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MyQ has integrated Mako into its job management software to provide users with job preview options before a document is released from the print queue. Prior to integrating Mako, customers needed to purchase extra software if they wanted to grant preview options to their users.

The Challenge

MyQ wanted to add value to their enterprise print management software by providing users with an “internal previewer” that converts any printed format into PDF and shows it to them before the job is submitted to the print queue. MyQ also wanted to address parsing because their capability was limited and this was reducing document processing speed.

The Solution

Mako is a powerful software development kit that can be used to add a variety of functions into software products which is why it’s often referred to as the software engineer’s Swiss army knife. MyQ has taken advantage of several features, the most compelling being Mako’s document viewing capability but they also use Mako as a job parser and job archiver. Mako provides document conversion too, converting documents from one Page Description Language to another, before documents join the print queue.

MyQ’s developers build upon the document viewer to allow users to tweak the finishing options if they’re not happy with them.

Job parsing gives a precise and real-time estimate of credit or quota to be consumed, so the user knows much the given task will cost if they print it out with current settings.

Job archiving lets the user or administrator find, check and re-use previously printed documents in job history.

For MyQ the decision to start using Mako mainly boils down to its flexibility. MyQ’s parsing capabilities had been limited in both speed of processing and size of print jobs (max. 2 GB), not to mention when processing two tasks at the same time.

The Mako integration doesn’t pose the restrictions that the old job parser did and is able to multi-task. It parses the incoming document in seconds, helping it flow from the sender through the server and making it print-ready in a split MyQ’s headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic second. Meanwhile, it will extract information such as what the printed document’s format is, how many pages there are, or whether it’s monochrome or color, and this helps the MyQ server calculate what the final price for printing will be. This “pre-accounting” feature can give the user a useful heads-up if they’re about to print a job exceeding their credit balance. It is safe to assume that this new aspect of MyQ will be appreciated especially by customers in the education, government and municipality sectors.

When it comes to print queues, IT administrators have a free hand in defining conditions for certain jobs, for example: “If a job exceeds 20 pages, print it in B&W” or, “If the print job comes from Outlook, notify the employee’s manager”.

MyQ, together with the MAKO integration, supports a wide range of print drivers and all principal Page Description Languages: PCL 5, PCL 6, PostScript, and PDF.

The Result

With Mako, MyQ now has an “internal previewer” that converts any printed format into PDF and shows it to the user before submitting the job to the print queue. Before the implementation of Mako, the customer would need to purchase extra software if they wanted to grant preview options to their users. Now it’s part of the MyQ package. Thanks to Mako taking care of parsing, documents are print-ready in seconds, speeding up the workflow and improving the user experience.​​​​​​​

About MyQ

The core belief of MyQ is that managed print services should be highly automated and personalized, so that any member of an office environment can be more efficient in their daily tasks – hence MyQ’s claim “Focus on what you do best.” We make a point of keeping a technological edge and offering easy-to-manage software with a personalized user experience, bulletproof data security and sophisticated document workflows for effortless digitization.

MyQ’s universal print solution saves businesses money and time, and reduces their impact on the environment.