Weekend MFP Industry Notes 2/26/10

Gathered from Print4Pay Hotel Members from around the world and a few moles in very good places!

Hewlett Packard announced its last quarter’s financials:

- Worldwide revenue up 8% to $31.2 billion
- Americas revenue up 9% to $13.6 billion
- GAAP operating profit up 20% to $3 billion
- Enterprise storage and server revenue up 11% to $4.4 billion
- Imaging and Printing Group (printers and MFPs) revenue up 4% to $6.2 billion
- Printer/MFP supplies revenue up 1%
- Total printer units up 16%
- Commercial printer units up 11%
- Laser MFP units down 44% (HP has yet to launch the full line of Canon MFPs)
- Services revenue down 1% to $8.7 billion
- Notebook computer revenue up 25%
- Desktop computer revenue down 16%

- Hewlett Packard announced it is working with Royal Dutch Shell to create seismic sensors to find oil and gas deposits underground.

- At the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show, Hewlett Packard launched the Photosmart ML1000D minilab. This product (which uses Edgeline color inkjet technology) will be marketed to photolabs (like those in local Walgreens, etc.). HP announced that it already won a large order for this product from Rossman, a chain store in Germany.

- Hewlett Packard announced ban on exports of non-working electronics to developing countries. (dead HP printers and MFPs can no longer be dumped in third world countries)

- Canon is preparing to launch 5 new b/w A3 MFPs, the imageRUNNER 2500 series. Details:
- will range from 20 to 45ppm
- will not utilize the new ADVANCE print controller technology
- will based on current imageRUNNER IR-3220 platform

- Canon filed a lawsuit that may hurt IKON. Details:
- Filed in Virginia Eastern District Court
- Patent infringement claim against Densigraphix of Montreal, Canada (office in New York)
- Densigraphix makes toner cartridges for Canon-made laser printers and MFPs
- IKON, a division of Ricoh, apparently recently became Densigraphix’s largest customer when IKON was cut off from buying toner from Canon when it sold out to Ricoh
- The patent in question, #7647012, describes design of a toner cartridge for a copier
- Densigraphix toners sell for 30% less than those made by Canon
- If Canon wins the lawsuit, IKON could be forced to buy supplies from Canon, most likely at list price

- Lockheed Martin won a $500 million contract from the U.S. Census bureau to scan in approximately 160 million paper census forms. Lockheed will use 45 each of the IBML ImageTrac IV high speed scanners. The scanners will be installed in Baltimore, Phoenix and Jeffersonville, IN.

- Kodak announced that it signed a new loan agreement with Citicorp and Banc of America giving it access to $200 million. With the new funds, it paid down $125 million in debt to other lenders.
- Kodak announced that it signed a multi-year contract with Ricoh.

Details:
- Ricoh & IKON branches will now be authorized to sell both Kodak Digimaster production b/w systems and NexPress production color systems
- Contract also includes Kodak Document Imaging Solutions and Unified Workflow Solutions
- Includes CREO print servers and PRINERGY production print workflow solutions
- IKON and Ricoh will offer service contracts for Digimaster products, but only Kodak can service the NexPress product
- Kodak claims to have 3,000 service technicians total in 120 countries
- Unknown how many RBS or IKON locations will have these products on display
- IKON, a division of Ricoh, at its recent open house at its San Antonio branch, had a guest speaker, David Cameron of Photizo Group, give a lecture on advantages of managed print services contracts. Also on hand was VP of Marketing for the San Antonio Spurs basketball team. Host was Craig Ruhland, VP of Sales for IKON.


- Ricoh now shipping the Aficio MP 4001 and 5001 digital b/w laser MFPs offering:
go here for Ricoh Aficio 4001 and 5001 'Spec Review"

- Ricoh announced pricing for the PRO C720, which is 72ppm version of the C900 production color system. More on this here P4P Suites

- Ricoh is preparing to replace the current Aficio MP C6000 and C7500 color MFPs with the new C6001 and C7501 featuring:

- C6001 has top speed of 60ppm for color or b/w
- C7501 offers 70ppm color and 75ppm b/w speeds
- 1200x1200dpi
- Optional EFI Fiery
- Scan speeds up to 82ppm
- pricing and ship date not announced


- Konica Minolta Europe announced it is offering an option for its MFPs to allow for wireless remote care:
- Partnered with KPM and Jasper Wireless
- MFP can be equipped with a KPN Global SIM with transmits data from MFP to Konica Minolta service center
- Can transmit supply order, service call and meter read
- Countries included in wireless service option from KPN are Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain & France
- Pricing not announced
- Konica Minolta UK (England) announced it will resell fax server software from Avanquest Solutions.

- DocuLex of Florida, maker of document management software, announced it won “Best Value for Price” recognition from BERTL.

- Qoppa Software of Atlanta, GA announced that it is offering PDF Studio 6.2 for Google Docs, allowing end users to create and edit PDF from Google Docs documents. MSRP of $95.00

- Equitrac announced that the new version 5 of Equitrac Professional cost recovery software will provide a “Scan to DMS” feature, allowing scanning directly into a document management system.

- Nuance Communications announced it has acquired MacSpeech, a maker of voice recognition software for Mac computers

- Solution software maker, Open Text Corp., (headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), announced it plans on making multiple acquisitions in 2010. (Open Text in past bought Captaris RightFax)

- Nuance launched a free, downloadable PDF reader software, called “Nuance PDF Reader”. Nuance’s software is only 18MB, as compared to Adobe Acrobat Reader which is 45MB. It also is temporarily allowing end users free access to its cloud computing offering “Nuance PDF Document Conversion Service”, which takes MS Word and Excel files and converts them to PDFs.

- In a survey of businesses in Europe by BERTL, end users rated their favorite suppliers of managed print services. In order, here are top choices:

- Hewlett Packard
- Canon
- Xerox
- Ricoh

- Roger Mozda, of Taunton, MA, was arrested for attempting to use a fake $10 bill that he made on a color copier. Mr. Mozda has already served jail time in the past for the same crime.

- Kyocera announced it won “Excellent Value” recognition from Office Products Analyst for its FS-C5100, C5200 & C5300 desktop color printers.

- Kyocera (fka Kyoto Ceramic Company) announced it has designed a thermal printhead, the KLE series, for printing on rigid ID cards or credit cards in full color at 300dpi, at 50mm per second, faster than any other competitor.

- Toshiba announced it has completed its acquisition of Fujitsu’s hard drive business. As a result of the acquisition, Toshiba launched a 2.5” drive that can hold up to 600GB.

- Toshiba announced it will resell Digital Rights Management software from Fasoo, which will provide end users ability to encrypt and password protect documents. Pricing unannounced.

- Toshiba announced it now has supplied 35 hydro power generators to the country of Columbia, and will deliver 3 more by end of 2013.

- Staples, the office supply superstore chain, announced it will now start selling IT services (to compete with Best Buy’s Geek Squad and others). The company’s VP of Finance, Joe Kalinoski, stated that the new Staples Technology Solutions division has:

- 400 employees
- access to certified specialists for Cisco Systems, Citrix, Linux, etc.
- onsite and remote support
- desktop support for PC, Macs and Linux devices
- managed print services
- data center assessments
- target market is SMB (companies with 1 to 250 employees)
- Candy Murphy is now CP of Staples Contract Technology Solutions
- result of Staples’ acquisition of Thrive Networks of Boston, MA (which has 90 employees in MA)

(Thrive Networks was started in basement by three people in 2003)

- More troubles for Canon’s attempt to buy Oce’. Sparinvest, a Danish investor group which holds Oce’ stock, announced it will join with Hermes and Orbis (two other investor groups) in opposing the bid, in an attempt to force Canon to increase its acquisition offer. Together, the three groups hold 18.5% of Oce’s stock. So far, Canon has purchased 28% of the shares.

- KnowledgeLake Inc., which develops products for Microsoft SharePoint users, announced it is partnering with ReadSoft of New Orleans, to deliver automated invoice processing and document classification to SharePoint ECM (electronic content management) market.

- Fujitsu announced an option for its SnapScan desktop scanners, that allow users to scan directly into EverNote. Details on EverNote:

- data storage using could computing
- basic service is free, but end user must view advertisements when they store or retrieve files from their personal repository accessed via the Web
- For $45 per year, there are no ads, and can store up to 500 megabytes

- Fujitsu and Canon announced that they will partner in Japan to offer cloud computing-based managed services for printing and IT equipment. The joint program will bundle Canon’s Managed Document Services (managed print services) and Fujitsu’s Workplace LCM (managed IT services) to businesses in Japan. If successful, the company may launch in other parts of the world. Pricing unannounced.

- Fujitsu announced that its scanners can now connect to fScanX software from Elevated Software Development. The software supports speeds up to 90ipm, and offers ability to automatically run common tasks without writing code.

- According to research firm, NelsonHall, the document management services market (which includes managed print services) will grow to more than $45 billion worldwide by 2013.

- Sharp announced that it may close its LCD plant in Barcelona area of Spain due to high labor costs. This will impact 430 union employees, as production would shift to factories in China.

- ExactCODE of Berlin, Germany announced production scanning software for the Apple Macintosh computers. The new ExactScan 2 software can process up to 120 images per minute with color correction, OCR, auto crop, deskew and compression, and supports up to 200 different document scanners.

- Astro-Med Inc. announced it won a $1.4 million contract from Boeing to make thermal printers that will mount in airplane cockpits.

- Pitney Bowes announced that its Government Solutions division won a facilities management contract from the Department of Justice. The length of the contract, its value, and amount of MFPs included were not announced.

- Global Industry Analysts Inc. predicts that the US photocopier maker will reach 1.5 million units by 2015. This includes all segments.

- Giant offset press makers, Heidelberg & Komori, announced that they will NOT have booths at the upcoming Graph Expo show in Chicago, due to declining sales. Show is held 10/3-6/2010.

- In an article in FORTUNE magazine, titled “Paper Chase”, prints produced on A3 b/w copiers are expected to drop 50% by the year 2013.

- IBM announced it has acquired Intelliden of Menlo Park CA, which makes network management software. IBM claims that 60% of all network outages are caused by manual configuration errors. IBM has made more than 50 acquisitions since 2003.

- Fujitsu changed its mind and apparently will now have a booth showing off its scanners

- Kodak also changed its mind and will have a scanner display

- Canon, IBML, BancTec, OPEX & Plustek will also be showing their newest scanners

- AnyDoc Software, Kofax & ReadSoft have pulled out of event

- Recent survey of businesses conducted by AIIM revealed:
- 62% of important paper documents are still archived as paper
- 25% are photocopied beforehand “just in case”
- Less than 33% of paper originals are destroyed after scanning
- 70% feel that paper records are needed for legal reasons (which has not been the case for 20 years)

-=Good Selling=-

Feed Me Once, Feed Me Twice, Feed Me All the Time!

I love seeing new and innovative products that will enhance a customers existing print system. Take a look at this video from Straight Shooter Equipment Company.

If you have an Oki Color Laser Printer, you can now add the envelope feeder!  Me...., I'm thinking this will work on the Oki 3641 MFP also!

I tried calling them today, however it seems they were closed with snow storm here in the east!

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in Canon "TWIC Notes"

These notes were posted oon the P4P Hotel Forums yesterday. Looks like Canon is getting back in the game with MFP launches!

- Canon is preparing to launch 5 new b/w A3 MFPs, the imageRUNNER 2500 series. Details:
- will range from 20 to 45ppm
- will not utilize the new ADVANCE print controller technology
- will based on current imageRUNNER IR-3220 platform

- Canon filed a lawsuit that may hurt IKON. Details:
- Filed in Virginia Eastern District Court
- Patent infringement claim against Densigraphix of Montreal, Canada (office in New York)
- Densigraphix makes toner cartridges for Canon-made laser printers and MFPs
- IKON, a division of Ricoh, apparently recently became Densigraphix’s largest customer when IKON was cut off from buying toner from Canon when it sold out to Ricoh
- The patent in question, #7647012, describes design of a toner cartridge for a copier
- Densigraphix toners sell for 30% less than those made by Canon
- If Canon wins the lawsuit, IKON would be forced to buy supplies from Canon, most likely at list price

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in Kodak "TWIK News"

- Kodak launched its first new products since it acquired the Bowe Bell & Howell scanner division. The Truper 3210 and 3610 offer:

- 3210 has both flat bed and a 200 sheet document feeder

- 3610 is rotary only scanner

- Both are actually made by Panasonic

- Up to 90 pages per minute in color or b/w

- Scans both sides of original at same time
- Up to 15,000 originals per day
- Up to 11.9” x 17”
- 3210 document feeder can read an original up to 100’ long
- Ultrasonic multi-feed detection
- Multi-feed Ignore feature for scanning envelopes
- Can scan originals with sticky notes or photos attached
- Optional pre-scan imprinter
- 600x600dpi
- Advanced Color Dropout Technology to remove up to 6 colors in a multicolor document for optimal OCR, ICR and barcode recognition
- Bundled with Kofax VRS 4.5 Professional software for image enhancement
- Auto color detect
- Auto blank page removal
- Auto orientation
- 3610 has MSRP of $6995
- 3210 has MSRP of $8495

- Kodak also shipping the new Scan Station 500 offering:
- Network port
- 3,000 scans per day max duty cycle
- Voice Attachment allows users to send personalized audio messages alongside the scanned images
- Perfect Page Image Processing Technology
- 8” color LCD touch screen control panel
- Optional keyboard
- Base MSRP of $2495
- Optional flatbed scanner
- Optional connector for NSi AutoStore software

- Kodak announced that it signed a new loan agreement with Citicorp and Banc of America giving it access to $200 million. With the new funds, it paid down $125 million in debt to other lenders.

- Kodak announced it sold a NexPress S3000 production color system to Maes Printing Solutions of Belgium (ironically, Belgium is home to Punch Xeikon production color presses, a competitor to Kodak)

- Kodak announced it sold a Versamark VL2200 production color inkjet system to Vertis Communications.

- Kodak’s CREO division announced that the print servers now support MS Windows 7 and MAC OS X v10.6.

- Kodak announced that it signed a multi-year contract with Ricoh. Details:
- Ricoh & IKON branches will now be authorized to sell both Kodak Digimaster production b/w systems and NexPress production color systems
- Contract also includes Kodak Document Imaging Solutions and Unified Workflow Solutions
- Includes CREO print servers and PRINERGY production print workflow solutions
- IKON and Ricoh will offer service contracts for Digimaster products, but only Kodak can service the NexPress product
- Kodak claims to have 3,000 service technicians total in 120 countries
- Unknown how many RBS or IKON locations will have these products on display


-=Good Selling=-

iPhones move over for iCopiers!

Picked this off of the Print4Pay Hotel Forums today. What will they think of next! SIZZLE,SIZZLE and more SIZZLE!

- A startup company in San Francisco announced that it wants to design control panels for copiers. Details:
- Company is named “Touch Revolution”
- Founded by former Apple Computer executive
- Uses Google’s Android operating system (which is used in cell phones)
- Linux based
- Wants to give copiers an “Apple iPhone-like touch interface”
- Will allow embedded software applications with full color graphical icons to launch or scan to
third party software
- Unknown if any copier manufacturers have signed up as yet for future MFP designs

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in Xerox "TWIX Notes"

- Xerox scientist, Elliott Eklund, died when he struck a tree while riding his snowboard. The 48 year old man had worked for Xerox for 16 years, and had 19 patents, including some for inkjet printhead technology.

- Xerox announced it won a copier bid from the Galesburg, IL school district, where it claims it will save the school district $119,000 over the life of the contract. Xerox was the incumbent.

- The United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a lobbying group pushing the cap & trade bill, and promoter of controversial man-made global warming theories, announced that Xerox did not renew its membership to the group.

- Xerox advertised some of its recent large managed print service contract wins:
- University of British Columbia in Canada (6 year contract)
- Hobart & William Smith College in Geneva, NY reduced devices from 550 to 81.
- Rotterdam University of Netherlands with 15% reduction in operating costs
- Canberra Institute of Technology in Australia reduced devices from 494 to 199, and cut operating costs 47%
- Total devices under MPS contract now at 1.5 million worldwide

- Xerox announced it named Mrs. Liz Stafford to Senior VP of Western Division in U.S. over 1,800 employees in 11 states. She started with Xerox in 1980 as a rep May, 1980, in San Diego branch.

- Xerox announced that its ACS division won a 8 year, $61 million contract from the State of Pennsylvania to process child support payments.

- Xerox released more details about the revolutionary fusing technology, “Flash Fusing” that is used in the Xerox 490/980 roll-fed production color system:
- Also used in Xerox 650/1300 b/w system and the Xerox 495 b/w system
- Melts toner to paper at top speed of 8.3 color prints per second
- Same speed as blinking of human eye (2 to 4 tenths of a second)
- Does not use pressure, and does not come in contact with toner or paper
- Uses lamps which flash at 2,000 times per second
- The lamps are filled with Xenon gas
- There are 8 total Xenon lamps in printer
- Lamps are similar to those used in new luxury autos
- The special toner used responds to the high intensity light and melts to paper

- Quantum Digital, a print for pay that claims to be Xerox’s number one customer in the U.S., will have a booth at the upcoming national convention in New Orleans for Keller Williams real estate agents. The company sells output from its fleet of Xerox iGen3 color systems.

- Xerox promoted Dan Cooper to Executive VP of Field Operations for its Global Imaging division. Previously, he was president of Global’s Electronic Systems on Virginia. Replacing him is Kurt Schmelz and Anthony Lane as co-presidents.

- Xerox recently had its national sales meeting in Orlando, FL, and new CEO, Ursula Burns made following comments:
- “It’s all about growth. It’s all about getting bigger”
- “The accolades I get for doing absolutely nothing are amazing. I’ve been named to every list, literally, since I became CEO. What have I done? In the first 30 days, I was named to a list of the most impressive XYZ. The accolades are good for five minutes, but then it takes the shine off the real story. I just happen to be the person standing up at this point representing Xerox.”
- Xerox has “terminal niceness….we are really, really, really nice”
- “When we’re in the family, you don’t have to be as nice as when you’re outside of the family. I want us to stay civil and kind, but we have to be frank and the reason we can be frank is because we are all in same family”
- She describes meetings at Xerox where someone presents, and others just listen; “And then the meeting ends and we leave and go Man that wasn’t true. I’m like Why didn’t you say that in the meeting?”
- “One of the things that I was told early on is that you should never let them see you sweat. I remember hearing that and saying Oh my God! I think that they have to see you sweat.”
- “Fearlessness doesn’t mean recklessness. This is something I live by all the time and one of the things I want to change.”
- “Decide. Do things”
- “What is it that you see in this company that you love-that you can love-you can grow to love?”
- “People would come in to me and say You put me in this assignment. I know how to run the place now. Thank you. Can I go to the next one? I say Well how about all the stuff you owe us? How about getting settled in for a little while longer and then start to transform it?”
- “You have to learn and you have to be curious. You have to perform at your best. You have to worry about the things you can control. Don’t become a victim.”
- “Stuff happens to you and then there’s stuff that you happen to.”

-=Good Selling=-

Print4Pay Hotel Weekend Updates for 2/21/10

Print4Pay Hotel Weekend Updates!

Here's some of the HOT content from the last few days that's been posted on the Print4Pay Hotel's forums in recent weeks. It has been busy with over 31,000 page views, and 88 new members.

Print4Pay Hotel U Webinars:

The Copier Marketing arm of your company, your sales reps always wanted!
When: DATE: MARCH 1ST TIME: 2PM EST P4P U (University)

Most Viewed Threads:

Print4Pay Value Membership
Riso ComColor Review
Rumor has it.....
PostScript Vs Fiery
Canon Buyout Marketing Dollars "Canon Ball"
Print Audit® To Exhibit At ITEX Hybrid Dealer Event In Las Vegas

Interesting Threads:

Green Initiatives
Canon launches ‘Business Leap’ competition
Ricoh Production Printing
Océ and Konica Minolta revise production print alliance
The US Photocopiers Market to Reach 1.5 Million Units by 2015
New Photizo Managed Print Services Study Reveals Significant Changes in
Kodak i1405 Scanner Helps Small-to-Medium Sized Businesses
Xerox Color Qube Samples!

Posted Price Quotes:

Toshiba Bid for 40 Units
Sharp MX3100N_MX2600N_MX5001N
Sharp 363n_453N proposal
Canon 7095 bid award and proposal


Leads, RFP's & RFQ's:

RFP for 12 MFP's in COlorado!
RFP for 2 45ppm color MFP's (Expires 3/18/10)
Wide Format Lead in British Columbia
17 MFP's in Maryland Area!
Multi MFP's for Connecticut

The Print4Pay Hotel is the world's only business/social site dedicated to people who work in the office equipment industry. Go ahead log on.....become a member of the Print4Pay Hotel!

become informed, share and maintain your knowledge.

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh GelSprinter Technology Secures 2010 Canadian Olympics

Three years ago, when the  Vancouver Organization Committee (VANOC) considered a secure, sustainable, cost  effective method for producing Accreditation Badges for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Ricoh Canada Inc. was there with the solution.

For the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Vancouver Organization Committee (VANOC) had to issue approximately 90,000 badges to the entire Olympic Family including athletes, sponsors, officials, workers, volunteers and the media. Since these badges ultimately serve as visas into the host country, the accreditation process required extensive security and immigration verification. While tight control was undoubtedly a critical concern, the expense and waste formerly associated with production of secure badges had proven problematic.

Prior to the 2010 Games, the International Olympic Committee had produced plastic badges with embedded security codes, an expensive and slow process, not to mention environmentally unsound. However, while plastic was not desirable, neither was printing on paper  with ink that could easily be manipulated. That’s when Mike Fast, VP Technical & Professional Services, Ricoh Canada, recommended the ideal solution. Mike had initiated contact with the Organization Committee and had played a major role in securing the bid in which Ricoh Canada was named exclusive provider of document solution equipment for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games. Ricoh’s role as an Official Supporter of the XXI Winter Olympics had given Mike the understanding and insight to address the Committee’s needs and meet their goals.

The RICOH® Solution

Mike determined that there was only one type of technology
that could meet this highly specialized accreditation application – the RICOH® Aficio® GX5050N GelSprinter was the answer.
It not only offers high quality at an affordable price, but employs a completely unique way of printing on paper. While the standard inkjet printer lacks the high resolution needed to print all of the secure data codes and is limited by choice of stocks, the typical laser printer is also unacceptable because the ink can be easily scraped off, thus the data can be modified.

The solution was the Ricoh Aficio GX5050N, combining the best qualities of inkjet and laser printing, with the added value of Ricoh’s exclusive viscous ink technology – perfect, permanent, high res and low cost. The GelSprinter technology delivers crisp, quick drying, photo-like images without bleeding, smudging, or blurring.

Additionally, its one-of-a-kind ink adheres to almost any kind of stock, a feature that makes the
GX5050N ideal since the paper specified by the Olympic Committee is a high security stock produced by the Canadian Bank Note company. The imaging ability of this paper/ink combination had to meet strict security testing before it was validated by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Another important factor in VANOC’s choice of the GX5050N was its compliance with the Committee’s stringent sustainability objective to host the greenest Olympics ever held. Of course, Ricoh technology plays a crucial role in meeting this goal. The Ricoh  GX5050N insures maximum productivity with a minimum of waste, requires a smaller footprint, and consumes a fraction of the electricity required by most  laser printers. And, its Level Color Mode controls supply usage without affecting quality, a benefit that will be very important once the GX5050Ns are repurposed after the Olympics.

Approximately 52 GX5050N units havebeen placed since the fall to tackle the accreditation process; the bulk of the badges (60,000 - 70,000) are printed a few weeks prior to the start of the games.

However, there is also a high demand for on-site printing during the games, making good use of the unit’s remarkable speed and reliability. That’s when the Committee will really test the long
lasting print cartridges, the wide print heads that speed up the printing process, and the networking flexibility. In keeping with its commitment to sustainability, these GelSprinter units will be deployed to schools and other  charitable organizations once the 2010 Winter Olympics are over.

Need Specs and links?  Take a trip here GelSprinter Technology Secures 2010 Canadian Olympics

Riso ComColor Review

To tell you the truth, I was always skeptical about the Riso's new ComColor devices. The engine technology is ink, it's simple and the new ComColor's from Riso seem to be a hit and not a bust like the HP's Edgeline.

There are acutally six different models, the 3010 and the 3050 are 90 ppm full color devices that will copy, print and scan letter and legal only. The 7010 and 7050 are 120 ppm full color devices that will copy, print and scan letter, legal and ledger. Then there's the flagship models of the 9010 and the 9050 capable of 150 ppm color that will also copy, print and scan letter, legal and ledger.

Today, I had the chance to print various documents to the 7050, to say the least, I WAS IMPRESSED. This was my first "hands on" for the equipment. I printed a 12 page full color 11x17 booklet (saddle stitched) in about 15 seconds and a 32 page booklet (saddle stitched) in about 30 seconds. Not only was I impressed with the speed, but these speeds where acheived with the highest quality settings. I used 300x600, line smoothing and error diffusion , the quality of the color was exceptional! Since the ComColor uses ink, of course it won't give laser output, but it will give you knock your socks off color at a great price of three and a half cents per page and don't forget about the speed!

I also took notice that with the standard printer driver you also had the capability of using a 70 line screen and a 100 line screen. I tested these two screens on the booklets and again the output impressed me.

To me the ComColor's mantra should be "Print Shop in Box", it's a little limited with very heavy stock, however I was able to run 90lb index two sided with out a hitch. I also test pressure seal paper which fed very well and also produced very good quality.

The unit I tested had an MSRP of about $65,000. The system is designed to run 500,000 pages per month.

Where do I see this system making a big splash? Direct Mail and in house CRD's. Direct Mail has an awesome application with pressure seal paper. For just pennies, you can produce full color direct mail pieces that can include the outbound postal indicia and the return "reply card" postal indicia. The entire piece can be printed two sided with the variable data. No more boring direct mail letters in monochrome, combined with the pressure seal paper and color, this is an awesome solution for all Direct Mail Companies.

It's late, I think the ComColor is a winner, and give it a ten! Can't wait to see the next generation of these models. Maybe they'll get the price down to make them affordable for the SMB market.

-=Good Selling=-

BTW, if RISO is reading this, thanx for helping

Selling MFP's in Tough Times!

This was a topic on the Print4Pay Hotel forums from last year just around this time. Seems like we're still fighting our way through this recession, however here's some threads from Print4Pay Hotel members that help each other to get past the tough times!

Enjoy!

May we start a general discussing and share ideas on the economy and the major impact it has on our ability to generate sales.

Any other ideas on how to increase sales, best practices, models, deal structuring, etc? from Foxtrot in South Africa

I know that most of my sales career has been involved in start ups or branches and territories that have very few MIF, so it's always been a matter of "how do I set myself apart from everyone else"? The obvious answer is to do one of two things. Getinto deals where the prospect isn't looking and therefore there is little competition, or learn to create value that others can't or don't.

That isn't always as simple as it sounds, but with the current company I am with, the DSM has done a great job of building value through the sales process. Much of the value at times is through providing a total solution, not only "boxes" but overall soutions. Things like software, fax servers and the like. Under normal circumstances the likelihood of taking a deal from an incumbant is 1 0f 5, I see us pushing that to 2/3 of 5.

I think far too many rely on gimics rather than just good old hard work; hard work in finding the prospects and then hard work in the discovery process. It's the only way. from Neal in Indiana
Good Post. My take is stay away from speaking about the hardware. What will distinguish and set yourself apart is your ability to focus on the clients core business process which at some point could involve hardware. If you ask questions such as "What are some of your key corporate initiatives for 2009"? "What challenges are you facing within your business"? These will allow for them to open up. Stay away from speaking about hardware. You will only sound like all the rest of the crowd.  from Larry in Southern Cal

Yes, and yes to the above posts!

I've stepped up my cold calling, returned to my base more often lloking for pain or problems.

I too an trying to stay away from talking about hardware which is hard thing to do.

Instead of handing brcohures or information out in reference to copiers, I am handing EDMS, Print Management and E-Copy related items. from AP in NJ

In all there were about 10 threads related to the topic, if you'd like to read all of the threads, take a trip to the Print4Pay Hotel and become a member of the largest social group of Imaging Professionals in the World!

-=Good Selling=-

3 Numbers to Think About!

How about it, are there any scifi fans out there? If so, how about Star Trek fans? Tell me, what's the one item you never see in a Star Trek episode or movie? Well......................it's paper!!!! Kirk, Spock and Picard all have either tricorders or flat panel display (not the ipad)  that they'll read from or sign.

So, here's some interesting numbers I found on the web today from Gartner & IDC!

SOME NUMBERS TO THINK ABOUT

IDC estimates that executives spend 45 percent of their time working with documents. 610 billion e-mails are sent each year out of which half are printed. Whoa, that's 305 billion sheets of paper!!

According to IDC, companies spend as much as 10 percent of revenues on document production, management and distribution. True, and most CFO's and CEO' will not put up an agrument with this number!

According to Gartner, up to 3 percent of corporate revenue is spent on the office output fleet (print,copy and fax). Another number that is accepted amd must be remembered that this is an average, you may have a hard time selling an SMB account on this number.

Been saying this for years, dealers need to become Value Added Resellers and or Partners. Business owners and CFO's will listen if we have a story to tell about how to improve the process and reduce the paper.

-=Good Selling=-

FREE Admission to ITEX 2010 Show!

ITEX is the premier show for Office Technology & Imaging Dealers (including office products, office supplies, and telecom resellers) looking to expand their growth opportunities including MPS.

Get free admission courtesy of the Print4Pay Hotel.  ITEX presents the latest in technology and industry trends, and provides access to experts sharing beneficial insight and know how. A must attend event for the Independent Dealer…

Registration includes:
• Admission to the show floor
• Your Selection of 25 Power Hour Education Sessions
• Networking with peers to gain valuable ideas and new contacts

Show Dates March 3-4, 2010 at Las Vegas Convention Center (It's Vegas Baby!)

Get FREE admission to ITEX now!

If you're already a member of the Print4Pay Hotel, the FREE access code is listed in our ITEX Show forum along with the link. If you're not a member go to Print4Pay Hotel and register, from there we'll send you the link and the FREE access code for the show!

See ya there!

MFP Dealer Incentives "What Now!'

This is a recent topic of disucssion on the Print4Pay Hotel Forums.

 Here's the question that was raised by a Print4Pay Hotel member.

Can anyone comment on which dealer incentives or programs work best for your market? Which manufacturers offer the best/worst programs? Do any of your manufacturers have ridiculous terms and conditions? Just curious...

I have limited knowledge of this area, and have only seen a few manufacturer-to-dealer programs. Your feedback will help me think. Thanks!

We've had about eight responses to thread in the last week. Seems to me that over the years in the business that a lot of the dealer incentive programs do work! However, the paper work involved to get these incentives can be mind blowing. To keep things simple, wouldn't it be easier just to lower the price on the box to do the dealer and cut out all of the bs paperwork?

Here's a few short clips of the responses for you:

If most dealers are like mine, most incentives do not get passed on to the customer and/or the sales force. The only ones that are passed on are passed on due to the fact that ......

You need to be more specific when you say dealer incentives. What do you mean? From my standpoint some of the programs Ricoh offer are quite good. I am speaking about ..........

I can see you'd say they are an incentive to the client, who gets to choose between commercial and the discounted contract. But, on the admin side of things, these special contracts aren't always the great value to the dealership that manufacturers........

Oh, don't worry, the manufacturers find ways to heap paperwork.........

If you'd like to read the full threads, please become a member of the Print4Pay Hotel.

-=Good Selling=-

ITEX 2010 Targets New Business- Ready, Aim, Fire!

ITEX 2010 Targets New Business- Ready, Aim, Fire!

ITEX is the ultimate educational forum and exhibit hall for serious providers of office product and services. Learn the latest in technology, hardware & software solutions, office supplies and trends, implementing MPS methods, field service initiatives and more. Dealers, VARs, ISVs, consultants, associations, business professionals, C-level decision makers, IT and service managers attend ITEX to find the latest innovations to enhance their business models and meet new partners.

Learn how to put into action the needed changes it takes to make money.

Attend any of the 25 Power Hour education sessions with just the price of a low-cost show admission. Get the latest strategies in the areas that matter most - increasing sales, effective service, best-bet marketing methods, ramped up operations, effective network technology, new product.

Challenge your expertise! Get the best from ITEX business training and developer sessions ranging from apprentice to expert. Explore integrated solutions and why it’s important to become a hybrid provider to better service your customers and increase profits. Learn how to add new revenue streams from networking with peers found in the exhibit halls, pavilions, classes and forums. Enjoy planned networking events for social fun!

It’s all waiting for you at ITEX 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 3-4, 2010. Once a year you owe it to your business to gather the best tool kit to address today’s market. It’s up to you to pull the trigger and attend! Only a few weeks away…Get details and to register at www.itexshow.com

MFP Manufactuers "Are They The Fool on The Hill"

To those MFP manufacturers that are still ignoring the market transition to A4. We give you this, special thanx to the Beatles!

Day after day, alone on the hill,
The manufacturers with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.
But nobody wants to know them,
They can see that there just fools.
And they never give us an A4 device



But the fools on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in their heads,
See the world spinning round.

Well on their way, their head in a cloud,
The manufacturers of a thousand devices, talking perfectly loud.
But nobody ever hears them,
Or the sound the new A3’s they make.
And they never seems to notice the market transition to A4

But the fools on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in their heads,
See the world spinning round.

And nobody seems to like them,
They can tell what they want to do.
And they won’t develop a true A4 device,

But the fools on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in their heads,
See the world spinning around.
Ooh, ooh,
We copy and print and scan.

And he never listens to the market,
He knows that end users are the fools
They don't like him,

The fools on the hill
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in their heads,
See the world spinning 'round.

Ooh,
They’ll never give up their A3 devices!

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh's DocumentMall "New Beta Eval"

Ricoh's DocumentMall is a Software as a Service (SasS) that allows users to share documents vis the Internet. Documents can be uploaded via MFP, PC or email. DocumentMall has been around for years and continous upgrades to the software has been enhanced over the years.

Seems, Ricoh is at it again with a new user interface that claims to have better functionality. Basically it's designed to simplify basic user tasks as for uploading and searching of documents. Ricoh has added some advanced feature such as Check in / Checkout and Barcode are hidden from the casual user.

DocumentMall can be purchased with time and storage space. For example you can get a one year subscription that's good for 15GB, or three years and 15GB. The cost about $1,000 for the one year and $3,000 for the 3 year subscription. Both of these packages have a limit of 5 users. There's also a DocumentMall advanced package for 25 users which includes 50GB of storage for one and three years with a price tag of $7,500 and $21,000.

Over the years, I've sold quite a few DocumentMall subscriptions to my accounts. Point is, when it came time for renewal, none, count em, none of the companies renewed the subscription. I've realized over the years that DocumentMall is not for everyone, besides have a high price, there is a decent learning curve to DocumentMall.

What I'd like to see from DocumentMall is another level of pricing for on-line storage. Let them create a folder structure for the documents, and cut out the document management applications and feaures. Keep it Simple!  I beleive you can use this starter package as a seed to get many new users and then offer upgrades to the full DocumentMall service.

From meetings with customers in the field, most are now accepting off-site on line storage as something they would like to have. However, at a cost of $80 per month for 15GB, it doesn't cut the mustard on being economical for the SMB user.

Off them them the 15GB for $30 per month and cut out the extras, once they find themselves using DocumentMall, and then having to retrieve documents, they'll see the advantages of having the full version.

Just my opinion, DocumentMall as it stands right now is only a viable soluition for a handful of accounts. Make it affordable and scalable and the users will come!.

-=Good Selling=-
















users

Selling Copiers? A Few Good Tips!

Over the years I've relied on many tips that I have either read, heard of or figured out for my self. One of my resources is the p4photel, over the years I make sure I post all of my tips. When I'm in a slump (we all have them) or I have some free time, I can go to the Print4Pay Hotel and read them again. Listed below are some of my personal favorites, hope they work as well for you as they worked for me!

#1: When challenging another digital competitor, I'll go the that manufacturers web site and download the print driver and other relevant software. From there I can evaluate the features of the driver and the click threws. I've found clicks threws to be very important to the end users, they want the least amount of clicks as possible. Once I understand my competitors print driver, I can the attack the weaknesses.

#2: Tired of playing voice mail tag? Tired of the prospect not returned your calls? To some this means that the prospect is not interested! Too others (the sharks) this means that the prospect is too busy and has not found the time to return your call. Use this to your advantage!! The next time you get the dreaded voice mail, leave them this message. Hi this is Art Post with XYD company, I tried to reach you on several occasions, I going to be in your area next week. What I'd like to do is to stop by at 1PM to meet with you, if this is not convenient for you, please call me at (phone number). Other wise I'll see you then. Most times you will not get a call back and if you do get a call back, and if you do get a call back it's a double win. I have even used this to place machines on demonstrations!

#3: Let me share something that I do with cost solution proposals for everyone. Lets say I'm upgrading existing fax and printers in the office with an MFP or higher end fax or printer. Once I find out that the existing faxes or printers are paid for (there are no outstanding leases). I will then attack the premise of replacement cost and have the customer agree that there is a certain monthly replacement cost that is associated with these units. I will state that they will not last forever and will have to be replaced! I find out how many years they have had the equipment, plug in the estimated purchase price and divide by term of length owned (or compute a monthly lease). I then tell the customer even though these systems are bought and paid for, you have to have a replacement cost budget in place for when replacement is necessary. Once he has agreed to the replacement cost, I include a line item in the proposal outlining his existing costs along with cpc for those "paid" devices. How does this help? His monthly cost is higher that having just the cost to supply and maintain the equipment, therefor cost justification is easier and you may be able to cost justify a the system easier!

Good Selling!

How 2 Sell Digital Duplicators in the Print4Pay Market!

Cold calling, nine times out of ten the owner is always somewhere in the shop and 50% of the time you may have the chance to met him or her on the first cold call.

Once you have the name of the owner or the buyer, (keep in mind this is all you want too accomplish on the first call) and a good look at the equipment that he is using, you'll want to create a dedicated mailing list for P4P. I will then send them a direct mailer every three months and follow up with an in person call every three months or every month if you think you have peeked their interest.

I have four different mailers that I use for P4P and will alternate them each and every month for the a quarter and then start over in the next quarter.

If you have half tone samples from your HQ 9000, make sure you are putting a sample of the half tone along with your mailer.

Investigation:

The rest of this blog is posted on the Print4Pay Hotel forums, if interested become a member by click anyone of the Print4Pay Hotel links. In a week or so, I'll be publsihing my second book titled "How 2 Sell Digital Duplicators in the Print4Pay Market.

=-Good Selling=-

Print4Pay Hotel Weekend Updates!

Here's some of the HOT content from the last few days that's been posted on the Print4Pay Hotel's forums in recent weeks. It has been busy with over 31,000 page views, 88 new members and a little over a 1,000 downloads.

Print4Pay Hotel U  Webinars:

February 10th---- NEW Print Audit "MIF" (machines in field) Review Webinar! Managed Print Services

The Copier Marketing arm of your company, your sales reps always wanted!


Most Viewed Threads:

Panasonic Canada discontinues A3 Copier Distribution March 2011
Rumor has it.....
Is selling at cost the future for print hardware?
Canon Buyout Marketing Dollars "Canon Ball"
MPS Deals and Comp Plans

Interesting Threads:

Selling Copiers "Machines in Field" Review
1st A3 Mono Desktop Printer From Ricoh In Five Years
New!! Color Envelope Press from OKI!
CPI Fax, Print & MFP Credit Card Billing Systems
Sharp Takes Printing to New Frontiers: Introducing the Sharp MX Series Color and Mono
Ricoh Pro C720
Xerox Color Qube Samples!

Posted RFP's:

3000 MFP RFG!
RFP for 2 45ppm color MFP's (Expires 3/18/10)
50ppm color Lead for Montana (RFP)
Lead for Midland-Lubbock, Texas 100 Plus Printers!
New! 3 MFP RFQ for Canada!
50ppm color MFP RFQ in Ca
RFQ for 13 MFP's in India

Pricing on the Street:

Canon 7095 proposal
KM bizhub C360 Proposal
KIP 3100
Ricoh MP C3300SPF

The Print4Pay Hotel is the world's only business/social site dedicated to people who work in the office equipment industry. Go ahead log on.....become a member of the Print4Pay Hotel!

become informed, share and maintain your knowledge.

Weekend MFP Industry Notes

Gathered from Print4Pay Hotel Members from around the world and a few moles in very good places!

Kodak announced its first quarterly profit ($443 million) in over a year due to increased sales of its desktop color inkjet printers and MFPs. In 1988, it employed 145,300 workers, now it only has 20,300.

Samsung of Korea stated it earned 3.05 trillion won ($2.63 billion) in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. Other announcements:
- Moved its U.S. printer/MFP division from southern California to New Jersey (where it will be close to its major competitors)
- Is now world’s second largest maker of laser print engines
- In Asia, the company relabels the Toshiba MFP product line

Fuji of Japan (which makes most Xerox branded MFPs and printers) announced a reorganization to its copier/MFP division:
- Has realigned and consolidated its development and manufacturing functions to form
two new companies
- Fuji Xerox Advanced Technology Co., Ltd. will take on developing functions
- Image capture
- Paper feeding
- Fax functions
- Finishing devices
- Custom development
- Production print
- Fuji Xerox Manufacturing Co., Ltd. will manage manufacturing functions
- Ground toner in Japan
- Photoreceptors in Japan
- Emulsion aggregate (EA polymerized) toner in Japan
- Electronic parts in Japan
- Optical apparatus in Japan
- Shift all desktop printer production to China

In a survey conducted by Ricoh of businesses that have in-house copy/print shops (CRDs), the results were:
- Top types of work that is outsourced
- 73% went to offset printing press
- 43% went to digital production color units
- 34% went to digital production b/w units
- 32% was variable data jobs
- Top reasons why work was outsourced
- 52% did not have right equipment
- 48% did not have enough capacity
- 30% because of cost concerns
- 23% unaware of capabilities
- 14% doubted capabilities
- 11% lack of software
- 9% quality concerns
- 7% delivery concerns

Quad/Graphics, a large print for pay headquartered in Wisconsin, announced it purchased rival, World Color Press of Canada (fka Quebecor), for $1.3 billion. This would create North America’s second largest commercial printer, behind R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. Expected revenue from new combined company is $5.1 billion, and includes locations in U.S., Poland, Latin America & Canada. Quad/Graphics is owned by Quadracci family of Sussex, WI.

Michael McDonald Collins and Michael Cass were arrested in West Madison, Missouri after they were caught using a color copier to make fake U.S. currency.

Thomas Onan of Williamstown, Kentucky was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for using a color copier to turn bleached $5 dollar bills into $100 bills.

EFI announced a new free option for its Fiery print servers, called Fiery VUE offering:
- Standalone application or plug in for Microsoft Office applications
- Users can specify complex finishing with few clicks of mouse
- Goal is no training for end users to print/finish with Fiery driver color MFP
- Result of data gathered by EFI during customer focus groups
- Uses plain English and images
- Thumbnail views of pages and documents
- Premade templates
- users can flip through pages of their document, showing paper types, tabs, inserts, etc.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal titled; “Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2010”, the author included Kodak. Better sell now!

Comments regarding the future of the PC/laptop market from David Carini, managing director of Maverick China Research in Bejing, China:
- “will we need to store all our files on a local hard drive, and will we need to carry a laptop around?” (if people use cloud computing and data storage, they could log on to Internet, and complete work without need for laptop computer)
- “If Dell and HP were to invest more into making cooler, funkier PCs, then I think it is an overstatement that they will disappear, but if they keep on competing on price, then the Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers will continue to gain”
- “The success of Apple computers show that consumers are willing to pay when they see value”
-“The U.S. can still operate factories efficiently, but you still have to pay workers $20 per hour. In China, you could pay same workers $1 an hour”

Canon, in a press release, stated that it was “looking into merger and acquisition opportunities and business tie-ups towards launching into biotechnology, nontechnology and life sciences”

IKON, a division of Ricoh, announced a new division, called IKON Managed Document Services:- Headed by Terrie Campbell, VP
- End to end printer/MFP fleet management with IKON TRAC for automated service call dispatch
- Consulting and business process support services
- Intelligent device rationalization

According to The Legal Intelligencer magazine, here are the Top 10 low cost ways for a law firm to market itself
- Keep attorney bios fresh (need high quality color laser MFP to print on demand rather than
- outsource to printing press)
- Record and post video to law firm website
- Make firm’s marketing materials downloading from website. (use color MFP to scan to PDF)
- Create on-line newsroom (more PDFs)
- Make marketing virtual (use of LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.)
- Blogging
- Align marketing and business goals
- Monitor reputation on-line
- Ask “why is this important” first before creating press release
- Still can’t beat face to face (make time for meetings)

While Xerox announced last fall that it had acquired one of its biggest dealer agents, Mr. Copy (with offices in California, Nevada and Oregon), what was announced recently is that its former owner, Bob Leone, is part of a group of Xerox agents that filed suit against Xerox in 10/2007, after the Global acquisition, that may go to trial in 2010:
- Will take place in Los Angeles County Superior Court
- Their lawyers stated that Xerox agents “have suffered and will suffer losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars” due to Xerox’s “breach of their respective contractual agreements to exclusively market Xerox products”

At recent symposium held by Lyra Research in Rancho Mirage, CA, analysts stated that growth of managed print services is being hampered by a lack of inclusion of inkjet printers and MFPs.

Ovum Research stated following on IT hardware purchasing in 2010:
- U.S. market will grown 2% in 2010
- Will grow 3$ in 2011
- Hugh unemployment will be a drag on technology sales in 2010
- End will remain in a defensive IT spending position in 2010

Auxilio of Mission Viejo, CA announced it won a managed print services contract with Palisades Medical Center of North Bergen, NJ:
- Partnered with Sodexo, a healthcare service solution provider
- The hospital servers 400,000 people per year
- 202 bed hospital and 245 bed nursing home
- Value and term of contract not stated

One of the largest chains of office equipment dealers in China, Lanxum, went public. Details:
- Owners sold some 26.5 million shares on Shanzen Stock Exchange
- Ended 2009 with market capitalization of $500 million
- Has 6.1% marketshare, behind Fuji which has 17%
- In managed print services, it is behind Fuji and Hewlett Packard
- Authorized to sell Ricoh, Toshiba, Canon & HP devices
- Headquartered in Bejing, with ten other offices in China
- Plans on opening up 19 more branches

Hewlett Packard’s VP of Healthcare Business, Chris Mertens, announced:
- HP is launching programs to take advantage of the “rolling cascade” of opportunities in the healthcare market due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) mandate of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software
- HP announced it is now a partner with McKesson, maker of EMR software
- HP dealer/VARs will be able to source McKesson products from Tech Data, a computer hardware/software distributor
- HP hopes that this will help its VARs penetrate independent physician practices
- “It’s such a huge population, and what we’ve seen plays absolutely to the strengths of partners and HP”
- “Physicians are looking for a local partner to be able to deliver the solutions they need in the new healthcare paradigm”
- Physician practices are now required to implement “meaningful use” EMR systems, or lose out on tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid incentives within a few years.
- “Physician practice market needs to move to technology, and they have not only a carrot, but also a stick; payments to them will be reduced if they don’t get that technology”
- HP estimates the size of the physician practice EMR opportunity at 600,000 businesses in the U.S.
- HP also works with McKesson’s competitor, Cerner, through Tech Data’s competitor, Computer Discount Warehouse (CDW).
- “Physicians want to buy from partners in their communities – people they see in the supermarket, that may be patients of theirs. They don’t want to buy from a Website.”
- McKesson products include; Practice Partner, Lytec, Medisoft, Bright Note Technology, etc. Keep in mind Hospitals need to have implemented a certified ERM by October 2010 and Medical Practices by October 2011

In Japan, Ricoh announced to its shareholders that it is revising its sales forecast downward by 3.1%, but its net income will be up by 50%, due to cost cutting measures.

When asked about economic recovery, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft stated; “When you have a financial crisis like that, it’s years of digging out”. The current economic situation is “the toughest Microsoft has ever faced”.

Xerox announced it is reducing what it pays U.S. workers in severance. Details:
- Will cut another 2,500 jobs
- “We are identifying various cost reduction actions to help us re-size our company in the face of significant revenue decline and to be getter positioned to invest going forward.”, according to Jim Firestone, President of Xerox.
- Instead of receiving 1.5 weeks for every year employed, now laid off workers will only get 1 week for every year with company.

-=Good Selling=-

Panasonics Exit from A3 Devices "P4P Hotel Comments"

The news of Panasonic's decision to stop manufacturing A3 devices (systems that are capable of printing or copying 11x17) kinda came as a surprise for me. If anything, I thought that they would sell the MFP division and or just drop out entirely.

I can remember a blog I did on the new Panasonic A4 device a few months ago. The Panasonic DP-MB350 is equipped with a document feeder and two paper trays, network scanner, scan2email, ethernet print and a fax. What was unique about this system was the MSRP at or around $1,500. Just maybe Pansonic too has seen the writing on the wall and will continue to invest R & D, along with a ton of cash into the booming A4 market. Just a thought!

Anyway here's some great comments from Print4Pay Hotel Members in reference to Panasonic electing to stop manufacturing A3 devices:

These units are proven reliable machines in the congested 20 - 30 ppm colour MFP space, so aren't they worth anything to anybody? Surely a smaller player or somebody currently not in the space could do well with a proven performer.

This is like GM closing Pontiac and Saturn instead of selling them. Nuts. from Clinton in Canada

Yes, they are very dependable and reliable boxes. There were rated #1 by JD Powers and Associates in 2006 and 2008 for color. They brought features to the table that at the time back in 2008 were some hot commodities. We beat Ricoh, KM, Xerox, Canon machines everyday with these boxes. I have customers that swear by these boxes. The problem for many years is that Panasonic has been very slow to bring out anything new and slowed down on the R&D side. I could never figure out why they had sparse showings in certain market segments. I think Panasonic was shooting for the majority of potential customers needs. They had.....go here for more  from Montecore in US

I read the article on limewire and it stated the factory in Japan is ceasing to manufacture A3's guess thats it for the US market also!! AP in New Jersey

The letter has hit US Dealers, as I have been informed. D Morgan in Pittsburgh

In mid-January Panasonic notified its major Chinese copier resellers and distributors that it will withdraw from the market following the 2010 Asian Olympic Games in November 2010. This is about as official as it gets without a public announcement. A mole in CA

The most notable thing about Panasonic's exit is that it left without being acquired. Is that stage two of the consolidation process? Maybe stage 1B. First is acquisitions, then drop outs. Another Mole in NV

I'm thinking we haven't heard the last from Panasonic for some strange reason...............

Need more chatter, take a trip to the P4Photel

-=Good Selling=-

Office Equipment Industry Still Sliding........

In Japan, Ricoh announced to its shareholders that it is revising its sales forecast downward by 3.1%, but its net income will be up by 50%, due to cost cutting measures.

Kodak announced its first quarterly profit ($443 million) in over a year due to increased sales of its desktop color inkjet printers and MFPs. In 1988, it employed 145,300 workers, now it only has 20,300.

EFI gave out details of its last financial quarter:

- Revenue in North America declined 19%
- The Fiery division posted a drop of 34%
- In U.S., Fiery revenue was down 24%
- Net loss of $3.4 million
- Total revenue down 18% for $114 million
- Now has 1.7 million Fiery print servers in operation
- Inkjet printer revenue down 2% in U.S.
- Inkjet supply revenue up 24%

When asked about economic recovery, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft stated; “When you have a financial crisis like that, it’s years of digging out”. The current economic situation is “the toughest Microsoft has ever faced”.

Xerox announced it is reducing what it pays U.S. workers in severance. Details:
- Will cut another 2,500 jobs
- “We are identifying various cost reduction actions to help us re-size our company in the face of significant revenue decline and to be getter positioned to invest going forward.”, according to Jim Firestone, President of Xerox.
- Instead of receiving 1.5 weeks for every year employed, now laid off workers will only get 1 week for every year with company

Toshiba stated that its net loss for its fiscal third quarter are less from a year earlier as its memory chip business recovered on demand for mobile gadgets.
- Cut its full year sales prediction by 6% as a result of continued weakness in economy
- Expects to lose 50 billion yen in current financial year
- No comment given on its MFP/printer business.

Toshiba still seems to be hurting, to me it's just a matter of time before they give up on the MFP business and concentrate on their core business.


In an article in the Wall Street Journal titled; “Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2010”, the author included Kodak

Canon reported info on its last quarter’s financials:- Net profit of 61.6 billion yen (compared with 217.1 billion yen last year)
- Sales of 954.1 billion yen down 4.1%
- Digital camera sales were up, but copier/printer sales were down
- Predicts that net income will rise 52% to 200 billion yen ($2.24 billion) in 2010
- Predicts sales will rise to 3.45 trillion yen
- Copier/printers accounted for 51% of 2009 revenue
- Predicts that copier sales will rise 7% in 2010

-=Good Selling=-