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Lexmark launches OfficeEdge series
Lexmark describes its new business inkjets, the OfficeEdge
Pro5500 (£349) and Pro4000 (£219) colour MFPs, as ‘workhorses
for small workgroups’. Designed to integrate into most IT
environments, the printers come with an Embedded Web Server
and Markvision Enterprise fleet management, plus the options of
high capacity cartridges and an additional paper tray. According
to Lexmark, they have faster print speeds than most similarly
priced colour laser MFPs (21ppm in mono and 14 ppm in colour)
and 50% lower running costs. For enhanced productivity, the
Lexmark OfficeEdgePro5500 has a 50-sheet, duplex ADF that
scans both sides of a document in a single pass and a 4.3-inch
colour touch screen giving access to Lexmark SmartSolutions.
These include 12 new Multifunction Workflows that execute
multiple tasks through the press of a button, such as ‘E-Mail &
Save to Network’ or ‘Copy, E-mail & Save to Computer’.
www.lexmark.co.uk
Business inkjets shine brightly in
the gloom
Business inkjets and serial impact dot matrix printers
bucked the trend in the first quarter of 2012 with sales
growth in the UK of 28.4% and 17.9% respectively,
against an overall market decline of 6.7% compared
to the same period in 2011. This follows a year-on-year
increase in business inkjet sales of 57.5% in Q4, 2011.
The latest
IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals
Tracker
reveals that other areas of the UK printer market were
either flat (colour laser shipments) or in decline (mono laser
shipments, down 16.9%).
Increased sales of business inkjets were not confined to the
UK. According to IDC, shipments across Western Europe grew by
26.3%, raising business inkjets’ share of the total inkjet market
to 12.6%.
Overall, the Western European hardcopy market saw a
year-on-year decline of 12.1% in shipments and a 5.3% fall in
revenue compared to a year ago, driven by a sharp fall in sales of
consumer inkjets (down 16.6%). The business market (inkjet and
laser) fell by 5.1%.
IDC stated: “The composition of the business markets is
continuing to change, with colour laser products now accounting
for a third of all laser shipments. Maybe more concerning for
some vendors, however, is the fact that business inkjets accounted
for one in five of the combined laser and business inkjet market,
which represents most of the office products market.”
Research conducted by Professor
Wiseman and the University
of Hertfordshire shows that
advertisements printed in A3 are
more impactful and memorable than
A4 output.
Participants in the Brother-sponsored
study found products and services 43%
more likeable and 30% better value for
money when viewing adverts in A3. They
also found the larger size 66% more
memorable and 47% more impactful than
A4.
Commenting on the findings, Professor
Wiseman said: “A3 obviously has more
visual impact. But when you drill down, this
visual impact translates into a psychological
impact especially when it comes to
memory. A relatively small increase in
size from A4 to A3 has a large impact on
memory and recall.”
Wiseman said that the big
improvements in recall levels and a
product's perceived value for money
suggest that something
significant occurs when
you move from A4 to A3.
“In psychology, if you have
two groups and there's
a 5% difference you get
excited; and if you have
a 10% difference you get
very excited. But in this
study there was a 60%
difference,” he said.
When asked whether
the move from A3 to A2
would produce similar results, Wiseman
added: “It’s purely a gut feeling, but I think
A3 is a kind of sweet spot. As you go up in
size, you might see the rate of improvement
drop-off. I suspect if you go to really big
sizes, larger might not be better.”
The research carried out in February
follows an earlier study looking at the
impact of A3 in business presentations,
which found that larger images were more
persuasive, with audience members being
18% more likely to buy from a company
presenting in A3. Such companies were
also perceived to be 21% more successful.
Brother pioneered the market for
affordable A3 inkjet MFPs among smaller
businesses that can’t justify the high price
of a departmental copier. It launched its
first A3 inkjet MFP in 2008 and now leads
the entire A3 MFP market (inkjet and toner)
with a market share of 20.9%.
The years 2010-2011 saw a 63% year-
on-year increase in shipments of A3 inkjet
MFPs in EMEA.
06 Print.IT Reseller
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In the news
A3 ads 66% more memorable than A4
Following Sharp’s lead, Konica
Minolta has developed a
customisable ‘touch and swipe’
interface that will be familiar to
users of smartphones and tablets.
First used on the high-end bizhub
C654/C754 colour MFPs, the
9in colour multi-touch screen
improves ease of use through
simplified menus, customised
icons and useful features like job
previews. Another interesting
new feature (also seen on Xerox
solid ink devices) is a dynamic
eco timer that analyses working
patterns and adjusts sleep mode
timings accordingly.
www.konicaminolta.co.uk/MFD
Touch and swipe