NLA Gets $8.3 Million Printing System

The turnaround times for map-based and land registration services provided by the National Land Agency (NLA), are expected to be further reduced with the use of an $8.3 million printing system.

The system, which was donated by Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners, was officially handed over during a ceremony at the downtown Kingston offices of the NLA on Monday, November 16.

Now in operation for a year, the system has gone through a series of tests, and is now fully integrated into the NLA’s Information Technology System Architecture.

Since its installation, the system has been used to print maps, plans and other large format documents for the Agency’s customers.

Welcoming the donation, Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickergsill, said this revolutionary system is expected to raise the level and quality of production in the provision of map-based and land registration services to the public.

“These improvements in service have all been made possible through timely investments by the Jamaican Government and the private/public sector partnerships with organisations such as Noranda Jamaica Bauxite, which continue to provide assistance in modernising our infrastructure,” he said.

The Minister noted that these investments and partnerships will ultimately ensure greater development and increased revenue through new and improved products and services.

He further informed that some of the NLA’s internal business processes have been modified to leverage the system’s high technology capabilities, resulting in improved efficiencies and product quality.

“Some of these modified business processes include the use of the Océ system to scan and upload images to certified pre-check plans to the Document Scanning System (DSS) database and to print copies of large format deposited plans for customers to the title search section of the Land Titles Division,” he said.

The system includes an Océ Colour Wave 650 plotter, which is a wide format commercial grade printer, capable of printing documents up to 42 inches wide, in colour. It requires no warm-up, thus reducing the response time for producing prints and can run uninterrupted for over 24 hours. These features allow for high efficiency and productivity in document printing operations.

It also comprises the TC4 Scanner, which upgrades the Colour wave 650 Plotter to a multi-functional, integrated scan-copy-print system. The scanner can accommodate a variety of media types up to 36 inches wide.

The scanner facilitates direct copying by sending the scanned image directly to the plotter for either immediate printing for storage in a print queue for later printing. Documents can also be scanned for digital storage, editing or use on a computer system.