Muratec launches new A3 MFPs:
• Launched 5 new color A3 MFPs, the MFX-C2280N, MFX-C2880N, MFX-C3680N, MFX-C4580N and MFX-C5580N, offering 22ppm, 28ppm, 36ppm, 45ppm and 55ppm top speeds respectively
• Launched two new b/w A3 MFPs, the MFX-3680N and MFX-4580N, offering 36ppm and 45ppm respectively
Sharp gets $1.7 billion bailout to stay afloat:
• According to Reuters News Service, banks in Japan are set to agree on a $1.7 billion rescue and restructuring plan that will include a promise to split off its ailing smartphone LCD display business
• The banks involved include Mizuho Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
• The company will also scale back its North American TV operations and cut another 5000 workers
• Sharp already owes $5.9 billion to its banks, not including other debt, such as bonds
• Sharp has a total debt burden of 1.07 trillion yen ($9 billion)
• Sharp is expecting to suffer annual net losses of 200 billion yen in fiscal 2015 and 150 billion yen
in fiscal 2016, according to Nikkei report.
• “The restructuring is likely to stop the bleeding in terms of losses and cash flow, but it’s not going to resolve the basic problems.”; stated Yasuo Sakuma, executive officer at Bayview Asset Management
• “The total amount is not that big for banks and they don’t want to pull the plug because no one wants to see a company with 50,000 employees go bankrupt. I can’t say for certain that Sharp will exist in 5 to 10 years.”; stated Mana Nakazora, chief credit analyst for BNP Paribas
Kyocera dealer meeting notes:
• 80% of revenue from its copier division comes from its dealers, due to its small direct branch presence
• When Kyocera acquired Mita in 2000, its revenue was between $350-$400 million
• Company is projecting annual revenue of 2 trillion yen ($15.7 billion) by 2017
• Has experienced double digit growth for last 2 years
• The division in America achieved 7.6% year over year growth
• Only 5%-7% of MFP unit placements are through major or national accounts
Toshiba to install first robot:
• Toshiba has recently created a female-like robot that has been programmed with multiple human type expressions
• Announced it has installed first one inside Mitsukoshi, a retailer in Japan, and will be used to offer passers-by details about different parts of the store and forthcoming events
• Robot is called Chihira
• Pricing unknown
Free laser printers from Cartridge World:
• The retail chain that sells new and refurb printer cartridges announced a new promotion
• Program offers a free laser printer to customers who purchase a minimum of one Cartridge World brand toner cartridge per month
• Also includes service contract
3D printer maker downsizes:
• MakerBot has apparently laid off 20% of its staff
• Has sold tens of thousands of Replicators, a low end 3D printer for the consumer market
• Was acquired by Stratasys in 2013
• Also closed its 3 retail locations in the U.S.
Hewlett Packard wins Production Print System contracts:
• Allied Printing Company Inc., a commercial printer located in Detroit, MI
- – Installed a T300 color inkjet press and Indigo 10000 production color system
- – Will be used to produce customized marketing materials
Hewlett Packard to change logo:
- · Hewlett Packard’s CEO, Meg Whitman, is dividing company into two organizations:
- – HP Inc. (computers, printers, MFPs and hardware)
- – Hewlett Packard Enterprise (software and services)
- – Split will be complete in November, 2015
– The Enterprise division will shed the blue circular HP logo and instead will have the words Hewlett Packard Enterprise spelled out in black text under a green rectangle logo
– “as transformative, flexile, and agile as we are becoming, while standing out from the pack”; stated by Meg Whitman
– Has hired Antonio Lucio, former chief brand officer for Visa Corp., to be Chief Marketing Officer for HP, Inc.
Ricoh launches new production print solution:
• Unveiled the new AFP2PDF Plus solution
• A new addition to Ricoh Web Enablement solutions suite
• Allows customers to transform AFP (advanced function presentation) mainframe data streams into Web ready electronic PDF documents
• Written in JAVA
• Will integrate with existing installs of IBM Content Manager OnDemand
• 128 bit and 256 bit encryption
• Pricing not announced
Apple may be sued by school district:
• The Los Angeles Unified School District is seeking to recoup millions of dollars from Apple over a problem-plagued curriculum solution that was provided with Apple iPads intended to be given to every student and teacher, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper
• The $1.3 billion iPad effort was a signature program under then Superintendent John Deasy, but it faltered almost immediately. He later resigned under pressure.
• The school district had placed an initial order for 43,261 iPads, and another order for 77,175 iPads.
• The school district “will no accept or compensate Apple for new deliveries.”; stated the school’s attorneys
InfoTrends releases survey results:
• What software will commercial printers invest in 2015
• 34% = color management
• 29% = cross media marketing
• 22% = creative layout software
• 20% = variable data publishing
• 16% = web to print
• 14% = production workflow management
• 13% = print MIS
Canon launches new data security solution:
• Now shipping v2.1 of its imageWARE Secure Audit Manager Express solution
• This is optional module of its uniFLOW suite
• Made by NT-ware Software of Bad Iburg, Germany
• Archives images processed on any supported Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFP
• Captures associated job attributes such as user, time, document type and device function used (copy, print, scan or fax)
• Can also send images through uniFLOW software to OCR the images allowing search for text of the archived image
• Keywords can be designated as high risk and trigger an alert email to customer’s IT or Security department
• Pricing not announced
Kyocera to invest in country of Vietnam:
• Will spend $62 million to build printer/MFP plant in City of Hai Phong
• A portion of the company’s expected 20% year over year jump in profit can be attributed to moving its manufacturing to Vietnam
• Average minimum wage in Vietnam is $75 per month
Canon wins production print contract:
• From Alcom Printing Group Inc., a commercial printer in Harleysville, PA
• Placed three Canon Oce’ VarioPrint 6320 production b/w systems
• Will be used for bulk check printing
Chevrolet puts video ads in print:
• The auto maker, a division of General Motors, announced that it put an insert into 10,000 copies of Esquire magazine and Popular Mechanics magazine
• The printed inserts had a color LCD video player embedded into them
• This allowed subscribers to watch one of 3 TV ads for new Chevrolet Colorado truck
The country of China to push 3D printing:
• The Chinese government announced plans to install a 3D printer in every public elementary school in country.
• This would be a total of 400,000 printers
• Gartner Research had previously predicted that only 217,000 3D printers would be installed worldwide in 2015
Hyland wins ECM contract:
• Installed OnBase ECM at NYU Langone Medical Center of New York
• Patient check in now done on Samsung Galaxy tablet PC, instead of clipboard full of paper
• Integrated with Epic EHR
Lexmark offers new solution:
• Announced partnership with Jadu Software
• Offers customer an integrated web portal and digital web forms solution
• Allows users to manage their web content
• Product will be called Perceptive Content Portal
Alchemy Works studies email subject lines:
• Analyzed 21 billion marketing emails to determine which words in subject lines provided the best, positive responses from prospective customers:
• Best responses:
– Upgrade = 65.7%
– Just = 64.7%
– Content = 59.5%
– Go = 55.8%
– Wonderful = 55.1%
• Worst responses:
– Miss = 4.6%
– Deals = 4.4%
– Groovy = 4/3%
– Conditions = 4.4%
– Friday = 4%
• “while staffing deficiencies were determined to be Xerox’s largest problem with past state Medicaid contracts, Xerox has begun using a subcontractor to help with staffing and other issues”
• It is a 5 year contract
EHR vendors agree to waive fees:
• After years of saddling their customers and outside firms with substantial fees for interfaces and other costs of interoperability, vendors of EHRs may now waive these fees
• Neal Patterson, CEO of Cerner, pledged that Cerner would eat its customers’ costs
• Epic announced it is dropping the fees it has been charging customers for data transfers between Epic customers and non Epic customers
Hyland Software new feature for OnBase ECM:
• Called OnBase VNA technology
• Stores both DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine) and non –DICOM clinical content
• Including X-rays, MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), CT scans (computerized axial tomography), digital photos, documents and reports
• All images accessible from EHR
• Stores them in native format, instead of converting them to PACS (picture archiving and communication system)
Xerox wins PPS contract:
• Marstan Press, a commercial printer in Bexleyheath, England
• Acquired a Xerox iGen 150 production color system and Versant 2100 production color system
• Will be used to produce booklets, folded leaflets, and variable data direct mail