TallyGenicom has entered the thermal printing market by launching a product tailored more towards the needs of mid-market businesses.

With a 60-year history and printing products aimed at meeting specialized business printing needs, TallyGenicom isn't a household name like HP or Lexmark, but the company competes in the same space as many of the biggest printer companies. Its focus has been on dot-matrix impact and laser (both color and mono) printers, but now it's launched what has been labeled as a hybrid thermal printer.

"I think it's kind of a critical space for us to be in because that in essence makes TallyGenicom the only exclusive printer company that offers virtually all printing technologies," said Thuy LeDinh, director of marketing for the Americas.

The addition of thermal printing rounds out the company's portfolio so that it can meet the printing requirements of businesses, LeDinh said.

TallyGenicom saw the opportunity to enter the thermal market about a year ago, said Larry Graziani, director of thermal products at TallyGenicom. He added that the thermal printing products rounds out the company's printing offerings for any reseller that sells into the automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) market -- a space TallyGenicom focuses on.

The thermal printers also make it possible for resellers to sell even more printers in a deal, Graziani said. If a reseller is filling a customer's needs with impact and/or laser printers, that customer's thermal printing needs can also be filled without having to acquire equipment from multiple vendors, he explained.

TallyGenicom's first three thermal printer products are the 7005 Thermal Printer, the 7006 Thermal Printer and the 7008 Thermal Printer. According to Graziani, they will play in both the desktop and mid-range market, which makes them unique in the thermal printing space. A typical thermal printer is a heavy metal machine (30-40 lbs.) with a large footprint, but Graziani said those traditional boxes are overkill for most mid-market businesses. They may only be used for very generic applications.

TallyGenicom's hybrid thermal printers are 30 to 40 per cent smaller in size, weigh only seven pounds and have a footprint that makes them suitable for sitting on a desktop, he said.

"We've cut down the size of the printer. We've cut the price," Graziani said. All of the features and functions have been kept, he added.

Businesses can use five-inch and eight-inch rolls in the machines while also printing from any desktop or mid-range applications, he said.

"We basically have evolved that mid-range into a new printer, and we're kind of new to market with this. It's a new concept. Our competitors aren't far behind, and they're looking at this," Graziani said.

Printers purchased between 1996 and 2000 are coming up for refresh, and there's a demand for a smaller, less expensive and feature-rich printer for the mid-market, Graziani said.

Channel partners that deal in the AIDC space will be able to take the new hybrid thermal printers to existing and new customers. According to Graziani, TallyGenicom's resellers will have an advantage over other resellers.

"They have the opportunity to be leading the pack on this new technology," he said.

Additionally, they'll have access to a product line that includes impact, laser and thermal, LeDinh said.

"They can virtually walk into any organization ... and whatever applications they're looking for, they'll have it," LeDinh said. "I think that speaks volumes for a company of our size to provide that kind of power to the reseller channel."