PrintIT issue48

PRINT.IT 23 www.printitmag.co.uk 2017 REVIEW Growth in our digital signage and interactive whiteboard products shows there is clear market demand for integrated solutions our customers make significant improvements to their operations throughout 2018 and beyond. Shaun Wilkinson, MD, UTAX (UK) Ltd There were many highlights, with partners winning more than their fair share of business, but what was particularly satisfying was our success in attracting new customers, both from within and outside the traditional copier channel. These are partners who are looking to have different conversations with their customers and gain long-term relationships. Phil Jones MBE, managing director, Brother UK We won two stand out awards this year, which recognised the hard work we’ve put into making Brother UK an enjoyable, successful and rewarding place to work. In April, we were crowned Employer of the Year in the North West Business Masters Awards, and in November we received a Princess Royal Training Award, recognising the strength of our learning and development programme. It’s the people behind our business that make it a success, so accolades like these are especially rewarding. Jamie Brothwell, print general manager, Exertis Continued growth in our printing business despite market decline. Following a hugely successful year in 2016, when we established our specialist print office in Norfolk, we enjoyed further growth in 2017 of over 40%. Michele Mabilia, senior product marketing manager, OKI Systems (UK) Ltd This was the year that OKI consolidated its leading position in the A3 colour market space. At the end of last year, we launched our C8 range of small, ultra-compact A3 colour printers. Because of their small footprint and affordability, they can be used in a normal office, or anywhere where space is at a premium, both for back office printing and for producing professional-quality product leaflets, brochures, banners and shelf-edge labels in-house. This functionality is combined with reliability and ease of use, making it simple and cost-effective for businesses to bring most or all of their marketing printing in-house. Pete Pearce, product & applications marketing manager, Canon UK In 2017 we launched a revolutionary new UVgel technology, developed for wide-format graphics. We have seen the demand for wide format graphic applications expand rapidly and whereas in the past graphic producers have had to compromise when it comes to speed, quality and media choice, the UVgel technology delivers high quality printing without compromising on productivity. We are proud to be offering graphics businesses the optimum balance of quality, automation, application range and operating cost. Jason Cort, director of product planning and marketing, Sharp Europe Sharp has made some major acquisitions this year to strengthen our overall business, with the deal to acquire Midshire in the UK being an obvious highlight for us. We have also seen a rapid expansion of our Visual Solutions business through our office equipment channel, namely our digital signage and interactive whiteboard products, proving there is a clear market demand for integrated solutions. Eric Crump, director of strategic alliances, Ringdale This year (2017) marked the 20th anniversary of the invention and introduction of Ringdale’s FollowMe to the industry. Over that time, our solutions have enabled customers to transform their output environments, ensuring they are secure, compliant and enable roaming printing, which improves user productivity. This year, FollowMe was recognised with a Platinum solution rating from Buyers Laboratory (BLI) and received BLI’s 2017 ‘Pick Award’ for Outstanding Data Loss Prevention Solution. FollowMe continues to lead and evolve through customer feedback to enable workplace transformation and allow organisations to stay focused on their core business operations. Consolidation in the printer industry continued, notably with HP’s acquisition of the Samsung printer business. In the UK, Sharp acquired office solutions supplier Midshire HP announced plans to disrupt the copier market with a range of PageWide (inkjet) and laser A3 MFPs Canon introduced revolutionary UVgel technology in the Oce Colorado 1640 roll-to-roll printer continued...