Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI), the world’s leading independent evaluator of document imaging products and solutions, has announced its Summer 2010 “Pick” winners honoring outstanding document imaging software solutions. Lexmark was honored with a special Outstanding Achievement award for the unique SmartSolutions capability it introduced on its all-in-one family.
“Document imaging solutions are proving to be the lifeblood of the industry,” noted BLI Managing Editor Daria Hoffman. “From the capture solutions that digitize and route hardcopies to the management software that helps customers retrieve files to the assessment and print management tools that enable a dealer to deliver managed print services, these solutions help resellers engage and retain customers in an environment where hardware alone has been a tough sell.”
Lexmark SmartSolutions Makes the MFP More Productive
Lexmark’s SmartSolutions was singled out for a special BLI Summer 2010 “Outstanding Achievement Award” in Solution Integration. A standard feature on select Lexmark all-in-one devices, SmartSolutions enables users to create control-panel shortcuts for often used print, copy, scan or fax operations and much more.
“Getting the most from an investment in an MFP is often hampered by confusing control-panel interfaces that bury much of a device's functionality,” said BLI Assistant Editor Dmitry Sheynin. “If a user can't easily figure out how to access a given feature, chances are it won't be used. Lexmark's SmartSolutions takes the complexity out of the equation, presenting an intuitive task customization system—akin to Apple's familiar iPhone interface—that streamlines office productivity and enables organizations to leverage the full power of their MFP.”
With SmartSolutions, applets can be uploaded to the MFP, where one-touch icons on the bright, 4.3-inch color display make operations such as scanning a document to e-mail easy, without the user having to wade through menu options. Also available are third-party applications such as a Stamps.com applet, which generates USPS shipping labels and automatically charges the postage to the user’s account—all from the device’s control panel. Approximately 27 SmartSolutions applets are currently available, with more on the way.
“Lexmark continues to look for innovative ways to help its customers be more efficient by saving them time and money,” said Paul Rooke, Lexmark executive vice president and president of its Imaging Solutions Division. “For years Lexmark has garnered much success in providing enterprise customers with unique workflow solutions. Today, we are applying this expertise to small businesses, automating and simplifying multi-step processes into easy, one-touch SmartSolutions that save customers valuable time. We are honored to be recognized as a BLI Outstanding Achievement Award winner for Summer 2010.”
About Buyers Laboratory
Since 1961, Buyers Lab has been the leading independent office-equipment testing lab and business consumer advocate. In addition to publishing the industry's most comprehensive and accurate test reports on office document imaging devices (at www.buyerslab.com) and solutions (www.buyerslab.com/solutions), the company has been the leading source for extensive databases of specifications and pricing on copiers, printers, fax machines, multifunctional products and most recently, solutions. The company's databases cover over 13,000 products and have a long-standing reputation for being the industry's most trustworthy and complete source for global competitive intelligence. They are available to BLI subscribers online via the company's bliQ competitive information service. This encyclopedic resource also provides quick and easy access to BLI's First Look Reports, Field Test Reports, Lab Test Reports, Solutions Reports, and BLI-produced articles.
In addition to the testing of office equipment for its subscribers, Buyers Lab provides consulting services to buyers and a vast array of confidential for-hire private testing services that include document imaging device beta and pre-launch testing, performance certification testing, consumables testing (such as toner, ink and photoconductors), software and solutions and print media testing (including virgin and recycled papers).
Twice a year with its “Pick” awards, BLI gives special recognition to the hardware and software products that provided the most outstanding performances in BLI’s unique evaluations. For MFPs, printers, scanners, wide-format devices and digital duplicators, BLI’s awards stand alone in that they are based on a rigorous battery of lab tests that includes an extensive durability test, which uniquely qualifies BLI to assess reliability, which is a critical factor for buyers and IT directors.
Software solutions undergo an in-depth hands-on review that focuses on key attributes for a solution’s target market and compares how well the product stacks up against leading competitors. Pick winners rise above the competition in key areas such as value, feature set, ease of use, ease of administration, hardware compatibility, software integration, security and support.
Software solutions earn an overall rating based on a five-star scale, and “Pick” contenders are culled from those that earn the highest ratings. Consequently, a BLI “Pick” is a hard-earned award that buyers and IT directors can trust to better guide them in their acquisition decisions.
For more information on Buyers Laboratory, please call (201) 488-0404, or visit www.buyerslab.com
This article was originally posted on Buyer’s Laboratory.
