PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
7
BULLETIN
Printer consumables top the list for
bargain hunters
Four out of five small businesses like to shop around to get the best deal
on printer consumables, according to a survey of 726 senior SME decision-
makers by Applegate Marketplace.
Research by the creator of the Applegate PRO online buying tool suggests that
smaller businesses are 50% to 100% more likely to shop around and compare prices
on everyday items than larger SMEs with 100 or more employees.
Applegate PRO streamlines request for quotation and purchase order processes,
making it quicker and easier for small businesses to source multiple quotes for
products and services.
Samsung extends
partnership with
Ubiquitech
Samsung Electronics has expanded its worldwide partnership with
Danish software vendor Ubiquitech, enabling users of its MultiXpress
series MFPs to improve their document security as well as print
management.
The Ubiquitech print management solution prevents confidential information
from being leaked by identifying registered users and only allowing documents
to be printed by, or shared with, authorised personnel.
In addition, all print tasks are tracked and registered. To reduce duplicate or
unnecessary printing, users can view all print jobs on the Android-based Smart
UX MFP display. Ubiquitech’s solutions can run on IBM Power and IBM System
Z, as well as Windows, giving enterprise customer the option to consolidate all
Windows Print Servers into a single IBM System Z or Power platform.
After years of falling revenue, including
double-digit declines in 2013 and 2014, the
consumer photo print market is showing
signs of stabilisation thanks in part to strong
demand for photobooks, up 12.5% in 2015.
According to the Futursource Consulting report,
The Impact of Apps on Photo Printing
, growth in
photobooks is being driven by new printing apps;
greater ownership of portable devices; increased use
of photo sharing and social media; and the desire
of consumers to make their digital memories more
tangible.
Research analyst Polina Vorms said: "The
number of images captured and stored on mobile
devices is growing exponentially, and better camera
resolution is providing consumers with more images
worth printing. A whole generation of consumers is
finding physical prints unexplored fun. If just 1% of
these unprinted digital memories were converted
into a physical print, the photo prints market could
double in size in one year."
The new report complements Futuresource
Consulting’s recent
Consumer Photo Sharing Report
,
which forecasts significant growth in the use of
mobile devices for image capture. By the end of
2016, it expects as many as 638 million images to
be captured on smartphones every day in Western
Europe. A further 55 million will be captured on
digital cameras.
New from Duplo, the Powis Photopress offers
a new way of creating photobooks.
The ‘entry level system’ turns
single-sided digital
prints into layflat
photobooks,
using
pressure
rather than
heat to
laminate
single-
sided photos
to sheets
enclosed within
hard or soft covers
.
Canon uniflow in the cloud
Canon has released a scalable, server-less cloud-based version of its
uniFLOW print and scan management solution for small and medium-sized
businesses. The output management platform combines secure pull printing
and mobile printing with detailed reporting so that administrators can track
printing and copying costs and ensure they are charged to the correct cost
centre or project. Central reporting on print fleet usage and performance
also helps administrators identify areas where printing costs and the
environmental impact of printing can be reduced.
Midshire achieves
Microsoft Partner
Network competency
Midshire has achieved its second Microsoft
Partner Network competency. To go with
its Authorised Education Partner status, it
has now been named a Silver Small and
Midmarket Cloud Solutions Provider.
Philip Sundet, Midshire Northern IT Manager,
said: “We understand that one solution doesn’t fit
all organisations, so we provide flexible options,
such as IT services to a private-cloud, public-cloud
or hybrid-cloud. I’m pleased that as a department
we have now achieved two Microsoft competencies,
both of which help to confirm our proficiency in
providing IT services to all types of organisation.”
Sole-trader
Small
Medium
Printer cartridges
83%
79% 33%
Printer paper
53%
52% 22%
Printers
48%
46% 36%
Batteries
29%
27% 11%
Light bulbs
20%
20% 10%
Tea bags
13%
15%
9%
Toilet roll
17%
20% 11%
Photobooks bring stability to consumer
photo print market
Compatible with Canon’s
uniFLOW print/scan
management solution, the new
Canon i-SENSYS MF410 and
i-SENSYS MF510 A4 MFPs offer
B&W printing and copying,
colour scanning, a compact
footprint and fast print speeds
of 33 and 40ppm respectively.
Percentage of SMEs that shop around before making a purchase
