A deep knowledge of customer needs and preferences is key to providing an excellent product or service and enhancing customer loyalty. With “Get to Know Your Customers Day” coming up on April 20, this is a great opportunity for businesses to gain greater insight into their customers’ requirements and expectations.
At Mopria Alliance, we bring together industry leaders in print and scan to create standardized user experiences for seamless operation. We reached out to several alliance members for their input on the most in-demand current or future print and scan features and functionalities, as identified by their industry insights and customer knowledge.
Whether you’re an individual working in the print or scan industry, or a small, medium or large business considering the best print or scan tech infrastructure, or a remote worker updating your home office, this expertise from Mopria Alliance members can be invaluable when considering current and future workplace needs.
Read on to hear what they had to say:
WHAT IS THE #1 CUSTOMER REQUEST WHEN IT COMES TO PRINT FUNCTIONALITY?
“Answer: Please print this document just like it appears on my screen.
Whether you’re a full-service print provider or building a ‘self-service’ solution for web-to-print or home office use, a common pain-point is faithfully reproducing the expectations of the customer when transferring their document from screen to paper. The key to solving this problem is to use a standardized file-format like PDF which faithfully encodes the colors, fonts and layout of the pages in a single, self-contained file. While other file formats may cut corners, the sacrifices made can damage the integrity of the information shared with the printer – omitting important information about fonts, or reducing the quality of images – which means that the document may look different when printed. For additional confidence, when asking for print-ready files or preparing for print, you can ask for or create “PDF/X” or “PDF/A” file which will guarantee the integrity of the contents.
Printing using the Mopria Print Service on Android uses PDF so that the ‘print preview’ you see is a rendering of a PDF version of your document. If your Mopria Certified printer supports PDF, the same PDF is then sent to the printer for output.”
Mike Scrutton, Director of Print Technology and Strategy, Adobe
WHAT NEAR-FUTURE NEEDS DO YOU ANTICIPATE FOR PRINT OR SCAN BASED ON CURRENT WORKPLACE TRENDS?
“Based on current workplace trends, I anticipate that the following near-future needs will emerge for print and scan:
1. Enhanced Security Features: With the increasing emphasis on data privacy and security, workplaces will need printers and scanners with advanced security features, such as biometric authentication, encrypted data transformation, and secure print release.
2. Mobile Printing: As more employees work remotely or on-the-go, there will be a growing need for mobile printing solutions that allow users to print from their smartphones, tablets, or laptops.
3. Cloud-Based Printing: Cloud-based printing will become more popular in the near future, as it offers the flexibility to print from anywhere and on any device, while also providing centralized control and management.
4. Environmental Sustainability: With an increasing focus on sustainability, workplaces will look for printer and scanners that use less energy, have smaller carbon footprint, and can recycle materials.
5. AI and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning technologies will play an increasing role in print and scan solutions, enabling automated workflows, predictive maintenance, and intelligent document processing.”
Dilinur Wushour, Manager, Software Applications Development, Kyocera Document Solutions
WHAT IS THE CURRENT MOST-POPULAR PRINT OR SCAN FEATURE?
“Based on past observations and industry reports, some of the most popular print or scan features in recent years are wireless, mobile, and cloud printing and scanning, duplex printing, and automatic document feeder (ADF) which allows scanning of multiple pages at once. These features have become increasingly popular and important as people`s cost-consciousness increase and the popularity of remote work due to the COVID epidemic have impacted the world.”
Harvey Shimizu, Chief of Alliance Project, Canon Inc.
