While at Interop 2008, I also met the CEO, founder and Marketing Manager for SEH Technology , a Bielefeld Germany high technology company. Mike Majewski, who as CEO is based in Pennsylvania explained the history of the printer server manufacturer.
Founded 22 years ago and today with 60 employees, SEH has focused on the enterprise network printer market where they design, manufacture and sell after-market printer servers for users of the world's leading network printer manufacturers. These print servers have self-contained network interfaces, CPUs, memory and a printer control application. Some products are internal cards for HP, Kyocera and Epson brand printers.
SEH supports a variety of interfaces including Wi-Fi, Ethernet and even optical (for defense implementations). The portfolio also includes external print server devices that can network-enable any USB, parallel or serial printer – including network-enable those ancient (but useful on multi-part forms) dot matrix printers that are typically serial or parallel attached.
Print services can be an enterprise-wide service. In defense, highly proprietary industries like health care, finance and legal organizations knowing what was printed where and carefully allocating who can print to where are two important services. SEH print servers support advanced features such as:
- encryption to ensure the computer-printer stream is private
- strong authentication to validate that users are who they claim to be
- access control to assure that in fact users are authorized to be printing at this station
- reporting services that allow for aggregate service management – paper supply, ink, mechanical status
- management services that make it easier for large enterprises and government agencies to operate distributed printer services within a framework of a common architecture.
Printer services can be an enterprise-wide capability by enabling a scalable, brand-independent and global management capability. The print spooling device is also energy efficient. SEH products are readily available through enterprise channels such as CDW.
