‘The Product Is Economical Making It A Must Have For Hotels’

EFI, one of the leading companies in digital imaging and print management solutions for commercial and enterprise printing announced the availability of its latest version of PrintMe mobile printing technology. Victor Thu, product marketing manager, EFI PrintMe speaks with Vyas Sivanand about the product, its advantages and increasing demand for these products in the hospitality industry

EH&C: What are the unique features of PrintMe that are especially suited to the hospitality industry?

Printing has always been a problem for business travellers who need documents printed while travelling. At these times they need to find other alternatives which could be very inconvenient and could potentially jeopardise the confidentiality of the documents.

PrintMe mobile printing technology offers the following important solutions:

a) There is no longer a need to install any software or locate a printer cable in order to print.
b) Business travellers only need to have access to the internet or their respective email account in order to print.
c) It provides a user friendly web interface to upload documents.
d) PrintMe is transacted in 128-bit SSL encryption.e) This technology has an easy to find web URL. Users simply
need to go to www.printme.com to print at any hotels that have PrintMe.
f) It is a simple to instal technology as hotels do not want to support yet another complex technology.

Why did EFI choose to launch this product specifically targeted at the hospitality industry?

As more hotels have High Speed Internet Access (HSIA), especially in the USA, Indian hotels are now adding more amenities to attract business travellers. Hotels like the Hyatt aims to offer the concept of a complete mobile office where printing is an important part of that idea. Hotels use the ability to print easily as one of the key differentiating factors to stand out among the many others.

In view of the worldwide launch of PrintMe how important do you believe the Indian hospitality industry is to the product?

The product has been launched worldwide although its main focus is the United States of America. Within a short two-year period, PrintMe has been installed at over 1,200 locations worldwide. The current focus is in North America as that is where we have installed a majority of the PrintMe solution. As more hotels in India start to adopt HSIA, PrintMe will definitely work with the Indian hospitality industry more aggressively.

What are your strategies for marketing PrintMe in the industry?

PrintMe is well known in the American hospitality industry as a way to provide easy access

for printing to guests. We have worked closely with the hotel brands and the HSIA providers. Major North American HSIA providers like STSN, Guest-Tek, LodgeNet are offering PrintMe as the printing solution. We go through these channels and do not sell directly to individual hotels.

Are there any other products lined up in the future for the hospitality industry?

We will continue to find innovative ways to make printing easier and in-line with this the latest product launch, which was made in June with a special 'Auto Discovery' feature. PrintMe recognises the unique identifying URL for each hotel in order to print and by simply going to our web address, users only see the printing page relevant to them.

How cost effective is PrintMe? How are hotels reacting to the price?

The pricing strategy of the product is extremly economical making it a must have for most hotels in America. Many locations see a Return On nvestment (ROI) in three to four months. This is one of the fastest growing technologies in the hospitality industry.