It's not often that I'm intrigued by a competitors color MFP. It was two or three weeks ago when a prospect asked, "what do you know about the Canon C356iF?". Well, I was kind of embarrassed because I knew nothing about that Canon device. The only thing I could mutter out was that I would have to do some research and get back to them (not good).
It's not like me to not know about my competitors devices, thus I started my quest to know as much as I can about the Canon C356iF.
I'm not going to address any of the copying features and the reason for that is almost no one copies anymore. I can't remember the last time I visited an account and saw someone at the copier and producing copies.
The Canon C356iF-C256iF is an A4 engine. The device will not support 11x17 for scanning, printing, copying or fax.
Paper Trays
- Supported paper sizes for printing & copying with tray 1 is letter, legal, statement (5.5x8.5), along with envelopes #10, Monarch and DL. Users can also custom size tray to 3-7/8" x 7-1/2" to 8-1/2"x14".
- Supported paper sizes is identical with tray 1 except that the custom size will accept 3-7/8" x 5-7/8"
- Available tray options include Module -AE1 (just a second tray option and has a 550 sheet capacity), Cassette Feeding Unit-AJ1 (550 sheet capacity also includes cabinet for storage) and Cassette Feeding Unit AK1 (adds additional three paper trays with a max capacity of 1,650 sheets).
While we're on the paper trays, I noticed that both the stack tray and the by-pass tray support envelopes. Typically envelopes are a little thicker than 20lb bond paper. When looking at the envelope, there is a front, rear and then the flap. Basically you're looking at three sheets of paper. When accounting for the extra thickness of the paper. I'll make mention that one envelope can take up to 6-10 pages of space (envelopes are also puffy, holding air in the space) in the paper tray. Thus a 100 sheet stack tray (by-pass), will allow the user to only place 10-15 envelopes in that stack tray.
Printing
- Print speed for C356iF for Black & Color is up to 36 pages per minute for letter and up to 29 pages per minute for legal.
Did you ever wonder why manufacturers use the words "up to"? There are a variety of reasons, but most have to do with the applications (word, excel, powerpoint, publisher, adobe, etc..) you are using to print those documents.
- Print resolution (dpi) 1200x600
- PDLs for UFR II, PCL 6 and Adobe PS 3 (many other competitors are using a generic post script driver, if you're printing complex pdf's from any graphics programs make sure you have the real deal with Adobe PS3)
- Directing printing from USB, Advanced Box, Remote UI and Web Access* (PDF print from Web sites is supported)
Printing Mobile Devices & Cloud-based Services
- Canon offers a wide range of software and their own MEAP-based solutions to provide printing from mobile devices or internet connected devices. Need to know more? Check out https://www.usa.canon.com/mobile-app
Toner Yields
Keep in mind that all toner yields are estimated at 5% coverage. If you're not sure what 5% looks like you can go here. Color coverage would be 20%.
Black cartridge 23,000 pages and Color at 18,000 pages for each color cartridge (Cyan, Magenta & Yellow)
Security
I've stated this over and over to clients with older MFP's. "yes, your current MFP is working fine, however, the security technology is behind the times. Even though your current MFP is only 4 years old the technology for security was developed a year or so prior to the MFP coming to market. You need to be up to date with the latest security advancements with copiers also.
Below is just a few of the security features. You can access the brochure here
- Hard Disk Password Lock
- Hard Disk Erase (great for lease returns)
- Hard Disk Encryption
- Mailbox Password Protection
- User Authentication
- Encrypted Secure Print
- Secure Print
- Secure Watermark
What Impresses Me
- Color & Black prints speeds of up to 36 pages per minute (xclint speed for an A4 MFP)
- 550 paper trays, which means you can always add a full ream of paper to the trays. (one of the items I recommend to my clients especially those at the Jersey Shore is to place a anti-humidity desiccant bags in the paper trays to rid the paper of any moisture)
- Document Feeder capacity rivals some A3 MFPs with a 100 page capacity, in addition the doc feeder will support letter, legal and statement (keep in mind that not all document feeders will support statement size)
- TWAIN scanning or Pull scanning. It's a great feature to have to import documents into your business line of software
- Single sided scanning at 50 images per minute @300 dpi (this is big since 300 dpi should be the desired scanning resolution when scanning contracts). Most other devices tout their speeds at 200dpi
- Double sided scanning at 100 images per minute. It's all about the single pass dual scanner. The scanner is scanning both sides of the two sided document in a single pass
- Color 10.1 inch intuitive touchscreen
- Stapler Finisher (500 Sheet capacity and up to 30 sheets of corner stapling)
What I mentioned in this blog is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to specs and features for the new Canon C356/C256IF II A4 devices.
As reps we always need to take some time to read every page of the brochure. if you have questions than you need to ask them. The brochure and specs never tell the entire story.
If you're a consumer reading this, please keep in mind that specs can be deceiving at times. What you read may not be what you comprehend, when in doubt get a hold of a sales person that can give you additional information on this product and the services that they offer.
In closing I had asked some of my Canon peeps to give me a few reasons why they like the Canon C356IF. I only received one back, however I'm hoping some peeps can put some addition info in our reply section.
From @Jason H
"I place these in a large amount of apartment complexes. My developer clients love the small footprint it has. They also love the large screen that comes with it compared to the older models that had the small display (C250/350). Clients love the doc feeder, single pass 100 sheets - I don't know what the competition offers but it's helped me win some deals. Other than those, the price point is what really is attractive. I can sell this for 75.00 a month on 60 months and make good margin."
-=Good Selling=-
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