The multi-function device: is less more?

To print, copy and scan using the same machine is supposed to save time, money and valuable office space.

These all-in-one devices do normally deliver those objectives - but at the expense of quality of output. This is often fine for the small office/home office market, which as Peter Taylor, Hewlett-Packard's (HP) product manager for network laser printers, explained, tends to be pushed for space.

But for higher-end users, who are looking to generate top-quality documents, the perception remains that multi-function devices (MFDs) are simply not able to deliver. John Blair, vice-president of marketing and engineering at scanner manufacturer, Visioneer, said: "Scanners in printers are like two-day-old bread. If you want to scan you buy a scanner, not a mixture of both."

Research conducted among end users make good reading for vendors like Blair. For example, the scanner market alone generated revenues in western Europe of $921m in 1998, a figure that IDC predicts will rise to over $1bn once this year's figures are in.

The view from the printer vendors is equally ebullient. Paul Curlander, chairman and CEO at Lexmark International, insisted that a printer should always remain a printer, pointing out that over $80bn has been spent on copiers and printers in the last year alone. He said: "I think being a printer is the most important thing in the future."

The problem faced by a converged product is that the niche players in whatever sector of the three (printing, copying and scanning) can concentrate on the one area. By doing so and producing tailored products at low prices, companies can keep the cost down and pull in customers on the basis of providing a superior machine for the job in hand.

The anti-MFD brigade claim that maintenance is another major issue. If the machine breaks down and you lose all three functions, the repair costs (and operational inconvenience) will be significant. Clive Longbottom, analyst at Strategy Partners, urged corporates not to go for MFDs. He said: "Get the right machine for the right job."

Lexmark's Curlander believes that these devices need a lot of development work in the labs before they'll achieve major market acceptance. He said: "Convergence of the three in an office environment needs a major technology breakthrough for it to be successful."

Such a breakthrough could be the incorporation of self-diagnostic and self-healing functions into them, thereby reducing the maintenance overheads.

However, Canon believes MFDs do already bring considerable business benefits, in particular cost savings. Cian Cotter, product marketing manager for multi-function devices at Canon, said: "Our research shows that comparing a single unit to a MFD, the MFD provides a saving of 15 to 20 per cent."

He added that end users simply need to be educated about the benefits of MFDs in order for them to become successful.

So when the technology and awareness levels rise to allow all three systems to co-exist in the one unit, the MFD may well become a viable option for business. But even when that point is reached, the standalone options will have moved on as well. The MFD faces an uphill task to win the hearts and minds of the corporate user.