As we move into what’s being dubbed as the “post-pandemic” world, organizations are starting to figure out what the future of work looks like. While many businesses continue to support remote work and flexible arrangements, many others have already begun making their way back into the office.
But the office is certainly going to look different than it did before the pandemic. In fact, today’s office will be characterized by touchless technology. Automatic doors, hands-free light switches, voice-activated temperature controls and other technologies that reduce contact in shared spaces will become commonplace.
That means the way teams use shared hardware will change as well. We expect to see a shift towards touchless printing and copying.
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In this blog we take a look at what touchless printing and copying is, why it’s important in today’s office and how your organization can enable touchless printing in your office to reduce contact on shared devices.
What is touchless printing and copying?
The traditional printing workflow goes something like this… You send a document to the printer, you enter a PIN on the printer by touching the device interface and then you touch another button to release the document.
When you consider that multiple people will do this each day, that’s a lot of contact on a shared device in your office.
Touchless printing, also known as touch-free print or contactless printing, is an alternative printing workflow that significantly reduces contact on shared surfaces such as multi-functional printers or copiers.
With contactless printing, users can easily print, scan and send documents while minimizing unnecessary touch points on shared devices. This can be done through a variety of methods, including mobile print release, swipe cards, and even voice recognition.
Why touchless printing is important in today’s office
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we think about touching shared surfaces. When it comes to your shared office technology, there’s no doubt that your printers and copiers are the most frequently touched surfaces.
Office printing and copying is a regular business workflow that requires touching a heavily-trafficked shared surface. Employees can use shared printers multiple times a day, and if you have a team of 15 employees and they all need to use the printer, then that’s 15 different people all touching the same surface in one day.
To keep teams safe, limit contact on shared surfaces and mitigate future virus transmission risk, there will be a move towards touchless printing over the next year.
How to enable touchless printing/copying
There are a number of ways in which your business can enable touchless printing to minimize contact on shared surfaces. These are just a few of the most common methods.
Swipe cards: Card readers on printers and copiers can be used to authenticate actions. This touch-free solution works by simply automatically releasing a print after users swipe their card at the printer.
Mobile print release: Mobile print release allows users to authenticate print jobs with nothing more than their mobile devices. Users are able to select the print job for release and choose a designated printer before releasing their print. QR codes can also be placed on printers and scanned by mobile devices to speed up the launch of the mobile print release app.
Voice recognition: In some printers and copiers, voice recognition allows for a contactless printing experience. Users can interact with devices using simple verbal commands to print, copy and scan documents.
Are you interested in learning more about contactless printing and how your organization can get started? Get in touch with OT Group today, Our team of office technology experts would love to answer your questions.
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