Multifunctional War

Multifunctional printers have many advantages over stand-alone units. But how can you properly evaluate them? Find out from an expert.

By Jeffrey A. Smith

Make no mistake: The digital equipment output marketplace is in an all-out war. Printer and copier manufacturers are fighting over clicks, plain and simple. The spoils are the profit from an ever-increasing volume of printed output. Disinformation comes from all fronts, causing confusion among the masses of business consumers.

At the heart of the battlefield are the multifunctional units. My company, Pro Buyers LLC, defines a "multifunctional" unit as a digital imaging device that can perform more than one of the following four basic functions: copying, printing, faxing and scanning. Virtually all output devices today at or under 40 pages per minute (ppm) are capable of performing all four functions; devices over 40 ppm are generally not able to send and receive faxes in the traditional sense (although, with scanning software, many higher-speed units can scan-to-fax).

Pro Buyers Tip: Multifunctional units operating at speeds of less than 15 ppm (usually retailing for less than $2,000) are typically not true business-class devices. For the reasons stated below, we do not recommend their installation in most office environments.

Slow To Catch On

The industry has used three primary arguments to sell multifunctional devices:

1. Space savings compared with having to find room for multiple separate devices.

2. Cost savings due to not having to buy essentially identical marking engines and service contracts for each.

3. Better overall output efficiency in being able to leverage a single high-powered engine to perform all functions faster.

Although multifunctionals are still making inroads into the office workplace, their replacement of single-function devices has not been as quick as vendors originally envisioned. Why? For many users, the initial reaction is one of skepticism that one device will be able to handle the multiple tasks that may be required. (In reality, this is not a major concern since most units are never used to their maximum volume capacities.) Also, they wonder: "What if I need to print something confidential?" (This objection is easily overcome with the secure/password printing feature found on the printer driver of most units.) Many users will also privately wonder: "Will the laser printer on my desk be taken away?"

But the most accurate reason multifunctionals have been surprisingly slow to penetrate office and production environments has less to do with the quality of the available devices and more to do with marketplace reality: It's a rare occurrence when companies need to replace their copier, printer and fax machine at the same time. Consequently, companies hang on to their monofunctional devices and tend to replace only the one absolutely needed.

All Multifunctionals Are Not Equal

The first thing buyers need to understand technically is that, while all four primary functions of a device may be present, that does not mean that all four functions can occur simultaneously. For example, any two functions that compete for the same hardware accessory on the device—like copy and scan jobs that both require the document feeder—cannot be performed simultaneously.

Most devices, but not all, enable the user to select which feature would take priority in the event of device contention. If, for example, a department wanted incoming faxes to print out immediately, interrupting, say, large print jobs, setting fax as the higher priority mode would bring about the desired result.

Do multifunctional products from all manufacturers handle simultaneous multiple tasks equally well? This is certainly a key question, and although Pro Buyers has found that while most available devices can handle multiple tasks adequately for most environments, the truth is that some brands are better at this than others.

However, we question whether any environment, office or production, truly requires the amount of software functionality offered on some available devices. We believe that many manufacturers have engaged in meaningless "feature wars" over insignificant software frills given the well-known fact that most field units are grossly underutilized to begin with (most units operate at about 10 percent of the manufacturer's recommended volumes). The add-ons can really add up, so most businesses shouldn't look too far beyond the feeder, duplexer and stapler.

Another question we often hear is this: Do multifunctional devices generally perform all functions at or near the highest functional level associated with the best stand-alone devices in their class? This answer is unequivocally YES. We have found in our on-site testing that faxing, printing and scanning functionality is overwhelmingly superior on multifunctionals compared to their single-function ancestors (or contemporaries). Printing, especially, is much faster and cheaper on office-class multifunctionals.

Look Beyond The Technology

All the technical analysis in the world about multifunctionals unfortunately doesn't prepare the consumer of those devices how to go about their acquisition. Although one manufacturer's product may prove, after extensive in-house testing, to be somewhat better suited to the customer's network and user environment than another, if you end up paying twice the total cost of ownership, what's the point?

Pro Buyers urges consumers not to get caught in the trap of comparing hardware devices without also evaluating something totally non-technical: Billing. Make sure your multifunctional vendor will bill you the same rate per impression whether you are printing, receiving faxes or copying (scans are generally free).

Pro Buyers Tip: The charge for each impression should be less than a cent and should include service and toner.

The point is to ensure that ALL impressions produced are tracked and billed; if you are not going to be charged on a per-impression basis, beware. Two factors conveniently limit the tracking of the true toner yield per cartridge on some devices:

1. Stand-alone printers and fax machines do not have mechanical meters.

2. Vendors selling these devices typically do not bill customers on a per-impression basis.

The Cost Of Convenience

Most consumers comparing stand-alone devices to multifunctionals are attracted by the very low equipment retail selling price of stand-alone and low-end multifunctional equipment without realizing that there is a huge cost-per-print charge thereafter. Industry studies have shown that the cost-per-print for printers is approximately nine cents per page, while fax machines and ink-jets are about double that on an all-inclusive basis.

Pro Buyers Tip: Multifunctionals should always cost less than five cents per page all-inclusive (hardware, service and toner divided by volume).

A related problem nobody wants to admit is the possibility of employee theft of toner cartridges. Acquiring business-class multifunctional units, as opposed to home office-class units, is one way of reducing the chances that toner cartridges may be taken for personal use in the home. How can you tell the difference between home office- and business-class units? Check your local office super store catalog or Web site. If you can find the unit there, we don't recommend you buy it for your business.

Two important advancements are on the horizon for manufacturers of multifunctional devices:

1. "Hybrid" devices that combine the ability to produce color and/or monochrome output. In fact, it is the stated strategy of multifunctional vendors to replace the existing base of monochrome devices with these "hybrids." Not enough vendors have these devices yet, however, and those that do only have a handful of available models.

2. Single platform architecture across all product families within the same brand. This evolutionary trend will, among other advantages, assist third-party software providers in creating plug-ins to customize functionality to the department/user level.

Conclusion

Pro Buyers believes that the single best argument in favor of multifunctional devices in today's marketplace is cost control. It is an accepted fact that companies don't have hard data about their true cost-per-impression related to output devices. A simple way to enforce better data collection would be to implement multifunctionality across-the-board and mandate vendor billing according to the suggestions outlined in this article.

Are we suggesting that companies eliminate every stand-alone printer and fax machine? No.

Rather, we recommend you consolidate as many prints, copies, scans and faxes on the fastest unit your company can afford and keep your existing printers and faxes for low-volume convenience use and for back-up purposes. Businesses following this advice can save 30 percent or more on their total imaging output budgets.

Jeffrey A. Smith is the president of Pro Buyers LLC, an independent copier consulting firm with offices in New Jersey, Indiana, California, Texas and Florida. For more information about the company, visit www.ProBuyersLLC.com