Sharp Document Solutions Company of America Registers 111 Percent Sales in 2006

Sharp Document Solutions Company of America (SDSCA) reported record-setting sales growth for 2006, led by a nearly three-fold sales increase (292 percent) in color MFP (multifunctional peripheral) shipments as well as an overall MFP sales boost of eleven percent as compared to 2005.

“Our year over year revenue and unit growth has been exceptional,” said Ed McLaughlin, president, SDSCA. “Our outstanding product line has helped our dealers sell more Sharp products and outpace the industry growth. Once again, Sharp is able to report this type of growth while providing certified sales data to insure the integrity of the copier market reports.”

In 2006, Sharp delivered a full line of eight advanced color MFPs in just six months, creating one of the strongest color lines in the business. The entire MX Series line has received awards from leading industry analysts including Buyers Laboratory Inc Color Product Line of the Year, Industry Analysts, Inc, as well as marking an industry first with a BERTL Five Star award across the entire MX series product line.

“Our new color MX line has provided Sharp the ability to quickly gain overall market share as well as gain the important mindshare in our dual line dealers,” said Rich Boomsma, vice president of sales, SDSCA. “What is even more impressive is the color business has been mostly incremental as our monochrome sales have held steady. Our customers now have award winning product in every category we offer, making us a very strong contender in the market.”

MX Series MFPs and Sharp OSA

Sharp’s entire MX-Series product line offers cost-effective color as well as advanced functionality. This MFP series features the Sharp Open Systems Architecture (OSA) development platform for seamless integration with network applications. Sharp OSA opens the door to a broad array of value-added functionality and flexibility, all designed to deliver the power of customization to the customer. Sharp OSA leverages the inherent interoperability of Web services designed to enable Sharp, its dealer network and ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partners to better meet customer needs. It allows businesses to connect their MFPs with a wide range of enterprise applications, including document management applications, reporting functions and programs developed internally. For example, businesses can use Sharp OSA to create an application that allows users to scan an invoice on an MFP and transfer that invoice into an accounting software package instantly without user intervention at the desktop.

Network Security

Since MFPs are an integral part of the networked office, organizations need to ensure they are protected with the same or greater level of security as their PCs. Sharp offers industry-leading security for these network-attached MFPs, which can be enhanced through data security kits that encrypt document data using 128-bit encryption and erase the memory of a document on the hard drive by overwriting encrypted data up to seven times.

Dedicated My Sharp Support

The Sharp MFPs, copiers and fax products come with My Sharp support, customized by Sharp’s independent dealers to match the customers’ product features. Customers can visit their personalized My Sharp page to see more than 50 Web demonstrations that walk the user through typical and not-so-typical product usage and service questions. My Sharp also provides online access to user manuals and supply information so customers can get the information they need anytime with a few simple keystrokes.

For more information about the complete line of Sharp document solution products, contact Sharp Document Solutions Company of America, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, N.J. 07430, or call 800-BE-SHARP. For online product information, visit Sharp’s Web site at sharpusa.com or sharpusa.com/documents.

Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of one-of-a-kind home entertainment products, appliances, networked multifunctional office solutions, solar energy solutions and mobile communication and information tools. Leading brands include AQUOS® Liquid Crystal Televisions, 1-Bit™ digital audio products, SharpVision® projection products, Insight™ Microwave Drawers, IMAGER™ digital multifunctional systems, and Notevision® multimedia projectors. For more information visit Sharp Electronics Corporation at www.sharpusa.com.