businessinfomag.uk
magazine
18
MFPs
Combining the low cost and high
speed of an A4 MFP with the ability
to print in sizes up to A3, the DP-
MB500 series represents a significant
introduction for Panasonic as it
continues to strengthen its position in
the printer market, which it re-entered
last year after an absence of five years.
In particular, it enables the company
to target both A4 and A3 users with the
same machines.
There are two models in the range,
the DP-MB545 with print/copy speeds
of 45 pages per minute (ppm) and the
36ppm DP-MB357.
Both models print on two sides of
the page at their rated speed, have a
paper capacity of 1,750 sheets, long-life
consumables and a maximum monthly
print volume of 150,000 pages, including
up to 2,000 A3 pages per month.
Useful features includeWiFi
connectivity, support for printing
from mobile devices and
password-protected printing to
maintain document security.
Sam Saunders, marketing and
communications manager of DMC
Business Machines, a distributor
of the new printers, told
PrintIT
Reseller
that the DP-MB500 series
fills a big gap in the market.
He said: “What excites us
at DMC is the versatility of these
products. You have small, super-quick
desktop devices that are A4 in footprint
Read more about these printers and other new launches in Issue 27 of
PrintIT
at
.
Panasonic has become the latest vendor to blur the lines between A4 and
A3 devices, with the launch of the DP-MB500 series of mono MFPs.
New Panasonic A4 MFP
prints occasional A3
Blurred lines
size but A3 in capability. In our current
portfolio we do have access to large,
floor-standing A3 multifunctional devices
or very expensive high-end professional
A3 devices. But currently across our
vendors there isn’t a product that allows
desktop A3 at a reasonable purchase
price and total cost of ownership, so
that’s very exciting for us and our
resellers. It plugs a huge gap in our
portfolio.”
A3 output is still popular for proofs
and spreadsheets, but according to
most estimates currently accounts
for less than 5% of the pages printed
in offices.With the DP-MB500 series,
small businesses and workgroups with
limited A3 printing requirements no
longer have to buy separate A4 and A3
devices or spend extra on a bulky A3 MFP.
They can cover all their needs with one
single, compact, affordable device.
Panasonic is not the only vendor to blur the
lines between A4 and A3 devices. Lexmark,
Brother and KYOCERA (including Triumph
Adler and UTAX) have all launched A4 MFPs
with features and functionality normally
found only on A3 machines. Meanwhile,
Toshiba is introducing A3 MFPs with the
features and footprint of an A4 device.
Toshiba
The e-STUDIO2802AM and 2802AF (with
fax) are Toshiba’s second generation of mono
A3 MFPs with the compact footprint of A4
devices. Designed for users who want to print,
scan and copy A3 documents but are short
of space, both devices have a print speed of
28ppm, a colour scan speed of 25ppm and a
paper capacity of 300 sheets.
Lexmark
Lexmark’s new A4 colour
lasers for large workgroups
boast a tablet-like interface
for ease of use, high
capacity toners for lower
running costs and quad core
processors for productivity.
Another time-saving feature of Lexmark
CS720/725/820 series printers and Lexmark
CX725/820/825/860 series MFPs is a new
unified Scan Center app, which enables users
to scan a paper document and route the
file to multiple destinations simultaneously.
Lexmark says that with the largest input/
output capacity and the most flexible media
support of any A4 colour laser MFP, the top of
the range CX860 rivals the capabilities of A3
products.
KYOCERA
The KYOCERA TASKalfa 306ci/356ci/
408ci MFPs don’t print in A3, but
they do have the productive finishing
features and solutions capability normally
only found on more expensive,
bulkier departmental A3 MFPs.
KYOCERA
Document
Solutions (UK)
Marketing Director
Nigel Allen said: “The
new products are ideal for
organisations with
tight budgets that
print exclusively
in A4, despite needing advanced finishing
options.”
Brother
Brother, too, is offering an
alternative to departmental A3
devices in the form of its L6000,
L6300, L6600, L6800 and L5000
Workgroup series. It says that
instead of spending money on
a large A3 departmental MFP
that employees must walk to to
collect their prints, it makes
more sense from a financial
and productivity perspective
to distribute a number of smaller
devices throughout the office close to the
people who use them. The new printers feature
enterprise-level security features, including
Active Directory integration, LDAP, NFC secure
function lock, secure print, IP-sec and secure
PDF; high-yield toner cartridges; 100ipm
scanning; direct connections to SharePoint
and cloud applications; and integration with
business and document management systems,
including custom applications via the Brother
Solutions Interface (BSI).
