A4 MFP manufacturers detailed in article:

  • Article written by Charles Brewer, in ENX Magazine
  • Canon is largest producer of laser A4 engines, thanks to contract with Hewlett Packard where Canon makes all HP-branded LaserJet products
    • Sales to HP account for as much as 19.3% of total consolidated net sales
    • A4 engine sales makes up 42% (841.4 billion yen) of Canon’s Office Business Unit sales
    • In comparison, A3 is 694.8 billion yen or 35%
  • Fuji, which supplies most of the Xerox-branded MFPs, claims that A4 market is growing 7% per year worldwide
    • Total print and MFP sales last year were 181.2 billion yen
    • Sales of exports to Xerox were down
    • Xerox reported that b/w A4 MFP sales were down 23%, and color A4 MFP sales were down 1%
  • Ricoh reported that b/w A4 MFP sales are down 19%, but color A4 MFPs are up 7%

Copier dealer wins managed IT contracts:

  • Knight Office Solutions of San Antonio and Austin, Texas
  • Authorized MFP dealer for Sharp, Lanier, Kyocera and HP
  • Co-owned by Mitch Huffman and John Cheney
  • Founded in 1989 as toner cartridge refiller
  • Won RMM (remote monitoring and management) contracts from El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel and The St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio

Copier dealer wins managed IT award:

  • Computer Reseller News magazine, in its annual 2015 Managed Service Provider Elite 150 list, named Perry ProTEch
  • Award given for “top technology providers and consultants whose leading approach to managed services enables their customers to improve operational efficiencies”
  • Perry was founded in 1965, and is a Konica Minolta dealer
  • Headquartered in Lima, Ohio
  • CEO is Barry Clark

InfoTrends publishes report on use of centralized MFPs:

  • Small and midsized business could be losing up to $336 million per year in employee productivity costs due to underutilization of copiers and printers
  • Employees that have centralized MFPs spend 6,500 more hours annually at those machines than workers that have decentralized devices
  • Average pay per employee is estimated to be $30 per hour
  • Average print job is now 5 or fewer pages
  • SMBs average 10,000 prints per month on centralized MFPs
  • 64% of employees print less due to automation of business process that once required print
  • At companies with 500-999 employees, a centralized color MFP is shared by an average of 39 employees, and 40 for b/w MFPs

Firm unveils new tech for extracting data:

  • Axis Technology Group claims to have solution for classifying and extracting data from completed unstructured documents
  • Company founded in 2002
  • Has won contracts from Alcoa Corp, Lending Tree, TransAmerica, Green Dot and Yamaha
  • Developers are in India
  • Software works on textual info, and can receive documents from a variety of input sources, including document capture solutions
  • Documents must be in TIFF (tagged image file format), so software can apply OCR (optical character recognition)
  • Software understands language in context, what’s a noun, what’s a verb, what comes before or after a certain phrase
  • Does not use image or shape recognition
  • Core technology is mathematics and pattern matching
  • User highlights the fields that appear consecutively that need capture
  • Customers are charged based on number of guaranteed fields of data they are receiving
  • Setup fees are incorporated into price

New Cloud-based automated invoice solution:

  • Yooz of France partners with Nvoicepay of Portland, OR
  • Automated processing of invoices
  • Cloud application for invoice capture and workflow
  • Invoices are uploaded as PDFs
  • PDFs are run through invoice capture technology that is not template based
  • Offer approval workflow
  • Includes analytics dashboard
  • Data can be released into accounting/ERP system
  • Images are stored in cloud for 7 years to meet regulations
  • Customers are charged by invoice ($1.25 each on average)
  • Company believes that 50% of all invoices in the U.S. are still papers

ECM solution provider reports growth:

  • DocPoint Solutions reports 40% growth in its service business and 30% growth in its reseller revenue
  • Company focuses on building ECM solutions on Microsoft’s SharePoint platform
  • Scott Swidersky is company president

Adobe survey of use of electronic signatures:

  • eSignatures have been legal an enforceable in the U.S. since passage of the E-Sign Act of 2000
  • 92% = credit card purchases
  • 90% = travel reservations
  • 89% = banking
  • 74% = social network sites
  • 68% = tax filing
  • 66% = restaurant reservations
  • 56% = personal contracts
  • 55% = company contract
  • 48% = personal financial paperwork
  • 44% = HR related employee documents
  • 36% = personal legal documents

One copier dealer buys another:

  • TGI Office Automation, headquartered in New York, acquired Tri-State Office Solution location in Pennsauken, NJ
  • Tri-State OA was Toshiba, Kyocera & HP dealership
  • TGI, run by Frank Grasso, is a Ricoh, Toshiba & Lexmark dealership
  • TGI now has 10 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Florida
  • Purchase price not announced

OPEX wins scanner contract:

  • First National Bank awarded contract for processing of 3.1 transactions per month
  • Included includes 34 high speed scanners

Kodak wins production color system contract:

  • Placed a NexPress SX3900 production color LED dry toner system at CRD of University of Tennessee
  • Will take some work off their existing Heidelberg offset press
  • Will be used for brochures, saddlestitch booklets, perfect bound books and posters
  • Came with optional clear toner station for spot coatings

Kodak launches new production scanner:

  • Kodak Alaris shipping the new Kodak i5850
  • Offer top speed of 210opm
  • Built-in “listening” that stops scanning if it “hears” paper crumpling during jam
  • Base MSRP of $80,000

Ricoh wins production print system contract:

  • From CRD at Salem-Keizer Public School District in Salem, Oregon
  • Placed Ricoh Pro C751EX production color system and five 8120S production b/w systems
  • Included EFI Digital StoreFront web-to-print solution

Xerox wins production print system contracts:

  • Won contract from Temple University of Philadelphia, PA
    • Placed a Xerox iGen4 production color system
    • Included a Duplo DBM-150 booklet maker
  • Won contract from American Electric Power of Fort Wayne, IN
    • Placed a Color J75 production color system
    • Included Duplo 500i  booklet maker
    • Included RSA WebCRD web-to-prints solution
  • Won contract from CRD at Northern Michigan University
    • Placed a Xerox  Color J75 production color system
    • Included a Morgana AutoCreaser Pro 33
    • Included EFI Digital StoreFront web-to-print solution
  • Won contract from CRD at Station Casinos in Las Vegas, NV
    • Placed an iGen 4 production color system
    • Printing monthly rewards booklets and variable data direct mail pieces

InfoTrends published results of survey of PPS:

  • Survey to determine what type of commercial printers currently use B2 digital color presses (like the upcoming Konica Minolta KM-1)
  • B2 sheet size is 19.7” x 27.8”
    • 5% = specialty printer
    • 5% = publishing printer
    • 2.5% = photofinisher
    • 5% = online printer
    • 10% = digital printer
    • 5% = marketing services provider
    • 12.5% = direct mail providers
    • 10% = packaging printer
    • 2.5% = commercial packaging printer
    • 42.5% = generic commercial printer
    • There are approximately 140 installed worldwide currently

Samsung loses reseller:

  • Relyco announced it will no longer relabel printers and MFPs from Samsung
  • The company converted them to accept MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) toner cartridges
  • MICR typically used to print checks
  • Will focus on selling check stocks, specialty paper sand multipart forms

Toshiba wins geothermal power contract:

  • Plant opened in Olkaria, Kenya, and powered up on 2/19/15

Toshiba/Okidata partnership at risk?:

  • In 2012, both companies announced partnership to codevelop and comarket printers and MFPs
  • In 2013, both companies starting shipping jointly developed products (Okidata made engine, with Toshiba made control panels, etc.)
  • Now, Toshiba announced it will start sourcing from product from Lexmark and resell under its own name in Europe
  • Will these products also come to U.S.?

Okidata ships new A4 b/w MFPs:

  • All use LED technology
  • MB472 is 35ppm for $399
  • MB492 is 42ppm for $599
  • MB562 is 47ppm for $799
  • Based on engine launched in 2009
  • 7” tiltable color touchscreen LCD display on MB562
  • s17 second warmup from sleep mode
  • Bypass supports up to 100lb. tag staock
  • Built-in print controller:
  • 667MHz processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • 2.5GB flash memory
  • 10/100/1000BaseT and USB ports
  • PCL and XPS print drivers standard

Sharp provides details on OCR option:

  • Sharp launched the Scan Accessory kit for its MFPs
  • Is actually a small PC running MS Windows Embedded
  • The PC is encased in white plastic, and bolts on to back of the Sharp copier
  • The PC is running ABBYY OCR engine
  • Weighs 5lbs.
  • Measures 21”W x 9”T x 2” thick
  • Needs its own power outlet

Canon wins court case:

  • Canon had filed suit against two company who were marketing print cartridges that were advertised as compatible for Canon-made Hewlett Packard LaserJet printers and MFPs
  • Two companies were ordered to cease and desist, European Cartridge Warehouse Limited and Printer Supplies Technology Limited

Canon offers new solution for its dealers:

  • Launched Dealer Gateway
  • A cloud-based solution allowing dealers using ECi Software Solutions’ eAutomate ERP to access and incorporate Canon item information with integration

Canon wins production print contracts:

  • Won contract from Data Mail Inc. of Connecticut
    • Placed an Oce ColorStream 3900 production color inkjet system
    • Will be used to produce variable data direct mail pieces
  • Won contract from Access Direct Systems of Farmingdale, NY
    • Contract includes four Oce ColorStream 3900s
    • Will be used to product variable data direct mail pieces

Canon offers details on production inkjet:

  • Will launch a new user group called “thINK”
  • The group’s advisory board members are; Bob Radziz (SG360), Dave Johanees (IWCO), Mark DeBoer (Darwill), Andy Gerry (Intersections) and Art Manzo (GlobalSoft Digital)
  • Will announced the name of its first new inkjet press based on “Niagara” technology during Hunkeler Innovation Days in Luncerne, Switzerland
  • Beta units of new “Niagara” production color inkjet systems to be installed at T Systems of Germany, and OneTouchPoint, IWCODirect, Merrill Corp. and PPI, all in U.S.

Canon launches new wide format units:

  • ColorWave 700 color wide format unit can print on stocks up to 32mil
    • Uses CrystalPoint wax technology
    • Top speed of 1800 D size prints in 8 hours
  • ColorWave 500 color wide format unit can print on stocks up to 32mil
    • Uses CrystalPoint wax technology
    • Top speed of 225 D size prints per hour

Samsung makes move to compete with Apple:

  • Acquired LoopPay, a mobile payments company
  • Will compete with Apple Pay
  • Allows mobile payments through traditional credit card readers
  • Purchase price not announce
  • Will be incorporated into future Samsun Galaxy smart phones

Samsung loses another patent case:

  • The company was ordered to pay $15..7 million for patent infringement.
  • The company that brought the suit was Rembrandt Wireless Technologies

Apple’s car design news brings commentary:

  • Company recently announced it has opened up a lab to develop technology for automotive industry
  • Dan Akerson, former CEO of General Motors, stated; “If I were an Apple shareholder, I wouldn’t be very happy. I would be highly suspect of the long term prospect of getting into a low margin, heavy manufacturing business”
  • “They’d better think carefully if they want to get into the hard core manufacturing.  We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into a car.  They have no idea what they are getting into if they get into that”

International Data Corp. publishes report:

  • States that large format printer shipments grew 3.5% in 2014
  • Total revenue from sales of units declined 1%
  • CAD/technical vertical sales up 4%
  • Marketshare for vendors (including toner and ink)
    • HP = 40.9%, up 6.5%
    • Canon = 20%, up 12.2%
    • Epson = 19.3%, down 1.8%
    • Roland = 3.4%, down 1.5%
    • Ricoh = 2.6%, down 2.7%

Western Europe sees decline of MFPs:

  • IDC reports that the printer and MFP market for Western Europe declined 0.8% in number of units sold
  • 684 million units placed in 2014, which is down 52,000 units from 2013
    • MFPs were 82.4% of all shipments
    • MFPs were up 0.6%
    • Printers were down 6.5%

Survey finds attorneys don’t know eDiscovery:

  • Exterro survey of federal judges finds that they are unhappy with attorney’s level of eDiscovery knowledge
  • “Too many attorneys have not gained the knowledge they need to effectively represent their clients”
  • “often fail to consider eDiscovery pre-lawsuit or even early in the lawsuit and thus make potentially irreversible mistakes”

Hewlett Packard wins production print contract:

  • Won contract from Pemara, a packaging and label printer in Australia
  • Contract is for Indigo 30000 production color system

Solutions dealer makes acquisition:

  • KeyMark is a large reseller for Hyland OnBase ECM solutions, headquartered in Linberty, South Carolina
  • Also has offices in Lebanon, NJ, Indianapolis, IN, Las Vegas, NV and San Diego, CA
  • Won the Diamond Support award from Hyland
  • Won Diamond Partner award from Kofax Software
  • Has acquired Document Conversion Associates, headquartered in Lebanon, NJ, which is a reseller of document imaging, document capture and OCR solutions
  • Purchase price not announced

 

 

 

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SmarTech Markets publishes results of research:

  • Forecasts that shipments of 3D printers to healthcare vertical will reach 2,135 units in2010, growing to 3055 units in 2024
  • In 2014, 1,100 3D printers were sold into vertical
  • Revenue of materials for medical 3D printing was %50 million and expected to reach $345 million in 2020

MGMA names new president:

  • The Medical Group Management Association named Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright as new president and CEO
  • (local MGMA chapter trade shows are possible sources of leads)

Xerox still waiting to implement contract:

  • In May of 2014, the State of New York awarded Xerox with contract to manage the state’s Medicaid system
  • Contract is for 5 years and worth $550 million
  • Due to formal protests received from CSC (Computer Sciences Corp.) and HP, the comptroller still has not approved
  • CSC continues to extend its existing contract

Epic launching new app store:

  • Epic, maker of EHRs, announced it will launch an app store for 3rd party developers to build add ons for Epic’s core products
  • Is response to criticisms that company has been a hindrance to interoperability of patient data for healthcare orgs using systems from different vendors

Epic wins EHR contract:

  • Won contract from Minnesota Valley Health Center
  • Located in La Sueur, MN

ResearchandMarkets publishes research:

  • Predicts that global document management solution market in the healthcare vertical is currently worth $220 million
  • Will grow at CAGR (cumulative annual growth rate) of 14% until 2019

Hospital orders 2 new solutions:

  • Rockdale Medical Center of Georgia awarded two contracts:
  • New EHR from Meditech
  • Electronic forms, electronic signature solution from Access Software

 

HIPAA/Data Security update:

  • A TV station in Minnesota, Channel 5 ABC News, purchased a copier from Craig’s list from a financial company, to scan contents of hard drive, and report on data security.  They found 662 documents, including 25 social security numbers and $130,000 in copied checks.  Brand of copier not identified.
  • Kaspersky Lab released a report that said its researchers have identified malicious programs or worms that infected computers that have Toshiba hard drives
  • Patrick Doucet, who drove a truck for Cintas Document Management of Ohio, plead guilty to sharing confidential documents with others that were supposed to be shredded.
  • Boston Baskin Cancer Foundation of Massachusetts notified 57,000 patients that their PHI was exposed when it lost an unencrypted hard drive
  • Shorter University, located in Rome, Georgia, reported in September that some student athletes’ records were stolen from a locked office. The files contained names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and basic medical information, according to the Rome-News Tribune. The stolen records contained information of students involved in various athletic programs at Shorter, and not for all University students.
  • Kaiser Permanente is notifying 6,600 Hawaii patients of a potential health data breach after a box of medical documents spilled off of a courier truck on Jan. 7. The papers were being transported to storage from Kaiser Permanente’s Kona Medical Office, according to a company statement.

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