Architects and their staff have always relied on tools to create projects and plans that illustrate good design and help their clients live, work, and play in better, more cohesive environments. But the industry has come a long way since the advent of the drafting table, compass, and mechanical pencil. Today’s busy architectural firms rely on a host of forward-looking tools and technologies that increase design capabilities and make daily tasks easier and more frustration-free.
In this article, we take a look at the wide range of office tech choices and tools currently available to help architects and their support staff become more prolific and adaptable as the industry moves into the 21st century.
Cost-Effective Office Tech to Support Your Architectural Office
While there have been skyrocketing advances in tools such as those that replace physical presentation models with digital ones, there has been a similar evolution in basic office equipment that increases collaboration and communication while keeping information more secure. Not only are these advanced tools capable of increasing office output, but they are also cost-effective — an important feature in today’s hypercompetitive markets.
Below, we provide a closer look at three reliable, cost-effective technologies in the forms of devices and software that can help your firm complete projects faster, more efficiently, and with an eye toward cost-effectiveness.
Wide Format and Production Printers or MFPs
Having up-to-the-minute control over your plans and drawings is simple when you can print sets as you need them with in-house wide format or production printers. Not only can they print on rugged, weather-resistant media for better durability in the field, but they also offer the flexibility and convenience of being able to make last-minute changes on the fly — without incurring expensive change fees and charges.
Even if a wide format printer is not in your budget, having a multifunction printer (MFP) can assist your firm in performing all the basic office tasks — faxing, scanning, copying, and printing — in a device with a small footprint that conserves precious office space.
Document Management Software
Architectural firms handle lots of documents during the course of business, ranging from invoices and billing to plans, proposals, and drawings. Keeping all that information safe and secure is simple with document management software (DMS). A DMS for your firm will allow all authorized personnel access to the project information they need, when they need it using easily searchable keywords or terms that you designate to suit your needs.
A DMS streamlines access to necessary information to increase productivity and reduce the frustration that often accompanies missing information on a project.
Print Management Software
Finally, for an office that relies heavily on printed documents, print management software allows you to gain valuable insight into print spending and device utilization, lets you control access to print device to reduce personal printing and unauthorized access to prints, and provides enhanced security to keep proprietary information safer and more protected from accidental or purposeful theft or loss.
Print management can help you automate often-used print workflows for streamlined efficiency as well as giving your staff the ability to print from any device — even personal ones — to add an additional layer of utility. Using print management is the perfect way to help remote or mobile staff communicate and coordinate more easily with office-bound colleagues or geographically distant clients.
Blue Technologies Has the Tech Tools Your Office Needs
Architectural offices are hives of activity, with many projects often in various stages of completion all at the same time. Staying organized is a critical part of managing multiple projects and heavy workloads. Fortunately, modern office technology provides the tools your architectural firm needs to keep projects on target and bring them to successful completion.
At Blue Technologies, we have curated a suite of leading-edge office equipment to help take your architectural firm to the next level of productivity and success. From state-of-the-art wide format and production printers and multifunction devices to document and print management software that targets efficiency and security, we have it all.
Give your staff the tools they need to do their jobs better. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and explore our wide range of office technologies designed for busy architects and engineers.
