The Canon imageRUNNER 1133/iR 1133 MFP/Photocopiers Series

In a broad swathe of recent product launches, Canon, a world leader in business imaging solutions has announced the release of the imageRUNNER 1133 photocopier/MFP series. The new Canon imageRUNNER 1133 offers a compact footprint, 33 ppm black and white productivity and a range of great features, providing fantastic ease-of-use and connectivity as well as a high level of security and cost control.

The iR 1133 MFP/Photocopier - Key Features:

- 33 ppm monochrome productivity

- User-friendly 5-line LCD display

- Outstanding energy efficiency

- High 1050 sheet paper capacity (with an optional additional 500 sheet capacity cassette)

- Embedded uniFLOW client capability and E-RDS eMaintenance compatibility

- Print from and scan to USB

- Lower initial purchase price than iR1000 series.

The iR 1133 Monochrome MFP - High Productivity, Great Ease of Use and Enhanced Functionality

Even with its relatively small footprint, the new iR 1133 is able to provide relaible 33 ppm printing and produce first copies within 8 seconds.

Nor do the iR 1133's compact proportions compromise its ease-of-use. The new 1100 series photocopiers provide a clear 5-line backlit LCD display for clarity and speed of operation.

Unlike other rival devices in its category, the iR 1133 MFP can scan documents in colour via its document feeder an send them directly to folders or email addresses.

As an embedded uniFLOW client device, the iR 1133 photocopiers also offer 'My Print Anywhere' which gives users on a uniFLOW network access to the iR 1133 or whichever other device is most convenient.

For ultimate simplicity, the iR 1133 MFP allows TIFF files and JPEGs to be printed from or scanned to a USB memory stick.

The iR 1133 Monochrome MFP - Robust Security and Cost Control

Secure Print as standard on all imageRUNNER 1133 photocopiers provides a high level of built-in security. Print jobs are effectively 'held' until a user identifies themselves using a PIN number. This means that jobs will only ever be released in the presence of the intended recipient, greatly reducing the possibility of them ending up in the wrong hands. As well as the security benefits, Secure Print also reduces paper waste, as jobs that have been ordered and 'held' but not picked-up, will not be printed. With the iR1133 models, up to 5 documents can be held on the device itself.. Canon's uniFLOW workflow solution which the iR1133 MFP is embedded with (as a client device) gives users the option of smart card authentication for an added layer of security.

uniFLOW compatibility again means these iR1133 photocopiers can be part of a much more transparent system when it comes to costs. Administrators are able to track a user's print jobs even change to them or the projects/departments to which they belong.

Canon's eMaintenance tool offers remote diagnostic capabilities, automated meter readings and consumables monitoring to ensure only serious malfunctions could be a cause for device downtime.

The iR 1133 Monochrome MFP - Seamless Integration and a Very Clean Bill of Environmental Health

The new imageRUNNER 1133 photocopiers have been designed for seamless integration into existing IT network environments and all devices come with the option of PCL and Post Script support. As mentioned before, as these new devices are embedded with uniFLOW compatibility, they can operate alongside other devices in whichever the optimum workflow configuration. Once the imageRUNNER 1133 is connected to the network, Canon's iW Management Console (iWMC) enables administrators to manage and monitor an entire fleet from one single point of control.

As well as qualifying for the EPA's Energy Star scheme, the iR1133 offers class leading Total Energy Consumption (TEC) ratings and consumes as little as 3 watts in sleep mode. Highly productive duplex printing also helps cut down on energy use as well as the obvious savings on paper.

On the launch of the new imageRUNNER iR 1133 MFPs, Trevor Dodsworth, Head of Product Marketing for the Canon Business imaging Group, UK commented,

"The A4 black-and-white MFD market grew 15 per cent during Q1 2011[2] compared to the same period last year, and as such we've seen increasing demand from our customers for both A4 black-and-white and colour devices. We're not only expanding our portfolio offering but providing new and enhanced features to benefit businesses of all sizes, from home offices through to organisations looking for an integrated print fleet where new devices work seamlessly with existing hardware."

There are three imageRUNNER 1100 series devices being launched - the standard iR 1133, the iR 1133A with DADF and the iR 1133iF providing DADF, SEND and PCL as standard. The imageRUNNER 1100 series is now on sale and devices will be shipping from the 4-10th October. For further information, contact Canon Copiers or any leading Canon Business Solutions Partner.

About the Author

Photocopiers and MFP's - What's the Difference?

The simple answer is that to many people today the terms 'photocopier' and 'MFP' have become inter-changeable. But the equation in terminology, while a useful short-hand, particularly from the technologically unaware user's point of view, masks a world of difference in technology and functionality. Over the past decade or so, the MFP has really been at the leading-edge of reprographics developments, the bearer of the latest innovations and the most significant technological advancements. While many today continue to regard photocopiers and MFP's as one and the same thing, there should be no confusion that the technology involved has come a very long way, to the extent that very few devices today would offer solely conventional photocopying functionality alone. MFP's have been quietly redefining what is possible through what was once a fairly cumbersome, single-function device. Here, we'll explore just how much photocopiers have evolved over the years and what today's organisations can expect from when buying or leasing a photocopier/MFP.

The MFP - From Conventional Analogue Photocopier to Digital Multifunctional Device

When photocopiers bagan to be more widely available during the 1960's, they were huge trundling leviathans of machines, with just the one single function - photocopying. They were often slow, would usually only handle very limited media sizes and weights and would struggle with any larger workloads.

Canon was the first photocopiers manufacturer to introduce electrostatic colour photocopiers, launching the first mass-produced colour model in 1973. The 1970's and 80's saw gradual improvements in the productivity and well as the reprographic quality of photocopiers and accompanying reductions in the actual size of devices themselves. But it was really in the mid to late ninetees that photocopiers technology really began to take-off. As the world was finding its feet with PC's and the internet, personal computer technology was beginning to filter through to photocopiers, so that more advanced user interfaces and operating systems could give photocopiers users access to a greater range of photocopying and printing options. For the first time, photocopiers could be networked to users' workstations, so that as well as photocopying at the device itself, users could send print jobs to the print servers or to the devices themselves, effectively doubling the photocopier's functionality. Attending these developments were improvements to media handling, so that devices could accomodate various paper weights and a variety of paper sizes. And at the close of the last millenium photocopiers also began to include an extended range of finsihing options so that the conventional copier could not only print as well as copy but could print a variety of documents, providing stapling, hole-punching and various kinds of folding finishing options. Scanning also came to be a more regular feature on photcoopiers, initially just black and white or monochrome but increasingly, colour scanning has become prevalent among many more high-end devices.

MFP's and Photocopiers Today

In the last decade, the rate of technological change in photocopier/MFP technology has been astonishing. With more sophisticated on-board embedded platforms, users have been given a much greater level of control over device output and have been empowered to create dynamic document workflows between users and devices. With the greater levels of integration between photocopiers and back-end systems, using PDL's and   ">MEAP connectors for example, and integration with commomly-used desktop software, using WYSIWYG print publishing and previews for example, photocopers and MFP's have effectively broken-down the boundaries between desktop and printer, so for example, documents may be previewed on devices before they progress further down the document workflow. What is known as Universal Send provides limitless possibilities for documents once they have been scanned in. It's now possible to scan directly to an   ">FTP site, to SMB or to users' email accounts. Canon's CloudConnect feature connects Canon MFP's with leading cloud-based services, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Sharepoint, so that documents may be printed off at an MFP/photocopier from a mobile device and conversely scanned in at an MFP/photocopier to a mobile device, a technology which further expands the parameters of document workflows.

But a major difference between a modern day photocopier/MFP and predecessors 15/20 years ago is energy consumption. Th latest Canon imageRUNNER Advance photocopiers today consume up to 65% less energy than their equivalents only 10/15 years ago. Very few modern devices will not have had to met some energy consumption standards, be that TEC energy consumption, Energy Star accreditation or RoHS and some photocopiers, again taking Canon's imageRUNNER Advance series as an example, are made using recylcled materials and bio platics, to save on energy consumption and CO2 emissions during manufacturer. So even though photocopiers today do so much more by way of performance, they typically cost much less to run, especially now that service access is given increasing consideration in photocopiers design.

To refer to a modern-day multifunction printer (MFP) as a photocopier is entirely acceptable. It is afterall from the photocopier which the MFP originates and for many, though certainly not all, the primary function of an MFP remains photocopying. However, if anyone thought for a second that what they understood to be a photocopier 10/15/20 years ago bears really anything but a notional resemblance with photocopiers/MFP's today they'd be much mistaken. Photocopiers or MFP's, as they're more often known within the industry today, provide a huge wealth of features and functionality, so that for many companies today they have effectively become an organsiational hub for all their document management needs. Providing for a multitude of document output requirements and offering scanning, printing, faxing and i-send functionality, today's MFP/photocopier can make the conventional photocopier look veritably antique.

Falcon is one of the UK's leading Canon photocopiers suppliers and a leader in document management solutions. For further information about photocopier leasing, the latest Canon photocopiers or for any other enquiries, please contact Falcon.

About the Author

Jeremy Samson is an imaging technology expert writing extensively on the latest developments in the document managment industry.