Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) hosted its National Dealer Meeting April 18-21, 2023. At this flagship dealer event, themed "Opportunity Meets Execution," nearly 1,000 attendees came together at The Wynn in Las Vegas, Nevada, to experience Sharp's new and upcoming products, solutions and programs to help its dealers execute on the many simply smarter business opportunities that can help them be more strategic providers for their customers.

"After all of the challenges related to the pandemic, our team here at Sharp is absolutely thrilled to be back meeting in person for our National Dealer Meeting," said Mike Marusic, president and CEO, SIICA. "We're here with our wonderful dealer community and are looking forward to introducing some exciting products and innovations that we're confident will help them put the pieces together to become the preeminent office technology providers in the market."

New and upcoming offerings showcased during the event range from production print and managed print services to enhanced printer security and collaboration products and services.

Sharp Doubles Down on Production Print

Sharp announced major advancements in its production print capabilities with the announcement of the first in a new line of digital press models built on proven industry technology, and a preview of its upcoming new Pro Series light production models with exciting new features.

The new digital printing presses include a color press and two monochrome digital presses. The new color press boasts speeds of up to 120 pages per minute (ppm), is equipped with a Fiery digital front end and prints up to six colors in one pass, including CMYK, gold, silver, bright pink, textured and clear toners. Additionally real-time color stabilization and precise paper handling provide consistent, professional results. The two monochrome digital presses print at 136 ppm and 125 ppm respectively and are powered by a Fiery NX One Print Server. The print engines include real-time image quality adjustments and precise paper handling. 2,400-by-2,400-dpi rich black solids and amazing halftones provide for unrivaled, consistent print quality. All of the new presses share timesaving inline finishing options, such as square fold, crease, two-edge trimming and a variety of folding options. This marks a significant milestone for Sharp, as it allows the company to extend its reach into higher production print markets when the new printing presses hit the market, which is expected by early 2024.

Sharp also showed the new Pro Series light production models that will replace the current models later this year. The new models, which print at 70/75 ppm color/black and white and 80/80 ppm color/black and white, respectively, are designed and built for the print-on-demand market and span across all industries that have central reprographics departments (CRD) or in-plant print facilities. These models extend Sharp's proprietary edge-to-edge printing to new sheet sizes, including long paper up to 26.3 inches and letter-sized sheets for full-bleed statement sized books and many other applications. Additionally, they bring many other key enhancements, such as increased print resolution up to 2,400-by-2,400 dpi, improved media handling, up to 360 gsm/130lb cover, and new crease and perforation dies with the GBC SmartPunch Plus option, just to name a few.

Strategic Collaboration Leads to Secure and Efficient Managed IT Services

Sharp and ConnectWise announced a strategic collaboration to deliver on their shared vision of providing secure and efficient managed services through their extensive channel partner network. The first deliverable is a managed Print Security Service that offers unique visibility into print security for Sharp MFPs and printers through integration with ConnectWise Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and the company's 24/7 monitoring capabilities.

New A4 Products Spur on Greater Managed Print Services

Sharp also announced that it will be refreshing its A4 MFP and printer solutions, starting in late spring, with A4 color devices that provide professional quality output in a small footprint. These devices are the perfect fit for small- to medium-sized businesses, medical and legal practices, and schools. The new MX-C428F and MX-C528F color MFPs enable workers to collaborate and share information seamlessly and securely throughout the office environment. The MX-C528P color printer provides customers with an intuitive user experience and the confidence of knowing their jobs will come out right the first time, every time.

New Products to Enhance Collaboration

During the meeting, Sharp announced the launch of a new line of 4W-B series value-priced AQUOS BOARD interactive displays. The 4W-B series is available in four sizes: 55-inch Class (54.6-inch diagonal), 65-inch Class (64.5-inch diagonal), 75-inch Class (75-inch diagonal) and 86-inch class (85.6-inch diagonal) and enables collaboration and communication in the workplace, classroom and virtually anywhere through Pen Software, precise 20-point, multitouch functionality and versatile connectivity.

Sharp also previewed the upcoming PN-LC series of mid-range AQUOS BOARD interactive displays set to launch later this spring. The upcoming PN-LC series of AQUOS BOARD interactive displays will be built for classrooms and corporate meeting spaces which require quick, responsive operation and smart, integrated collaboration tools and will feature an integrated controller with whiteboard, overlay and wireless functionality to help enhance productivity. Plus, a variety of operating systems will be supported, including Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, iPadOS and Chrome OS, to allow users to wirelessly present their content quickly and easily. For added productivity, the PN-LC2 series comes with a range of standard software to help get the most out of meetings or presentations including Pen Software, e-Share wireless casting app, touch viewer software and the Synappx Collaboration Hub experience, which allows for simply smarter meetings and engaging classroom activities.

Sharp is also showcasing that its Synappx Go and Meeting applications have merged to provide a single offering for consistent meeting efficiencies for mobile and laptop users under the name Synappx Go. Its new features, such as the full screen mode and QR code content sharing support, bring enhanced user experience as well as strong meeting room security and control for IT administrators. Sharp is also demoing its upcoming Synappx Manage application that will allow IT administrators and service providers to remotely manage multiple devices from a single portal. Its automated monitoring and remediation features help IT administrators keep device uptime high as well as reduce security risks with greater flexibility. For Sharp dealers, this unified remote service tool helps enable smart service delivery, reducing service costs while increasing customer satisfaction through remote firmware update, service settings, device cloning and more. Additionally, Synappx Manage helps dealers integrate IT service offerings with the print business though integration with ConnectWise PSA.

In other news, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) and Sharp NEC Display Solutions of America (SNDSA) have announced the launch of the new 4W-B series of AQUOS BOARD interactive displays. The new value-priced series is available in four sizes: 55-inch Class (54.6-inch diagonal), 65-inch Class (64.5-inch diagonal), 75-inch Class (75-inch diagonal) and 86-inch class (85.6-inch diagonal). Each display enables collaboration and communication in the workplace, classroom and virtually anywhere through precise 20-point, multitouch functionality and versatile connectivity.

The 4W-B series AQUOS BOARD interactive displays include key features to facilitate teamwork and add interoperability in the boardroom or the classroom. Its precise multitouch detection supports a superior collaboration experience, with simultaneous writing for multiple users to take part in interactions, meetings, brainstorming sessions and more. The user-friendly Sharp Pen Software interface provide access to pen settings and functions including handwriting recognition, whiteboard mode and overlay mode. Additionally, the Sharp pen-on-paper feature facilitates productivity through glare resistance and natural writing flow for a smooth writing experience.

"We are thrilled to be adding four new AQUOS BOARD interactive displays to our lineup, with advanced features like simultaneous writing, which allow groups in business or educational settings to collaborate and work efficiently together," says Gary Bailer, director of product management for pro AV products, SIICA. "Sharp is continuing to look at the changing needs of the workplace and classroom, and tailoring products to fit the ideal modern solution needed for engagement and productivity."

The immersive 4W-B series offers instant engagement and collaboration with an HTML5 browser app to leverage web-based content, making a business or classroom more efficient. This display not only offers protective glass that increases durability and clarity, but it also includes secure functions such as public mode which prevents unwanted adjustments from users in public locations to ensure content is secure.

The 55-inch Class (54.6-inch diagonal), 65-inch Class (64.5-inch diagonal) and 75-inch Class (75-inch diagonal) 4W-B series AQUOS BOARD interactive displays are available to order immediately. The larger 86-inch Class (85.6-inch diagonal) display is expected to be available for shipment in early summer of 2023.