IT Guide April 2014

IT

g u ide

SOS

April 2014

NEWS AND VIEWS

The latest news, views and stats

ORIGINAL AND GENUINE Why should resellers focus on original ink and toner?

THE YEAR OF MPS

Could 2014 be the year MPS really takes off?

PERIPHERAL VISION

How can dealers make peripheral sales the centre of attention

BEATING THE COUNTERFEITERS

The steps the industry is taking to defeat fraudsters

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk www.dealersupport.co.uk MARCH 2012

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IT GUIDE

LATEST NEWS

NEWS WELCOME

Welcome to the Dealer Support IT Guide. Sponsored by Ingram Micro, this indispensible guide asks why originals should be the number one choice when buying print consumables, discusses why this year could be the year when MPS really takes off, investigates how dealers can sell more IT peripherals and investigates the steps manufacturers are taking to beat counterfeiting. We hope you enjoy the guide.

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR

Ingram Micro is the world’s largest technology distributor and a leading supplier of print, peripherals and supplies in the UK, offering the broadest portfolio of vendors for print hardware, supplies and peripherals from vendors such as Brother, HP, Xerox, Kensington, Logitech and Belkin.

This broad range of vendors is supported by Ingram Micro’s experienced team of business managers, product managers and vendor specialists who can guide you through the diverse spectrum of solutions from protecting, charging and securing tablets and mobile devices to providing a fully integrated managed print solution (MPS).

PrintSense is the service developed by Ingram Micro that helps you make sense of – and make money from – MPS for your customers. It lets you capitalise on your existing relationship with your customers, and to strengthen them with a valuable service they’ll appreciate. Yet you’ll still have the time and the resources to concentrate on staying hands-on with your core business.

Ingram Micro’s specialists can also provide in-depth knowledge on total cost of ownership (TCO), environmental requirements, workgroup solutions and the latest technologies to provide a solution to meet your customers’ requirements while giving you the best margin opportunities.

NEWS Gartner predicts IT trends IT analysts at Gartner have revealed 70 IT trends that it predicts the industry will see between now and 2017. The analysts predict that the social media bubble will burst in late 2014, the development of mobile apps will exceed the development of PC applications by 2015 and the cost of cloud storage will rise as providers deal with increasing energy costs. The research also states that IT departments will delegate more and more responsibilities to other departments by 2015 as IT projects increasingly become business projects funded by other departments within a business.

IT IN NUMBERS

38.6%

The percentage rise in tablet shipments expected in 2014 versus a year earlier, with 270.7 million units expected to be shipped.years.

Epson launches revolutionary toner system Epson has released details of a radical new toner solution called RIPS Replaceable Ink Pack System. Leveraging its industrial inkjet print head technology, PrecisionCore, Epson has developed the WorkForce Pro RIPS range to offer businesses a series of inkjet products that deliver uninterrupted printing for up to 75,000 pages without the need for a consumables change.

The RIPS model range includes an A3 model that addresses a gap in the market for A3 business inkjet printers. The RIPS model has been designed for sale through channel partners and includes the option to lock access panels to the toner packs – ensuring only MPS providers have access. This brings the added bonus of helping to stamp out counterfeiting.

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Samsung unveils cloud print innovation Samsung has launched its new Cloud Print app, which provides complete and easy-to-use mobile cloud printing capabilities to business users and mobile workers, particularly in Small and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs).

The app is compatible with KNOX – the mobile security system developed by Samsung – and, for mobile print users who do not have KNOX devices, their content is secured through data encryption.

Furthermore, users can control which printer does the print job and at what time, using the NFC tap abd print functions.

The app will be available for free download on the Android operating system via ‘Google Play’ and ‘Samsung Apps’ in June 2014. The iOS-version will follow in the second half of the year.

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

A comprehensive comparison was done by TĂœV Rheinland between genuine KYOCERA toners and three third party compatible toners available in the UK, here are the results‌.

IT GUIDE

WHY USE ORIGINALS? SOS

BIG ASK

Why use original ink and toner?

Several print experts from the EOS sector share their thoughts on why originals will

MALCOLM DRAKE, Head of category, EOS, BROTHER UK

always be the best

GRAHAM LOWES, marketing director, OKI “From an end-user perspective, people don’t understand the complexity of toner. Most people only see toner if they have a bad experience such as a spill, and all they see is a black, cyan, yellow or magenta dust. Yet as much goes into developing the toner and its composition as goes into the printer itself, so we know what the toner composition has to be in order to get the most out of our machines.

“Sometimes, what appears to be a cheap proposition up front isn’t as cost-effective in the long-term and this has been backed up by independent research. Yes, there are some good compatibles out there but there are also some poor quality ones. Buying original guarantees consistency.

“If you had a high-performance engine you wouldn’t put cheap oil in it, so why do it with printers?”

“As businesses attempt to keep costs down they continue to look for reliable printers that offer value for money.

When your customer invests in a printer he or she expects the best results possible. Yet by using cheaper compatible inks and toners, they sometimes get sub-quality print outs and could even be causing lasting damage to their printers, costing much more in the long run.

“Original consumables are designed to work with manufacturers’ printers, guaranteeing performance. They undergo rigorous testing for optimum print quality. Brother Original Supplies use an advanced colour-matching process to produce images that are true-to-life. They’re also specifically formulated to limit the risk of smudges and smears and the cartridges use the latest colour management technology to make sure the print doesn’t lose colour over time. In addition, they guarantee a consistent yield so your customers benefit from good value for money.

“By using originals, there’s no risk of an impact on printer warranty. If hardware faults can be attributed to using compatibles it could result in people being charged for the repairs. We’ve recently launched a campaign entitled ‘The Incompatibles’ to highlight the potential problems caused by using non-original inks and toners. The new campaign features a range of characters, including ‘The Blur’ and ‘The Destructor’, to illustrate the types of problems end users can run into if they continue to use non-original inks and toners.”

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

WHY USE ORIGINALS?

LEONIE DAVIS, PR and social media manager, EPSON “The printing system is a complex combination of printer, ink and driver technology that work together to produce the results that our customers tell us they expect from our equipment. Quality is of the upmost importance to Epson and that’s one of the reasons we invest $2m per day into research and development that ensures these standards are maintained. Epson can only guarantee top printer performance (output quality, trouble-free use, printer life) when used together with Epson ink.

“Epson does not provide technical assistance to customers if their non-genuine cartridges do not work properly on Epson printers. They must seek technical support from the cartridge manufacturer. If the printer develops a fault that is unrelated to the use of non-genuine cartridges – for example a paper feed issue – then the printer will not void its warranty.

“There are many so called ‘compatible’ ink cartridges available on the market at varying prices and of very varying quality. Ultimately, the choice about which products to buy is up to the consumer. Unfortunately, the low prices of some non-original and refilled cartridges lead consumers to believe that the purchase of these cartridges can save them money.

However, this can often be a false economy as it can lead to lower printer quality and reliability problems and ultimately require the printer to be replaced before the end of its normal life. Fortunately, most consumers recognise and appreciate the quality of Epson products and we will continue to produce products that meet these standards and deliver the performance and reliability that our customers say they expect from us.”

PATRICK DE JONG, European marketing manager, XEROX “From a reseller perspective, when it comes to consumables such as ink and toner you’re not just selling the product, you’re selling the quality of the resulting image on the page as well as the highest uptime for the device.

“It goes without saying that if your value proposition is around quality you need to sell quality brands across all of your product lines. With original, high quality consumables you can be certain of continuous funding and investment in the technical capabilities behind the product’s development, resources for ongoing testing and validation of performance and know that the right people are in place to support and satisfy customers. This means that equipment is protected and years of reliable operation and quality output are assured.

“Essentially, relying on a trusted brand for consumables such as Xerox will ensure maximum uptime and less time between service calls and so a lower cost of ownership. Most importantly, it will ensure the best image quality possible for your customers’ mission critical documents.”

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

IT GUIDE

WHY USE ORIGINALS?

STEVE MITCHELL, group product marketing manager, KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS UK

TIM GLIFFE, HP laserjet supplies director, EMEA

“As businesses attempt to keep costs down they continue to look for reliable printers that offer value for money.

When your customer invests in a printer he or she expects the best results possible. Yet by using cheaper compatible inks and toners, they sometimes get sub-quality print outs and could even be causing lasting damage to their printers, costing much more in the long run.

“Original consumables are designed to work with manufacturers’ printers, guaranteeing performance. They undergo rigorous testing for optimum print quality. Brother Original Supplies use an advanced colour-matching process to produce images that are true-to-life. They’re also specifically formulated to limit the risk of smudges and smears and the cartridges use the latest colour management technology to make sure the print doesn’t lose colour over time. In addition, they guarantee a consistent yield so your customers benefit from good value for money.

“By using originals, there’s no risk of an impact on printer warranty. If hardware faults can be attributed to using compatibles it could result in people being charged for the repairs. We’ve recently launched a campaign entitled ‘The Incompatibles’ to highlight the potential problems caused by using non-original inks and toners. The new campaign features a range of characters, including ‘The Blur’ and ‘The Destructor’, to illustrate the types of problems end users can run into if they continue to use non-original inks and toners.”

“If you had a high-performance engine you wouldn’t put cheap oil in it, so why do it with printers”

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“Many customers are not aware of the value of the technology packed into original supplies. It is commonly assumed that all of the intelligence is in the printer when, in fact, nearly 70% of the imaging system is contained in the cartridge itself.

“A SpencerLab study at the end of 2013 found that Original HP monochrome LaserJet cartridges worked straight away, every time (1). In contrast, over half (53%) of the non-HP toner cartridges tested were unreliable or faulty leading to increased costs of printing and more time spent dealing with issues as a result. Original cartridges provide better value in the long-term because any savings made from purchasing non-HP brands at a lower price can be lost as a result of issues with print quality or the functionality of the cartridge.

“Recent BuyersLab research also shows that HP original ink cartridges provide better reliability and page yields than refilled and remanufactured alternatives. More than 40% of tested refilled ink cartridges failed during use or were faulty when they came out of the box. The research also showed that HP Original ink cartridges print up to 50% more pages – on average – than the refilled cartridges tested (2).”

(1) A SpencerLab 2013 study, commissioned by HP, compared Original HP LaserJet mono toner cartridges with eight major brands of non-HP toner cartridges available in Europe, Middle East, and Africa for the HP LaserJet P2035 and P1102 printers, HP 05A and 85A cartridges. For details, see www.spencerlab.com/reports/ HP-Reliability-EMEA-2013.pdf.

(2) A Buyers Laboratory Inc. 2013 study, commissioned by HP, compared Original HP ink cartridges (21, 21XL, 22, 22XL, 56, 57, 140XL, 141XL, 300XL, 350, 350XL, 351, 351XL) with on-average performance of refilled and remanufactured cartridges sold in EMEA. For details see: www.buyerslab.com/products/samples/HP-Inkjet- Cartridges-vs-EMEA-Refilled-Cartridges.pdf

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

IT GUIDE

MPS

2014

The year of MPS

According to Graham Lowes, marketing director at OKI, 2014 will be the year when managed print services (MPS) makes the transition from hotly-debated talking point to tangible commercial success. Austin Clark finds out why

M

anaged print services (MPS) has long been talked about in the office reseller world as one of the ‘next big things’. However, only a small percentage of dealers have really started to get behind the initiative and turn talk into profits – until now that is. Those in the know, such as Graham Lowes, marketing director at OKI, are proclaiming that 2014 is the year that really will see MPS take off and head for the heights.

“Print as a service is becoming accepted as a utility,” he says. “Customers – at corporate and SME level – are asking, ‘do I need the assets on the books or can I handle the cost of print separately and do I really want the problems of purchasing consumables and ensuring I have stocks in the cupboard?’ We seem to have reached the stage where there’s a lot more acceptance of MPS.” Lowes also states that the market has matured, with vendors now offering propositions that are suitable for the mass-market rather than just corporates. He explains, “Up until a couple of years ago MPS was very much the domain of copier-focused resellers, so much of the MPS philosophy was based around massive consolidation of devices - from multiple desktop devices into a centralised print hub. More recently we’ve seen push back from that approach because, from an employee perspective, that was a huge change that often didn’t result in better productivity. In reality, the best approach is to have the appropriate device for the operation which may actually mean taking 20 desktops and consolidating them down to 10, rather than one or two, which manufacturers have realised.

Manufacturers now focus on customer needs rather than being product driven.”

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“Behaviour is changing and decision-makers in businesses are now starting to ask whether they actually need to own a device”

Cultural change Lowes also reckons that technology such as the cloud is changing the culture of the workplace and how people look at office equipment. “Behaviour is changing and decision-makers in businesses are now starting to ask whether they actually need to own a device or if they should just be paying for usage.

There’s a changing approach to IT, some of it in the sexier space such as cloud and software, but there’s a spin-off into the more traditional areas such as print.

“There used to be a phrase about print being the last uncontrolled bastion of cost within a business, or something like that. Companies have been forced to look at every bit of expenditure and, as a result, IT departments are leaner and meaner.

With reduced IT infrastructures these days going down the MPS route is attractive, not least because it allows staff to look at gaining efficiencies elsewhere. Plus, of course, financial directors (FDs) often now control print budgets and for resellers, the interesting route into organisations is via FDs rather than the IT department.”

Lowes concludes by saying: “Historically, organisations spent a lot of time selecting PCs or laptops to deliver the best performance and then just said, ‘by the way, we need a printer’ and purchased hardware without much thought. However, nine times out of 10, it’s the print hardware that produces the customer-facing documents on which a company will be judged. MPS, if done correctly, with a consultative approach and sold with a full understanding of what an organisation needs print for, can deliver the appropriate products in the appropriate places, driving print standards forward.

The more this happens, the more MPS will become the business norm, which is why the service will take off this year.” DS

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

WE GRAFT AWAY

TO RUN A MANAGED

PRINT SERVICE YOU MAKE ALL THE PROFITS

Sounds good to us.

Work less, earn more. It’s easy with on-going profits from print services – and PrintSense.

PrintSense helps you tap into a new revenue stream which is entirely vendor independent, easy to sign up for, and totally managed on your behalf

by Ingram Micro.

E: printsense@ingrammicro.co.uk T: 0871 973 3786

Strengthen your customer relationships with PrintSense customer contracts that automate print supplies, deliver a Cost Per Page service or support hardware refreshes.

See how we do all the work and you collect all the profits: microsites.ingrammicro.co.uk/printsense

IT GUIDE

SALES ACADEMY

Smart dealers know that IT peripherals can boost profits and contribute to customer satisfaction, as Austin Clark reports

O

ne of the maxims of marketing is that the easiest sale is to a current customer. It therefore figures that peripherals are a fairly easy, efficient means of bringing in sales. Once a customer is sold say, a laptop, selling peripherals such as a carrying case, mouse, extended warranty, extra battery, DVD burner or external USB drive takes a relatively small amount of effort.

“It’s very difficult for solution providers to recruit new customers, so most want to cultivate great relationships with their current ones,” says Sam Colgan, field sales executive at Esselte.

Broadly defined as a range of secondary products and services that include keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, print management software, power backups, warranties and the like, peripherals allow solution providers to boost profit margins, contribute to customer satisfaction and bring in additional revenue.

Higher margins for add-on sales Every reseller knows that commodity gear such as desktops, laptops and servers typically has single-digit profit margins. Peripherals, though, often come with margins well into double digits. One reason for this is that customers usually spend a lot more time researching primary purchases than they do add-ons, meaning price transparency

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and competition is less of an issue. Another potential reason is the fact that, next to the high-value purchase of a laptop or tablet, the price of peripherals seems cheap in comparison – especially when sold together.

Gemma Glen, head of category for print, peripherals and supplies at Ingram Micro commented: “To maximise the sale of mobile devices, tablets and laptops we advise resellers to always ask their customers how they will protect, charge and secure these expensive products.

Protect – many users think about device protection even before the device is purchased and protection does not have to be bulky or boring. Charge – is second nature in today’s corporate and consumer world and with it comes panic! Secure – physical security of all devices is a must, whether at the office, on the move, at school or at home and of course, when on display in store.

“The market has many products available to do all these things and will enable you to tune in and increase your margins considerably.

By demonstrating this online and then showing the benefits to the customer with bundle offers, educating will only serve to enhance the customer experience.”

Of course, product needs to be effectively merchandised on a website, with high quality visuals and features clearly listed. As well as the classic combinations – think mouse with laptop, case with

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

IT GUIDE

SALES ACADEMY

smartphone and DVD/Blu-Ray player with the latest chromebooks for example – extended warranties also make the sale of often lowmargin IT hardware worthwhile.

Selling peripherals makes for a good solution set, creating stickiness between customer and solution provider. According to an IDC/Dataquest Industry-wide study customers who buy printers sold without a warranty came back for repeat purchases from the same reseller 62% of the time; those who bought a warranty returned 85% of the time. An IDC spokesperson adds: “Especially during tough times, providing your customer with the right products to meet their needs creates customer satisfaction and will win repeat business.”

Selling Strategies In order to sell peripherals effectively it helps to understand why peripheral sales are often overlooked. Salespeople are rushed for time and may not understand peripherals or what the customer is trying to accomplish. Another reason is the salesperson’s focus on the big-ticket items and concern about scaring away the customer by running up the price. The antidote is educating salespeople that peripherals are worthwhile and that appropriate, useful and attractive peripherals will make a customer happier with the sale.

Questions to ask peripheral prospects include: • Who are you buying the equipment for? (This will help you understand user requirements.)

• Who else will be using it? (If more than one user will be sharing the device, offer peripherals like networking and removable storage.)

• Where will it be used? (If in a network, for example, wireless connectivity might be appropriate. If in a dusty environment, recommend a dust protector for keyboard or screen.)

• What equipment do you currently use? (This helps you understand the purchaser’s current technology comfort level and assess the possibility of add-on sales.)

The influence of BYOD Of course, one of the main IT usage changes the industry is witnessing is the seemingly never-ending growth of bring your own device (BYOD) which, of course, impacts on related peripherals.

Many people are now using iPads at work to complement their existing PC system. Instead of taking a notepad into a meeting they will take an iPad and write notes that way, or they will use an iPad, rather than a laptop and projector, to present to smaller workgroups.

A lot of people still need a laptop, PC and monitor as part of their normal working day as tablet screens are too small and the range of software packages is too limited for them to be a viable alternative to PCs. Just think how many peripherals these people could use!

Selling peripherals is not hard but it is not automatic. Salespeople must be trained in selling them and appreciate the value they bring to the solution provider. When this is accomplished, peripherals can be a gateway to enhanced profit margins, additional revenue and improved customer satisfaction. DS

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“We advise resellers to always ask their customers how they will protect, charge and secure these expensive products” GEMMA GLEN, Head of Category Print, Supplies and Peripherals, INGRAM MICRO UK

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

Meet the Print & Peripherals Team

Top left to right: Kieran Ebanks, Adam Lake, Craig Stringer, Mark Blunt, Jacob Holt, Evelien Haels, Jim Redman, Will Benzie Bottom left to right: Lisa Barrs, Nicole Hardiman, Sarah Taylor, Gemma Glen, Angela McGlone, Rachael Preston, Dean Wootton

At Ingram Micro we strive to engage closely with our customers. We’d like to introduce you to our Print and Peripherals team, a key division to our business.

This team excels in providing you with printing solutions and attach opportunities across all major vendors such as HP, Xerox, Logitech and Kensington. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our many Vendor Specialists, Product Managers, and Business Managers for expert advice.

Below you can find the details of some of our key commercial contacts in this division.

Gemma Glen

Head of Category Print, Supplies & Peripherals Division T: 0871 973 3784 E: gemma.glen@ingrammicro.co.uk

Jim Redman

Programme Manager Managed Print T: 0871 973 3808 E: jim.redman@ingrammicro.co.uk

Mark Blunt

Business Manager HP Print T: 0871 973 3995 E: mark.blunt@ingrammicro.co.uk

Will Benzie

Business Manager Canon T: 0871 973 3229 E: will.benzie@ingrammicro.co.uk

Dean Wootton

Business Manager Brother, Epson, Kyocera T: 0871 973 3996 E: dean.wootton@ingrammicro.co.uk

Andrew Steel

Business Manager Peripherals T: 0871 973 3490 E: andrew.steel@ingrammicro.co.uk

Rachael Preston

Senior Product Manager Canon Document Scanners T: 0871 973 3786 E: rachel.preston@ingrammicro.co.uk

Contact our print team on 0871 973 3338 or visit www.microsites.ingrammicro.co.uk/imprint

IT GUIDE

GENUINE COMPATIBLES

Beating the counterfeiters Counterfeit toner costs manufacturers billions of pounds every year, so what is the industry doing to fight back against the fraudsters? Austin Clark reports

O

ne of the major talking points of this year’s Paperworld exhibition were the raids conducted on exhibitors suspected of selling counterfeit goods. Many of these raids focused on ink and toner supply because counterfeiting is costing manufacturers an estimated $3bn in revenue each year according to figures released by the Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC).

For consumers and manufacturers alike, counterfeit toner cartridges are a costly problem. Manufacturers may lose a fortune in lost sales but, for end-users, the price can be even higher.

Fraudulent products sold illegally as new, original cartridges produce low quality prints, have high failure rates, often lead to more paper jams and can lead to potential printer damage. What’s more, counterfeits often don’t work at all and, if they do, print far fewer pages than originals.

Xerox, for example, invests millions of dollars in research and expertise to produce top-quality toner cartridges and another sizeable sum protecting those products from counterfeiters. “Counterfeiters don’t worry about Xerox’s product standards,” says Randall Nelson, Xerox’s general manager for consumables brand protection. “So customers who buy counterfeit cartridges often end up with poor image quality or substandard performance from their printer.”

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“If we let counterfeiters get away with it,” agrees George Parry, Xerox’s security manager for brand protection, “they’d create havoc in the marketplace – and cost our customers time and money.”

Fighting back With counterfeit toner harming manufacturers, resellers and end-users alike, the industry is fighting back in a number of ways.

The Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa (ICCE) is a non-profit making association which is leading the fight . It has nine members, namely Brother, Canon, Epson, Hewlett Packard, Kyocera, Lexmark, OKI, Samsung and Xerox. Across the Atlantic, the Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC) is a non-profit trade association comprised of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of consumable imaging supplies and equipment that have joined together to protect their customers by combating illegal activities in the imaging supplies industry. ISC members include Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Lexmark, Samsung, Toshiba and Xerox.

As a result of this collaboration and support structure, legitimate manufacturers are increasingly embroiled in legal actions against manufacturers and distributors/resellers of fraudulent imaging supplies. Last year a dispute between Seiko Epson Corporation (SEC) and Dynamic Cassette International

Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

Doug’s never too far away

Meet Doug.

When you’ve got to be everywhere onsite at once, you can’t always be plugged in. That’s where Doug comes in.

Send photos, documents or emails through from your phone or tablet and he’ll print them for you – without any wires getting in the way.

He calls it mobile printing.

We call him handy to have around.

Canon printers. What will you call yours? www.canon.co.uk/for_work

IT GUIDE

GENUINE COMPATIBLES

(DCI), in which SEC had alleged that DCI had infringed certain patents of SEC, was resolved prior to a scheduled High Court trial, with DCI ceasing to manufacture new cartridges which are compatible with Epson printers.

Robert Clark, VP of Epson Europe, said: “We invest heavily in research and development to ensure our customers receive the best possible imaging results from our products. As a business we are committed to protecting our investments, assets and our resulting products and technologies the world over.”

Manufacturers are also going to great lengths to introduce ways to distinguish genuine supplies from copies, supported by advertising campaigns that dealers are urged to get behind. Sophisticated holographic security labels, clearly sealed packaging which includes an individual unit serial number and barcode are being used, while dealers are encouraged to report to manufacturers any ‘too good to be true’ offers from unfamiliar, unknown or no-name sellers. It’s worth remembering here that it’s not illegal to buy counterfeit goods but it certainly is to sell them, with various dealers across the globe being caught out.

A spokesperson from Canon adds, “As well as quality benefits, the genuine OEM ink and toner cartridges manufactured by Canon comply with European laws such as the WEEE directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment, the RoHS directive (restriction on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) and the REACH regulation. Counterfeit products are unlikely to comply with these laws as their origin ingredients and production are unknown and therefore present a greater risk to the environment.

“What’s more, those responsible for the production and sale of counterfeits are often found to have links to other illegal activities, including the funding of crimes such as drug dealing, people trafficking, arms smuggling, identity theft, money laundering and terrorism, so fighting back against counterfeiters is about more than just a loss in revenue.”

“Fighting back against counterfeiters is about more than just a loss in revenue”

Safety risks As Canon points out, counterfeiting affects more than just ink and toner – batteries are also posing a safety risk. “Counterfeit products have not been manufactured and tested to the strict quality standards of genuine Canon products and can cause harm to a person or product if used. Counterfeit batteries, for example, can generate excessive heat, leak or explode when used, causing serious personal injury or irreparable damage to a product. Only last month the Civil Aviation Authority issued a warning regarding the fire risk posed by poor quality lithium-ion batteries.”

Counterfeiting is a major issue for the IT industry and one that needs full support at all levels of the industry if the fraudsters are to be beaten. DS

More information on how to spot a fake can be found on the leading OEM websites. Some great information can also be found at www.isc-inc.org.

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Thinking of the total solution? Think Ingram Micro APRIL 2014 www.dealersupport.co.uk

Contact us today on 0871 973 3338 or email printer@ingrammicro.co.uk

Don’t get your fingers burnt.

Non-HP toners cost you more in the long run.

They hurt business. Over 50% cause some kind of problem, 28% are dead on arrival, and 43% of printed pages are of limited or no use.* That all adds up to a lot of wasted time and money.

So choose genuine HP LaserJet cartridges from Ingram Micro – with their 95% satisfaction rating.

For genuinely cool HP cartridges, call 0871 973 3338, contact printer@ingrammicro.co.uk or join our HP rewards programme at hpvip.ingrammicro.co.uk Read the full SpencerLab cartridge reliability comparison study here: http://www.spencerlab.com/reports/HP-Reliability-EMEA-2013.pdf *Source: SpencerLab 2013 study