Checking In & Out at The Print4Pay Hotel

This was an article written by Scott Cullen (Scott also operates The Week in Imaging) back in 04, I've  updated some of the numbers such as total members, membership demographics, page views and a few other items to keep it current. (Art)

By: Scott Cullen

When one checks into the Print4Pay Hotel it’s the guests who receive tips, not the staff. The Print4Pay Hotel: The Imaging Professional's Resource Center is a Website (www.p4photel.org) and message board focused on providing extensive imaging product information to resellers as well as a forum for imaging industry personnel to share knowledge. Although most members work for different dealerships, virtually all sell and service the Ricoh, Lanier, Savin, Sharp, Canon, KonicaMinolta, Toshiba, Muratec, Okidata, Lexmark, Xerox  and Kyocera family print devices.

The site also contains an impressive collection of documents, price quotes, competitive proposals, self help documents, RFP's, and brochures on various manufacturers office equipment. Art Post, CEO of the Print4Pay Hotel and Docusultant with Century Office Products in Edison, NJ, is the architect behind the Print4Pay Hotel. The site allows digital imaging specialists to share information and find answers quickly, says Post. It's also a place where imaging professionals can store their knowledge, search their knowledge, and share their inspirations, ideas and passion for the industry.

Launched twelve years ago on a MSN community, Post eventually switched to his

Oce is to CBS as Ikon is to RBS. True or not True

After 300 plus reads in a week, seems like Vince McHugh hit the nail on the head!  For those who have not read Vince's blog here's a snippet with a link and then don't pass up on the responses from our Print4Pay Hotel Members!  They are classic!

You gotta love the insight from Vince McHugh about Canon and OCE. He's dead on with the Ricoh/Ikon thing and dead on with the coming merge of Canon/Oce. Read and enjoy especially you Ricoh folks that have been slamming me for years, seems you're not the only dog on the block looking for a new fire hydrant! Vince....great stuff!!
Oce:CBS::Ikon:RBS Simple Math

In case your math skills are a little rusty the equation reads Oce is to CBS as Ikon is to RBS. True or not True. Here is my argument for True:

The carnage at Ricoh Business Solutions continues as the Ikon takeover of RBS moves into it’s final stages. Ikon’s management is firmly ensconced in upper and middle management of RBS. And guess who they are bringing along for the ride? All their Ikon friends. The loyal RBS employees are being squeezed out!

(Please feel free to skip the rant in red below. I will not feel offended if you do).

I need to digress here and say I long for the days when the company who BOUGHT

Weekend Copier & MFP Industry Threads

Thought I'd just take the time to share some of the interesting threads that have been posted on the Print4Pay Hotel forums in the recent week. If you're not familiar with the site, the Print4Pay Hotel forums designed for the Imaging (copiers, mfp, printers, mps) Professionals to seek information, gather knowledge and collaborate with Industry Peers in a secure setting.  To date we have over 2,300 registered members from all almost every country in the world.  Visit the Print4Pay Hotel and then click on the link for forum access (it's FREE).

Most Viewed Threads
Monocomponent vs. Dual Component
Comments on the Canon 1730/1740/1750 Models
Sharp MX-2310U/MX4111N
Western Digital Factory Under Water
Question for everyone..... with leasing are any of
Kodak & Possible Buyers?
Rumor has it.....
New Rep needs encouragement

Most Popular

Ricoh SP5200 Brochure
Top Color Production Systems?
Check this ^%$^ out!
Cloud Poll
HDD Wiping/Reformatting
Toner Save Software to Get MPS CPCs Down
Q. How does your company handle networking charges?

Request for Proposals

Purchase of one (1) unit Taskalfa Kyocera-Mita
Pennslyvania
New Mexico
South Carolina
STATEWIDE IT PROCUREMENT OFFICE (NC)

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=-

Weekend Copier & Multifunctional Print4Pay Hotel Notes 7/30/2011

My summer Collegiate Baseball season has ended, not a great year for the team record wise, however I'm always delighted being able to coach the game!

The end of July really, already!  It's been an ok year so far, I've already met my annual quota (our year ends in December), Presidents Club is in the bag and I'm going to try and focus on driving additional profit along with adding more potential accounts that have multiple units.  So, at least for now I'll be back to blogging on a regular basis!

So for all our Print4Pay Hotel Members and Members to be, here's some links of our latest and greatest threads. Check out the new beta portal here.

Recent Document Uploads:

"Pricing on th Street" for Xerox_Quote WC7755PC
"Pricing on the Street" for Lanier LDC 365C proposal
"Pricing on the Street" for IKON_Quote Ricoh MPc 6501
"Pricing on the Street" for Canon iR6075

There's many more, just the latest from today!

Leads, RFP's RFQ's:
Bid for 23 MFP's in Canada
Bid in Canada for two Print Production units
Request for Proposals for 2 Copiers in California
RFP for 3 Print Production Units in Richmond
Copier lead in New Hope, PA

Many more of these also!!!

Recent Interesting Threads from P4P'ers:
Rumor has it....(Xerox to Market MFP's through Global only?) 
Material Data Safety Calls to the Manufacturer

Cloud SAS (Software as a ServicePoll)
New Sharp End of lease HDD feature
Xerox marketing FREE 120PPM Copiers
List your favorite funny copier moments

MFP Cloud Threads:
UDOCX in hybrid environments
Print email from the cloud (Video)
Generic advantages and differences of UDOCX vs.in house installs

These are just some samples of the threads from this week alone!! The Print4Pay has over 2,300 world wide members that are dedicated Imaging Professionals. Take a trip here www.p4photel.com/eve (registration link, don't worry man, it's FREE) and become a part of the largest social group of Imaging Professionals in the work and the opportunity to discuss solutions, best practices, rumors, and make new friends in the industry (it's nice to have a secure forum that's not out there for the public, eh?)

-=Good Selling=-
Art Post
"One of the Top 40 Most Influential People in the Imaging Business"

Weekend MFP Print4Pay Hotel Industry Threads 8/1/10

Hello All!

What's in it for Me?

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 1,000 systems!

Looking for a Multifunctional Copier System?  Want to do business with the "Best of the Breed Solution Dealers and Reps", pay a visit here Print4Pay Cafe.

 We're still looking for coverage in core areas of the country, remember when you sign up for a Premium Membership you get FREE "core" leads!

Please support our Advertisers Polek & Polek, Lucas Distributing, Print Audit, Cybercon Services (Dealer Consulting Service), Ratio

Recent Blogs of Note
How managed print services (MPS) can add efficiency and streamline operations
Cloudy Horizons for Business Applications
A Managed Print Services Success Story
haha "You Wanted the Multifunctional Copier When?"
MFP Wars "Samsung Poised for MFP Blitzkrieg

Interesting P4P Forum Threads
The Savin or Lanier brand will go away on or around 3/31/11.
Ricoh A4 devices to hit market at the end of this year.
Rumor has it...(Over 3,000 page views)
Mark Pollack Joins Konica Minolta!

Most Viewed P4P Forum Threads
Whats Your Monthly Quota?
Ricoh Canada Inc. and IKON Office Solutions Inc. Officially Amalgamate as Ricoh
Yuba City schools will collate copy costs
Canon 3480i Question
MP4500 Serverless fax dilema!

New Leads, RFP's & RFQ's Uploaded!
Color Digital Copier Bid "Expires 8/20/10
Copy equipment for reprographic center.
48 month lease for (1) volume band 1B5 copier in Arkansas
48 Printer RFP in the South Expires 8/9/10
RFP for 11 copiers in Canada Expires 8/20/10
BID NOTICE THE LEHIGH COUNTY

Follow the links for FREE access to the Print4Pay Hotel Forums!

-=Good Selling=-

Who Makes the Best Multifunctional Copy Machine?

Since I started blogging about multifunctional copiers a few years ago, this question is at top of everyone’s list in the emails I receive.

Who Makes the Best Multifunctional Copy Machine?

To me it's not a question of who makes the best, the question that should be asked is "Who gives the best support?"

It's my general belief that most multifunctional copiers are equal when it comes to performance, quality, features and reliability. When leasing or buying a multifunctional copier you need to pay attention to the people that stand behind the piece of equipment. There's a saying in our industry, "that the lowest priced copier (equipment) is long forgotten after poor service", isn’t that the truth!

It's the people, the guy or gal next store, the cousin, the uncle or the friend. When you select good professional people even the worst machine ever manufactured could be the best system you ever purchased or leased.

How do you find these professionals?

Well there’re out there, and they’re usually not the companies that have the lowest price. Dealers and Direct Branches that excel have additional layers of support that are designed to support the customer at a moment’s notice, by either repairing the equipment right the first time, having a large inventory of parts and having experienced expert professionals to help with the complexity of these systems.

In essence when shopping for a multifunctional copier system, do yourself a few favors. Check out the people in the organization. Ask them how long they've been doing this and how long they've been with the company. If there is tenure, odds are the company that they work for are true professionals and experts with multifunctional systems.

Ok, so some of you may still be asking what's the best? I believe there are three tiers of manufacturers for multifunctional copiers. Here they are in the tiers.

Tier I: Canon (includes Oce), Ricoh (includes Savin and Lanier), Xerox and KonicaMinolta (all are equal in my eyes, it will come down what features work best for you)

Tier II: Kyocera, Toshiba, Sharp (market share is lower than the above group)

Tier III: Muratec, Samsung, Okidata, HP, Lexmark

Did I leave anyone out?

-=Good Selling=-

MFP Weekend Industry Notes 11-23-08

Special thanx to the person who complies this!

A copier dealer in Dallas launches a website to sell printers nationwide. David Gu, who founded Meridian Office Systems Inc. in 1994, announced the new portal www.printerdallas.com featuring:
Supplies for most brands of printers
Desktop machines from Okidata, Panasonic, Xerox & Muratec.

Kyocera launched three new desktop A4 color laser printers, the FS-5100DN, FS-5200DN and FS-5300DN featuring:
4 tandem amorphous silicon ceramic drum design
Does not offer 8 bits per pixel
Advertised as offering 9600dpi (actual is 600dpi)
Engine design is very similar to Xerox Phaser models (but apparently is not made by Fuji)
FS-5100DN offers 21ppm b/w or color w/533MHz for base MSRP of $899
FS-5200DN offers 21ppm b/w or color w/667MHz for base MSRP of $1399
FS-5300DN offers 26ppm b/w or color w/667MHz for base MSRP of $1699
Auto duplex
Polymerized toner technology
256MB RAM
Up to 4 paper sources for up to 2,150 sheets of paper capacity
Need option to be able to handle thick or glossy paper

Kyocera announced plans to acquire Triumph-Adler of Germany from Volkswagon AG for $133 million. Triumph-Adler, which got is start making and selling manual typewriters, will give Kyocera a number of factory direct copier selling locations in Europe.

According to research conducted by Bureau of Labor Statistics, here is projected status of print worker types in the U.S.:
Graphic Designers = 286,424, up 9.8%
Desktop Publishers = 32,137 up 1%
Bookbinders – 5,995, down 16.9%
Bindery Workers = 50,697, down 21.8%
Job Printers = 43,749, down 9.3%
PrePress Technicians = 55,959, down 21.1%
Printing Machine Operators = 186,337, down 5.7%
SUMMARY = Not enough young people going to school to become print shop workers

Zoran Corp. of Sunnyvale, CA, which normally gets its revenue from making generic print controllers, announced it is now offering components for digital flat screen TV’s. (for instance Sharp has used Zoran to make its generic print controllers)

A Sharp copier dealer, New Smart Office Automation, announced it will host a quiz show at a local auditorium and give a new Sharp MFP as the grand prize. The quiz topics will be about information technology, printing, and document solutions.

Lanier, a division of Ricoh, announced that its largest dealer in the U.S. is TGI Office Automation of Brooklyn, New York. TGI employs 300 people in branches in New York, New Jersey and Florida. Owner is Frank Grasso.

Rosetta Technologies of Tampa, FL announced it will sell a modified version of a 50ppm Ricoh b/w laser printer so that it will use MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) toner for check printing. It will be called SP 8200DN MICR.

Ricoh announced it has hired former EFI executive, Kathy Wilson, to run its operations in Australia.

Ricoh announced it won a bid with City of Camden, NJ that bundled in docSTAR document management software with its MFPs.

Once Ricoh completed its acquisition of IKON, it supposedly sent folks to IKON’s headquarters in Malvern, PA and removed every piece of equipment inside that did not carry the Ricoh badge.

Ricoh announced it will spend $3 million to install a billboard in Time Square, New York City, that uses wind and solar to power the lighting.

The City of Salem, MA awarded a copier bid to Ricoh. A Ricoh Aficio 6000MP copier was chosen for $227 per month on a 48 month lease. Service/supplies are an additional $87 per month.

After Ricoh bought the printer division (InfoPrint) of IBM, which is headquartered in Boulder, CO, it has begun moving executives from Japan to run the company. Katsuya Ochiai is now the VP of Strategy & Business Development. The existing 550 employees in Boulder will be joined by three other executives who are moving from Japan.

Street pricing seen in the print for pay market:
Xerox 700 Digital Color Press w/Creo/Booklet-maker/fold-unit/LCT for $72,400. Color clicks @ $0.049 and b/w clicks @ $0.0129. 11”x17” billed as one click.
Xerox DocuColor 252/embedded Fiery/LCT for $31,100. Color clicks @ $0.049 and b/w clicks @ $0.0129. 11”x17” billed as one click.
Canon imageRUNNER C5185 w/Fiery/RADF/booklet-maker for $20,300. Color clicks @ $0.055 and b/w clicks @ $0.01. 11”x17” billed as one click.
Xerox 4112 w/Fiery/booklet-maker for $39,400 with b/w clicks @ $0.005 up to 200K/month, with overages @ $0.0039. 11”x17” billed as one click.

Toshiba announced that it now has available connectors for its MFPs for Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint.

A three decade ban on nuclear technology in country of India has ended, and Toshiba announced it will send nuclear engineers to the country to develop relations.

JBM Office Systems, a Toshiba dealer in Ontario, Canada, announced it will hold a “Printer Cost Reduction” conference at its office.

Canon announced that it will move is desktop inkjet printer manufacturing to Thailand in 2010 from Japan to cut costs.

Possibly due to the loss of IKON’s business, Canon announced that it has halted construction of a toner plant in western Japan, that would have cost $1 billion. A company spokesperson said it hoped to start construction of the plant perhaps in late 2009 if business improves.

Canon announced it sold an imagePRESS C7000VP production color system to Printing & Publications of Langhorne, PA.

Konica Minolta’s Planetarium division announced it has sold a GEMINISTAR system to the Gwasheon National Science Museum in Korea. Audiences will now be able to enjoy a real star-field with dome imaging.

Konica Minolta announced it is developing a portable projector that is only 1.6” long, .79” wide, and only 3” thick, roughly the size of a thumbdrive. It will show 20” wide images from 24” away from a screen or wall.

Police in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, are on the lookout for someone passing color copier-made fake $20 bills at local taverns.

Xerox installed six 25,000 gallon tanks as it works to complete a new polymerization toner plant in Webster, New York.

IBM won a bid from the State of Georgia for information technology. The 8 year contract is worth $873 million, and includes IBM sourcing computers from Dell and copiers from Xerox.

Xerox announced it will partner with a software company in India to expand managed print services. HCL, run by Vineet Nayar, will “open new opportunities for Xerox in the high-growth market while bringing sustainable business benefits to more customers worldwide”

When competing against Xerox, remember that if customer chooses NOT to use the preferred Xerox Leasing, the Xerox sales rep will normally charge a higher cost per copy service rate.

Xerox announced new paper products for production color laser systems:
Everflat paper, allows pages in an open book to lay completely flat, rather than bowing or arcing up towards the spine. Available in 80lb. cover weight. Actually made by Fuji Film of Japan.
PhotoPix, a pre-cut tabloid sheet, that pulls apart to yield one 8”x10”, one 5”x7” and 4 wallet size photos.
SportsPix, a letter-sized sheets that is precut to yield trading cards when pulled apart
FunFlip, a letter-size pre-cut sheet , that folds into a 3”x3” cube.
AccordianPix, a letter-size pre-cut sheet that folds into a free-standing panorama of eight images.

According to an article in ProPrint magazine, interesting info on the new Xerox 700 Digital Color Press:
That it is based on the same Fuji-made engine in the DocuColor 260 (also 242 and 252 models)
Sheet to sheet and front to back registration during auto duplex improved from 3mm (in 260) to 1mm
Improved laser assembly to provide more accurate laser dot placement
Runs at 70ppm for uncoated stocks up to 176gsm stocks, slows to 51ppm for 177-256gsm and slows to 35ppm for 300gsm stocks
Coated stocks of 106-176gsm run at 51ppm and 35ppm for heavier than 177gsm
Meant for 20K/month to 75K/month
Decurler added which makes unit 150mm longer than 242/252/260 engine

Hewlett Packard announced it has now placed 130 each of the Indigo 7000 production color systems worldwide which runs at a top speed of 120ppm.

Troy Group Inc. announced it will make a version of the Hewlett Packard LaserJet 3035 MFP that will use MICR toner, and call it the Troy 3035.

Hewlett Packard announced it will resell Readsoft accounts payable software as an option for its printers and MFPs.

The most popular magazine covering the computer industry, PC Magazine, announced it will cease printing the publication. The magazine, which started in 1982, will now only be available on-line.

XMPie, maker of popular high end variable data software, will conduct a video demonstration during the Print World 2008 show in Toronto on 11/22-24/08.

Smart Papers announced a new high gloss stock for production color laser systems. The new KromeKote True-Photo papers, use 30% recycled product, and are available in both 10point and 12point, 12”x18” sheets.

Dell launched new desktop color models:
New series of inkjet printers that are made by Kodak. Previously, all Dell models were sourced from Lexmark.
New color laser models include:
1320C offering A4 color speed of 12ppm for $299
1230C offering A4 color speed of 4ppm for $229
2130CN offers A4 color speed of 16ppm for $349
2135cn MFP offers copy/print/scan/fax and A4 color speed of 12ppm for $549
3130CN offer A4 color speed of 26ppm for $549
3115CN MFP offers A4 copy/print/scan/fax and color speed of 17ppm for $899
5110CN offers A4 color speed of 35ppm for $1349
Extended warranties do NOT includes supplies

Common electronic document search methods:
Boolean – in this type of search, words are placed in between the words to be searched, for example, if you search for “Black and White”, it will find documents with both words.
Fuzzy – retrieves pages that have the word searched both on its own or part of another word, for example, searching for “Key” will yield both “Key” and “Keystone”
Wildcard – allows you to use an asterisk in place of a word or phrase
Relational – finds the words and words that relate to the original search term
Context – can link like subjects based on context of the document

Buyers Labs Inc. gave its pick of the year award in the scanner category to:
Epson GT-1500
Fujitsu fi-6130
Fujitsu fi-6230
Visioneer 480
Fujitsu fi-6670
Fujitsu fi-6770
Panasonic KV-S4085CW/CL

Kodak filed a lawsuit against Samsung and LG over their cell phones. The company claims that they are infringing on Kodak patents through the use of the built-in cameras in their new cell phone models.

According to a report released by Nemertes Research, user demand for the internet will exceed its network capacity in 2 to 4 years. It predicts internet brownouts by 2012.

Okidata announced it will expand its plant in Dalian, China and move production there from Japan.

Lexmark announced that some of its sales and marketing staff will be let go at the end of the calendar year to cut costs.

Ricoh, IKON, RBS & Ricoh Dealers

Here's a what if scenario for everyone. With Ricohs acquisition of Ikon, I can see them more as a top tier distributor for Ricoh. Which means that they get all products PPBG (high end) and all the rest. I would tend to think that they will stay in the same market Fortune 1-1000. Ricoh Americas Corp aka Ricoh Business Systems may concentrate locally for Schools, Municipalities, State Agencies and Top 100 Accounts in their respective territories.

I also believe that larger Ricoh Dealers who are maintaining quota and above will stay on as Ricoh Dealers with some being offered PPBG. Ricoh Dealers that are not maintaining quota may be asked to take on Savin and Lanier brands instead of Ricoh. Those dealers would not be offered a shot at the PPBG machines and would have to concentrate on their own SMB market place.

If this was a strategy and believe me I have do idea what's going to come down the road. But, what if this panned out to be true. The Ricoh brand would be a top tier brand just being marketed by IKON, RBS and Mega Ricoh Dealers. Smaller dealers would compete for local SMB with Savin and Lanier. IKON, RBS and Mega Ricoh Dealers would be on the same playing field, while Savin and Lanier Dealers would also not have to compete against Ricoh in the local SMB market place.

Too me, the road the manufacturers are traveling down is a scary one. If Canon starts thier purchasing of Dealers (stated in a press release), they will obviously go after the top tier dealers in every major market. Canon needs to regain market share!

Where does that leave me, or other sales guys like me, we will be doomed to work for a manufacturer or will there still be some decent independents left in the next go around of purchases?????

-=Good Selling=-

Checking In & Out at The Print 4 Pay Hotel

This was an article written by Scott Cullen back in 2004, I have update some of the numbers such as total members, membership demographics and a few others to keep it current. (Art)

01/09/2004 By: Scott Cullen

When one checks into the Print4Pay Hotel it’s the guests who receive tips, not the staff. The Print4Pay Hotel: The Imaging Professional's Resource Center is a Website (www.p4photel.org) and message board focused on providing extensive imaging product information to resellers as well as a forum for imaging industry personnel to share knowledge. Although most members work for different dealerships, virtually all sell and service the Ricoh, Lanier, Savin, Sharp, Canon, KonicaMinolta, and Kyocera family of machines.

The site also contains an impressive collection of documents and brochures on various manufacturers office equipment. Art Post, CEO of the Print4Pay Hotel and Docusultant with Century Office Products in Middlesex, NJ, is the architect behind the Print4Pay Hotel. The site allows digital imaging specialists to share information and find answers quickly, says Post. It's also a place where imaging professionals can store their knowledge, search their knowledge, and share their inspirations, ideas and passion for the industry.

Launched seven years ago on a Yahoo! community, Post eventually switched to an MSN community to take advantage of additional features, such as additional memory which allowed him to include product brochures and photos that could be downloaded for proposals. Post notes that the purpose of the site isn’t to show how smart its members are and encourages visitors not to be afraid to ask questions. I think it's the real skinny about what the products can and can't do, says Post, plus the ability to get information quickly. Too often we call a product manager or district sales manager and don't get a call back in a timely manner, and then when we get the call, they say they'll get back to you if they don't know the answer. This could take a few more days. Adds Post, The reason we're asking the question is because the customer or the potential customer asked the question and these days you must be on top of your knowledge because if you aren't someone else is, and that someone else may get the sale or the heads up in the knowledge area. I've stated many times on the P4PHotel that with more than sixty pieces of hardware and 30 pieces of software, none of us are experts. However, we all have a certain expertise in different markets or different hardware and software. The Hotel allows us to share our information and then we as a group are more knowledgeable in all of these markets along with hardware and software.

The inspiration for the site came from a message board on Ricoh's sales/support extranet site. I thought I could do a better job and unite Ricoh, Savin and Lanier salespeople so that everyone could share information and knowledge within minutes, notes Post. Post subscribes to the notion that the days of selling boxes is over and that dealers must focus on selling solutions. In order to do this, not only are we required to know our own products but we must also know our competitor's products almost as well as our own, maintains Post. While we are doing this, we still must prospect, consult, evaluate, listen and then close the sale.

Since opening its doors in 2001, the hotel has grown to over 2,000 registered members and averages over 1,000 page views a day. Members aren’t limited to the U.S., the site has members from around the globe, including more than 116 different countries.It's not easy managing an Internet site, especially one that requires a constant flow of information and exchange of ideas. When asked what the biggest challenge of this Internet enterprise is, Post replies, The constant dedication to post new information, answer questions and grow membership. Post spends at least two hours per day on the site.

As with any discussion board, there are a number of topics of interest that seem to resonate more with members than others. Although Manufacturers do not sanction the site, Post reports that some of his contacts have told him that what he is doing is great and needed in the industry. That said, Post is aware of some sales manager's who are uncomfortable with what he's doing. I guess we have united Copier Salespeople across the country and now good and bad news travels quickly, opines Post. So, if a product bombs or a if a product is exceptional we get the word out to our members immediately.

Post believes the site has been a boon to his and other member's sales efforts even if there is some uncertainty from the manufacturer side. We know we're kicking butt with our products and all of our members are busy selling, maintains Post. All we're about is sharing information, sharing knowledge and sharing product information to support ourselves and our families.

Copier Questions Forum Launched!

The p4photel has just released a beta version for Copier Questions Message Board Forum. The Copier Questions Forum is designed to give end users the ability to ask our Docusultants questions that pertain to copiers and office equipment.

The Copier Questions Forum is the first forum dedicated to end users where they can have their questions answered from our p4photel members. Members will be able to monitor the boards and assist end users with tips, provide answers and even provide consulting advise to those looking to purchase a new system or evaluate their current cost and document workflow.

Registration is free, and like other p4photel forums there is no cost to become a member. Please take the time to visit, and ask questions. We will be adding additional features to the Copier Questions Forum in the upcoming months.

The p4photel also manages industry message boards for copier sales people, copier technicians and customer service representatives for Dealers and Manufacturers. Manufacturers boards now include Ricoh Family Group (Ricoh, Savin, Lanier), Kyocera Mita, KonicaMinolta, Canon & Xerox.