Tag: printing

IDC: EU printer market returns to growth

Posted on August 8, 2013 by - News

inkjetIDC figures have noted that the printing market in Western Europe has returned to growth with commercial markets leading the charge, and laser shipments grew yearly by 11.6 percent.

Inkjet shipments remained flat, increasing a smidgen at 0.1 percent for Q2 2013 compared to the same time last year. Multi function printers impacted on the inkjet market.

Overall, the market increased 4.3 percent to 4.69 million units in Q2 2013 compared to the same time last year, but strong competition meant a 3.3 percent drop in dollar value for the market. Most market growth can be attributed to laser products, and IDC believes this demonstrates a returning confidence on spending in business markets. Laser printers and MFPs experienced double digit growth.

Colour products enjoyed the most growth at 17.3 percent, with share in A4 and A3 segments for both printers and MFPs increasing.

Monochrome printing did grow 10.1 percent but the A3 market here continued a decline.

Business inkjets increased yearly by 22.5 percent but inkjets for plebs contracted. High speed inkjets grew a formidable 57.1 percent.

The British market declined overall year on year by three percent, with continued declines in consumer inkjets. But there were signs of hope in the laser markets, increasing 16.9 percent year on year, and apart from A3 products there was growth across all segments.

Businesses were buying inkjet printers in the UK too, growing at 25.6 percent – compared to consumer inkjet spending which declined 11.3 percent.

Ingram Content brings colour to UK

Posted on July 1, 2013 by - News

rainbowIngram Content has expanded its colour inkjet book manufacturing capabilities to the UK.

This means that publishers can print a range of colour books quickly and cost effectively worldwide.

David Taylor, Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition International, Ingram Content said that the marriage of colour inkjet book manufacturing with a  single copy print-on-demand (POD) selling model is going to be a first for the UK market.

So far inkjet colour options have almost exclusively been limited to short run printing.

But the new colour offer is poised to be a real game changer for publishers as the cost to print full-colour POD books is approaching the price of black and white manufacturing, he said.

The combination of an economical, single-copy solution with Lightning Source® quality broadens the scope of print-on-demand POD to more titles.

Taylor said that the new inkjet colour offer is competitively priced, half the cost to print colour books in most cases, and savings will be passed from Ingram to the publisher.

Hundreds of publishers that work with Lightning Source are already using the new colour printing option for both their short run needs and to fulfill orders via Ingram’s comprehensive reseller channels, which reach tens of thousands of online and traditional bookshops worldwide.

Lightning Source will begin manufacturing colour books using inkjet technology immediately for publishers worldwide from the UK.

IT buyers out of touch with office needs

Posted on June 11, 2013 by - News

Canon logoCanon has commissioned a study which found those making buying decisions in the office are often out of touch with the needs of the actual user.

Canon Europe surveyed 1,671 end users and decision makers. It found that firms all over Europe are having a hard time bringing in technology to enable flexible working – with a real minority making sure employees had smartphones or tablet PCs. BYOD, then, is crucial at the moment, as those with these devices find they are crucial to their jobs.

Most respondents said they need advice and support from their IT departments if they’re to properly reach their working potential, whether in the office or on the go. Just one quarter knew the office technology inside out, and the report highlights many workers feel they are excluded when it comes to picking technology they feel would be right for their companies.

Canon also found that, while the majority of respondents work with sensitive documents, they are being allowed onto insecure devices on insecure networks. Many end users believe that their organisation is managing document security – when that isn’t a case at all, with under five percent of IT buyers indicating that as a concern in printing, copying or scanning.

The company’s European and UK marketing manager, Matt Wrighton, said the gap between staff and decision makers is obvious. “It’s clear to see how the division within organisations between the two key parties, decision makers and employees, will, if not already, prove harmful to productivity in the workplace,” Wrighton said.

Canon helps the partners out

Posted on April 2, 2013 by - News

canonCanon is helping its channel partners to generate additional revenues with the launch of two new series colour multifunctional devices (MFDs).

According to the company, the i-SENSYS MF8200 and MF8500 both offer high quality and connectivity features and all five new compact laser devices will enable partners to help their small to midsized customers work faster.

Anil Jagpal, European Marketing Manager for i-SENSYS at Canon Europe, said customers were increasingly asking Canon partners to provide office technology products that supported a more connected approach to working and increased the productivity of end-users.

The company also referenced its own recent research that found more than two-thirds of end-users felt that printers or scanners with Wi-Fi connectivity could improve their productivity.

“Our refreshed i-SENSYS range provides our partners with a great business opportunity to convert the strong desire for quality, connectivity and productivity into sales,” Jagpal added.

The new i-SENSYS MFDs are said to be designed to be shared and come network-ready as standard. They are claimed to provide users with the ability to print from a range of mobile and other web-connected devices, using Canon’s Mobile Printing App, Apple AirPrint or Google Cloud Print.

The i-SENSYS MF8280Cw and MF8580Cdw also feature Wi-Fi connectivity, and the i-SENSYS MF8500 series enables users to capture paper-based documents and send them straight from the device to an email address or network folder.

The MF8500 series also support PCL, which allows partners to integrate these devices into their customers’ existing IT and printing environments as well as offering security features that allow partners to meet their customers’ increasing demand for keeping company information safe.

The new i-SENSYS devices will be available from 15 May 2013.

Brother sticks cash into marketing

Posted on February 1, 2013 by - Fun Stuff, News

broombroomBrigitte labels everything, even her labels. And her post-its. Reminiscent of the Fast Show’s office clown dipped in a large and sticky vat of social anxiety, Brigitte has turned her obsessive compulsive disorder into a way to cheer up the office.

 

 

 

Actually, printing company Brother UK found Brigitte somewhere in a £1.5 million marketing kitty, and it hopes her feverish habit will enourage companies to spend more on its labelling machines. Following a TV campaign last year, Brother UK boasted that label printer sales rose 52 percent.

There’s an opportunity to win a holiday to Mexico – by answering the question at the end of the video – as well as a concerted effort to build online advertising and social media engagement, Brother says.

“Our intention is to shake up the labeling market with innovative and surprising marketing activity that clearly communicates product benefits, but with a sense of humour,” James Lawton-Hill, head of marketing, said.

YouTube user Peepingbotham said: “Keep making clips using attractive women and I’ll (as well as lots of other people) will keep watching, and maybe even even buy a label printer. ATTRACTIVE women, though. Not the one with the tattoos.”

Another added: “She seems very immature to be in management, but very cute, quite like to have seen a full length shot of her, I assume she has OCD, nevertheless adorable!”

A spokesperson for Brother UK told ChannelEye that the video, concept, script and strategy were put together by Manchester-based Code Computerlove, while the film was produced and directed by Chief Productions. “We’ve had a great response to the video so far and a large number of entrants to the competition,” the spokesperson said.