Canon Survey Reveals What's Important to PAs When Choosing a Printer

Many thanks to everyone who responded to the recent Canon survey we published, which looked into your printing habits as well as your purchasing criteria.

Calculating printing costs - Canon makes it easy

Interestingly, the results show that while cost is an essential element when looking at purchasing a new printer, 70% of those surveyed said they didn't know how much it costs them per page to print.

With Canon PIXMA and i-Sensys printers you can easily calculate the cost per page, as Canon publishes inkjet cartridge page yield information on their web site. Page yield provides you with a precise measurement of how many pages a cartridge can print. To find out the cost visit Canon's web site (for i-Sensys Laser printers click here, or for PIXMA ink jet printers, click here)

Once you know the number of pages each cartridge will print and the price of the cartridge, you can calculate the cost per page simply by dividing the cost of the cartridge by the number of pages.

It's about quality & ease of use

When choosing a new printer 68% of you said quality was the most important factor, followed by ease of use.

Whether laser or Inkjet, Canon's range of printers are synonymous with high end quality, pin sharp images, the latest advanced technology and stylish design.

If you are looking for an inkjet, the PIXMA range benefits from the unique triple heritage of Canon's vast experience in photographic, inkjet print head and copier technologies. This combination - the PIXMA DNA - puts PIXMA products in a class of their own. For example, PIXMA's use Canon's unique FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) print head technology to set new standards for inkjet printers: a combination of ultra-fast print speeds, minute droplet sizes and up to 9600dpi resolution.

PIXMA inkjet printers have been designed to make printing as easy as possible. For example functions can include Intelligent Touch System which guides you through the set up process by only lighting up the buttons you need to select from, Quick Start which allows you to input commands mere seconds after pressing the power button, and Auto Scan function which automatically recognises your original file and saves it in the correct format. For example, documents when scanned will be saved as a PDF, while photos will be saved as a JPG file.

For those of you printing high volumes, the comprehensive capabilities of the i-SENSYS laser printer make it quick and uncomplicated to operate.

Canon Advanced Printing Technology ensures excellent laser print quality and extra easy operation. It provides simple graphics with a friendly 'sound assist' function, so high-quality, professional documents can be printed effortlessly. Plus there's no warm-up time and no waiting.

Canon's unique All-in-One cartridge also means there's no mess - gone are the days of dirty hands or splattering your clothes with ink.

Wireless or not to wireless?

Wireless printing is a feature that is growing in relevance and Canon has products to meet the increasing demand for wireless printing technology. For example, Canon has a range with enhanced functionality and connectivity features to make printing from smartphones and tablets easy.

What are you printing?

You told us that you print black and white documents more frequently than colour, 58% v 46% and it was a perfect 50-50 split between users who printed to a laser printer and those to an inkjet.

However, 66% also said that they used their printer for scanning, copying and faxing, as well as printing - with nearly a quarter printing more than 50+ copies each working day. Just over half of respondents shared a networked printer with colleagues.

So, what are you printing?

Surprisingly 55% of you said you printed out emails - making me wonder about all those 'think green - don't print this email unless it is a matter of life or death' mottos at the end of many an email.

And of those Word, PowerPoint, web pages, etc. that were printed not all were work related - when it came to some of the stranger things you were asked to print, one PA had to print out pictures of her employer's dog in various different outfits (can we see the pictures please), another printed a car registration for a trailer and another PA, sale-flyers for very personal items...

Whatever your print requirements - colour or mono, laser or inkjet, single function or multifunctional, low or high volume, wireless or networked - Canon has business device for you.

If you haven't already read the handy guide to buying a printer in PA Enterprise, DeskDemon's digital magazine, it's a must read for those of you trying to work out what is the right choice for you and your company - click here

Many congratulations to Sally Ann from London, who won the London Fashion Weekend tickets in the prize draw.

For further information on all Canon PIXMA and ISENSYS ranges visit www.canon.co.uk/PIXMAbusiness

For a handy guide on how to buy a printer click here