There are two types of NSC supported printers. There are ink tank printers, and laser printers. Ink cartridge printers are not NSC supported, so a domestic company can not produce such printers. All printers must have the following features:
- A 5″ screen for display and controls
- ADF for document scanning
- FOIP capability
- RJ45 port for LAN
- SDXC card reader
Screen
Doing things like scanning, copying or faxing will need a screen to interact with. The 5″ screen is the minimum size for getting things accomplished. The screen is also important for providing information to the operator. The screen will be essential for a multi-function center that printers must be these days.
ADF
ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) is a tray where the printer will copy or scan the documents that are in the feeder to either print, or store the scans on an SD card that would allow the operator to take the card, and insert it into their PC. The ADF must be auto-duplexing which means it will scan both sides of the sheet of paper. Obviously, the sheet size is limited to the scan glass table.
FOIP
FOIP (Fax Over Internet Protocol) will either use a supported efax service, or use SIP from their SIP Provider. Since there is no longer any POTS telephone service, FOIP will simply use the RJ45, or Wifi connection to send the fax over the internet. The operator will scan the pages, and then select fax as to where to send the scanned files to. The operator will then enter the telephone number. All Kaldan fax numbers will end in 0.
RJ45 for LAN
The printer will need to connect to the LAN. While a USB-C port will connect to a single computer, it is complicated for other computers to use that printer, and if the computer is turned off for any reason, then the printer is not accessible. With this in mind, a bare minimum is RJ45-100MBPS is required for connecting to the LAN, and therefore access the WAN. Wifi and bluetooth are optional protocols that the printer can support, but all printers must support RJ45-100MBPS.
SDXC Card Reader
Sometimes you may just need to print a file that’s on an SD card. Other times, it might be pictures, or other files. One might want to scan directly to SD card. Whatever the reason, the SDXC Card Reader is standard for these uses. The printer can also have USB-C for connecting to Thumb Drives, but the SD Card is standard. Keep in mind, that the NSC will require that cellular phones, computers, eBook devices, and handhelds all support SD or micro-SD for expansion. Because of this, it will just make more sense to have a single standard rather than 2 standards that may not always be an option.