Re: RFC: Definitions of Workgroup, Enterprise, and Production Printers

Michael Sweet via ipp <[email protected]> Tue, 18 Jan 2022 15:01:52 -0500
Newsgroups	gmane.ietf.ipp
Message-ID	<[email protected]>
Smith,

> On Jan 18, 2022, at 12:46 PM, Kennedy, Smith (Wireless & IPP Standards) <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Hi there,
> 
>> On Jan 17, 2022, at 7:32 AM, Michael Sweet via ipp <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 
>> Signed PGP part
>> Bill, thanks.  Responses inline below...
>> 
>>> 	• I tend to think of a workgroup printer as being in a work environment and serving a group of people. What would one call my printer at home? Or the printers attached to specific workstations (e.g., receptionists) or printers in medical exam rooms (used for prescriptions, or information on problems for parents.
>> 
>> I went with the notion that any small (SOHO) network printer is a "workgroup" printer, but we could add a separate category for printers that are exclusively marketed as home printers.  Or we could use the SOHO acronym to clarify what we mean by workgroup?
> 
> Many "home" class printers these days are Wi-Fi enabled. The boundary between SOHO vs. SMB is tricky.

For the purposes of an IPP specification, I think we can assume that the printer either has Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet networking or uses IPP-USB.  And these days both workgroup and enterprise printers can be found in SMB environments (i.e. you have one big enterprise MFP/copier for the office and a bunch of smaller workgroup printers for key people/groups), all tied into a single managed service/plan.

I think the key difference (in my mind) is that a Workgroup Printer is meant for use by a small number of people (possibly just one person) for printing a relatively small number of pages while an Enterprise Printer is meant to be used by a large number of people (a whole office/site) to print a large number of pages.

Beyond that, I think we actually have six distinct categories:

- Workgroup/desktop/home, small office printers with one or two paper trays (possibly with a separate manual feed slot), often with duplexers.  Most only support "small format" (Letter/Legal/A4) paper sizes, a few might go up to 13x19 ("medium format"), and an even smaller number specializing in photo/fine art printing that support roll printing (but have no cutter).  Maximum rated volume is typically a few thousand pages per month.

- Enterprise printers with multiple paper trays, duplexer, staple, punch, and/or fold finisher options, and output handling options (mailboxes, etc.)  Most also support release (PIN or otherwise) printing and can be configured for a wide variety of enterprise-y (job storage, accounting, IAA, etc.) or specialized (MICR for banking, etc.) features.  Physically most can be installed on a desk but more often are installed on the floor with tray/storage bases from the vendor. Maximum rated volume is typically tens to hundreds of thousands of pages per month.

- (Light) Production printers with multiple paper trays, duplexer, and wide variety of finishers. They often require dedicated power circuits and service personnel, and provide document processing features such as imposition and accounting/banner/error/insert sheets.  Maximum rated volume is typically hundreds of thousands to millions of pages per month.

- Large format roll-fed printers with special output bins/rolls and cutters for printing large banners, posters, etc. Typically these provide some kinds of production features (imposition/layout in particular) and enhanced color management functionality.

- Label/receipt printers in home, retail, and industrial settings for printing everything from your grocery receipt to the serial/model # label that goes on a manufactured product, easily tens of trillions of "pages" each year as a category.  Cutters are a common finisher option.  Almost all use direct thermal or thermal transfer printing technology.

- Card printers (retail/enterprise/industrial) for printing drivers licenses and other ID cards along with credit/bank cards.  Magnetic strips, RFID chips, and other technologies are often embedded, and many support two-sided printing and embossing functions as well.

The latter two are only slowly adopting modern network protocols/standards.

________________________
Michael Sweet

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