February 22, 2016
Analysts comment on Xerox split
– Commentary as a result of the company announced it will split later this year into two companies (one hardware, one services)
– Xerox had purchased Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) in 2009 for $6.4 billion to diversify
– The merged company’s revenue has declined every year since the acquisition, dropping from $15 billion in 2010 to $9.4 billion now
– Frank Romano stated; “Xerox is Latin to reorganize”
– “The document company is essentially returning to where it was before. The ACS deal was a big leap, and now Xerox will have to revisit the question of how to grow in a more nuanced way.”; stated Ken Weilerstein, an analyst at Gartner o “There was some cross selling, but at the end of the day the two division did not become highly interdependent and offered no strong reasons to stay together.”
– “On average, spin-offs do create value for shareholders, but the devil in in the details. There are all sorts of issues and decisions that have to get made that affect both the distribution of value between the two new companies and the magnitude of the gains associated with those deals. And, some of the decisions may not always end up being positive for both.”; stated Emilie Feldman, a Wharton management professor.
– “Xerox is breaking into two companies that will be publicly traded. If you wish to sell off an operation, it is easier if you are dealing with a separate company with separate divisions, with separate numbers, with a separate listing on the stock exchange. It is much easier to rid yourself of unwanted operations, especially if you have publicly traded splits.”; stated Lawrence Hrebiniak, Wharton emeritus management professor.
– The Wall Street Journal estimates that somewhere close to $130 million has been paid out by Xerox in feeds to investment bankers and legal counsel.
Xerox wins production print contracts
– Award from Intertype, a commercial printer in Australia o Installed the Xerox Color 1000i production color system
o Included the EFI Fiery EXP1000i controller and the silver toner option
– Award from Paragon Group, which operates 26 commercial printers in England named “ServicePoint” o Installed 43 Xerox Versant 2100 production color systems
– Award from CDR Repro, a commercial printer in Durban, South Africa o Installed a Color J75 production color system
o Reason given for choosing J75 was ability to print at 2400x2400dpi
Hewlett Packard customer goes down
– The State of South Dakota announced that its Internet and technology network crashed and was down for 20 hours last week
– The state’s network is managed under contract with Hewlett Packard Enterprise
– “trying to understand why the interface failed and why that failure cascaded through the redundancies that were supposed to prevent such a failure”; stated David Zolnowsky, commissioner for the state Bureau of Information and Telecommunications.
HP Inc. wins production print contract
– Award from Eurostampa Group, with install at both Cincinnati, OH and Napa, CA locations
– Installed two Indigo WS6800 production color systems
– Will produce labels for wine, champagne, spirits and chocolates
Lexmark wins court case
– The U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit in Washington, D.C. found Impression Products Inc. of West Virginia, liable for selling refurbished Lexmark print cartridges that were originally marketed for a single use under its return and recycle program
– “The decision will assist Lexmark in its efforts to combat the importation and sale of inferior toner cartridges that infringe our intellectual property rights.”, stated Bob Patton of Lexmark.
Man caught making fake money with MFP
– Baton Rouge, Louisiana police announced they had arrested Justin Rushing, 31, from Prairieville, LA
– He attempted to use fake bills at local business, and was caught with MFP, paper, and paper trimmer.
Street pricing seen in print for pay market
– Ricoh Pro C9100 production color system w/Fiery E83/vacuum feed paper unit/booklet finisher/trimmer/cover inserter/multifold unit for $125,000. Color clicks @ $0.0352 and b/w clicks @ $0.0086. 11”x17” single click.
– Ricoh Pro 8110SE production b/w system w/controller/vacuum feed paper system/booklet maker/trimmer/cover inserter for $71,500. B/w clicks @ $0.0041.
Ricoh wins production print contracts
– Award from Frisco Printing and Graphics Center, a commercial printer in Texas o Installed a Linoprint CV (relabeled Ricoh Pro C7110X series)
o Reasons given for choosing the system: § Availability of 5th toner option (white or clear)
- Run textured stocks
– Award from Time Printing Solutions of Sacramento, CA o Installed a Linoprint CV
o Reasons given by president, Any Poole: § “mind blowing quality”
- “outstanding consistency from start to finish”
- “spectacular color management
Alfresco Software wins ECM contract
– Award from city and county of Denver, Colorado
– Included Kofax document capture software
– “Alfresco has brought accountability to our processes, and the ability to find documents and more office space.”; stated Greg Richardson, senior systems analyst.
Ricoh cuts its full year forecast
– During last quarter, net sales of $4.6 billion, up 1.8%
– Operating profit down 2.9% to $243.2 million
– Operating profit ratio shrank from 5.6% to 5.3%
– MFP/printer division revenue up 2.3% to $4.1 billion
– Operating profit down 7.6% to $338.5 million
– Operating profit margin down from 9.2% to 8.3%
– Production print division revenue up 20% to $1.4 billion during past 9 months
– Lowered revenue forecast from 2.4 trillion yen to 2.25 trillion yen
– Lowered profit forecast from 83 billion yen in net profit to 71 billion yen
Muratec releases mobile print solution
– To be sold as MPH101
o Enables AirPrintTM, NFC, QR code and Wi-Fi printing from iOS or AndroidTM devices
o “plug-and-print”- Install and use in minutes via USB port on printer or MFP
o Supports unlimited number of iOS and Android devices
o Print PDF, JPEG, Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents
o Can operate independently from users internal network for security purposes
o Supports multiple printer and MFP models from major manufacturers
Laserfiche wins ECM contract
– Award from Frisco Independent School District of Texas
– Reasons given by Bob Allen, Director of Business Applications and Process: o “We’ve seen 25% growth in teacher hirings in the past 4 years. How do we hire teachers, but not hire more administrators to process more requests for hiring those teachers?”
o Automated tasks and shared data among back end systems, such as payroll and HR databases
o Was able to handle the increase in teacher load without adding HR staff
Commercial printing shipments up
– The U.S. Commerce Department stated that commercial printing shipments are up for 19 consecutive months in current dollars
– Industry has had 5 positive quarters
– December shipments were up 5.1%
People prefer printed direct mail
– Results of survey by Wilmington Millennium
– 48% of consumers believe that direct mail is good way for businesses to connect with them, up 7% from last year
– 44% rank direct mail as their favorite form of direct marketing
– Only 2.7% prefer website popup ads
Komori conducts production open house
– On 2/4-5/2016 at Komori’s Graphic Technology Center at Tsukuba, Japan
– The offset press maker apparently showed two new digital presses: o TruePress Jet 520HD production color inkjet system § Made by Screen of Israel
- Continuous feed paper supply
- Top speed of 164 feet per minute at 1200x1200dpi
- Top speed of 394fpm at 600x600dpi
- Uses inkjet printheads sourced from Ricoh
- Handles 18lb. bond to 9 point thick media
o Komori IS29 production color inkjet system § Built in partnership with Konica Minolta (KM-1)
- Cut sheet UV inkjet technology
- “aimed squarely at the graphic arts market”
- “inkjet press with offset quality”
- “prints on standard offset stocks”
- Up to 23”x29” sheet size (B2 or 6 images up on a sheet)
- Front end can handle variable data jobs and produce output at 3000 sheets per hour
- Handles up to 24pt. stock
- Optional digital cutting and creasing machines from Highcon for short run packaging applications
o Pricing and ship dates not announced
Canon signs licensing agreement
– BlackBerry has announced that it has entered into a patent licensing agreement with Canon for what the company describes as “certain power charging technology used by Canon products.”
– “Our agreement with Canon substantiates the value companies place on BlackBerry’s innovative and foundational power charging patents for mobile and consumer electronic devices,” BlackBerry said in a press release. “With the agreement in place, Canon can continue to incorporate convenient charging solutions in its exciting new products.”
Dovetail Partners release study on paper
– Studied the forest industry in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
– 60% of the nation’s pulp and paper mills are located in these states
– Each year the forests in this area grow more than twice as much wood as is harvested or otherwise removed
– Wood use in this region’s pulp mills declined 8% form 1998-2011
– 96% of wood used to make paper comes from private lands
– The U.S. Forest Service has forecasted forest losses of 11-23 million acres (7-13% of forest areas) in this region by 2060, as forests are converted to agriculture uses due to declining demand for paper.
InfoTrends survey results from SMBs
– Survey of small and medium-sized businesses
– Average annual communications spend = $96,000
– Average annual spend on print in advertising/marketing = $35,000
– Average annual communication spend by vertical:
– $154,883 = finance/insurance
– $139,108 = manufacturing
– $119,632 = nonprofits
– $97,826 = professional services
– $94,703 = retail
– $82,056 = healthcare
– $80,929 = real estate
– $78,305 = entertainment
– $72,736 = education
– $71,238 = construction
– $71,152 = hospitality
– Average annual print spending by vertical:
– $61,567 = finance/insurance
– $48,043 = manufacturing
– $44,679 = nonprofits
– $36,652 = professional services
– $42,282 = retail
– $30,952 = healthcare
– $28,619 = real estate
– $16,783 = entertainment
– $26,023 = education
– $22,332 = construction
– $21,022 = hospitality
Kodak sells print cartridges for other brands
– Company announced that it has signed licensing agreement with Laser Masters International (LMI) of Phoenix, AZ to relabel their aftermarket toner cartridges
– Will attempt to market the cartridges via retail channels
– “If customers can go online and buy an aftermarket consumable for 60% cheaper than the OEM, why does the OEM enjoy such high market share today?”; stated Christian Pepper, Director of Marketing for LMI
