Silly Sharp won't stop it!

SHARP WINS BLI’S 2009 MFP “LINE OF THE YEAR” AWARD

Sharp honored with coveted award for the second time in past three years

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, today announced that it has received the 2009 “Line of the Year” Award from Buyers Laboratory, Inc. (BLI), the leading global provider of information and testing services to the digital imaging industry. BLI’s “Line of the Year” is awarded once a year to the vendor whose product line is determined to be the best overall based on its cumulative test results in BLI’s rigorous two-month laboratory evaluation. Among the many factors considered are reliability, image quality, productivity, ease of use, scanning, a host of connectivity attributes and overall value. Also considered is the breadth of each vendor’s line.
“We are honored to once again receive this award. We believe it to be the result of our continued focus on where the market is heading, not just where it is today," said Mike Marusic, vice president of marketing and service, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. "In doing so we work closely with end users to understand their needs and where their business is moving, and then design products that will help them work more efficiently and ultimately improve their bottom line. The result is our award winning line of MFPs – from A4 to production class - that are customizable, easy to operate, secure and reliable.”
Several of its A3 MFPs have received Fall 2009 “Pick” Awards from Buyer’s Laboratory Inc. (BLI). The awards acknowledge “outstanding performance” and excellence “in areas of importance to IT professionals” in a number of different Sharp A3 MFPs, including the MX-M283N (Outstanding 21- to 30-PPM Monochrome MFP), MX-M363 (Outstanding 31- to 40-PPM Monochrome MFP) and the MX-M453 and MX-M503 (Outstanding 41- to 50-PPM Monochrome MFPs).
“We are proud to accept this year’s BLI Pick Awards because we believe Sharp’s best of breed engineering has reached a new level with these products,” said George Grafanakis, senior manager, Product Planning and Marketing, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. “All of the newest Sharp innovations can be found in these MFPs, from the durable, standard pull-out keyboard, to the 8.5” touchscreen display, to our Sharp OSA development platform that features a growing number of certified and customizable applications. We would like to thank BLI for this award and will continue to develop products that meet our customers’ needs as we head in to the new year.”
In addition to award-winning Sharp features such as a large color touchscreen; standard retractable keyboard; and the Sharp OSA development platform, Sharp’s MX monochrome and color series models broke new ground by incorporating a common architecture among all models, minimizing the need to stock two different sets of options.
Each model features a true multi-tasking controller that delivers copy, print and fax jobs continuously, and can also process network scanning jobs while outputting existing jobs. Other standard features include automatic duplexing, electronic sorting and integrated offset stacking; an on-board paper capacity of up to 5,600 sheets; and a 100-sheet duplex single pass document feeder with color Scan2 technology standard. Sharp’s award-winning Scan2 technology enables users to scan two-sided documents in a single pass, speeding up workflow, reducing misfeeds and improving reliability.
In total this year Sharp’s A3 MFPs have earned eight “Picks,” covering the entire spectrum of color and monochrome. Sharps current A3 product line offers a total of 17 “Pick of the Year Award” winners, more than any other copier vendor. “Pick” awards recognize the outstanding combination of high reliability and above average ratings for all aspects of connectivity, including feedback to workstations, administrative utilities, and print drivers. Sharp products also score very well for ease-of-use, with a high-resolution color touch-screen display that is customizable to allow commonly used features to be placed on the main screen for each function.
“While all of the dynamics driving change may not be clear, what is clear is that dealers must expand their business model beyond focusing exclusively on selling higher-priced ledger/A3 hardware,” said BLI Managing Editor Daria Hoffman. “With A4 MFPs that are just as robust as traditional A3 MFPs in this important segment, Sharp has a leg up on its competitors.
The “Line of the Year” Award also recognizes the exceptional scanning capabilities of Sharp A3 devices, including the ImageSEND function; Sharpdesk, “a favorite among BLI technicians;” and dual-head scanning, which leads to less wear and tear, less chance for misfeeds and quicker scan speeds. BLI goes on to mention that Sharp devices “set the benchmark for programming LDAP destinations.”