Customisation made by Sharp – the new OSA network scanner tool: Individualised printing and scanning profiles for an optimised workflow

Anyone who regularly converts paper documents into digital form knows how monotonous and time consuming this work can be - especially when it is necessary to check and potentially reset various scan parameters in the MFP with every operation. The new Sharp OSA network scanner tool can be used to combine different manual work steps so that they can be completed with the push of a button. ‘We have developed our new software specifically for small and medium-sized companies with up to ten multifunction devices and 30 users’, explains Javed Sayyed 'Product Marketing Manager - Solutions' at Sharp Middle East.  ‘It enables more individual settings with a small amount of central administration – a benefit in terms of time and money which should not be underestimated.’

Scanning and printing with profile

The Sharp OSA network scanner tool allows the user to create as many task profiles for recurrent scanning or printing operations as desired. As soon as a task has to be carried out again, the user only needs to activate the profile and the previously determined settings, configurations and parameters will be automatically adopted.

During scanning, for instance, it is possible to create a profile which scans a stack of documents with the required resolution, processes separator sheets, deletes blank pages, straightens the document, eliminates unattractive spots and aligns each page properly.  The same profile is able to send scans in the desired format to selectable destinations and simultaneously create an e-mail with an embedded link, which informs colleagues of new scans available. Scan profiles can also be used with the function ‘optical character recognition’ (OCR) to create and distribute automatically searchable PDFs and editable text files from the scanned documents. Digital documents can be saved in PDF/A format for long-term archiving.  The ‘form classification’ function is particularly practical for processing many documents in paper form, such as invoices and forms from regular suppliers: It recognises the document, extracts and saves the data for keywording and then files it at the intended location.

The OSA network scanner tool also opens new possibilities for printing: the MFP’s control panel can be used directly to search for, preview and print files located on linked PCs or public folders. The printing profiles can be used to adopt settings regarding the number of copies, printing quality, one or two-sided printing, colour or black-and-white printing, page alignment as well as finishing options such as sorting sequence, stapling and perforation for the document, without having to define them individually.

Modules make it possible

The OSA network scanner tool is a client-server application consisting of a server-based host module and a PC-based client module. The host module runs as a web application on a central server and functions as a ‘gateway’ between the MFP and the user PCs.  The host module is controlled from a web interface which an administrator uses to manage licences and conduct central settings, install client modules on linked PCs via remote access and interact with the user interface on the MFP’s control panel. The client module can be conveniently installed from the server using a ‘push installation’ and runs in the background of any PC: The network grants the MFP user access to his/her PC via the control panel.

‘Sharp has been producing reliable printers and multifunction products for decades and is constantly developing newer, more efficient document administration possibilities’, says Javed. ‘Our goal is to contribute to productivity at the workplace and the quality of the results this way. Great numbers of satisfied customers all over the world give us the certainty that we will continue to succeed in accomplishing this.’