Printer front panels have evolved from traditional fixed ones with limited features to larger, color, touch-screen capable panels that include Web services/Java-based applications. However, most of these features are confined only to high-end multi-functional printers (MFPs), and Printer OEMs have had limited success in attracting software developers to port applications on their proprietary front panels due to the significant efforts involved.
Thinxtream’s Smart Front Panel is a feature-rich, low-cost front panel software that can be integrated with any Printer OEM’s MFPs. It is designed to harness the existing rich smartphone/tablet application ecosystem, offering additional features over the default MFP feature-set, leveraging cloud services to increase functionality and enhancing mobility by transporting the front panel functionality from the MFP to a smartphone/tablet. It can be deployed as a virtual smart panel or a dedicated smart panel and also be customized to address industry-specific application requirements.
The Smart Front Panel helps Printer OEMs to offer their end users a richer printing experience, in a cost-effective manner, by
- Easily expanding the feature set from the conventional print, scan and fax functionality, across their entire range of MFPs
- Enabling printing for an existing application ecosystem
- Efficiently addressing business needs such as consumables fulfillment, remote device management, service support and intelligent job management
- Offering dynamic capabilities and facilitating customization even after shipment
