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

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