Maxify range of business inkjets introduced
to complement Canon’s laser range not
compete with it
Canon enters
business inkjet market
Canon has belatedly entered
the business inkjet market
with a new brand of all-in-ones
optimised for business use.
The launch of the Maxify
range overturns the company’s
previous policy not to target
business customers with an
alternative to laser technology
and is recognition of growing
demand amongst business
users for higher speed, lower
cost inkjet devices.
Both HP and Epson have
had success with business
inkjet devices that offer
colour printing at half the
cost and twice the speed of
comparable laser machines.
Originally introduced for small
office/home office users,
business inkjets have been
making inroads into the small
workgroup market with the
launch of models offering print
speeds of up to 70 pages per
minute and compatibility with
enterprise print solutions and
managed print services.
The Canon Maxify range
is not yet competing at this
level, but with print speeds of
23/15 ipm (mono/colour), auto
duplex, high yield XL inks for
lower running costs and single
pass duplex scanning on the
Business Inkjets
top of the range model, it will
be of interest to small offices,
micro businesses and home-
based professionals.
Mark Robinson, market
business developer at Canon
UK and Ireland, told
PrintIT
that
Canon’s position now is to offer
customers at this level a choice
of technologies through two
sub-brands i-Sensys (laser) and
Maxify (business inkjet).
As part of its positioning,
Canon is drawing a distinction
between its existing Pixma
range, which Robinson
describes as “photo lab quality
printers for home use”, and
the new Maxify range, which
he says is designed for higher
volumes and document-based
print runs.
Robinson said: “Maxify has
much higher ipms (images
per minute) than Pixma: even
printing in draft mode, a Pixma
wouldn’t compete. Pixma MX
models have tried to fill the
space of business inkjets and
have done a good job, but if
we take Maxify 5000 series
models and compare them to
the Pixma MX92: a) they are a
lot quicker; and b) they are 50%
cheaper to run. We are trying to
make sure people understand
that by buying into Maxify, the
cost savings are much greater.”
According to Robinson,
Maxify devices have a cost per
colour page comparable to a
low-end i-Sensys i.e. circa 5-7p
for multipack purchases.
A second major difference
between the two brands, he
says, is the types of ink used,
with Maxify using new Dual
Resistant High Density (DRHD)
ink.
“Maxify inks are brand new
and built around a completely
new system: they are single ink
models, they are pigment-based
and they are all XL cartridges,
so they have much higher
yields. The inks also have
increased water resistance, so
there is no bleed when you use
a highlighter. That’s why we are
positioning Maxify as a small
office/home office business
product, whereas Pixma is
firmly in the consumer photo
printing space.”
But what about i-Sensys
laser products? How does
Maxify dovetail with Canon’s
laser range?
Robinson says Canon
has been careful clearly to
de-lineate its proposition.
Maxify is for small office/home
office users, with 1-8 users
who are after an entry-level
colour product costing £199-
£299, whereas i-SENSYS is
for businesses that have a
preference for laser output, are
printing higher volumes or are
sharing devices amongst more
users.
When it comes to mono
printing, Robinson says that
i-Sensys is the best bet every
time.
“There are i-Sensys mono
products going from sub-£150
all the way up to £499. We
didn’t see the point in bringing
out an inkjet model that only
offers mono. Canon’s heritage
with i-Sensys is such that we
want i-Sensys to remain our
mono option,” he said.
The new printers will be
sold through a number of
channels, including retail to
meet the needs of small and
home office users who value the
convenience of shopping at a
Staples, PC World or John Lewis.
22
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Maxify at a glance
Colour:
There are five colour
models in the range, four all-in-
ones and one printer-only (the
Maxify iB4050).
Output:
All offer print speeds
of 23/15 ipm (mono/colour),
auto duplex and PC-free wireless
printing from mobile devices. The
first page out time is 8 seconds.
Ink:
All take high yield XL inks for
lower running costs, with yields of
900 colour / 1,200 mono pages
(MB 2050/2350) or 1,500 colour
/ 2,500 mono pages (MB5050/
MB5350/iB4050).
Paper handling:
All all-in-ones
have a 50-sheet automatic
document feeder: the top of the
range MB5350 has a duplex
automatic document feeder for
single-pass, two-sided scanning/
copying.
Paper capacity:
MBx050 models
have a paper capacity of 250
sheets from one tray; MBx350
models and the iB450 have a
paper capacity of 500 sheets from
two trays.
Recommended print volume:
The MB5050, MB5350 and iB450
printer support monthly print
volumes of 1,500 pages.
Prices
£159 for the Maxify MB2050
£189.99 for the Maxify MB2350
£209.99 for the Maxify MB5050
£319.99 for the Maxify MB5350
£159.99 for the Maxify iB4050
