Itec launches Festival Of Colour with a year`s free colour printing

"Demand for colour printing and copying will rapidly overtake black and white in the medium to large corporate environments in the near future," says Holger Groenert, Manager Product Marketing for Itec South Africa, which represents Konica Minolta in South Africa.

Groenert`s comments follow the launch of Itec`s Festival of Colour and the new Itec C-450 Office Colour System. The Festival of Colour promotion aims to educate users on the advantages and cost savings of using colour in their businesses as well as to demonstrate the results of colour printing/copying on different media.

As part of the promotion, Itec is offering free colour printing and copying for one year with every sale of the Itec C-450 Office Colour System.

"The distinction between a printer and copier today is becoming increasingly blurred as multifunction devices are now capable of both printing and copying as well as additional functionality such as scanning, faxing and other document management features. All of these functions are affordable with the new generation of colour machines, like the C-450 is," Groenert said.

Says Groenert: "At the moment the South African copier market has stagnated as many companies see little need to replace older copier systems, which are still serviceable.

"However, the printer market has maintained exceptional growth over the last few years as technology improves and prices steadily drop. Between these two trends has emerged a market for the multifunction device as the communication centre of a department or company."

According to Groenert, systems that are capable of `doing it all` have proven benefits in terms of increasing productivity and sales, and reducing costs.

For example, the Itec C450 can be used as a network printer for everyday mono and colour print and copy jobs across the enterprise; as well as an A3 and duplex printer; scanner and document collation and management system, and a high-speed fax machine.

"The ability to handle multiple media, and a monthly print/copy volume of up to 40 000 pages combined with a sophisticated remote device management and control system, called `PageScope`, a strong case is made for investment in such a system, particularly as technology advances bring the initial unit and print costs down," Groenert says.

The productivity gains alone can increase a company`s return on investment. However, the multifunction device also eliminates the need for multiple printers and scanners at each workstation as well as the resources required to manage and maintain them.

Groenert agrees that many printing companies, which handled corporate printing and copying requirements on an outsourced basis previously, are feeling threatened by the new technologies that are now available. He believes such fears are unfounded.

"It is true that many tasks that once required the services of specialised printing companies can now be brought in-house, resulting in reductions in operating and admin costs for the corporate user. "However, multifunction systems such as the bizhub C450 offer an opportunity for print and copy shops to provide such services to the small and medium business sector with a lower capital investment in equipment than previously possible."

Adds Groenert: "I see the trend towards centralised colour print, copy, scan and fax functions continuing well into the future as more companies recognise the cost and productivity benefits. As a major supplier of document solutions, Itec is well positioned to grow its market share in this area."

* Terms and conditions: installation until 31 October, service contract in place, up to 1 000 colour prints/copies per month included