Printer vendor retools lineup for the midmarket

Printing and imaging vendor Oki Data Americas Inc. released 28 new printers Thursday – and with them, a new market strategy aimed at the mid-market.

The company, which turned 40 years old in December 2012, decided its best course of action was to focus on the mid-market and sectors such as healthcare and retail; areas it hadn’t traditionally been targeting.

“Our go-to market strategy … is aligning ourselves to where we think the market is heading to,” said Mario Pallotta, Canadian general manager at Oki.

As part of its new printer lineup, Oki came out with a few models that are improvements on older printers, but are more specifically created for mid-sized businesses. There is the MB760 and MB770 MFP series, which can handle large daily print and copy volume. The MB760 can print and copy at 49 pages per minute, while the MB770 can do that at 55 pages per minute. They also have the ability to fax and e-file, meaning users can store digital documents on the printer’s secure hard disk drive, or scan to Google Docs, Microsoft Live 365 and other cloud-based storage options.

These printers can also come as either standard or taller models, with the taller, more deluxe ones having finishing capabilities. And printers can start out as standard models and then have trays added to them as part of OKI’s smart extendable platform technology, which could be useful if a mid-level company wants to upgrade its existing printer.

The MB760 starts at around $1,400, while the MB770 starts at $1,900. Both printers’ first customer shipments will be available to North American customers Aug. 5.

Another series that might interest mid-sized businesses would be OKI’s high-performance colour MFPs, which create copies in bright, vivid shades. These printers are touted as adding value to any businesses that require marketing or showing proofs, like design agencies or real estate firms. Printing at up to 35 pages per minute in colour or 37 pages per minute in black and white on the MC770, or up to 42 pages per minute in colour or black and white with the MC780, these printers also have full fax, scanning and e-filing capabilities.

A key selling point on the MC770 and MC780 is that they can come with hubs for PaperCut MF, a software that requires users to use a security badge or password to log in before they can start using the printer. The extra security feature prevents unauthorized users from seeing print jobs that are sensitive and not for everyone’s eyes. It also prevents employees wasting company resources, especially since colour ink can be very expensive, and it deletes print jobs that have been queued up for too long to prevent waste. In addition, the software works as a reporting engine to inform IT personnel about who’s using the printer and why.

The MC770 starts at around $2,500, while pricing for the MC780 starts at around $3,500. They’ll be available in North America on June 17.

On the retail side, OKI also released the RT322SK, is OKI’s first MAXStick certified printer. It supports MAXStick’s brand of liner-free thermal labels, which can be moved around as needed and can stick to almost any surface without leaving residue behind.

The RT322SK is also touted as using newer features like 2D barcode printing. That’s helpful when businesses need to embed more data into their labels for functions like coupon printing, delivery order tickets and return receipts. For example, the RT322SK could print QR codes, something that requires more data-reading ability than a printer that only produces regular barcodes. The RT322SK prints in two colours, comes with a two-year warranty and was available in North America on May 7. Its listed price is about $450.

Geared towards businesses that need point-of-sale applications, like those in retail, this printer is also aimed at businesses in healthcare, hospitality and quick-service restaurants. Other clients include real estate firms and governments who might need to label files and documents.

Pallotta says the shift in gears is an attempt to attract mid-market businesses, which he sees as the most profitable right now.

He also says mid-level clients are looking for customizable options, something OKI can provide since 95 per cent of its machines are compatible with almost any software that mid-sized businesses use.

“Keep in mind, in the past, if they needed something like a copier or MFP device, they usually had to go out and purchase something they really probably didn’t need everything it can do, but they needed it,” he says. “Whereas now what we’ve done is made it affordable … we call it mid-work because it’s a mid-work product.”

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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