Article
Don't Treat Mobile Printers As Afterthoughts
May 8, 2008
•Feature Article: Don't Treat Mobile Printers As Afterthoughts
In the office, printers have become commodities that interface with PC or Mac platforms with plug and play ease. Outside the four walls, however, printers are far from a commodity. And, according to several industry experts I spoke with, VARs need to understand the various mobile printer choices available and how they apply to customers' needs.
Considering the importance end users place on mobile printer dependability, VARs should keep battery life and ruggedness top of mind. "Advances in battery technology continue to generate smaller, longer-lasting batteries," says Seth Avergon, senior director of marketing at Citizen Systems America. "In fact, some of the long-life lithium ion batteries supply up to 16 hours of active run time on a single charge."
VARs need to consider how long their customers need to use their mobile printers before the battery needs to be recharged, as well as how the battery will be recharged. For a forklift operator or delivery driver, the printer could be placed in a fixed mount and charged by the vehicle's battery. In other instances, the product may need to be pulled out of production and plugged into a charger. Either way, the VAR should look at selling backup batteries that can quickly be swapped out as needed.
VARs also need to consider the appropriate ruggedness of the mobile printer. "A few field failures can wipe out the value gained from mobile printing," says Plamen Petkov, senior VP of marketing and business development at Datamax O'Neil. "A VAR can lose its customer's trust if it sells mobile printers that aren't durable enough for the customer's work environment." Once that trust is lost, it's very hard to earn it back.
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