Argos Features
Argos is a complete system of tracking, billing, reporting and integration software that delivers the tools you need to concisely and easily account for your print, copy, and other office expenses. Ease-of-use is the hallmark of Argos.
Rock-Solid Print Tracking
If you're looking to lower overhead, reduce waste, or get reimbursed for expenses, printing is the most visible, obvious place to start. Print tracking needs to be easy to implement, flexible enough to handle any network environment, unobtrusive for end users, and absolutely rock-solid. Argos delivers all that with a single, simple software installation that installs on print servers and workstations to reliably capture everything your office prints.
Works the way you do.
Argos is flexible enough to accommodate any printing configuration. For traditional server-based printing, install
the Argos Agent on your print servers, and you're instantly tracking everything. For local or direct
IP-based printing, install the Argos Agent on your workstations. If you have compatible
MFPs, Argos tracks printing directly at the device. And for
non-traditional printing, Argos offers extensive integration for hundreds of devices and
software products.
What Argos tracks
Natively:
- Page count
- Page size
- Date and time
- Filename
- Printer or device name
- Media or paper type
- Color 1
With the Argos Desktop Client, you also get:
- Account code (e.g. client, project, job)
- Billing status (e.g. reimbursable, non-reimbursable)
- User comment
Copy Tracking
Add Argos OnBoard to your MFP and immediately start capturing all your expense activity — print, copy, scan, and more. For compatible devices, Argos OnBoard is software that adds authentication and tracking — all without the need for external terminals. For legacy devices, the Argos Keypad delivers the same embedded workflow in a simple compact hardware accessory.
What is Argos OnBoard?
Argos OnBoard is software and hardware that interacts directly with your MFP or copier to control access and track activity. Depending on your specific MFP model, Argos OnBoard can capture printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. Argos OnBoard authenticates users via PIN code, Active Directory, or LDAP.
Straight from the source
The closer to the device, the more accurate the information. Argos OnBoard resides directly on your print and copy equipment, so copy and print details are precisely tracked, while cancelled or failed jobs are safely ignored. The result is an accurate as-printed record of your MFP activity.
Better billing
The desktop is the right place for cost recovery, not the front panel of your MFP. Argos OnBoard minimizes the process at the MFP, moves the billing process to the desktop, and gets people back to work and productive. It's a workflow that makes sense, and you'll only find it with Argos.
Compatibility
 |
Konica Minolta |  |
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Print TrackingComplements Basic Print Tracking by providing as-printed (instead of as-submitted) activity, plus additional print job attributes, such as duplex, color, and paper size information. |
 |
|
|
|
|
Copy TrackingArgos tracks copy activity. By running directly on the MFP, Argos eliminates the need for hardware, cabling, and mounting issues. |
|
|
|
|
|
Scan TrackingTracks scan-to-file and, in some cases, scan-to-fax, scan-to-email and other scan functions. |
|
|
|
|
|
Color DetectionDistinguishes between color and black-and-white jobs |
|
|
|
|
|
Duplex DetectionDistinguishes between single- and double-sided jobs |
|
|
|
||
Paper Size DetectionDetermines the size of the paper a job was copied or printed on |
|
|
|
|
|
Secure ReleaseHolds print jobs at server until user logs in and fetches it |
|
|
|
|
|
Global PrintPrint normally then retrieve your print job at any compatible printer on the network |
|
|
|
|
|
Device ControlAllow or restrict access to specific MFP functions based on user or user group profiles |
|
||||
Fax TrackingCaptures outgoing fax transmissions |
|
||||
Technology |
MEAP | bEST | ESA | OSA | JBA |
| Details | Details | Details | Details | Details |
Some features may not be available on specific MFP models. Some capabilities require the purchase of additional options from your hardware vendor and/or Sepialine.
Secure Release
Argos Secure Release closes the print floodgates by keeping print jobs in a server-based holding queue, then releases them from your MFP's front panel. The result is less waste, increased security, and lower printing costs.
Print with purpose
Eliminate the reams of unclaimed, wasted pages that sit in your paper tray, unclaimed and uncollected until someone finally cleans up. With Argos Secure Release, print jobs are held until users claim them at the MFP, so every print job must be truly wanted.
Keep documents private
Printing sensitive documents is risky; they sit in the printer tray for anyone to see. Get distracted and they can fall into the wrong hands. Argos Secure Release holds confidential print jobs until you're ready to receive them at the printer so you, and only you, ever see them.
Compatibility
Argos Secure Release is available for Canon MEAP, Sharp OSA, Konica Minolta, and Xerox MFPs.
How it works
Argos Secure Release changes your print workflow to hold each job until its owner is present at the printer. At the MFP, you log in on the front panel via PIN code or card, choose the documents you want to print, then release them.
Reporting
Once you've tracked your printing and copying, then it's time to see what you've gathered. Argos reports let you analyze your expenses dozens of different ways. Report by locations, users, job codes, or use the graphical reports to visualize your expenses. Argos lets you filter your reports by date, job code, and more, so you can get just the right data quickly and easily.
Reporting Features
- Ships with over 20 basic reports
- Sophisticated filtering
- Save to PDF, Word, Excel
- Scheduled and ad-hoc export to CSV
Sophisticated filtering.
Argos lets you tailor the information in your reports. Set date ranges. Exclude printers and copiers, employees, certain kinds of paper. Argos lets you apply filters in real time, so you can see their effects in your reports immediately, then continue to refine and re-apply until you get it's just right. Once you have a filter you like, save it to file and restore it later and get consistent results every time.
Customizable.
Argos reports are built with Crystal Reports, so they can be customized to your heart's content. Change the report structure. Add your logo. Change fonts or re-orient the page. With a copy of Crystal Reports Standard Edition or higher you can modify Argos reports yourself. Or let our professional services team do it for you.
Data your way.
Argos exports your expense information in standard CVS or TSV files. Use the built-in filter tools for basic files, or use the built-in SQL query tool for more complex output files. Once you've got the format dialed, set up a schedule and Argos will automatically generate a file and save it to your network.
Configuration and Control
Install Argos and it immediately starts tracking all your printers and automatically adding them to the Argos database. Organize your devices into groups, then add additional tracking functions such as copying and RIP servers. Decide how you want to track your devices: interactively with the Argos Desktop Client, silently, or not at all.
Device Management Features
- Auto-discovery — no device setup required
- Unlimited device groups
- Tag devices by location, manufacturer, and person responsible
- Multi-function
Multi-function, like the real world.
Argos lets you think about your printers, copiers, and MFPs the way they really behave. Printing, copying, scanning, faxing—even attached RIP servers—can all be managed as a single device. When it comes time to run a report, Argos can show you every click that passed through the device, by function, or in total. It's the right way to think about devices, and you'll only find it with Argos.
Fine-grain control.
Organize your devices into groups, then decide how you want that group tracked. Track some devices silently, others interactively. Want to track copying interactively, but track printing silently? You can even dial in behavior on a per-function basis.
Track more. Earn more.
Argos delivers extensive integration that tracks hundreds of different things. Tracking more is easy in Argos: simply find the right adapter in the Argos Integration Palette, then drag it onto the matching device. Argos asks a few questions, and then immediately starts tracking.
Cost Calculations
Paper or plastic?
Argos lets you set up all the different kinds of media (and more) that you use. Bond. Glossy photo. Heavy cover stock. Set each one up in Argos, plug in your costs, then let Argos report every dime you spend.
Get paid.
If you're using Argos for cost recovery, you can also plug in your reimbursable rate. Argos reports that, too, and even calculates your markup. And if you charge sales tax, plug in your tax rate and Argos adds it to your report.
Size it up.
Argos can calculate your expenses by area or by paper size. When you choose paper size pricing, Argos lets you browse its paper size library for the sizes you use. Or you can set up custom paper sizes. Either way, Argos automatically determines each print job's paper size and calculates your costs quickly and accurately.
The price is right.
Argos lets you set up multiple pricing schedules so you can charge different billing codes at different rates. Establish your regular pricing — that's the one most of your clients get charged. Have a client that gets charged at a lower rate? Set up another schedule for their billing codes. Maybe some clients don't get charged for reimbursables at all? Set up a schedule where the cost values are zero. Argos lets you have as many schedules as you need.
Desktop Billing
The Argos Desktop Client makes cost recovery easy. Our emphasis on usability and speed make Argos intuitive for employees to bill their expenses not just quickly, but accurately. Argos reduces the headache of billing so your employees spend less time on popups and more time being productive.
Desktop Client Features
- Pops up after, not before, printing
- Snooze temporarily defers billing
- “Canned” comments
- Customizable status codes (e.g. reimbursable, non-reimbursable)
Workflow.
Unlike those other guys, Argos doesn't need to hold printing “hostage” in order to enforce. Instead, Argos allows printing to occur first, then only displays a mandatory popup after your print or copy job completes. The result is a more natural workflow, less frustration and happier employees.
Limits.
Reduce employee interruptions by setting limits. Limits allow employees to accumulate an administrator-defined number of print or copy jobs — up to a maximum job or time limit — before a mandatory popup appears.
Snooze.
Allow employees to temporarily dismiss the Desktop Client via the snooze feature. Administrators can set maximum snooze time.
Recents and favorites.
When you choose a billing code, chances are pretty good that you'll want to use it again. Argos automatically builds up a list of your most recently-used codes, then makes them easy to reach.
Multi-tier billing codes.
Argos 7 allows up to five tiers (e.g. project / phase / task or client / matter). A new drill-down feature search makes it easy to find the right value, even among thousands of billing codes.
Mac, too.
Argos for Mac is a beautifully designed Universal application for Mac OS X. Written in Objective C for the best possible performance and compatibility, Argos for Mac includes the Argos Desktop Client and Argos Print Tracking all in an easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy package.
Infrastructure
Argos is as beautiful under the hood as it on the outside. Argos uses the latest Microsoft technology — SQL Server for the database, WCF for communication, and .NET throughout — so it's built to grow. And whether you're a ten-person shop or a ten-thousand-person worldwide enterprise, Argos has the tools and modern underpinnings to scale up, scale out, and make your I.T. department smile.
Infrastructure Features
- Rock-solid communication layer without an IIS requirement
- Robust Microsoft SQL Server database
- Modular
- Secure
Robust.
Argos is resilient enough to keep on tracking and billing, even if your database goes down. It'll even recover automatically when your database is restored.
Distributed.
Argos is ready for branch offices and remote locations. The Argos Communication Service is a small-footprint software component that you install in each remote location. It takes care of database connections and optimizes traffic. And when your T1 line goes down (they always do, eventually) it even lets you run offline.
Scalable.
Argos is built top to bottom to handle the largest enterprises out there. It's built on Microsoft SQL Server, and it's multi-tier architecture lets you handle thousands of desktops with grace and ease.
Forgiving.
No one likes to talk about it, but what happens when print and copy tracking software doesn't work right? Does your office come to a grinding halt? With Argos, life goes on. Argos never interferes with printing, so catastrophes are averted.
Cool. Now what?
- Color detection varies by printer manufacturer and model. Contact us for details.