Copiers & MFP's A4 vs A3 Model "The War has Just Begun"

This question or statement was posed on one of the Print4Pay Hotel forums just yesterday.  I didn't think that I was in the mood to write tonight until I viewed this thread.

"I am interested in hearing feedback on the recently introduced Canon IR 1730/1740/1750 models. These look to be similar to the Ricoh A4 B&W models introduced at the beginning of 2011 - the Ricoh models appear to be slow sellers. Wondering if these Canon models will be accepted better than the Ricoh models..."

My response

The Ricohs have been slow sellers is not because of end user needs or wants. Basically ours is a quota/revenue driven business from the top to the bottom.
The preferred compensation model for commissions is that of a revenue based plan with commissions. Why have a GP driven comp plan for your sales people when your Dealership or Branch has a revenue based quota plan from the manufacturers?  It just doesn't make sense....

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....

Samsung Looks to Penetrate US A3 Copier & MFP Market

The rumors started about a year ago that Samsung would enter the A3 Copier & MFP market.  Just to clarify A3 devices allows users to scan, copy, fax and print documents up to 11x17 (tabloid).

Today marked the official launch of 4 A3 devices in the US:

•CLX-9250ND – MSRP; $10,802 (25 PPM color)

•CLX-9350ND – MSRP; $14,498 (35 PPM color)

•SCX-8030ND – MSRP; $9,916 (30 PPM monochrome)

•SCX-8040ND – MSRP; $11,374 (40 PPM monochrome)

I'm kinda wishy washy with them entering the A3 market, I'm not sure if it's the right move for them. For about a year I had heard rumors on the street that Samsung would counter with higher speed A4 devices like a 60, 70 and 90ppm devices. I strongly believe if Samsung had come to market with these A4 devices at these speeds they would have turned the MFP/Copier world on their heels. It's not a secret that 95% of the pages printed in the US are letter and legal.

Just the other day I was at an account that's in the financial business, I was there to inspect 5 devices that were all 60 pages per minute to 90 pages per minute. I printed a report from each to device to get current meter reads, how often duplex was used, stapling, etc.  I made it a point to check the 11x17 output for these devices, and each system was a big fat ZERO for 11x17's that were printed or copied. 

I'm thinking Samsung should have stayed with a strength and developed the higher speed A4's to take market share away from Ricoh, Canon, Xerox and KonicaMinolta.  The foray into the A3 market place may be a big mistake.

-=Good Selling=-

15 New Copier & MFP RFQ's & RFP's

Really, we've uploaded 15 Copier & MFP RFP's & RFQ's in the last week on the Print4Pay Hotel forums. In addition we've also posted an additional 5 leads for copiers & MFP's for the commercial sector. 

The Print4Pay Hotel forums is a sited dedicated to Copier & MFP professionals.  The heart and soul of the site is our forums. Our forums give our industry a secure forum to discuss sales, marketing, solutions and talk about the industry as a whole.To date we have over 1,930 global members, our site generates over 100,000 page views.  Our members are dealer owners, dealer principals, sales professionals, sales managers, and manufacturers representatives.

Here's some of our recent threads for RFP's & RFQ's:

Copier RFP in DC


Xerox Color 550 Copier/Printer Lease in NC

NBS Print & Copier Support Services

OMG! 100 MPF plus unit RFP with 11mil annually!!!!

Solicitation for Wide Format Digital Copier, Plotter and Scanner 

XEROX COPIER MAINTENANCE

36 Copiers in Ohio

COPIER MAINTENANCE SERVICE AND SUPPLIES AGREEMENT

Copier Bid in Washington, DC

45 ppm color in North Carolina

52 Copiers in GA 

COPIER MAINTENANCE & SUPPLIES FOR THREE (3) YEARS

100+ units for RFP in MidAtlantic

Printer Repair Services in NJ RFP

Kansas 35ppm device

Membership for the forums is FREE, access to the secure "leads" forums can be purchased monthly and a yearly Premium Membership is less than $7 per month, but wait you get more with a Premium Membership you'll also gain access to all off the manufacturers forums and our secure "P4P Document Library"!  The P4P Document Library features documents that I've used in my copier sales career to increase sales and marketing. 

Here's a sampling of the documents I've posted:

Advantage of Color


14 Benefits of Leasing MFP

P4P Hotel's Document Imaging Glossary

Envelope Press from Ricoh

Copier Security Booklet

Global and N America Print Production work flow forecast

HP Cost Per Page Chart
 
Simple Excel Proposal Spreadsheet
 
A3 vs A4 Competitive Workbook
 
Just a short sampling of the documents, click here for a FREE membership!
 
-=Good Selling=-

To Ricoh "What I Want for Christmas" 2010

Christmas Note:  Glass ornaments are the most popular of today's German Christmas decorations. One glass ornament in particular is very interesting. It is a pickle! Pickles were used as common German Christmas decorations on the Christmas tree. The legend of the pickle states that when decorating the tree, you must hang the pickle last and hide it among the Christmas tree branches. On Christmas Day, the first kid to find the pickle would get a special blessing for the coming New Year and an extra present

Back in 08 I posted a blog titled To Ricoh "What I Want for Christmas", some of those Christmas wishes came or are coming true almost two years later.  I had asked for Color Scanning on high volume units (got it and Santa made me happy), print files from USB or SD cards (got it, about two years late), a Gelsprinter Plotter (I got an Epson instead), a real A4 device (not some printer with scanner attached, don't have this yet, however Santa's suppose to bring me one after Christmas), a Digital Duplicator that duplex's 11x17 (nope, didn't get one of these either), Biometric Authentication (did not get and I'm really pissed), a wide format system that will scan in color (dagnabit, I was suppose to get this a few months ago, all I hear is that it's coming, thanx Santa another gift that everyone else got but me). 

So, this year I put together another wish list from Ricoh:

• Duplexing A3 Digital Duplicator that prints in two colors!
• 50, 60, 70 ppm A4 MFP that has the cost per page of the A3 MFP
• Low Volume wide format system with color scanning (4 pages per minute or less)
• A "Green" MFP that will let me use the same paper over and over (erase image)
• A Digital Color Envelope Press (really, really want this)
• A Booklet Finisher that will fold and staple thick stock for Segment 3 & 4 systems
• A folding unit that will create a "z" or "gate" fold on letter size prints or copies
• Embedded Print Cost Calculation Software that will allow us to charge by coverage used
• Embedded Print Software that will report what documents were printed and by whom
• A 20ppm A4 MFP that has a retail cost per page of .10 cents

I don't think I'm gonna see any of these this Christmas and I'm kinda wishy washy about next Christmas also, but I'm going to keep the faith that Father Christmas will make a few of these happen.

Do you have a wish list from another manufacturer or even Ricoh, if so post in the comments section!

-=Merry Christmas=-

Ricoh's Zeus "Father of Gods and Copiers"

Hesiod's Theogony  labeled Zeus as "Father of Gods and men".  Ricoh Corporation is set to launch "Zeus" (engineering name) their first (home grown, one member of the P4P'er is claiming Lexmark, I'm thinking no to the Lexmark thingy) color A4 multifunctional device within weeks.  Over at the Print4Pay Hotel forums there's been quite a bit of talk about these new systems.  Word at the Hotel is that there will be four different models.  The Aficio MPC300 and the MPC300SR (Finisher) will be 30 page a minute color A4 devices, and then the MPC400, and the MPC400SR (Finisher) will be 40 page a minute color devices. 

It's been a few years since I attended a meeting at Ricoh to discuss the emergence of A4 devices and what type of effect they were having on the market place. Almost three years from the anniversary of that meeting Ricoh will officially enter the color A4 market with a Segment Two and Three system.

I'm hoping that Ricoh does not follow the likes of Sharp, Samsung and KonicaMinolta when it comes to cost per page pricing.  For years I've been touting that what we (Sales) need in the field is an A4 device whether color or monochrome that has an A3 cost per page model.  If this goal is to capture additional clicks then why even lower cost A4's to market with higher cost per pages than A3 models.  The one downfall of the A4 MFP's is the lower hardware cost, which means lower profits (hey, I thought no one made a profit on the box and it was the supply revenue), which in turn means everyone will have to sell more boxes to maintain current profit levels!  We'll see, I'm hoping for a kick butt Cost Per Page, but I'm not betting the ranch here.

A few questions about the new Zeus:

• Where will the cost per page be for color and monochrome?
• Will it be manufactured in China or elsewhere?
• Will it have an ARDF and not and not an ADF?
• Will it have additional Paper Feed Units?
• Will it work with APP2ME?
• Will it have a Document Server?
• Will it print from an SD Card or USB?

Really, I can't wait for this system to hit the streets!!!  Zeus could really be the "Father of all Copiers" and be an exciting new product that will increase sales, in a industry that really needs a shot in the arm! 

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in Canon "TWIC Notes"

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

- More details on new Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE A3 b/w models:

o 6055, 6065 and 6075 models offer 55ppm, 65ppm and 75ppm speeds

 Base MSRPs of $13,200, $17,700 and $24,200

o 8085, 8095 and 8105 models offer 85, 95 and 105ppm
 Base MSRPs of $29,200, $35,200 and $46,200
o 7086, 7095 and 7015 modes are now discontinued
o All use ASi drums (amorphous silicon or ceramic drums, most likely sourced from Kyocera)
o Uses separate toner and developer (which is odd, as one of Canon’s big marketing pitches is their use of monocomponent technology, which they claim is superior)
o Warmup times of 30-38 seconds
o $2400 for letter size LCT, $3000 for tabloid sized LCT
o $160 kit allows for feeding of tabs
o Comes standard with document feeder that can:
 Hold up to 300 originals
 Can scan both sides of original at same time
 In single sided mode, top b/w scan speed of 120opm, or 85opm for color
 In double-sided mode, top b/w scan speed of 200ipm or 100ipm for color
o 6000 series finishing option include:
 $3000 for stapling finisher
 $5300 for bookletmaking & stapling finisher
 $850 for punch kit
 $2800 for cover inserter
 $8000 for cover inserter/fold unit
o 8000 series finishing options include:
 $6000 for stapling finisher
 $9000 for bookletmaking & stapling finisher
 $800 for punch kit
 Face trimmer unit for $6000
 $15,000 for GBC punch unit (punches are $2800 each)
 $5300 for cover inserter
 $12,000 for multi-fold unit
o 8000 series can feed up to 13”x19” paper
o 8.4” color touchscreen LCD on 6000 series
o 10.4” color touchscreen LCD on armature on 8000 series
o Optional USB keyboard for $110 plus $60 mount tray
o $3800 option adds print controller and color scanning
 Uses Canon ImageCHIP architecture
 Actual manufacturer unknown (most likely NetSilicon)
 Has dual processors to handle copy and print operations
• (for some reason, Canon does not publish the speed of the processors)
 1.5GB RAM standard (can upgrade to 2GB for $250)
 80GB hard drive standard (can upgrade to 250GB for $750)
 PCL print driver is $1000 option
 XPS print driver is $550 option
 PostScript print driver is $1400 option
 Secure watermark is $450 option
 $800 for barcode printing
 Scan to email/LDAP/FTP/HDD standard
 OCR kit for $550
 $1000 for secure watermark
 Encrypted scan $450 option
 Support for MEAP (multi-function embedded application protocol using Java OS)
 10/100/1000BaseT and USB ports standard
• Can scan to and print from USB memory sticks
• $900 for scan to MS SharePoint
 $600 card reader option
 $325 for hard drive data erase kit
 $550 for hard drive encryption kit
 $1000 for removable hard drive
o Optional EFI Fiery controller, called Canon imagePASS U1, for $9500
o $2400 option adds Essentials software
 Tools for creating and managing complex print jobs
 Tracking machine usage
 Create macros to replace scan steps
o All are off-white plastic design, called “cashmere beige”
o $800 for analog fax board ($500 for second fax line)

- Canon will most likely preview two new A3 color laser MFPs at its upcoming annual Digital Solutions Forum convention in September, the imageRUNNER ADVANCE C2020 and C2030 offering:
o 4 tandem OPC design
o 20ppm and 30ppm respectively, for both color and b/w
o 44opm top scan speed with optional RADF
o Will replace the IR-C2550 and C3080 models
o Built-in print/scan controller
o Optional hard drive

-=Good Selling=-

Print4Pay Hotel Weekend Industry Threads for 8/15/10

Take a trip to our 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 1,020 systems!

Please take the time think about a Premium Membership, not only do you get access to all of the forums, but your contribution keeps the site running!

We've added New Content to our P4P Document Library! Every week, I'll be uploading a new file or document that I've used for research, quotes, pricing or marketing<\b>

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Recent Blogs of Note

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Interesting P4P Forum Threads

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The Print4Hotel Team

MFP Wars "Samsung Poised for MFP Battle"

Who said Samsung was just selling A4 MFP's. Coming to the Americas in the near future the Samsung CLX-9350ND.

The Samsung CLX-9350ND is a full featured A3 (will copy, print or scan up to 11x17) that will print and copy at speeds of up to 35 pages per minute in color and monochrome. This system will offer a full color GUI (Graphic User Interface), multiple paper banks, document feeder, by-pass, duplex (copy and print) along with stapler finisher. Max print resolution is 9600 equivalent x 600 dpi, standard PCL, PCL5c, Post Script 3 and it will scan at a blistering 60 pages per minute in either monochrome or color.

Rumor has it that this system will be launched in the UK first and then the Americas.

As of right now Samsung is only marketing A4 (systems that do NOT copy, print or scan 11x17) devices in the US, when looking at their web site in Korea there's a treasure trove of A3 devices. Devices like the CLX-9250ND a 25ppm color & monochrome full featured MFP, the CLX-9035 another full featured color and monochrome system, the CLX-9000G  a 28ppm color and monochrome full featured MFP, the SCX-7600PG a full featured monochrome MFP (rumor has it that Samsung will also be coming to market with monochrome A3 devices in the US soon), there's also a 45ppm device and we're still waiting to see if the rumors of a 70 and 90ppm A4 device will come true. 

Point is, with the the recent mergers and acquisitions in the copier/mfp market place, Samsung seems poised to gain market share from the likes of Xerox, Ricoh, Canon and KonicaMinolta. When speaking with a Samsung Dealer Rep the other day, I heard of many success stories with multiple take downs of large accounts with their current A4 devices.  Word on the street is Samsung wants to be a Manufacturer of Choice and not a secondary line for dealers.  Personally, I think the products are awesome and the only way they could screw this up is if they opened up Direct Branches.

BTW, it was a Print4Pay Hotel member that posted information on this device in the P4P Hotel forums, kudos to that member!

-=Good Selling=-

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=-

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=-

Panasonic States A3 Copier Distribution to Cease in Canada

Posted by a P4PHotel member:

Panasonic Canada put out a letter to all of their dealers this week that effective March 2011, A3 copier distribution will cease. No new A3 copiers will be introduced between now and March 2011. Parts, supplies and Technical support will be available until March 2018.Panasonic will focus on A4 MFPs, Fax machines, Scanners and Panaboard presentation products.


=-Good Selling=-

Can Ricoh, Xerox, Canon & KonicaMinolta be the next GM & Chrysler?

For those who know me, they know that when I'm traveling from appointment to appointment I never listed to the radio, or cd's.

This was not by choice, my buddy Darby (185lb dog), knocked out the SIRRUS antenna one day while getting out of the car and along with the fact that I lost the code for my regular radio, well my rides are pretty dam quiet w, except for the rambling thoughts cruising through my head all day!

Thus this came to me the other day when speaking with a fellow p4p'er in Florida. We got on the topic of A4 devices, my question was "Why have the Big Dogs like Ricoh, Xerox (Xerox/Fuji), Canon and Konica Minolta not come to market with their own A4 devices? Well, the answer I got was surprising and made sense. My fellow p4p'er stated that the Japanese are reluctant to re-tool the factories due the cost involved. There is no money made on the hardware anymore, they are relying on the consumables for profits.

Hey, I'm the guy in the field, on the streets and in the trenches, my customers love the A4 devices that we have from Sammy (Samsung), and if you haven't heard Sammy is doing very well with their A4 devices.

About a year ago Sharp launched their Frontier Series which is an A4 multifunctional device made by Sharp. Just today BLI awarded them "BLI Pick of the Year Awards" for three different models. At a recent Sharp dealer meeting it was noted that 24% of placements in 2008 were A4 devices.

So, while the chickens are roosting in the hen house at night, companies like Sammy, Sharp and Muratec (relabled Sammies) are quietly taking market share from the likes of Ricoh, Xerox (they also relabel a few Sammies), Canon and KonicaMinolta. Gesh, I would have thought by this time that the Big Dogs would have at least stepped up to the plate.

I reached out and made another call to a prominent p4p'er and got these quotes:

* Samsung certainly is doing quite well with its A4s.

* I feel like the reason Sharp is so hot for A4 is because they realize they cannot beat the big dogs at their own game (A3s) so they are looking to build share through A4 while maintaining or slowly growing A3 share. Man do they say how great A4s are every chance they have though. Not sure where this was sourced from, but at Sharp's dealer meeting they said that A4s were 24% of all MFP units in 2008 and 35% of all 31ppm+ MFP unit growth between 2005 and 2008.

* Most of Xerox metered A4s are either sourced from Samsung or most recently Konica Minolta so that's a sign that they don't want to retool and are looking externally for their A4 lines. That said, FujiXerox does make A4 engines for Lexmark and Infoprint, so they have the ability.

* Considering Canon supplies HP with all those A4 engines I would think they would expand in A4 if they wanted. They are probably limiting A4 presence for different reasons.

Ah, Canon the biggest dog of them all and why haven't they entered the market? I'm thinking they have some type of agreement with HP. WOW, we forgot about HP, here's another instance where HP is now replacing their own laser printers and others with their own A4 Multifunctional devices. Yet, all of this is one of the least talked about topics and the mass migration of A3 to A4 is happening before our eyes.

I read an article today from Channel Web, where a representative from Gartner stated "recommended customers use fewer A3-sized printers, which print at 11 x 17 inches, and adopt more A4-sized devices, which print letter-sized documents, to cut costs."

Sammy is poised to steal even more business, if you think they're satisfied with four or five A4 multifunctional devices, well you're wrong. They want to be the manufacturer of choice for dealers in the near future.

So, back to the topic, if the Big Dogs don't a make a move soon with their own A4 platforms where will they be in two years. I'm thinking they could go the way of GM and Chrysler, they've rested on their laurels and their A3's engines far too long, and instead of investing money in new factories and re-tooling, they all opted to buy market share by purchasing the likes of Savin, Oce, Global, Danka, Gestener, Ikon, Monroe, and Imagagistics. Did I miss any?

BTW, special thanx to the p4p'ers that helped me out with the additional information. If you like to be a member of the largest and fasted growing group of copier professionals in the world, then take a trip here. Print4Pay Hotel

-=Good Selling=-

Sammy "Going After the Big Dogs"

Samsung, or as I refer to as "Sammy", talk has it that they will be coming to market with some A3 devices somewhere down the road. Talk, also has it that they would like to be a full line OEM with the likes of Ricoh, Canon, KonicaMinolta, and Xerox.

Fact, besides Sharp, none of the above manufacturers have yet come to market with thier own (OEM) A4 device as of this time. Yes, there are some rumors that Ricoh or Toshiba will come to market, but as of right now, nada!

When I talk about A4 devices, it's not the inexpensive machines from Oki, Panasonic or HP, but the more robust units such as the HP M5035, the Samsung 6545, the Sharp Frontier Series, these are substantial units that are capable of handling 20,000 pages each and every month for 60 months. The players thus far are Xerox (OEM Samsung), Muratec (OEM Samsung), Sharp (OEM), Samsung (OEM)

I still can't fathom that the likes of Canon, Ricoh, and KonicaMinolta have stood by the side lines during the A4 transition. My, how many placements have they lost to these A4 devices, five thousand, ten thousand?

So far, none of these manufacturers have taken my advise, and that is to develop and A4 device to compete with the cpc of A3 devices, meaning the toner cost per page would be in the area of .0028-.004. What the heck are they waiting for? The time is right!

My father in-law quotes this all the time, "what do expect from a pig but a grunt"

-=Good Selling=-

Oki Announces Price Busting A3 device!

Below is the Press Release from Oki. I had heard about this system coming to market, and considering price point and features this should be an awesome system for the AEC market place.

Oki Data Americas Tuesday unveiled the MC860 A3 color MFP series, a new set of A3 color multifunction printers Oki Data says are comparable in capability and price to many competitors' A4 printers.

"What we heard most was 'costs,' " said Mike Garofola, senior marketing manager for color products at Oki Data Americas, in a ChannelWeb briefing. "The size is a nice point as well, but people are looking for an affordable solution that allows them to bring an A3-type of device into their [infrastructure] and the consolidation that comes with not having multiple devices."

Oki Data's new MC860 A3 color MFP series is targeted at businesses seeking a color MFP that can provide both A3 and A4 capabilities. Among many features, the MC860 harnesses HD color technology (including 48-inch banner support); allows full print, copy, scan and fax capabilities; offers print/copy speeds of 26 ppm in color and 33 in monochrome; can scan to USB Flash Memory, PC, fax, FTP, folder and e-mail; and has a duty cycle of 75,000 pages.

The MC860 series comes in three models, including a desktop standing model starting at $3,999 (400-sheet paper capacity); a floor standing model with one tray and cabinet, starting at $4,459 (930-sheet paper capacity)' and a floor standing model with two trays and a cabinet, starting at $4,739 (1,460-sheet paper capacity).

"We do have other A3 color MFP series," Garofola said, "but before they were only sold exclusively through our BTA [business technology alliance] channel and are more of a copier-based product that competes with other copier-based MFPs. This is the first tabloid A3 color MFP we've really designed for the 'Comdex' channel."

The MC860 series MFPs will be made available at the end of January through all of Oki Data's North American channels. Oki Data is targeting the MFPs especially at medium workgroup users and space-reliant, cost-dependent verticals such as education, manufacturing, retail, finance and life sciences.

"Print has surpassed copying in terms of functionality, but people are also looking to have more affordable output," Garofola said. "They're doing a lot more scanning, for document management. And while faxing is the function that's used least, when you do need it you have to have it. From a legal standpoint, a fax is still a legal document as opposed to a scan, and still very viable."

Garofola said to expect additional MFP announcements from Oki Data later in the year.

Muratec 4550 "The Biggest Little MFP"

Well, sold another one of these today a Muratec MFX 4550, and another A3 system bites the dust!

I'm so impressed with this system from the ability to faxforward2email as a pdf, the speed of the unit @ 45 pages per minute and the sleek touch screen. The Muratec 4550 does have a few cool features also, such as the ID copy that allows for seem less copying of divers licenses and Medical ID cards. This feature is great for those in the insurance and medical industry. The system will copy the front side, hold the image in memory and then you flip the card on the glass and what you get is a copy of both sides of the card on the one side of the paper. No need to refeed the paper or make wasted copies trying to figure out where to place the card! One more thing to add, copy and print quality is AWESOME!

Each paper cassette can hold 520 sheets, such a plus when compared to 500 sheet cassettes or 250 sheet cassettes. Document Feeder is good for 50 originals and will recirculated for auto two sided copying. I have also have had some time to work with the print drivers and find them easy to use and very productive. You can send documents from the PC and store them on the hard drive of the 4550, great for forms, spec sheets, and address book management.

As of right now, I have ten of these Muratec MFX4550's in the field (8 of them replaced A3 systems) and all of the are performing like champs while running 5,000 to 10,000 pages per month.

My belief is A4 machines will take the market by storm, there is already talk of a 75pp and a 95 ppm device being released by the first quarter of 2009. If you're a dealer and you not have A3 devices such as the Muratec 4550, you will lose business! Make no bones about it, if you do not need 11x17, who in their right mind would pay $15,000 for a full system when you can get one loaded for $7,500?

So, make the call, call Muratec , they are actively seeking dealers for these fantastic devices!

-=Good Selling=-