Celebrating 30 years of innovation with Canon Australia.

At Emerge IT, we are proud to celebrate an incredible milestone — 30 years of collaboration with the team at Canon Australia. Over the years, this partnership has allowed us to deliver cutting-edge managed print, workflow and document solutions to our clients, empowering businesses to streamline operations and achieve new levels of productivity.

Where it all started — a shopfront in Murray Bridge

Long before Emerge IT was keeping clinics online across the Territory, the story began in a single shopfront in Murray Bridge, South Australia. In 1992 the Gravestocks family bought the Murray Computer Centre — at the time the only computer shop in the region, run by one full-time and one part-time staffer. Two years later they outgrew the space, moved to bigger premises, and took on the Canon copier dealership for the Murraylands, Murray Mallee and Fleurieu Peninsula — Kangaroo Island included — adding to the Canon consumer printers and digital cameras they already sold. That 1994 handshake with Canon is the same partnership we're still building on three decades later.

As the business grew it gained new partners and a new name — Murray Computer & Office Shop, soon shortened to Murray Computers — and in 2000 it settled into its Mary Terrace home, where it still trades today. The recognition followed: Canon Dealer of the Year for SA/NT in 2004, 2006 and 2008, a Telstra Small Business Awards state finalist in 2008, and Leading Edge Computers' National Store of the Year in 2019.

• 1992The Gravestocks family buys the Murray Computer Centre — the region's only computer shop, with a team of one-and-a-half.
• 1994Bigger premises, and the Canon copier dealership for the Murraylands, Murray Mallee and Fleurieu Peninsula, including Kangaroo Island.
• 1996Renamed Murray Computer & Office Shop (later Murray Computers) as new partners join and the business expands again.
• 2000Moves into its current Mary Terrace home in Murray Bridge.
• 2004–2008Canon Dealer of the Year for SA/NT — three times — plus a Telstra Small Business Awards state finalist in 2008.
• 2019Leading Edge Computers National Store of the Year.

"I remember when we first started doing copiers, right as the company changed its name at the same time. I must be getting old — ha ha!" — Matt Gravestocks

Why we only sell Canon

Plenty of providers hedge their bets across three or four print brands. We don't, and the reason is simple: after three decades of putting machines into the hardest environments in Australia, we believe Canon is undoubtedly the superior unit in the market. When you service what you sell — in places where a failed part means a charter flight, not a courier run — you stop choosing on price lists and start choosing on engineering.

The market data points the same way. IDC's US Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker has Canon holding the number-one share position in every A3 multifunction printer segment in the United States, and IDC's worldwide tracker shows Canon at number one in the laser copier-based MFP segment in India for ten consecutive years. IDC has also named Canon a Leader in its MarketScape assessment for print security solutions. Wherever the segment is measured, Canon sits at or near the top — and our own three decades of field data across the NT, SA and WA back the trackers up.

"Where a failed part means a charter flight, not a courier run, you stop choosing on price lists and start choosing on engineering."

Built like it has to survive the Territory

The clearest example is something most buyers never see: the frame. Canon builds its imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX and imageFORCE platforms on an anti-loosening welded steel frame — a manufacturing approach Canon describes as unique to it in the industry. Most competitors assemble their chassis with bolted and screwed joints, and bolted joints work loose. Every corrugated kilometre of road freight, every thermal cycle in an un-airconditioned store room, every year of drum-and-fuser vibration lets a bolted frame flex a little further out of true.

That matters more than it sounds. A multifunction device is a precision instrument: the paper path, optics and transfer components all depend on the chassis holding its geometry. When a frame loosens, you get creeping misalignment — more jams, more image-quality drift, more service calls. A welded frame holds its shape, which is why Canon links it directly to long-term strength, stability and maximum uptime.

For our clients, this is not an abstract spec-sheet point. We put these machines into remote medical clinics in Arnhem Land, mining operations off unsealed roads, schools in the APY Lands and offices that hit 40 degrees before lunch. These are some of the harshest operating environments in the world for office equipment, and structural integrity is the difference between a device that runs for a decade and one that becomes a recurring line item. Canon's build quality is why our fleet keeps printing where others rattle themselves apart.

Why we trust Canon

Beyond the engineering, they are a powerhouse of innovation and reliability, and their values align closely with ours. With a strong focus on sustainability, security and seamless integration, Canon's technology has continually transformed the way our clients work, both in the office and remotely. From efficient print management that reduces waste and costs, to advanced document workflows that enhance collaboration, Canon's solutions fit every business need — and they work in the harshest parts of Australia.

Here's to the next 30

Here's to another 30 years of growth, innovation, and supporting businesses of all sizes to thrive. Explore our managed print services to see what the partnership delivers on the ground.