Did you know that Xerox offers a lot of excellent services and products for free?
We’ve covered a couple of them in recent blog posts, ranging from the no cost CareAR Instruct app and always-free firmware updates, like the important one required by Microsoft’s switch from basic auth to OAuth 2 for Exchange users.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that Xerox maintains another excellent tool for Windows users, completely free of charge: it’s called Smart Start, and it’s designed to help set up your Xerox MFP with your Windows-based computing device. It really is a smart way to start—setup for a new printer (or computer) has never been easier.
Let’s learn more about how it works:
Get Printing Fast by Automating the Setup on Your Windows Machine With the Xerox Smart Start Utility
Xerox Smart Start is a lightweight program for Windows devices. It does one thing, and does it very well: it makes setting up your Windows machine with your Xerox multifunction printer as quick and easy as possible. In fact, in most cases, the process can be basically automated. The tool is completely free.
Generally, the printer you want to get your Windows device “talking” with must be on the same network (although the software does give you the option to enter in a custom networking configuration, but for the majority of users this probably won’t be necessary). The tool will scan your network and automatically detect your Xerox device.
After finding your printer, Smart Start will then automatically download and install the latest correct driver for your Windows device. After that finishes up, you’ll be ready to start using your Xerox machine on your Windows device. It’s very easy and quick.
For most users, this will be all that’s necessary. However, the software does offer some additional settings. Let’s discuss those now:
Choosing Between the Two Modes of Smart Start: Quick or Advanced?
To be clear, the Smart Start software is very simple to use. It’s purposefully limited in scope—that’s what makes it good! However, for those users who need to do a little more “tinkering,” the tool offers two modes of operation.
You can run Smart Start in the Quick Install or Advanced Install modes. In most cases, the quick install option will do exactly what you need it to do. Users without special requirements will likely want to stick with that option.
Advanced Install gives you a few additional settings to configure. As mentioned earlier, this is where you can input your network settings if your connection is unique. You can also adjust various other settings that will affect how your Windows machine interacts with your Xerox device, such as changing options like default paper sizes or how you want duplex printing to work.
Note that these are all settings that can be changed again later from your printer properties settings in Windows, so don’t worry if you want to configure them again later. You don’t have to use Smart Start to do so.
Ready To Start Doing Things the Easy Way With Xerox Technology? We’re Here To Help You Get Started
A lot of the times when you start using a new technology in your workplace, there’s what marketers like to call “a learning curve” or “growing pains.” With Xerox, the goal is to skip that part entirely. Getting started is easy and operating your machine is intuitive, but there’s enough flexibility and customization options that you can achieve some truly complex workflows. It’s a great balance. If you’d like to learn more, please feel free to contact us or request a free online quote.
