Sending ink usage data to Avanti Slingshot

You can configure RICOH ProcessDirector to collect ink usage data for jobs sent to specific printers. The data collected is sent back to Avanti Slingshot, along with the ink loaded in the printer for that specific job.
When a Ricoh continuous form printer is set up in RICOH ProcessDirector, you can specify which ink is loaded in the printer, using the names defined in Avanti Slingshot. Then, when the ink usage data is sent back to Avanti Slingshot in the job ticket, the ink names match. To see the ink settings, the printer must be added as a Ricoh TotalFlow Printer.
To send ink usage data to Avanti Slingshot:
  1. Make sure that the printer you want to use for collecting the ink usage is defined in RICOH ProcessDirector as a Ricoh TotalFlow Printer.
  2. Find the names of the ink used on this printer in the Avanti Slingshot client:
    1. Log in to the Avanti Slingshot client.
    2. In the left pane, go to Inventory ⇒ Items.
    3. In the Item - Table View panel, go to the Item Class list and select Inks.
    4. Identify the ink according to the item code and copy either the inventory item code from the Item Code field or the text from the Description 1 field.
  3. Update the Ricoh TotalFlow printer with the names set in Avanti Slingshot:
    1. Log in to RICOH ProcessDirector.
    2. Go to Administration ⇒ Printers.
    3. Right-click an existing Ricoh TotalFlow Printer and select Properties.
    4. Go to the Avanti Slingshot section and fill in the ink names found in Avanti Slingshot under the Item Code or Description 1 fields.
      For example, if for the black ink, the name in Avanti Slingshot under Description 1 is Black-RPD, you must enter the same ink name in the Black ink field from Ink Property Mapping under Avanti Slingshot in RICOH ProcessDirector. You can also match the ink names according to the values in the Item Code field, but if the item code is not found, does not exist, or the field is empty, matching the ink names is done according to the Description 1 field.
  4. To test if the configuration is correct, send a job to this printer to Avanti Slingshot. Compare the values sent from RICOH ProcessDirector with the ones received in Avanti Slinghsot:
    1. Log in to RICOH ProcessDirector
    2. Right-click the job in the Jobs portlet and select View log.
    3. Find the ink information message and look for the ink name and amount value.
    4. Log in to the Avanti Slingshot client.
    5. Go to Production ⇒ Job View to select the job.
    6. In the Materials tab, look for the ink values under the Used column and compare with the values displayed in the job log in RICOH ProcessDirector.
Parent topic: Setting up RICOH ProcessDirector and Avanti Slingshot to exchange information