The world of work has undergone major changes over the last year, with many organisations now opting to let their employees work remotely, or partly at home and partly in the office.
An unintended consequence of this has been a massive shift for office equipment suppliers as companies and individuals change the way they print, scan and copy.
Nicola Mungle, head of sales and marketing: B2C at Canon SA
Nicola began her career in the IT industry as a retail account manage with Siltek, later moving to Fujitsu Siemens Computer.
She joined Canon in 2003 as retail channel manager, looking after mass retail customers. In 2015 she took on the pro photo channel as well. In 2017, Nicola became the sales director for retail at Canon SA, adding the distribution customers in 2020 to become sales director for the whole of South Africa for the B2C (business-to-consumer) division of Canon.
In April 2021, she became director and business unit head for B2C, heading up sales and marketing for all B2C products.
Nicola Mungle, head of sales and marketing: B2C at Canon SA, explains that the pandemic and resulting lockdowns changed everything for office equipment companies.
During 2020, Canon saw its inkjet business spike, with users buying mostly entry-level models.
In the laser category, there was a significant growth in the 1-20ppm (pages per minute) models according to IDC market stats for 2020, which highlighted the fact that users were purchasing entry-level models with basic features across all brands.
Brandon Zabielski, laser product and business development manager at Canon EMEA, points out that a fair amount of education also took place during the year as end users came to grips with managing their own IT and office environments.
“In the office, people have access to the office device which has all the features they need to simplify their printing and operations. Working from home, they have had to become their own ‘IT people, so they have had a steep learning curve.
“But working from home made consumers aware of the need for better features to match their requirements,” he says. “We are now dealing with a smarter, more informed, user who is looking to solve their printing and scanning needs as efficiently as possible.”
The work from home situation also exposed the need for workflow solutions that tie newly remote workers and the organisation’s management systems.
“We’ve seen that companies are looking for solutions that allow employees to work seamlessly at home while still allowing the business to monitor and control their printing costs.”
Although work from home has pushed entry-level printers to the fore, they are also seeing good traction in small and medium enterprises as well as in workgroups or departments in large organisations.
Zabielski believes that what all of these users are looking for in a printer is the same: reliability, productivity, ease of use, smart functions such as duplex and larger capacity ADF (automatic document feeder), scan to PC and security functions.
“Printing from mobile and smart devices is becoming more popular,” he adds.
“Digitisation is the way forward for most companies, so features such as dual scanning are important.”
Speed is a factor in both colour and monochrome printers, he adds. “Of particular interest to customers is the first page out speed. Most individual users and SMEs print a small number of pages at a time, so the speed at which the first page prints has become more important than the ppm rate.”
Customers are also paying attention to their power usage, especially with the price of electricity on an upward trajectory, so low power consumption is key for home office and SME printers.
Security is an issue that workers probably never thought before about in relation to their printers, Zabielski adds. But now individuals and SMEs have to consider their entire security setup, including how their printer is set-up and how to make it accessible without compromising security.
Mungle agrees that what customers are looking for is mostly productivity and reliability.
As part of her marketing portfolio, Mungle is involved in educating customers on why these issues are important, and also on how to get the most out of their printers.
The age-old debate about whether colour or monochrome printing is better has largely dissipated as better-informed customers pick the printer that suits their needs.
“The market is still dominated with monochrome devices, which are selling more than colour,” Zabielski says. “Even the buying habits on consumables show much more monochrome toner is being purchased over CYM (cyan, yellow and magenta) toners.
“When it comes to both colour and monochrome devices, multifunction is preferred over single-function devices, and ADF feeders that hold a minimum of 35 sheets.”
If he had to advise customers on whether colour or monochrome were best for their use, Zabielski points out Canon’s entry-level i-SENSYS colour devices are popular in retail channel with the SoHo (small office/home office) user who generally prints low volumes with colour every now and then.
“In the office space it is more about the CPC (cost per copy) charge, and traditionally the mono devices have a cheaper monochrome CPC than a colour device’s monochrome CPC.
“When opting for colour, it is all about what the required output is,” he adds. “For example, a real estate agency would use colour for printing brochures and pamphlets that they hand out to potential customers. However, a business that mostly prints documents for internal use could easily switch to just printing out in mono, reducing their printing costs.”
Mungle adds customers find it easier to get more out of their printers now, with even entry-level devices offering features that used to be available only in high-end devices.
Canon’s iSENSYS range of printers are proving to be attractive for SME and home office customers.
The range offers a portfolio of devices that provides a wide range of features and functionality workgroups in any size of business.
Brandon Zabielski, laser product and business development manager at Canon EMEA
Brandon leads the development and growth of the i-SENSYS printer business across the Canon SA markets as product champion for all business development, marketing and sales activities.
He promotes i-SENSYS awareness and profile across the regions, working with sales managers, local partners and external market research companies to analyse the market, deciding product pricing and positioning based on the competitive landscape.
He co-ordinates the planning of new product launches and manages the product lifecycle. He also creates local training courses for internal teams and partners, and determines sales budgets.
“Our fast print speeds from standby or sleep mode ensure the user doesn’t wait for the print, and the device is saving power when not in use,” Zabielski says. “And our large colour touchscreens make our device easy to use and navigate through.
“The variety of connection options like the traditional LAN and the growing popularity of WiFi with simultaneous WiFi make printing and scanning not only easier using mobile printing and the cloud but also improve security.”
He adds that Canon’s unique i-SENSYS Application Library enables users to easily customise function buttons on their printer’s large screen. “This makes it easier for users to meet specific needs and increase productivity with fast, one-touch control of daily tasks.”
And all i-SENSYS devices come standard with a three-year warranty to give customers peace of mind.
Canon i-SENSYS MF440
The i-SENSYS MF440 multifunctional black and white laser printers are designed for small and medium businesses, delivering speed, reliability and connectivity.
“With customisable controls and secure PIN printing, it’s never been easier to maximise your business potential,” says Zabielski.
“This series delivers prints at speeds of up to 38ppm in A4 and offers double-sided printing as standard. Double-sided single-pass scanning will keep your workflow at a premium too.”
The Canon i-SENSYS MF445dw lets users print, scan, copy and fax in a compact model, which also benefits from customisable controls, single-pass double-sided scanning and versatile mobile printing options.
Canon i-SENSYS MF540 series
The i-SENSYS MF540 series delivers high performance for busy businesses.
“Ultra-fast results from a compact multifunctional black and white laser printer makes these devices ideal for hard working businesses,” Zabielski points 0out.
“It puts security concerns to rest with secure PIN document release, which allows greater control over confidential material, while the universal login manager offers user authentication for even greater privacy.”
In addition, printing from mobile devices is only ever a tap away with the MF540 series offering a variety of mobile connections including Airprint (Apple), Mopria (Android) as well as the Canon PRINT business app.
“Whether printing a sales presentation or small document for internal use the MF540 series ensures prints are high quality and, with improved toner cartridges, it produces better yields,” Zabielski says. “And the Canon i-SENSYS MF540 series benefits from superior printing speeds for first-class productivity.”
The MF542x and MF543x are capable of print speeds of up to 43ppm in A4, making them ideal for heavy workloads.
Printing is made even more efficient with double-sided printing and single-pass double-sided scanning, for enhanced levels of productivity.
The Canon i-SENSYS MF542x saves space with a compact design boasting print, scan and copy functionality, a perfect fit for productive businesses in need of a high-performance black and white laser printer.
The Canon i-SENSYS MF543x offers print, scan, copy and fax functionality from one compact printer, perfect for businesses tight on space. With flexible connectivity, rapid printing and intuitive controls, the MF543x will take productivity to another level.
Canon i-SENSYS MF645Cx series
The i-SENSYS MF645Cx is an A4 colour multifunction printer that is ideal for small and medium sized offices.
“It is durable, reliable and fast with extensive mobile connectivity options to maximise productivity,” Zabielski says. “It allows for mobile printing from smartphones or tablets, automatic double-sided printing to increase productivity and a 12,7cm touchscreen with intuitive controls.”
The Canon i-SENSYS MF645Cx is durable, reliable and fast. The MF645Cx is a multi-function colour printer with fax capability, ideal for small and medium businesses. MF645Cx also features extensive security and cost management options, as well as single pass double-sided scanning to boost productivity.
Canon i-SENSYS MF740 series
The i-SENSYS MF740 series is a range of colour multifunctional printers for demanding businesses.
“Optimised for medium businesses, this range of multifunction printers take productivity to the next level,” according to Zabielski. “Some of its stand-out features include universal login manager for easy control and management, customisable on-screen applications through application library, and PIN document release for security.”
The Canon i-SENSYS MF742Cdw is a multi-function colour printer that will help small and medium business owners and take productivity to new levels.
The Canon i-SENSYS MF744Cdw multi-function colour printer with added fax helps small and medium business owners enhance their productivity thanks to its advance features such as single-pass double-sided scanning.
Canon Support Line: (012) 675 4961
Email: nicola.mungle@canon.co.za