Could RISO Corp be For Sale?

News came in an email to me that RISO just laid off David Murphy (VP Marketing), Don Michelucci (VP, Direct) and others in the Direct Division. I was told it was a reduction in workforce.

Just today, I heard another Rumor that RISO has closed all of their technology portals and techs were now running Direct Branches! The later with the technology portals and the Direct branches comes from a reliable source, but ya never know.

Personally, I think the new ComColor is an awesome box and has a place in todays market and I also believe that this is the printing technology of the future.

Does RISO have the financing and the clout to succeed and bring future models to market, such as a 50, 60 or 70ppm device? I'm no expert, but what I can tell you is that I've probably sold 4 duplicators over the past 2 years, compared to selling at least 10 or per year in the past. The furture is not in the Digital Duplicator!On the other hand how many companies can afford to dole out $50,000 for a ComColor, seems to me its a pretty hefty price to pay for "News Color".

If RISO was bought by the likes of Canon, Ricoh, KonicaMinolta or Xerox, I'm sure they could get the manufacturing costs down and make the ComColor more affordable. I beleive the street price of the systems need to be in the $25,000 range. It's all about the ink, it's the consumables that carry the day and keeps the profits flowing. right?

Another note is that RISO had bought back some of thier stock in June of 08. So, what's RISO to do?

With Memjet on the horizon of commericalizing it's first generation of print componets can the likes of Xerox, Ricoh, KonicaMinolta and Canon can take a wait and see approach or do they need to make a move and buy RISO?

-=Good Selling=-