A cure for colour blindness: Gestetner`s new colour multifunctional devices

There is a lot of talk about colour becoming a must-have office tool. It grabs attention, improves recall and increases responsiveness - all of which increases productivity and boost sales. With all the hype, it is easy to believe that colour has all but completely captured the printing market. But this is not the case.

"According to a recent Gartner report, colour still only accounts for 10% of the total market, but growth is looking good and this is expected to increase to 18% by 2009," says Richard Pinker, managing director of Gestetner SA. "The reluctance of companies to embrace colour devices comes down to concerns about controlling the costs associated with colour printing. The good news is that technology is able to address these concerns.

"Gestetner is focusing on providing devices with lower acquisition and running costs along with software that enables companies to both track and limit colour printing," says Pinker. The two most recent additions to the colour family are two colour-capable multifunctional devices (MFPs), the CS555 and DSc460. Both machines combine fast colour printing, copying and scanning functions with sophisticated IT features and professional finishing solutions.

The DSc460 is aimed at large office environments that need quality colour documents. It has rapid print speeds of 45 prints per minute for colour documents and 60 prints per minute for black and white. Office productivity is enhanced by the DSc460`s ability to print double-sided documents in the same time it takes other devices to produce single-sided prints.

The CS555, on the other hand, is aimed at professional, high-volume document providers such as copy shops, central reprographic departments and bureaus. It prints 55 pages per minute in colour and 60 pages in black and white. A tandem link option is available which enables print jobs to be shared across twin machines. The CS555 is able to handle a range of different media for maximum versatility. For example, 256gsm paper stock can be accepted via the bypass tray, thanks to Gestetner`s four-tandem drum technology and there is automatic adjustment to different thickness of paper to minimise paper jams.

These two devices, along with Gestetner`s extensive range of colour-capable MFPs, demonstrate the company`s preparedness for the two most significant market transitions - colour machines replacing monochrome devices and MFPs supplanting single-function devices.

"Gestetner, through its international relationships with market leaders such as Ricoh, is able to predict and prepare for the evolving needs of our customers," concludes Pinker.