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BUSINESS INKJETS
across each calendar quarter. So, if a school
overprints in July and September but prints
nothing in August, it will pay nothing extra
if its print volume balances out across the
three months. If a customer does go over its
allowance, the reseller will get 20% margin
on those additional pages.
PITR:
Can you roll software into the
monthly payment?
Wogan:
No. Deploying software like
Papercut, which can be embedded in our
hardware, is an additional service that an
Epson partner can add on. Print 365 itself is
just about the printer package.
PITR:
If there is a problem, who is
responsible for sorting it out?
Wogan:
The relationship will always be
with the reseller. That said, the portal
enables complete control, so if there is any
issue with the hardware it will be logged
through the portal. Some resellers will
choose to be the first line of support, just
because it is their customer. But the portal
gives us visibility and enables our service
agents to make the first telephone call,
because more than 80% of issues tend
to be fixed over the phone. The service
partners that we use for this process are
targeted on first time fix – it's all about
limiting the downtime for customers.
PITR:
Who does the servicing?
Wogan:
We use a couple of partners.
Equinox is our primary partner and we also
use a smaller, more technical company called
Rockwell. They are the guys that install and
service large format devices and we use
them sometimes for RIPS devices as well. We
have made service a very high priority.
PITR:
Didn't you have something
similar to Print 365 before?
Wogan:
We have a couple of other
propositions in our portfolio. We have Print
& Save and EPP, which stands for Epson
Print Performance.
The analogy I use is that if you break
down a car into its constituent pieces and
lay them all out, that is what a copier
dealer's managed print proposition looks
like. The copier dealer takes those individual
elements and builds them into something
Canon has updated its range of MAXIFY business
inkjets with the launch of five new models with
built-in WiFi and Ethernet connectivity and
compatibility with Canon’s mobile and cloud
printing apps, Canon PRINT and MAXIFY Cloud Link.
These include four new MFPs (the MAXIFY MB2150/
MB2750/MB5150/MB5450) and one single-function
printer (the MAXIFY iB4150). The new models will replace
the MAXIFY MB2050, MB2350, MB5050, MB5350 and
iB4050.
The new models have faster print speeds of up to 24
ppm (mono) and 15.5ppm (colour) and a faster first page
out time of six seconds (B&W). The MAXIFY MB5150 and
MB5450 have a single pass duplex scanner that captures
both sides of a page simultaneously and a 3.5in colour
touchscreen for ease of use.
that looks and drives like a car. That takes an
awful lot of investment, knowledge and a
specific type of experience – and that's what
a copier dealer has.
There is also a kit-car proposition – a
partially built MPS that enables a reseller to
tag on bits and pieces. Print & Save is similar
to Print 365, but more complex – more like
one of those kit cars. For example, a reseller
could include or exclude servicing depending
on a customer's requirements.
EPP is very much based around charging
a capital cost for the hardware and then
a cost per page to cover the consumables
alone or the consumables plus service. In
that respect, it is suitable for people who are
au fait with the cost per copy world.
For many VARS and IT resellers,
Print&Save and EPP are still too
complicated, requiring too much investment
and knowledge that they don't have. What
we have created with Print 365 is a Tesla
that is ready to drive right off the forecourt.
A cloud-based portal drives the whole
Canon updates MAXIFY range
process right through to the creation of the
final 36-month contract.
I use the Tesla analogy, because it
links back to our messaging around the
differences between inkjet and laser printers
in terms of energy consumption and carbon
emissions – not just from printing but also
in the supply chain, from consumables
deliveries and packaging.
PITR:
Is Print 365 a good way for
buyers who have doubts about inkjet
technology in the workplace to try it
out on a smaller scale?
Wogan:
Potentially, yes. What we see
happening a lot in larger organisations
is that they will have a centralised print
fleet, which they control very tightly with
quotas and rules. Then, what tends to
happen is that people decide they can't be
bothered to walk all the way down the hall
to a centralised device so smaller desktop
devices start appearing. Quite often, they
don't have a service wrap around them
and are looked after on a local level, which
means street pricing on consumables and
difficulties when something goes wrong.
Print 365 gives even small desktop A4 inkjet
devices a service wrap.
PITR:
Are you planning to recruit more
resellers for Print 365?
Wogan:
We are starting with Epson
partners – not classic Epson print partners,
but people whose world might be managed
networks or managed telecoms. Print 365 is
a good proposition for them because their
relationship with customers centres on the
network.
We are creating a tool that allows
partners to wrap up their customers with
a really valuable proposition and really
take ownership of them. We don't want to
undermine that by bringing on the wrong
kind of reseller, so we are being careful with
profiling. We don’t want everyone in the
world to sign up; we are looking for a VAR
partner with the right look and feel who will
use this for their valued customer base and
add the right level of solution and service
around it. Or, it could be that someone
doesn’t offer any additional service, but has
the right kind of customer base.
What we see
happening a
lot in larger
organisations
is that they
will have a
centralised
print fleet,
which they
control very
tightly with
quotas and
rules
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