Solution providers will play role in bringing Edgeline's lower-TCO message to enterprise customers
Hewlett-Packard's two new, high-speed multifunction products (MFP) signal two new strategies for boosting sales among enterprises. The first is technical-the unique Edgeline print heads bring the speed and paper-handling efficiencies of color lasers to inkjet printers for the first time. The other is strategic-HP will use the fast devices to battle copier and MFP rivals for a larger share of the enterprise printing market.
For select members of HP's Solutions Value Incentive Partner Elite (SVIP Elite) program, Edgeline will provide new opportunities for additional managed print services contracts. For other solution providers, HP will offer additional channel training as "a key element" for cultivating enterprise sales, Vyomesh Joshi, HP's executive vice president, recently reported in a conference call to financial analysts, according to CRN.
"Our intention is to absolutely train our channel partners," Joshi told the analysts. "This is a very important product portfolio that we need to get our channel partners participating in. They are very excited about it. From those 2,300 enterprise accounts, to small and medium business, we absolutely are going to rely on our channel partners."
Initial Edgeline sales by solution providers will come through those already in the SVIP Elite program, which sets revenue thresholds and other requirements for membership. Within that group, HP will be looking for printing practices that have demonstrated success at selling and managing services contracts, says Tamra Fife, HP's Edgeline product manager.
HP announced two new Edgeline MFPs, the HP CM8060 and the CM8050, in early April. Both are designed for high-volume departmental printing and offer operating cost improvements of up to 30 percent compared to other technologies, according to Joshi.
The company rates the 8060's average color and monochrome print speeds at 50 and 60 pages per minute, respectively. The 8050's comparable print speeds are an average of 40 and 50 ppm. Each includes a 10-inch color touch-screen and the HP AutoNav program to simplify setup and troubleshooting tasks.
"The operating cost advantages definitely appeal to the budgets of facility managers, [while also offering] the productivity gains sought by departmental managers," said Karl Schwenkmeyer, HP vice president of marketing for inkjet systems in remarks posted on an HP LaserJet blog.
Edgeline borrows the so-called page-wide printing system design of laser printers, which move paper past a stationary photoconductor drum and other imaging components. The page-wide design helps lasers attain fast print speeds. In traditional inkjet printers, by contrast, the print heads move over the paper.
To boost performance and avoid paper-shuttling problems that can decrease print quality, the new MFPs use page-wide arrays of ink print heads. In addition, the Edgeline devices use a self-calibrating writing system that automatically tests the performance of each nozzle, which number over 21,000 for two 4.25-inch-wide print heads. The machine can substitute redundant nozzles for any poorly performing ones.
According to Philip Grote, senior analyst for business printing at market researcher Current Analysis, the Edgeline technology promises lower total cost of ownership, derived from lower maintenance costs, for end users who invest in color printing. "Less movement with the page-wide print-head array means less maintenance, while the print speeds are much faster because the page prints in one pass," Grote says.
He adds that color print quality is comparable to laser and other business printing technologies and has the potential to exceed these levels because of the photo-quality capabilities of ink printers.
HP will sell the Edgeline units through its direct sales force and through solution providers using leasing or purchase contracts that add service and support programs based on per-page usage. "The advantage of selling Edgeline MFPs using the per-click model is that it can give resellers the ability to capture on-going consumables revenue," Grote says. "Per-click programs lock in customers."
Pricing plans developed by HP include ones designed for office color and monochrome printing, as well as a new color accent model that bases costs on black-and-white per-page rates if end-users print only small amounts of color, such as a letterhead logo, Fife says.
Although a selling point to end users, the reliability of Edgeline's print heads won't provide a lot of revenue potential for solution providers. The print heads are designed to last the life of the printer, or approximately 2 million A-size pages, HP says. However, if a print head should need replacement, a technician rather than the end user should do the repair, it adds.
HP estimates that 2,300 enterprise customers represent nearly $72 billion in business for the Edgeline class MFPs, according to CRN. A number of new direct sales people will help cultivate enterprise customers, while HP will work with channel partners to fulfill the accounts, CRN reported.
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