Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Downers Grove, Ill., September 20, 2011 – With demand for workplace printing expected to grow or stay at current levels for the foreseeable future, more organizations are taking a closer look at managed print services, according to a new study by CompTIA, the non-profit trade association for the information technology (IT) industry. Though four out of five firms surveyed by CompTIA say becoming a “paperless office” is a...read more

Columbus, OH – Questex Media Group LLC, specifically the Technology Group, which includes the ITEX National Expo and Conference and imageSource magazine, has joined the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) as the newest Foundation Member. Questex is a global,...read more

Columbus, OH – September 20, 2011 – General Data, NER Data, and PartsNow! are among the companies renewing corporate memberships with the Managed Print Services Association (http://yourmpsa.org/).  The association provides a means for organizations of all kinds to play an active role in the development and direction of the fast growing managed...read more

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Sep 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Developed to facilitate the ability of dealers to offer comprehensive MDS services to their customers, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced new professional services support and a new Partner Transformation Program. The new professional services support offerings leverage Canon's enterprise document systems and...read more

Historically, Japan has led the imaging industry in developing and manufacturing products that print, copy, scan and fax our ever-growing mass of documents. Japanese firms have had such a strong position in the market, that seven of the top 10 equipment providers are headquartered in Japan, and the Num. 1 brand (HP) even relies on a Japanese firm (Canon) for their laser printer ‘engines.’ Japanese firms have benefited from this strong and highly profitable business, as they have captured a dominant portion of the highly profitable toner and ink supplies being sold into this market..read more

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Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

The Board of Aldermen is considering a $4.375 million printing contract with Xerox that would save the city at least $1.5 million over five years, according to Purchasing Agent Mike Fumiatti. The deal would involve the replacement of all the city’s copy machines, along with...read more

TRUMBULL, Conn., Sept. 19, 2011 - Oce, a Canon Group Company and an international leader in digital document management and printing for professionals, announced today that it will be placing an Oce Arizona® 360 GT UV...read more

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Supreme Court case known as "the copier" suit because of the hilarious Abbott & Costello routine over what a photocopier is has just received a jolt of cash from Cuyahoga County. The county's executive board of control authorized spending another $30,000...read more

 

 Xerox Corporation has launched a new printer, the DocuColor 8080 Digital Press, which handles jobs ranging from direct mail and calenders to booklets and collateral.

Productivity apps, low gloss dry ink, and Automated Colour Quality Suite (ACQS) core to the DocuColor...read more

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Managing documents and reducing costs just got easier with Xerox Corporation ’s newest DocuShare® enterprise content management (ECM) software. DocuShare 6.6 automates the entire lifecycle of documents, images and forms...read more

What started more than 40 years ago as two men selling used copiers out of an apartment building has turned into a profitable copier, facsimile and printer business in North Canton. Officials at Copeco, 3874 Highland Park NW, say the company has not ...read more

Core Facts • Canon Europe, world-leader in imaging solutions, today announces the launch of uniFLOW Version 5.1, extending the industry’s first single platform to manage print and scanning processes to mobile devices including smartphones, tablets and netbooks • The solution has been developed in partnership with customers in response to specific...read more

UXBRIDGE, U.K., Xerox has added two new digital print systems to its industry-leading colour portfolio – bringing sophisticated colour management technology to more than just high-speed devices. The company also expanded the functionality of a popular light-production model, the Xerox Colour 550/560 Printer. The advancements...read more

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MFP Scan2Cloud Poll from the Print4Pay Hotel

I'm watching the Giants lay waste to the RAMS, hopefully it stays that way!  In the mean time, a few months ago we posted a poll on the Print4Pay Hotel forums titled "Scan2Cloud Poll".

 We asked "Please vote on your estimation of what cloud-based solution integration would best help you in the field to capture additional business?

With many manufacturers having or ready to release scan2cloud services, we figured we'd ask the guys and the gals in the field what they would like to have.  I always like to see these polls turnout because I feel that the salespeople on the street have a better grip on what their customers want and not some wishy washy product manager trying to come to grips of what customers want.  Tell me when was the last time a product manager was in the field trying to sell a solution to an end user?  NEVER!

"Please vote on your estimation of what cloud-based solution integration would best help you in the field to capture additional business?


Scan2Microsoft SharePoint/Microsoft exchange server/Mircosoft 365/OCR & searchable pdf/Scan2Print (unlimited users)  50%

Scan2Fax Documents/multi cloud fax numbers (unlimited users) no mfp fax modem require 17%

Scan2Cloud/Documents stored offsite 33%

Scan2Evernote/Scan2box.net/Scan2google docs/Scan2email w/ OCR 4 Word & Excel/Scan2print (2 users) 0%

Scan2Evernote/Scan2email w/OCR & searchable .pdf 0%

There you have it, what I can tell you is that the first two poll questions are features that come with the UDOCX solution, 67% of our members felt that this was the best choice for them.

The third solution is a basic scan2cloud that is now being offered by a few different companies and last but not least are the last three.  But, key in a 4 & 5, this is a cloud solution soon to be released by one of the Big 4 (Xerox, Ricoh, KonicaMinolta and Canon) and not one member voted for that solution.  I can tell you upfront that the product being offered with those features will BOMB.

So you wanna know who?  Well, I ask you to log on to the Print4Pay Hotel forums and we'll show you which on eof the Big 4 it is.

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Redwood City, Calif. and Ramsey, N.J. - September 13, 2011 - All Covered, a division of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. (Konica Minolta) focused on delivering high‐performance Managed IT Services to small‐ and medium‐sized businesses, is pleased to announce that PMV Technologies, a leading Managed IT outsourcing company based in Detroit, MI, has joined All Covered...read more

Different managed print services provider rolesWhen it comes to managed print services, companies may seek these solutions out to serve a number of different requirements. Depending on the size of the ...read more

7 Integrated Approaches to Reduce Printing | MPS Insights ...One of the successes from the field resulted in a 40% reduction of print. Then they partnered with a Managed Print Services provider to support the refreshed ...read more

15 September, 2011, Midway, KY– The European managed print services (MPS) market is poised for stellar growth. According to the market forecast by Photizo Group the European MPS market will, by 2014, surpass North America to become the largest region in this US $68 billion MPS global marketplace. Photizo’s 2011 European MPS Conference will take place October 11th – 12th in Berlin, Germany. The...read more

It’s not all that uncommon for an enterprise looking at the possibility of outsourcing its print management needs to hear a prospective vendor say, “We can definitely manage your print environment, but we’ll need to replace all of your existing devices with our devices.” read more

West Caldwell, NJ, September 15, 2011 - Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment and advanced document management solutions and services, today announced the availability of the Aficio SP 4310N monochrome laser printer, engineered for busy offices and workgroups. Advanced features and workflow tools, such as genuine Adobe® PostScript®3™, a 4-line LCD panel...read more

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What gives with the Copier Industry?

Recent months have seen major execs leaving the industry, either by their own accord or they got the boot (we may never know).  It seems to me after 32 years in the business that the industry is in turmoil.

Consolidation has taken it's toll with the likes of Canon, Ricoh, Xerox and KonicaMinolta.  However others like Kyocera and Sharp have been affected as well with the departure of McLaughlin (Sharp) and Pietrunti (Kyo). 

Focus....where is the focus, most still rely on revenue from box sales and consumables. The reduction of paper in the office seems to be taking it's toll thus the reason that the Big 4 have ventured into Managed Print Programs, Print Production and Healthcare document applications.

Just today Ricoh lost another Top Notch Exec (read my blog on this here).... that's at least 7 or 8 guys in the last three months that have been shown the door, retired or left for other opportunities from either Ricoh, Sharp, and Kyocera.

Where does that leave us, are we painting a picture of our own demise for the printed page?  The Big 4 continue to launch solutions that will reduce the amount of paper that printed and copied.  Kinda crazy for companies that rely on revenue from the printed page right? 

Will there be additional consolidation?  Not in the near future, I could be wrong but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts nothing major for the remaining months of 2011.

Remember to go to the Print4Pay Hotel forums to read about the latest exec to leave one of the Big 4.

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Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

Chicago, IL  September 11, 2011 Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leading provider of advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop, today announced the Konica Minolta Color Care Suite, an efficient software application package to define, achieve and maintain product-specific quality standards for the award-winning series of ...read more

The new Bourg BSFx Sheet Feeder will demonstrate high-efficiency finishing connected to a new Bourg JDF-enabled BDFEx Document Finisher in Xerox Booth #400. Certified initially by Xerox to operate in-line with Xerox Nuvera 100, 120, 144, 200 and 288 Production Systems, the new dual-mode Bourg BSFx Sheet Feeder is equipped with an onboard bypass paper path that transfers printed covers and page content directly from the Xerox Nuvera print engine...read more

Xanté has teamed with Memjet to unveil its first wide-format press, the 42in wide Excelagraphix 4200 colour inkjet printer, which is also the first 42in device based on Memjet technology, at Graph Expo in Chicago...read more

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Print Audit Secure $1.00 per month per...

Tonight I was able to get a sneak preview of Print Audit Secure before the official launch tomorrow.

Here's what I can tell you, if you're not selling it, then your competitor is!

Print Audit secure allows for secure printing to MFP's and Printers. Plus it can be released via pin, swipe or passcode from any browser enable device! That's right, your smart phone, your iphone, your tablet, your andriod, and blackberry. Plus if you have a browser unit in the MFP, the print job can also be released by accessing the browser of the MFP.

What's the most popular reason people will give to hold on to their printers?? We've all heard and replied with a golly or a schucks, that reason would be, "I print confidential financials", or "we print HR documents all of the time". With Print Audit secure there's no more excuses especially with "follow me" printing. I'm at the mpf or printer on the 3rd floor, no problem I can release the prints via my smart phone on the printer I'm at!

What's one of the most annoying and wasteful items in the office? Well, it's those darn prints that were never picked up. Wasted paper, wasted toner, wasted time, lost pages, shredded pages, what happened to my document and let me re-print it again! Print Audit Secure solves it, the page is never printed unless it's released and there's a really nice purge feature if the document is not released in "x" amount of time.

Another outstanding feature is that Print Audit Secure is OEM neutral, that means all of us can sell it!!

Ok, ok, you may say but I've got locked print and I can do the same thing right? Well kinda, but wouldn't you much rather have a cool knockout feature, a different talk track, follow me printing, and excellent support (and we all know what support is like know from the manufacturers)for $1.00 per device per month! What!!??? Thats's what I said.

Print Audit Secure seems to be at the right place at the right time.

Here's a few webinar dates, I suggest everyone take a real good look at this game changing lockout solution!!

Be one of the first to check out Print Audit Secure!

Beginning September 15th, Print Audit's President and CEO, John MacInnes, will be conducting weekly informational webinars to introduce Secure.

Please register now at http://www.printaudit.com/securewebinar

Introducing Print Audit Secure!

Introducing Print Audit Secure! On September 15, Print Audit will be launching its highly anticipated pull-printing solution, Print Audit Secure. Join a free webinar to learn how Secure will help you drive more volumes to your machines and win more deals. Benefits Enables users to release their print jobs from any device with their smartphone or a web enabled computer. Easy to install with no reliance on print servers, print queues or port monitoring, which means no modifications to your customer's print environment. Low-cost per-device pricing model which makes it easy to bundle with your service and MPS contracts. Integrates with Print Audit 6 to maximize cost savings for your customers. Be one of the first to check out Print Audit Secure! Beginning September 15th, Print Audit's President and CEO, John MacInnes, will be conducting weekly informational webinars to introduce Secure. Please register now at http://www.printaudit.com/securewebinar

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Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

Printer vendors turn SMB savvy: Go gaga on MPS SolutionsThe most-talked trend at the moment is Managed Print Services, which many of the vendors are looking at to attract the attention of the SME crowd with the cost saving factor. According to a study, an enterprise/ SME invests about 1- 3 percent of its ...read more

New independent research has investigated the benefits of Managed Print Services (MPS) for medium-sized businesses - highlighting contract-managed opportunities for the sales channel. The report by IT research and analysis specialist, Quocirca found that escalating print costs and demand on employee resources are driving the demand for Managed Print Services for...read more

Manchester, UK and Berlin, Germany – 13 September 2011 – John Taylor, CEO of M2, will address how to deliver real customer value through managed print services (MPS), The Independent Way, at the third European MPS Conference on 11 October 2011. M2, the UK’s leading Independent MPS company, will be available to the forum to prove how customers benefit from independent consultancy...read more

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Top Five Short Notes for MFP & Copier Industry

Sometimes you'll have the ability to rattle off 500 to 600 words with a blog and sometimes you're just left with a  little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Thus this brings to me my Top Five Short Notes for the week or the last two weeks.  If it's popular I'll try and continue for everyone. 

1.  Seems traffic at Graph Expo in Chicago was excellent for Monday and Tuesday of this week, however Sunday was no where near as good with 9/11, and the Bears game.

2.  Ricoh seems to have a definite hit on their hands with the new Ricoh C651 series print production color system!  Traffic was awesome and reviews were just as good.  I for one am chomping at the bit waiting for us to get our first system in the door.  More to come on this unit very soon!

3. Even though I run the Print4Pay Hotel forums, and I'm still out on the street selling, I still find the time to make the forums work for my customers.  I had an issue with postscript printing of booklets, and internally I had no one to turn to that could help me.  With the recent downturn of support and this goes for all manufacturers, I turned to the P4P forums and found a workaround that a fellow P4P'er had posted a few months ago.  I turned the customer onto the workaround, it worked and all was good for the account.  As one P4P'er stated a few years ago, "The service you have and are providing is INVALUABLE. Any RFG consultant/rep worth their salt should be utilizing your site. I would highly recommend you charge a reasonable fee for these services, as the information you provide from around the world cannot be packaged adequately by the manufacturers. Other associations from other industries charge for memberships; this is a very small investment that provides tremendous "edown-in-the-trenches" resources to the members."  BTW, the Print4Pay Hotel has a FREE basic membership.

4. I just read an article about Kodak and about how they are reinventing themselves as a digital player for print production and printers.  I'm thinking this was a recycled article and I'm thinking they've been trying to do this for years.  About a year ago Kodak was high on my list to sell their print production business, however with Ricoh still struggling with IKON, Canon still trying to join two different cultures with themselves and OCE, Xerox, ACS and Global still buying dealerships, KonicaMinolta???  Anyway you slice it, seems like no one may have the cash to pull off something big.

5. When will it start,  meaning it's not a matter of if it's going to happen, however when and by whom.  I see Auxilio as a prime target to be bought by like the likes of Ricoh, Canon, Xerox, or KonicaMinolta, hey maybe even Lexmark or Okidata.  To me the writing is on the wall. With the BIG 4 focusing on health care, government and law, Auxilio is fruit that's ripening on the vine and ready to be picked!

Well that's for those thoughts that have been pounding around in my head for the last few days, enjoy, comment if you wish but above all good selling to everyone!!

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

Konica Minolta to Highlight Corporate Initiatives at Graph Expo 2011 ...Read 'Konica Minolta to Highlight Corporate Initiatives at Graph Expo 2011' on Yahoo! News. Provides Production Print Customers with Valuable Resources ...read more

Konica Minolta Donates Award-Winning bizhub Press C8000 to ...Read 'Konica Minolta Donates Award-Winning bizhub Press C8000 to Printing Industries of America' on Yahoo! News. Next Generation Color Digital Press ...read more

Xerox, Customers Receive Industry Accolades at Graph Expo 2011Digital printing systems and software from Xerox and XMPie were awarded eight honors in the annual "Must See 'ems" award program, and 12 Gold Ink Awards recognizing exceptional digital printing technology in commercial print and graphic arts industries ...read more

New Fiery XF proServer Maximizes Throughput of EFI VUTEk Superwide Inkjet Printers CHICAGO, Sept. 12, 2011 GRAPH EXPO -- EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today launched Fiery® XF proServer...read more

ROCHESTER, N.Y., – At Graph Expo 2011, KODAK Technology is featured in more than a dozen booths throughout the show. These offerings, from workflow automation to print finishing solutions, are used to create a range of innovative applications and...read more

CHICAGO—Sept. 12, 2011—Océ, a Canon Group company and an international leader in digital document management, today announced that GRAPH EXPO 2011 marks the public debut of the Océ ColorStream® 3500 system in North America. Unveiled at Canon Expo in...read more

ROCKVILLE, MD--(Sep 12, 2011) - MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of the new report "U.S. Peripherals 2011-2015 Forecast and Analysis" to their collection of Computer Equipment market reports. For more information,...read more

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MFP & Copier Weekend Industry Updates" P4P Hotel forums

After a week in which I experienced my first Hurricane and Earthquake it's back to normal in the wonderful garden state of New Jersey!

Is it just me or did we feel a drop in business since the Great Debt Debacle?  Please let me know if this is happening in other parts of the country!

Below are some of the threads that were posted for discussion on the Print4Pay Hotel forums. Enjoy!

Announcements & Discussions Forums:
Cloud Poll
Fenestrae's UDOCX Proud Sponsor at the European SharePoint Conference in Berlin
HDD Wiping/Reformatting
Is giving away free stuff to the DM (built into your cost) ethical?
Toner Save Software to Get MPS CPCs Down

P4P Hotel's "Pricing on the Street":
Ikon Ricoh 7501c "Pricing on the Street"
sharp quote for MXM623NP2
Canon iR3245's w/ iR3380
New askalpha 520i
IKON Quote PRO907EX

P4P Hotel's Document Library:
Print Production Glossary
July MFP Journal
Ricoh Wide Format Color Scanner Sell Document
Sizzle off the Press - Xerox ColorQube 9300 series
MFPs M4555 & CM4540 MFP HP's Latest

RFp's, RFQ's & Leads:
Digital Production Copier/Scanner/Printer Cost Per Copy Service
Maintenance Support Agreement ~ Xerox B/W Copiers
Canon Color Copiers
Major RFI for over 565 plus units in NE USA

2011 Digital Production Copier RFP.

Copier Stuff We Found on the Web:

Leasing a Ricoh copier for about $123.50 per

Suspected counterfeit artist arrested with fake $100s

BBT Group, a supplier of office copier and print products

Dumb Ass "Still trying to make money with Copier"

School District of Jefferson Board of Education first heard from representatives of I

P4P Polls

Solution Sales Poll

New August Sales Quota Poll
The Ricoh Throne Poll

Comp Plan Poll

Pietrunti Gig Poll

The Print4Pay Hotel forums are closed to the public and only accessible for industry professionals. To date we have over 2,300 registered members that consists of Dealer Owners, Dealer and Direct Sales Managers, Dealer & Direct Account Representatives, Manufacturers Direct Reps, and Industry Analysts. Log in here to become a member of the largest social group of imaging professionals in the world!

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Top Ten Print Production Certification Tests

I'm excited to announce a new feature on the Print4Pay Hotel forums!  We just launched our first Certification Testing for the Print Production Industry. 

In all we'll have 10 tests that are intended to help you learn more about the terms, instruments, technology and language that's used in the Print Production Industry. The speeds and feeds are up to you. These Certification Tests are posted in the Print4Pay Hotel U forums.

We realize that the growth in the Copier/MFP industry is at the very high end.  However, the systems from Canon, Ricoh, Xerox, HP and KonicaMinolta require you to be an expert with work flow and know what your system can and can't do along with your competitors. Now we can't tell what each machine can and can't do, but we can help with growing your knowledge in the Print Production Industry.

The Certification Testing is open to all members, however all of the research documents will need to be downloaded from the Print4Pay Hotel forums.  These documents will be posted in on the P4P's Document Library for easy access.

For each week for the next 10 weeks we'll post a new Print Production Certification on the forums.  We'll be uploading new documents to the P4P Document Library also.  Make no mistake!  This is an excellent way to gain additional knowledge and become and expert in a matter of months.  Upon completion of a passing grade you'll be able to print out your Print Production Certificate that recognizes your achievement.

I've got a head start on this and we've already posted the first two certification tests, and they can be accessed here.

Print Production Certification Test 1

Print Production Certification Test II

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Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

HP, Printelligent Partner on Managed Print ServicesThe acquisition could help HP's channel partners extend their customer relationships in Managed Print Services. Technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of ...read more

HP Stakes New Territories in Traditional Printing and BeyondAfter its recent acquisition of Printelligent, a leader in managed print services (MPS), HP is rolling out HP Partner Managed Print Services, the first of several channel-enabled MPS offerings that HP plans to launch over the next year. ...read more

Lyra's New Report Forecasts Short Revival for Single-Function Monochrome Laser ...Over the long term, factors such as the adoption of managed print services (MPS) and the migration to shared multifunction devices will slow the growth of the monochrome laser printer market. This transition will affect the A4 workgroup segment the ...read more

ACAS publishes social media usage guideHP Managed Print Services and the Environment - HP Managed Print Services (MPS) can help your organization meet its operational and sustainability goals. Discover ways to reduce costs, reduce paper usage, streamline your recycling and disposal process, ...read more

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Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

Sharp launches new MFP tool

Sharp Middle East has launched the Open System Architecture (OSA) - Network Scanner Tool (NST) for its range of Multi Function Printers (MFP), the company ...read more

Combined US printer and multifunction peripheral (MFP) page volume will reach 1.2 trillion in the US at by the end of 2015, with a relatively marginal growth of 0.1% (CAGR) between 2010 and 2015, according to new...read more

Konica-Minolta, a printing equipment manufacturer, wanted to optimize the contract management process at its French subsidiary, improving its reliability as well as customer satisfaction. Seventy employees at Konica-Minolta's French subsidiary work ...read more

WEST CALDWELL, N.J., Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment and advanced document management solutions and services, today announced that the New York Giants have named Ricoh as their Official Document Solutions Partner...read more 

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In a continuing effort to help graphic communications providers grow their businesses, produce more jobs and control costs, Xerox Corporation will introduce four new business development resources at Graph Expo...read more

At GRAPH EXPO 2011, EFI™ (Nasdaq:EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, will showcase its portfolio of solutions that continue to lead the industry's progression from analog to digital technology. EFI's suite of offerings will be...read more

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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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Daily Managed Print Industry Notes from Around the World!

SMBs, like larger enterprises, depend on printing for a variety of business activities. Even the smallest office needs a fast, reliable, cost-effective printer capable of professional looking output. Yet SMBs have limited expert resources when it comes to handling common print management tasks...read more

Ricoh unveils new tiered structure as its looks to double print sales in UK Print vendor Ricoh is to debut a new a new tiered structure for its channel partners in the UK. “There wasn’t a strong feeling in the indirect channel about Ricoh – what we do, and what we’re about,” explains Steven Hastings, who took over the role of IT distribution manager at Ricoh last November... read more

India represents a 120 billion-page opportunity over the next three years. Content in India is growing at twice the global rate, and there’s a definite movement from analog to digital printing. India is also the fastest-growing managed print services (MPS) market in the Asia Pacific. To leverage this opportunity we recently announced a three-year growth strategy. We are strengthening our geo-expansion programs to optimize young consumer opportunities in non-metro and upcountry markets...read more

Relevant market insight is priceless and can come from unexpected sources.

“Our greatest competitors are not other restaurants, but TV sets,” said Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado, the former owner of a successful chain of brewpubs [George Will, Washington Post, 09/01/2011]. He had the foresight to open a restaurant in downtown Denver when it was not the “place to be.” His keen market insight led to placing advertising for other restaurants inside his pubs to build downtown customer traffic... read more

Yet SMEs are faced with limited resources and expertise when it comes to the common tasks of dealing with printer problems and ordering supplies. Today, the vast majority of SMEs purchase their printer or multifunctional device separately to supplies such as ink and toner, with most purchasing these on an ad-hoc transactional basis. Printers can place a huge administrative and support burden on staff, which diverts them from their core activities...read more

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Sep 06, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The death of the printed page has been greatly exaggerated, and although print volume will remain relatively flat between 2010 and 2015 (0.1% CAGR), combined U.S. printer and multifunction peripheral (MFP) page volume will reach 1.2 trillion at the end of the forecast period...read more

-=Good Selling=-

Daily Copier & MFP Industry Notes from around the World

Contex, the world’s leading developer of wide format scanning and imaging solutions, will host an educational webinar on September 1, 2011, “Increase Your Productivity with the Contex/KODAK CapturePro Bundle.” The webinar will discuss Contex and Kodak’s expanded relationship, which enables Contex Americas to bundle ...read more

Kennesaw, Ga., – Commercial printers eager to improve their quality, serve their customers better, and enlarge their profit margins will find much to appreciate in Heidelberg's extensive sheetfed portfolio.  Representing state-of-the-art conventional production in the Heidelberg booth (1200) at Graph Expo will be a 5-color-plus-coater Speedmaster SM 74 featuring Prinect Axis Control and the 40" Wallscreen display; and a 5-color-plus-coater Speedmaster ...read more

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Sept. 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EFI™ (Nasdaq:EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced availability of the Fiery® E-41A server for the Ricoh® Pro C651EX/C751EX/C751 color production system, bringing superior ...read more

ROCHESTER, N.Y, Sep 06, 2011  -- Xerox Corporation is bringing the world's only high-speed waterless production inkjet device to Graph Expo 2011, giving printers the ability to produce high-volume, lucrative personalized marketing, transpromo and publishing pages...read more

Ricoh India Limited, a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Limited, Japan, (a US$ 22 billion company) player in imaging solutions, announced its aggressive expansion plans into the fast emerging laser printer market in India. It has unveiled three new models of laser printers and A4 multi function printers (MFPs): the SP 1210N...read more

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Sep 06, 2011 Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today introduced the latest addition to its award-winning imageFORMULA lineup, the Canon DR-M160 document scanner. With a combination of performance, convenience and flexibility, the Canon imageFORMULA...read more

-=Good Selling=-

New Copier and MFP Selling Polls!

Over on the Print4Pay Hotel forums, the only forums in the world dedicated for people in the copier industry professionals to collaborate with each other. We've posted a few new polls.

The latest is the Solutions Sales Poll, basically we're asking what percentage of your copier/MFP sales also include an OEM Solution or a Third Party solution such as and not limited to ECopy, UDOCX, Nuance, NSI, Jet Mobile, PrintAudit, Print Director, Planet Press, Document Management, etc.. Along with that we've also asked if you include the Professional Services or add them as chargeable.

Our second Poll is the August Sales Quota Poll (take this poll now), to me this is more about how I can judge my efforts with all of the sale people in the business, not just looking at what I did in my company but more about how we performed as a group and with our peers!  July's Sales Quota Poll was pretty impressive for mist Print4Pay Hotel members.

The third poll is our Comp Plan Poll, pretty much just voting on what type of comp plan you are on. Whether it's a hybrid, gross profit or gross revenue. Click the link for the Copier and MFP Comp Plan Poll.

Last but not least is our Copier/MFP take down poll, here your selecting what manufacturers devices you've knocked out.  I find this one of the most interesting polls because you can really get a good feel for the population of boxes in commercial accounts.

That's it for the latest polls, but what's really cool is that there are ove 200 polls posted on the Print4Pay Hotel forums!

-=Good Selling=-

Print4Pay Hotel's brush with Irene!

My apologies for zero threads and posts on the blog and the forums.  What I thought would be a quiet vacation the week before Labor Day turned out to be an interesting week.

Living so close to the Atlantic Ocean and Sandy Hook Bay, I took notice with Irene.  I can remember my parents telling me about one Hurricane and I was to young at that time to remember Donna either coming close to New Jersey or hitting New Jersey.

Looking down Bay Ave.

Power went out on Saturday about 11PM, wind, rain, sirens all seemed to be in harmony for a worry some evening, since the weather channel had been reporting gusts in excess of 100 mph and sustained winds about 75mph along with the possibility of tornado's.  WTF, this is New Jersey, we DON'T get Hurricanes, Tornado's and Earthquakes!! 

I spent the night downstairs with my 185lb mixed roty/mastiff dog and he's not too keen on storms, if it rains or there's lightning he's off to one of the bathrooms hiding! So, I thought it was best to keep him downstairs with me, cause if we had to get out quick, there was no way I was getting him to get out of the bathroom.

Irene toppled trees into powerlines near Highlands, N.J.

Sunday morning there was still no power, the rain had subsided, however there were still strong winds.  I quickly ventured outside to survey any damage, we did not have any however many of the neighbors had some downed trees.  I went to the back of my yard which over looks Sandy Hook Bay, the lower portion of the town of Highlands, Sandy Hook and the ocean.  This was right about high tide and I could see that 80% of Highlands had been flooded with storm surge and high tide.  In some areas it looked like the water was 5-6 feet deep!

Looking down the street at The Inlet Cafe.

The weather improved though out the day, the wind kept blowing until the next day and then my week of vacation turned into finding things to do with out power.  Power was finally restored on Thursday in the AM.  We had spent almost 5 days with no power!  Once the power was back on Internet usage was spotty so I figured I'd just hang up the posting on the Print4Pay Hotel forms and the MFP Solutions blog until I came back from vacation.

-=Back to Work=-