Canon Australia has recently launched its ‘PrintNow’ App and services which enables users to print from anywhere to a “shared” printer location directly from their mobile phone.
PrintNow is a printing App that can be downloaded onto the users smartphone and enables printing to Canon printers in signed up locations. Canon is using partners with high street shops to deliver the service so users once the pages were sent to print to the chosen location can pick it up easily. Currently there are about 100 locations to choose from according to Canon’s PrintNow website.
The App works by uploading documents or photos securely to either print instantly or add it to the users’ queue to print later. The user then finds a local destination, Canon printers are located at over 100 locations around Australia. Then the print preferences can be chosen, and payment is taken conveniently over the app.
Partners having Canon printers available and signed up for delivering the service are Cartridge World Australia, Xtreme Communications (a mobile phone repair shop chain), Urbanista Coffee and Adelaide Fuel petrol stations.
Pricing starts at 10 cents ($0.068/ €0.062) per page for a black and white print A4 page. Users will only get charged you once they have accrued AUS$5 ($3.42/ €3.10) total spend on printing. This means you will not be charged immediately for some print jobs under this amount.
Talking to Gadget Guy, Jason McLean, Director Canon Consumer Imaging said: “We developed PrintNow for those people who don’t want to own a printer at home but do still need to print their photos and documents at a convenient location nearby. Building a network of printers that will literally be at your fingertips takes that stress away.”
David Connett, Partner at Connett & Unland GbR told The Recycler: “We think of printing as a service in terms of MPS managing large fleets of printers, not an App-based print on demand service. If, and it is a very big if, Canon can get the coverage and penetration in public spaces like coffee shops, libraries, hotels etc. then it will be another option for the connected consumer to print what they need without the hassle of owning and resourcing a printer.
2019 is a tough year for Canon and all the printer OEMs as print revenues decline, they are looking to squeeze every page they can out of the market. This App relies on having maximum coverage and penetration programme. The jury is out on if they will ever achieve it.”
Seen this before? In June 2016 Cartridge World in partnership with Samsung developed the “PrintWorld” App for the “the ever-increasing mobile workforce”. The “one-of-a-kind” App was the “brainchild” of the then Global CEO Steve Weedon and was developed in “an effort to meet the demands of the rapidly-growing mobile workforce”. Not long after Cartridge World launched the App the news broke that their partner, Samsung, was to be acquired by HP.
Canon are still looking for more partners to deliver the service so if you have a high street presence Canon is definitely interested in hearing from you.
