Issue #0701/1 - Most of the portable technology we use on a day-to-day basis is already wearable but wearable printing has, until recently, been very much restricted to specialist application such as mobile ticketing and receipt printing. This is set to change following a hugely successful trial of mobile wearable technology for a police force.
We’re all familiar with mobile technology these days, with our laptop computers, phones, PDAs, cameras, MP3 and MP4 players and integrated devices. We even have our portable photo printers so that we can print our holiday photos while away from home and businessmen have portable inkjet printers that they can use in association with their laptop in their car.
But, printing outside the car, while on the move, is a very different matter. We are also familiar with ticketing sales on buses and trains. Bus conductors were using a hand-wind portable ticketing printer, slung from a strap over their shoulder, before I was born! The printed image was very limited, representing nothing more than physical evidence that a particular sum of money had been paid for a journey.
Now, the British Transport Police shows us what mobile IT and mobile printing is really all about. A first phase of 400 officers have been equipped with PDAs and wearable printers that give them the ability to create, transmit, process and print documents on the move without the imaging restrictions we might assume to be present.
Brother MW-140BTIn referring to imaging restrictions, I mean that most of the portable, wearable printers on the market are not fully versatile printers. In this instance, the flexibility and versatility of this advanced mobile printing capability appears to be thanks to the choice of printer, Brother MW-140BT, and the fact that it comes with software that will reduce a full A4 page to A7 size for printing.
This means that a police officer can complete a form, perhaps a report relating to an offence, and leave the victim or witness with a copy of the form, including the relevant contact details and reference numbers – on the spot.
So, imagine being presented with an A7 page by a police officer as notification or proof of action? It may not be ideal but it is physical evidence and it will provide the details or information that the officer needs to give you. And, more than that, it is flexible – specific and relevant instead of a general, pre-printed information sheet that the officer would have to carry multiple copies of.
What we need, though, is to know what this means in terms of cost?
Police officers are notoriously prone to complaining about paperwork in the office – and quite rightly so. They are taken off the streets in order to complete and file their reports, meaning that they are not going about the business of street policing. In an age where crime is rampant, and detection rates are reported to be as low as 3%, it is essential to keep as many officers on the street as possible, the alternative being to employ a greater number of officers, at increased cost, in order to maintain the public presence.
For officers to be able to file reports and leave witnesses with copies and related information while out on the street, is actually an invaluable part of maintaining that balance and keeping costs to a minimum.
Primarily, this mobile computing and printing solution saves the police force the costs associated with the officer returning to base just to push paper – comprising time, transport and the unquantifiable cost of not having the officer’s presence on the street.
In addition, it could be argued that there is a cost saving relating to not needing to employ unnecessary additional officers in order to maintain the required level of street presence.
Zebra Cameo 2Most importantly, the mobile technology allows officers’ time to be used as efficiently as possible. The Pocket PC PDAs even allow the officer to access the UK’s Police National Computer to access police records – combining this facility with real formatted page printing capability provides a very powerful solution.
Zebra Cameo 3Interestingly, the initial reaction by the officers concerned apparently was intense opposition. However, it is reported that more forces in the country are now screaming for the technology – which does not come cheaply, incidentally.
On top of the cost of a Pocket PC PDA (typically upwards of £150 / €300 / $300 ex tax) the printer is actually the more expensive item. Brother’s MW-140BT costs almost £300 ex tax (€400 / $400), pushing the total expenditure per officer to a starting point of close to £450 (before any volume discounts are applied).
Zebra QL220 PlusIf this is considered to be expensive though, Brother’s MW-140BT costs some 30-50% LESS than the other models of wearable printer on the market. Yet, the other models are not as flexible and versatile in terms of Windows printing. None accept cut sheet paper and all are considerably heavier and more bulky.
Furthermore, balance this cost against the hourly cost of a officer spending unnecessary time travelling to and from the police station, and completing paperwork in the station instead of on the street, and the purchase cost of the hardware will be recouped very rapidly.
PanasonicJT-H200PR-50
Toughprint
Even considering the additional high cost per page of the printing solution, around 7 pence (€c8.6 / $c8.98) per page, and the fact that most pages (incident report pages particularly) may well be reprinted at A4 size on return to the station, the value proposition is still outstanding.
Brother’s MW-140BT is not a new product line. The MPrint series has been available for some years but this is the first model to be fitted with Bluetooth communications, thus making it eminently suitable for the solution outlined.
Toshiba TEC B-SP2DBriefly, the MW-140BT is a 300dpi, A7 cut sheet, thermal mobile printer with Bluetooth and USB connectivity for use with Windows-based PCs (including Pocket PC PDAs, laptops and tablet PCs). It has a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery and an integrated 50-sheet paper cassette, which can also accept a variety of label options.
Brother is unique in this delivery of A4 to A7 reduction software, which raises interesting questions. Such as, ‘is there any point in printing an A4 page at A7?’
Zebra RW420An A4 letter page (such as the CharisCo Standard Test Page CPL05IL – with 12 point Times New Roman text) printed at A7 on an average 600dpi mono laser printer really is readable! [You’ll have to take my word for it, or print a page of your own to test it, because it cannot be demonstrated in a PDF document – but, beware, if you’re around my age, you will almost certainly have to put on a pair of reading glasses, or remove your glasses for short sightedness, in order to actually read it!!]
Brother MW-140BTIn terms of print speed, the MW-140BT prints at 4ppm (15 seconds per page) and will print instantly from standby mode.
Looking at the print speed of the perceived competitors, 4ppm suddenly strikes as incredibly slow – all the other devices quote a print speed of 76-80mm per second (roughly equivalent to 43-48 pages per minute – not achievable!!). This is very fast compared to the Brother but it should be remembered that the speed is based not only on 203dpi printing, instead of 300dpi, but also on processing a predefined data set with variable data rather than a ‘page’.
To put this is perspective, Brother’s MW-140BT must be viewed as a cut sheet ‘Page Printer’ rather than a receipt or ticket roll printer. The other printers would not achieve 80mm per second if presented with the same page data as the MW-140BT.
In addition, Windows compatibility means that the MW-140BT can print photos, a feature that, again, cold prove invaluable to an officer out on the street.
Bluetooth and wireless interfaces are relatively common but there are devices that still rely on serial RS-232 wired interfaces with wireless as a costly optional extra – not very conducive to true mobile operation.
Finally, the MW-140BT is very slim – the result of using cut-sheet paper rather than roll paper. It measures just 17.5mm (2/3 inch) in thickness and weighs in at less than 300gm (2/3 pound), compared to others that are much more bulky and weigh at least 50%, and up to three times, more. This means that the printer wearable in a protected mode, inside a pocket or pouch, as opposed to hanging externally from a belt or strap in a way that would be too vulnerable for a police officer.
Now that police forces are screaming for the mobile solution, we are sure to see other mobile printers being released that more closely emulate the capabilities of the Brother printer. Even though the MPrint series from Brother is not, there have been no direct competitors up to now.
But, in the wider sense, the MW-140BT is by no means restricted to use by the emergency services. It’s PDA association means that it is eminently suited to use by businessmen on the move where there may be a need for printing meeting notes, schedules or contact details. In all of these circumstances, cost of printing takes a very clear back seat to convenience, functionality and flexibility.
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