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A change for the better
06 December 2009
Potential cost-savings and a reduction in internal resistance are ensuring that multifunctional devices (MFDs) are becoming even more popular among Irish businesses.
Working out the basic benefits of a product that can print, scan, copy and fax is easy. The reduction in power consumption and space used makes purchasing MFDs an attractive option for plenty of firms.
This does not mean that all standalone printers and fax machines should simply be discarded, however.
MFDs may offer a one-stop shop for multiple needs in a business, but that does not make them a one-size-fits all proposition. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, do I really need a machine that sends faxes?
"It's not about whether MFDs or single function devices are better, it's about having the right device in the right place," said Gary Tierney, country manager for the imaging and printing group in HP.
Tierney said that having a single device that essentially did everything made sense in locations where all these functions were needed.
Often in an office - and particularly in larger workplaces - there is no need for all staff to have access to every function an MFD offers. A printer may be all that is necessary." You don't put MFDs everywhere because you don't need every function everywhere," said Tierney.
When choosing whether to buy an MFD, consider the individual elements first. For scanning, consider how much scanning the business does.
If a lot of scanning is done at one time, an automatic document feeder could make the process more efficient. Also, look at what scanning software is required. When thinking about printing, volumes, speed and network printing all need to be considered.
Also, look at what kind of warranty is required. Your business may necessitate taking out an onsite three year warranty for print requirements, whereas that level of service is not required for scan and fax.
"Having got a list of requirements, a business should look to see if an MFD can meet this wish list, or if it would mean compromising on one or more elements," said Kat Timmis, channel manager with Epson Ireland." An MFD may not come with the same level of scanning software that a standalone scanner does.
"If a business does a lot of scanning or faxing, this could cause delays in the print queue, making the work flow less efficient. A business should also think about contingency plans if the MFD were to breakdown."
Working out the answers to these questions requires a good strategy. A haphazard approach will not suffice.
"In many organisations, print management is decentralised and inefficient, with multiple departments and individual users having the authority to acquire devices such as printers, fax machines and, scanning equipment," said David Pentony, office business manager with Xerox Ireland.
This unstructured approach results in more devices than necessary in place in an office. Allowing a multifunctional provider to conduct a total cost of ownership assessment will uncover the true cost of document management for a company.
"MFDs' expenses are consolidated into a single recurring charge based on usage. Basing the price of output on actual usage allows organisations to cre ate a highly predictable and more easily controlled print environment," said Pentony.
One of the ways in which an MFD makes the price of usage more predictable is by giving businesses more control over how and when a device is used.
"MFDs offer companies the ability to regain total control over their print environment by enabling user control and limits. This can allow companies to select who needs colour printing and who doesn't," said Paul Behan, MFP business manager with Sharptext.
This extra control has helped shift attitudes in Irish firms.
More businesses are looking at MFDs when considering upgrading printers and scanners.
"The majority of consumers and corporates are keen to move over to an MFD as they understand the cost savings and implications of replacing two to three printers and copiers with one MFD," said Paul Frost, reseller account manager with Samsung Ireland.
The potential to cut down on energy expenses also remains one of the key attractions of MFDs. Fewer devices running at one time means less power being consumed and less money being spent.
"There is a range of energy savings associated with MFDs because, as their name suggests, these products consolidate a number of services into the one device," said Maurice Teague, country manager with Canon Business Solutions
"Users benefit from lower energy usage and running costs, both of which are extremely important factors in the current economic climate."
Xerox Phaser 6128
Price: €599
The full-colour Xerox Phaser 6128 is ideal for individuals and small work teams. This MFD copies, scans and faxes, and prints up to 12 pages per minute (ppm) in colour and 16 ppm in black and white.
The Phaser's Run Black feature enables printing to continue with black until the colour toner is replaced. The 400MHz processor with 384MB of memory ensures that complex jobs are processed quickly and reliably. The Xerox device has a warm-up time of 27 seconds. All colours are applied at once, enabling the unit to go four times faster than older models.
The Phaser is easy to install and set up in minutes, without the need for IT support.
The Xerox MFD has secure printing and device access controls that help businesses track costs and ensure colour use is easily managed.
The 6128 also produces a relatively low amount of waste, making it amore environmentally-friendly device than its predecessors.
Dell 3115cn Multifunction Colour Laser Printer
Price: €619
Designed for departmental or work group use, with networking as standard, the Dell Multifunction Colour Laser Printer 3115cn provides fast and high-quality A4 printing, copying, scanning and mono facilities.
The device saves office space, consumables and maintenance costs, and avoids the need for multiple powerpoints by replacing separate printers, fax machines, scanners and copiers with one unit.
The 3115cn has print speeds up to 17 ppm in colour and 30 ppm in black and white. The device is suited to handle a typical monthly print volume of 1,000 to 7,000 pages.
This Dell MFD can be fitted with high-capacity toner cartridges for optimum economy. Network software to monitor and control user access to colour output and document management software are included as standard, as is a 12-month next-day onsite service cover.
Other notable features include Dell's toner management system, which notifies you when toner levels are low and cartridges are due to be replaced, and easy ordering of replacement consumables.
Epson Aculaser CX21NF
Price: €1,178
The Aculaser CX21NF is ideal for workgroups in large corporations, and for small to medium businesses that require print, copy, scan and fax functions. The device delivers fast print speeds of 25 ppm in black and white and 5 ppm in colour.
The Epson device supports key printer languages for seamless integration with your existing IT infrastructure. These include PCL6,PCL5c and Adobe PostScript 3 as standard.
Epson's application-specific integrated circuit technology ensures that engine performance is optimised, which results in a faster processing time and a first page out in less than nine seconds.
The AcuLaser CX21Nis well suited to a busy office environment, as it sustains a maximum monthly print volume of 45,000 pages and holds up to 680 sheets at a time.
Step-by-step instructions are provided to fix common faults such as paper jams, meaning greater productivity and reduced IT support costs.
Ricoh SP C231sf
Price: €652
This speedy lightweight device is ideal for small businesses. With speeds of up to 20 ppm in colour and black and white, the SP C231sf is no slouch when it comes to printing. It's durable as well, capable of printing 30,000 pages a month.
The device comes with a 400Mhz processor and 128Mb of Ram. This helps with the electronic collation facility, which prints multiple copies of multi-page documents in the correct numerical sequence using Ram memory - saving manual collation.
Administrators can manage the printer remotely using embedded web tools. This means there is no need to visit the printer to change settings or load additional software. Furthermore, when networked, theprinter can be configured to send an e-mail alert when it is running out of toner or when it has a status problem. IT administrators can remotely manage the printer proactively and not in a costly reactive manner.
Sharp MX-M160D
Price: €1,990
The 16 ppm SharpMX-M160Dis aimed at small but busy offices, and work groups that need maximum performance and versatility but may be restricted on budget and space.
The Sharp device comeswithA3 colour scanning and two-sided printing as standard, with an option to add faxing, network printing and network scanning capabilities. These options allow users to specify a configuration that fully meets their needs without having to invest in unnecessary features.
The device uses Sharp printer language with compression to keep print speeds as fast as possible, even on complex print jobs. Sharp's scan once/print many technology enables faster job completion when copying, and an E-Sort feature makes it easy to create multiple sets of sorted documents without the need for a bulky page collator.
The optional extras allow for more functionality with the device. A reversing single pass feeder can be specified for easier double-sided scanning and copying. The addition of network scanning capability allows documents to be scanned directly to a PC,FTP server, or any valid e-mail address.
HP Officejet Pro 8500
Price: €222.60
The affordable HP Officejet Pro 8500 is ideal for those seeking a fast but cheap device. With a top speed of up to 35 ppm in black and white and 34 ppm colour, this HP printer is well-suited for those who need to access documents quickly.
The base model includes automatic two-sided printing, a two-line LCD control panel, a 35-page automatic document feeder and embedded wired networking.
Additional features in the more advanced models include wireless networking, direct digital filing and an additional paper tray.
Samsung CLX-8385ND
Price: €6,900
The Samsung CLX-8385ND builds on the success of its predecessors, offering improved efficiency with the addition of amore powerful CPU, faster colour scan and additional memory capacity.
Colour touch screen controls have been added to this model. The CLX-8385ND has enhanced paper handling and increased toner and drum capacity to allow for a lower total cost of ownership.
With speeds of up to 40 ppm, this is a fast device that can handle print jobs quickly and efficiently, and 1GB of internal memory gives it plenty of power to handle complex tasks. The Samsung CLX-8385ND has a practical design. While far from aesthetically charming, the vertical chassis minimises the floor-space required, making optimal use of the room available.
Canon iRC2380i
Price: €8,315
This compact device acts as a central hub for all your document communication, enabling you to capture, manage and distribute information at speed.
Canon's auto colour sensing system allows the iRC2380i to automatically detect which documents contain colour, and which don't - and then prints accordingly, helping to keep costs down.
The iRC2380i delivers prints at 23 ppm in black and white and colour. Using the document feeder you can scan documents and send them instantly to network folders, e-mail addresses and mail boxes.
Using Canon's iWAMMEAP technology, you can assess who is printing what, where and how much it's costing you. The inbuilt software also allows you to limit access to certain functions such as print, copy, scan and fax by user, group or department.
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