Ricoh MP C300HW and MP C300HT Spec Review

On April 17th Ricoh added two additional MFP's that are specifically designed for the Healthcare Industry.  Loyal readers may remember that a few years ago I mentioned that the next "Big Thing" is that manufacturers would start designing and introducing vertical market imaging systems. It seems Ricoh is practicing what I preached at least for the Healthcare Industry.

Both of these systems are similar to Ricoh's MPC300 (Color) MFP system that was launched a little over two years ago.  The major difference between the MPC 300HW and the MPC 300HT is that the "HW" model will be able to print patient wristbands (from the paper tray) from electronic medical records.  It's my understanding that this feature will enable users to eliminate expensive single purpose thermal printers.  Both the HW and the HT model are both equipped with Teflon Coating paper trays which can assist in minimizing paper misfeeds and the ability to print on wristband stock

What we'll do is go over a few of the specs for these new devices:

Top 5 Picks from BTA Winter Break "Muratec MFX-3530 Reveal"

With the Northeast be crippled with a snowstorm, I was able to stay in sunny Orlando for an additional day after the BTA Winter Break.

This weekend Office Equipment Dealers flocked to the BTA Winter Break in Orlando for a two day event.  I'd like to thank BTA Southeast for the awesome event they produced. 

At every event I look for a new product or a new software or a service that will spark my interest.  One of these products is the new Muratec MFX-3530 A4 MFP. 

The new MFX-3530 is the flagship of Muratec's A4 MFP devices.  But instead of just writing down the specs of this new MFP, I'd like to point out some of the features that make the MFX-3530 your go to device when competing against other MFP's from the likes of Xerox, Canon, Sharp, Toshiba and Kyocera.

First on my list is the importance of PCL5 printer driver.  It was not until about a year ago that I realized how important it is to have the PCL5 print driver. This is going to be plain and simple,  if your MFP supports PCL5 then you have the ability to add third party solutions like Typehaus, which will give you the ability to create electronic forms.  Some of the other A4 competitors do not offer a pcl5 driver for their systems.

Second on my list is the scanning speed of the Muratec MFX-3530, 40 pages per minute at 300dpi in color.  Many of the other competitors A4 devices state their scan speeds at 200 dpi.  Since scanning is playing an important role in the office now. I will state the scan speed of the system before ever mentioning the print speed.

Third is the 80 pages DADF document feeder that will scan two sided documents in a single pass.  Prospects like this feature because they are always wary of their originals getting jammed or destroyed.

The four item I'd like to point out is ScanTag which allows users to

Muratec MFX-2590 Spec Review "Gotta Get Me One of These"

This will be somewhat of a cut and paste from a previous blog I did labeled "The Hottest Little MFP from Texas".  A few weeks ago I attended the BTA East Grand Slam event in White Plains, NY.  I recommend dealers and sales people find a way to get to these events in your area, they are awesome, plus you get to win stuff. Dang, I even won stuff!

Muratec America showed the MFX-2590, to tell you the truth it's been some time since I got hyped about an A4 MFP (by the way maybe we can change the MFP to MFC since it is a Multifunctional Copier), but the MFX-2590 had some of the features that I've been asking for, it's like Muratec America must have been reading my mind or probably just reading the MFP Solutions blog.

In the previous blog, I spoke about the over sized large color screen, scan2print, scantag, and the single pass dual scan document feeder.  Yup, I was impressed.  But there are many other features that I didn't blog about. So with out further ado, I'd like to go through some of these for everyone.

 

Printing Highlights:

• Standard Duplex Print (two sided printing), with the average cost of a sheet of paper now approaching a penny a sheet, two sided printing can cut your paper costs by up to 50%.
• Secure Print will hold the document in the MFX-2590's memory and allows you to go the device and enter a pin code to release your document, will keep prying eyes away from our P & L's
• Print documents that are stored on a USB drive, this is a great feature to have. Think about this, a salesperson comes into your office, and needs to print a presentation or a document, are you really going to let them on your network?  The USB drive allows for visitors to print from their USB drive without logging on to your network.
• Optional bar code printing, years ago in order to print bar codes you needed to invest in dedicated printing hardware.  Look around you'll see bar codes all over from hospitals, mail rooms, grocery stores and manufacturing plants. The need to print bar codes is an essential need in most companies.
• Copy and Print on Demand, the MFX-2590 allows you to copy or print documents to the MFX-2590's hard drive. Once on the drive you have a digital library of those much needed documents. No more scouring the PC or the filing cabinet to find those docs, leave them on the MFX-2590 for easy access.  This feature will also lower your print costs due to the fact that when a document is printed from the PC/Workstation it is usually printed to a local printer. These local (network) printers have a high cost per page, thus printing then from MFX-2590 will lower costs!

Scanning Highlights:

Ricoh New Healthcare "Niche" MFP & Printer

A few weeks ago, one of our manufacturers reps came to our office was telling us about a new series of printers (at least that's what I thought) that were being marketed specifically for the health care industry. I had mentioned in previous blogs that I thought the industry would have more success if printers or MFP's were designed to capture certain vertical markets with features and media that was specific to to that vertical market.  Look at me, I'm now a soothsayer!

All kidding aside what Ricoh did was to give a new product designation to a few existing printers and MFP's and then marry them with some additional unique features and media capabilities.

The new Ricoh SP5210DNHW and SP5210DNHT are two of these new "health care" laser printers.  The speed is 52 pages per minute and is similar to the SP5210DN series. If you'd like to download the new health care brochure go here.

These "health care" printers include these features:

• Traylock
• Wristband printing (only SP5210DNHW)
• Portable Print Configuration
• Teflon Coating
• Locked Print
• DataOverwriteSecurity System
• Hard Disk Drive Encryption

In addition Ricoh is also is also introducing a health care version of the Ricoh SP C431DN which will be relabeled as the SP C431DNHW and also the SP C431DNHT.  The SP C431DNHT does not have the capability for the traylock and wristband features, however the SP C431DNHW can accommodate the wristband printing but no traylock feature.  My head is already spinning!  I can't keep track of these model numbers! 

One of the claim to fame features is Traylocking, Ricoh mentions in the brochure that paper trays can be locked.  Thus the health care provider can secure wristband stock, prescription paper or other expensive or sensitive media.  This is enabled by a key lock system on the paper tray.  I can only think of how many calls we'll get for lost keys, maybe a four digit pin would have been a better fit.  The four digit pint could have been saved in the admin section of Web Image Monitor.

The second unique feature is the ability for the printer to print onto "narrow media" such as identification wristbands, this media would be loaded in one of the locking paper trays.  Ricoh incorporates an innovative Teflon-coating for the paper trays that enables the trays to easily accept specialty papers and minimize misfeeds.

The third difference is the Portable Print Configuration, this is accomplished with an SD card that his populated with printer system settings that allows user to transfer print settings from one machine to another.  This is a nice feature and I could use this many times over when configuring printers in the field.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to help a customer program media, paper trays, and other settings and then they need the same settings on all of their print devices.

Yet another feature would be the locked print feature, locked print means that the user has to authenticate to the printer to release the print job.  In conjunction with the locked print feature Ricoh also offers an Hard Drive Encryption Option, which enables encryption for documents, address books, data, and passwords. Users also have the standard DiskOverwriteSecurity System to protect confidential information as to where the hard drive will overwrite latent digital images on the drive.

Dang, I really did want this to be this long, it's taking up my nap time today! 

Ricoh also offers four MFP health care solution systems, borrowing from the SP5200 ad the SP5210 series Ricoh now offers the SP5200SHW and the SP5200SHT (SHT?), both of these devices print and copy at 47 pages per minute and they offer the same configuration of the printer version.  Ricoh then offers two 52 page per minute devices designated with SP5200SFHW and the SP5210SFHT.

You can go here and download the brochure for the specifics on the MFP's as to what features they have an don't have.

In closing, I think we'll see more niche type offerings from the manufacturers as our industry continues to change.

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh New MP6002, 7502, 9002 "Print Features Reveal"

Last week I posted Ricoh MP6002, 7502, 9002 series "Scanner Reveal" , this week we're going to cover some of the exciting new print features for the Ricoh MP 6002SP, 7502SP and the MP9002SP, keep in mind that these light production systems can also be purchased with out the network print and scan. 

Tip:  If you really want to know what a system can and can't do, go to the manufacturers web site and download a copy of the operators manual.  I've won a few deals because I pointed or specific advantages that I had over another product, showing the end user prints/copies from the manufacturers owners manual will provide proof that you are speaking without forked tongue.

Here's a few hardware print specs for review:

• 250GB Hard Drive
• Integrated USB 2.0 Type A port and SD card slot
• System Memory = 1.5GB
• Print Controller = Celeron M @ 1 Ghz
• PDF Direct Kit
• Print from USB & SD card slot
• Up to 1200x1200 dpi
• Optional Adobe PSIII Genuine
• Optional Parallel, Gigabit, Wireless LAN and Bluetooth
• Optional Genuine IPDS
• FPOT (First Print Out) MP6002SP = 3.9 seconds, MP7502SP = 3.2 seconds, MP9002SP = 2.9 seconds
• USB 2.0 Type B High Speed
• USB 2.0 Type A High Speed (used to connect external devices such as card reader, keyboard or Bluetooth
• Standard HDD Encryption  & DOSS

What I like:

Ricoh MP 301SPF Review

Whoa! Ricoh may have finally almost gotten it right with the new MP 301SPF system!

Kudos for bring this A4 31 page per minute system to market; with an MSRP of only $2,960  (or $2.00 a day for a lease) you get a lot of bang for the buck!  Network Color Scan, Network Print, Network Fax, Walk up Fax, and Copy all in a neat footprint that covers a space of 19.0 x17.7x18.1 (WXDXH). 

However the REALLY BIG NEWS is that the new MP 301SPF which will scan color, print, copy and fax in black follows the A3 (systems that print 11x17) cost per page model for toner!!!  Get this; the cost per page for black toner based on MSRP is only .0041! Nice, very nice indeed!!

It’s my understanding that the MP 301SPF will be the replacement for the MP201SPF. I hate to see the MP 201SPF go, however I believe the MP301SPF is an excellent replacement choice.

Basically, there’s a lot that I like about this system and I’m exciting to have this in our product line.  There’s so much that I like I just can’t fit them all in this blog.  The likes far outweigh the dislikes!

What I Don’t Like:

Retraction, it just came to my attention that the system will be capable of scanning mixed sized originals, even I make mistakes, the 52 page manual only has one small line stating that the system will accept mixed sizes for letter and legal. The document feeder in the brochure seems to be the same that was used for the MPC 305 which did not have the ability to scan mixed sized document, special thanx to Grandma T for pointing this out to me! BTW, I also went through the 207 page operator manual and there was no mention of mized size scanning or copying.

User Interface Screen:  What’s with the 4.3” inch color LCD?  Color LCD screens are cheap!  Why skimp on something that is used every day,  when it comes to LCD screens BIGGER is always better

Wireless Card (option):  Ricoh, have you all gone mad?  The MSRP for the wireless card is $593?? Why even offer one for that type of price?  Best bet is to pick up a wireless router with an Ethernet port and direct connect to the MP 301SPF and it will cost you $80 or so.

What I like:

Batch Scan: Nice feature for a value system, batch scanning allows you to scan the more than 50 originals into a single file.  You’ll select the batch scan feature before you scan and when the document feeder empties you just add the additional pages.

ARDF (automatic reversing document feeder), enables users to automatically scan two sided originals, nice and it was much needed with the A4’s.

Scan Speed:  For the price, 31 pages per minute black @ 300dpi and 21 pages per minute @ 300DPI for full color.  Nice that Ricoh is now quoting scan speeds at 300 dpi and not 200 dpi.

Document Server:  The Document Server is a feature I’ve been talking up for years, the MP 301SPF can store up to 3,000 pages and can really reduce costs if used properly in the office.  I instruct users to put their most popular forms, or information on the document server.  This eliminates the time to find the file and print to the local printer and also reduces cost because you would print to the MPC305 instead of the higher cost local printer.  Plus, if people are constantly asking you to re-print documents (which decrease your productivity), you can point them to Document Server and have them print the documents themselves.

Scheduled Print:  Set the time to print and away you go, excellent feature for workgroups!

Auto Job Promotion:  It’s about time!!  I love this feature; too many times in the office I’ll send a document that is a mismatch meaning the paper orientation maybe the wrong way or I selected the wrong paper size and or the wrong media. If I did not go to the system to clear the print job, no one else could print.  The Auto Job Promotion allows the print job error to be parked and allows others to print!  Nice.

Scan2PDF/A: Is a file format and ISO Standard for long-term archiving of documents.

Access2Cloud:  The browser card is an option and is needed to connect to cloud solutions, it’s only $170 but well worth the cost especially for scanning to MS 365 with UDOCX!

Scan2folder, scan2email, scan2cloud, scan2documentserver plus you can also set up scan2dropbox (you can do this on your own and is not a Ricoh solution)

What Should Have Been Added:

·    Document Feeder that can sense mixed sizes of originals, thus you could put letter and legal documents in the feeder, scan them to a folder and when you open the document you have both letter and legal size scanned pages.

·      Larger Color LCD Screen

·     Wireless Card as a Standard feature,  go figure I can buy a wireless printer from staples or Office Max for $200$300 or so and they have standard wireless print, why oh why does the wireless card for the MP 301SPF cost almost $600!!

·     Browser Card as a Standard feature.

Tips:

·        You’ll need to add the HDD (hard disk drive) in order to have Internet fax, LAN Fax, IP fax and Forwarding to email.

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh MPC4502 Series MFP Review

It's been a long time since Ricoh launched a new generation of A3 Color Multifunction Devices (MFP's), I thinking 4 years or so.  A short time ago Ricoh launched their new iStyle design,  the series consists of the MPC 3002 (32 color pages per minute, the MPC3502 (35 color pages per minute)  and then the 4002 (42 color pages per minute) and the MPC 4502 (45 color pages per minute).

Today, I'm going to focus on what's cool and different from the previous color A3 models. 

BTW, I'm lovin the new features, the new colors and the ease of use with this system!

100 Sheet Single Pass Duplex Scanning Document Feeder:  Only available on the "A" series, this document feeder will scan both side of a duplex (two sided) original of up to 116 images per minute in color and black documents. What's equally as impressive is the simplex (single sided) original of 85 images per minute for color and black documents. Awesome for heavy scanning applications for the mortgage, title, law and health care!


iStyle GUI:  What would you like to do first?  The new slick iStyle GUI (Graphical User Interface), is icon driven with presets for copy, scan, print, fax, document server (did you know that you can store documents on the hard drive in a post-ripped state and re-print them at any time? Even better you can populate the hard drive with those popular documents like forms, mailers, and brochures, thus saving your self incredible amounts of time locating the docs or printing them for other people in your company, to boot your driving prints to the lower cost MFP instead of the higher cost color printer), and the ability to add short cuts to programs (embedded solutions) and web pages!  So, if you've been holding back on the UDOCX Cloud solution, wait no longer, we can now process documents to the cloud! 

Scheduled Print: What's been the problem with hold print, locked print etc.., most people don't want to walk to the MFP and wait for the documents to print.  Let's face it the longer I spend at the MFP the longer I have to process additional work or even dare I say take a break!  Scheduled Print allows you to select the time for the MFP to print your documents, thus no waiting at the system, just make sure you synchronize your time with the internal MFP clock.  Really,  since most manufacturers did away with the manual mail box tray (that means the printer of copier had additional bins that could be programmed for each user), this is an awesome feature that promotes enchanced productivity!

Ricoh's New SP5200SR Copier MFP Review

Whoa!  It's been four days since I posted a blog, just goes to show you what the end of the month, the end of the quarter and the end of the year can do to you when you're still selling!

I'd like to put my thoughts down about the new Ricoh S5200SR series, pretty much what I like, what I don't like and some of the unknowns that I see about the new product.

Over the last 3 or 4 years I've been a big fan of A4 Copier/MFP devices. For years I couldn't fathom why major manufacturers like Xerox, Ricoh, Canon and KonicaMinolta (The Big 4) were not developing their own A4 strategy. I'm thinking the proliferation of MPS (Managed Print Service) in recent years changed the mind set of the Big 4 to enter the A4 MFP marketplace with their own home grown devices.

Ricoh SP5200 series

One of the most confusing aspects of this series is the model number, there is a laser printer version and an MFP version.  The model numbers for the laser printers are SP5200DN and SP5210DN. The SP5200DN prints at up to 47 pages per minute and the SP5210DN prints at up to 52 pages per minute.  D represents Duplex, white the N represent Network .

Here's where it gets confusing, in the MFP series we have an SP5200S, SP5210SF, and the SP5210SR.

The SP5200S prints and copies at up to 47 pages per minute and out of the box offers print/copy/color scan/store. While the SP5210SF offers out of the box configurations with print/copy/color scan/store/fax and an inner one bin tray (for fax receptions), and has a print speed of up to 52 pages per minute. 

The flagship of the series is the SP5210SR offers the same out of box configuration as the SP5210SF except that the fax is an option and the 1 bin tray is replaced with an internal 50 sheet stapler (50 pages for letter and 30 pages for legal). What ever happened to keeping it simple. When talking about the systems it's crucial to make sure  that you know the difference between the DN, S, SF & SR versions of the device.

For time being I'm gonna put the laser printers on the back burner and from here on I'll be writing about the MFP version in general.

5 Reasons Not to Buy a Refurbished Plotter from the Internet!

My Momma did NOT raise a fool! Today one of my clients asked to quote on a 42 inch plotter. As always, I whipped up a competitive quote for one of our Epson’s and emailed it over to them. After a follow up call I found out that they are going to buy a refurbished HP from some jackhammer web site that is offering the 42 inch plotter for around $2,700. I also found that this plotter was intro’d in 2009 and is possible two years old already. So, here are 5 compelling reasons to stay away from a refurbished product.

1) If you’re not buying directly from the manufacturer, I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that the system is not refurbished but it’s been USED and ABUSED.

2) It’s refurbished why? Because it did not work out of the box (it was a DEFECT), and pray tell who refurbished the product, was it someone with a good six months experience with plotters. You’ll never know until you get another repair bill.

3) Will the web reseller of the product put someone on site to make a repair if the plotter arrives and it’s still broken? If they don’t who will you call, someone you’ve never done business with before.

4) Support: You’ve got the plotter, you set it up, and you have questions about the operation or the print driver. You call the manufacturer and they tell you the system is out of warranty and if you need phone support you gotta pay!!

5) The print driver disks, and the manual are missing, along with that you did not comprehend the specs right and you find out that the stand is optional along with the network card and additional memory. The cost is not longer $2,700 plus now you’re losing productivity because you need to order the additional items, wait for them to arrive and then install them.

When I first got into the copier business, one of the best quotes I ever heard was “The thought of a cheap price is long forgotten after poor service”. In this case the poor service would be all of the above.

-=Good Selling=-

HP LaserJet Pro CM1415 Color "What's the Total Cost of Operation"

31 years of selling laser printers to commercial accounts, well...I've pretty much seen and heard it all. Over those years I've had many clients who did not purchase a laser printer from me, because they thought my printer was too expensive!

What peeves me the most is when I'm trying to communicate (help) the cost per page of a device or the total cost of ownership of the device. Many accounts will opt for the small inexpensive printers where the manufacturer states "with a maximum duty cycle of 30,000 pages per month" (Duty cycle: the maximum possible number of pages that can be printed per month) I ask you, what the heck does Duty Cycle really mean? Does it mean, I can print 40,000 pages each and every month on this device that only cost me $449 for the printer? I'll give credit when credit is due, HP actual states a recommended print volume for the HP LaserJet Pro CM1415 Color which reads "HP recommends that the number of printed pages per month be within the stated range for optimum device performance, based on factors including supplies replacement intervals and device life over an extended warranty period."  The recommended range is 300 to 1,500 pages per month, however there is no reference made to them all 1,500 pages can be color. Most systems have some type of limit as to how mamy color pages can be produced each month.

I was just nice to HP and now I'm gonna slam em, is there really any need for this?  Monthly duty cycle

Up to 30,000 pages, and they back this up with this explanation! "Duty cycle is defined as the maximum number of pages per month of imaged output. This value provides a comparison of product robustness in relation to other HP LaserJet or HP Color LaserJet devices, and enables appropriate deployment of printers and MFPs to satisfy the demands of connected individuals or groups." I've been doing this for 31 years and can't figure out what they mean except for the fact is that you're telling me I can do up to 30,000 pages a month.

Let me show you what happens if you would print 30,000 pages per month on the HP LaserJet Pro CM1415 Color.

I have this neat software package that can actually give the cost per page of most printers and multifunctional products and why shouldn't I. I'm the darn expert. Some software programs may vary in the price per page.

So, this really cool HP LaserJet Pro CM1415 Colorsells for $449. It  has a neat print speed of 8 pages per minute for color and 12 pages per minute for black. The black toner cartridge cost for this device is $69.67 with a yield of 2,000 pages. Mind you that the 2,000 page yield is based on probably 5% coverage of the page. There are three color cartridges, Cyan, and Magenta are $61.00.63 each and Yellow is $66.28 each. The estimated yield for the color cartridges is 1,300 pages based on 20% coverage.

Now, you may ask what is 20% color coverage of the page, pretty much if you condensed all of the color print area to one area, it means it can't cover more than 20% of the page. Take a trip here to see color page coverage examples

Back to the color cost per page (we're just gonna focus on the color cost per page), divide the cost of all four cartridges by the yield, and then add em up and you have a color cost per page of .1798. Ok, I gonna print me my  maximum volume of 30,000 color pages (remember there's no statement on if they can all be color), so, how much is that gonna cost me? It's gonna cost you $5,394 each and every month, and if you maintain that volume for 36 months, you'll be out a whopping $194,184! WHOA, NOW THAT'S A REALLY BIG NUMBER! Plus it's about $90,000 cheaper than the Xerox Phaser 6125!

How about if you print all your docs with 40% coverage (go back to the page coverage link for an example). Get a load of this number, simple math it's twice the cost. $388,476 for the total cost of operation and that's about .36 cents per page.

Just for giggles the cost at 100% coverage the Total Cost of Operation runs up to $971,028 and a cost per page for just under ONE DOLLAR. Believe it or NOT!  When compared to the Xerox Phaser 6125 the HP device will save you a cool $500,000 (enough for a nice yatch).

Hey, I understand that most users don't print all their pages at 40%, and I understand (because I'm in the business) that this printer will might choke a few times before it prints 40,000 pages in one month, however how does the end user know this? Most of the disclaimers are vague (I appluad HP for at least posted a recommended volume), well maybe it can do 40,000 pages per month, but at 18 pages per minute that would take almost 66 hours to complete. Point is there should be some type of real measuring stick for these types of devices. Like there's no way on Earth that this system will print 30,000 color pages per month every month.

In closing, if you're thinking about doing on 30,000 color pages per month, with 20% coverage on the page, opt for the SAVING MONEY, and call a Print4Pay Hotel member to save you some real cash. Here's a neat link (P4P Cafe) to get a quote on a Really Nice MFP so you can get that Really Expensive Ride to Romulus!!

-=Good Selling=-

MFP Printers, Copiers "Whats The Total Cost of Operation"

In 31 years of selling copiers to commerical accounts, well...I've pretty much seen it all. Over those years I've had many cleints who did not purchase a copier or a multifunctional unit from me.

Now, what peeves me the most is when I'm trying to communicate (help) the cost per page of a device or the total cost of ownership of the device. Many accounts will opt for the small MFP's where the manufacturer states "the up to 8,000-page-per-month duty cycle" (Duty cycle: the maximum possible number of pages that can be printed per month) I ask you, what the heck does Duty Cycle really mean? Does it mean, crap I can due up to 8,000 pages per month on this device that only cost me $199?

Let me show you what happens if you would print 8,000 pages per month on that device. The first device I looked at was an HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf (oh boy, it has Pro in the model name, it's just got have excellent reliabilty and I can print like a PRO).

I have this neat software package that can actually give the cost per page of most printers and multifunctional products and why shouldn't I. I'm the darn expert. Some software programs may vary in the price per page.

So, this neat HP Pro M1212nf sells for $199. While it has a nifty 35 page document feeder and a 150 sheet paper tray, the toner cartridge cost for this device is $67.99 with a yeild of 1,600 pages. Mind you that the 1,600 pages is based on probably 5% coverage of the page.

Now, you may ask what is 5% coverage of the page, pretty much if you condensed all of the black print area to one area, it means it can't cover more than 5% of the page. Pretty much a letter document with no pictures or logos. I ask you who the heck prints at 5% coverage?

Back to the cost per page, divide the cost of the cartridge by the yield and you have a cost per page of .0425. Ok, well, I wanna print my 8,000 pages per month, how much is that gonna cost me? It's gonna cost you $340 each and every month, and if you maintain that volume for 36 months, you'll be out a whopping $12,240!! Whoa, almost the price of a car!

How about if you print all your docs with 10% coverage or print legal size documents. Get a load of this number, simple math it's twice the cost. $24,480 for the total cost of operation and .0850 per page. That's the price of a decent car!

Wanna see more? At 15% coverge which has a bunch of text and a few pictures the Total Cost of Operation runs up to $36,720 and a cost per page over 12 cents. Now, that's a really nice number for a really nice car!

Hey, I understand that most users don't print all thier pages at 15%, and I understand (because I'm in the business) that this machine will probably blow a gasket before it prints 8,000 pages in one month, however how does the end user know this? There's no disclaimers, well maybe it can do 8,000 pages per month, but at 19 pages per minute that would take 421 minutes. Point is there needs to be some type of real measuring stick for these types of devices.

In closing, if you're thinking about doing on 8,000 pages per month, with 15% coverage on the page, opt for the really nice car, and call a Print4Pay Hotel member to save you some real cash. Here's a neat link (P4P Cafe) to get a quote on a Really Nice MFP so you can get that Really Nice Car!

-=Good Selling=-

iPhones move over for iCopiers!

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

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

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh's DocumentMall "New Beta Eval"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-=Good Selling=-
















users

This Week in Xerox "TWIX Notes"

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

- Xerox to launch new versions of the iGen production color systems. Details:
- Will be available in an 80ppm and 100ppm versions
- Unlike current iGen models, will use polymerized toner (Xerox EA), instead of pulverized toner
- EA stands for “emulsion aggregate”
- Unlike current iGen models, will not use fuser oil
- Offers a fifth toner, called “Clear Toner” to provide glossy finish or watermarking,
similar to the Kodak NexPress, as an option for the 100pm model only
- Uses a belt fuser, instead of fuser rollers
- Will handle up to 350gsm paper weights
- Systems will not slow down when handling heavier paper weights
- Newly designed organic drum and transfer belt will supposedly last twice as long as compared to previous models
- Possible list prices will be around $500,000 and $400,000

- Xerox announced that its PagePack program for managed print services, will now integrate with ConnextWise, which is a program commonly used by computer network service resellers to bill their customers.

- Xerox announced it won a contract from the University of British Columbia in Canada. The 6 year facilities management/managed print services contract will supposedly save the college $8 million over the life of the contract.

- Xerox announced that its research division in Canada, received its 100th U.S. patent in regards to making toner.

- Xerox announced it won a contract from the Galesburg Public School District in Illinois. The 5 year contract will supposedly cut the school district’s copying costs in half, and allow for color clicks of 5 cents each.

- Xerox’s sent out press release regarding its document management program, DocuShare:
- won KM World magazine’s “Trend Setting Product of 2009” award
- won Document Manager magazine’s “2009 Content Management Product of the Year”
- won PC World magazine’s “Best Integrated Document Solution”
- InfoWorld Green 15 Award went to DocuShare customer, Niagara Catholic School District Board
- Computerworld magazine’s Laureate award to DocuShare customer, Tulane University
- AIIM magazine’s Carl E Nelson Best Practice award to DocuShare customer, OwnerGUARD

- Xerox announced it sold a 700 Digital Color System to Print Allianz, a print shop in Gauteng, South Africa.



-=Good Selling=-

Top Ten Predictions for the Copier Industry in 2010

It's that time of the year again!!

Can we all be thankful that 2009 is going, going, gone!!!

The office equipment industry was rocked this year with additional consolidation with the likes of Canon, OCE, Nuance, e-Copy, Xerox and HP.

I've got good news, this is going to continue into 2010!

Who will the players be in 2010?

Here's my predictions for 2010, enjoy!


1. HP makes Hostile bid for Xerox


2. Kyocera acquires Sharp's MFP business


3. KonicaMinolta acquires Toshiba's MFP business


4. Ricoh acquires Kodak Print Production Group


5. Matt Espe is announced and new Ricoh CEO


6. Samsung purchases Memjet technology


7. Samsung is number #1 in world wide MFP placements


8. Panasonic finally throws in the towel!


9. Print Management Software is now a standard bid spec for the federal government (GREEN rules)


10. Okidata acquires Lexmark


Yeah, I know some of these are far fetched, who knows we've seen crazier things happen in the industry, right? If you've got anything to add, post it here and I'll add the comments!





-=Good Selling=-

Samsung New Color MFPs?

Rumor on the street suggests that Samsung may be launching some new color MFP's in the near future. These could include several color printers and MFP's.

Here's a short review on some of their new systems:

The CLP-770ND (color laser printer)—billed as a printing powerhouse—outputs high-resolution colour image quality (3,600 dpi), at up to 32 pages per minute (ppm) in either black and white or colour. It can also handle a variety of paper stocks from extra-thick to transparencies. The extra thick stock is a nice enhancement, this feature alone could displace many A3 devices that operate at the same speed.

This is part of a recent press release from purchasing b2b:

“Samsung's new CLP-770ND will prove to be a strong contender in the A4 31-44 ppm speed range, which grew 44 per cent in the first quarter of 2009,” says Evan Hardie, senior research analyst, hardcopy peripherals with IDC Canada.

Samsung also announced upgrades to its MultiXpress line-up of digital multi-function printers, unveiled in 2008. The original MultiXpress models combined colour printing, copying, scanning and faxing.

This year’s models—the CLX-8385ND and SCX-6545N—have a more powerful CPU, faster colour scan and additional memory capacity. Colour touch screen controls were also added to both models, along with enhanced paper handling and increased toner and drum capacity for a lower total cost of ownership.

The CLP-770ND will be available in July from major reseller partners for a suggested MSRP of $1,599.99. The CLX-8385ND and SCX-6545N will be available in the second half of 2009 for a suggested MSRP of $7,099.99 and $3,999.99 respectively.

Samsung is here to stay, the CLX 8345ND will print 40ppm in color and 40ppm in monochrome for list price of $7,099, compare this to comparable A3 (will print and copy ledger) for $10,000 or more. The cost per page will be a determining factor when comparing to traditional A3 color MFP's

-=Good Selling=-

Inglorious MFP Copier Poll! "Would You Pay More"

A recent poll from the Print4Pay Hotel asked end users, What "brand of copier/multifunctional" device would I pay more for?

If this was a horse race at Monmouth Park, I would have picked (thinking about end users now), 2,5,4, for the trifecta (straight bet). What are the odds of winning two straight trifecta bets at the racetrack? Well, to make a long story short, I did. Two separate days, bet $20 straight trifecta in race #2 both times and hit. I left the park after each time after getting my winnings! I'm still wondering if the third time will be the charm. If and when I go back, I'm gonna bet the second race again and this time, I'll up the ante to a $100 straight trifecta! WOO YAA!

In first place with 36% of the votes is Canon, second place is a tie between Xerox and KonicaMinolta (geez who woulda thunk that KonicaMinolta's rise to the top would have been this quick), third place goes to Ricoh and the rest..., well see for yourself.

Ricoh 17%
Xerox 21%
Canon 29%
KonicaMinolta 21%
Kyocera 6%
Sharp 5%
Toshiba 2%
Panasonic 0%
Oce 1%

We did not bother to list Savin, nor Lanier since they are Ricoh products. Check out the result here!
-=Good Selling=-

Selling Copiers "Competing Against the Sharp MX-X401 color MFP"

Wow, a 40 pager per minute color device from Sharp! The Sharp MX-401 color is one of the new A3 device that will copy, print and scan up to legal size. Keep in mind that this system will not scan, copy, fax or print 11x17.

I've already seen the Sharp DX-C401 on the internet for under $4,000! So, how the heck can you sell against this beast?

Here's a few tips for you:

maximum paper size of 8.5”x14”, so can not handle 11”x17” tabloid paper
Control panel does not pivot, swivel or tilt
Bypass can not feed 10 point postcard stock

Now if you want the really juicy stuff we found you'll have to become a member of the Print4Pay Hotel and then you can acess the message boards for the rest of the tips. Click on the link and become a member while it's still FREE!!

-=Good Selling=-

imagePRO Ci40 HD Scanner Review "Paradigm Imaging"

Every now and then, a company will introduce a new piece of hardware that will break price a price barrier that was the norm for many years. I had the chance to see and test this unit at the AIIM/Ondemand Show in Phili, trust me this is one sweet scanner, plus it's eco-friendly and economical. Utilizing a new dual LED light system for optimum illumination, it uses less power than traditional fluorescent scanners.

The imagePRO (cool name also) Ci40HD boasts a new paper transport system, allowing for better media handling and more accurate scanning.

Paradigm Imaging Group (the largest distributor of wide format scan-print-and-copy systems in North America) introduced the imagePRO Ci40 large format scanner at AIIM/On Demand in Philadelphia.

The buzz around the show was THAT INCREDIBLE street price on a 40” scanner (imagePRO Ci40 HD m model). At $5364, it’s the lowest price ever seen for a black & white large-format scanner (This is an introductory promo).

In addition to AIIM/On Demand, Paradigm and the imagePRO Ci40 will be in attendance at the IRgA Convention April 29-May 1 in Pittsburgh (booth 502). Paradigm is also launching a media blitz with full page ads in the May issues of Imagesource and Wide Format Imaging and an email campaign to over 1 MILLION email addresses in the Architectural, Construction, Copy, IT, Manufacturing and Printing markets.

imagePRO Ci40HD Stats:

· 600 dpi true optical resolution and 9600 maximum resolution

· 48-bit color and 16-bit monochrome data capture

· Fast 3.3 ips color and 10 ips monochrome scan speeds

· Instant productivity from power-on – no warm-up, no waiting

· New Advanced Single Roller Paper Transport – Superior Paper Handling - Front Media Return Workflow

· One year on-site warranty with an optional two-year warranty upgrade

For more information on becoming a dealer or finding a reseller in your area, please send an email to info@paradigmimaging.com

-=Good Selling=-

What's a "Hot Spot Printer?"

Ricoh is pleased to announce the introduction of the new Ricoh Aficio SP C420DN-KP HotSpot Printer. The SP C420DN-KP replaces the SP C410DN-KP.

What is a HotSpot Printer?

A Ricoh HotSpot Printer allows users to print documents securely simply by emailing the file they wish to print to a HotSpot Printer or loading the file to the HotSpot Printer’s webpage. Any user with an Internet-enabled PC, laptop, PDA, or cell phone can use a HotSpot Printer. With HotSpot printing, there is no need for Drivers, additional Software or access to the network hosting the printer!
Printing to a HotSpot Printer is incredibly easy. Each HotSpot Printer has a unique URL (web address) and E-mail Address.



1. Upload files to the printer’s webpage (URL), or forward E-mails – with or without attachments – directly to the printer’s E-mail address.
2. Receives a unique Release Code for each print job.
3. Enter the secure Release Code at the printer and retrieve print job.

HotSpot printing is convenient, secure, and easy-to-use.