Latest wireless network-capable MFC series delivers high competency and convenience with superior technologies and capabilities

November 17, 2011

Brother Gulf, a leader in home and business IT peripherals that focuses on the ‘Customer-First’ approach, is looking to reinforce its Middle East market leadership with the launch of a new range of A3 and A4 inkjet printers at this year’s Channel Partners Meet, which was held yesterday (November 16, 2011) at The Armani Ballroom, Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The guest-of-honor for the evening’s event was Yuji Furukawa, Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, Brother and was joined by other senior officials of the company. In his keynote address, Furukawa detailed Brother’s roadmap and channel strategy for the UAE and also talked about the new products and their engaging new features. Aside from the launch, another highlight for the evening was the ‘Dealer and Power Retail Awards,’ which aimed at recognizing the significant contributions made by Brother’s channel partners in the region. Adding excitement to the event were the exclusive spot offers on Brother products given to guests present at the affair.

The new range of Multi Function Centre (MFC) inkjet printers launched that evening included the MFC -J6510DW (A3), MFC - J6910DW (A3), MFC – J430W (A4), MFC – J625DW (A4) and the MFC – J825DW (A4). The Channel Meet also served as the launch pad for ‘Brother AR,’ the company’s new 3D Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) Application for Printer and MFC series. The new offering is the first of its kind AR application specially designed to experience printers and MFCs at a more interactive level. Installing the free application will allow customers to point their mobile devices at the inkjet Multi-Function Centre series creative visual such as the print advertisement or the brochure to see the features animated. This application can be viewed via the ‘junaio’ plug-in and is made possible by leveraging on the highly advanced technology capabilities of known AR experts, ‘metaio’ (www.metaio.com) and Dante Technologies. The free application will also give users the advantage of learning more about Brother products before making actual purchase decisions.

“The UAE is currently witness to a lot of growth and development across all industry verticals and we are proud to have been a major part of all this growth, helping position the country, Dubai in particular, as the commercial capital of the Middle East,” said Yuji Furukawa, Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, Brother. “Brother has always been at the forefront of innovation, from inventing the world’s first mono laser multi-function centers in 1995 to the world’s first inkjet multi-function center, which can print, scan, copy and fax in A3 format. Our move to understand the demands of the market and develop printing solutions and products has even led to the release of the first tri-lingual label printer, which can print in English, Arabic and Persian.” 

Utilizing the five new MFCs can help key in savings of up to 50 percent in paper cost with Brother’s automatic double-sided printing, and be more time-efficient with the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), which allows users to scan, copy and fax multiple pages at one time. The machines are also efficient with high ISO printing speed of up to 12ppm (pages per minute) in black and 10ppm in colour.

“The UAE continues to be one of our key markets in the Middle East region and our long presence in the country has given us a key understanding of the needs and demands of businesses in the country. Today’s event reflects the success that we have achieved in the UAE, being one of the most highly preferred brands in printing systems for companies, organizations, SMBs, SOHOs and even for home users. Brother is onto scaling new heights and we hope you join us as we traverse this pathway to success,” said Shinji Tada, Managing Director, Brother Gulf.  

The new models come in a compact and sleek design that occupies less space and is also being presented with an intuitive interface with key access to many functions via the wide colour 3.3 inch LCD touch screen. The new inkjet series offers two options of ink cartridges, which include the standard-yield or high-yield cartridges, which have been developed to meet different consumer printing needs.

“Innovation alone is not the answer to today’s growing tech-savvy population. It is more on the lines of the development and creation of a product that can exceed customer expectation with the infusion of new technology, ease of use and is backed with strong after-sales support. As a famous saying goes, ‘You don’t just sell a machine, but a concept.’ Brother, with its rich experience and pioneering history, could not have achieved all this success without our partners and the millions of Brother end-users, who are not only from this region but from across the world,” concluded Furukawa.

Choice, performance, economy and ecology sum up new range

October 31, 2011

Epson has announced the Middle East launch of its new range of single and multi-function printers specifically designed to offer high quality output, durability and cost and energy efficiency to small and medium-sized businesses. The WorkForce Pro WP-4000 Series of single-function printers and the WorkForce Pro WP-4500 Series of multi-function printers that have been launched in line with Epson’s new ‘Engineered for Business’ strategy offer laser-like looks and performance, combined with great reliability and significantly low cost per page.

These high-speed inkjet printers offer a genuine alternative to laser products and provide further cost savings due to a super-fast automatic double-sided printing function, reducing paper usage. Businesses benefit from lower ink costs with a choice of high-yield cartridges of up to 3,400 pages, and a print resolution of 4800×1200dpi that ensures clearer text and sharper images.

Khalil El-Dalu, General Manager, Epson Middle East, said, “The WorkForce Pro line-up is a highly competitive business range that perfectly complements Epson’s Engineered for Business strategy, which is based on choice, performance, economy and ecology. Businesses in the Middle East and elsewhere need high-quality, reliable, functional, high-performance and cost-effective products, which is exactly what the WorkForce Pro series offers.”

Leading company’s latest range of MLPs to reduce paper usage by 50 per cent

September 22, 2011

Brother Gulf, a leader in home and business IT peripherals that focuses on the ‘Customer-First’ approach, has revealed the launch of a new line of Monochrome Laser Printers (MLPs) that can help Middle East businesses cut down on printing costs. The new printers, which include the MFC 7860DW, MFC 7470D, HL 2240D, HL 2270 DW and the DCP-7065DN, have been designed to help drive in a reduction of paper usage by as much as 50 per cent. The new units have also been packaged as all-in-one multi function printers (MFPs) offering key features like laser printing, scanner, copier and fax. The launch complements the leading company’s move to reinforce its current market share across the different printer segments, particularly in the MLP segment.

The new line of MLPs offers printing speeds of up to 24 to 26 pages per minute. Each unit is presented in a sleek and easy to maintain body and comes with a 35 sheet Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) for fast and efficient multi-page scanning, copying and faxing. According to Brother senior executives, the new line of MLPs have been designed to be low maintenance with a 250-sheet dust free paper tray and a manual feed slot for envelope printing. The printers can help drive in a reduction in printing costs with its automatic double-sided printing capabilities and makes use of optional high yield toner cartridge. The MLPs also offer a direct print feature, which allows direct printing without a computer. Also, the printer’s PC Fax function comes with a junk fax filter that eliminates the printing of unnecessary faxes by scanning documents directly to your computer instead of printing them out, thereby cutting down on paper and toner wastage.

“Businesses in the Middle East have expressed a demand for printers that can fulfil their daily operational requirements; help reduce operational expenditure and leave less of a carbon footprint on the environment,” said Shinji Tada, Managing Director, Brother Gulf. “We are looking to meet this demand with the release of the MFC 7860DW, MFC 7470D, HL 2240D, HL 2270 DW and the DCP-7065DN, which have been designed to offer strategic features like duplex printing and use of a high yield toner for maximum printing output.”

Recent industry reports have shown that laser printers are considered paper and ink savers and in recent years, have shown a drop in prices. It is generally accepted that laser printers have lower cost per page than a standard ink-jet printer. The demand for efficient and eco-friendly printers has led consumers to look for key features in today’s growing line of MLPs. These features include the number of pages a printer is capable of handling in a one-month period and the printer speed.

“This new line of printers will help users save on cost and time from their busy day-to-day tasks. Also, users are assured of fast printing speeds and high quality crisp print outs with minimal ink toner use. The release of these 3 Year Warranty printers demonstrates our continuing commitment to provide our customers with world class high quality printers that offer reliability and value for their money,” concluded Tada.

All units will allow users to save on hardware costs with its unique sharing abilities on a wired or wireless network. All supplies, including the drum, can be replaced individually, giving users the advantage of only paying for what they have used. The units also come with an ENERGY STAR certification, which is a leading international standard for energy efficient consumer products.

AMMAN – 14 March, 2011 – Royal Jordanian and aviation IT specialist, SITA, today announced a major deal for a fully managed service for desktops, printers, servers and infrastructure to the airline’s global network of 56 out-stations over five years.

The agreement covers desktop remote support and equipment for 56 out-stations which includes software support and more than 500 new PCs and 18 servers for major offices. In addition to on-site maintenance support, there will be a SITA-operated helpdesk in Amman available 24/7.

Hussein Dabbas, CEO, Royal Jordanian, said: “This enlargement of SITA’s support for our route network of 58 destinations is essential to maintaining our position as the Middle East’s leading airline and to enhance our standing as a member of the oneworld alliance. It strengthens our relationship with SITA as we have also introduced SITA’s fare pricing software, Airfare Insight.”

Royal Jordanian became a member of the oneworld alliance in April 2007 and operates a fleet of 30 aircraft which carried three million passengers last year.

Hani El Assaad, SITA Regional Vice President Middle East and North Africa, said: “Following the successful deployment of Airfare Insight SITA is now looking forward to ensuring that the desktop backbone of Royal Jordanian serves the airline well and supports its annual growth rate of 10%.”

24-inch Stylus Pro 7890 and 44-inch Stylus Pro 9890 targeted at professional photographers and fine art market 

February 28, 2011

Epson has announced the Middle East launch of two large format printers which offer an ideal combination of accurate colour reproduction with excellent productivity. The 24-inch Epson Stylus Pro 7890 and the 44-inch Epson Stylus Pro 9890 have been designed to help professional photographers and the fine art market create true-to-life prints at high speed.

Using Epson’s 8-colour UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta inkset in combination with the TFP print head for enhanced dot quality and crisp, clear images, means both printers offer better-than-lab-quality prints. They achieve one of the highest colour gamuts on the market with consistently smooth gradations and also offer a superior range of natural looking grey tones. Three densities of black, comprising a standard photo or matte black (selected automatically depending on the media) plus a light black and light light black, create striking black and white output with a high contrast ratio, perfect tonal range, improved grey balance and no colour casting.

This combination of black inks also means that prints are free from bronzing, with a uniform surface appearance without discernible difference between light and dark areas. 

The optional inline SpectroProofer ensures consistent, repeatable colour accuracy when using different media, rapidly measuring control strips and colour charts when creating ICC (International Color Consortium) profiles and print verification results. 

Khalil El Dalu, General Manager, Epson Middle East, said, “The Stylus Pro 7890 and Stylus Pro 9890 offer first class colour reproduction and also represent a big boost in productivity. They have a high production speed aided by Epson’s Automatic Droplet Detection System to fix blocked nozzles without intervention. Both devices carry photo and matte black inks simultaneously and the built-in rotary knife means prints are cut quickly and cleanly while the improved supply handling means paper rolls are changed effortlessly in seconds. These features offer significant benefits in terms of saved cost and time to our customers here in the Middle East.”

Latex and UV ink technologies see increase in demand

Release date: 12th December 2010

More printing companies in the GCC region are now moving from industrial solvent printer to latex and UV ink technologies – the industry’s most environment friendly large format printers – as seen by Jacky’s Gulf FZE, during the 3rd Signage, Imaging & Media (SIM) Exhibition held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

This current trend signals a greener perspective for most companies from the large-format and creative sector to employ eco-friendly products in their operations. According to Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Gulf FZE, the HP Designjet L25500 printer in 1.5 metres and HP Designjet L65500 printer in 2.6 metres received an increase in demand during the event.

“HP, an industry frontrunner of eco-friendly products, ensured that its latex and UV-ink large format printers contribute to the reduction in environmental impact such as the air emissions; printer waste; and power and carbon footprint. The HP Designjet L65500 and HP Designjet L25500 can help Signages Print Service Providers (PSPs) to reduce the impact of their printing on the environment relative to using a low-solvent printing system,” Panjabi added.

“During the event, we have received various business deals worth millions of dirhams from customers from the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Some of the customers have upgraded L65500 and L25500 showing that most customers nowadays are becoming conscious of the environment,” he said.

Both the L25500 and L65500 printers enable customers to generate high-impact campaigns for indoor and outdoor applications including point-of-purchase (POP), retail graphics and exhibitions. In addition, the outdoor prints produced with these latex ink-based printers can produce and display permanence of prints of up to three years unlaminated and up to five years laminated, and are scratch, smudge and water resistant.

Panjabi furthered that the latex ink-based printers being green do not require special ventilation at production sites, which is mandatory in a solvent printer environment. In the long term, using latex printers eliminates the side effects of inhaling solvent fumes.

“Another big advantage of latex is the non-use of solvents, which allows printing in indoor environments. For example, when using FMCG product displays, using solvent prints is very risky and should not be kept next to food or health care products. With latex prints, it opens up new opportunities and ensures the health of customers is not compromised,” he added. 

Additionally, the newest HP Designjet Z6200 Photo printer, one of the fastest heavy duty photo printers in the world, also received a huge interest from the visitors due to its excellent quality of prints. Also part of Jacky’s Gulf’s portfolio is the HP Scitex LX800 printer in 3.2 metre width.

“The new HP Designjet Z6200 meets client demands for fast turnarounds with breakthrough colour consistency helping reduce unnecessary reprints. It also has free, convenient HP ink cartridge and printhead recycling. The HP Scitex LX800 is also now available,” Panjabi added.

Meanwhile, Jacky’s Gulf also offers UV flatbed printers which have fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as compared to solvent. The models on offer include the HP Designjet H45500 printer in 1.6 metres, and the HP FB-series printers in 2.5 metres, which can print directly on rigid substrates such as acrylic, glass, wood, foam board, and ceramic tiles among others.

Jacky’s Gulf FZE, is an authorised HP business partner and provides sales and technical supports for  HP large format, commercial and industrial printers in Gulf countries including UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Yemen. The company also supports customers in Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

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