Managed Documents "The Next Big Thing"?

We've all read the hype about Managed Print Services, some of us have embraced it, some of us have tried it and stated it's not for us.  But did we ever think about Managing the Scanned Documents? 

I sell "down the street", hardware has always been my bread and butter.  After 32 years in the business I can see the trend to scan more, and email more and a distinct line in the sand for companies to not print and copy as much.  The documents are still there, they're just being scanned and saved more and more.

So, with more SaaS Cloud Document Management Systems on the horizon, the increasing popularity of Microsoft 365 why can't we (dealers) have a plan for SMB's to manage the scanned documents?

I hear excuses from potential customers like  "We'd like to do this, however we don't have the IT expertise to do this",  "We can't hire another person right now for this", "We're kind of illiterate when it comes to operating new software applications", "We can't afford the training right now". 

Everyone likes idea of being able to find documents when they need them and the idea of being able to access documents when they are out of the office. 

So, why can't we offer a Managed Document approach to the scanned documents?  I'm thinking we can do this easily and offer Block Time Agreements, a monthly billing charge or maybe a document charge.  We could meet with clients and develop their index and naming process. The customer would then scan all of the documents to a folder on the server, once a week we could log in, index and upload those documents to the SaaS program. 

We would only have to train the user in finding the documents, or we could even manage this part of the business.  Just think of it, no IT resources would be needed for the customer, no additional hardware, no learning curve on how to use the software.  We can manage and do it for them similar to a Managed Print Program, only we would control the documents.

We can bill professional services monthly or even bill by the document.  This would alleviate the large investment, along with removing the fear of buying a product and never using it.

I'm sure, someone, somewhere is doing this.  I think it's about time we offered this to our SMB accounts.  Thoughts, Ideas?

-=Good Selling=-

7 Tips When Competing with the Direct Channel

No baseball, no football, hockey (yawn), basketball..........LinSanity! The rookie who came from the obscure, no one believed in him, 2 or three teams cut him, he was only 5'3" as a frosh in high school.  This kid is now leading a resurgence to the NBA because of a no quit attitude, heart and desire to be the best.

So it was interesting that this week we had a post on the Print4Pay Hotel members from one of the  rookies in the business who has a no quit attitude and  was struggling with getting sales against the Direct Channel. Quite a few members chimed in with their thoughts on how to compete and their secrets on how to win. 

We'll post some of threads here (partial) on how our Print4Pay Hotel members responded on the forums.

Here's the thread from our member that kicked it off:

Question: I'm so frustrated. 1st Case: customer calls wants quote on 2 IR6055's. Needs print, copy, scan function staple finisher and 3hole punch. My pricing comes in right under $25K. Oce dealer gets the deal priced at $19K. 2nd Case: same Oce dealer quotes IR2525 at $2,300. My price $3,200. My cost on both of the deals was a couple dollars less than their quote. How are they able to give the equipment away and stay profitable... Has anyone else come up against this issue as an independent Canon dealer? If so, how are you fairing? NE ideas on how to overcome this.

Response: This is a tough battle in the field. Ever since Canon purchased Oce....Oce/Canon has provided extreme price flexibility. Oce/Canon will not lose the margins they have already built into the equipment nor will they lose the service revenue. So at that point it is up to the rep to price the deal where they think they would have the best shot to win within their guidelines. Remember that there may be.......read more here

Response: Things that I've used in the past I've posted here in a document http://p4photel.com/eve/forums...0104541/m/7783923667. Some other tips is to create value with your service.....follow the link or read more here

Response: Just an additional mote on this, I'm going head to head with Ricoh direct on many occasion's and sometimes they don't even know I'm in the deal and visa versa. There will be no differences with the hardware, the difference is...read more here

Response: thanks for sharing. We all learn here...even the people that have been in the industry for years. What you will find out is every deal is different and there are all sorts of angles that you can take like Art was describing. What separates you from others is your knowledge of the industry....that builds respect with the customer and they know what you are talking about...not just trying to sell a...read more here

Response: We compete against Oce & CBS all the time. We tell customers early on that we will not be the "cheapest" vendor that they look at. In fact if they are looking for the cheapest price they shouldn't be looking at us, because we provide the best value, not the cheapest price. When you break down the cost over a 48 or 60 month period how much more did you cost them for your better support? Even if they are buying....read more here

The other two tips are on the forums.

Take a trip to the forums to read the rest of the responses from our members, it's not about speeds and feeds anymore. If you're not registered go here for our FREE membership.

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Document Management Industry Notes from Around the World! 2/16/2012

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. & TORONTO, Feb 16, 2012 -- Solgenia(R) ( http://www.solgenia.com/USA/ ), an innovative global leader in Information and Communication Technologies, announces the results of a new research study indicating that the volume of documents and unstructured data is growing by over 30% per year within Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs).  The research report entitled....read more here

Pennsylvania-based Diversified Information Technologies (DIT) is expanding to the Midwest, and the company has Eagan square in its cross-hairs. On Wednesday, DIT officials said that the company has entered a 20-year lease with Greenspace Properties, LLC., for a 64,000-square-foot facility in Eagan. Over the next several months, DIT will pump more than $3 million into renovating and equipping the building, which it plans to open for operations later this spring....read more here

DALLAS—Feb. 16, 2012—-FedEx Office has announced advancements to its award-winning FedEx Office Print Online application. The company’s print management solution now provides customers with new cloud storage and advanced file organization capabilities for convenient printing anytime, anywhere. FedEx Office is leveraging cloud...read more here

Document management company, MES Hybrid Document Systems, Inc., announces completion of a successful digitizing project for Ruthven Park National Historic Site, a property of national significance designated by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.  Ruthven Park is located in southern Ontario in Haldimand County. The 1,500 acre property was formerly the country...read more here

SmartVault, a leading provider of SaaS document storage and sharing solutions, announced today a major enhancement to the service—the SmartVault Plug-in for Microsoft Outlook. With the plug-in, users can leverage the ease and convenience of email, integrated with SmartVault’s secure, compliant solution for managing and sharing documents. This offers business users and accounting professionals an integrated solution for sending,...read more here

Pingar, a leading provider of unstructured data management solutions today announced it has entered into an agreement with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) to collaborate in and commercialise advanced research into Chinese language processing and analysis. This will help the increasing numbers of public and private organisations that need to manage documents in simplified and traditional Chinese and English to capture business intelligence from Chinese text documents, create efficiencies in business process operations and reduce corporate risk....read more here

S4i Systems (http://www.s4isystems.com) is proud to announce that Lipari Foods, Inc. has licensed S4i’s electronic document management (EDM) package, S4i Express, to automate previously manual processes and migrate from current installations....read more here

Companies that use electronic document and content management systems are likely to reduce their spending on paper, printing and variables by at least 50%, which makes it a no-brainer to be going green in the business environment, says Warren Buss, ECM Solution Manager at Nokusa Engineering Informatics. While it's tricky to calculate how many trees we save by reducing our paper consumption, ballpark figures gleaned from a number of sources suggest that one average-sized pine tree can produce 160 to 180 reams of standard copier paper. Indeed, a small business employing less than 10 people could easily save one tree a year....read more here

LEE, MA, Feb 16, 2012 eSignSystems, a division of Wave Systems Corp., today announced the latest release of SmartSAFE, a leading solution for lifecycle management of electronically signed, legally-binding documents and records requiring ESIGN and UETA compliance. This new version of SmartSAFE features a redesigned SigningRoom that simplifies the entire eDelivery and eSigning process for all parties. Expanded cross-browser...read more here

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Managed Print Service Industry Notes from Around the World! 2/15/2012

Lexmark is ditching its three year old ValuePrint channel programme and replacing it with a solutions-focused set-up dubbed Business Solutions Dealer, which it claims will be have a tighter fit with its "high-value approach".The new programme has been designed to include fully managed print services and work-flow enhancing solutions, and will also offer new software and dedicated support designed to help partners take a more solutions-focused approach, Lexmark said.....read more here


TAMPA, Fla., Feb 15, 2012  -- Global Imaging Systems (GIS), A Xerox Company, has acquired Iowa-based company, RK Dixon, a leading provider of IT services, copiers, printers and managed print services with locations in seven Iowa and Illinois cities. The acquisition furthers GIS' coverage of central Illinois and eastern....read more here

Not all that long ago, computer printers were like old style telex machines as seen in the recent movie ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy’. These rather noisy ‘line printers’ cost several thousand euros each while the ink cartridges they used cost just a few euro. Today, the opposite is the case, with high quality, affordable printers available from as little as €49 while a full set of ink cartridges cost more than the printer itself! What does this mean for the consumer? Read more here

MENLO PARK, Calif. — February 14, 2012 — Ricoh Innovations, Inc. (“RII”), a Silicon Valley-based subsidiary of Ricoh Company, Ltd., which develops innovative technologies and new business opportunities for Ricoh, announced today the formation of Ricoh Innovations Private Limited (“RIPL”) in India. RIPL, which will have its headquarters and first R&D facility in Bangalore, extends the operation of RII to address the rapidly growing India market...read more here

-=Good Selling=-

Weekend Copier & MFP Updates for 2/12/2012

Seems Kycoera now has a cost per page billing model based on coverage, similar to Xerox's Cube. Plus, could there really be a move by Direct to start selling off Direct Banches that are Losers? You can read more on this in the forums and the blog.

Look, I've added BLI reports for FREE, get the full report, these are limited to what I found and they are in the Competition Lounge & Street Pricing II forums.

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Recent Blogs of Note
Death of the Direct Copier Channel? "part two"
Selling Copiers & MFP's "Color Cost Page for 2 Cents"
Selling Copiers & MFP's "From Rags to Riches for 20 cents a Day"
The Death of The Direct Copier Channel?
Selling Copiers & MFP's "P4P Hotel Members Are Quota Busters"

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GENERAL OFFICE EQUIPMENT (MFD’S) FOR THE CITY OF
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Uploaded Pricing Proposals & Quoteskonicaminolta bizhub c360
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-=Good Selling=-
The Staff at the Print4Pay Hotel

Death of the Direct Copier Channel? "part two"

Last week I blogged the "Death of the Direct Copier Channel", in less than one week there were over 1,400 views.  I'm guessing we hit a hot spot with many of those in the Direct and Dealer Channel.

The Print4Pay Hotel forums also posted many comments like "Wow - it's like Ricoh coughed up a hairball!", "Since IKON / RBS has not been able to upgrade the Canon / Ricoh IKON MIF that was the intent of the acquisition, they are now selling off the base to mega Dealers. But RJ Young will upgrade these 6,000 units to Canon machines and Muratec devices. Ricoh is having extensive back-order issues at present time.", "I doubt that they will upgrade to all Canon devices that would not have been in the best interest for Ricoh. That acquisition is now approaching four years old (Ricoh of Ikon). I agree with the back order issues however so are other manufacturers as well. It's not only Ricoh!", "In the grander scheme of things 6000 machines in field is nothing to Ricoh. Those branches must have really been sucking wind to only have 6000 machines."

But a few interesting threads were posted yesterday that seemed to stir the pot for manufacturers that may be shedding branches and ceding more business to dealers.  One Print4Pay Hotel member stated that they had heard that OCE Canada had released all of the sales reps except for one,  and more interesting is that the one rep had to report to someone in Florida.  It was listed as the Great White North shakeup.  Additionally, another member has now stated that Canon Direct closed a small office in Nova Scotia and handed over operations to a local dealer.

With most manufacturers declaring that they are reducing profit estimates or even posting losses for fiscal year 2011, the writing may be on the wall for the Direct Channel.  I'm not saying that the Direct Channel will cease to exist.  However what's a manufacturer to do when they are posting losses... with any good business model they would try to eliminate or reduce that part of the business which has become a liability.  With no good news for the economy in the short term, the threat of Europe recession and the strength of the yen, the copier manufacturers will have to make some tough decisions in the near future. 

Selling off those Direct branches that are not turning a profit could be a great model and return the manufacturers to profitability in 2012 along with increasing dealer loyalty.  With RJ Young not only did they get MIF (machines in field), they also got employees (pretty much these employees probably won't have to get worried about getting laid off at the end of every March).

Just maybe, when we look at a time line of the copier industry in 20-25 years, we'll see a blip that designated the wholesale changes to the Direct Channel model and then the decrease back the the Dealer Channel model of business.

What come around goes around and I'm thinking just maybe we're heading back to the model of the early and mid eighties.

After writing this blog,  I read the interview that Scott Cullen (The Week in Imaging) had with Chip Crunk (CEO of RJ Young) titled "Chip Crunk Talks about RJ Young's Acquisition of Ricoh Direct Branches" .  Well, I'm thinking great minds think alike and I found this the most interesting statement, "I think the industry is in a transition where in the future the distribution model is going to be large independents and the direct operations. I think Ricoh and the others are going to want to align themselves with the top independent dealers in the secondary markets because they cannot be successful in those markets".
-=Good Selling=-

If you like to register for our secure forums, please go here, and please keep in mind we don't give access to people that are not in our industry!

Selling Copiers & MFP's "From Rags to Riches for 20 cents a Day"

Geesh, not sure where I'm going to start this. What can 20 cents a day buy you.  Can't pay a toll, can't get a cup of coffee, can't buy a roll, well not much.  However if you save the 20 cents a day you can accumulate about $6 for the month and $72 for the year.  You might ask WTF are you getting at?
THE Print4Pay Hotel Premium Membership is alive and well, and has a cost of  about 25 cents a day.

Over the years the Print4Pay Hotel has built a vast network of people in the copier business. People that believe in the P4P mantra which is become informed, share and maintain your knowledge... in the office equipment industry. We have dealer and direct reps on board from Ricoh, Kyocera, Toshiba, Xerox, Sharp, Canon, and KonicaMinolta. Along with reps we also have many dealer owners, principals that tune it.  Let us not forget about the Direct side where we have many members from all over the globe.  Moles, that's right we have our fair share of them and they continue to drive information for all Print4Pay Hotel members. 

Basic members can share information on a daily basis on the forums (it's FREE), however Premium Members are given access to download price quotes and proposals that we've found in the field. Along with that they able able to private message others members (this is a great resource), plus Premium Members have access to the RFP forums (lastest RFP's & RFQ's) that we've been alerted to.  Also every once in awhile we'll get a lead and we'll pass it along to that Premium Members.  Then there's out Print4Pay Hotel library, here Print4Pay Hotel members will post documents that they use to help sell equipment or in one case we have an ongoing thread where members are uploading email templates that are designed to capture the readers attention so an appointment or a demonstration can be schedule via email. 

What I can say is that I'm a rep in the business now, even though I run the forums I feel that if it was not for the forums and the sharing of information I may have gotten out of the business many years ago.  I treat the forums as a daily exercise, just like watching the news.  The information that flows between members is astounding and I proud to be a part of an Elite group of Copier sales professionals. Making six figures is not a problem, and the forums will help you become or stay on track as one of the Elites in the business.

If you'd like to become a basic member then go here, and if you'd like to become one of the Elite Premium Print4Pay Hotel Members then go here.

-=Good Selling=-

Selling Copiers & MFP's "Color Cost Page for 2 Cents"

The other day I had an email from Monte Jensen from KBA Docusys and a Print4Pay Hotel member on the west coast here in the U.S.  He was pretty excited because they were releasing a new Color Page model being billed for as low as 2 cents per page!  This is for their Kyocera line of Color MFPs. Of course this peaked my interest and I replied that I'd like to know more about how this is being done. 

What I got from Monte was that their Color Page was 2 cents based on 2% coverage!  I thought how the heck are they going to do that?  Last I knew,  the only manufacturer that was capable of doing that was Xerox and only with their ColorQube MFP series.  Monte was not clear on all of the details about how Kyocera was able to accomplish this and I hadn't heard that Kyocera was capable of this. 

So, I dug and dug and found out that Kyocera may had launched this coverage based CPC plan last year in Europe, and may have had some pilot programs here in the US.  Now, I knew it existed and needed more info.  I sent many emails last night and low and behold a Print4Pay Hotel member from Canada confirmed that Kyocera does indeed have a three tier system coverage based CPC plan.

Here's what I received:

Weekend Copier & MFP Updates for 2/5/2012

There's been a few interesting developments this week such as customized cost per page billing, major delays in getting equipment due to the hard drive shortage, a major recall of printers and MFPs from KonicaMInolta and the resignation on Canon.jp CE0.  You can read more on this in the forums and the blog.

Look, I've added BLI reports for FREE, get the full report, these are limited to what I found and they are in the Competition Lounge & Street Pricing II forums

You've heard it before, we need your help in clicking on the banner ads, these banner ads support the P4P and keep the basic membership FREE, give them a click to see what's new, you maybe suprised at what you find.

Hotel's Production Print Certification Testing!  That's right now posted on P4P U Certifications & Testing are the first five tests in a total of ten tests. There will be a new test posted each month for the next five months!

Please take advantage of the sales documents, quotes, proposals, rfp's, rfq's, uploads, p4p library, downloads and all of the additional forum features that are enabled with a Premium Membership!

Recent Blogs of NoteThe Death of The Direct Copier Channel?
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Uploaded Pricing Proposals & Quotes
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-=Good Selling=-

The Death of The Direct Copier Channel?

OH, how those of us in the Dealer Channel long for the days when the copier manufacturers sold only through dealers. For those not in the copier business that long, yes..., that was the case!  If you needed a copier except for Xerox you had to go through an Authorized Dealer.   Turning a profit on what you sold kept the doors open, paid yourself, the employees, the taxes,  and if you had a good year there was some left over for expansion, upgrades or your pocket.

To make this short and sweet, cause I've got to get my emails out, a quote (WTF, a quote on a Sunday, yup that's when I do my best thinking), and watch the BIG GIANTS game. 

In recent years dealers have seen the direct channel  sell hardware (copiers) and service at costs that the dealer can't match due to the fact that we're not in business to lose money.  Plus you then read prognostications that most if not all of the Japanese copier manufacturers will NOT turn a profit this year, and most may post losses for 2011 fiscal year. It's bad, and most manufacturers will blame the economy, the Tsunami, the earthquake, the damaged nuclear plants and the floods in Thailand.  Dare they not mention that their Direct Branches are losing money hand over fist because they don't know how to manage their business!

So, this week I heard from a Print4Pay Hotel member just got word that RJ Young announced yesterday that they have acquired the Columbus, Tupelo, & Bilox MS and Huntsville AL locations of Ricoh/Ikon. 6000+ MIF (machines in field). This is awesome and it's about time manufacturers may be thinking about selling off their MIF portfolio to dealers (as long as the manufacturer has a caveat that the dealer will not sell out to a competitive manufacturer).

The other day we had a discussion in the office and one of the reps asked how the direct branch can sell so low.  I explained there are a few reason why;

1. They buy or sell more thus they can get the lowest possible price.
2. It seems there is no pressure from Japan to make a profit (just my thoughts)
3. They have a quota and don't have enough experienced sales people thus have to have the lowest price to capture business
4. The Dealer community profits subsidizes the losses from the Direct Channel losses

I'm big on number 1 & 4. If manufacturers truly wanted to turn around their operations maybe now is the time to start selling their MIF to their brightest and best dealers.  Dealers in turn will need to ramp operations and higher those employees  that are laid off from Direct (and only the strong will survive), within six months they will be driving more profit to the manufacturer and the losses will stop.  Dealers will then be able to sell the value of the brand name, the support, the solutions and their knowledge.

That's it off to watch the game!  Comments would love to hear them.

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Managed Print Service Industry Notes from Around the World! 2/4/2012

Tim Brien, Oki Data America's Director of Managed Print Services talks with Channelline CEO Robert Cohen talks about managed print services and the profitability that surrounds it, which are far higher than selling hardware. He also talks about how MSPs need to broaden their own business to ensure they can become a one-stop shop for the customer, and how managed services fits into that...you can read more here

As I got ready to watch the India – Australia Test Series on my 74 inch flat screen television with a high-definition cable service, I wondered how technology has evolved in the last decade. Earlier, holidays revolved around a 35mm film camera to capture all the wonderful memories and then rushing to a studio to get the film processed. Now, that negative film has been replaced by a DSLR....you can read more here

If there was one clear lesson from the 2012 Lyra MPS Forum, an “add-on” half-day conference held in conjunction with the 2012 Lyra Symposium, it was that the managed print services (MPS) business is getting tougher. The easy part—selling printing and copier savings to corporations—has gotten more competitive, and perhaps even has become a “commodity,” according to Lyra analyst Robert Palmer.
As a result, MPS vendors are searching for new sources of profit such as small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), global accounts, or more service-intensive accounts. But in all cases,....you can read more here

When Xerox eConcierge™ premiered early in 2011, managed print services providers had an inkling that the new program would have an impact on their managed print operations. Fast forward several months: Some print service providers have made Xerox eConcierge a standard component of their managed print offerings, and they are expecting the platform to play a role in their business in 2012. Xerox promotes Xerox eConcierge as the “quickest, easiest way to order printer supplies.” The technology eliminates the need for end users to manually check the supply levels of each of their networked printers, search for model and part numbers or look for vendors that have supplies in stock...you can read more here

-=Good Selling=-http://p4photel.com/eve/premium

Selling Copiers & MFP's "P4P Hotel Members Are Quota Busters"

In a year when the economy stunk, credit was denied more than it was approved.  Add the fact that a Tsunami, Earthquake, Nuclear catastrophe (all in Japan), horrific floods in Thailand that affected MFP supply lines. 

Print4Pay Hotel Members (we sell multifunctional copiers, and solutions) were at the top of their game and blew out their quotas!

I for one can attest that 2011 was tough, mentally tough as well.  I left more than 150K on the table that could not get credit approved. 

2011 saw almost 64% of those polled rolled in with 100% of quota or better!  What was more astounding is that 32% posted 150% or better and 5% broke the bank with 300% of quota for 2012!  But, you know what that's what I would have expected from this group.  Over the years I've found that Print4Pay Hotel Members are a breed apart from the rest.  They have the Desire, Determination and Dedication to be the best, and they are the BEST MFP & SOLUTION Reps in the World. 

Take a gander at some of these numbers.  For the month of December 57% were over 100% of quota, and 26% were 150% or better. A whopping 52% were among the top two reps at their company!

For those of you that are not familiar with the Print4Pay Hotel, the Print4Pay Hotel is a forum based web site that allows members from all over the world to collaborate with others in a secure forum.  In order to be a member you'll need to get registered (no cost) and within minutes  you'll see thousands of threads related to our beloved copier industry.  We cover all topics and leave no stones unturned when it comes to sales, solutions, share files, share prices, share quotes, stories, what works and what doesn't work.  You could be a poster or a lurker (just read), you could be in sales, marketing, direct sales, dealer sales manager, direct sales manager, product manager, dealer owner, COO or CFO.

Here's some other numbers from Print4Pay Hotel members.  These are 4th quarter results for 2011.

	(5%) 300% plus
	(16%) 200-299%
	(5%) 150-199%
	(10%) 125-149%
	(26%) 100 -124%
	(16%) 75-79%
	(21%) 50-74% As you can there's some pretty awesome numbers. You can become a member here Print4Pay Hotel registration BTW, Who said Copiers were dead? Or the death of WHAT? Some forget that it WAS copier reps that first started the Managed Page thingy many many moons ago. Heck, I started replacing laser printers and faxes with MFP's, when Managed Print Services was just a pimple on someones butt!  -=Good Selling=-

Daily Managed Print Service Industry Notes from Around the World!

Like other printing companies, Lexmark has placed a heavier focus on providing so-called managed print services to help offset headwinds in traditional hardware and supplies businesses. Under such services, printing companies are typically contracted ...read more here

One might not think much when clicking on the print button and taking a printout about how much energy was consumed in the process. This leads us to question how aware Indian enterprises are when it comes to the concept of Green Printing? Is it just a buzzword or is it morphing into reality, albeit slowly. ...read more here

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2012 -- Building on its reputation as a leading managed print services (MPS) provider, Mosaic Business Solutions was named as one of 'The Best Places to Work' in South Florida by the South Florida Business Journal. The organization, along with the other honorees, will be recognized at a special event on February 23rd...read more here

Nuance is a company with a plethora of products covering voice recognition, document capture and print management. As Nuance has largely grown through acquisition (about 50 in the past 10 years) it is probably better known by its product names, which include established brands such as PaperPort (desktop productivity), OmniPage (OCR), Dragon Dictate (voice recognition), eCopy (document capture and workflow) and Equitrac (print management) – its most recent buy....read more here
In its latest report on the print market, analyst firm IDC says that, after a flat trend in 2010, it now expects home and office print volumes in Western Europe to slow down even further, declining at a CAGR of 0.6 percent from 2011 through to 2015. IDC says the increasing popularity of IEMDs will contribute to this slow decline.

"New Internet-enabled mobile devices change the nature of users' relationship with documents," said Arnaud Gagneux, director, Imaging Hardcopy and Document Solutions, Western Europe for IDC. "This affects both consumers and businesses, and offers hardcopy vendors opportunities for growth in security, document solutions, and managed print services, to name a few."...read more here

-=Good Selling=-

Weekend Copier & MFP Updates for 1/29/2012

Superbowl week is upon us GO GIANTS!!
For those who delve deep into the forums, there is so much awesome content from the p4p members.Please make sure you read all of the new links and then pick and choose what interests you! For those readers that are not members please use this one time lifetime FREE registration link!

Print4Pay Hotel's Production Print Certification Testing!  That's right now posted on P4P U Certifications & Testing are the first five tests in a total of ten tests. There will be a new test posted each month for the next five months!

Please take advantage of the sales documents, quotes, proposals, rfp's, rfq's, uploads, leads, p4p library, downloads and all of the additional forum features that are enabled with a Premium Membership!

Recent Blogs of NoteRicoh A4 MFP vs Canon A4 MFP "Who Wins with Scanning"?
Selling Copiers & MFP's "First Contact"
Selling Copiers & MFP's "The Tax Man Cometh"
Selling Copiers & MFP's "Where's the Hard Drives?"
I Want My....I Want My..... SMART MFP

Interesting & Most Viewed P4P Forum ThreadsITEX 2012 OFFERS COMPREHENSIVE DEALER EDUCATION INCLUDING
Winning Proposal Generator for MPF's or MPS
Ricoh SP 5200 Series A4imageRUNNER 1700 Series
New Units from Ricoh 1st quarter 2012
Keyboard for Ricoh MFP's
End of 2011 Sales Quota Poll
Global Imaging Systems Names...
Lexmark and Anheuser-Busch ink MPS deal

NEW! Uploaded MFP Docs in P4P Document Library5 Tips 4 Using the Web4Prospecting the “First Contact
Reduce_Costs_through_Printer_Consolidation
Multifunction-Printer-
Ricoh Staple cost analysis
Ricoh Black Laser Cost Per Page Yield Analysis

Press ReleasesKyocera Mita America Multifunctional Products and Printers Named ...
Océ Outlines Five Key Attributes to Consider When Purchasing a Wide Format ScannerXerox Reports 14% increase in EPS on Flat Revenue
Ricoh is one of the world’s most sustainable companies for the eighth year
Konica Minolta to Exhibit Award-Winning Solutions and IT Services at LegalTech

P4P Poll QuestionsNew Color Cost Per Page Poll for 60 ppm plus
New Color Cost Per Page Poll for 30-44 ppm COLOR
New Color Cost Per Page Poll for 45 - 59 ppm COLOR

New Leads, RFP's & RFQ's Uploaded!Need a Lease of 62 Copiers in......
Copiers Need for Fort ______ School District
Health Support Services Needs Color COpier
200K copier Bid in Meid West USA
3-Year Copier Lease

Uploaded Pricing Proposals & QuotesKyocera 3500 Quote
"Pricing on the Street" Canon 3245i
"Pricing on the Street" KonicaMinolta bizhub423
"Pricing on the Street" Xerox WorkCentre 5150PTQ.pdf
Ricoh Production Print Cost Per Page "Consumables" Analysis

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh A4 MFP vs Canon A4 MFP "Who Wins with Scanning"?

In recent days I had the chance to get additional information about the Ricoh SP5200 A4 MFP and the Canon 1750if A4 MFP.  My last blog titled Ricoh A4 MFP or Canon A4 MFP "That is the Question" mentioned some of the plus and minuses for each system.  So, let's consider this as a follow up for the additional information I've been able to find out.

Scan Speed
Ricoh touts a scan speed of the SP5200 series over 30ipm at 200dpi, while the Canon 1750IF has a scan speed of 52ipm at 300dpi.  When it comes to scan speed we'll give the advantage to the Canon 1750IF since the Ricoh SP5200 will slow down even further when scanning at 300dpi.

Document Feeder
The Canon 1750if will hold up to 100 originals compared to 50 originals for the Ricoh SP5200 series. However, Ricoh does have a "batch mode" this is used when the user has more than 50 originals.  Thus you could scan 100 pages but would have to baby sit the scanner.  At this time I'm not sure if the Canon has a "batch mode" for scanning.   Advantage to Canon 1750IF again.

Searchable PDF
It's standard on the Canon 1750IF and searchable .pdf is not even an option on the Ricoh SP5200, you'll need to buy a third party solution. Canon  1750IF Advantage.

Scanning of Mixed Size Originals
Let me start with the Ricoh SP5200 series first, you can't load mixed letter and legal documents in the scanner and expect to have letter and legal size .pdf's when they are scanned.  We tried this at the office and they all scanned as letter documents when we opened them up with Adobe Reader. You would either have to copy all letter size and then make a setting change on the MFP to scan legal size.

Personally I see the market for these types of the devices the Canon 1750if and the Ricoh S5200 series for legal, title, mortgage, health and municipalities.  Why even bring a device to market that can't Scan mixed sized originals.  Seems Ricoh choose to use an inexpensive document feeder that is not capable of reading documents larger than letter size. Could this be directly related to the Ikon aquisition, meaning that Ricoh is not enabling R & D like they did before the Ikon aquisition?

On the other hand, I put this out there for a few Print4Pay Hotel members to see if the Canon 1750IF is capable of scanning mixed size originals and I'm waiting to hear back from them (we get all of our information from guys and gals on the street who are selling these devices).  However from viewing the brochure of the Canon 1750IF it seems that there is a sensor on the rear end of the document feeder tray.  Thus, the Canon 1750IF should be able to scan mixed size originals.   Major Advantage Canon! UPDATE!! I've heard back from two Print4Pay Hotel members and both stated that the Canon 1750if will scan mized sized orginals.

Scanner ease of Use
This is going to be a tough one, however I'm a big fan of "the bigger the better" and the Ricoh SP5200 series does have an impressive LARGE COLOR LCD user interface.  The Canon 1750IF has a monotone black/gray display and the LCD is half the size of the Ricoh SP5200 series.  Take if from me the large color user interface on the Ricoh is a pleasure to use.  Advantage to Ricoh.

Scanning is a large part of every day use of these types of devices.  Typically if I scan more than 50 pages every time I walk to the device, then I'd rather have a machine that can drop the documents in and then walk away.  Same with speed, under 2 minutes to scan 100 pages or over three minutes on the Ricoh device.  But there will be users that don't ever scan 50 pages at a time?  Thus the 100 page document feeder may not play a critical role in the assessment of the device.  The same can be stated for mixed size documents, there may be some companies that just scan letter and have no need to mix letter and legal.  And then how about searchable .pdf?  Yup, it's a nice feature, and yup I would like to have it, but what about the everyday user that just wants to save the image and will never ever do a search when they open the document.

When it comes to speeds and feeds the Canon 1750IF looks like a clear winner, IF the user has a need for all of those features. IF not, then both systems are a lot alike.  We'll need to sit down and see what's best for the user, what makes the best sense, will it be ease of use of features that are never used. You can then look at cost per page, and total TCO.

I had fun with this and I hope you enjoyed it also.

-=Good Selling=-

Selling Copiers & MFP's "First Contact"

A Star Trek flick from 1996 had the crew of the Enterprsie travel back in time to undermine the Borg attempt to stop Earthlings from making "First Contact" with the Vulcans. 

The last few days I've been busy on the phone prospecting for new accounts, new opportunities, new upgrades and what else... more the "first contact" and more sales.  It seems every year it gets some what tougher to get a hold of Mr. or Mrs. Right, for those of us that consider ourselves Professional Prospectors we get used to these types of responses when we know the name of Mr. or Mrs Right:


"Sorry so and so just left for lunch"
"He just stepped out"
"So and so is on the phone right now"
"He or she is busy"
"We're not interested"
"So and so just stepped into a meeting"

So what are we to do, well as one Print4Pay Hotel member stated many years ago we need to be "smarter than the average bear". We've all heard these before but here's a few for a refresher:

• Vary the time that you call on that account
• Call early in the AM
• Call late in the afternoon
• Call on a Saturday
• Call on another employee in the company and ask to be transfered to the DM

It used to be that on-site Cold Calling used to work well, however at least here in the NY metro area it's hard to gain access to building since 9/11.  Doors are locked, security cameras are in place and sales people are left to other means to find out who the DM is.  By the way, why is it that when you make the call and ask who the DM is, it's seems like you're sentencing that person to ten or twenty lashes??

One such person got so nasty with me when I was being very polite and I asked for the name of the person that makes that decision (true story). I told that I had hoped that a camel would walk through her bed at night. It just came out....I should have been more professional, yup... however sometimes you get so fed up, hey we're just trying to do our job also.

The web is a wonderful place and I've found creative ways to seek out those first contacts when the gatekeeper does not want to give me any information.  So here's a list of resources I use for the web, if you'd like to know how I use each one to my advantage then send me an email, join the p4photel (it's free) and I'll send you in detail how I use each one. art@p4photel.com

Manta
Linkedin
Contact Us
Box Approach
Google


-=Good Selling=-

Daily Managed Print Service Industry Notes from Around the World!

Newport City Council (NCC) has cut its print-related costs by more than 25 per cent, resulting in nearly £90000 savings, by applying the same Managed Print Service (MPS) tools and techniques Xerox uses to save millions for large enterprises.

NCC is undergoing a major IT transformation initiative focused on improving technology infrastructure across its 50+ sites to increase business efficiency and support flexible working practices. Xerox’s managed print service is helping the council realise this vision and has also helped significantly reduce the IT support resources required and lower direct printing costs. you can read more here

Level Platforms, one of the pioneers of managed services in the channel, is expanding beyond its remote monitoring and management software products to include managed services delivered to and on behalf of its MSP partners.

As part of its upcoming multi-city road show and the release of its Managed Workplace 2012, Level Platforms is unveiling comprehensive network operations center and help desk services. The new offerings will provide Level Platforms’ partners with an outlet for offloading many managed services tasks and provide a new level of support within the vendor ecosystem.

Level Platforms has been developing its NOC and help desk services for more than a year, opting to build from the ground up internally rather than cobbling together off-the-shelf software and outsourcing management to a third-party provider. CEO Peter Sandiford calls the new services a natural evolutionary step in the development of Level Platforms’ product and service offerings. you can read more here

Jan 24, 2012 IRVINE, Calif. – Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. (http://business.toshiba.com), announces the debut of the world’s first Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) equipped with proprietary wipe technology for multifunction printers (MFPs). This new Toshiba technology allows users to determine a range of security settings, including the invalidation of encryption keys and data invalidation when a drive is removed from its housing or connected to an unauthorized host system.

“As the needs of our customers constantly evolve, Toshiba is committed to remaining at the forefront of product innovation,” said Joseph Contreras, director, Product and Solutions Marketing, Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. “Toshiba’s new SED security technology improves data security and reduces the risk of sensitive information stored on copiers and printers leaving your company. When the SED is removed or stolen from the MFP and installed into another device, the data is invalidated automatically. If the SED is returned to the MFP without being installed into another device, data will not be invalidated and is accessible.” you can read more here

-=Good Selling=-

Selling Copiers & MFP's "The Tax Man Cometh"

I really, really hate this time of year, usually after the first of the year we'll start seeing the commercials for H&R Block, Hewitt, and Turbo Tax. This year started early, a week before Christmas I started seeing the tax adds! OMG, please no more reminders!!

Over the years there's some years were I win (get cash back) and some years where I lose (gotta pay up). Since the Great Recession, well, let's say it's been interesting to say the least.

For those of us that get spiffs from manufacturers these all come with a price tag, and it's hefty if you haven't planned for the tax man.  We forget about $150 here and $300 there and $50 here, and by the time you look at the statement, you're getting 1099'd for over $10,000!!!

There was one year in particular where I won a trip to Japan (on ricoh) and a super duper TV, surround sound, VCR, DVD, you name it and I got it (on ricoh), turns out I for 1099'd for all that stuff plus my spiff points, arrggh, I ended up owing a  mid 4's to the feds.

So, over the years, I created a list a must do's when it comes to paying my fair share of taxes.  I'm not going to post them here in an open blog, however log on the Print4Pay forums and see my ten points that can help you reduce your exposure....

So feel free to add to this discussion, but here's a few things that I do to maximize my take home pay (especially when it's commission time)and minimize my taxes. Go here to fill in the blanks.

First and Foremost:

I keep .....................

I keep an accurate.............

Instead of going to the office first thing in the AM,..................

Samething with on..............

I'll buy..........

I run...........

I join......

I have a.............

When I go to...........

Plus, I pay..................

-=Good Selling=-

Selling Copiers & MFP's "Where's the Hard Drives?"

Almost 30 years ago, Clara Peller screamed "Where's the Beef?" to American and Canadian TV viewers.  "Where's the Beef?" was a popular slogan in the Eighties to lure hamburger eaters from the likes of McDonald's and Burger King over to Wendy's.

In recent weeks, Copier Dealers have been asking "Where's the Hard Drives?".  Severe flooding in Thailand has affected shipments of MFP's to the US.  The flooding from October 23rd left many hard drive factories under water. 

Pictures that were posted on the Print4Pay Hotel forums showed massive flooding in several industrial parks.  Just about three weeks after the flooding almost 1,000 Hitachi HDD workers went on strike and further disrupting the supply chain. 

Later in the month of December came the announcements from many Copier and Printer Manufacturers that there would be disruptions to the supply chain.  There were some reports of disruptions that may last 3 - 6 months. In a recent post on the Print4Pay forums a Hitachi VP claimed that it will take almost a year for the Global Hard Drive industry to recover from the impact of the flooding.

"Where's the Hard Drives?",  seems that 4 hard drive manufacturers have 90% of the market, Western Digital, Seagate, Hitatchi and Toshiba. Almost thirty three percent of all hard drives are manufactured in Thailand.  Read more here

When I first heard about the floods in Thailand, I really didn't think there would be that much of an issue with MFP's in the US.  Goes to show you how much I know.  In recent weeks, I've been alerted to the back order of MFP's due to the flooding.  Again, I thought no big deal a few extra days here and there and it won't be a big thing.   The lasted is that we have four or five MFP models that are projected with 3-6 month back orders, one particular model had a June back order.  Dam, I had just sold 5 of these to one of my accounts!  "Where's the Hard Drives?" Now, I'm hearing from other reps from other manufacturers that they're now seeing additional MFP's  models placed on longer than usual back orders.

Even though Thailand manufacturers almost one third of the worlds hard drives it might be a good bet that they supplied at least or more than 50% of the hard drives to Copier manufacturers (this is just a guess) and that's the reason for the shortages.  Least we forget about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year and it seems we've had a perfect storm to really wreak havoc with the Copier Industry.

What good is a digital copier without a hard drive, it's like having a hamburger without the meat, it just doesn't work! Which leads me to this short story, many years ago, we had a local Jack in the Box (just like a Wendy's MickyD's or BurgerKing), however you had to drive up, place your order with a giantic clown head.  One night in particular, I placed my order, got my burgers and to my surprise all I got was the *&($#(* bun! 

-=Good Selling=-

Weekend Copier & MFP Updates for 1/15/2012

With the Giants game fast approaching I had to get this blog out early for everyone.  Some good stuff this week.

Stethos USA will be holding weekly webx on how to look for opportunities with their Enhanced Laser Printing Solution, I've got a couple in the works and it's a lot less than Planet Press, make sure you sign up for the webx, see if below on the links.

Another nice Blog form Vince McHugh titled "Who makes Xerox Copiers \ MFDs???", and then some awesome cost per page analysis that I did for assorted Ricoh hardware, you can check these out in the Print4Pay Library forums.

There's a cool link in the Premium Members section for a FREE Cost Per Page Analysis for Printers, and MFP's, we're adding more information as we go.

P4P Hotel's Production Print Certification Testing!  That's right now posted on P4P U Certifications & Testing are the first five tests in a total of ten tests. There will be a new test posted each month for the next five months!

Please take advantage of the sales documents, quotes, proposals, rfp's, rfq's, uploads, p4p library, downloads and all of the additional forum features that are enabled with a Premium Membership!

Please support our Advertisers by clicking their links and giving them a call! LCA Leasing Corp, Stethos USA, Jetmobile,  Polek & Polek, UDOCX, Print Audit, & Cybercon Dealer Services, sfSCAN

Recent Blogs of NoteCopiers & MFP's "The Hidden Cost of Staples"
Selling Copiers & MFP's "3 Short Follow Up Stories"
Selling Copiers & MFP's "Add Value to You Web SIte"
Selling Among Wolves
Who makes Xerox Copiers \ MFDs???
Top Ten Copier & MFP Industry Predictions for 2012

Uploaded Pricing Proposals & QuotesX700XV Xerox X700i Digital Color Press (FREE)
"Pricing on the Street" Canon 3245i
"Pricing on the Street" KonicaMinolta bizhub423
"Pricing on the Street" Xerox WorkCentre 5150PTQ.pdf
Ricoh Production Print Cost Per Page "Consumables" Analysis

Interesting & Most Viewed P4P Forum ThreadsEnd of 2011 Sales Quota Poll
Got A Situation! What would ou do?
Awesome FREE Widget for laser printer TCO
Hinds audit turns up $35K in stockpiled ink, toner
Both HP and Lexmark increase prices Jan 01 2012
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How To Make Money With ELP- Product Introduction
Competitive Info Xerox Workcentre 7500 Series
Why is single clicking an 11×17 on a “copier” legal?

Press ReleasesCanon launches the industry’s fastest USB-powered portable scanner for small offices
Ricoh is the world’s best performing business for sustainability performance among IT
Konica Minolta Updated Free App "PageScope Mobile" Adds Cloud Connectivity to
Fuji Xerox Launches New Eco-Friendly Monochrome Digital Multifunction Devices for SMB
KYOCERA MITA achieves ISO Certification for latest TASKAlfa series of colour and black mfp's

NEW! Uploaded MFP Docs in P4P Document LibraryRicoh Staple cost analysis
Ricoh Black Laser Cost Per Page Yield Analysis
Ricoh Cost Per Page Analysis for Black SOHO MFP's
Ricoh Production Print Cost Per Page Analysis
Ricoh Wide Format Cost Per Page Analysis for Consumables

P4P Poll QuestionsNew Color Cost Per Page Poll for 60 ppm plus
New Color Cost Per Page Poll for 30-44 ppm COLOR
New Color Cost Per Page Poll for 45 - 59 ppm COLOR

New Leads, RFP's & RFQ's Uploaded!Large copier Bid in California
One Wide Format Monochrome Plotter, Copier and Color Scanner Device
State of North Carolina
200K Copier Bid in Illinois

-=Good Selling=-