The dot-matrix printer may be yesterday’s boring technology for some, but for VARs it can be an inspiring source of untapped opportunities, opening the door to consulting and maintenance business as well as hardware sales.

The popularity of dot-matrix printers in financial, healthcare and legal markets has created many such opportunities for Derive Technologies, a systems integrator in New York City.

“Dot-matrix printers are used by businesses that generate lots of paper in duplicate and triplicate forms for receipts, contracts, and so on,” said John Wood, Derive’s vice president of marketing and business development.  “Hospitals, law firms and other verticals save lots of money by using dot-matrix over laser printers. Laser printing costs more per page than dot-matrix.”

Seeking to penetrate deeper into the many verticals that use dot-matrix printers, Derive recently struck a partnerships with TallyGenicom, a printer manufacturer than specializes in building customized printers to perform business-specific tasks in many industries. Chantilly, Virginia-based TallyGenicom makes a broad range of thermal, laser, inkjet and dot-matrix printers.

“TallyGenicom is a great fit for us because it allows us to present a wide selection of printing solutions, including customized ones, to our verticals,” said Wood. “TallyGenicom’s ability to customize printers for companies will help us to differentiate ourselves from competitors from a product and professional services perspective.”

Wood said he expects to see significant printer and maintenance revenue from selling TallyGenicom dot-matrix printers to data centers, where such printers are well entrenched. “In the past, we missed a lot of dot-matrix opportunities because we lacked a strong partnership with a tier-one maker of dot-matrix machines,” said Wood.

He added that TallyGenicom’s partner program would provide Derive with the tools, support and incentives to close competitive sales and enjoy good margins.

Besides selling printers, supplies and accessories, Derive will be able to make money by providing 24/7 maintenance to its customers, said Thuy Ledinh, marketing director, TallyGenicom.

“Derive is very important to TallyGenicom’s long-term, nationwide channel push to increase our presence in vertical markets,” Ledinh said, noting that TallyGenicom will rely totally on Derive’s expertise in installation and service.

TallyGenicom is one of a handful of companies that still make dot-matrix printers, said Ledinh, adding that the vendor holds about 60 percent of the U.S. market.

TAGS: services, marketing, vertical, VAR, printers

Channel News Archives | Contact Herman Mehling | Back to top

Channel Changes

Channel Insight