Canon expands its black & white SoHo offering

Canons new iR2016i and iR2020i extend Canons black and white multifunctional printer range, offering the added ability to scan in and send colour documents.

Canon, world-leader in imaging technology solutions, today announced the addition of two new printers, the iR2016i and iR2020i to its current entry-level black and white portfolio.   Aimed at general business, but predominantly the small office/ home office (SoHo) market, SMEs and small workgroups within large corporates, these devices aim to reinforce Canons current market-leading position within this space.   

According to independent research, 87% of all documents printed are five pages or less.  Because the iR2016i and iR2020i are compact enough to sit within small workgroups they are ideally suited to address the needs of those regularly printing smaller documents,   essentially increasing productivity, and freeing up larger devices to complete more complex or bigger jobs.          

The launch of the iR2016i and iR2020i illustrates Canons commitment to the SoHo and SME markets as they provide a cost-effective answer to businesses that need a compact device to print one or two page documents frequently, in black and white.  In addition they have the flexibility of extended functionality such as colour scanning, duplexing and finishing, commented Glen Mason, Office Marketing Manager, Canon UK.

With a small footprint, allowing them to fit into compact office areas, these devices can print documents up to A3 size at a high quality of up to 1,200dpi.  The iR2016i delivers a copy and print speed of 16 pages per minute (ppm) and the iR2020i 20ppm.  Both can scan and send documents in colour, whilst fax remains optional.  The introduction of a colour scanner on these devices improves the quality of scanned documents and saves the additional cost of a colour network scanner.  Furthermore, the send function allows scanned documents to be sent directly across a business network, to an email address, FTP site or database.  An internal finisher (allowing for up to 50-sheet stapling) aids the productivity of these space-saving devices, whilst optional duplex printing and fax increase functionality.

Glen Mason, Office Marketing Manager, Canon UK continued, By incorporating a colour scan and send function with these printers, the iR2016i and iR2020i aid effective document management.  An electronic paper trail can be created when a document is scanned and saved onto a business network but it can also be sent directly to colleagues in the same office or around the world saving time and increasing productivity.  Moreover, businesses spend between one and three percent of their annual revenue on document distribution,[1] so by including colour scan and send functions into the iR2016i and iR2020i it not only improves productivity but saves costs.

The iR2016i and iR2020i are easy to set-up and control due to the suite of web management software tools that are offered as part of the purchase package.  These tools allow administrators to manage the print process and change settings when required.  Additionally, these devices are compatible with e-Maintenance, software that automatically detects errors and jams and sends email alerts to the network administrator and the service centre for a quicker response to a service call.  The iR2016i and iR2020i are also compatible with a range of document management and document publishing software, such as iW Document Manager Gateway (iWDM) and iW Publishing Manager (iWPM). 

Moreover, the iR2016i and iR2020i adhere to current environmental standards by offering fast warm up times and low energy consumption as they automatically switch to sleep mode when not in use. The production methods also ensure that lead and hazardous substances are prohibited from the manufacturing process making these devices more environmentally friendly.

The Canon iR 2016i and iR2020i will be available across the UK from April, 2006.