The lease on a customer’s copier or multifunctional device is about to expire. Does the client accept the next iteration in an OEM’s line, or has its business needs evolved to the extent that it’s necessary to move in another direction? To that end, what are the drivers that are dictating a customer’s changed approach to hardware? When speeds and feeds no longer dominate the conversation, but cost-per-page is still a primary talking point, the question becomes what attributes will sway a customer’s decision process?
Well, we don’t have a crystal ball or a qualified Tarot card reader, but we’ve rounded up a panel of industry analysts and dealers who have provided their insights as to how manufacturer hardware offerings are reflecting the changing needs of customers. In particular, our panel discusses what features guide customers in their decision-making processes.
Andy Slawetsky is a well-traveled and familiar figure on the conference, trade show, manufacturer event and dealer meeting circuit. The president and owner of Industry Analysts believes the greatest trend driving the new age of copier/MFP development is the evolution of the user interface towards easier, less intimidating models. In the past, screens inundated the user with a myriad of options, which proved frustrating for those looking to execute meat-and-potatoes functions such as copying and scanning.
Now that the iPhone has celebrated 10 years of revolutionizing the way people use cells phones—with the calling function almost becoming an afterthought—iOS and its Android cousin have effectively educated the population with a common user interface. “Manufacturers are developing their user interfaces to emulate that look,” Slawetsky said. “Some do it better than others, and certain manufacturers are taking a completely Android approach. Samsung put the Android UI on its copier, while Xerox, Sharp and others have taken the app approach. Users understand how to slide back and forth between screens. Manufacturers aren’t overloading people with all the functions and features the machine has right on the front screen.”
Slawetsky noted that OEMs such as Xerox and Samsung allow for app integration by dealers and, invariably, end users. This opens up a world of possibilities. He pointed out that during a Xerox event earlier this year, a dealer demonstrated an app that allowed the device to run the Amazon Echo. The world’s best-known, voice-controlled virtual assistant, Alexa, can now be asked to make copies.
“It’s early stage artificial intelligence, but the more manufacturers enable integration, the more potential exists,” he said. “You literally have a personal assistant built into your copier. As AI takes off, Xerox will be a little ahead of the pack.”
T.J. DeBello,
Stargel Office Solutions
Stargel Office Solutions of Houston is seeing strong demand from customers who want access to data quickly and from multiple devices, notes T.J. DeBello, vice president of sales. Many end users have instant access from their mobile devices to connect with Microsoft 365, Dropbox or Google Drive, and having access to these platforms on their MFPs have dominated sales discussions and led to successful engagements.
From an OEM standpoint, Stargel has enjoyed much success with the HP A3 line, led by its security features and PageWide technology. “HP has done a fantastic job marketing their security enhancements, and it plays well with larger clients that spend resources on securing their environments,” DeBello said. “The PageWide has fit into some smaller environments that are more price conscious but need reliable color output.
Toshiba has a great vertical platform with ELEVATE that we’ve had success within the medical and law space. The ability to customize the touch screen for individual clients gives them a great user experience, leading to more productive use of the MFP’s vast features.
T.J. DeBello, Stargel Office Solutions
The Need to Educate
Debra Dellaposta,
Doing Better Business
Many dealers feel the onus to educate their customers on the importance of various issues, especially security, but still find themselves confronted with the requirements to have a unit that is cost effective, backed by quality service and meets the client’s basic needs. Debra Dellaposta, president of Altoona, PA-based Doing Better Business, notes the conversation still tends to be dictated by cost.
“There are still many old-fashioned purchases taking place,” she said. “Our role is to educate, but it’s tough to get people to understand that security is a huge factor. A 13-year-old device on your network is a massive security risk, but customers don’t seem to grasp that concept. Our staff is also concerned with how we can integrate all of the cloud applications into our customers’ current software in a way that is cost-effective—whether it’s apps or connector keys. Unless the customer understands the value, it is difficult to sell those services.”
A 13-year-old device on your network is a massive security risk, but customers don’t seem to grasp that concept.
Debra Dellaposta, Doing Better Business
Charles Brewer,
Actionable Intelligence
Actionable Intelligence, led by President Charles Brewer, provides tactical market research and custom consulting related to the markets for digital printer, copier and MFP hardware and toner/inkjet supplies. Brewer sees a trend toward machines that have a smaller footprint, while on the supplies side, manufacturers are moving away from using base materials such as styrene acrylic resins to more polyester-based toners, which have lower melting points.
Brewer echoed Slawetsky’s sentiments regarding the larger, friendlier user interface screens, which have grown in size. But some of the greater value-added tools go beyond the machine itself, addressing workflow and document management.
The more customized manufacturers can make their machines for a particular end user, the more of a premium they can get for it.
Charles Brewer, Actionable Intelligence
“The more customized manufacturers can make their machines for a particular end user, the more of a premium they can get for it,” Brewer said. “In terms of speeds and feeds, you don’t hear hardware manufacturers talking about specs like resolution and print speed, which is kind of antiquated now. The way some manufacturers try to add value is by bringing the operating costs of the machines down. KYOCERA, for example, was able to come in at pretty low cost-per-page prices, and Ricoh now is using some of their print engines to offer the same low cost points.”
With the move to cloud computing and the need for mobile printing, managing a client’s entire network is becoming critical for a dealer such as Cleveland-based Meritech. Aging networks and declining server space has dictated a need for customers to grow and evolve, notes Ken VandenHaute, vice president of sales for Meritech. These factors are putting IT support on a plane with hardware management. He notes many clients are also moving to Microsoft Office 365.
The Vertical Slant
Ken VandenHaute,
Meritech
The growth in apps for the devices can be pinpointed to a client’s vertical and that space’s particular needs, according to VandenHaute. The legal vertical seeks out bates stamping features, while both legal and medical want the ability to scan documents and turn them into searchable and editable PDFs on the back end. On the education side, there’s an app for KYOCERA machines (among others) that replicates the old Scantron machine for test-taking forms, grading the forms and providing customizable reports.
“We’re seeing a lot of apps being developed to connect directly to Google Drive,” he said. “The hardware enhancements that have the best chance of convincing customers to upgrade are really just specific to their vertical market.
The hardware enhancements that have the best chance of convincing customers to upgrade are really just specific to their vertical market.
Ken VandenHaute, Meritech
“One of the things we say when do a demo is, this copier is going to do everything you expect—double-sided, duplex; we can program the machine to force double siding. Speeds and feeds really don’t matter to an end user, though speed might if it’s a high-volume environment. As for the rest of it, it’s pretty generic, like a car. Everything across the automotive industry has become very generic.”
Vertical markets offer the opportunity for OEMs to take a more granular approach in their offerings, according to Brewer. Both Konica Minolta and Xerox partnered with health care information exchange specialist Kno2 to incorporate a “Share Patient Information” button on their vertical-specific MFP, using a standardized format that eliminates the need for faxing. Beyond that, the MFPs and copiers can be tailored for specific units within a hospital or care facility.
“A nursing station might have a low-end printer, while billing or the central office with all the backroom functions will have a bigger device. Admittance will have different needs, like printing wrist bands,” Brewer said. “All these machines are running similar software packages that pull it all together and it’s tailored toward the hospital environment.”
Slawetsky also sees the charge toward app-driven device verticalization gathering more momentum. It only enhances a pitch when the sales rep can showcase vertical-specific apps or connectors programmed into the workflow software. The race for OEMs is to ensure the vertical approach is taken across all their lines, not just specific models.
Andy Slawetsky,
Industry Analysts
“Customization is key,” Slawetsky said. “Two or three years from now, everyone’s going to have a vertical copier and it won’t be an advantage to anybody. But I do think it makes it easier to sell to specific verticals.”
The vertical sale is not an easy one when it comes to pitching segment-specific feature sets, according to Doing Better Business’ Dellaposta. Lockable trays, for example, do not resonate with health care systems, and the dealer has enjoyed little traction on the education side. The open architecture offered by Sharp and Ricoh for integrating into existing software is a major plus, but she feels the ship has sailed when it comes to developing new software.
Two or three years from now, everyone’s going to have a vertical copier and it won’t be an advantage to anybody. But I do think it makes it easier to sell to specific verticals.
Andy Slawetsky, Industry Analysts
“Most verticals have developed their own software, even the smaller verticals,” Dellaposta said. “They’ve already figured out how to run their business—we have to figure out how to hook into it and help them do it more efficiently without making any software changes for them, because they’re not willing to reinvest.”
The Inkjet Plane
Beyond copiers and MFPs lies a hardware land that has promise, but whether it can gain traction in the office dealer channel remains to be seen. Production inkjet presses have flourished on the commercial printing end. While web and sheetfed offset still dominates that segment, inkjet remains the fastest-growing hardware segment. But the office environment is a different animal. HP, for one, is banking on its PageWide technology to have an impact at the office level.
“PageWide is still early in production, but we have found a lot of success in smaller work group environments that need reliable color and an economic price point,” Stargel’s DeBello noted. “In many environments, we are able to place a PageWide and remove smaller, more costly non-networked inkjets and stand-alone printers.”
Stargel offers Toshiba thermal label printers, but has not enjoyed much success to date: many customers opt to source their labels online, rather than taking on a machine with a maintenance plan. The dealer has explored an all-inclusive cost-per-label model to help build an annuity stream, which has been mildly successful, but DeBello feels the margins aren’t viable enough to support a large investment in training to grow that portion of the business.
Meritech’s VandenHaute isn’t convinced inkjet has a bright future in the office. He sees more customers transitioning to toner-based product, opting for the technology and color quality of color multifunctional devices. The ability to perform Pantone color matching on an MFP makes it the preferred choice, in his experience. The MFP has also been a viable output device for churning out labels and variable data printing, and it fits the needs of Meritech’s client base.
Doing Better Business offers digital displays, including the Sharp Aquos Board and Ricoh’s Unified Communication System, which includes the Interactive Whiteboard with Watson. Dellaposta notes it is a challenging sell, because dealers will have to provide the educational component for customers that aren’t as IT savvy, but she is optimistic about its long-term success.
Slawetsky is quite bullish on the future of inkjet printing in the office, pointing out that it is affordable, produces higher quality output, uses less energy and has a smaller carbon footprint. It’s fighting an image problem; many people recall the home inkjet devices with uber-expensive cartridges that were gradually replaced by toner models.
HP, Brother and Epson all have A3 inkjet units, and other manufacturers like Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Canon produce the industrial models. The PageWide, with its copier-type footprint and finishing capabilities, could well be a catalyst for the future of inkjet in the office.
“It’s coming and I feel like dealers would be foolish not to look at inkjet and think about the different ways that they could possibly bring that into their product mix,” Slawetsky said. “There are real strong attributes about inkjet and one of the best areas to use it is to manage print. The yields on these things are pretty good now. The cost-per-page is very aggressive, and there’s ink-saving technology that will really allow you to bump those yields up. In the next two or three years, I think ink will initially take away some of the low-end business from laser, then eventually some of the high-end work as well.”
