Monday, October 31, 2011

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Since Asia Pacific MPS Conference was help in Australia. In traditional Greg Walters style, I thought Greg would appreciate this awesome Aussie lass.

Photizo Asia Pacific MPS Conference, Sydney, AUSTRALIA, 31 October 2011:Fuji Xerox Printer Channel today announced the launch of Streamline, the Asia Pacific region’s first training program designed to help channel partners capitalise on the growing interest in Managed Print Services (MPS) by the SMB sector. According to Photizo, the Asia Pacific MPS market will....read more here

LAKE SUCCESS, NY, Oct 31, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Canon USA, a leader in digital imaging, today announced that the Company has been placed in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2011 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services Worldwide(1) report. ...read more here

Lexmark was recently named a leader in several fields by acclaimed research firm Gartner Inc. Gartner positioned Lexmark as a leader in its "Magic Quadrant" analysis of printers, multi-function printers and worldwide managed print services. ...read more here

Last autumn,lection of interesting MpS players who brought something good to the Ecosystem. I chose individuals or companies who in my opinion, contributed to the MpS cause in a positive manner. For instance, last year, Constellation 1 included, MT Business Technologies, Ken Stewart, Robert Newry, and Photizo. So how did these stars fare over the past 12 months? read more here

-=Good Selling=-


Selling Copiers & MFP's "5 End of Year Sales Tips"

Before you know it, we'll be in 2012.....funny how it all goes so fast.  My Mom once told me that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end the faster it goes.  True....

So, for all of us that need or want to finish the year strong, yup the carrots been dangled, we bit and we need to reach the monthly, quarterly and year end bonuses.  Here's a few tips to use, to help close and find business.

1.  Find those companies that have made a profit (gee, is there really some of those left), for those that have, they need to reduce their tax burden and one of the best ways is to purchase office equipment.

2. Customers on the edge?  Looking to lease however they are holding back?  Inform them of Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code, it just may be enough to put them over the edge or better yet have them buy from you!

3.  The harder you prospect NOW, will pay off in December.  Typically in December we'll hear statements like this "Call us back after the New Year", "We're just to hectic to make any decisions right now", " My boss got ran over by a Reindeer last night".

Friday, October 28, 2011

800 Ways to Save & Serve "Pamper the Sweet Tooth in Wartime"

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printing in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort.

"Pamper the Sweet Tooth in Wartime"

Saving sugar means more sweets for your boys at the front. You can save, without discomfort, if you remember these waste-savers;

1. Stir the sugar thoroughly in your tea or coffee.

2. Try using less sugar with beverages, fruits, puddings and sauces. (You maybe surprised to find you really like them better that way).

3. Sweeten fruits after cooking.

4. When sweetening cooked fruits, add a few grains of salt.

5. Save the syrups from canned fruits for sauces on hot puddings and deserts.

6. Sweeten beverages with molasses, corn syrup, maple syrup, or honey.

7. Eliminate waste when measuring molasses by greasing the cup lightly.

8. When stewing rhubarb, cover with boiling water and let stand for five minutes. Drain and cook as usual, but with much less sugar.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Selling Copiers & MFP's "1 Awesome SellingTip"

"Sell Quarterly Payments….today"

It's with great pleasure that Scott Murr allowed the Print4Pay Hotel to share "Sell Quarterly Payments....today".  It's a good read and has it's place in our talk tracks about financing.  Enjoy!

In today’s market we have seen gross profits shrink and every deal is extremely competitive.  Price is a key component of every solution.  Sales reps often come in with similar solutions and look to win a deal based on being the lowest price.

The majority of sales professionals out there offer a custom solution in terms of products but then offer a cookie cutter lease product to go along with it.  While the product is critical, how the payments are designed can be the deciding factor on who wins the business.  You listen to your customer when it comes to the applications they need from their business solution, but do you ask the questions and craft solutions based on how they would like to pay for your solution?

What is a customer’s biggest pain point aside from an asset not performing to the customer’s expectations? The answer is billing.  If you sell a 60 month lease, that means you are taking 60 chances for your customer to have a bad experience with your solution.  60 times for cash to be applied wrong.  60 times for a customer to be billed incorrectly and incur late fees.  60 times for a bad experience with the lessor’s customer service department.  You can cut that down by simply selling quarterly payments.  If you go quarterly, now you only need the lessor to bill it correctly 20 times.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Selling Copiers & MPF's "The Perfect Storm"

Since 2007 our industry has been tested with the Great Recession, many of the companies we did bsuiness with are now out of business or just fighting to stay alive.

Some say the Great Recession is over, I'm not buying it, I think we've never come out of it.

The Great Recession is one part of the Perfect Storm that's humbled our industry.  Years ago, talk was that the copier industry was always the least affected when there was an economic slowdown.  Those days are gone...probably forever. 

In early March the Great Tohoku Earthquake of 8.9 devastated Northern Japan with a Sunami, failure of the Fukushima Nuclear reactors and caused severe supply chain issues for companies like Ricoh, Canon, Toshiba, Fuji Xerox along with all of the secondary tech companies that supported the copier/printer industry. We're still feeling the effects of certain MFP models that are on the "constrained" list. Some toner supplies are still in short supply and some key factories were closed in Northern Japan to never open again.

Just last week, seems I was not even aware of this until a Print4Pay Hotel member posted a thread on the forums about the sever flooding in Thailand.  A quote for Storage Newsletter "The HDD industry never encounters such a natural disaster in its history. Earthquakes in Japan had a minor effect compared to what's happening in Thailand."

25% of all Hard Drive assembly plants are located in Thailand, 95% of all Copiers and MFP's are equipted with Hard Drives.  The shortage looms on the copier industry again, in addition another company named Nidec was hit hard.  Here's a thread from a Print4Pay Hotel member about Nidec "And everyone better hope that Nidec's factories that were hit by the flood were not its printing related factories. Few know Nidec, but they make a solid portion of the motors and brushes found in copiers."

I admit I knew nothing of the flood, and how devastating the flood is for the people of Thailand and the effect on the Bang Pa Industrial Park.

It seems it been one thing after another, the economy, the devastation in Japan and now the historic flooding in Thailand.  I'll be watching the situation with Nidec and the Hard Factories closely and I'm sure there will be additional threads posted on the Print4Pay Hotel forums from other P4P'ers.

Anyone have anything they can add on the situation in Thailand??

-=Good Selling=-


Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World


ROCHESTER, N.Y., Oct 26, 2011  -- As a rule, Hall-of-Famers are rock stars or sports legends, but this week, Xerox Corporation became one for a different sort of success: customer service.
Xerox has earned a coveted spot in in the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology Service & Support (CTSS) Hall of Fame...read more

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Oct 26, 2011  -- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced that it has been placed in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2011 Magic Quadrant for MFPs and Printers, Worldwide report(1). "We believe Canon's position in the Leaders Quadrant reflects our commitment to developing leading-edge products and...read more here

WEST CALDWELL, N.J., Oct. 26, 2011  -- Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment and advanced document management solutions and services, today announced that Gartner placed Ricoh as a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for multifunction products (MFPs) and printers worldwide.(1) Gartner's Magic Quadrant serves as a guide for midsize to large organizations to identify and evaluate technology providers that can match their global footprint, become their partners in helping them reduce...read more here

NORWALK, Conn., Oct 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Xerox Corporation has been placed by Gartner, Inc., in the Leaders Quadrant in the "Magic Quadrant for MFPs and Printers." A proprietary research tool developed by Gartner, the Magic Quadrant offers visual snapshots of a market's direction, maturity and participants, and evaluates companies on completeness of vision along with the ability to execute...read more here

-=Good Selling=-

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

800 Ways to Save and Serve "The Staff of Life"

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printing in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort.

"The Staff of Life"

Bread will stay fresher longer, and keep from molding in humid weather, if it is wrapped in moisture-proof paper and kept in the refrigerator or in a well ventilated bread box. Home-made bread should be cooled before storing.

All-purpose flour can be used in recipes calling for cake flour. Use 7/8 cup of all purpose for 1 cup of cake flour.

Always soft before measuring and pile it lightly in to the cup without jarring. Otherwise you use too much flour, which is wasteful, and the finished product is not as good.

When the recipe says "dredge with seasoned flour" don't waste flour. Put a little in a paper bag, drop in the food and shake together thoroughly. The food will be evenly coated, and much less flour is used.

Flour can be substituted for corn-starch. Use twice as much. 

Pastry won't stick to the board if you have thumb-tack waxed paper to the board before rolling out the pastry.

Rolls and muffins which have hardened to the "can't be et" stage are easily freshened. Sprinkle the rolls or muffins with with water, wrap in brown paper bag and warm in a hot oven for a few moments.

Who's too proud for day old bread! It's not only cheaper and just as nourishing, but actually better for the teeth and gums.

Did you know that day old bread makes better toast than fresh bread?

-=Good Selling=-


Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

The company went to tender and the incumbents won against Ricoh and Fuji Xerox with HP's Managed Print Service provided by Laser Plus. “We were trying to get most of our gear on multi-functional devices,” Watson says. “That took away some of the ...read more here

"Our revenue growth for the quarter was once again stronger than expected, highlighted by core growth of 10 percent year on year driven by a double digit increase in high end hardware, supplies and managed print services," said Paul Rooke, ...read more here

In total 1200 dealer partners from across Europe, including a significant number of UK dealer partners, attended the event where they were able to learn about the Konica Minolta managed print service offerings, a range of new products and green ...read more here

Equipment sales are up sequentially as well, reflecting progress we've made in reducing backlog, creating demand for new products and the effectiveness of our growing Managed Print Services. There is no doubt that we have industry leadership in MPS, ...read more here

Cedar Rapids, IA) – GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation released a new website today Collabrance LLC, a GreatAmerica subsidiary that will help independent telecommunication, office equipment, and information technology (IT) dealers provide IT services to their small and medium size business customers. Collabrance LLC will assist dealers in providing a comprehensive managed services solution to their customers under ...read more here

-=Good Selling=-

Sunday, October 23, 2011

120 Ways to Save on Food "Part III"

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printing in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort. 

I find the information refreshing and sheds a little light on how my parents and family coped with the war.  Enjoy!

In buying fruits and vegetables remembers, "beauty is only skin deep." Distinguish between blemishes that merely detract from the looks and those that affect taste and quality. The ugly ducklings cost less and often offer equally good food value. However, don't buy wilted or shrunken fruits or vegetables. Staleness betrays loss of vitamins.

You can easily prevent vegetables and greens from spoiling in the refrigerator by lining the bottom of the container with paper toweling. This absorbs the excess moisture which accumulates in the bottom of the container.

Keeping fruits and vegetables directly on ice is an invitation to spoilage and a waste of money.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Dude Where's My Copier Leads "Ask Art"

From time to time I'll get emails from a rep in the field.  I just go this one the other day and thought it would be a good read for everyone.

From Anon in Maryland:

Art

I'm hoping you can help with this.  I've been in the business for a few years and I'm doing fairly well.  In our office we have four reps, from time to time we'll get leads and all seems to be good.  However, in the last two months it's apparent to me that our sales manager is actually giving sales (signed deals that he closed) and extra leads to one rep in particular with no rhyme or reason.  It's kinda of frustrating since I'm doing my work and could use a solid lead every now and then.  Is there something I should do or say?

Anon:

First, are you doing your work?  Meaning are you........

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Calgary, Alberta - October 19, 2011 – With nearly 7,000 employees and a new facility being built, NHS Hospital’s IT Management team was tasked with developing a plan to move the entire IT infrastructure to the new location in a timely and efficient manner. However, the team had little visibility and understanding of the print environment as its current print tracking tool only provided a high level overview of network printing.  “Looking at the overall IT requirements of the move, it was important we understood the printing behaviour of both users and departments, a more powerful and robust tool was required,” recalls Mohandeep Randhawa, Technical Services Officer,...read more

After looking at the aspects of cost, security and control, the IT team decided that it was more feasible to opt for a Managed Print Services (MPS) model, and outsourced these services to Canon. Canon evaluated the printer landscape at MindTree, ...read more

Is Dell making another move to enter the managed print services market? Several announcements made today indicate that Dell is certainly taking on a more solutions focus with their new product lineup. Dell announced version 2 of OpenManage Print Manager (OPMP), a printer fleet management tool to monitor, manage and report on the status of networked printers. The tool is available online and can be accessed from any Windows-based PC.  Updates in version 2 include an easier-to-use interface, increased security; expanded functionality in regards to bowser and OS support and optimized discovery performance. OPMP is a no-cost, brand agnostic tool available for download online....read more

A report published by research firm IDC in November 2010 predicted that companies the world over will spend more than £2.5bn a year on managed print services (MPS) by 2014, with 20 per cent of UK companies employing 500 or more staff already using MPS. While those figures imply growing interest in outsourced printing services, it is important to remember the model does not fit every firm’s requirements: plenty of IT departments still either prefer to keep control of their own print environment, or just do not print enough pages to justify outsourcing management and maintenance to a third party....read more

-=Good Selling=-

Japanese Printer Companies in WWII "Part II"

Brother during World War II was know as Nippon Sewing Machine Manufacturing Company in 1934. Prior to 1934 they were known as Yasui Sewing Machine Co, and was founded by Kaneschi Yasui.

When the started in 1941 Nippon Sewing Machine Manufacturing Company aka Brother Sales Ltd had to switch from manufacturing commercial sewing machines to industrial sewing machines. Not much information was available if Brother produced any additional products for the war effort. However, it was noted that many of their factories received extensive war damage.

Epson started in 1941 as Daiwa Kogyo LTD and was located in Suwa, Nagano, Japan. Not much information was available for Daiwa Kogyo during the war effort, however Daiwa Kogyo was part of the Sieko conglomerate. Sieko like many other Japanese companies were ordered to produce military items such as timing fuses and ammunition.

Now, here's something I never knew in doing some research on timing fuses.

"From late 1944 until early 1945, the Japanese launched over 9,000 of these fire balloons, of which 300 were found or observed in the U.S. Some guesswork gives the total number that made the trip at about 1,000. Despite the high hopes of their designers, the balloons were relatively ineffective as weapons, causing only six deaths and a small amount of damage, and they survive in memory mostly as an ingenious and dangerous curiosity."

Geez, I wonder if this can still happen today, could these balloons go undetected?? Want to read more about the Fire Balloon!

Hitachi started in 1910 by Namihei Odaira, they specialized in manufacturing small 5 horsepower electric motors. In 1920 the name was changed to Hitachi, LTD.

"The rise of the Japanese military government in the 1930s forced some changes at Hitachi. Although Odaira struggled to maintain corporate independence, his company was nonetheless pressured into manufacturing war material, including radar and sonar equipment for the Imperial Navy. Odaira, however, was successful in preventing Hitachi from manufacturing actual weapons.

World War II and its aftermath devastated the company. Many of its factories were destroyed by Allied bombing raids, and after the war, American occupational forces tried to disband Hitachi altogether. Founder Odaira was removed from the company."


-=Good Selling=-

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Living off the "Fat of the Land" Part II

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printed in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort. 

I find the information refreshing and sheds a little light on how my parents and family coped with the war.  Enjoy!

Save milk, too. When emptying a milk bottle, rinse with water the milk that remains and use it for cooking, in gravy, or other foods.

To enrich milk for the kiddies, make it a practice, when empty¬ing a cream bottle, to rinse out the remains with milk (not with water), then pouring it into the milk bottle.

If milk sours, it can be used in baking, even if the recipe calls for sweet milk. Just add t, l/2 tea¬spoon of baking soda for each cup of sour milk and deduct 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Don't buy a quart of sour milk or buttermilk because you need a cupful for a special recipe. Just add 2 tablespoons vinegar to 1 cup of sweet milk and stir. Pres¬to! Sour milk.

Swiss cheese, muenster, American and similar cheeses are still tastily edible, even when dried out. Simply grate and use with spaghetti, soup or vegetables.

You'Il not waste cottage cheese during hot weather it you wrap a damp cloth around it, before put¬ting in the refrigerator. This will keep it fresh for at least five or six days.

To determine whether you are getting your money's worth when buying fresh eggs, you should know that:
1. A fresh egg sinks in water.
2. The shell should be dull and rough.
3. The yolk should be in the center. (Hold egg up to light).
4. The contents should not shake back and forth loosely.
5. The color of the egg shell has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of an egg. Buy brown or white eggs, whichever are cheaper. Don't wash eggs before storing.

Water destroys the protective film that keeps out air and odors.
Save spoilage, too, by keeping eggs in an open bowl or wire basket, and in a cool place.

Eggs kept at room temperature deteriorate rapidly. They belong in your refrigerator away from foods with penetrating odors.

Cracked eggs can be cooked in water without waste. They are just as good as any
other eggs. Add a teaspoon of salt to boiling water, immerse the egg and the contents will not ooze out.
To keep egg yolks fresh for several days, cover with cold water and store in refrigerator.

To use up leftover egg yolks, poach them till firm, then cool and put through sieve. Nice for salads, soup garnishes, canapes.

When eggs are scarce and costly, don't use them to thicken a mixture such as a sauce. Instead, use 1/2 tablespoon of corn-starch or 1 tablespoon of flour for each of the eggs required by the recipe. WARNING-don't substitute if eggs are used for leavening.

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Most managed print service (MPS) contracts rely on hardware and software recommendations made by the supplier, so it pays to check the specifications of the device and applications offered as part of the deal to make sure they represent the best fit for any one company’s print environment. For those looking for the maximum environmental credentials, all printer and MFD manufacturers make claims for proprietary technology that reduces ink and toner usage compared with...read more

COLUMBUS, OH. – October 19, 2011 – Treeno Software, a leading provider of Electronic Document Management systems, is one of the newest Corporate Members of the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA).  Here’s a look at MPS from Treeno Software’s perspective: Treeno Software: MPS from Top to Bottom
Treeno Software provides enterprise document management (EDM) and workflow systems that can be deployed...read more 

It took a critical report by the National Audit Office (NAO) to prompt the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to take a long hard look at how it could optimise its poorly managed document supply chain, including print services. The NAO judged that a lack of centralised control, a proliferation of suppliers and document types, a lack of visibility into stock or spend, and slow processes prone...read more

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World


So, how about being a St. Louis Cardinal fan!  World Series underway Cardinals lead 2-0 game 1.

A workflow automation solution designed for small business operators that want business process without the IT headaches has been introduced by Fuji Xerox Australia. Known as Automate, the solution arrives as an appliance that uses network architecture and business rules to automatically route documents through defined workflows...read more

Law360, New York (October 18, 2011, 5:47 PM ET) -- BarnesandNoble.com LLC on Monday settled its declaratory judgment suit against Xerox Corp. in New York, ending a dispute over whether the bookseller's website infringed four Xerox patents related to document storage and other communications technology...read more


Manufacturing workers at Xerox's Wilsonville campus have given their union the authority to call a strike after voting down the company's latest contract proposal last Thursday. The union says no work stoppage is imminent, however, and the two sides are meeting again tomorrow to try to hammer out a resolution to a sticking point over short-term disability payments...read more

ROCKVILLE, MD, Oct 19, 2011 - Notable Solutions, Inc. (NSi), a leading developer of distributed content capture and workflow solutions, today announced that through one of its partners it has been awarded a $3.5 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD will utilize NSi's AutoStore(TM) to support enterprise capture capabilities for its Healthcare Artifact and Image Management Solution (HAIMS) project...read more

Unisource Document Products, a 24-year-old Lenexa office equipment technology company, has sold to a similar St. Louis firm for an undisclosed amount. which does business as Datamax of Kansas City, closed Oct. 3, creating a roughly 110-employee Kansas City-area operation with $19 million in annual revenue...read more
The deal between locally based UDP and Sumner Group,

-=Good Selling=-

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

It World Series time and what you're not a Rangers fan? 

Irvine, Calif. – June 15, 2011 - Netaphor, a provider of managed print services (MPS) software, today announced the release of SiteAudit On-Site v4.4. The release provides fleet managers with enhanced MPS Services capabilties by tracking, alerting and reporting departmental and location printer moves, new supplies metrics and alert thresholds and expanded metering. SiteAudit On-Site aligns it capabilities with specific MPS services partners offer users. Enhancements to MPS services include...read more

LEXINGTON, Ky., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced the acquisition of Netherlands-based Pallas Athena in a cash transaction, valued at approximately $50.2 million. Upon completion of the transaction, the Dutch company will become a part of Perceptive Software, a stand-alone business unit within Lexmark. Pallas Athena's chairman and chief executive officer, John Hoogland, will report directly to Scott Coons, Perceptive Software's president and chief executive officer and Lexmark vice president...read more

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) has committed to be the first association sponsor of the new Lyra MPS Forum. The half-day event will take place on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, from 12:30-5:00 p.m. at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, California. The event follows the 15th annual Lyra Imaging Symposium, which is scheduled for January 23-25, 2012, and complements the Symposium’s...read more

COLUMBUS, OH – October 18, 2011 – One of the newest Corporate Members of the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) approaches the MPS industry from a service-oriented perspective. This requires an approach that uses collaboration and coordination with other partners to provide a complete package for each customer. Here’s a look at MPS from the service-centric perspective of Prism Pointe Technologies..read more

The Ultimate Managed print Services in a Box - "Ink Subscriptions" from HP. This is why we cannot define MpS as simply toner and service, Stage 1 & 2. ...read more

-=Good Selling=-

Monday, October 17, 2011

Ricoh A4 MFP or Canon A4 MFP "That is the Question"

It doesn't happen that often....that you'll have two major manufacturing going to market with the same type of devices within a month or two of each other.  Canon is set to launch their  Black A4 MFP on or around 11/7/2011 and Ricoh is set to launch their Black A4 MFP in November also. 

The Canon 1700 series will have six different models ranging in speed from 32 pages per minute to 52 pages per minute.  These six models will be the 1750/1750if, 1740/1740if, and the 1730/if.  The if version comes with  standard PCL 5e/6 and PostScript 3 drivers, the ability to create searchable PDFs, along with a fax module. Color Send, is included with the imageRUNNER 1700 but you'll have to pay more for the better featured Universal Send.

The BIG deal with the Canon, it seems Canon 1700 will be the first to follow the A3 model cost per page in an A4 device.  For those of you that are not familiar with this, the A3 model cost per page model is when you do not have an AIO (All in cartridge) that houses the toner, the drum, the cleaning blade and the waste toner hopper.  The Canon 1700 will have a separate toner and drum cartridge that should support a low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).  I haven't seen the cost per page yet, however I'm hoping this is the case.

The market is ripe for the picking if the cost per page is in line with Canon A3 MFP devices.  I don't think the imageRUNNER 1750 (52 ppm) will have the same cost per page as it's bigger brother Canon A4 MFP's that are 50 pages per minute.  I thinking it may be close, and if it is I see Canon with the ability to capture and take away clicks from the likes of Ricoh, Toshiba, HP, Sharp Konica Minolta, Kyocera and Xerox.

Some initial drawbacks for the Canon imageRUNNER if would be Postscript emulation, a non color GUI (Graphical User Interface) and only one paper tray and one by-pass tray is standard. 

Make no bones about it this system will be a force to be reckoned with, especially if TCO comes into play.

Right, this is a blog and I can't get too lengthy, so off we go with Ricoh....

Sunday, October 16, 2011

LIVING ON THE "FAT OF THE LAND"

The information below was derived from a pamphlet that I found while cleaning out the attic.  The pamphlet was printing in 1941 and was titled "800 Ways to Save and Serve", which was designed to help Americans with the World War II effort. 

I find the information refreshing and sheds a little light on how my parents and family coped with the war.  Enjoy!

LIVING ON THE "FAT OF THE LAND"
It is estimated that, before the war, we threw about two billion pounds of kitchen fats into the garbage pail. We cannot afford that any more. Save all the vegetable and animal fats you don't need - drippings from deep fat frying, meats, bacon grease, etc. Melt, strain free of extraneous particles and store in tin cans not in cardboard containers. Keep in a cool place. When you have accumulated one pound or more, sell it to your butcher at the prevailing price. This fat is urgently needed for explosives.

To avoid waste in measuring shortening, use the water-level method. For example, if you need 1/2 cup shortening, fill a measuring cup to the 1/2 mark with water. Drop in shortening, push it under the water; continue until water reaches the I-cup mark. Drain off the water. For 3/4 cup of shortening, start with 1/4 cup water; for 1/3 cup, start with 2/3 cup of water, etc.

IMPROPER CARE SPOILS SEA FOOD
Don't spend money on good sea food only to waste it through im¬proper care before cooking. At room temperature fish and all other sea foods spoil in a few hours. Cook at once or wrap in waxed paper to keep odor from other foods, and store in the cold¬est part of your refrigerator.

THE DAIRY COUNTER
Save the butter! When you mix a sandwich spread, mix the butter with the spread, instead of putting it on the bread first.

Turn one pound of butter into two with the magic of gelatine. Here's how: Cut one pound of butter into small pieces. Let stand at room temperature until soft enough to beat. Soften one envelope of unflavored gelatine in 1/4 cup of cold water. Dissolve over hot water. Add dissolved gelatine and 1/4 cup cold water to one can (14-1/2 oz.) evaporated milk. Gradually whip milk into butter with egg beater or electric mixer until milk does not sepa¬rate. Add coloring if desired. Use as a spread-not for cooking.

Here's another "butter-stretcher": One pound butter plus two cups evaporated milk equals two pounds of butter, believe it or not. Bring the butter to room tem-perature and beat to a cream¬your egg-beater will do fine! Add two cups of evaporated milk, a lit¬tle at a time. Keep on beating until all the milk is absorbed. Chill to a solid, and you're twice as butter rich as before you read this.

You can get more cream from your milk by heating it lukewarm, then chilling it suddenly. More cream will come to the surface.

No more whipped cream? Nonsense! Light cream will whip if you can afford to spend a little time. Here's how: Dissolve 1-1/2 teaspoons plain gelatine in 1/4 cup cold water; dissolve over hot water. Pour 1 cup thoroughly chilled light cream into a fairly deep narrow bowl (deep enough so that cream covers 3/4 of the beater blades). Stir dissolved gel¬atine into cream slowly. Set bowl in pan of cracked ice and water; let stand for 5 minutes, stirring around edge several times. Leave bowl in ice and water; beat 5 minutes with rotary egg beater. The cream will be light and fluffy, but not stiff enough to peak. Let stand 2 minutes; cream will stiffen enough to peak. If stored in re-frigerator, stir with a fork before using.

-=Good Selling=-


Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Top 20 Copier & MFP Discussion @ The Print4Pay Hotel


Just thought I'd give everyone a quick update on the latest threads on the Print4Pay Hotel forums.

P4P Value Page get access to all forums, rfp's, rfq's, proposals, quotes, and leads! pssst! We've now linked and uploaded leads, RFP's and RFQ's for more than 2,000 systems in the past three months!


We've added New Content to our P4P Document Library! Every week, I'll be uploading a new files or documents that I've used for research, quotes, pricing or marketing pieces!!

P4P Document Library
Dealer vs Direct Pitch Document
Production Print Glossary II
Specification, BK5010e System Ricoh
Legality of Digital Image Copies.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

SOME of the biggest brands in the printing sector are being tipped as suitors in a high-stake bidding war for Darwin-based managed IT services specialist CSG.
Sources are reporting that majority Japanese-owned Fuji Xerox and Canon's office division are the two main players behind bids that value the company at about $420 million.CSG provides managed print services and operates a managed IT services division. It already has partnerships with...read more

PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct 11, 2011 -- Visioneer, Inc., a leader in intelligent document imaging solutions announced today the launch of a new philanthropic program that will help worthy organizations across the globe that provide assistance to people and places in need. For every customer who registers a Visioneer or Xerox(R) DocuMate(R) scanner,...read more

NEWSBYTE,  Oct. 11, 2011 - Lexmark International, Inc., today announced the new Lexmark Patient Admissions and Registration Solution, which simplifies paper-intensive admissions and registration processes. The Lexmark solution enables healthcare providers to electronically capture, organize, route and access patient documentation quickly, accurately and securely, so they can spend more time focusing on patient care instead of processing paperwork...read more


TOKYO—As Japan's major exporters struggle to absorb the impact of the strong yen on their earnings, Canon Inc.'s finance chief said Tuesday that any substantial rebound in the euro against the yen is unlikely, as the euro zone's "structural problem" may take several years to solve. "Unfortunately, we can't hope for any quick recovery in the euro," Chief Financial Officer Toshizo Tanaka said in an interview. His comments came as the euro was showing a modest gain against the yen...read more

Oct 11, 2011 LONG BEACH, Calif. – Epson America, Inc., today announced a new line of superior performing printers for small and home-based businesses - the WorkForce® 435, 545, 645 and 845.  The new all-in-ones deliver the world’s fastest print speeds(1) and mobile printing capabilities through Epson Connect(2) to ensure easy, hassle-free printing. Each model in the series offers a range of functionality and intuitive operation at an affordable price...read more

-=Good Selling=-

Monday, October 10, 2011

My 2nd Reason Why Managed Print Services is a Loser

My first reason for Why Managed Print Services is a loser was waste and maybe that was to broad of a reason.  Waste can come in many different forms, such as waste in energy, waste is resources, waste in consumables, waste in landfill, waste of space, and waste of time!

As the second reason, I'd like to focus on waste of energy.  Think about it, 50 lasers printers firing up everyday, heating and cooling all day long. It's gotta take it's toll on energy consumption.  For those of you who are not aware of the laser engine technology, I'll make is real simple for you. Toner is needed to make a print, in most laser printers toner is housed in the print cartridge. Toner is fine plastic resin particles. In order for the toner to adhere to the paper it must be heated and fixed.  All laser printers have a heat roller or heat belt that melts to toner.  In order to have the printer print quickly most of these devices maintain a temperature threshold.

So, lets be bold and say we have 50 laser printers firing up and staying on all day wouldn't it be smarter to have 5 work group Multifunctional Copier Devices that could support every ones printing.  

Gesh, what would it cost on energy to run let's say a certain "Q" color laser printer?

Saturday, October 8, 2011

120 Ways to Save on Food Part II "Meat Extenders"

 I was going through some items that had been my parents and came across boxes full of media from the late 30's through the 70's. One pamphlet that I found was printed in 1942 and suggest on "Ways to Save and Serve" during the wartime effort.

I enjoyed reading this and thought that other
P4P'ers might enjoy the read and get a better handle on what their parents or grandparents went through during WWII.

120 Ways to Save on Food

MEAT "EXTENDERS"
The biggest way to save on meat costs is to get your money's worth through waste elimination.

These tips will help:
1. Not only because you want our fighting men to have all the meat they need, but to save money and maintain a balanced diet-at meat conservatively and get more of the other foods into your diet. Authorities hold that four ounces of lean meat per day are enough for average protein needs.

2. Unwrap meat and store in your refrigerator the moment you bring it home. The bacteria that cause spoilage grow rapidly when raw meat is closely covered, but cooked meats should be covered.

3. Chopped meat spoils more readily than plain cuts. Use as soon as possible after purchase.

4. Uncooked smoked meats will stay fresh and sweet for a long time if you do this: Saturate a clean cloth with vinegar, wring out, and wrap the bacon or ham in this damp vinegar cloth. Then wrap again in waxed paper and store in your refrigerator.

5. Use meat trimmings to add flavor to dressings, stuffings and casserole dishes.

6. To make a little meat go a long way, combine it with meat extenders, such as rice, macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, crumbs, vege¬tables and ready-to-serve cereals.

7. Simmer meat bones to make stock for soups, gravies or sauces.

Use pork or lamb liver instead of beef or calf liver, and pocket the difference. The only reason you pay so much more for calf liver is the greater demand for it. Food value is the same.

Bones from smoked meats such as ham hocks can be made into a yum-yummy soup stock for lentil, navy bean or split-pea soup.
When buying meat, ask for the trimmings and "collect a bonus." Simmered with vegetables and well seasoned, they make delicious, nourishing soups.

If you have small amounts of leftover meat and vegetables, grind them together and mix with mayonnaise for a tasty, nutritious spread.

Here's another meat-saver:

P4P Hotels Look Back at Special War Time "Ways to Save and Serve"

I was going through some items that had been my parents and came across boxes full of media from the late 30's through the 70's. One pamphlet that I found was printed in 1942 and suggest on "Ways to Save and Serve" during the wartime effort.

I enjoyed reading this and thought that other P4P'ers might enjoy the read and get a better handle on what their parents or grandparents went through during WWII.
120 Ways to Save on Food
A Word to the Wise

Government study has shown that Americans waste fully 20% of their food through spoilage and over-generous portions which are "pecked at". Practice the food savers in this book. Serve moderate helping first, second helping if wanted. This sensible practice minimizes unusable leftovers-and moderate servings look more appetizing. If your food bill is $10 per week, you can save about $100 a year, according to the Government, merely by adopting this conservation corps habit.

Don't be too bashful to add up your grocery and butcher bills before paying them. To err is human, but don't let the error be at your expense.

Plan your meals by the week with a careful eye to ration values, as well as prices. The savings you will make by such foresight will buy many a war stamp.

Canned Good Facts

Now that the lid is down on canned goods, drop your prejudice against lower-grade markings. Higher-priced markings some¬times indicate only larger, better¬shaped and "matched" contents, not greater food value.

Bulging ends on tin cans are a danger signal. The contents have probably begun to ferment and spoil. Nothing wrong, though, with cans that are merely dented.

Use the liquid from canned vegetables in soups, sauces, stews, gravies, casserole dishes, and for making white sauce for creamed vegetables.

Note from Art:

Since I'm one of those late boomers. I now realize maybe where the phrase "make sure you finish your dinner" may have come from. The line that states over generous portions are "pecked" at. Please all comments or stories are welcome.

-=Good Selling=-

Thursday, October 6, 2011

My Thoughts on KonicaMinoltas Aquisition of Officeware

I had an email last night from a P4p'er that wanted to know my thoughts about this acquisition by KonicaMinolta.
I took a visit to the Officeware web site and was surprised with the MPS tone and strategy of the site, but as I dug a little deeper I realized that the copier dealer message was still embedded in the web site.
In a blog I posted at the end of 2010, I had predicted that copier manufacturers like Xerox, Ricoh and KonicaMinolta would start to buy MPS organizations.  Officeware seems to be one of those hybrid dealers that is playing in both worlds (MPS & Copiers) and there's nothing wrong with that because I firmly believe Hybrid dealers like Officeware can make a difference with a MFP's and MPS.
Who loses?  Canon and Ricoh as far as placements, Officeware customers for support as the company starts to sell and support more of the KM product.
I'm sure there are some disgruntled employees, but you'll get that with any changeover.  KonicaMinolta Business Systems wins a major portion of coverage from Midwest central Ohio, all of central Indiana and Midwest Illinois.  I'm just guessing, but I'm thinking one of the reasons they purchased Officeware is because there was not enough coverage of KM in this area.
At this time I believe the entire Copier Industry is still changing through acquisition, it's the only way to grow and the only way to preserve market share. With that I believe all of the manufactures are spread very thin with support and this purchase at this time could be challenging for the buyer and the seller.
As you can tell, I really don't have a lot on this. The competitors of Officeware that carried either Ricoh, Savin or Canon will be delighted to see the acquisition and give them a chance to secure the customers who are brand loyal to Canon and Lanier (Ricoh).  As with all purchases from a manufacturer tomorrow will be no different from yesterday, but as time rolls on turmoil will mount with parts support, tech support and solutions support from Lanier (Ricoh) and Canon.  It's no doubt that Officeware will do it's best to get the major portion of the non KM systems out of the field in a short amount of time.
Our industry is…well…driving our own demise so to speak.  We’re selling MFP hardware to reduce clicks, reduce cost per page, those dealers that are not the Hybrid (Professional services, MPS) or do not have a plan for a Professional Services model will sell themselves out of business. 

-=Good Selling=-

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Lloyd Bryant still leads the imaging and printing group (IPG) at HP Canada (NYSE: HPQ) as vice-president and general manager, but a number of the executives under him now hold new positions following a series of staffing changes announced last week that come into effect on Nov. 1. “We're excited to announce several changes in our IPG business management structure that will create multiple synergies for...read more
 
Cummins has 40,000 employees and global operations throughout 200 countries and territories. With such a vast distribution of locations comes the challenge of selecting, deploying, managing and maintaining technology – even output devices. Its existing fleet of printers, copiers, fax machines and...read more
 
Channelline CEO Robert Cohen talks with Gary Gillam, VP North American Channel Operations at Xerox, talks about where the printing industry is headed today, and where the opportunities are for partners, especially managed print services. Gillam also discusses how VARs can deal with an issue managed services raises, the loss of the constant contact with customers that comes from selling print supplies, that has been so important to printing VARs in the past...read more and video 
 
-=Good Selling=-

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Selling Copiers "Are you Selling the RIGHT Solutions?"

We all know we can't make any money with a box to box situation.  So, where can the profit be made? Usually it's made in non competitive situations that will produce an immediate ROI for the customer.

One of the keys is to know everything about your customer.  You may be able to see the hardware when you do a walk through, however if you don't ask how do you do this or how do you do that, you don't get, get what?  INFORMATION!!!

We need to ask what do you print on that printer or this printer. With this you'll get a better understanding of the media they are using.  Plus, you can then add questions like:


Monday, October 3, 2011

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!


TRUMBULL, Conn., Oct 03, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Oce, a Canon Group Company and, an international leader in digital document management, today announced that Managed Print Services (MPS) has been added to Oce's GSA Schedule 36 Contract, allowing Oce North America, Document Printing Systems to sell MPS to the federal government. MPS focuses on the proactive management of existing fleets of...read more

Faced with slowing growth in developed markets, HP could be considering a radical step to pull in more enterprise IT business: a move to monthly subscription-based printing services. On Friday, Vyomesh 'VJ' Joshi, head of HP’s imaging and printing group, told ZDNet UK the company is looking at a new business model that should be coming "soon — very soon". He would not be drawn about the model, preferring to confirm guesses. Here's how the conversation went, at an event for press and analysts in Dublin:VJ: Let me give you a hint. Think about what changed the DVD market. What did Netflix do? ...read more

-=Good Selling=-

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Selling Copiers "Is Your Dealership Prepared for the Future?"

The blog below was posted some time ago on the Print4Pay Hotel forums. It was intended for P4P Members on how to gauge the type of dealership or direct channel that they are working for and if they should continue or look elsewhere.

Mike K had written this for us and has since left the industry and he worked for one of the largest direct dealers in the US.  Do I need to say more?  Anyway it's good stuff and it's a good read. ENJOY!

Are you working for a dealership prepared for the future of Office Technology?

This might sound like I am making a big deal out of nothing, but I am not.  You are making good money and the deals are closing, but you are losing some of the bigger deals, people in immediate need and you cannot compete in bids or large deals.  Your dealership could be a sinking ship and you better be one of the first out and not the last because your reputation will be tarnished.

I had asked myself these exact questions a year ago. My answer was mostly no for each one. Below are questions that you should answer yes for at least 80% of them.  Questions with the # next to them are “a must.”

#Does your dealership have inventory?
          -What good is a sale if you have no product!!!

Does your dealership have demo/loaner inventory?
          -You need to show and make sure it is the correct solution.

#Does your dealership have Certified Network Engineers?
          -What if something happens while doing network install?

Does your dealership have a software solution expert?
          -You need someone with completely understands all possible software.

#Does your dealership have delivery staff?
          -You need to be selling and not delivering!

#Does your dealership have a real retirement plan that they contribute?
          -The dealership should invest in the well being of their employees.

Does your dealership have a gated commission plan for each deal?
          -This way you or they will not lose money later on.

#Can your dealership pay you all you commissions on time? 
          (Ex: March commissions paid by April 30th)
         
Does your dealership have an internal bonus program?
          -They need to invest in the strongest reps and keep them happy.
          80/20 rule applies here!

Does your dealership have President Club Trips?
          -They need to invest in the strongest reps and keep them happy.
          Not to Dealer Sales Meetings!
          80/20 rule applies here also!