Armonk, New York, March 17, 2009 -- IBM today announced the industry's fastest, most energy-efficient retail printer, a single-station unit capable of processing transactions up to 27 percent faster than the competition and 54 percent faster than previous IBM retail printers. The new eco-friendly model was designed to help retailers speed customer checkouts, slash operating costs and reduce their carbon footprint.
The IBM SureMark unit prints at a record 80 lines per second. It comes with embedded sensors and IBM Remote Management Agent technology that allow the printer to be programmed to automatically sense when printer paper is low and page a store manager to bring a new receipts roll to the cashier station -- helping prevent interruptions to transactions, speed customers to checkout lanes, and cut annual employee labor costs In addition, new printers support 4-inch receipts, replacing industry standard 3-inch receipts,. Combined savings from fewer, more efficient roll changes can cut annual employee labor costs by as much as 74 percent.
"With this announcement, we're providing our clients a speedy, cost-effective printer capable of helping them provide significant value to shoppers," said David Stanhope, offering manager, IBM Retail Store Solutions. "IBM is committed to not only helping retailers improve customer satisfaction, but also produce a level of savings in labor costs that will help the printer pay for itself over a short period of time."
Additional key elements of the printer include:
- Retail-hardened construction using the highest quality materials available, making the printer spill-resistant and highly reliable in the harshest retail or food service environments. A marketing life of up to five years and a service life of seven or more, allows clients to protect their investments, optimizing life cycle cost and reducing overall total cost of ownership.
- Support for first-of-its-kind eco-friendly polymer film receipts. Using this 1.6 mil receipt media a U.S. retailer with 200 stores (approximately 2,400 printers) could reduce their carbon footprint to an annual amount equivalent to taking 280 cars off the road. IBM is the first in the industry to offer a receipt printer capable of printing polymer receipts.
- Easily replaceable thermal print heads and cards that can be changed by trained employees instead of costly service technicians. Printer covers can be easily removed and replaced, which helps IBM Business Partners reduce costs through better inventory management.
- Larger receipt rolls (4-inch vs 3-inch) that require 26 percent fewer roll changes,
IBM SureMark printer packaging is 100% recyclable, including box and inserts. The high-density polyethylene (HDPE) box inserts are made from recycled post-consumer waste and can be stacked in very little space, reducing transportation and packaging disposal costs. Printer plastics and metal parts are also recyclable, minimizing the environmental impact of disposal when the product reaches end of life.
Available worldwide, new single-station models replace Models TF6, TF7, TM6, TM7, IF6, DM6 and DF6, and can easily be configured by users to print double byte character sets (DBCS) or single byte character sets (SBCS). A compatibility mode is offered for customers who want to retain existing applications while upgrading their printers.
Pricing & Availability:
List Price: $420
For more information, go to www.ibm.com/products/retail
1 Product life is approximately seven years. TCO includes acquisition and operating costs
2 Represents seven-year lifetime savings when compared to IBM legacy Model TF6