Samsung Printers to Operated in Te Reo Maori

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to implement Samsung Printers and Copiers with te Reo Māori

Samsung has developed a language pack enabling Māori to be used on commercial printers, the first of which will roll out in Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Te Wānanga o Aotearoa will be the first institution in the world to implement a newly developed solution for Samsung printers, that allows the machines to be operated in te Reo Māori.

The printers feature a built-in android-based touchscreen tablet, offering students and staff at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (TWoA) the option to interact with the printers entirely in Māori.

The functions of the Samsung Printers mirror the innovation that TWoA drives toward, according to Garry Johnston, Executive Director of Information Technology of TWoA.

“Having the ability to operate the printers in te Reo Māori fits perfectly with the values of our organisation, reflecting the fact that we strive to put the user, not the technology, at the heart of everything we do,” said Johnston.

“Our Māori language strategy focuses on normalising te Reo Māori and using it as a part of our everyday life, both in our work place, and in our learning environment. Having Samsung printers that are operated in te Reo Māori encourages our staff and students to use te Reo Māori on a daily basis,” Johnston continued.

“Samsung noticed there was a lack of technology in the market supporting te Reo Māori, particularly for commercial products such as printers, which are common place in education and Government institutions. With our A3 printer range, we saw an opportunity to develop a language solution that could cater for this unique New Zealand need,” said Verdon Kelliher, Strategic Innovation Director at Samsung Electronics.

The project was the result of an intensive software translation project, led by Samsung’s developer team in Korea, and supported by Samsung’s local New Zealand enterprise team, and translators Netana Enterprises, from New Zealand.

The task involved translating hundreds of words and phrases from English into Māori, which were then carefully tested and cross-checked to ensure every command and notification on the printer was comprehendible. More than 26,000 lines of text were translated.

“Simple English phrases that are commonly used in technology, such as ‘quick start fax’, don’t have a natural equivalent in Māori. Part of the challenge was to match technological terms with their best Māori equivalent,” says Netana Enterprises Director, Kereama Nathan.

The language upgrade pack for Samsung’s A3 printer range is included in the next global firmware release, due in coming months. All current customers of Samsung’s android-based A3 printers will be able to upgrade their existing firmware to support te Reo Māori. This will be available to all Samsung android based A3 printers globally. More information on Samsung’s commercial printer range can be found at http://www.samsung.com/nz/consumer/monitors-printers/printers

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