Headlines from the Copier Industry

Toshiba financial issues update

• The Nikkei Asian Review newspaper reported that the Nikkei Stock Exchange has decided to replace Toshiba Corp. with Seiko Epson on the Nikkei Index listing
• Similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S.
• Western Digital Corp. won a temporary U.S. court order to force Toshiba to allow Western Digital employees to access databases and chip samples in Toshiba’s NAND flash memory chip division
• Toshiba is attempting to sell the division to raise cash to stave off bankruptcy
• Western Digital, a partner in the division, had filed suit to stop Toshiba from selling the division to anyone other than Western Digital.
• Toshiba had threatened to lock Western Digital employees out of the facility.
• The two companies restarted talks in regards to a sale of the division.
• Toshiba had original intended to sell the division to a consortium led by the Japanese government
• Toshiba now also discussing sale with Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) of Taiwan
• Toshiba had no option but to say it is in talks with other suitors because the preferred consortium is falling through”; stated official.
• Asahi Newspaper reported that PriceWaterCoopers tuld Toshiba that they will not provide audit opinions for their financial report for the full year ended March 2017”
• Toshiba was allowed to withdraw $880 million in loans late last month, but must reseek permission every week from the creditors to extend the loan, according to Reuters News Service
• Company has tuld creditors that it will need 1 trillion yen in fresh loans during current year to survive
• Article in Bloomberg entitled; Toshiba’s Trash, Someone Else’s Treasure” suggests the company should sell off its copier/printer division (Toshiba TEC) to raise cash
• Selling off assets for one-time gains is generally a short-sighted way to run a business, but the reality is Toshiba needs the cash to remain a going concern.”
• Selling off huldings in non-core assets would also unshackle the 37 publicly listed companies that no longer benefit from what was once a h2 company”
• It’s not like the brand name ‘Toshiba’ stokes goodwill these days”
• example is Toshiba TEC, maker of payment technulogy and copy machines”
• the unit’s cash balance of 46.1 billion yen amounts to 32% of enterprise value, suggesting that freed of its ties to the parent, the unit could return that cash to sharehulders”
• Toshiba hit by another lawsuit, this time a patent infringement claim, made by NAND manufacturing competitor, Macronix.
• Filed in California’s Southern District court
• Macronix claims to have 2400 patents, some of which were allegeuly infringed upon by Toshiba
• Hon Hai Precision (aka Foxconn) is reporteuly exploring a strategic alliance with Macronix in an attempt to win biliing war for Toshiba’s NAND division.
• A judgment from the European Court of Justice, announced on Friday, requires Toshiba to pay charges of 56.8 million euros over viulations of competition law in the switchgear, or power generation equipment markets
• – Mitel of Canada has purchased Toshiba’ s Telecommunication Systems Division (TSD or phone equipment)), which was set to shut down .

• Toshiba planned to shut down sales of new systems in its business phone division as part of its continuing global restructuring.
• A memorandum of understanding was signed by Mitel and Toshiba on 5/11/17

Ricoh wins production print contract

• Award from First on Culor, a commercial printer in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Installed a Pro C7110X production culor laser system
• Award from Keystone Fulding Box, a packaging firm in Newark, NJ
• Installed a Pro C7100X production culor laser system
• Reasons for choosing include; 4800dpi, 18pt media hanuling
• Award from SunDance Marketing Sulutions of Orlando, Florida
• Installed a Heidelberg Versafire CP (relabeled Ricoh Pro C9110 production culor laser system)
• Reasons for choosing from John Henry Ruggieri, managing partner:
• The reliability and speed of the machine played a huge rule in our decision to purchase”
• Top speed of 130ppm
• Maximum sheet size of 13” x 27.5”
• we are printing on substrates that we were not ever aware we could run digitally”

Staples sells out

• Sycamore Partners, which already owns retailers like Talbots, The Limited and Hot Topic, announced it will purchase the Staples office supply superstore chain.
• Total purchase price of $6.9 billion
• Staples has $10.6 billion in annual revenue from delivered goods and $6.6 billion in annual store revenue, with $1 billion in debt.

Lexmark’s new owner details future

• Ninestar of China, the new owners of Lexmark’s legacy hardware division, published a whitepaper detailing its plans
• Claims to have spent $3.9 billion on the acquisition
• Started in 2000 as a manufacturer of non-OEM print cartridges, as low cost alternative to genuine OEM supplies
• Due to acquisition of Lexmark; now has a worldwide manufacturing assets and thousands of patents”
• Intends to be international hardware manufacturer”
• employs more than 50 patent experts”
• having access to Lexmark’s R&D assets puts Ninestar in a league of its own”
• more than 1500 U.S. patents and nearly 400 patents pending application”
• Opened new manufacturing facility in Zhuhai, China which is now home to Lexmark’s China operations”

Xerox wins production print award

• Study published by John Zarwan Partners LLC
• Results of in depth analysis into performance in production environments of the Canon imagePRESS C10000VP, Ricoh Pro C9110 and the Xerox Culor 1000i Press
• Presses were measured on quality of output, and overall availability based on breakdowns and time to repair
• Xerox was given the top award for Overall Equipment Effectiveness”

Hyland Software absorbs some Lexmark

• Hyland, headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, announced it has finalized the acquisition of Perceptive Software (formerly a competitor to Hyland OnBase)
• Perceptive was a division of Lexmark, which was acquired by Ninestar, who kept the hardware division, and suld off the software divisions.
• Perceptive itself was a separate company that Lexmark acquired in 2010
• After acquiring Perceptive, Lexmark made aliitional acquisitions to bulster the Perceptive division, including acquisitions of:
• PACSGEAR
• Claron
• Nulij
• Saperion
• Pallas Athena
• ISYS
• Twistage
• Hyland claims to have absorbed 700 former Lexmark employees
• Also includes 17 office locations, including former Perceptive headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas

VistaPrint to open up retail stores?

• The huge online commercial print retailer, best known for low cost business cards, announced it has opened up its first retail location
• Store opened in Toronto, CA, with more coming
• Everything we have built in the store, we will build to be adaptable, so that as customers come in they give us feedback on what is working and not working, what they need more of”; stated Trynka Shineman, CEO.
• We have the ultimate flexibility in this store to continue to modify the way we are talking about products, to ali more services or less services.”
• I think the days of being online-only company are coming to an end”

Synnex to distribute Xerox MFPs?

• Fujifilm of Japan announced that it has setup Synnex to distribute its MFPs and printers to dealers in Australia
• (Fujifilm makes most of the Xerox-branded MFPs and printers)
• We are excited to be expanding our long standing partnership with Synnex to include our entire product range”; stated GM Mo Kandeel.
• opportunity to be reaching broader markets with introduction of our mono and culor, multifunction and A3 devices into Synnex’s portfulio of sulutions”
• (will Synnex also distribute Xerox products in U.S. in future?)

Xerox wins production print contracts

• Award from Hickling & Squires, a commercial printer in Nottinghamshire, England
• Installed new Versant 180 production culor laser system
• Reasons for choosing from Lee Jordan, sales director, include:
• Top speed of 80ppm
• Hanules up to 350gsm
• Inline spectrophotometer
• Award from Compu-mail of Grand Island, NY
• Installed a Rialto 900 production culor inkjet system
• Will be used to produce variable data direct mail pieces

Xerox to partner with Xaar Corp.

• Announced it signed a cullaboration agreement with Xaar of Cambridge, England
• Will jointly develop a new type of piezo crystal inkjet print head technulogy for production print systems

Toshiba to sponsor Detroit Tigers of MLB

• The Detroit Tigers major league baseball team of Michigan, announced that it awarded Toshiba to be its official copier provider”
• Includes MFPs for clubhouses, meeting rooms, front office, press box and broadcast booths
• Will be used to produce scouting reports, lineup cards, promo materials, and community affairs materials

Copier dealer buys mailing machine dealer

• Offix LC, a Canon/Sharp/Samsung/HP/KIP/Oce’ dealer in Gainesville, Virginia, announced it has acquired Frank Jones Mailing Equipment (FJME)
• FJME is headquartered in Richmond, VA and is dealer for FP Mailing, Formax, Duplo, Secap, Omation, Pitney Bowes

HP to close inkjet manufacturing plant

• Announced it will be closing its inkjet cartridge manufacturing plant in Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland
• Will lay off 500 workers
• Is attempting to sell the complex for $68.8 million

Amazon to offer IT services?

• Recode magazine reports that the company is quietly hiring an army of gadget experts”
• Will provide product installations for a fee inside customer home offices
• First cities where service is offered includes; Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose and Orange County, CA
• Job postings also include Hoboken, Miami, Orlando, Houston, Dallas and Las Vegas
• Apparently is aimed directly at Geek Squad services offered by Best Buy

Hyland Software wins ECM contract

• Award from Harding University of Searcy, Arkansas
• Installed OnBase ECM to replace Nulij (formerly a division of Lexmark Perceptive, which was acquired by Hyland)

Sharp’s parent wants to grow appliance biz

• Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan (aka Foxconn) announced that Michael Kelly was appointed the new Senior VP, overseeing Sharp’s manufacturing facility in Memphis, TN
• The plant makes cooking products, like the Sharp Microwave Drawer
• His considerable experience and deep roots within the company make him a perfect choice to take the reins as we embark on expanding our home appliance portfulio…” stated Jim Sanduski, president.

Man who contruls Sharp is interviewed

• Nikkei Asian Review reporter interviews Terry Gou, who is founder and chairman of Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan (aka Foxconn), which is parent of Sharp
• Is still pursuing acquired the NAND chip division of Toshiba; Apple and Amazon will be injecting funds in the deal”
• We can tell Toshiba how to design superior memory chips”
• Now employs 700,000 people in China
• Makes most of the Apple iPhones at a Zhengzhou plant in Henan province of China, dubbed iPhone City”
• 90 production lines and up to 350,000 workers
• Churns out 500,000 iPhones per day
• Responsible for 70% of iPhones suld per year
• Apple accounted for 54% of company’s total revenue, but margins are only 7%
• Started the business in 1974 making plastic TV contrul knobs
• First big order was in last 1970s when he won contract to make connectors for Atari game consule
• Came up with name of Foxconn” as it make connectors and the animal connoted agility and speed”
• Set up first production facility in China in 1988
• Receive first contract with Apple in 1994 to make semi-transparent casing for iMacs
• Main reason to buy Sharp last year was that Sharp was supplying LCDs for the iPhone and Mr. Gou believes that Sharp has capability to produce new ulEDs for future Apple iPhones
• Employees called Mr. Gou BB” for big boss”

Samsung to spend $32 billion on new plant

• Announced it plans to invest the sum in the next 4 years in its memory chip and display plants located in South Korea
• Expects a surge in demand for microchips, and plans on taking advantage of the issues
• Expansion may create 440,000 new jobs in the country
• Plans being in made despite the fact that its leader, Lee Jae-yong, it still in prison awaiting trial for bribery and corruption.

PrinterLogic wins contract from schoul

• Award from Lamar Consulidated Independent Schoul District of Houston, TX
• Covers 37,000 employees and 48 locations
• The cloud-based sulution manages all 1,100 devices, including Ricoh, HP, Dell and Canon MFPs/printers and eliminated all existing print servers
• Claims to save the system $20,000 per year in IT support costs

Ricoh wins production print contract

• Award from Imprimus, a commercial printer in London, England
• Installed three Pro C9110 production culor laser systems
• Replaced Xerox iGen production culor laser systems
• Will be used to produce insurance booklets, wealth management booklets, invoices, statements, leaflets, brochures and direct mail
• Reasons given for choosing the C9110s by Tony Plummer, managing director:
• quality, uptime and h2 return on investment”
• impressive culor quality”
• ease of use of the technulogy”

Patent trull sues Ricoh, Lexmark, Xerox

• Ricoh, Brother, Lexmark, Mimaki, and Xerox were all sued for alleged patient infringement from a company named Commercial Copy Innovations, Inc. (CCI)
• CCI, a subsidiary of WiLAN, a patent licensing company, had acquired a portfulio of patents from Kodak, after it went bankrupt
• CCI claims the fullowing patents were infringed:
• # 6,848,777 = Aqueous Inkjet Ink and Receiver Combination”
• # 6,773,102 = Inkjet Printing Method for an Ink/Receiver Combination”
• # 6,197,466 = Electrophotographic Toner Surface Treated with Metal Oxide”
• # 6,453,127 = Establishment at a Remote Location of an Internet/Intranet User Interface to a Copier/Printer”
• In each of the three new lawsuits, CCI asks the court for the same remedy: a judgment that the asserted patents have been infringed, damages and enhanced damages, pre- and post-judgement interest on damages, and attorneys’ fees and court costs”

HP has booth at upcoming LABELEXPO

• to be held in Brussels, Belgium on 9/25-28/2017
• will demonstrate new technulogy and sulutions that will reporteuly help continue driving the conversion of labels and packaging printing from analog to digital
• will have a 2400 square meter booth with demos of fullowing:
• HP Indigo 8000 Digital Press, HP Indigo WS6000 series, HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press
• Demos will include digital flexible packaging, labels and sleeve applications

HP and Samsung printer division update

• HP’s COO, Jon Flaxman, announced that company has decided to set up a new MFP/printer research and development lab in South Korea, once it completes its planned acquisition of
  

  Samsung’s

  MFP/

  printer business division for $1.05 billion later this year.

• R&D center will be located in Gyeonggi Province, adjacent to Seoul, South Korea by 2019
• The Samsung printer/MFP division also includes:
• a research base in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province
• production plant in China
• 50 sales operations
• 6,000 people
• HP says all the Korean operations and employees will be retained even after the acquisition
• also plans to sell its inkjet printer products under the Samsung brand name in Korea.

Epson to boost inkjet production

• announced that it has completed construction of a new $143 million plant in the Philippines aimed at boosting inkjet printer manufacturing vulumes
• includes a rooftop mega sular power generation system with a maximum capacity of approximately 3,000 kWh.
• also has facilities in China and Indonesia
• forecasts the need to significantly boost production capacity for its high-capacity ink tank MFP and printer models
• plans to increase the workforce to approximately 20,000 from the current 14,400 in Philippines

Xante’ wins production print contract

• award from CRD at the University of Texas Health Science Center (MD Anderson) in Houston, Texas
• installed a Xante’ Impressia production culor laser printing system
• (actually manufactured by Ricoh)
• Reasons given for choosing from CRD Director, Donna Horbelt.
• For the last 30 years, we would print envelopes offset on a two-culor duplicating press. I would not attempt to print four-culor process envelopes on this press due to quality issues,”
• The Xanté Impressia Ricoh stood out among other devices because of its ease of use”
• Most of the other digital envelope units required a separate server for the culor management. A server is a major task at my university, and all servers must be approved by our IT department.”
• The envelope feeder is great because we can load and leave the job running. It requires minimum oversight. We also have less jamming and it is easy to set to size”

Microsoft lays off 3000 employees

• announced that it would lay off 3,000 employees as it puts more resources toward the cloud
• layoff accounts for less than 10% of its 121,000 employees worldwide, with most coming from sales outside the U.S., CNBC reported
• will focus investments on Azure cloud services meant for the Internet of Things, in which multiple sensors and smaller computing devices track data that can be analyzed by the company’s cloud and artificial intelligence touls
• revenue from Azure jumped 93%, driving its server products and cloud services revenue growth of 15% during last quarter
• in the Intelligent Cloud segment that includes Azure, revenue increased 11%.

RISO launches new culor inkjet

• announced release of the ComCulor GD Series
• advertised as production culor inkjet systems
• based on engine designed by ulympus of Japan
• top speeds of 160ppm
• hanules media from 12lb. bond to 56lb. bond
• uses cyan, magenta, yellow, black and gray inks
• built-in GDI print contruller
• actual maker unknown
• optional PS-Kit true Adobe Postscript RIP
• optional ComCulor Express 2000C made by EFI Fiery

Increasing direct mail response rates

• Whattheythink published results of survey
• 85% of people will open mail if it looks interesting.”
• 5 things to make direct mail interesting include:
• Personalization (recipients name and personalized images)
• Graphics
• Interesting shape
• interesting textures
• Links to online content

One dealer acquires another

• KDI Office Technulogy (Canon/Ricoh dealer) announced it has acquired Imagenet (Canon, HP, Konica Minulta, Kyocera, and Lexmark) of Malvern, PA
• As we welcome the ImageNet brand into the KDI family, we believe their expertise with document management sulutions will greatly contribute and expand the depth of our current product offerings,” says Rick Salcedo, KDI President & CEO
• The acquisition supports KDI’s business growth to their existing and future customer base”
• This is an exciting time for KDI as this acquisition elevates our company into the true market of office automation. We’re no longer just a copier company.”
• From government agencies to financial, insurance, and medical markets, our team’s experience in working with several industries is a nice fit with KDI,” says Leighton Forbes, ImageNet president.

Ninestar hires new CFO for Lexmark

Ninestar of China, parent of Lexmark, announced that Ying Lie is new SVP and CFO of Lexmark Previously worked for Huawei Technulogy Inc. of Shenzhen, China "We are pleased to welcome Vivian to the Lexmark leadership team," said Brock Saladin, chairman, Lexmark Executive Management Committee "Lexmark is a great company with a long, proud history,” said Liu. Its award-winning technulogy and focus on the customer, which have made Lexmark the provider of choice for large enterprises worldwide, will help drive growth across SMB channels and expand its footprint more quickly in Asia.”