Canon Aims To Please Resellers With Its App-Connected Colour MFPs
Canon i-Sensys presents an opportunity for the channel to sell wider-area connectivity printers
Canon UK claims its two new printer ranges will make its partners richer as customers swoon over the high performance colour machines. The saucily named i-Sensys MF8200 and MF8500 multifunction devices (MFDs) could make women want them and men want to be seen with them as they dazzle end users with their speed and flexibility, a Canon press release seemed to hint.
Anil Jagpal, the European marketing manager for i-Sensys at Canon Europe, said the customers have been asking for it. “Customers are increasingly asking our partners to provide office technology solutions that support a more-connected approach to working and increase the productivity of end users,” he said.
i-Sensys and Wi-Fi sensibility
According to Canon’s recent Office Insights Report, more than two-thirds of end-users said printers or scanners with Wi-Fi connectivity would improve productivity. In response, Canon refreshed its i-Sensys range, said Jagpal, to enable dealers to deliver what they want.
“This gives our partners a great business opportunity to convert the strong desire for quality, connectivity and productivity into sales,” he said.
The new i-Sensys MFDs are designed to be shared, with connectivity made easier using either Canon’s mobile printing apps, Apple AirPrint, or Google Cloud Print. The i-Sensys MF8280Cw and MF8580Cdw make better use of Wi-Fi connectivity, and the MF8500 series makes scanning documents (for email or storage) a lot easier.
Having seduced the users with the simplicity of these productivity benefits, partners can earn good money by integrating these devices seamlessly into their customers’ existing IT and printing environments, argued Jagpal. The new i-Sensys MF8500 series also comes with premium security features which allow clients to keep company information safe – offering an education opportunity for resellers.
Canon has also responded to a report in ChannelBiz last week, which revealed how lost printouts are a major source of security breaches. Canon’s Secure Print Capability can also stop the leakage of information by password-protecting printouts, said Jagpal.
The new i-Sensys devices will be available from 15 May, 2013.