Printers, Multifunctional Devices Keep Up With Technology Changes

The WorkCentre M15 is a good product for insurance agencies making their first move to a multifunction device, Xerox says.

It offers digital multifunction operation at $899. The desktop-configuration copier/printer has a compact footprint and features direct-connect printing to a laptop or PC with the option for network printing, the company notes.

The M15i configuration adds color scanning and faxing, and it comes with an added security measure that allows people to control when faxes are printed. Both systems print at 16ppm, and feature two-sided printing and 1,200dpi image quality.

Brother International Corp., Bridgewater, N.J., sells the MFC-4800
Laser Multi-Function Center, a full-feature fax machine and laser printer that delivers 600 x 600dpi and up to 10ppm in output.

It offers reduction/enlargement from 50-200%, a 1200 x 1200 dpi (interpolated) resolution scanner thats bundled with ScanSoft PaperPort and TextBridge OCR software, and PC fax capabilities that allow a user to send and broadcast faxes directly from a PC, notes Brother.

Estimated price is $249.99, says Brother.

Lexmark International Inc., Lexington, Ky., also sells monochrome and color personal printers that can be used on the desktop.

Utilizing Lexmarks multipurpose networked Lexmark laser printers with agency management systems, users can print on a variety of paper types and sizes, such as letterhead, labels, envelopes, insurance forms and daily reports, the company says.

Print-on-demand color
can reduce the cost of preprinted marketing material and increase sales by providing agencies, financial planners, sales and marketing departments with the ability to print customized proposals, illustrations, financial plans and product information using Lexmarks color printers, the company says.

Lexmark multifunction printers can help consolidate devices, the company says. This can reduce supplies and maintenance costs, increase user productivity, reduce processing time, and save office space in branches, agencies and claims offices by replacing individual print, copy, fax and scan equipment with one machine, Lexmark explains.

Lexmark also offers server-based electronic forms solutions as well as Optra Forms, a printer-based electronic forms solution. Or, if multi-part or continuous forms are a requirement, Lexmark dot- matrix printers can be used for printing of reports, labels and insurance forms, the company said.

Lexmark did not provide prices for its units.

Hewlett-Packard and Canon U.S.A. declined to provide information for this article.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, October 31, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.