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The TASKalfa 3554ci series will play a huge part in Education

#03 Kyocera Podcast
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The brand new TASKalfa 3554ci series will make groundbreaking strides in the Education sector. In this podcast we hear expert insights from Sylvestor de Koning, Product Marketing Expert at Kyocera Document Solutions Europe, about what new features and functions make these devices the perfect fit for any school or university. Find out more by listening to Kyocera’s podcast.

Audio transcription

Interviewer:

Hello and welcome to the Kyocera Document Solutions podcast. Today we have with us Sylvester De Koning, Product Marketing Expert at Kyocera Documents Solutions Europe, who will share with us details of Kyocera's new launch of intelligent A3 multifunctional printer TASKalfa devices. With the challenges and pains facing organisations across all industries during this time of great disruption, Kyocera has risen to the occasion by unveiling two brand new A3 colour multifunctional printers, the TASKalfa3554ci and the TASKalfa2554ci.

So Sylvester, how are you doing today?

Sylvester De Koning:

Hi Daniel, I'm doing fine. Thank you for your time!

Interviewer:

Thanks to you too, Sylvester! So, for our listeners who are unfamiliar with the new TASKalfa3554ci Series, can you give us a brief overview of these products, including the key features?

Sylvester De Koning:

Yes, of course Daniel. So, these two products are the latest addition to our already extensive A3 line-up, and they are a part of our flagship models which will eventually replace our current best-selling models. The TASKalfa3554ci and the TASKalfa2554ci are A3 colour copier models with print speeds of 25 PPM and 35 PPM. They will meet the requirements of larger companies, and also fit perfectly into small-medium size workgroups. They have several significant improvements - not only in terms of security, productivity, user experience and environmental impact, but they are also our first models with artificial intelligence functions geared towards the office print environment. 

Alongside these new features, the new series also benefits from the same long-life technology that has been one of Kyocera’s major strengths for many years. Our new user interface gives these products an improved user experience, and they have up-to-date and top-rated security among A3 multifunctional printers. We are also introducing a speed license upgrade system for easier stock management for dealers and partners.

Interviewer:

So, as we understand it, these are upgrades made available for existing devices. What improvements have been made?

Sylvester De Koning:

Yes, so basically the moment you turn on these updated devices, you will immediately notice the fresh, newly designed user interface (UI). The new UI mimics how we nowadays use mobile apps, and has focused on usability that is simple, intuitive, and efficient.

As with our current models, security is one of the focus areas, with many substantial improvements. With the last products we introduced TPM, runtime integrity check, secure boot, and the standard encryption and data overwrite functionality. With the new products we are introducing more up-to-date security features and functions which will be standard for our products. This includes on line Certificate Status Protocol, Automatic update certification, TLS 1.3, and SIEM - Security Information and Event Management- support, to name but a few. These improvements strengthen our overall device security, and we will continuously update and improve our products with the latest security technologies.

On top of this, we are also introducing two highly productive dual scan document processors, with a scan speed of up to 200ipm. And its high-end document processor also features a double-feed sensor and a staple detection sensor, which ensures that you never miss out on a valuable scan again. Together with that, there is an impressive 320-sheet input capacity and several scanner improvements, which will boost customers' overall productivity.  

In terms of image quality, these products are equipped with new image processor technology, to give high image quality, with sharp and outstanding results, and print output has been hugely improved by adopting a new quad-core CPU of 1.6 gigahertz. This new processor also allows us to reduce energy consumption, resulting in a lower environmental impact and electricity bills. 

As mentioned, these two products will be the first in our product range to use artificial intelligence technology. These new AI features are Super Resolution and Handwriting - functions which improve productivity and efficiency. New functions can also be added after purchase and installation, so we can continue to develop new functions that utilise AI technology, even after we launch these models. This way we can keep on updating our MFPs and help customers to enjoy product improvements even after purchase.

 

Interviewer:

So just returning to the first strength and upgrade that you mentioned: usability. Can you tell us what changes have been made to ensure a smooth user experience?

Sylvester De Koning:

This new interface has improved almost every aspect of operating our devices. Taking into consideration how our customers interact with tablets and smartphones, this interface mimics nowadays' trends to create real tablet-like experience. These models introduce a simple, intuitive and efficient user interface with a 10.1-inch system display, with a full colour touch panel for quick access to a wide range of functions. The number of hard keys has also been reduced and replaced with simple icons and graphics, and gesture-based transitions between screens.

Interviewer: 

That's fantastic. So, for our listeners in the education sector, can you clarify the key features that make these devices ideal for their industry?

Sylvester De Koning:

For the education sector, I would say the high-speed scanning will make teachers’ lives much easier, and also the lives of academic staff or university students who need to scan big volumes of questionnaires or theses. On top of that, the artificial intelligence functions, specifically the enhanced Handwriting feature, will be key for teachers and academics, making their lives a lot easier by helping them reduce errors, increase their productivity and to save frustrating time stood at the printer.

Interviewer:

Education technology professionals often lack confidence in their print security solutions. What functions will protect devices from cyberattacks?

Sylvester De Koning:

So, first of all, the devices are protected with user authentication. But I think for technology professionals, the newly implemented standard security features on the device will be key to the security of the institution’s data. For example, SIEM which ensures secure email communication, is one of the things which will help.

SIEMS, the Security Information and Event Management System helps IT administrators monitor device activity, to ensure that devices are still secure and protected, and how they have been used in the last couple of weeks or months. They can extract that information from the device and see how it has been operated. If there has been malicious use of the device, they will be able to see this and react to it. 

Interviewer:

How can the artificial intelligence in these new devices help with workflow?

Sylvester De Koning:

AI will have particularly large benefits for the education vertical in this regard. This feature is able to recognise handwriting on a piece of paper, which can make life in schools and universities much easier. For example, if teachers or researchers are dealing with questionnaires completed by hand, they can scan the document and use the intelligent Handwriting tool to emphasize it, making the information much easier to work with. If, for example, they have a thesis with written comments in the margins, they can highlight it with the Handwriting tool, thus giving students clearer feedback. They can also remove handwriting from documents completely if they no longer need it. Therefore, it is a really useful way to clarify professor feedback and to reduce errors or unwanted notes on documents.

Interviewer:

Moving on to usability, what benefits can you tell us about with regards to this?

Sylvester De Koning:

Not only in the education sector, but every single sector can benefit from how easy it is to operate our devices using our new user interfaces. With the brand-new interface, it is clearer and more understandable for teachers and students how to operate the devices and how to get to the correct print setting they require. To address this, we have created a simple way of operating our devices, and an intuitive way of moving through the different menus on the device. And that will, I think, overall benefit every single user and also the education sector.

Interviewer:

Fantastic. These seem like impeccable devices. That's all we have time for today, Sylvester. Thank you very much for having this chat with me today. 

Sylvester De Koning:

Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for your time. I was happy to be here.

Interviewer:

Take care. Thank you.

For more information on the latest TASKalfa 3554ci series, visit KyoceraDocumentSolutions.eu. Thanks for listening.

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If you haven't read this yet…

Discover innovation at its best with the new TASKalfa 3554ci series.

Find out more about new TASKalfa 3554ci series

  • Go to the TASKalfa 2554ci product page

    Multifunctional products that enhances security and efficiency, this product is the ideal solution.

  • Go to TASKalfa 3554ci product page

    With advanced measures in security and usability, this product ensures that information is kept under virtual lock.

Keep listening KYOCERA's podcast

Listen to what our expert has to say on the future of the printing industry, document management, digital transformation & more.

  • Listen to the #01 KYOCERA Podcast now

    Introducing the TASKalfa 3554ci series

  • Listen to the #02 KYOCERA Podcast now

    TASKalfa 3554ci series: Built for the Legal industry

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