Results of the recent BMI-T, SA Annual Desktop Printer Report, revealed that MINOLTA-QMS leads the South African colour laser printer market with 32.1% share.
Says Loretta Pein, BMI-T research analyst, personal computers and Peripherals: "In 1999, our results showed that the QMS brand enjoyed 21.9% of the total colour laser market.
"In 2000, with Minolta Japan purchasing a 100% stake in the US company, QMS, as well as a general increase in the demand for colour, we saw MINOLTA-QMS take the lead."
Marianna Gdanis, MINOLTA-QMS colour product manager, concurs: "Statistics reveal the print-on-demand industry is growing at a substantial rate -- particularly in colour, and colour laser printers are becoming increasingly popular in the corporate market."
Traditionally, corporate concerns invested in inkjet machines, as colour copiers and laser technology was considered too expensive. But printing large volumes on inkjet printers also results in huge expenses, especially in terms of low productivity, consumable and specialised paper costs.
"Market perceptions have traditionally classed colour laser printers as expensive," says Gdanis, "but the costs have come down considerably. Further, the benefits of a colour laser printer include its speed, high quality and network capabilities. And, you can manage expenses with a colour laser printer by tracking printing behaviours and the use of consumables.
"Colour laser printers also offer optional duplex printing for automatic double-sided output, as well as mailbins - so different departments or users can be assigned their own mailbin.
"Many people forget that a colour laser printer can still deliver high speed prints in black and white -- for instance, the Minolta-QMS Magicolor 2200 Desklaser prints 5ppm in colour and 20ppm in black and white, but it costs the same as a networkable 17ppm monochrome printer.
"General consensus in the marketplace is that there is a need for colour -- it`s not just a `nice to have` anymore. So we say, print the necessary black and white, but also use the printer for colour output at faster speeds, higher quality and better cost manageability.
"From a MINOLTA-QMS point of view, we can only see more growth in the future as the demand for colour increases," she concludes.
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