By Jamie Bsales, Senior Product Editor, Solutions, February 1, 2012

While there was no shortage of new and improved hardware on display at the Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. 2012 Business Conference & Expo reseller event held earlier this month in Las Vegas, it was solutions offerings that took center stage. Literally. Occupying the middle of the expansive tradeshow floor set up in one of the Bellagio’s ballrooms was a circular display divided into four areas, each designed to resemble a real-world locale—medical center, law office, classroom and library—addressed by various Konica Minolta and third-party partner offerings.

The tradeshow, general session and individual breakout sessions also highlighted software and services aimed at vertical markets and general business customers alike. Chief among the offerings: EnvisionIT-branded solutions for key vertical markets, managed IT services opportunities through Konica Minolta’s All Covered subsidiary, and an expanded managed print services portfolio in the form of an enterprise-class Konica Minolta Optimized Print Services (OPS) platform. continue reading...

By Lisa Reider, BLI Senior Product Editor, Scanners and Environmental

Fujitsu and software company, Osmosyz, have teamed up to offer a one-of-a-kind solution to help medical offices across the country comply with new electronic document standards, which outline certain filing and indexing rules for electronic health records that will increase patient record interoperability among participating health facilities. This system will replace hard copy file transfers and faxing of patient files and medical records.

As a part of the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, medical offices and healthcare facilities have been urged to digitize patient records for a more efficient and accurate means of healthcare communication among doctors and offices. This push for electronic medical records may also reduce overall long term medical costs by reducing filing errors and manual labor. continue reading...

By Carl Schell, Associate Editor, September 30, 2011

Earlier this month Canon introduced the imageRUNNER 1700 series, a move that represents the manufacturer’s initial venture into the high-end A4 MFP space. While Canon’s current imageRUNNER 1025 family satisfies the office needs of smaller environments, these six new devices include a major subset of A3 functionality in an A4 footprint, be it on the desktop or as a console, to fulfill business demands in larger settings—even enterprises. First presented in prototype form at the Canon EXPO in New York City in September 2010, the imageRUNNER 1700 series will be a boon to dealers, too, as they look to secure more MPS contracts. Said Brad Arrington, manager of product marketing for Canon U.S.A.’s Imaging Systems Group, “We carefully watch and study customer trends, one of which is the rising interest in monochrome A4-class MFPs. Canon listens to our customers and sales channels, and factoring in the increasing importance and growth opportunity of MPS, we believe now is the right time to introduce this new product to strongly address the market need.”

The manufacturer’s strategy surrounding the family encompasses several planks. “We aim to provide a low total cost of ownership for our A3 systems, and that same value proposition is clearly at the forefront of our A4 messaging—excellent acquisition cost for the features they provide and favorable operating costs,” he said. “Our design approach to improve maintenance, by using separate toner and drum components instead of a print cartridge, and having a long-life drum, also contributes to a lower TCO. The devices are compact: They’re ideal for verticals such as healthcare and legal, where space matters, but we think they can fit into any market, horizontal or vertical. And the series is easy to use and manage, delivers the kind of image quality and features that people expect from Canon, and helps us make our portfolio that much more complete.” On the footprint front, BLI’s database shows that, indeed, the devices are among the smallest in this class. continue reading...

The concept of consolidating the work you outsource to other businesses and performing these services in house can save your business a ton of money. One of the major ways that businesses all over the country are saving is by investing in a multifunction printer that prints in high quality color. Color printing is cheaper than ever, and you shouldn’t be forced to outsource your print jobs to a print shop every time you need materials for a client or marketing pieces for your own company.

Multifunction printing devices have the combined ability to print, scan, fax, and copy. They are a great alternative to utilizing four different pieces of equipment for the same job, and they take up less room too. This means that you have more room in your office to utilize for more important things.

It can be expensive to outsource your printing to a print shop, and if you do it often, it adds up very quickly. Multifunction printing devices are more affordable than ever, and provide a high quality color printing solution for any office type. They are a much smaller, more efficient machine than multifunction printing devices were when they were first introduced. Don’t let a print shop dictate the cost of printing. Switching to in house printing for all your printed materials can save you a ton of money in the long run, and allow you more freedom with your prints. continue reading...