Canon  Ricoh  awards 
Products from three companies represented in New Zealand have been cited for awards by the US independent business consumer advocate Buyers Laboratory (BLI) BLI is a leading independent equipment testing lab that publishes the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate test reports on document imaging devices.

Its prestigious "Pick" awards based on a wide range of performance areas have gone to Canon, The Ricoh Family Group and Toshiba in its the multi-functional imaging systems categories.
Canon’s imageRUNNER 2020i won an award for Robust Excellence. BLI says the machine stands out from other competitors in its robustness and excellent ease of use.

"Unlike most models in this range, it features a large touch-screen control panel and excellent multitasking capabilities. With its support for up to 11" x 17" output, duplexing, finishing and colour scanning, it offers all the functionality office users could want, along with a supplies cost per page that’s among the lowest of competitive models," says BLI Managing Editor Daria Hoffman.

Canon New Zealand’s Marty Havill, says that while the product may be small in size “its features are on par with many high-end products making it perfect for smaller organisations who appreciate speed, space and dollars.

“With more than 86% of businesses in New Zealand employing five people or less this is a cost-effective solution replacing individual printer, copier and fax devices with one device smaller than most filing cabinets.”

Ricoh’s Aficio 2016 was cited for its impressive connectivity performance and shared the same high marks as the Ricoh Aficio 2020D which BLI says gives a flawless reliability performance, rated excellent or very good in every category evaluated. BLI says the Aficio 2016 unit offers highly automated setup procedures, very good print drivers and excellent feedback to users at their workstations.

Ricoh New Zealand’s Murray Clark says they were delighted “but not surprised” to hear of the awards because both models have proven popular in New Zealand because of “their proven performance, innovative functionality and cost effectiveness.”.

Toshiba’s e-STUDIO282 was cited for its Unique Features and Strong Reliability
With BIL saying: "Its large touch-screen display allows for very good ease of use, its print drivers are excellent and it’s one of only a few models in this range to be offered with an optional booklet finisher."

At 35 ppm the e-STUDIO352, gave a similarly strong performance in the tests, currently holding the record as the most reliable Segment 3 model tested to date, the laboratory adds.

Toshiba’s Asia Pacific Electronic Imaging Division general manager, Terry Walker says that “winning the ‘Pick Awards’ really says a great deal about the design and performance of our products.”

“All the models incorporate sophisticated networking and imaging capabilities and we are proud that our local R&D group has been instrumental in developing the software and architecture that is the heart of these new generation e-BRIDGE II models.”