DEMAND FOR COLOR GROWS

[Anonymous]

Demand for color grows
Security and scanning create competitive advantage
Multifunction products
(MFP) are making work processes easier and less costly for workgroups
to copy, print, scan to e-mail, fax and perform general office duties
on one consolidated device. Shared devices, however, create security
concerns for offices, which has the interest of copier manufacturers.
The manufacturers also are busy introducing copier-based MFPs with
improved color and scanning capabilities.
Outlook

Don Dixon, a market analyst at Gartner, based in Stamford, Conn., says
the copier-based MFP industry will see strong double-digit growth in
color placements, while monochrome placements will remain flat.
Suppliers historically strong in the monochrome segments of the market
are replacing them with color devices, he explains. This year, Gartner
reports the industry will ship 140,000 copier MFPs, compared to 100,000
in 2004.

Dixon says that average selling prices for both monochrome and color
copier-based MFPs will decline. Prices are falling due to market
demands and competition from printer-based MFPs. “There is a market for
printer-centric MFPs with the same output speed, but less durability,
so of course less cost,” he says.

Cathy Lewis, senior vice president of marketing, IKON Office Solutions,
a distributor of copiers, printers and MFPs based in Malvern, Pa., sees
a 20% plus growth rate for copier-based MFPs this year. Digital
technology in copier-based MFPs allows for improved scanning
capabilities as well as for a strong copy function to move quickly to a
printing function, she says.

Along with Dixon, she expects price erosion of 5-7% on monochrome devices and 5-10% price erosion on color devices.

Lewis says that although color is growing in the office, most companies
are no longer worried about controlling color. “A few years ago, to
print a color page was 30¢ to 40¢ per page,” she says. “Companies had
to watch closely to who had access to print color. Today, that same
color page is under 10¢. Companies are moving to MFPs, where they can
count the pages and know what they’re spending because that is where
the cost lays.”
What’s new

While corporate buyers move to consolidate de-vices, and more people
work off a central MFP, security has become an issue, even for the
general office. “Even a small business that wants to communicate with
its bank is starting to be concerned with security,” says David Bates,
director of product marketing at Xerox, based in Stamford, Conn. He
says identity theft is everybody’s concern, and not just an issue for
the government and large accounts.

Not only are security options a trend among copier manufacturers, but
new federal regulations make security a requirement. Federal
regulations, like Sarbanes-Oxley, are designed to safeguard information
reported on copiers and printers. Xerox has certified products that
comply with government standards to meet growing customer demand, says
Bates.

In June, Xerox introduced 18 additions to its CopyCentre, WorkCentre
and WorkCentre Pro lines of digital copiers and MFP systems. Security
functionality added to document workflow in the WorkCentre and
WorkCentre Pro encrypt data traveling on the network to ensure
unauthorized viewers do not have access to scanned documents en route
to file servers or other network repositories.

Scanning is one of the biggest trends impacting office buyers and
probably moving the fastest, says Bates. Color file sizes, in
particular, get very large, he says. Enhanced scanning capabilities on
the new products reduce file sizes of scanned documents up to 50%
through the Master Raster Content and JBIG2 compression technologies.
When people scan documents to file servers or fax machines, the smaller
the file size will reduce network loads and decreases storage space
required on the server.

Toshiba is also taking security measures to accommodate customers. It
announced the e-STUDIO multifunction series in June, which offers
several optional security capabilities. The Scrambler Board, for
instance, encrypts the data on the hard-disk drive to be unrecognizable
if someone tried to steal the disk off the MFP. The Scrambler Board
then decrypts the document when it is printed out. In addition, network
authentication asks for a person’s name and password before they gain
access to the MFP and its scanning and copying capabilities, which
prevents unauthorized access.

Another trend, according to Steve Rhorer, the director of product
marketing at Toshiba, is the growing demand for high-speed color in the
business environment. “We know that color is growing, and important at
20-40 ppm, but we are seeing a lot of businesses looking for higher
speed at 45-55 ppm, in full color. That is emerging right now.”

Kyocera Mita announced in July its KM-C2630, which offers color imaging
to meet the industry’s surging demand for color. One feature is its
auto color calibration technology, which is built in to maintain
consistent image quality page after page, according to Bill Cassidy,
the product marketing manager for monochrome MFPs. He says drift color
is a big issue with color environments, and the technology sets the
machine to specific intervals so page one looks the same as page 201.

Other technology on the KM-C2630 are virtual mailboxes. Up to 255
mailboxes can be set up for mere security and convenience. Each mailbox
is unique to a user with passcodes. Data can also be accessed directly
from the control panel by entering the passcode. It only allows the
person printing the documents to view any output.

Canon is accommodating workgroups with its two new lines of color
imageRUNNER 2620 and imageRUNNER C3170 series released in July. Both
offer MEAP (multifunctional embedded application platform) technology,
which now allows for more embedded applications. MEAP-enabled devices
feature virtual mailboxes, which are a big advantage for customers. For
instance, Greg Ryan, the senior manager for industry and alliance
marketing for Canon, says that a salesperson traveling throughout the
country, but still part of their company’s network, can search the
virtual mailbox and access and print documents and sales presentations
from any MEAP-enabled device.

Other features include Universal Send, the PDF high-compression mode on
the imageRUNNER 2620 series. It compresses file size by 1/20 to scan
and send documents. Users don’t have to wait to open or send files with
this option.

“Canon is the only manufacturer to offer Web capabilities on the
imageRUNNER 3170 series,” says Paul Albano, manager of product
marketing for Canon. Users can browse Web pages and download PDF files
from the control panel and print from the MFP. It’s similar to viewing
Web pages via a cell phone. Canon’s imageRUNNER series also offers
security features like encryption 

[Author]

September 29, 2005 at 11:06 AM