Safer and cheaper printing for schools

Better security: Ricoh Ireland’s Alan Mason

Office and printing solutions specialist Ricoh Ireland has unveiled a biometric authentication system for its multi-functional products through a partnership with Equitrac and BioStore.

Together they aim to help Ricoh customers securely release sensitive information from its printers and MFPs. The combined technologies create a secure environment from which only the allocated user’s fingerprint can release documents.

 

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Equitrac software provides customers with the tools needed to efficiently monitor, manage and recover documents. It works in tandem with BioStore’s centralised Identity Management System, allowing a single token of identity to be used across separate applications within an organisation.

Ricoh Ireland MD Alan Mason notes: “MFPs are gateways to an organisation’s network and, if not properly secured, can lead to breaches in data security that could have brutal implications.”

He added: “Customers can now incorporate biometric authentication into their overall document security strategy, providing one of the most secure methods of print verification.”

Ricoh, BioStore and Equitrac all have strong ties with the education sector, a vast potential market for biometric technology.

Equitrac’s Jeroen Kamphuis notes: “Student safety is a matter of concern for all educational facilities. Unlike card- and password-protected authentication, biometric characteristics cannot be misappropriated through bullying. Fingerprint technology is the safest possible way to identify the user.”

Kamphuis points out that biometric systems obviate the need for costly replacement of cards in schools.