PrintIT Reseller - issue 69

01732 759725 12 BULLETIN PFU EMEA launches sales promotion PFU (EMEA) has launched its ‘take 2’ campaign. Designed to help resellers, distributors and partners drive sales of its ScanSnap solutions, end-users can claim a ScanSnap iX100 for free after they purchase a ScanSnap iX1500. The 2019 campaign resulted in significant sales uplift for channel partners who actively promoted it using a wide range of support materials made available through the Imaging Channel Program. These materials will be made available again for partners via the program for the 2020 ‘take 2’ promotion. “We are committed to supporting our channel partners, who represent a vital part of our business,” said Senior Vice President, Mike Nelson. “By re-launching the ‘take 2’ promotion in 2020, we aim to continue our support for the reseller community as it offers award-winning scanning solutions to users.” www.fujitsu.com The Sign Show confirms first celebrity speaker Organisers of The Sign Show have announced British boxing legend Frank Bruno MBE as the first of three celebrity speakers for the debut of the UK-facing sign industry event. Chris Davies, Event Director for The Sign Show and co-located The Print Show, said: “We are absolutely delighted to confirm Frank as our first celebrity speaker for the 2020 show. He is an absolute icon of British sporting history and to have him appear at The Sign Show and The Print Show, as well as meet with visitors, will be an incredible experience.” The Sign Show and The Print Show will be located inside one hall at the NEC in September. www.thesignshow.co.uk Kodak Alaris claims 2020 scanner line of the year award Kodak Alaris has won BLI’s coveted 2020 Scanner Line of the Year award for the fourth time in five years. Given once a year, this award recognises the vendor whose product line is deemed best overall based on rigorous laboratory evaluations. To determine the scanner line of the year award recipient, BLI analysts consider current scanners in the OEM’s line that have been submitted to BLI’s lab for testing. To judge the overall quality of the line, the analysts look at the overall rating a scanner received after testing, as well as the ratings in key categories such as reliability, productivity, media handling, image quality, ease of set-up, drivers/utilities, OCR performance and value. Lee Davis, Keypoint Intelligence’s Senior Editor, Scanner Analysis and Software Evaluation said: “Whether it’s a small desktop unit or a production scanner and everything in between – scanners from Kodak Alaris are class leaders that can add tremendous value to any business, earning the company its fourth line of the year award in five years, and its fifth overall.” www.alarisworld.com Ricoh scoops Buyers Lab award Ricoh is celebrating another Keypoint Intelligence - Buyers Lab success having won a BLI Winter Pick award for its new A4 colour intelligent multi-function printer (MFP), the Ricoh IM C300. The Ricoh IM C300 was declared the winning device in the category of Outstanding Colour MFP for Mid-Size Workgroups. The Ricoh IM C300 is part of a range of four new A4 colour intelligent MFPs, which also includes the Ricoh IM C300F, IM C400F and IM C400SRF. www.ricoh.co.uk MPS market poised for growth Quocirca’s global Managed Print Services Landscape report identifies the drivers that are shaping MPS engagements and analyses how vendors are positioned to respond. Research Director, Louella Fernandes said: “Businesses are planning to increase MPS spend, which is welcome news for providers. However, the market is mature, so they need to differentiate their offering and seek broader engagements that tap into customer demand for digital transformation, security and sustainability. Buyers are looking for additional services such as workplace services, IT managed services and collaboration services, so providers that respond to this demand will be better positioned to help organisations achieve the MPS objectives that have so far eluded them.” Quocirca’s analysis finds competition is intensifying as vendors bring their different strengths and broader IT services experience to market. Xerox continues to lead the group, but its lead is being squeezed, particularly by HP which has made strong advances in deepening its security services and solutions portfolio. Ricoh stands out for its comprehensive range of non-print related IT and communications services. Lexmark continues to excel, particularly in distributed environments, boosted by its new cloud services offerings. Fernandes said: “Leading vendors are pursuing a strategy of diversifying their offerings and strengthening competence in areas such as cloud, IoT, security and analytics. To succeed they must continue to build deeper relationships with clients across a broad range of areas and become a strategic partner to IT decision-makers and lines-of-business. “The basic MPS market is mature but there are still opportunities for providers to seize opportunities to increase customer relevance and deliver value, especially by developing new offerings in less well-served areas such as IoT analytics and cloud-based print management.” www.quocirca.com Frank Bruno MBE AWARDS 2020 See page 26