15 Critical Questions for Selling Wide Format in the AEC Market

I can't remember who I was speaking to, might have been my new sales manager, yup I think it was, and we were having a conversation about print/copy volumes.  I brought out two points where I don't believe print volume will decrease, one is with the Production Print market and the other is with the AEC (Architects, Engineers and Construction.  I agreed that while pages may decrease with the multifunctional print devices (copiers, printers, fax), I do not believe they will decrease with CAD drawings.  There's just too much going on with those documents and while you might be able to read a document or view an invoice with a tablet, you really need that piece of paper (blueprint/blackline) laid out in front of you to see the whole picture of the big plan.

Back in 1998 I got my first introduction to wide format analog systems with Ricoh.  In the late nineties it was still an analog market.  On any given day you could find and AEC account with an ink plotter, a diazo copier and an analog wide format copier.  In 2003 or 2004 Ricoh intro'd the 240W which was the first digital wide format MFP with a small footprint and under $15k that would scan, print, copy, collate, reduce, and enlarge.  

The Ricoh 240W was an immediate hit, almost everyone wanted one, and we couldn't keep the bad boys in stock.  I'll admit during the year or so I was an order taker, and I was not ashamed of that. After the first year though, we as sales people had to dig deeper to get the additional 240W sales. One of the most effective ways was to conduct and ROI (return on investment) analysis of the the potential customers wide format print devices.  ROI selling is usually a slam dunk, here it is in black & white you're paying this month to run these devices with maintenance, supplies, service, parts etc.

Years ago I put together a spreadsheet for wide format devices, in this spreadsheet I had the cost per page for inkjet plotters, print heads, plot paper, vellum, translucent bond, toner, developer, pm kits. I broke it all down to a cost per page.  From there I developed three different spreadsheets to help with different types of analytics.

From this spreadsheet, I was able to ask one key question that would determine whether I would be able to offer the client an immediate ROI (and make a decent GP) on the existing way they were using their equipment.   To say the least it worked and is still working today, the spreadsheet is my holy grail for wide format selling. 

What's changed in wide format in the last ten years?  

Not that much,  6 page a minute systems now sell for the price of 4 page a minute systems, printing and scanning requires no additional software and in North America Xerox has left the market.  Yeah, one other item, there is now a plethora of ink jet CAD wide format printers out there.  Which also means there's a huge potential for upgrades to the less expensive toner based wide format MFP's.  Like most crappy little ink jet printers business users/owners have no clue to the actual per page cost of these wide format ink plotters.  That's where my spreadsheet comes in, with one question I can tell you if they are a potential prospect or not. After a short 15 minute meeting I can tell them how much I can save them with migrating to a toner based LED wide format system! 

It's not about waiting for the customer to call you and ask "how much for this system"?, it's about you getting a little deeper with the account and asking. "how much is all of this costing you"?  

I always told my son, there are no short cuts in life and that's true. However there are some short cuts in sales, and for $19.95 you can download my "ROI wide format spreadsheet". Trust me,  this is really nice spreadsheet with comments, tips, paper pricing, some consumables and the "15 right questions to ask". 

Click here for Buy it Now, or you can join our Premium P4P Hotel Membership and you'll be able to download it for free along with the rest of our awesome documents. Anyone who downloads the document or becomes a Premium Member will also be entitled to a walk through of the document (if needed).

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

Valhalla, NY, September 7, 2011 – FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division will present an outstanding array of innovative solutions at GRAPH EXPO 2011, September 11 – 14, 2011, at McCormick Place South in Chicago, Illinois at booth # 627. Exhibiting under the banner “expect INNOVATION™” Fujifilm will demonstrate the products and technology that printers are looking for to strengthen their businesses and expand their operating capabilities...read more

TOKYO, Sep 07, 2011 - Delivering his keynote speech at the India-Japan Global Partnership Summit 2011 which was held from September 5-7 in Tokyo, Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corporation, emphasized the importance of adopting an altruistic approach so that the two nations can develop a true partnership based on mutually beneficial relations...read more

HARWOOD HEIGHTS, Ill., Sept. 7, 2011 -- FCL Graphics Incorporated, a leading North American printer of marketing and direct mail materials, today announced major investments to enhance and expand services to marketers and producers of communication materials...read more

ROCKVILLE, MD, Sep 07, 2011  -- Notable Solutions, Inc. (NSi), a leading developer of distributed content capture and workflow solutions, today announced that it has achieved record revenue for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, reporting year over year growth of 35 percent. The company's...read more

Costa Mesa, CA – September 7, 2011 – Paradigm Imaging Group, a leading distributor of large-format scanning and printing solutions, tradeshow displays and graphics, releases the Graphtec CSX530-09 Large Format Scanner.
The CSX530-09 features Graphtec's new Luxios™ scanning...read more

Kodak has introduced a new range of all-in-one printers which are Google Cloud PrintReady, allowing users to print documents and photos from anywhere in the world using any internet connected device. Users can also use Kodak Email PrintReady to send printing jobs, which the ...read more

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New KIP 700M "Whadda think Winner or Loser"?

I just had the chance to look over the specs of the new KIP 700M. Suggested Retail of $13,995 with color scan (can someone verify this).

I'm really not sure on some of the options that are avaialable right now, the kip brochure mentions that the "KIP Color Direct" is optional and it enables Color Scan and Color Copy to Inkjet printer (again need some clarification on this).

I love the price point if the $13,995 is ..........need more go the Print4Pay Hotel Forums for the rest!!!

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Ricoh Wide Format Hits Skid Row

My how the mighty have fallen. With the introduction of the Ricoh 240W, it was one of the hottest wide format systems on the market. Ricoh had taken on the likes of Xerox (XES), OCE, and KIP, and had prevailed with an incredible low volume wide format system.

The key word in the last sentence is the word "had",  fasr forward six years later and the Ricoh Wide Format line is in shambles. There's been no upgrade to the W2400 or W3600 in three years and the promise of an upgrade has now been pushed to the last quarter of this year. In recent months,  Ricoh did release two higher volume systems, the Ricoh MP W5100 (10 "D" size per minute) and the MP W7140 (14 "D" Size per minute). What a time to release high volume systems when we're in the middle of the great recession and the AEC Market has been in the tank for a few years.

I'm thinking the current AEC market may have something to do with Ricoh not attacking a new low volume device, however if that was the case why did they come to market with the two high volumes units?

From what I've heard on the street,  there will be a replacement for the aged Ricoh MPW2400 and MP W3600.  The replacement will have color scanning, along with a USB support, and the ability to use a java card, however there will not be a reduction in the overall MSRP? Again,  this is what I've heard on the street and may or may not be the case. If someone has heard otherwise please post here.

In recent months, I've had the chance to speak to several people at Ricoh in reference to my thoughts on a new wide format system (quess, my opinions don't rate well with them) I was asking for a 2ppm or 3ppm LED system, with USB print support, optional color scanning, and of course the embedded print & scan controller. I also stated that an MSRP of $13,995 would be a great price point for the entire system with roll feeder, print, and scan. Alas, we are not going to get something like this. Instead Ricoh gave us the BEAST from the EAST (Epson 7700 and 9700), and NO margins!

Yesterday, I stated I tell you about what I think will be the hottest wide format to hit the market since the Ricoh 240W, if you'd like to find out more follow this link BECOME A PRINT4PAY HOTEL MEMBER

I've probably sold 80-100 wide format systems in my career, most have been down the street sales to commerial accounts. Now, I don't have specific data to back up this claim, however if I was asked to quess how many users were maxing out on the recommended volume of the Ricoh 240w's, MP W2400/3600's, I probably quess about 10%. Users that were over using the Ricoh's, probably about 5%, users at 50% of recommended volume, about 60%.

Over the past year or so, I've had many 240w's come off lease with less than 30k linear feet for 5 years!

The success of the Ricoh 240W is that is was the first low priced\low volume wide format system of it's kind. These systems were leased and purchased due to the fact that the clients were either outsourcing thier copies, scans or prints, and there was a tremdous savings to the end user. Others just wanted the convience of having a system where they could print 4 times faster than a plotter and could easily scan thier leagacy documents.

Point is, at least with the systems I had in the field is that most were under used. Hearing from other Print4Pay Hotel members over the year, I would tend to think that this is true for most of us who placed these units. So, while Ricoh rested on thier wide format laurels the likes of Xerox, KIP, and OCE have made tremendous in roads to the low volume market place. 

Well, at a list price of $13,595 this new system from .......will redefine who is a market leader...... read the rest here Print4Pay Hotel

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