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A print driver is software that translates data from your device (computer, laptop, mobile, etc.) into a format the printer can understand. Some print drivers are tailored for everyday office needs while others are tailored for high quality graphics. The type of print driver you need will vary based on print needs and usage, but there are 4 basic print drivers. PCL (printer control/command language) print drivers are the most common and they are dependent on devices to function properly. PS (postscript) print drivers are independent from devices (meaning they don't need a computer or phone to operate) and are made for high quality graphics but run a bit slower than PCLs. Universal print drivers simplifies driver management, especially in multi-brand environments, but can affect the features available when printing. Manufactured specific drivers are made by the same manufacturer, meant to enhance features and print quality. Importance: Compatibility/communication with devices and printers. Advanced features (stapling, duplex, etc.) Optimization of resolution and color settings. Managing print options with preview, scaling, or page preference. The most important feature of a print driver is the communication between printers and devices. Most universal print drivers can communicate with printer and device regardless of device or printer brand, but not all print drivers can. For example, downloading a Xerox print driver to print on an HP printer can compromise the accuracy and quality of the print job. Print drivers also need regular updates. If you are ever having issues getting advanced features assigned to a print job, you likely just needed to update your print driver. Which Print Driver is the Best? While there is not a perfect print driver coined as the "best" there are certain industries that would benefit more using a specific print driver. For example, a lawyer's office will likely need a manufactured print driver to have access to all of their advanced features (using legal paper, stapling, configurations). A hybrid workplace where employees use their personal printers will need to be a universal print driver, due to the variety of printer brands and lack of control. Any kind of graphic design, print advertisement, or creative company will need a postscript print driver. Usage Print Driver Best For? General office use PCL Everyday business Graphic design and high-quality prints PS Creative professionals Multi-brand environments Universal Mixed brand machines Advanced features used regularly Manufactured Business with specific needs Cloud-Based Print Drivers Cloud printing allows users to send print jobs to printers connected to a cloud service, regardless of their location. With the rise of remote workers and hybrid office spaces, the cloud printing demand has increased as well. Cloud printing requires a cloud service, which relies on the internet and utilizes the cloud infrastructure to optimize print jobs. There are a variety of cloud-based print drivers available on the market today including Microsoft's Universal Driver, Google's Cloud Print, and RICOH's CloudStream. Benefits: Increased accessibility and mobility. Simplified setup and maintenance. Enhanced collaboration and productivity. Cost and resource saving. Challenges: Data privacy and security concerns. Reliability of internet connection. Bandwidth and network requirements. Compatibility and integration with systems. RICOH CloudStream Need to deploy a streamlined print solution effortlessly? RICOH's CloudStream has a variety of features to unleash your hybrid workforce potential. Strengthen security with compliant and zero-trust authentication features (ISO & IEC27001 certified and approved). Streamline print environment and reduce the strain on IT departments. Unify device management with one cloud-based solution, optimized work and costs. Empower remote flexibility by enhancing efficiency and reducing downtime. Manage cloud devices and minimize environmental impacts. Contact Crew-Tech today to learn more!

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting people, systems and data from cyberattacks by using various technology, processes and policies. A cyberattack is a malicious and deliberate attempt to breach the information system of an individual or organization. As technology has advanced, the security systems used to protect information technology have also evolved from endpoint security to two-factor authentication. The International Data Corporation (IDC) projects security spending will reach $377 billion by 2028, subsequently increasing the IT security job market as well. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the job market for information security analysts will grow 32% by 2032. This is likely due to the increase in cyberattacks and the average cost to companies that are attacked. According to IBM, in 2025 the global average cost of a data breach is $4.44 million. While large corporations often skew this average, small businesses are not immune—many spend $46,000 to $100,000 to recover from an attack. According to Smart Financial, in 2023, 61% of phishing scams were targeting small businesses. Regulatory fines due to data breaches are also rising, with the number of organizations paying over $50,000 in fines rising 22.7% and the number of organizations paying over $100,000 in fines rising 19.5%. Common Cybersecurity Threats Ransomware - Malware that holds a victim's data or device hostage, threatening to erase data, keep it locked, or worse unless the victim pays a ransom. Malware - Malicious software; computer programming that is intentionally written to harm a computer system or its end users (92% of malware is sent through email). Phishing scams - A deceptive way to obtain sensitive information, often using malware. AI attacks - AI is being used to advance cyberattacks, with generative AI producing fake emails, applications, and business documents in minutes. Even AI tools an organization utilizes can be a space for attackers to prompt injection attacks, leak sensitive data, spread misinformation or worse. Distributed denial-of-service - A DDoS attack attempts to crash a website by overloading it with traffic. Credential Theft - Stolen or abused login credentials. New Threats Cloud computing raises the risk of cloud misconfiguration, unsecured APIs, and other avenues. Multi-cloud environments have increased attack surfaces, identity access gaps, cloud sprawl, and increased risk for human error. Remote/Hybrid work or utilizing a personal device means more connections for security to protect. Generative AI introduced prompt injection threats, as only 24% of generative AI is secured. Cybersecurity expertise shortage, potentially reaching 85 million unfilled jobs by 2030 and could result in higher data breach costs. What does cybersecurity include? Cybersecurity Domain GRC (Governance, Risk, Compliance) LZT (LAN Zero-Trust) MXDR (Managed Extended Detection & Response) SASE (Secure Access Edge) SIEM (Security Info & Event Management) AI Security ✔️Risk governance for AI models ✔️Identity & access control for AI systems ✔️Threat detection in AI-driven environments ❌ (less relevant) ✔️Logs AI-related anomalies Critical Infrastructure Security ✔️Compliance with NIST/ISO/IEC standards ✔️Network segmentation, access control ✔️24/7 monitoring of OT/ICS systems ❌ (not typically used) ✔️Event correlation for ICS/SCADA Network Security ✔️Policy enforcement, risk audits ✔️Core principle of Zero Trust ✔️Detects lateral movement, network threats ✔️Network edge protection ✔️Monitors traffic anomalies Application Security ✔️Secure SDLC policies, compliance ✔️Least privilege access to apps ✔️Detects app-layer threats ❌ (not a primary use case) ✔️Logs app vulnerabilities Cloud Security ✔️Cloud compliance (SOC 2, ISO, etc.) ✔️Identity federation, access control ✔️Cloud-native threat detection ✔️Core use case: cloud edge security ✔️Cloud log ingestion & analysis Information Security ✔️Data classification, risk management ✔️Data-centric security ✔️Protects data across endpoints & cloud ✔️Data protection at the edge ✔️Detects data exfiltration Identity Security ✔️IAM policy governance ✔️Central to Zero Trust ✔️Identity-based threat detection ✔️Identity-aware access control ✔️Tracks identity misuse Endpoint Security ✔️Device compliance & risk policies ✔️Device trust verification ✔️Endpoint threat detection & response ❌ (not a primary use case) ✔️Logs endpoint behavior & threats There are standards and guidelines that all IT professionals should be following. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offer cybersecurity framework to help IT providers and stakeholders secure critical infrastructure. Though AI security is rapidly evolving, 97% organizations reported an AI-related security incident and 63% lack AI governance policies to manage AI according to IBM. With average recovery times exceeding 100 days, proactive cybersecurity planning is essential. Cybersecurity regulations will vary by industry, for example the healthcare industry has strict security compliance regulations with HIPPA and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). They require employee security measures, encryption of data, access controls, and severe penalties for non-compliance. Cybersecurity Myths Debunked: Strong passwords alone are not enough. Most risk are not well known or contained. No industry is immune to cyber threats. Small businesses are frequently targeted. In today’s world, cybersecurity is no longer optional—it’s essential. As threats grow more sophisticated and widespread, organizations must adopt a proactive, layered approach to security. From ransomware and phishing to AI-driven attacks and cloud vulnerabilities, the risks are evolving, but so are the tools and frameworks to combat them. Whether you're a small business or a global enterprise, investing in cybersecurity not only protects your data and reputation but also ensures long-term resilience in an increasingly digital economy. Staying informed, compliant, and prepared is the best defense in a landscape where the next breach is not a question of if, but when.

Document automation is the process of streamlining the creation, management, and distribution of digital content at a scale to improve quality and efficiency. Essentially document automation involves the process of accessing and assembling complex, data-driven documents such as contracts, reports, and legal documents. The global document processing market is set to exceed $60 billion by 2030. Originally introduced in the 1980s to store copies of various file in one place, document automation has come a long way. Document automation depends on the compatibility with productivity tools most commonly used and integration with the existing Business Process Management (BPM) system. Two features of document automation that are commonly mentioned when discussing what document automation is are merging and customization. Merging in relation to document automation refers to the integration of data from external sources like CRMs and databases to populate templates. Customization refers to incorporating conditional logic into a template, allowing content to adjust automatically based on the conditions. For example, I am sending out an email blast and I would like it to say, "Hello {Customer First Name}" this condition will automatically insert the customers first name unless the data is unknown. There will likely be a "global asset" you can assign in the case of unknown data, which will automatically insert a preset condition like "Valued Customer" to put in place of the first name. Top 5 Benefits of Document Automation: Why would you need to automate document processes? Well, 62% of workers report time wasted recreating content that is not easily assessable (this could be email templates, email signatures, flyers, etc.). On top of this, 94% of workers regularly find mistakes in "finalized" content. Increased productivity (by up to 60%) Greater profitability (save up to 80% compared to manual processing) Improved accuracy & consistency (the manual data-entry error rate is 3% while the automated is only 0.5%) Streamlined workflows (up to an 80% reduction in time spent processing) Better customer experience Document Automation & AI: Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) incorporates AI into document automation to comprehend and interpret unstructured data within documents. IDP is an integrational process that reduces time, errors, and manual processes. In 2024, the IDP market was valued at $2.56 billion and is expected to grow to $54 billion by 2035. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) converts printed text into machine-readable data which reduces manual needs and enables keyword searches. Document automation and AI utilize Natual Language Processers (NLP) and machine learning algorithms to analyze and extract data. IDP and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) integrations will continue to advance document automation. Security and privacy will be at risk as AI-driven processes are not secure unless encrypted, so security risks will need to be evaluated regularly. Generative AI Generative AI can go a step further in the IDP process, creating completely new content instead of pulling information from existing documents. For example, in document automation generative AI can draft contracts, summarize complex reports, and respond to customer inquiries. This technology is not commonly used in document automation processes but will surely be the standard in the coming years. Generative AI is already widely used in creative processes like image and text generation for social media, blogs, and company websites. Sales Enablement Sellers only spend about one-third of their time actually selling without document automation. A majority of their time is spend locating, editing, and recreating company documents to share with customers. Integrating document automation processes could create a centralized digital space for important company files, automate marketing emails and workflows. Document automation would save time, reduce risks, and personalize sales content at a large scale. How to Get Started? Identify areas where document automation is needed. Establish clear objectives and measurable metrics. Research various software/technology partners (ensuring integration with most commonly used tools). Prioritize data security and compliance (consider using a blockchain to track document changes and verify authentication). Train staff (start small with one process and slowly integrate intelligent workflows). Document Automation Software: Microsoft Document Automation Toolkit AI Builder which extracts information from documents. Power Automate which orchestrates the overall process. Power Apps which manually reviews and approves documents. Microsoft Dataverse manages the document queue, files, and configures information. DocFusion "Low-Code Enterprise Document Generation Platform" Eliminate complexity with simply document generation. Edit without being an expert developer with a low-code platform. Fully automate workflows and easily integrate software. DocuWare "Document Management & Workflow Automation" AI-Powered Document Processing automatically classifies, sorts, and files documents with data extraction including handwritten text (HTR), automatically splits individual documents from batches and crops documents to standard size. Invoice Processing Automation can cut data-entry time by 95% using AI-powered document processing. Automatic validation ensures correct payments which eliminates error and invoice duplicates. Invoice approval time improves by 80% with automated workflows which takes the invoice through the proper chain of command. Integrates with accounting systems to automatically export booking, allowing you 100% control and cuts time with instant access. Finally, apply retention rules with secure centralized archiving allowing easy access to important documents. Sources Everything you need to know about document automation - Templafy https://www.templafy.com/what-is-document-automation/ The Future of Document Processing - 5 Trends to Watch - Parseur https://parseur.com/blog/future-of-document-processing-trend History to Modern Era: The Evolution of Intelligent Document Processing https://www.amygb.ai/blog/history-to-modern-era-the-evolution-of-intelligent-document-processing What is Document Automation? A Complete Overview - Bigtincan https://www.bigtincan.com/what-is-document-automation/ 7 Ways to Automate Document Processing & Improve Efficiency - PDF.ai https://pdf.ai/resources/automate-document-processing