December 15, 2015

Sharp’s financial situation update

– Company is considering shrinking its struggling liquid crystal display (LCD) business

o Mulling downsizing production of 32” LCD TV panels at its mainstay Kameyama plant in Japan

o May also close plant in Mie, Japan, if demand for smartphone LCD display panels produced there does not recover

o The Mie plants, which started operations in 1995, employ 1700 workers

o May also sell off its plant in the country of India

– The Japanese government, through its Innovation Network Corp. has apparently put off a plan to invest $1.6 billion in Sharp, after it failed to agree on terms with the banks that own Sharp’s debt

 

Sharp acquires copier dealer

– Announced it acquired the MFP division of Sandhills Office Systems

– Has several locations in North Carolina, including Rockingham, Burlington, Lumberton, Asheboro and Albemarle

– Before acquisition, sold by Sharp and Kyocera MFPs

– Former owner is Laverne Schultz

– Purchase price not announced

 

Sharp offers new solution

– Announced it has partnered with Blackboard Software

– Allows end users to use MFPs to scan into Blackboard Learning management system, which is popular in the education vertical

– Pricing not announced

 

Nikon buys division of Samsung

– Nikon has reportedly acquired all of Samsung’s NX camera technology

– Samsung is rumored to be pulling out of the camera market

– Nikon is planning to use Samsung’s sensor, video and processor technology to help launch a new professional mirrorless system

 

IDC reports on large format printer sales

– Worldwide unit placements down 4% during last quarter

o Modest large format printer unit growth in the U.S.

– Aqueous inkjet printer shipments declined

– UV and eco-solvent printer shipments up 20%

– Latex inkjet printer shipments down

– Toner-based unit sales down worldwide

o HP latex and UV printer units up with number one market share

o Canon in second position with 21% of total market (under Canon and/or Oce’ brand names)

o Epson is in third place, and saw growth in dye sublimation and technical printer segments

o Roland is in 4th place, with growth in UV and dye sublimation

o Mimaki is in 5th place

 

IDC reports on production printer sales

– Worldwide PPS unit placements up 9.9% during last quarter

– Unit shipments of approximately 10,500 worldwide

– Shipment value up 5.9% to $1.2 billion

– 15.7% increase in the U.S.

– Total PPS hardware revenue worldwide market share by vendor

o Xerox = 41.7%

o HP = 18.9%

o Ricoh = 12.9%

o Konica Minolta = 10.4%

o Canon = 10.1%

 

Context Inc. reports on 3D printer sales

– Global 3D printer shipments have surpassed 500,000 units

– 85% of units sold as desktop/personal use units, with average selling price of $1451

– Market is on track to ship its millionth unit by 2017

– Predicts 1 million per year sold by 2019

– Most desktop units are sold to educational institutions

– Unit shipments of approximately 10,500 worldwide

– Shipment value up 5.9% to $1.2 billion

 

3D Systems has layoff

– Announced it is closing its office in Andover, Massachusetts, laying off 85 employees

– Headquarters is in Rock Hill, South Carolina

– “result of a strategic decision to consolidate operations”

 

Canon wins production print contract

– Award from Capital Color of Mysore, India

– Installed a DreamLabo 5000, a production color inkjet system

– Used primarily to produce wedding photos

 

Canon to change factories

– Company’s CEO, Fujio Mitarai, announced it will use its factories in Asia outside of Japan to mass produce lower priced goods and reduce costs

– Will dedicate its Japanese plants to manufacturing high end devices only

– Opened a new desktop printer plant in the Philippines

– Will decrease the Japanese plants from making 60% of all products to just 40%

 

Samsung looking to diversify

– Has appointed Koh Dong Jin as new president of mobile technology division

– “Based on Koh’s career background, it suggests Samsung will put more weight on its software focus instead of hardware”; said analyst, Greg Roh.

– According to Bloomberg News, the company is looking to move away from its sole focus on hardware, and transition to a software company

 

Samsung under investigation

– Kim Hongsik, Director of South Korea’s Capital Markets Investigation Unit, announced that he is investigating possible insider trading by Samsun executives

– Reportedly 9 Samsung executives purchase as much as $43 million of Cheil Industries stock before the company announced a deal where Samsung acquired the company

 

Samsung agrees to pay fine

– 5 years after Apple originally sued Samsung for infringing smartphone patents, the company agreed to pay $548 million to Apple

– Apple originally asked for $2.5 billion in damages, but various appeals brought that number down

 

Xerox wins solution contract

– Award from the Department of the Navy, for its Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command

– Installed DocuShare, and ECM solution

 

Xerox wins production print contracts

– Award from Gillingham Press of Gillingham, England

o Installed a Xerox Color C60 production color system

o Chosen because of its ability to print on 300gsm and offering 2400dpi

– Award from Vision Press of South Africa

o Installed a Versant 80 production color system

o Reasons given for choosing the Versant 80 were:

  • 80K/mo duty cycle
  • Up to 350gsm
  • 2400dpi

 

Xerox wins award from BLI

– Given to the Xerox Color C60, a device advertised as a production color system

– Top speed of 60ppm full color

– Based on same engine as that used in Xerox workgroup MFPs

– Buyers Laboratory Inc. gave the product its “PRO award” for the light color production category

– “Thanks to its ability to comfortably run specialty media types such as plastics, tear-proof vinyl window clings, magnets, signs and textured linens, along with robust software tools such as SIQA to correct variations in density and front to back registration, the Xerox Color C60 is an ideal fit for commercial and quick print shops, as well as CRDs looking to keep work in house.”; stated Pete Emory of BLI

 

Xerox wins managed IT contract

– Award from the City of Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System

– Will streamline and improve administration and record keeping operations

 

Fuji wins production print contract

– Award from Wegner Inc., a commercial printer in Bremen, Germany

– Installed a Jet Press 720S production color inkjet system

 

Epson launches paper recycling machine

– Launched the new Epson PaperLab, the world’s first recycling system to take waste paper and instantly transform it into new paper

– Takes three minutes to take shredded paper and convert it to a clean recycled sheet

– Can produce 14 letter-sized sheets a minute

– Uses “Dry Fiber” technology

– Unit is roughly same size as a production print device

– Selling price not announced

 

Ricoh holds commercial print council

– Took place in Ricoh facility in Staines, England

– 15 people attended representing 8 different commercial printers from 6 countries

– Interacted with Ricoh technical representatives

– Guest speaker, Ralf Schlozer, from InfoTrends, stated:

o Printing is very much alive

o Digital color print remains on growth path with inkjet leading way

o Should consider impact of cloud-based software solutions

o Businesses will emerge and use print as a way to manufacture things, i.e. 3D, textiles, etc.

o Number one priority for marketers is increasing customer experience, lowering costs is 2nd

 

Ricoh forms new consulting group

– Announced the formation of the new Ricoh Consulting Group

– Aimed at users of its production print systems

– A team of production experts to deliver professional services for:

o Color management

  • Providing G7 Master certification services

o Document Composition & Multi-channel Distribution

  • Streamlining design of communication management
  • Determining invoice distribution paths
  • Creating business rules to create content
  • Ensure high efficiency and throughput, while driving down costs

o Workflow automation

  • In-depth workflow assessments of eCommerce, Web Storefront and MIS technology platforms
  • Create a strategy and roadmap for customers to automate manual processes

o Business continuity services and disaster recovery services

o Strategic business systems consulting (“a holistic and hands-on analysis of crucial areas of a customers’ operation’)

  • Operational reviews
  • Voice of customer studies
  • Market rate development
  • Project management services

 

Ricoh wins production print contracts

– Award from Doveton Press of Bristol, England

o Units sold by Heidelberg, installed the Linoprint CP and Linoprint CV, which are relabeled versions of the Pro C7110X and Pro C9110 series

o Reasons given to choose Ricoh units were ability to produce spot gloss and white toner

– Award from T&C Printers of Bromley, England

o Unit sold by Heidelberg, installed the Linoprint CV

o Will be used primarily to produce product brochures

 

Toshiba financial troubles update

– Company announced that 33 of its executive officers will receive no pay linked to company or division performance this year, a show of contrition to gain understanding toward planned restructuring

– Normally, 10-20% of variable compensation for Toshiba executives is linked to performance, but this will reduced to zero in the wake of widespread accounting fraud

– Monthly base salaries have also been reduced for high ranking executives

– The Financial Services Agency is rumored to be considering levying a 7.3 billion fine on Toshiba, the highest ever in Japan

– Toshiba is considering merging its PC division with Fujitsu and Vaio.

o Vaio, formerly a division of Sony, would likely be the surviving PC company with the other 2 making investments and transferring their operations to the combined entity

– Sony is buying Toshiba’s image sensor division for $155 million.

 

Toshiba sues Katun

– Has filed a lawsuit against Katun Corp. alleging that Katun has infringed on 9 patents

– Katun makes low cost toner cartridges, sold to dealers as alternative to buying factory original toner

 

Kyocera cell phone that can be washed

– Kyocera launched the Digno Rafre, a smartphone that is soap proof

– Has been rated for hot water resistance at 43 degrees Celsius

– Comes with rubber ducky dock, which floats in bathtub

– Pricing not announced

 

Kyocera launches new solution

– Kyocera announced that its MFPs now support connection to Google Cloud Print

– Available for its HyPAS equipped MFPs and printers

 

Delphax prepares production print launch

– Will launch the new Delphax elan 500, a production color inkjet system

– Will launch in early 2016

– Base MSRP of $600,000

– Top speed of 500 pages per minute

– 1600x1600dpi

– Uses Memjet inkjet printhead technology

– Print controller is based on Global Graphics Harlequin RIP technology

– Unit is now running in 3 beta locations, including CompuMail of Concord, CA

 

Autodesk launches cloud-based solution

– Launched Autodesk BIM 360 Docs, a cloud-based service for the AEC vertical (architect/engineering/construction)

– Provides a virtual workspace to access, maintain and markup 2D and 3D project documents, plans and models

– Pricing not announced

 

Nuance raises cash

– Announced the company is selling $588 million worth of convertible debt

– To be used for refinancing debt and buying back stock shares

– Company has $569 million of cash on hand at end of last quarter

– Also has $2.1 billion in total debt

 

Two software companies to partner for MPS

– Global Graphics and Software Imaging announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement to offer a range of products and services to MFP/printer manufacturers for the managed print services market

– Global Graphics is the developer of Harlequin Page Description Language software that is embedded on silicon chips insides many MFPs and printers

– Software Imaging is a maker of PCL and PS print drivers

– Will offer a combination of and embedded RIP (raster image processor), fonts and print drivers to lower cost and improve performance

 

Xeikon wins production print contracts

– Award from CODEX, a commercial printer in the country of Hungary

o Places a Xeikon CX3 production color system

o Uses CHEETAH toner, which is approved by the FDA and uses a lower temperature fuser

o Will be used to make booklet labels, security and anti-counterfeit label solutions

o Primarily for products to be sold to customers in food and pharmaceutical vertical markets

– Award from Schwabisch Hall Facility Management, a large building society

o Installed a Xeikon 8500 production color system

o Will be used to produce personalized variable data direct mail pieces

o Reason given for choosing the system was its ability to add white toner, and that it is a roll fed unit

 

EMC executive interview

– Rohit Ghai is the president of the ECM (enterprise content management) division at EMC

– Stated that if ECM systems want to stay relevant in the changing marketplace, it’s time to shake things up

– “The end goal for today’s digital enterprise is to better serve the customer. And this takes a more progressive approach to what ECM needs to be to meet that goal”

– “One with an emphasis on business – experience, speed and productivity – to offer a more personalized and engaging user experience that delivers differentiated services and access to content anywhere and anytime a user needs them”

– Recommends that ECMs have feature menus that are more a la carte, allowing businesses to pick and choose the tools they need rather than inundating them with dozens of components that they will never use

– “the future is being born in the cloud”

– “the future is enterprise productivity squeezed into lightweight mobile apps. It is getting work done with an awesome user experience regardless of the device you are one. It’s having insights at your fingertips that have been revealed through new connections”

– “Over the next few years, there will be a transformation in how ECM is delivered and the role it plays”

 

Fujitsu division to resell Hyland

– KnowledgeLake announced it will resell Hyland Software’s OnBase ECM software

– Headquatered in St. Louis, it was acquired by Fujitsu in 2008

– The company is one of the country’s largest Microsoft SharePoint resellers, and sells Fujitsu scanners and PaperStream document capture software

 

CMS Wire survey results

– 90% of businesses do not know what their data contains

– Growth of unstructured content expected to increase from 62% to 800% over next 5 years

 

Public school contract awards

– PEPPM announced the winners for the Managed Print Solutions category of its contract

– PEPPM is a public school contract for the State of Pennsylvania, and allows its use in other states

– Vendors who won placements are Canon, HP, Lexmark and Xerox

– To qualify, vendors had to offer proof that they have managed print services experience with at least 50 firms, including school districts and have generated demonstrable savings

– Contract expires in 9/2018

 

Apple wins large contract

– Award from United Airlines

– Will deploy 6,000 Apple iPhone 6 Plus smartphones for all of its customer service representatives based in the U.S.

– Will allow staff to print boarding passes and baggage tags

 

Apple to launch 3D printer?

– The U.S. Patent office announced that Apple has filed a patent for 3D printing technology

– Patent is for technology that builds three dimensional objects by depositing layers of material onto a platform as specified by a digital image file

– Is a system that uses 2 printheads, one for depositing material and another for applying color

 

Okidata launches new b/w A4 MFP

– Launched the Okidata ES5162LP

– Uses LED technology instead of laser

– MSRP of $1799

– Top speed of 47ppm

– 100K/mo max duty cycle

– 1200x1200dpi

– Comes standard with 630 sheet paper supply

o Maximum of 1160 sheets with optional drawers

o Bypass supports banner sheet up to 52” long

– Document feeder holds up to 50 sheets (auto reversing)

o Platen supports up to legal size

– 7” color touchscreen LCD display

– Black toner sells for $78.00 and has yield of 11,000 pages based on 5% coverage

o Black drum sells for $180.20 and has yield of 30,000 pages

– Built-in print controller

o Actual maker unknown

o USB & 10/100BaseT ports

 

Okidata launches new color A3 printer

– Launched the Okidata C942, with top speed of 50ppm

– Uses LED technology instead of laser

– MSRP of $22,199

– Includes white toner, for CMYK + white

o Slows down to 45ppm when using all 5 toners

– 300K/mo max duty cycle

– 1200x1200dpi (does not offer true 8 bits per pixel imaging)

– Comes standard with 830 sheet paper supply

o Can add more drawers to make floor standing, and hold up to 2,950 sheets

o Max paper size of 12”x18”

o Up to 360gsm media

– Built-in print controller

o Actual maker unknown

o 2GB RAM

o 1.2GHz processor

o USB & 10/100BaseT ports

o PCL, XPS and PS print drivers standard

o Option to upgrade to either Harlequin or EFI Fiery controllers

– Advertised as offering a $0.0113 per page black toner cost and a $0.0701 per page cost for CMYK color page, based on 5% coverage per page

o White toner adds $0.05 per page cost

o Black toner sells for $142.50 with yield of 38,000 pages based on 5% coverage per page

o Yellow toner sells for $170.50 with yield of 24,000 pages

o Cyan or magenta toner sells for $270.00 with yield of 38,000 pages

o White toner sells for $477.50 with yield of 15,000 pages

o Black drum sells for $300.00 with yield of 40,000 pages

o Cyan, yellow or magenta drum sells for $500.00 with yield of 40,000 pages

o White drum sells for $437.50 with yield of 20,000 pages

o Waste toner box sells for $22.50 with yield of 40,000 pages

o Fuser sells for $431.30 with yield of 150,000 pages (based on running 20lb. bond)

o Transfer belt sells for $327.30 with yield of 150,000 pages

 

HP launches new solutions

– HP Scan Configuration Service

o Provides template-based scan flows for user with HP Embedded Capture

o Templates for healthcare and finance verticals, with more coming in future

  • Healthcare – patient admission and patient discharge
  • Finance – loan application and account opening

o $25 per device when bundled with purchase and install of HP Embedded Capture

– HP JetAdvantage Capture App

o Mobile solution to capture documents and images

o Can send documents to the cloud and connect them to downstream workflows

o Support mobile devices

– HP Capture and Route

o One button implementation on HP MFPs

o Pricing not announced

 

HP relabels two Sharp units

– Launched the HP MFP S965dn and MFP S975dn

– Are relabeled versions of Sharp’s A3 color units, the MX-M6500N and MX-M7500N

– Advertised as production print systems

– HP claims the units are being offered as part of its managed print service contract offerings

– Pricing and accessories same as what Sharp offers

 

HP executive interviewed

– Dion Weisler, President and CEO of HP Inc., recently gave comments about company’s future plans

– “You will see us tap into growth in natural adjacencies, like reinventing the copier market with HP PageWide (inkjet) Technology”

o “expansion into the A3 copier market where HP Inc. has opportunity to significantly grow its market share”

– “driving more pages from analog to digital with the broadest graphics printing portfolio”

– “expanding commercial mobility in key verticals”

– “we have created an entirely new category that we call Blended Reality, leveraging both immersive computing and 3D printing to take things from physical work, into the digital world, and back out to the physical”


Copitex is the leader in copier, sales, leasing and rentals. We specialize in Short Term Copier/Printer Rentals.


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