Weekend MFP Notes from 3/15/09

The following is a quick review of copier/MFP industry news from various trade publications.

- InfoPrint, the division of Ricoh that was formerly a division of IBM, announced it will open three large demo rooms to showcase the new high speed color inkjet printing system, the InfoPrint 5000. Centers will be in Boulder, CO, Shanghai, China and Germany.

- Ricoh now shipping an optional EFI Fiery print controller for some of its color laser MFPs. The Ricoh E5100 is now available for the Ricoh Aficio MP-C4000 and C5000. The Ricoh E3100 is now available for the Aficio C2800 and C3300.

- More details on the new Ricoh C900 production color system:
- While advertised as offering vacuum paper feed, this is not included as part of the optional RT-5030 large capacity, 13”x19” paper deck, even though this is the paper supply that handles the heavy 110lb. cover stock.
- Currently, coated stocks are not certified
- The optional RB5000 ring bind unit only punch holes, and then puts in rings, but does not use actual 3 ring binders. It also will not work with tabs.
- Uses pulverized toner instead of polymerized toner
- Uses fuser oil to affix toner to the paper (this is necessary as there is not enough heat and pressure generated to get toner to stick to paper)

- Ricoh’s CFO, Zenji Miura, revised the company’s earning goals:
- Lowered operating profit target by 32%
- Cut sales target by 8%
- Currently, operating profit is 45% less than a year earlier
- Ricoh CEO, Shiro Kondo said; “We are determined to do our best under the new target”

- Ricoh announced a $976 option that will allow some of its color laser MFPs to be able to print from IBM AS400 mainframe computers.

- A study of office workers conducted by Gartner, found that 70% of all copy jobs actually started at a desktop printer first.

- According to Kodak, over 114,000 tons of paper were used for printing in Washington DC in 2008.

- Kodak sold a NexPress S3000 production color system and a NexPress M700 (relabeled Canon imagePRESS C7000VP) to InfoCision, a printshop in Akron, OH.

- Notable Solutions Inc. (NSI), maker of AutoStore document management software, received $5 million from the Edison Venture Fund venture capital firm to grow its business.

- While Toshiba lost 280 billion yen in 2008, the Nikkei English News predicts that the company may break even in 2009.

- Toshiba in Japan, refused to consider a union’s pay hike demands for its factory workers.

- Toshiba announced that it will build a Solid State Drive (SSD) plant in the Phillipines with production hoped to begin in 2012.

- Kyocera announced it has received Microsoft Gold Certification for its printer manufacturing division.

- Hewlett Packard announced it will offer an optional HP Common Access Card solution for the LaesrJet M3035, M4345, M4730, M5025, M5035, M9040 & M9050 printers and MFPs.

- An HP dealer in Pennsylvania won a bid to provide managed print services to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper. The contract was for 5 years, and includes a fleet using 5 different types of HP products.

- Hewlett Packard announced it has placed an Indigo 7000 production color system at Nu Graphics Inc. of Boston, Mass.

- According to IDC, worldwide MFP/printer unit sales decreased 17% year over year. Total predicted placements in 2008 were 32.6 million, and revenue fell 13% to $15 billion in the fourth quarter. The company predicts sales will bottom out in 2009, and start a recovery in 2010.

- Another win for Acacia Research, who acquires obscure patents, and then chases firms for licensing fees. This time, EFI, maker of Fiery controllers, agreed to pay a licensing fee because Acacia now owns a digital halftone screening patent.

- EFI also announced it would close offices in Australia, England, France & Italy to reduce costs.

- Douglas Lindle of Elwood, IN was arrested for making fake currency on a color copier, after trying to use a fake $20 at a local gas station.

- Ciara Neil, Corgin Olerud, Joe Sasso & Bryan Walker were arrested in Oregon after they attempted to pay for Girl Scout cookies using fake $20 bills they made on a color copier.

- Samsung had its outlook dropped to “Negative” from “Stable” by Fitch Ratings.

- The Independent Business Association branch in the state of Washington has filed a complaint with the State, over a bid award for copying equipment. The Association claims that the current contract with Associated Business Systems, a subsidiary of Ricoh, forces the State to pay 4 cents per click, with a huge minimum volume. For example, the State Department of Ecology must pay for 950,000 copies per month, and currently being billed $15,493 per month for copies it does not make. They also claim that the state paid $50,000 for print assessments performed by Okidata and Lexmark.

- Hewlett Packard lost a court battle, reinstating a lawsuit against the company filed by Acceleron for infringing on a patent. Acceleron will now pursue collecting license fees from HP.

- According to InfoTrends, the opportunity for selling production print color systems is still growing:
- In 2005, there were 174,806 printshops and CRDs in the U.S.
- In 2005, these shops provided $379 billion in printing
- Predicts that this market will grow 1.94% per year
- Revenues for production color in 2004 were $2.4 billion, and expected to reach $9.4 billion in 2009
- There are 10,267 large shops in the U.S. generating $13 billion in print
- There are 39,553 small shops generating $3 billion
- There are 5,442 copy shops, and 7,136 quick/franchise printshops
- There are 14,636 commercial litho printshops generating $53 billion
- There are 4,795 in-plant data centers generating $9.5 billion
- There are 14,893 direct mail/service bureaus generating $19.7 billion
- There are 3,673 direct mail only shops generating $12 mbillion

- Lackawanna County, New Jersey awarded a new copier contract:
- Hopes to save $83,000
- Will eliminate 15 of its copiers
- Currently has 438 copiers/printers/fax machines
- Topps Business Solutions of Scranton was the winner

- Two managed print services vendors are joining forces. DocuAudit & FM Audit will combine their 12,000 printer model database to provide dealers a more comprehensive tool.

- Xerox offering a trade-in program to boost sales of its desktop color printers. If customer trades in their old printer they can get $50 off a Phaser 8560, $50 off a Phaser 6360 and $250 off a Phaser 7760.

- Xerox placed an iGen4 production color system at Gabriel Group, a printshop in St. Louis, MO.

- The Canadian government is considering regulating colorants used in ink cartridges for inkjet printers, as they are concerned about supposed health risks for ingested ink.