Super 7 printers for SMEs

BANGALORE, INDIA: After digitalisation spelt doom for many technologies, traditional IT and software solutions made way for cutting-edge and state-of-the-art tech products. The loyalty of the customer is long lost, that one is no more looking at who provides what, but is interested more in devices that are cost effective, and at the same time, address all his needs.

HP TopShot Laserjet Pro M275But quite predictably, technology has proved that it cannot wash away everything that comes its way. There is still something that information technology failed to eliminate completely from this earth: Printers.

Even in this era of digitalisation, we can't imagine a day without print. All commercial or marketing products come with a printed label on them, as rules stipulate that a product must have details of the brand, manufacturing date, expiry date and all other related information printed on them before it reaches the market.

Needless to say, the ubiquitous printer has long been an inevitable part of our daily life. Newspapers and other important documents, such as passport, PAN card, Voter's ID, licence, photos and other office-related work, etc, all get printed using printing machines. So, even if a 'technology tsunami' wipes out the entire world, the printer is here to stay. Forever.

Although the advent of technology, like the birth of smartphones and tablets, has taken a toll on the global printer business recently, it has not made much impact. A few months ago, market research firm Gartner came out with a report that said slow consumer spending and proliferation of smartphones and tablets led to 5.9 per cent decline in the Indian printer copier and MFP market to 6.41 lakh units in the fourth quarter last year.

 

However, this report didn't seem to have dampened the spirit of printer and scanner makers, who are still betting big on cutting-edge printing and scanning machines to reach out to more customers in the cost-conscious BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets.

All tech companies, including HP, Dell and Canon, to name a few, are still out in the market, with new vigour and passion, with their different kinds of printers, in which HP is holding the major share of the pie. As recent as in May first week, HP announced a slew of IT products, which include cutting-edge printers and scanners, too, which it hopes will pave way for a new era in the MFP (multifunction printer) market.

HP's announcement came close on the heels of the launch of similar products by Dell, Epson, Canon, Kodak etc. All multifunction printer makers have intensified their focus on India, considering its vast SME market, which has been growing steadily and consistently for the last several years.

Following are the list of a few printers, some of which are yet to hit the market.

OfficeJet 150 Mobile All-in-One

A mobile printer announced by HP last month, this state-of-the art printer enables the customer to fire prints while on the move. Being a portable machine, this will help SMEs save time. The company hopes the new breed will revolutionize the printing industry, since customers are aggressively looking for portable devices, as they would be traveling most of the time.

OfficeJet 150 can also copy and scan and it doesn't weigh more than 3 kg. It's lighter than a stationary inkjet. The price of this product is not announced yet, but it will hit the market in a couple of months.

HP-TopShot-Laserjet-Pro-M275

HP also unveiled a 3D scanner-cum-printer, which enables customers to scan and print multiple objects at one go. The HP TopShot scanner captures and scans images of 3D objects and post directly on the Web. It also easily removes background via HP scan software, all through a one-step operation.

It uses the color display to stay connected. A web-connected printer, it scans images of 3D objects and then uses an app to post directly to popular auction sites. It accesses the web directly without a PC and has a wide range of business apps.

Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4020

A comparatively cheaper printer, Epson's WP-4020 has laser-class speed and gives high-quality output. It has two paper trays, and has features such as a built-in duplexer for printing on both sides of a page, and wired and WiFi network support.

Focused on business needs, the Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4020 inkjet printer combines fast speed and a low-claimed cost per page. It won't cost you more than $100.Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4020

Kodak ESP C310 All-in-One Printer

Kodak ESP C310 All-In-One Printer offers a relatively low running cost, at a 3.7 cents per monochrome page and 11.3 cents per color page. The C310 is for home use, with high-quality photos and fast photo speed. It prints, scans, and copies, and connects by either USB cable or WiFi.

It has the ability to print from PictBridge cameras and memory cards, as well as preview photos on its 1.5-inch LCD screen before printing.

Brother MW-260

It is small, light and doesn't need ink. Its thermal paper looks and feels much like standard plain paper. The drawback is that it can print only on A6-size paper (4.1 by 5.8 inches), so can't print from most smartphones at this writing.

The Brother MW-260 scores high on portability and prints on large enough paper to be useful for printing e-mail or other documents that you need to work with as hard copy. The cost of this machine is a bit high ($549.95). It is not designed for a cost-constrained startup, but for for medium-sized businesses.

If you need hard copy on the go, but can do without letter-size output, it easily justifies its high price by offering what could be the ideal compromise between portability and features.

Epson Artisan 725

It's a quick and relatively affordable wireless all-in-one inkjet printer with plenty of features.

It is a wireless all-in-one inkjet printer that has received much praise for its speed and features, such as fast 4 by 6 inch photo prints, CD and DVD surface printing and more. It costs around $200.

Epson WorkForce 840

This fast, high-quality printer excels at copying, scanning and faxing. The Epson WorkForce 840 is a fast and efficient all-in-one printer. It can print around 15 high-quality black-ink pages per minute, and around nine great-looking color ink pages per minute. It's also great at scanning and faxing. The cost is $299.99.