May 3, 2016

More details on Lexmark purchase

– Lexmark announced that a group of Chinese interests paid $3.6 billion for the entire company (Lexmark FY15 revenue was $3.6 billion)

– Buyer is a group consisting of Apex Technology, PAG Asia Capital and Legend Capital Management Co. o Apex includes Ninestar, which is a maker of non-OEM print cartridges, that has been sued many times by Lexmark, HP, Canon and others for patent infringement § Also includes Zhuhai Seine Technology, • Total revenue of $350 million in 2015

  • Has attempted in past to launch its own printers and MFP
  • Most recent attempt was the Pantum line of laser printers
  • Owns 70% of Apex’s voting shares

 

  • China Integrated Circuit is also a shareholder

 

o PAG is a private equity firm with $15 million under management

o Legend is also a shareholder of Seine, and owner of Lenovo

 

– Lexmark, once a division of IBM, holds almost 4,000 approved and pending patents related to printers and MFPs

– Company claims that headquarters will remain in Lexington, Kentucky, with Paul Rooke as CEO, but company’s stock will cease to be traded on the NYSE

– “We will be able to continue to invest in and grow the business to more fully penetrate the Asia Pacific market for hardware, software and managed print services”

– Ken Stewart, a printer industry analyst, and principal consultant with ChangeForge LLC, based in Greenville, S.C., said he expects this sale will end up igniting a price war in the printer space. o “Chinese companies are known for driving efficiency,” he said, adding that he believes Apex will streamline Lexmark’s supply chain and manufacturing processes to make the company more competitive on price. That, he added, will fuel a battle with other printer manufacturers to capture market share with low prices.

o Stewart said the price race has been underway for some time with the development of inkjet options for business customers from such companies as Brother and Epson — which allow customers to reduce expenses by not buying toner — and matching prices from printer manufacturing giant HP Inc.

o “If you are going to start a price war, you are going to need deep pockets, and I think (Apex) has that,” he said.

o In the short term, Stewart said, the race will benefit partners with better price points, but after a while, the channel will begin to compete on lower pricing and the value-added hardware will be difficult to sell at a higher price.

 

 

Lexmark sale brings out law firms

– Now that Lexmark announced it is being acquired by Apex/PAG/Legend of China, the following law firms announced they are investigating the sale on behalf of shareholders: o Tripp Levy

o Johnson & Weaver

o Rigrodsky & Long

o Power Taylor

o Robbins Arroyo

o Levi & Korinsky

o Brodsky & Smith

o Brower Priven

o Harwood Feffer

 

 

Japan hit by large earthquake

– Measured 7.3 on the Richter Scale, following by second one at 6.4

– Death toll of 41 and growing

– Epicenter of quake was village of Minamiaso in southern Japan

– 500,000 homes without water and 100,000 without electricity

– Sony reported that its factory that makes image sensors for Apple is now closed due to damage

– Unknown if the quakes will impact Japanese MFP manufacturers

 

U.S. Postal Service drops rates

– The rate of a First Class postage stamp decreased on 4/10/16 from 49 cents to 47 cents

– First rate decrease since World War One

– Postcards now 34 cents

– Every Door Direct Mail rate now 17.5 cents apiece

 

HP Inc. wins production print contract

– Award from SG360 of Wheeling, Illinois

– Installed an Indigo 10000 production color system

 

HP Inc. sells software division

– Sold the content management software division including products; HP TeamSite, HP MeediaBin, HP Qfiniti, HP Explore, HP Aurasma and HP Optimost

– Sold to OpenText of Canada

– Will be part of the Customer Experience Management and Cloud Offering

– Selling price of $170 million

 

Kyocera to build new plant

– Kyocera (aka Kyoto Ceramic Company) announced that it will begin construction of new manufacturing facility in Ayabe City, Japan

– Will be used to make miniaturized organic packages to house microelectronic devices used inside smartphones & tablet PCs

– Building size of 13,143 meters squared

 

Canon wins school contract

– Award from North Central College of Naperville, IL

– MFP models include IR-400iF, 4225, 4235, 250iF, 350iF, 5235, 5240, 5250, 5255

– Includes cost recovery solution from PaperCut

– School will charge students $0.05 for b/w page and $0.10 for color page

 

Canon wins production print contract

– Award from DMM Inc. of Scarborough, ME o Installed an Oce’ VarioStream 8000 continuous feed production inkjet system

o Used to create transactional print and direct mail pieces

 

– Award from Jumbo Xerox, a commercial printer in India o Installed an imagePRESS C700 production color system

o Reasons given to choose C700: § operates at 70ppm

  • duty cycle of 400,000 pages
  • resolution is 2400x2400dpi at 8-bits per pixel
  • Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) lasers, a 32 multi-beam system
  • Ability to print on specialized texture papers

 

o Will be used to produce: § coffee-table books

  • photo books
  • photo business cards
  • booklet printing
  • brochures
  • catalogues
  • stationery

 

 

 

Staples sells off division

– Announced it has sold its “Print Solutions” division to Taylor Corp. of North Mankato, Minnesota

– Staples is trying to complete an acquisition of Office Depot for $6.3 billion

– Taylor recently acquired Standard Register for $307 million during a bankruptcy auction

 

Printing News reports on franchise print

– Total global printing and related sales for franchised operations in 2015 was flat at $1.48 billion

– Total number of locations drops from 2198 to 2166, as reported by Alliance Franchise Brands, Alphagraphics, Franchise Services Inc., ICED, Minuteman Press o Total locations in U.S.: § Minuteman = 781

  • Franchise Services (Sir Speedy, PiP, Signal Graphics, Multicopy) = 359
  • Alliance Franchise Brands (Allegra, Insty-Prints, American Speedy Printing, Speedy Printing and Zippy Print) = 272
  • Alphagraphics = 254
  • ICED = 134

 

 

– Average sales per shop up 10% to $740,000 per year

– Offset printing services down 3%

– Percent of sales by job type: o Digital color sales now 24% of market

o b/w digital = 7.7%

o offset = 16.5%

o prepress = 7.7%

o wide format = 9%

o finishing/mailing = 7.3%

o label printing = 0.5%

 

 

Intel announces massive layoff of workers

– Chip giant, Intel Corp, announced it is “restructuring its workforce”

– As a result, 11% of its employees will lose their jobs, or a total of 12,000 workers

– Company is working to minimize the effect of a slow market for PCs

– Company will now focus on data centers, programmable chips and technology for Internet of Things products

– Cost of restructuring is $1.2 billion this year

– Hopes to save $1.4 billion by mid 2017

– Also is looking for new CFO, as current CFO, Stacy Smith, is moving to new role as head of sales, manufacturing and operations

 

Epson launches new managed print service

– Launched a trial program in The Netherlands, called “Print365”

– Is for their color inkjet printers and MFPs that use aluminum foil ink bags

– Epson claims these devices use 90% less energy than laser based models

– Also claims that they have 90% less service interventions than lasers

– The ink bags have yields ranging from 20,000 to 75,000 pages based on 5% coverage per color

– The program for all service and supplies, “all you can print” for $225/month flat rate

– No meter collection

 

Toshiba to dump its new CEO?

– The Sankei newspaper in Japan is reporting that current CEO, Masahi Muromachi, will be stepping down

– The company’s nominating committee will meet to discuss a successor

– Muromachi took over in July, 2015 after his predecessor and a number of other top executives resigned for their roles in a huge accounting scandal

– Toshiba Corp. is poised to name Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Satoshi Tsunakawa, 60, as next president of the electronics and machinery giant rocked by accounting fraud, informed sources said Sunday.

– Current President Masashi Muromachi, 66, will step aside in late June as he has paved the way for reconstruction of Toshiba.

– Through the leadership change, the current management will also take responsibility for the firm’s poor earnings and massive job cuts in the wake of the accounting scandal, the sources said.

– Toshiba’s nomination committee, chaired by Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. Chairman Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, will set the appointment plan in May. o After approval at a board meeting, the plan will be presented to a general meeting of shareholders in late June.

o The appointment will become final after that.

 

– Toshiba is considering how to treat Muromachi after the leadership change.

– Toshiba has shed more than 14,000 jobs, including through personnel relocation, and sold appliances and other operations.

– Against the background, the company is set to report some 500 billion yen in consolidated net loss for the year that ended in March.

– Tsunakawa, who joined Toshiba in 1979, has worked mainly at the sales and planning divisions of medical equipment operations. He served as president of Toshiba Medical Systems Corp., which has been sold to Canon Inc. for 665.5 billion yen.

 

Toshiba to dump more employees?

– The Nikkei Asian Review newspaper reports that the company will cut 14,000 employees, or double the number it reported in December, 2015

– 7,610 of the cuts will come from PC and consumer electronics division

– Last year, Toshiba had a total of 198,741 employees

 

Toshiba reports on its recycling program

– Toshiba America Business Solutions claims that it recycled 174 tons of used toner cartridges in 2015

– Toshiba uses Close the Loop, a recycler headquartered in Australia

– Claims to have recycled a total of 712 tons since 2008

 

Toshiba hit by lawsuit

– Several U.S. citizens are suing Toshiba for allegedly misrepresenting certain types of its televisions.

– Class-action lawsuit April 13 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Toshiba alleging violations of business and civil codes in California, New Mexico, Florida and New Jersey.

– The suit states the Toshoiba falsely marketed and advertised LED HDTVs, because they are not in fact LED TVs, but are instead LCD TVs that use light emitting diodes (LEDs) to light the liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.

– The defendants allegedly failed to disclose to consumers that its references to LED concern not the display technology itself, but the light source that illuminates the LCD panel.

 

Toshiba to write down value of division

– Toshiba Corp is preparing to write down the value of its stake in U.S. nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse by around 200 billion yen ($1.83 billion), sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

– According to Fortune magazine, fears over Toshiba’s finances and the possibility of more writedowns have lingered among investors.

– Toshiba had said last month that it was conducting a stress test to see whether it would need to write down its nuclear business.

– Nuclear power has become less popular since Toshiba’s investment in Westinghouse in 2006, especially in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

 

44 year old arrested for making fake bills

– The Sheriff’s office in Santa Clara County, California, announced it arrested Eric Aspden or Cupertino, CA

– Found color MFP in apartment and thousands of dollars worth of fake $20 bills

– Was selling them over the Internet, and shipped them to customers in 30 different states

 

Xeikon wins production print contracts

– The Label Smith installed a Xeikon 3500 production color system

– Logo Label Printing installed a Xeikon 3030 production color system

– Lake Graphics installed a Xeikon 3030 production color system

 

Commercial printers buying less equipment

– Data reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce

– Investments in new equipment fell 7% from $2.63 billion to $2.44 billion in 2014

– Acquisition of refurbished/used equipment up and now represents 12% of total spend

 

EFI reports its earnings

– Electronics For Imaging, Inc. announced its results for the first quarter of 2016.

– For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company reported record first quarter revenue of $234.1 million, up 20% compared to first quarter 2015 revenue of $194.6 million.

– Non-GAAP operating income was $33.5 million compared to $28.3 million for the same period in 2015.

– Non-GAAP net income was $26.3 million or $0.55 per diluted share compared to non-GAAP net income of $21.4 million

– GAAP operating income was $6.7 million compared to $11.1 million for the same period in 2015.

– GAAP net income was $1.9 million or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to $5.2 million or $0.11 per diluted share for the same period in 2015.

– “Our team’s execution drove another quarter of solid performance across the EFI portfolio, led by good growth in our Industrial Inkjet segment,” said Guy Gecht, CEO of EFI. “At the upcoming drupa tradeshow we expect to introduce entirely new platforms in every segment of our business, including an expansion into the vast packaging space. We expect products based on these powerful and versatile new platforms to fuel our growth in the coming years.”

 

Ricoh wins production print contracts

– Award from Urban Lending Solutions for their CRD in Denver, CO o Installed two of the Ricoh InfoPrint 5000 GP continuous-feed color inkjet presses

 

– Award from California State University in San Bernardino, CA o Installed a Ricoh Pro C7110X production color system

 

– Award from Impression Graphics of Pune, India o Installed a new Ricoh Pro C7100 production color system

o Reasons given for choosing the C7100: § excellent image quality

  • consistent print on the long run jobs
  • paper feeding technology

 

o Will be used to produce: § short-run manuals

  • brochures
  • visiting cards
  • offset proofs
  • parking stickers
  • customized greeting cards
  • transpromo prints
  • variable data printing
  • wedding cards

 

 

 

Epson wins wide format contract

– FASTSIGNS International, Inc. and Epson announced a partnership to offer franchisees the all-new Epson SureColor® S60600 roll-to-roll solvent printer.

– Beginning May 1, all 600 franchisees in the FASTSIGNS network will be able to integrate the high-speed, high-production printer into centers

– Currently, three locations have the new printer installed, with 33 new FASTSIGNS centers expected to open this year with the new printer.

– “After undergoing an extensive selection process, we made the decision to travel to Epson’s headquarters in Japan to see the design and manufacturing capabilities firsthand,” said FASTSIGNS Director of Tech and Supply Chain Brian Boehm. o “In addition to the attainable price point offered by the Epson SureColor S60600, we were incredibly impressed by the updated technology the printer offers, making it a true workhorse, which we know all of our franchisees will enjoy.”

 

 

Xerox wins production print contract

– Award from Time Customer Service Inc., a full service marketing company, in Tampa, FL

– Installed a Xerox Impika production color inkjet press.

 

Xerox opens new location

– Las Vegas-based mall owner Moonbeam Equities I LLC inked a seven-year, 70,000-square-foot lease for a new Xerox Customer Service Center

– will take up most of half of the space formerly occupied by Sears

 

Fuji wins production print contract

– Award from Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center in Commerce, Calif.

– Installed a new Fuji J Press 540W production color inkjet continuous feed system

– Will be used to churn out a variety of magazines, publications and informational materials for the church

– Reasons for choosing the 540W: o low upfront cost

o reasonable operation costs

o fast 416-feet-per-minute production speed

o smallest footprint — just 9•22´.

o 600•600dpi quality

 

 

InPlant Graphics releases survey results

– Survey of CRD (in-house print/copy shops in various vertical markets)

– Average budget of $3,325,131/year, down from $4,306,341 o 21.7% = equipment and supplies

o 23% = paper

o 33.1% = labor

o 5.8% = print procurement

o 8.1% = postage

o 5.5% = overhead

 

– Average number of employees = 18.6, down from 24

– Percentage of total revenue: o 61% = digital

o 19% = offset

o 7.2% = wide format

o 7.8% = mailing/fulfillment

o 5% = services (web, scanning, etc.)

 

 

Clinics get EHR, but are still using fax machines

– In Canada, Nova Scotia admitted that medical clinics are still using fax machines to communicate with each other

– This is after $30 million was spent on new EHRs

 

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