MFP Industry Notes

Found this on the web, enjoy.

The following is a quick review of copier/MFP industry news from industry publications.

With the recent addition of IKON, Ricoh now markets its copiers under the following names across the world:

o Savino Gestetn ero Laniero Nashuateco Rex-Rotaryo Infoteco IBMMore details about IKON revealed after acquisition by Ricoh:

o $1.45 billion in shareholder equityo $4.16 billion in revenue last fiscal year.

o $900 million in long term deb to 24,000 employees.

o Over 400 locations in U.S. and Europe.

o 8000 employees and $800 million in revenue from Professional Services division.

o 1,900 facility management sites.

o Has over 900,000 machines in field (mostly Canon).

o Over 5,000 sales reps.

o On 9/11/08, it announced it will lay off 315 employees in its legal document services (LDS) division, and close 23 of the 71 existing LDS offices.

Ricoh announced it is now offering embedded software option for its copiers that tracks usage. The product is called Argos Embedded Copy Tracking from Sepialine Inc.

Toshiba announced it has won a copier bid for the Lumberton School District of North Carolina:o Supposedly will save district $500,000 per year.

o Old contract, using 7 different vendors was for $1 million per year.

o Initially, the savings will be $150,000 per year, until old lease paid off.

o Contract is a copy per copy lease with all equipment, service and supplies for 1.5 to 2 cents per b/w copy.

o Includes a guaranteed 4 to 6 hour response time and replacement guarantee.

Xerox announced that it will release to the public, at no charge, 11 patents that have to do with removing contaminants from soil. The patents have to do with using a powerful vacuum in removing poisons from groundwater, which Xerox used itself in a past cleanup effort on one of its properties.

All Associates Inc. released results of a survey of corporate America:

o Document management and production can consume from 6.61% to 14.79% of a company’s total annual revenue.

o The average cost to generate a b/w page on a desktop laser printer is 5 cents.o A company with 500 employees prints an average of 25,000 pages per day and spends $420,000 per year.

o The research firm estimates that most companies could save up to 40% or $30 per employee per month by implementing print management.

History of the Royal company:

o Founded in 1904 by Edward Hess and Lewis Myers to make and sell typewriters.

o In 1906, first model launched called the Royal 1o In 1914, launched the Royal 10, which featured beveled glass sides (for see-through look)

o Original location was an old machine shop in Brooklyn, New York.

o In 1908 moved to Hartford, CT.

o By 1923, Edward Hess received 140 patents for typewriter technology.

o In 1926, launched the Royal Quiet Deluxe, a portable model.

o For next 70 years, produced millions of typewriters and led industry.

o During World War II, switched to producing ordinance for the military.

o In 1954, merged with McBee Corp., a maker of accounting machines.

o Was once part of Fortune 500, and had 12,000 employees.

o Was purchased by Litton Industries in 1965.

o Ownership then changed to Volkswagon, Triumph-Adler, and then Olivetti.

o Launched a copier division, by relabeling Konica copiers in 1984, then sold this division to Konica in 1986.

o In 2004, management of Royal purchased the company back, and moved to Somerset, NJ.

Samsung of Korea claims that last quarter, it sold more desktop color laser printers than any other manufacturer, with over 80,000 units placed or a 30% market share.

Canon has yet to enunciate how it is going to make up for the lost distribution from IKON, DANKA & Global. The company only has 53 direct branches in the U.S.

Clash Media released a study that says that companies in the U.S. are now spending 50% of their marketing budget on-line. This means that print for pay establishments should incorporate PURLs into their direct mail campaign offerings.

Sharp announced it has purchased Business World, Inc., a copier dealer in New Jersey:o branch manager of new Sharp Business Systems will be Eric Lombardo, former dealer employee.

o dealership was founded 26 years ago.

o purchase price unknownKonica Minolta technology wins another award.

FINETECH gave out its Grand Prize for the new Konica Minolta Spectroradiometer CS-2000. This device is used to measure the performance of flat screen color displays:

o Is used by makers of HDTVs to insure their product meets standards before shipment.

o Can measure contrast of 1000,000 to 1o Can see luminance as low as 0.003cd/meter squared, the world’s most sensitive instrument.

Kodak announced it has sold a NexPress 2100Plus to University Lithoprinters, a printshop in Michigan. The sale also included the NexGlosser option, as well as the MarketMover package, which contains templates and training for marketing color variable data jobs.

Xerox announced it will market a print controller that drives Epson color wide format inkjet printers, called the Caldera.

Xerox now shipping a new document management software package, named ScanFlowStore featuring:

o allows users to scan hardcopy documents and send them to multiple destinations.

o can send to network servers, document management solutions, email addresses or financial accounting packages like Great Plains

o was developed by X-Solutions

o also connects with legal software like Thomson Elite ProLawo scanned files are saved as text-searchable PDF so it is a middleware applicationo can select from any of 250 folder destinations.

o can email documents to several users and print them to remote locations.

o can read bar code fonts for batch scanning.

Oce’ announced that it has officially endorsed the use of NCR paper in the CS650, which is a relabeled Konica Minolta bizhub PRO C6500. The particular branch of NCR paper it endorses, is the Appleton Paper XeroForm II.

A company in San Francisco, called Plastic Logic, announced plans to launch a sheet of flexible plastic, that will show the news, and automatically update itself using the Internet. Unknown is launch date and pricing. One solution software maker purchased another.

OpenText Corp. of Canada (makers of LiveLink and eDOCS) purchased Captaris ( maker of RightFax) Inc. for $131 million.

When Hewlett Packard sales reps are selling the Indigo production color systems, they usually will tell the print shop owner prospect, that the Indigo is different from other digital systems because it uses ink, like an offset printing press. However, this is not accurate, as it actually uses toner. Here is the wording from the Indigo technology patent application:

o “The present invention relates to printing images on a substrate using liquid toner and in particular to methods of applying toner to the substrate to print the image. Liquid toner comprises toner particles dispersed in a carrier liquid. Printing an image on a substrate using liquid toner involves extracting toner particles from the carrier liquid and depositing the extracted toner particles on the substrate in a pattern suitable to form the image.”

Street pricing seen the print for pay marketplace:

o Xerox 700 Digital Color Press w/Creo/LCT/booklet finisher for $68,300, with color clicks @ $0.049 and b/w clicks @ $0.0129. 11”x17” billed as one click.

o Xerox 700 Digital Color Press w/embedded Fiery/LCT/no finisher for $54,000.

o Canon imageRUNNER 7095 w/embedded controller/finisher/LCT/hole-punch for $20,600 with b/w clicks @ $0.0039. 11”x17” billed as one click.

o Xerox 4112 w/external Fiery/booklet-maker for $36,700 and b/w clicks for $0.0057. 11”x17” billed as one click.

Kyocera, in an attempt to boost sagging sales, announced it will now give its PrintQ Manager software to its dealers for free. This will allow dealers to give print tracking ability to customers for free when buying Kyocera devices, and the software will track any brand device.

Print management data according to DocuAudit International:o print volumes are growing 11% annuallyo copy volumes are declining 2% annually.

o HP sold 60 million printers last year.

o Xerox sold 3 million printers last year.

o Kyocera only sold 115,000 printers last year

o Average print volume for a desktop laser printer is 3,000 per month.

o Less 3% of laser prints made are under a print management program.

o Every $1 spent on printing results in $9 spent on managing the document

Top Ten MFP "Predictions for 2009"

Here's my top ten for 2009, believe it not, I do not think there will be anymore acquisitions by the big boys.

1. Canon and HP will develop a cross marketing venture.

2. Introduction of the first printer centric A4 90ppm system or faster.

3. Panasonic will drop out of the MFP businesss.

4. Canon Business Systems USA will open direct branches to compete with Ikon.

5. Ricoh will spend less on R & D due to increased debt.

6. Independent dealerships merges will be the new FAD.

7. A new holding company will emerge to acquire copier dealerships, in essence a renewal of IKON, Danka and Global.

8. HP will start buying Dealers in key market areas.

9 Printer Management will increase in popularity, thus starting the trend for reps to be paid on clicks and not boxes.

10. Copier Technicians will unionize.

-=Good Selling=-

MFP Wars " The Rise of the A4's"!!!!!

Not since Minolta incorporated the first zoom lens in a copier will there be a more sweeping change in the MFP landscape! I've been on this kick for over two years, when HP launched the first A4 MFP!

Whats Hot!!! A4 MFP devices, what is an A4 MFP? A4 actually represents the paper size that can be reproduced on the system. A4 devices will print, copy, fax and scan letter & legal size. A3 devices will print, copy, fax and scan letter, legal and ledger size.

Gartner predicts that A4 print centric devices will emerge as the preferred device for distributed print needs in a report dated December of 2007. Heck, I could have told then that back in 2006. Make no bones about it A4's are here to stay and A3's will be a niche market for some manufacturers, what I really can't figure out is why companies like Ricoh, Xerox, Canon, KonicaMinolta and a few others have ignored this tremendous opportunity to garner clicks?

So, who has A4 devices (35ppm and above) on the market now? As of right now there are only a handful. HP and Samsung have thier own devices, while Muratec, Xerox and Nashua have relabeled the Samsungs. Samsung recently introduced a 55ppm and a 40ppm color A4 MFP. Word on the street is that Muratec will be picking up both of these boxes.

In May of 2007, Sharp announced that they will bring to market an entire line of A4 devices code named Frontier. Kudos, they will be the first manufacturer to have a complete line. In talking to a friend at SBS, I was told that these devices are ready to go and just waiting for the initial launch.

So, whats not to like about A4, well its certainly not the price. An A4 45 ppm system that will copy, print, scan and fax can be purchased for under $5,000. Compare that to a traditional A4 device will run you twice that!

Some have asked where the sweet spot is for A4 vs A3 devices. As of right now, A3 devices have a much lower cost per page. The sweet spot depends on where your monthly volume falls, as of right now 10,000 or less a month will save you money over the traditional A3 (even with the lower cost per page).

Speaking about lower per page costs, I've said it before and will say it again. The first manufacturer that comes to market with and A4 with the cost per page of an A3 device will dominate the market. Savvy reps will instantly sell the TCO advantages, with that the HP and Samsung devices will be short lived. Typically, an A4 device will have a mono cost per page around .015 compared to current A3 devices that average .009. It's not uncommon to see A3's at even lower cost depending on the monthly volume. The higher the volume the lower the cost per page.

Here's an except from a brochure for a popular A4. "When compared to the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of a general A3 multifunctional TCO, at an average of 10,000 pages per month, can result in one of the lowest running costs in its class.

Infotrends reports, “We believe that the role of workgroup A4 MFPs will grow strongly, pulling A4/letter size pages away from A3 copiers and MFPs, thereby weakening the demand for these larger devices,” commented Bob Leahey, an Associate Director at InfoTrends. “A3 devices will remain vital in the U.S., but the push by major suppliers of workgroup A4 alternatives is having an effect on decision-making regarding office equipment purchases at U.S. companies. Because of this impact and other factors, A3-format technology will represent a declining share of the installed base of U.S. office equipment over the next several years.”

All hail the rise of the A4!

Canon has announced their new marketing strategy:

P4P'ers this was a funny post on the KonicaMInolta P4P, very funny!





Now that Ricoh combined the family (Gestetner, Savin, Lanier and Ricoh) and has purchased Ikon,And Xerox has purchased Global,And Konica Minolta has purchased Danka…






Canon has announced their new marketing strategy:SUPERSTORES!!!






















(Pictured above is the new Canon Superstore in Kanpur, India)(just kidding!!)





But seriously, would you spend $1.6 billion to purchase a distribution network, and continue to allow your competition to make a profit selling through your new stores?

For the life of me, I can't figure out why Canon has not entered the LED wide format market. They would be a tough competitor!

Lake Success, September 10, 2008 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of office imaging systems, inkjet technology and digital photography equipment, today introduced four new high-speed color production imagePROGRAF large format printer systems – the iPF810, iPF820, iPF810 PRO and the iPF820 PRO – designed for the Geographical Information System (GIS); Computer-Aided Design (CAD); Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC); Reprographics; and other Technical Document markets.

The new models address mid- to high-volume color technical document production needs of medium to large-sized corporations and reprographic establishments. All models are capable of printing two full-density D/A1-sized (23.4 inches × 33.1 inches) color plots in less than a minute, and finishes E/A0-sized (33.1 inches × 46.8 inches) plot in just 45 seconds including cutting time, and are capable of producing 117 D/A1-sized plots per hour2. The new printers can be paired with an optional inline 44-inch 300-sheet capacity plain paper stacker to neatly stack collated sets for unattended printing and easier distribution. The iPF810/iPF810 PRO have a single input roll configuration, supporting up to a 500-foot 20-lb. bond roll, whereas the iPF820/iPF820 PRO comes with an automatically switching dual roll feeder supporting up to two 500 foot rolls. The iPF820/iPF820 PRO can simultaneously accommodate two media rolls of different size and type.

Allowing maximum productivity with limited user intervention, all models can be equipped with 330ml or economical 700ml hot swappable ink cartridges (pigment-based Matte Black, and dye-based Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), 80GB hard disk with secure erase (DOD compliant) and up to 29 password protected user-inboxes. In addition, all models also come with a high-capacity portable output media basket, self-driven dual rotary blade cutter for accurate and reliable media cutting, USB 2.0 High Speed interface, and 10/100 Base-T/TX connectivity.
All models deliver superb image quality even at the highest speed mode, offering true 1200 dpi high-resolution printing with 0.02 mm minimum line width3, precise ±0.1% line accuracy4, and a large printing area with only 3 mm (0.12”) of margins all around with roll feed paper. With select paper types (coated and glossy/semi-glossy paper types) four-sided borderless printing is possible up to 42 inches.

The completely redesigned HDI driver for the new models outputs AutoCAD data in a vector format resulting in quicker spooling times. The new in-printer processing feature offers auto-rotation to minimize paper waste, multiple job nesting, color emulation modes to match internal color palettes of current and legacy inkjet plotters from other manufacturers, as well as allows the hard disk to be used as virtual memory to prevent memory overflow commonly seen in other RAM-based standalone inkjet plotters.

“These new imagePROGRAF models will give the high volume technical document user the opportunity to print quality and precise large sized prints easily and efficiently,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A.
The iPF810 PRO and iPF820 PRO models come bundled with CADSTATION PS+, an Adobe® PostScript® workflow software solution developed by RATIO, that is essential for those in the technical documents and color reprographic production market. The software is a server-based application supporting printing of not only PostScript and PDF files, but also popular technical drawing formats such as JPEG, TIFF, TIFF Multipage, HPGL, HPGL-2, HP/RTL, and DWF, just to name a few.

Since printing sets of drawings is an important element to creating an efficient workflow, CADSTATION PS+ makes this process seamless by providing batch printing and nesting capabilities, options for Web-based job submission, as well as job and print queue management abilities. The software also has the capability to track usage information for cost and account management so business owners are able to specifically target where costs are being incurred. The added features and functionality enabled by the addition of CADSTATION PS+ makes a truly effective solution for end users looking to streamline their workflow.
All models come with a full set of five 330ml ink cartridges (one cartridge each for Matte Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black), Windows and Macintosh printer driver, a stand, and a portable media basket.

The new Canon imagePROGRAF models are scheduled to be available in October 2008, and will have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $5,795 for the iPF810, $7,795 for the iPF810 PRO, $7,495 for the iPF820, $9,495 for the iPF820 PRO, and $2,295 for optional inline 44-inch 300-sheet plain paper stacker.

About RATIO

RATIO is a developer of wide format plotting software and solutions. Recognized world wide for their expertise and experience, there are over 50,000 AEC industry users of RATIO’s products in addition to OEM partnerships with most wide format industry leaders. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, RATIO’s subsidiary company; RATIO America, Inc. provides sales and technical support services for the America’s to both OEM partners and authorized resellers of RATIO’s solutions. By distributing its products through an authorized and trained reseller channel, RATIO is re-defining how Architects, Engineers, Reprographic Service Firms and other users integrate and track the use of their wide format printing equipment for improved workflow, efficiency and cost recovery. For more information about RATIO’s products, solutions and technical services, please email us-support@ratio.de, visit http://www.ratio.us/ or call RATIO America at 262-884-6898

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked third overall in the U.S. in 2007†, with global revenues of $39.3 billion, is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is on the 2007 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/pressroom.

Ricoh Introduction of the Wide Format Color Scanner

Ricoh is pleased to announce the introduction of the new Ricoh Wide Format Scanner (WFCS).

The Wide Format Color Scanner is Ricoh’s first entry into color scanning for the wide format market. This product will open a new market for you to prospect and will match or exceed competitors’ products in bid situations.

This WFCS is designed to work with all Ricoh wide format products, but really fits well when bundled with the SP W2470 to create a very low cost color scanning, multi-function product. It will also allow output to a host of inkjet color printers, further extending the capabilities and benefits. Please note that to output to inkjet devices, the WFCS must recognize the 480W, SP W2470, MP W2400 or a MP W3600 on the network.

Ricoh Wide Format Color Scanner Key Highlights: Standard Features:

• 4-channel CCD camera (x3)


• 48-Bit Color


• 600 dpi


• 12 inches per second (monochrome)/.6 inches per second (color) scanning speed—the fastest in the industry


• Automatic color calibration and camera alignment

One of the first responses we had from a P4P Hotel member on this product was that his sales cost would be higher than the MSRP of $6,500. Another issue is that this scanner will only work when it sees a Ricoh Wide Format device on the network. Therefor, the unit can't be sold as an add on color scanner (boo hoo)!

Paradigm Imaging Adds Dealer Area to Web Site!

This company rocks!! Excellent support and knowledge, if you're not hooked up with them you are losing your share of the color wide format business.

Paradigm Imaging Adds Dealer Area to Web Site!

Costa Mesa, CA - September 8, 2008 - Paradigm Imaging Group, a leading distributor of large-format scanning and printing solutions, announces the addition of a Dealer Area to their Web site.

Due to launch in mid-September, the new dealer area will enable Paradigm's authorized dealers access to a variety of sales aides and marketing information. Registered dealers will have access to promotional information, product photos, in-store display graphics, industry articles and much more. They will also have entree to valuable industry links and technical product details.

"We believe that strong partnerships in the dealer community and easy access to information are key to providing superior large format scanning and printing solutions. This new site will be extremely valuable to our channel, providing dealers with many sales tools and marketing resources at their fingertips," says Randy Geesman, President of Paradigm Imaging Group.

About Paradigm Imaging Group

Paradigm Imaging Group is a large format solutions provider whose expertise extends from scanning and printing products to imaging systems integration, software development and product distribution. Paradigm counts among its clients, companies in reprographics, architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing, as well as numerous public agencies at all levels of government. Since 1989, Paradigm has grown to become a leading provider of large format scanning and printing solutions.

Contact:

Jane Hicks

1590 Metro Drive,

Suite 116Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Phone: 714.432.7226Fax:

714.432.7222E-mail: jane@paradigmimaging.com

Website: http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=1306876&r=1305791&t=506856144&l=1&d=90036266&u=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2escantopia%2ecom&g=0&f=-1

MFPs "14 Benefits of Leasing"

It's always good to review the basics, and to remember the basics when explaining equipment leasing to a client that is new to leasing office equipment. It's also not a bad idea to keep this in your portfolio!

1. Why Lease?
Leasing provides your customer with the use of the equipment for an agreed-upon monthly payment for a fixed term.

2. Tax Benefits:
Your customer can deduct their monthly lease payment as an operating expense. Leasing also helps them avoid the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) by reducing their AMT tax liability.

3. Flexibility:
Your customer can structure payments to fit their budget.

4. 100% Cost Coverage:
You can include “soft” costs such as shipping, software and installation right in the lease.

5. Technology Changes:
In three years the technology can and will change for the better. By leasing your customer will be forced to look at the new technology and see how it helps your customers business

6. Conservation of Capital:

If their money isn’t tied up in equipment costs, they are free to spend it on other items such as inventory, advertising or personnel.

7. Easier Cash Flow Forecasting:
Fixed monthly payments help your customer budget money into the future.

8. Fixed Payments:

They can lock-in payments now... and avoid the risk of inflation in the future.

9. Preserves Credit:
Leasing doesn’t tie up your customers line of credit. So you have more capital at your disposal
when you need it!

10. Longer Terms:
Many banks only lend money short-term, usually 12 to 36 months. But leasing lets your customer extend your term up to 72 months!

11. Purchase or Renewal Options:

At the end of your lease, they may choose to purchase your equipment, upgrade to
new equipment or continue to lease at substantial savings. Of course you do not want them to renew but you can write a service contract and keep them until they are ready.

12. Insurance:
Have your customer show proof of insurance at the lease signing or with the first bill and save them $5-$50 each month.

13. Service…Include it in Lease?
There are many opinions on this however there are a few things to consider. At 36 months, which is basically interest free it will not cost any extra to put the monthly service cost in the lease. At 48 or 60 it can cost the customer. Separate yourself from the competition and
break it out on a separate Cost per Copy Agreement. If you still include service in lease be very confident on the anticipated volume.

14. Return on Investment or (ROI):
Do a cost analysis including current machine capabilities, current CPC, supplies on printers, current lease, productivity & options they can have. Do they ever go to Kinko’s or Staples for copies? Show the customer a little savings and they will give you the key to the executive
washroom. If the cost is more stress productivity and keeping people in the office/desks and the new features and benefits.

-=Good Selling=-

MFP Wars "Death of the Independent Dealer"

The Copier business was once a wonderful business, where the manufacturers only sold their goods through Authorized Dealers. We had competition, however it was healthy because everyone was on the same playing field. The Dealers who sold the most got the best pricing, and the Dealers who sold the lease just had to grin and bear and that's the way it was.

Over time, the business model matured and companies like Danka, and Alco (Ikon) emerged to buy some of the largest or most profitable dealerships in the nation. At one time Alco (Ikon) was a distributor for Sharp copiers, and then one day Alco (Ikon) dropped Sharp and the Japanese Manufacturers shook in their boots. From what I remember, and I could be wrong, Sharp lost about 80% of their North America distribution in one day. Every since then the Japanese manufacturers have been buying dealers to preserve market share.

Which brings me to a line in Tommy Boy:

Tommy: [after watching Ray Zalinski car commercial] Hmmm. He seems like a nice guy.

Richard Hayden: This is the guy trying to buy the company, not to mention put you out on the street, and all you can say is,[sarcastically]

Richard Hayden: "Hmmm, he seems like a nice guy!"

While we sleep manufacturers seem act like nice guys and continue to buy the channel and under cut our pricing. we too could soon be out on the street!

Take a look at Canon, they stand to lose almost 600 million or more in sales in North America! What are they going to do? In talking to friends the last few days, they are courting dealers in droves to become a Canon Dealer, and if that doesn't work look for Canon to start acquiring dealerships in markets where there is no representation from Canon Business Solutions.

Word on the street is that every dealership is now worth more just because of the Ricoh purchase of IKON.

Copier manufacturers along with print manufacturers make money by putting ink on paper, and at this point in time it seems they don't care what they have to do to protect their channel. Just recently, I ran across a deal from RBS in NJ for a Print4Pay account, where RBS was losing 45,000 dollars in order to get the clicks! Am I missing something here??? RBS guaranteed single clicks for 11x17 at .06 and .0042 for 11x17. Hey, guarantees are for sissies right.

In the months ahead there will be many dealers bought thus further eroding the dealer channel. Before you know it, well it's tough to compete now, it's gonna get a lot tougher down the road.

Personally, I can't see how the small dealers can stay in business, mergers of smaller dealerships will be the next fad, thus enabling these companies to be bought by the likes of Canon, TABS, Global, etc....

Maybe Canon will buy HP? The more I think of it, we may see an agreement from Canon and HP to market each others products. Anyway you slice it, it seems the writing is on the wall for Dealerships!

btw, Tommy Boy is one of my favorite sales movie...God Bless Chris Farley!

-=Good Selling=-

MFP Industry News

This is a repost from the P4P Hotel Message Boards:

The following is a quick review of copier/MFP industry news from industry publications.



- Ricoh has started a print and e-mail campaign to launch its Aficio C900 production color system. The company sent out an e-mail with a link to a video on the product, and has placed ads in various trade magazines. Ricoh is targeting print shop owners, and claiming the new device has exceptional image quality because the system offers 1200x1200dpi. (What they do not admin in the ads, is that the system offers only 2 bits per pixel, as compared to 8 bits per pixel with the Konica Minolta bizhub PRO C6500) o The ads state that system will be “under $125,000”
o Will run thick stocks at 90ppm (since the machine is not 8 bit, perhaps it is laying down very little toner, so it has less to fuse when running thick stocks) o Print samples still not available from Ricoh

- Ricoh announced it won a bid at the law firm of Shepherd Wedderburn. The company claims it reduced printing costs 50% by replacing 100 desktop printers with 23 floor-standing connected MFPs equipped with eCopy ScanStations.

- According to Caslon Market Intelligence, digital color page volume in print for pay has grown from 5 billion pages per year in 2000, to over 20 billion in 2006. The company predicts volume will surpass 700 billion by the year 2020. Of this volume, it expects 200 billion to be full color direct mail pieces.

- According to reports out of Corvallis, Oregon, Hewlett Packard has begun layoffs in its printing division plant in that city. The employees called it “Black Monday”, as 300 were given pink slips.

- Pantone Corp. began shipping new software package “ColorMunki”, to promote its color paletes. The software allows end users to add Pantone colors to a variety of applications. (remember that all EFI Fiery print controllers have a built-in Pantone color lookup table)

- Pantone now also shipping its new GOE color palettes. The new system has a total of 2,058 color choices. TIP: When marketing color laser MFPs to customers who use Pantone colors, it is helpful if you own the Pantone Color Bridge. This fan guide shows the customer how the Pantone color will look when printed using cyan/magenta/yellow/black, in addition to how it will look when using actual Pantone inks on a press. This guide educates the customer about what a realistic expectation is when choosing a Pantone color, and printing it using a color laser MFP.

- In a press release for a new Ryobi 4 color offset press, the company admits that the operator will waste 300 to 500 sheets to start each job before acceptable prints are output. The are called “makereadies”.

- The next meeting of the Copier Dealers Association will be at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia on 10/16-18/2008.

- Hewlett Packard announced it has sold an Indigo 5500 production color system to Acme Bookbinding of Charlestown, Massachusetts to produce books on demand.

- Hewlett Packard announced two new desktop color laser offering:
o Color LaserJet CP2025 features print only with base MSRP of $399 o Color LaserJet Cm2320 features copy/print/fax/copy with base MSRP of $599 o Both require end users to purchase supplies separately

- Hewlett Packard claims that if all Fortune 500 companies had auto duplex turned on all the time, it would save 800 tons of paper per year.

- In an effort to reduce printing costs, Ford Motor Company announced that it will restrict the purchase of desktop printers, and there can only be one printer for every 10 employees.

- Konica Minolta’s graphic arts equipment supply manufacturing plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, announced it will no longer produce silver halide imagesetter film due to declining demand. Most print shops have moved from analog process to digital, and use computer to plate systems to generate plates for their offset presses.

- Xerox recently hosted an open house and educational seminar for 50 large print shop owners. The event took place on 8/20-21/08 in Rochester, NY, and focused on digital production print opportunities.

- Xerox announced it is developing new software for its production color devices that will allow end users to see on-screen 3D visualizations of folded print jobs.

- Xerox announced it has sold two iGen3 production color systems, bundled with XMPie variable data software to LGDavis Printing.

- Xerox reorganized some of its upper management staff:
o Rick Dastin is new President of Xerox Office Group, which is the desktop Phaser printer plant in Wilsonville, Oregon (formerly Tektronix) o Russell Peacock is new President of North American Channels Group, which is in charge of recruiting and managing Xerox resellers, dealers and agents.
o Doug Lord is new President of North American Solutions Group, which is in charge of all factory direct branches.
o James Firestone was promoted to President of Corporate Operations, in charge of all of the above, reporting to Ursula Burns, who reports to CEO, Anne Mulcahy.

- In an effort to stave off bad press on the Internet, Xerox purchased the following domains, so no one else can use them to create a website:
o Xeroxstinks.com
o Xeroxcorporationsucks.com
o ihatexerox.net
o ihatexerox.org
o Unfortunately for Xerox, someone already bought ihatexerox.com

- Citigroup announced that it expects Xerox’s stock shares to climb from $14 to $20 by end of 2009, due to increase in sales of color devices.

- Penn State College reports that the paperless office is just a myth. Robin Anderson, Director of Multimedia, stated that in the first quarter of 2008, the school printed 700,000 more digital pages than the same time last year. It claims the increase is due to the advent of professors posting their notes on-line, and students printing them out to read them.

- Once the low cost manufacturing capital of the world, new Chinese government legislation is causing costs to rise. New environmental policies, and wage laws, could boost costs by 20% by 2010.

- Intel gave out details on future computer chip technology it is working on:
o Code named; “Nehalem”, a new Intel Core i7 processor for desktops o Code named; “Larrabee”, a new Intel Pentium processor for graphic arts workstations o Other desktop processors are code-named; “Havendale” and “Lynnfield”
o Processors for mobile devices include code names; “Auburndale” and “Clarksfield”
o New laptop product called “Calpella”

MFP Industry News

Thought I would share this with everone, I did not write it, and I'm not sure who does, however I tip my hat, its a fine compilation of the industry for the week!



The following is a quick review of copier/MFP industry news from industry publications.


Finally succumbing to pressure from Warren Lichtenstein, IKON decided to sell out to Ricoh of Japan.

Details:

• Warren Lichtenstein runs Steel Partners II, a powerful group which controlled a large quantity of IKON stock, which has been demanding action from IKON CEO, Matt Espe.


• Mr. Lichtenstein, in June of last year, requested that either IKON buy back its stock for just over $17 per share, or that it sell the company for that amount.


• Mr. Espe initially starting buying back shares at $15, but then ended the program early due to market conditions.


• Steel Partners II owned 12,456,300 shares, and will now realize a $84 million gain on their 4 year investment.


• Purchase price of $1.62 billion or $17.25 per share.


• Stock was trading at $15.56 on 8/27/08.


• For now, Ricoh will allow IKON to run as a separate subsidiary, with IKON headquarters remaining in Malvern, Pennsylvaniao According to industry analysts, Canon moves anywhere from 40-60% of its products through IKON in U.S., Canada & Europe. Combined with loss of distribution through DANKA and Global, Canon’s stock is taking a beating.


• Canon reported its net profit was down 13% (Canon is still three times larger than Ricoh in total revenue), IKON also sold Hewlett Packard & Kyocera products.


• Canon has yet to comment publicly but it does have $4.1 billion worth of treasury stock it could spend on acquisitions.


• According to some industry analysts, Canon may consider allowing Hewlett Packard to relabel its entire product line to make up for lost IKON sales. This would mean trying to sell large MFPs primarily through computer dealer/VARs.· Currently, the largest Canon product that HP is allowed to relabel is a 40ppm color model (HP Color LaserJet 6040mfp)


• Ricoh claims that 30% of its product was sold through IKON.


• Ricoh CFO, Zenji Miura, was quoted as stating that Ricoh plans on “replacing all the Canon product in the IKON channel in next 3 to 4 years”, as IKON will obviously focus on selling Ricoh product.


• Ricoh CEO, Shiro Kondo stated: “purpose was to strengthen the sales force in North American market as IKON counts many of the Fortune 500 companies as its customers” “we do not expect that IKON will turn a profit soon after it becomes part of the Ricoh Group”, “for the future, we want to double IKON’s operating profit posted in September 2007 to achieve an operating margin of 10%”,“we will consolidate the back-offices”, “if it becomes clear in the future that it is more rational to integrate the sales and service networks of IKON and Ricoh Business Solutions, we will do that”


• Ricoh is reportedly going to borrow money to finance the acquisition.


• Ricoh has $22 billion in revenue and 83,400 employees.


• IKON currently has over 400 locations and over 25,000 employees, with total revenue last year of $4 billion. Over 10,000 of the employees are technicians.


• IKON, whose original name was Alco Standard, was created by the acquisition of 450 independent dealers, starting in the 1980s.


• Alco Standard was started by Tinkham Veale, a wealthy Cleveland investor, who purchased dozens of firms including fertilizer, machinery, electronics, coal and ice cream makers.


• In 1984, the company sold most of these companies off, and focused on copier dealers and paper makers.


• In 1997, Alco spun off paper division as Unisource Worldwide, and renamed itself IKON.


• IKON stood for “I Know One Name” as the company hoped to provide copiers, printers and computer networks. Later, the computer network division was sold off. (pundits say IKON stands for “I know only numbers”)
  

MORE ON RICOH BUYING IKON

• IKON’s headquarters in Malvern, PA employs 500.


• Former CEO was John Stuart, who came to IKON from Ricoh in 1985, but left when growth plans did not meet target.


• Current CEO, Matt Espe, came to IKON 6 years ago from General Electric, where he ran the lightbulb division.


• In a letter to IKON employees, Matt Espe explained the reasons for the sale:· “We decided that, like many of our competitors, we would be better able to achieve these goals as part of a larger organization that was able to offer a full range of end-to-end office solutions and services to more customers across the globe”


• Law firm Levi & Korsinsky, LLP announced it has launched an investigation into this acquisition of IKON, due to shareholder concerns.


• In January, IKON dumped 350 employees to cut costs after profit fell 45%§ Sales fell for 11 straight periods prior to sale.


• IKON is being advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co., while Ricoh is advised by Morgan Stanley.


• The acquisition must meet approval of U.S. and European antitrust legislation.


• Standard & Poor and Moody investor services are considering downgrading the lending status of Ricoh, as the company now has 111 billion yen of debt maturing in 2011.


• Ricoh is offering retention bonuses to top IKON execs:


• Matt Espe, CEO may receive up to $8,630,400.


• Robert Woods, CRO, up to $2,122,375.


• Jeff Hickling, Senior VP, up to $1,850,625.


• David Mills, President Europe, up to 906,114 pound sterling.
  

According to Gartner, Ricoh sold 16.5% of all copiers sold in the U.S. last year, while Canon sold 10.3%.

Xerox announced that it is the official office equipment provider for both political party conventions in the U.S.

The Wabash County board is reviewing a decision to spend $9000 of a Homeland Security Department grant to buy a used color copier for the Wabash County Health Department. According the spokesperson, Lester Templin, the cost per copy for color will be 65 cents

InfoTrends estimates that there are 1.7 million color pages printed via TransPromo applications, and will grow 22.8 billion. TransPromo, or transactional promotion documents, usually comprise a full color marketing message on an invoice or statement mailing to customers, printed on a production print color system.

Lexmark announced free software which is claims will reduce the amount of printing in the workplace:

A free toolbar for either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox browerso one click to convert full color web page into black and whiteo automatically eliminate logos and graphics.

History of DANKA trivia ;

• Started in Tampa, FL by Dan Doyle and Frank McPeak in 1977o Named formed by combining first names of both founders.


• In 1997, DANKA grows to $3 billion by buying copier division of Kodak for $588 milliono 10/98, Dan Doyle resigns as CEOo 2004.


• DANKA sells its Canadian subsidiary to Pitney Boweso 2005,,


• DANKA sells South and Central American business to Toshibao 2006.


• DANKA sells its European business to Ricoh for $210 milliono 2008, sells to Konica Minolta for $240 million.
  
  

Silverbrook Research announces a delay in launching its revolutionary color inkjet technology. The company, which had previously announced that its MEMJET technology would rival that of laser printers, is now hoping to launch a product by end of 2009. It had originally announced it plans to launch a desktop photo printer, but due to image quality issues, it will now focus on a desktop A4 model. It will print letter-size only, have top speed of 60ppm, and sell for $399. Unknown which consumer electronics vendor will actually market it. While the technology was invented by Kia Silverbrook, the launch will be coordinated by Bill McGlynn, a former Hewlett Packard executive.

A website named fixyourownprinter.com is detailing ways to get more life out of toner cartridges made by Hewlett Packard and Brother. The author claims that the companies have rigged their cartridges to state they are empty and force end users to buy new ones, even though there is still toner left.

Canon won a bid to supply the University of North Carolina-Pembroke with an imagePRESS C7000VP production color system.

In an effort to cut costs, Citicapital announced to its employees, that they are no longer allowed to print in color any internal documents. The connected color copiers and printers are to be used to print customer presentations only.

Hewlett Packard announced a new print controller, called the SmartStream Workflow, for its Indigo 7000 production color system:o top speed of 120ppm, max duty cycle of 3.5 million per montho 812x812dpi with 8 bits per pixel.

Samsung of Korea getting sued. The law firm of Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP filed suit in U.S. District Court of Trenton, New Jersey for fraud. The law firm claims to have evidence that Samsung laser printers are rigged to shut down and request a new toner cartridge even though there is still ample toner left in cartridge. The suit is asking for $350 million in damages.

Blogging about Office Equipment "Selling Multifunctional Devices"

Blogging, love it, hate it, and read it! I can't tell you how much I enjoy blogging about my industry!

I'm not a big radio listener in the car, especially since my battery went dead and I can't find the code to re-activate the radio. I did put satellite radio in the car, however my 170lb Mastiff/Rot mix decided he would rip the antenna out one day on a trip to the vet. However, this turns out to be a good thing! Most days, I'm in the car traveling from appointment to appointment with no radio. I really find it enjoyable and I get to think more about customers, solutions and what I'm going to write about in my next Blog!

I have Google analytics tied to my Blog and can't wait to check it every night to see what domains have logged on and what everyone is reading. What interests me most is the keywords (how people are finding the P4P blog). Everyday its something new, since December of 2007, the P4P Blog has 27,433 page views and over 15,000 visits.

Just today I added a "gadget" that will show you the blogs that I read on a regular basis. Since last week I also added a "This Date in History". I'll keep blogging and lookin forward to your comments!! Thanx for all the page views and visits!!

-=Good Selling=-

Who Pays for Network Setup of Print & Scan Drivers?

Who Pays for Network Setup of Print & Scan Drivers?

Here's how our P4P Hotel members responded:

21% My company includes it @ no extra charge.

25% My company charges me back per device.

7% My company charges me back and has a flat rate for multiple units.

7% The customer pays for all print and scan drivers to be loaded.

39% I setup the print and scan drivers and do not charge the customer.

So, why is it that sales people are wasting time setting up print and scan drivers? Is it because the dealership does not have the resources to accomplish this? Or, could it be that the dealership charges their sales people too much to have an SE on site. I think our time is much better spent selling than loading print and scan drivers. It should also be included in a sales persons base price.

-=Good Selling=-

Commission for Clicks "Selling MFP's"

Has The Time Come for Sales People to be Paid on Click Revenue?

Here's how are P4P members responded:

79% Yes

13% No

8% Not Sure

8 out of 10 reps would like to be paid on click revenue. To me, its the smart alternative to keep clients for years and to really have the time to consult for solutions that will add productivity and lower costs.

Recently, I read a post from an Ikon rep, the person stated that at the beginning of the month they sell solutions such as Print Management, E-Copy, and Document Management. At the end of the month the sell Canon and Ricoh! Funny, now all they will be selling is Ricoh........but don't count the chickens before they hatch. I've heard rumors of a bidding war for Ikon! LOL

Polling Copier Sales People #5

P4PHotel has polled its membership for the Presidential Election. Our poll had two parts.

When asked who will be the next President of the United States of America?

(50%) John McCain

(50%) Barack Obama

When asked, who has the best chance of changing the economic growth when he becomes President?

(80%) John McCain

(20%) Barack Obama

Recently, I heard an analogy in reference to the Presidential Election, if you were electing a new CEO of a company, would the share holders vote for the seasoned veteran who has been with the firm for 20 or more years and has a proven track record or would they vote for the a newcomer who has little experience and has not proven them self. I'll bet you all know the answer to that one!

Ikon Reaches Out To Customers

August 27, 2008

Dear Valued Customer:

As you may have heard, IKON today announced that we agreed to be acquired by Ricoh Company, Ltd, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. A copy of the press release issued this morning is attached for your information. Ricoh has been one of our valued equipment partners for many years and we will now be joining forces with them to create a stronger global office solutions competitor.

As you know, Ricoh is a leading manufacturer of high quality multifunction products, printers, fax machines and related supplies, with a long history and global reputation for providing innovative, reliable and user-friendly equipment.

An important factor we considered when deciding to take this step was our mission to best meet the needs of our customers. We concluded that we would be better able to achieve this goal as part of a larger organization that was able to offer an enhanced range of end-to-end office solutions, including IKON’s expertise in color equipment sales and world-class service offerings, as well as Ricoh’s world-leading portfolio of office solutions equipment.

I want to assure you that we remain committed to you and your company, and have every intention of continuing to provide you with world-class service and support, regardless of the equipment you use. We fully expect that our suppliers will continue to do business with us on the same terms and conditions they have in the past and we will continue to provide you with the best solutions from our broad portfolio of product and service offerings.

While we are very excited about today’s news, it is important for you to know that it will take several months to complete this transaction. In the meantime, it will be business as usual for us. We anticipate that the transaction will close before the end of calendar year 2008.

I recognize that you may have questions regarding this announcement and your sales professional will be contacting you in the coming days to help answer any questions you may have. I want to thank you for your continued commitment to IKON and look forward to building on our relationship in the future.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. Espe
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Ricoh to Aquire Ikon

In one swift swipe of the Kantana, Ricoh has erased the after effects of the Xerox acquisition of Global last year. Ricoh has acquired the world's largest independent channel for document management and services. Ikon's fiscal year 2007 revenue of $4.2 billion, IKON has approximately 24,000 employees in over 400 locations throughout North America and Western Europe.


"IKON has terrific strength in areas that complement Ricoh's growth strategy," said Shiro Kondo, President and CEO of Ricoh Company, Ltd. "IKON has advanced Professional Services capabilities with a long list of satisfied large customers. IKON is respected as well for its production print sales and service expertise. We are excited to add the very experienced IKON management team and the thousands of skilled and dedicated IKON employees to the Ricoh family."


Where does this leave everyone else. especially Canon. Canon was slightly affected by the Global buyout and also from KonicaMinolta recently purchasing Danka Industries. I'm thinking Canon is going to be hit very hard, could Canon now make a play for HP, really what else is left to maintain market share. Devastating for Canon if they do nothing.l

Recently we (P4P) conducted a poll of our members as to "Who would Acquire Who in 2009", thinking nothing else could happen in 2008. Our readership had these results:

(18%) Ricoh acquires IKON

(18%) Canon acquires IKON

(55%) HP acquires IKON

(0%) HP acquires Danka

(9%) Canon acquires Danka

(0%) Ricoh acquires Danka


Well, another surprise in an industry that continues to evolve.


Here's some posts from today of our P4P members when they heard of the acquisition.

• the world as we have known it is rapidly changing.....any guesses what's next?I have heard that HP is in the process of actively opening direct sales offices around the county.
• Not here but Canon has to be reeling from this! To tell you the truth, I never expected Ricoh to do this.
• I knew IKON was looking at being purchased awhile back by HP so they have been on the market for awhile. Did I read this correctly... "requires the approval of the majority of IKON’s outstanding shares at its shareholder meeting and will result in IKON continuing as the surviving company" Sounds like IKON will be Ricoh's "brand" now. So the name Ricoh will be no longer or what?
• I would imagine it will be like the Lanier acquisition. Keep the name for the time being as it is a "brand" people know, but I would imagine that it will be blended into RBS in time. Everything Japan does is on a 5 year plan, so there is no hurry for them.
• It will be interesting. It might be a good time for some of the independent Ricoh dealers to look to Canon if they have an large Ikon company in their backyard. There is always fallout from these deals, there will probally be some very good Canon sales people looking to jump ship along with technicians.
• I dont think anything will change, I think they will also continue to operate under the IKon name carry the same brands canon km and the other manufactures will continue to sell to them why not and why change perhaps ricoh will have better placement in goverment and the major accounts but that would be it . When best buys bought out future shop they couldnt cahnge there name my thinking is that this will be the same with this deal.
• When Xerox bought Global and when KM bought Danka, Canon immediately dropped them. They won't sell to the competition. I know that on the Global deal that KM extended their agreement for an additional 2 years to allow for the transition....it should be interesting who the real copier %^$#$* are out there...
• Toshiba bought out a dealer here in Vancouver able who carried canon and sharp they continue to lead with canon soI don'tknow about globally but I would think they would rethink there strategy and continue there relationship with Ikon Danka where they really selling anything.

Ricoh has made the move to keep the factories busy fo a long time, of course here in the US there will be another branding issue. Most likely, IKON will be merged into RBS, however I wouldn't be surprised if it went the other way. For me, I don't think its going to have a terrific impact, for the Ikon customers, I'm sure there will be growing pains and many hassles keeping up with the changes.

You gotta love this business.

-=Good Selling=-

Art Post

Multi-function Sales Quotes for Copiers

Have you ever tried to find a competitive quote or proposal on the Internet? I've tried too and I've had no luck at all!

However, if you visit the P4PHotel, and register to become a member you can download actual proposals, quotes and view street pricing that has been recorded for various manufacturers and models. Who knows you just may find a competitors quote whom you lost a deal too or better yet get a true handle on what they are quoting and how they are doing it.

Our members are there to help in each other, and we have dedicated message boards for Ricoh Family Group, KonicaMinolta, Kyocera and Canon. Go and see what your peers are talking about in reference to solutions and hardware. Post messages and you'll be surprised on how many members are willing to help and share information.

-=Good Selling=-

Copier vs Printers "MFP Wars"

Picked this information up on the web the other day, would like to hear pros and cons in reference to where we are going as a whole in the indsutry.

90% of all companies do not know what they are currently spending on internal desktop and network printing. Print charges are typically underestimated by 30%-50% by ignoring charges other than the obvious hardware, maintenance, and consumable charges.

Buyers Laboratory Inc., Gartner

Quoting insight from major research companies, we've outlined the document trends that can benefit an IT or facilities manager responsible for an organization's documents.

Document Trend #1Paper use continues to rise.

Office paper use is increasing 6-8% each year1.
Paper use is expected to grow for the next 20 years1.
Paper is thought to be 30% faster and easier to read than a computer screen.

Document Trend #2Print volume is climbing.

Print volume is growing 10-15% each year. The internet, email, and intranets are big drivers.
Printing surpassed copy volume in 19953.
End-users are printing multiple originals, rather than making copies.
Color printers are bringing new documents to the network.
The number of documents created and distributed electronically — then printed at the time of need — continues to grow.

Document Trend #3

Copy and fax are becoming secondary technologies.
Copy volumes are stagnant or in decline. Long-held habits are changing.
Fax volumes are being challenged by email. Email is free and arrives "at-the-desktop".
"The heyday of the photocopier is past — the tide of history is with the printer." — Better Buys for Business

Document Trend #4

Document devices are converging.
Print, copy, fax, and scan are now common features of a single device.
Printer-centric MFP's hold advantages in five key areas4:
Network ability
Ease of use
Reliability
Print Quality
Total Cost of Ownership Document

Trend #5

Color is becoming mainstream.
Four years ago, color was $2.00/page, and very slow.
Today, color is as low as $.12/page, and up to 28ppm.
Color printers are currently the fastest growing segment of the printer business.

Document Trend #6

Output-Based solutions are the future.
In today's office, the as-needed approach to printer support is being replaced by Output-Based solutions ensuring reliable, hassle-free documents.
Research indicated that by 2005 75% of all printing would be done on a cost-per-page basis and 75% of all enterprises would outsource key technologies.
Enterprises should evaluate newer technologies — multifunction printers and new procurement options, including cost-per-page service contracts5.

1Xplor

2Dataquest

3HP

4IDC

5Gartner

Ricoh MPC Series "Turbo Charge Your Ricoh MFP"

How can you get the most out of your new Ricoh MP Series Multifunctional Device without breaking the bank and getting the best bang for your buck?

By adding the these three Ricoh solutions you can enjoy increased productivity, reduce paper, reduce costs and reduce down time. Along with knowing that you are doing your part to conserve resources.

The solutions that I've outlined will add less than $100 a month to the typical 5 year copier lease, and depending where your companies workflow and volumes stack up, the savings could be well over the investment.

Our first solution is to add Document Mall 3 year/1GB Solution with the MFP browser. Document Mall is a robust off-site Document Management Software SaaS (Software as a Service) that can enable your Ricoh Multifunctional Device to push documents to an off-site Document Repository. From the LCD screen of the MFP, any user can see the file folder structure and then select where the paper documents need to go. Document Mall will then organize documents by type, using indexing and full search. Document Mall can also be used as a collaboration tool, where you can work on documents together, edit documents and create markups. What I like most about Document Mall is the ease of use, along with the ability to access documents where ever there is an Internet connection. You don't have to have a degree in order to enjoy the benefits of Document Management and you don't have to have an IT infrastructure to keep the system updated and running. This package can be leased for under $60 per month.

Moving on to Embedded Print Director, all Ricoh MFP's now have the ability to embed software on a Java card, thus enabling features that can be used through the MPF's LCD display. Embedded Print Director will monitor every copy and print on Ricoh MFP's. The long and short of is that every print and copy can be tracked for charge backs and accountability. At the end of the year the system can provide a full report on what was printed, copied, identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies on the network and can help IT maintain a balanced budget for Total Cost of Ownership. A single MFP package can be leased for under $20 per month.