Print in the Channel - issue #11

BUSINESS PRINTING

The key to business printing success

Business printing is facing key challenges, but manufacturers and resellers in the sector are responding to these – including through inkjet printers, according to Key Digital’s Andy Ratcliffe.

Business printing is facing three key challenges – sustainability, productivity and asset management, according to Epson’s recent report, ‘ Business Printing in 2023: sustainability and productivity take precedence ’. Print manufacturers such as Epson and resellers such as Key Digital are responding to this challenge with an increased focus on all three areas to ensure that businesses get what they need from their print-based assets, including using inkjet rather than laser printers. It is a time of change across the business spectrum as hybrid working and digitalisation change the way people work. As Andy Ratcliffe, managing director of Key Digital, notes, the company is seeing volumes per unit and per customer going down. “But our revenues are going up because we’re selling more devices,” he says. “Taking a more strategic view, the whole marketplace has changed. There’s changing technology, particularly with Epson products, but it’s just happened at a favourable time in the market. Volumes have dropped, the value of the printed page has dropped and that’s changed some customers’ buying criteria and habits and there’s more focus on getting more productivity per person and on sustainability.” Productivity As Andy mentions, a key focus is on productivity. “Everybody wants more from their multifunction device (MFD) be they in the office or at home than they did pre-COVID, they need more productivity, more workflow, more out of the device,” he says. Andy adds that it is often small changes that can make a big difference to productivity levels, which end users might not think of. “For example, an Epson inkjet device requires fewer ink changes than a laser device has, so there’s less user intervention. While that sounds like marketing hype, if you’re in an

office where you’ve got people coming in and out hybrid working, and your device needs a toner change, and the person that – pre- COVID – used to do that is now working from home, how does everybody else print? So that you need to change it 10 times less than previously makes for a smoother operation in the office because the office is a different place than it used to be.” Rise of inkjet As mentioned, inkjet devices are an effective solution for businesses looking to increase productivity. “Pre-COVID, inkjet was for your home office or really high-end digital printing device,” says Andy. “Your home office because your product was cheap to buy, and your high-end production print because it was cheap to run and fast. And the bit in the middle, the office MFD workspace, was stuck with laser. We’re finding the technologies from both ends have converged and it’s created a sweet spot.” Andy adds that hybrid working plays into this “Not only with the use of printers, but also things like supply management and managed print services as well. Managed print services have evolved and now the priority is devices in multiple locations. “It’s managed services rather than managed print services, that’s the key to it. We’ve always talked about MFDs, but they are doing an awful lot more now. People want all sorts of things more than they used to, whether that’s scanning and the workflow around it or accountability about what’s happening with the device, maybe because the management team isn’t in the office, and they aren’t seeing what’s happening. You can take it further than printers to all sorts of asset and resource management in an organisation. “As an industry, we have always supplied solutions that are about distribution of data and information. When I started and

Andy Ratcliffe managing director

key-digital.co.uk

Everybody wants more from their multifunction device (MFD) be they in the office or at home than they did pre- COVID, they need more productivity, more workflow, more out of the device. “

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