Multifunction imaging peripherals, the electronic equivalent of a Swiss Army knife when it comes to moving information between computers and paper, have overrun the home desktop. Now they're carving out a beachhead in the office.
Also known as MFPs, these combo devices can print, scan, photocopy and fax. They were originally aimed at home office consumers who wanted to save desktop space, and since the first multifunction imaging devices appeared about a decade ago, the speed, ease of use, quality and reliability of MFPs have all seen huge improvements.
As performance has increased, so has their appeal to small businesses that want to save real estate and capital costs while giving employees access to as many peripherals as possible to boost their productivity.
Canadian sales of MFPs increased a modest 3.6 per cent in the first half of 2004, but had a whopping 49.4-per-cent rise in the second half of the year, according to George Bulat, IDC Canada's director of data-driven products. More than 400,000 MFPs were shipped across the country in the fourth quarter of 2004. "Double-digit increases in two consecutive quarters is certainly an indication of a growing market," Mr. Bulat said.
Evans Research Corp. analyst Bill Fournier has been tracking printer and scanner shipments since the mid-1980s, and he says 2004 was the first year that shipments of standalone units fell in Canada. "I seriously cannot remember ever reporting a decline in shipments in any of those years. There were certainly years of low growth, but no actual declines."
Weakening standalone printer sales are mainly attributable to the growing popularity of MFPs, particularly for offices, Mr. Fournier said. According to figures from Evans, MFP sales made up about 18 per cent of the Canadian printer market in 2002. But sales have increased steadily, hitting 32 per cent in 2004 and are expected to top 37 per cent this year. That means projected 2005 shipments of about 1.2 million inkjet and laser-based MFPs in Canada.
But Mr. Fournier says existing office printers aren't being replaced en masse. Rather, the MFP market has swelled as people replace aging copiers and scanners with all-in-one devices, and as they buy MFPs for individual office workers or small work groups. Depending on desired speed and printer resolution, MFPs for small offices can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000.
Mr. Fournier also expects to see particularly strong growth this year in MFPs that have fast laser-printing capabilities for larger offices. For large enterprises that require high-speed, high-volume laser printer/copier devices that collate and staple as well as scan and fax, costs can range from $5,000 to more than $10,000.
According to numbers from Hewlett-Packard Co., 30 per cent of small businesses with fewer than 20 employees now have MFPs, and 50 per cent of businesses with more than 20 employees use them.
Vancouver-based North Shore Credit Union (NSCU) is a prime example.
It equipped 12 account managers in a newly designed retail branch with multifunction imaging products when the credit union launched a new customer service strategy last year. The desktop MFPs replaced separate devices -- printers, faxes, copiers and scanners -- that were located in a central area in the old branch. The result is higher productivity and more face-to-face time with customers, the company says.
"This allows account managers to be more engaged with customers," Fred Cook, chief information officer at NSCU, said. "They print, copy or fax what they need without leaving the customer, so there is no broken flow in the conversation."
Coupled with a new electronic forms filing system, the office uses less paper with MFPs than it used to with standalone printers, since account managers' documents stay on the computer network after being scanned or copied on the MFP instead of being printed every time.
The customer, however, still receives a customized document printed in colour to take with them. The cost per page over the black-and-white printouts made for customers in the past has "increased marginally," the company said, but overall printing costs have remained stable since there is less printing. And "customers are impressed by colour and the customized documents," Mr. Cook said.
The MFP has spread faster in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) than in larger companies, said Mason Olds, vice-president of Canon Canada's imaging systems group. MFPs save these smaller business owners about 10 per cent off the cost of four separate devices, and take up less room in small offices, he says.
Many of the latest multifunction devices can also be connected to computer networks, allowing anyone with authorized access to the network and MFP to print or fax from their desktop. A company can install one or two MFPs in a department rather than giving each employee a printer and possibly a scanner and setting aside further space for a copier and fax machine.
But "the big shock" is how much a company saves on consumables such as ink jet or toner cartridges when they only have to replace consumables in one device, Mr. Olds said. "Soft costs are important. Large businesses have capital budgets and facilities budgets, but for mid-size [businesses] it all comes out of one pot."
In addition, there is an "ease-of-use factor" that SMEs with minimal technical support staff appreciate. An employee has to learn how to operate only one physical device rather than three or four, he said.
But sometimes, a big part of the attraction of office technology comes down to impressing people. Whether dealing with employees or customers, what counts in business relationships are "those times when people say, 'That's neat!' and they take that thought away with them," Mr. Cook said, adding that MFPs at NSCU are making a lot of people say "Neat."
More than just printers
Multifunction imaging peripherals (MFPs), all-in-one devices that can print, scan, photocopy and fax, are enjoying a surge of popularity in small and medium
49.4% HOW MUCH SHIPMENTS OF MULTIFUNCTION PERIPHERALS (MFPS) IN CANADA ROSE IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2004, COMPARED TO SALES IN THE FIRST HALF.
2004 THE FIRST RECORDED YEAR THAT SHIPMENTS OF STANDALONE PRINTERS FELL.
400,000 THE NUMBER OF MFPS SOLD IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2004; 91% WERE INKJETS, 9% WERE LASER-BASED.
>37 THE PORTION OF THE PRINTER MARKET MFPS ARE EXPECTED TO REPRESENT IN 2005.
1.2-MILLION THE NUMBER OF INKJET AND LASER-BASED MFPS EXPECTED TO SHIP IN CANADA IN 2005.
