ePaper

Sentinel - the Printing System

Sentinel - The Need

Sentinel™ addresses the need of control of printed information in organizations with numerous printers in a variety of locations:

  • Security. Common experience indicates that many printouts are not collected by employees who have sent a document to the printer. Sometimes they are never collected, or they are collected after a long time, or they are collected by unauthorized personnel. Sensitive information—commercial, personnel, or employee—may reach undesirable targets through visitors, cleaning staff, or unauthorized employees.
  • Management. There is a general need to know about the use of resources in an organization.
  • Economy. With the advent of low-cost color printers, printing has become a significant expense issue. Tight control of the printing system leads to economy of ink and paper.
  • Environment. Excessive use of paper is one of the factors that significantly contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
 

Sentinel - Functionality

Sentinel™Sentinel™ consists of printing management software, which is installed on the printer server (or servers), and of devices located adjacent to the printers in the system.

When a user sends a document to the printer, the printout is locked at the level of the server. It can be released by passing an authorization card through the device or typing a code. The printer can be the same printer designated by the user when he sent the document to the printer, or another printer.

The printout can also be released through a web interface, either by the printing system manager or by the user, if he is authorized to do so.

The printing management software, which is accessed through the web interface, enables the following functions:

  • Security management - Authorizing users (individual or groups) to use specific printers and to use the web interface according to the organization policy; monitoring security by analyzing printing information.
  • Printing management - Authorizing users to a quota of black and white/colored pages; reports of resources usage per user: printers, printouts, pages (black and white, colored).

The web interface allows access to the Sentinel™ software. In addition, it enables authorized users to release printouts to specific printers, delete printouts and delay printouts.

 

Sentinel - Main Features

The main features of Sentinel™:

  • Enables printing only after identification of the user by placing a card, typing a code, or releasing the print job from a web interface.
  • Counts and controls the number of pages printed by each user, and optionally types a billing code in addition to the user name (for customer billing purposes).
  • Transfers a print job automatically from one printer to another (sending a print to printer A and passing a card at the device near printer B will cause the print job to automatically be printed by printer B, next to the user).
  • Enables setting a print quota for each user, and prevents printing by users who have used up their black/white or color quota.
  • Enables defining a printer as accessible to specific users only, and as accessible to all users excluding a specific user group.
  • Includes comprehensive web interface, enabling user control over print jobs submitted but not yet released, including the ability to cancel, delay, and release print jobs.
  • Enables management reports, sorted by predefined parameters, such as how many pages each user printed, how many pages were printed by a specific printer, etc.
  • Sends to the system administrator by email on-line warnings and errors upon occurrence of certain events, such as use of an unauthorized card.
  • Sends the print request to the printer.

Sentinel Specifications

Sentinel Brochure