORKiO unit in another room or even on another floor. Proof Copy outputs a proof set for double-checking before committing to a large quantity.
The printer can be controlled from a desktop, letting you check the virtual printed results on the left side of the printer driver screen while specifying commands via the graphical user interface (GUI). Finishing results can be confirmed on-screen, and with the new visual status monitor, the status of a remote WORKiO can be checked in real-time. Plus, documents can be stored in a user’s personal mailbox or security box — with space for up to 100 users — and printed at a later time.
Using the enhanced graphical user interface, the print queue can be viewed and even deleted for each print or copy job, and approximate job times can be displayed. If on a network, the administrator can monitor device status with the job queue and other WORKiO controls, and also set up or configure the system.
With network scanning capability, originals up to ledger size can be converted to personal computer data. The standard, automatic duplex document feeder holds up to 70 sheets (letter) at a time and can batch feed pages (limited only by the amount of memory installed).
The new systems allow a user to either convert a paper document into your computer data using the Scan-to-File function, or scan a paper document and send the scanned data to a specified computer using the Scan-to-PC function. With Scan-to-FTP (file transfer protocol), scanned data can be transferred to an FTP server on the network, so images can be downloaded to a client computer or transferred to another network via the Internet. Images can be automatically scanned to TIFF-F or PDF file formats and can directly launch third party applications such as optical character recognition software.
The previously mentioned, and optional, fax communication kit transforms a WORKiO system into a 33.6 kbps fax, transmitting at about 3 seconds per page (letter). With the Internet fax option, paper documents are converted to TIFF-F image files and transmitted as e-mail attachments via the LAN.
The WORKiOs have a standard paper capacity of up to 2,150 sheets, with options for up to 6,250 sheets. There’s also a standard, built-in, stackless duplex unit.