WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon ranks highest in overall business customer satisfaction among 12 printer brands, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Business Printer Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.

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The study, which is designed to provide a brand-level benchmark for the printer industry, examines the experiences of IT and business decision makers who recently purchased or leased a new printer. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining three factors: sales process; product performance; and service. Product performance has the greatest impact on overall satisfaction among business and IT customers, accounting for 60 percent of the overall index.

"As product reliability continues to be a top consideration when choosing a printer, the brand that communicates a clear message of performance, efficiency and meeting customer needs will certainly see success in the marketplace," said Steve Kirkeby, executive director of technology at J.D. Power and Associates. "Product performance not only impacts business productivity, but also the realized return on investment."

With an overall index score of 765 points on a 1,000 point scale, Canon leads the industry and receives highest ratings from business users in the product performance factor. Ricoh and Lexmark, respectively, follow Canon in the rankings.

The study finds that as the printer industry becomes more solutions-based, those brands that can most effectively match their client's document management needs to the right printer, while delivering high-quality performance, will have an advantage in the competitive marketplace.

"Printers aren't just a device that people use for simple jobs anymore, but are increasingly becoming a multi-function platform for any number of business document handling needs," said Kirkeby. "One in three businesses uses their machine for more than just printing. For example, faxing, scanning to email and scanning to files are all commonly used functions among business customers."

The study also finds that customer satisfaction with the overall printer experience directly affects both brand loyalty and brand advocacy. More than 85 percent of customers who are "delighted" with their printer report that they "definitely will" recommend their printer brand to others, and "definitely would" repurchase the same brand in the future. Conversely, among customers who were just "pleased" with their printer, 50 percent said they "definitely will" recommend their brand, and 51 percent said they "definitely would" repurchase the same brand.

The Internet continues to be critical tool in the product selection process, with 66 percent of business and IT customers conducting research online before purchasing their machine. Additionally, 77 percent of customers who conduct research online visit the manufacturer Web site.

The 2006 Business Printer Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 1,700 business and IT decision makers who recently purchased or leased new printer-based machines.

Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking (Based on a 1,000-point scale) Canon 765 Ricoh 764 Lexmark 757 Dell 743 Xerox 742 Hewlett-Packard 741 IBM 741 Industry Average 741 OKI Printing Solutions 729 Samsung 722 Brother 696 Epson 692 Konica Minolta 691 Included in the study, but not ranked due to small sample size is: Kyocera. About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 290 offices in 38 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts: John Tews Syvetril Perryman Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif. (248) 312-4119 (805) 418-8103 john.tews@jdpa.comsyvetril.perryman@jdpa.com

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/corporate

CONTACT: John Tews, +1-248-312-4119, john.tews@jdpa.com, or Syvetril
Perryman, +1-805-418-8103, syvetril.perryman@jdpa.com, both of J.D. Power and
Associates

Web site: http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/

Web site: http://www.jdpower.com/corporate

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