Flagship solutions on sale in Middle East win BLI 'Pick' Awards in no fewer than three categories

Dubai, UAE, March 11, 2012 - Sharp has received further industry recognition for the performance of its advanced business solutions, it was announced today.

Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI), the leading independent provider of analytical information and services to the digital imaging and document management sector, awarded three of its Winter 2012 "Pick" Awards to Sharp's latest Multi-Function Printers (MFPs) and Managed Print Services (MPS) solution.

Sharp solutions were singled out for praise in the Colour A3 MFP, Large Workgroup Monochrome MFP and Outstanding MPS Solution categories.

BLI produces impartial critical reviews of products and services in the printing sector and announces its preferred solutions in twice-yearly awards.

Sharp's MX-2310 was recognised for the quality of its colour printing and reliability and rated superior to most business colour devices in the sector.

BLI identified the RemoteFleet: Facilities Manager 2.18 tool as among the best managed print services solutions it had ever evaluated.

Sharp MX-B382 completed the award-winning trio, receiving the BLI "Pick" Award in the large workgroup monochrome printing category.

"For Sharp to receive BLI's prestigious 'Pick' Awards in no fewer than three categories is an outstanding result for our business solutions division and a great marketing tool for our growing business in the Middle East," said Gautam Chakrabarty, Deputy General Manager for Marketing, Sharp Middle East.

"The fact that we have won in three categories shows the impressive integration offered by Sharp solutions - and that we stand for far more than great machines! With Sharp, our customers now receive the benefits of high-class products, quality business solutions integration, and an award-winning Managed Print Services solution."

He added: "Today's businesses want more control over every aspect of their operations, whether that's managing a fleet of print devices more easily, improving document workflow, or reducing the environmental footprint of printing capabilities. Sharp is increasingly the first choice for business solutions customers in today's marketplace, as these awards illustrate."

Colour Printing

Reliability and outstanding ease of use led to BLI awarding the Sharp MX-2310U its Winter 2012 "Pick" Award for Outstanding 21- to 30-ppm A3 Colour MFP.

"Colour print output quality that's superior to most business colour devices tested, as well as flawless reliability and outstanding ease of use, all contributed to BLI's decision to award the Sharp MX-2310U with a Winter 2012 'Pick' Award for Outstanding 21- to 30-ppm A3 Colour MFP," said Lynn Nannariello, BLI's Assistant Managing Editor.

BLI commented that only a small number of business colour models tested by BLI have achieved the level of excellence in image quality attained by the Sharp model, especially when producing colour photographic output.

The product breezed through BLI's durability test, producing 100,000 impressions without a single miss-feed.

Receiving high marks for its connectivity and multitasking capabilities, the MX-2310U was praised for the user-friendliness of its full-colour touch screen, which BLI found to have ample room to select menu choices.

Additionally, BLI highlighted the device's wide set of features, including standard hard drive overwrite and encryption, and the Sharp OSA (Open Systems Architecture) feature, enabling it to be configured to integrate with customers' document management tools, and other types of applications automating workflow.

Managed Print Services

BLI described the Sharp RemoteFleet: Facilities Manager 2.18 solution as one of the best managed print services tools it had ever evaluated. Accurately tracking meters regardless of function - including print, copy, scan, and fax output, with breakdowns by page size, simplex and duplex, colour and monochrome - the solution allows dealers to quickly implement an MPS engagement.

Many of its features impressed, including the remote business diagnostics tool providing proactive e-mail alerts. BLI also flagged the solution's ability to provide a range of billing and other reports for export to backend systems.

"Facilities Manager is among the best managed print services tools BLI has evaluated," declared BLI Associate Editor Carl Schell. "Thanks to the simplicity and robustness of the platform, dealers can very quickly implement an MPS engagement. And perhaps more importantly, the solution is affordable, with a pricing structure that's designed to meet the needs of Sharp service providers and their customers."

Monochrome MFP

The large range of features, impressive image quality and advanced design won the Sharp MX-B382 a 'Pick' award in the large workgroup monochrome MFP category. Sharp's OSA technology, which lets users automate tasks by seamlessly integrating workflow software accessed directly from the control panel, also won praise from BLI.

The Sharpdesk software packaged as part of the machine was found to easily support scanning, an increasingly indispensible capability in office environments, while the printer's ID card copy option was identified as a highly convenient feature.

-Ends-

About Sharp Middle East
Sharp Middle East FZE was established in 1998 in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation. The office is the regional hub for the Middle East and Africa regions, covering 60 plus countries. Sharp's primary business activities include audio-visual and communication equipment, health and environment equipment, information equipment, and crystalline and thin-film solar cells. For more information please visit www.sharpmea.com.

About Buyers Laboratory LLC
Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI) is the world's leading independent provider of analytical information and services to the digital imaging and document management industry. For over 50 years, buyers have relied on BLI to help them differentiate products' strengths and weaknesses  and make the best purchasing decisions, while industry sales, marketing and product professionals have turned to BLI for insightful competitive intelligence and valued guidance on product development, competitive positioning and sales channel and marketing support.  Using BLI's web-based bliQ and Solutions Center services, 40,000 professionals worldwide create extensive side-by-side comparisons of hardware and software solutions for over 15,000 products globally, including comprehensive specifications and the performance results and ratings from BLI's unparalleled Lab, Solutions and Environmental Test Reports, the result of months of hands-on evaluation in its US and UK labs. The services, also available via mobile devices, include a comprehensive library of BLI's test reports, an image gallery, hard to find manufacturers' literature and valuable tools for configuring products, calculating total cost of ownership (TCO) and annual power usage. BLI also offers consulting and private, for-hire testing services that help manufacturers develop and market better products and consumables.

For more information on Buyers Laboratory LLC, visit www.buyerslab.com, or e-mail loretta.pang@buyerslab.com.

© Press Release 2012