Toshiba’s problems continue
– The Tokyo District Court ordered Toshiba to pay the state 1.23 billion yen ($11 million) for breach of contract in connection with a scrapped deal to remodel F-15 fighters into reconnaissance aircraft.
o The Defense Ministry filed a countersuit against Toshiba in 2012 in response to the electronic firm’s legal action beginning the previous year.
o According to the ruling, the ministry concluded contracts with Toshiba between fiscal 2007 and 2009 for a total of 12.3 billion yen to upgrade the F-15s with new camera equipment capable of sending data to the ground.
o The ministry canceled the contracts in February 2011 after Toshiba asked for two extensions to complete the work.
o Presiding Judge Yoshio Sawano found that Toshiba produced equipment that failed to meet the contracts’ terms.
– Hisao Tanaka, former Toshiba president has been questioned by Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) and may face criminal charges over his alleged involvement in a falsified earnings scandal
o The company has been roiled by a profit-padding scandal, in which bosses for years systematically pushed their subordinates to cover-up weak financial figures.
o The SESC suspects Tanaka and two other former Toshiba presidents were aware of falsified profits in its personal computer section but did not step in
o In December last year, the Financial Services Agency imposed a record ¥7.37 billion ($66 million) fine on Toshiba for falsifying financial reports, following recommendation by the SESC.
o Toshiba is expecting a huge loss of about 710 billion yen (USD 6.4 billion) for the year
– The embattled firm said on Friday that its US units are cooperating with American authorities over alleged accounting irregularities.
o In a statement released on Friday, Toshiba said that “several” of its US subsidiaries have been asked for information by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.
– Toshiba said it was looking at whether it would need to write down its nuclear business given damage to the company’s credit profile after a $1.3 billion accounting scandal last year.
o The Asahi newspaper reported earlier on Friday that Toshiba is considering a 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) write down for Westinghouse, fanning investor concerns that the value of assets and goodwill related to the unit were overstated.
– Announced an additional accounting problem and admitted that it had overstated profits by 5.8 billion yen from fiscal 2010.
o Will release its business plan for fiscal 2016 before end of March
o Made downward revisions to its past financial statements
o Executives related to the units involved will return part of their pay
March 28, 2016
o 40 other employees were punished
– Announced a $5.9 billion sale of its medical equipment division to Canon
– Announced it will sell its subsidiary specializing in home appliances to Midea Corp. of China
– Announced plan to dramatically reduce its workforce by 34,000 jobs
o Will go from 217,000 employees to 183,000 employees by March of 2017
– “We cannot gain lost trust and corporate value in just a day. We don’t know how long it will take,” chief executive Masashi Muromachi told a news conference.
– Is considering selling securities and other assets worth around $1.79 billion in the year through March 2017
– Assets to be sold “will be reviewed, with no untouchable areas”, stated Muromachi.
HP Inc. launches new printers and MFPs
– PageWide Pro 452DW print only device
– PageWide Pro MFP 477dw copier/fax/printer/copier
– Top speed of 55ppm
– Max duty cycle of 4500 pages per month
– 600x600dpi using PageWide color inkjet printheads
– Both are A4 devices
– Comes standard with 500 sheet paper drawer
– Auto duplex standard
– Touchscreen color LCD display
– USB, 10/100BaseT and WiFi standard
– 477dw has document feeder that runs at 26opm
– Base MSRP starts at $499
– PageWide Pro 552dw and MFP 577dw are same as above except top speed of 70ppm and higher MSRPs
HP wins production print contract
– Award from Century Label of Bowling Green, Ohio
– Installed an Indigo WS6800 production color system with SmartStream Mosaic technology
– Will be used to produce seasonal shrink sleeves to be used by micro craft beer companies to wrap their cans
One dealer buys another in England
– Printerland, run by James Kight, announced that his dealership acquired The Printer Store of Fareham, Hampshire, England.
– The Printer Store, an Okidata dealership, claims to have 12,000 customers
– Printerland is Okidata’s largest dealer in Europe, and also has locations in South Africa and Miami, Florida.
Sharp buyout update
– Foxconn (aka Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.) has reached an agreement with Sharp Corp.’s banks to extend a 300 billion yen ($2.7 billion) credit line to the troubled Japanese electronics major, Bloomberg reported, citing Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
– The agreement will reportedly allow Sharp to borrow from its lenders Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., if it suffers losses from potential liabilities or needs new investments.
– The banks may wait for a month for Sharp’s repayment of about 510 billion yen ($4.57 billion) in loans due at the end of March if talks with Hon Hai are extended.
– Sharp booked more than 1.2 trillion yen ($10.76 billion) in losses over the past four years.
– By early February, Foxconn, had reached a consensus with Sharp on a tentative offer worth $5.9 billion.
– However, later in February, Foxconn put the deal on hold over alleged previously undisclosed financial liabilities of about 300 million yen ($2.66 billion).
– Foxconn has said that it would delay the agreement in order to review Sharp’s performance in the current quarter. The Taiwanese company is taking extra precautions with the period’s financial results because of the last-minute notice about the liabilities, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
– Foxconn continues to comb through Sharp’s financial and operational records with financial adviser JPMorgan, a source said.
– The research covers everything from inventory to staffing levels at the troubled electronics maker.
– “Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou remains firm in his wish to buy Sharp,” the person said.
o “The company is also still striving to ink the deal by the end of March, although Foxconn is now under huge time pressure to meet that deadline.”
– Local media discovered through exchange filings that Gou had pledged some 170 million of his Foxconn shares — worth about 13.3 billion New Taiwan dollars ($410 million) — to Taiwanese banks in return for personal loans in mid-February.
– According to Sharp’s statement on Foxconn’s offer on Feb. 25, Gou will fund part of the deal via his personal investment arm, SIO International Holdings. SIO will provide about 49.5 billion yen for the buyout.
Sharp launched two new b/w PPS units
– Now shipping the Pro MX-M1055 and MX-M1205
– Top speeds of 105ppm and 120ppm respectively
– Off-white plastic exterior with black top and accents
– 15.4″ color touchscreen LCD display on armature
– Document feeder holds up to 250 originals
o Top scan speed of 200ipm in color or b/w
– Holds up to 13,500 sheets of paper with options
o Optional triple air feed paper units
o 500 sheet bypass
o Handles up to 300gsm
– 1200x1200dpi
– 210 second warm up time
– Finishing options include:
o 5000 sheet stacker with roll out cart
o 100 sheet stapling
o 2/3 hole punch
o 20 sheet booklet maker
o Face trimmer
o Multifold unit
o Plockmatic square fold booklet maker
o GBC punch unit
o Cover inserter
o Curl correction unit
– Standard print controller
o Actual maker unknown
o 1.8GHz processor
o 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports standard
o PCL and PS print drivers standard
XPS is optional
o 5GB RAM
o 1 terabyte hard drive
o Optional data security kit
o Optional EFI Fiery print controller
0 Command WorkStation can be viewed on copier control panel
0 2.7GHz processor
Screen of Israel wins production contract
– Award from Polaris Direct, a commercial printer in Hooksett, New Hampshire
– Installed a Truepress Jet520ZZ production color inkjet system
– Will be used to produce highly personalized direct mail pieces, at top speed of 721 feet per minute
InfoTrends survey of print service providers
– 19.7% plan to add digital publishing to grow business
– 12% plan to offer data analytics services
– 11.3% plan to offer web app development
– 10.6% plan to offer print-to-mobile services
– 9.2% plan to offer 3D printing
DocuWare reports on last year’s revenues
– Provider of document management and enterprise content management solutions
– Revenue up 24.5% to 34.55 million euro (headquartered in Germany)
– Cloud subscription customers up 250% to 8,741 users storing 5 million documents
– Project revenue up 25% to 150 million euro
Canon launches new A3 b/w MFPs
– Now shipping the imageRUNNER ADVANCE 6500 and 8500 series of MFPs
– The IR-6555, 6565 and 6575 offer top speeds of 55, 65 and 75ppm respectively
– Base MSRPs of $18,000, $24,000 and $30,000 respectively
– IR-8595 offers top speed of 95ppm for base MSRP of $41,000
– IR-8585 offers top speed of 105ppm for base MSRP of $53,000
– 10.4″ color touchscreen display
– 1200x1200dpi
– Optional fax boards
– Maximum paper capacity of 7,700 sheets with options
– Handles up to 256gsm
– Built-in print controller standard
o PS and PCL print drivers standard
o 3GB RAM
o 250GB hard drive (can upgrade to 1 terabyte)
o 10/100/1000BaseT, USB and WiFi
o Hard drive security kit standard
– Finishing options include a staple-free stapling
– Slot in finisher allows manual corner stapling of documents
– Optional EFI Fiery print controller
Canon to build new office in Canada
– To be built in Toronto, new headquarters for its operations in Canada
– Located on 18 acres formerly farmland
– 180,000 square foot multistory building
– Created a storm water management pond behind building
– Rear of building overlooks pond, landscaped with hundreds of trees and shrubs
– Two tiered terrace in back
– Walking a biking path around pond for employees
– Black granite cladding on ground floor
– Travertine flooring
– Spiral staircase in atrium connecting first and second floors
– Ceiling finished with strips of cedar wood
– Frosted glass fins along edges of triple-glazed exterior windows reduce solar heat gain
– Open office concept rather than private offices
– Work areas are laid out around the outer perimeter of floors for natural views
– Meeting and collaboration spaces are oriented around central atrium with glass skylights
– Each floor has central filing room to replace file storage at desks
– Sensors adjust lighting brightness as light changes in afternoon
– Automatic roller shades come down to reduce sun glare
– LED lighting
– First floor includes large product showroom
– Second floor has full service cafeteria and gymnasium overlooking pond
– Also includes reflection room for meditation
– Will house 500 employees
– Warehouse is in separate building in Mississauga
– Parking garage is located beneath building
Ricoh dealer wins bid
– Award from City of Fayetteville, Arkansas
– Given to Preferred Office Products, using the US Communities GPO contract
Ricoh consolidates brands
– Announced that Ricoh USA and Ricoh Americas Corporation will be combined into one company
– Ricoh USA was created after acquisition of IKON Office Solutions, and was brand used for factory direct branches, and was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ricoh Americas
– New name for combined entity is Ricoh USA Inc.
Ricoh wins production print contracts
– Award from PBL Print of England
o Installed two Pro C9110 production color systems and a Pro 8100 production b/w system
– Award from Bottomline Ink, a commercial printer in Ohio
o Installed a Pro C9110 production color system
Ricoh enhances production unit
– Announced new capabilities for the Pro VC60000 production color inkjet continuous feed system
– New top speed of 150 meters per minute, up 25%
– Multiple print modes/CMY printhead parking to reduce cost of b/w printing
– Ability to add custom control bars in color control
– Spot color editing
– Dynamic color substitutions
– Support print sheet up to 20″ x 54″
– 1200x1200dpi max resolution
3D Systems Corp. reports quarterly data
– Reported adjusted earnings of 16 cents per share
– Posted a GAPP loss of $5.32 per share
– Revenue down 2.2% to $183.4 million
– Gross margin dropped 20 basis points to 47.7%
– Selling and administrative cost up 5.6% to $66.5 million
– Research and development expenses fell to $22.4 million
Kodak to sell off production print division
– Company held press conference to discuss last year’s earnings
– Operational EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $122 million
– GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net loss of $75 million
– Revenue down 15% from $2.1 billion to $1.8 billion
– Operating expenses of $330 million
– Claims to have installed a total of 78 NexPress production color toner systems
– Jeff Clarke, CEO, announced that the company will sell off its PROSPER production inkjet division
o “The PROSPER business has significant potential for accelerated growth, which will expand even further with the planned introduction of Kodak ULTRASTEAM next generation inkjet writing system. To achieve its full economic potential PROSPER will be best leveraged by a company with a larger sales and distribution footprint in digital printing markets”
o Currently, there are 40 dedicated PROSPER sales reps
o PROSPER digital presses sell for $2-$3 million each
o “We expect the proceeds will be used to reduce existing debt”
o 16 units were sold in 2015, for a total in field of 55 units.
Xerox buys dealership
– Announced it has acquired Imagetek Office Systems, a Ricoh & Kyocera dealer in Arlington, Texas
– Covers the Dallas & Fort Worth areas of Texas
– Nina Knight will stay on as president
– Will be part of Xerox’s Global Imaging Systems, run by Michael Pietrunti
Xerox CEO travels with President Obama
– Xerox CEO, Ursula Burns, announced she will travel to the country of Cuba with President Obama
– Visit is advertised as an effort to start new business relationships
Xerox to layoff more employees
– Will lay off 325 employees from office in Redmond, WA
– Is closing office down to due to “changing business needs” of a large client
Xerox to launch 14 new A3 MFPs
– Will apparently replace 14 existing models, and replace them with new version with an “i” at the end of the model name as they come standard with ConnectKey capability for embedded apps in the control panel
– New b/w laser MFP model numbers include; WorkCentre 3655i, 5945i, 5955i, 5865k, 5875i & 5890i
– New color laser MFP models are; WorkCentre 6655i, 7220i, 7225i, 7830i, 7835i, 7845i, 7855i, 7970i
– Top speed is the last 2 digits of the model number
– Come preloaded with Xerox App Gallery, with icon on the control panel
– Allows users to browse to find various common workflows and install the app
– The Gallery is open to 3rd parties and channel partner/dealers who can develop their own unique apps and make them available for their customers or make the apps more broadly available by submitting to Xerox for inclusion
– Xerox claims that it won an order for 600 units from the LDS Church through the development of a genealogy search app
– Easy Translation Service app, developed by ABBYY of Russia, translates scanned documents into over 35 languages
– @PrintByXerox app is a free mobile cloud printing solution by sending email to a unique address
– Mobile Link App allows end users to create workflows on their smartphones and use the mobile device to operate Xerox MFP and send documents to fax, email or cloud storage
Fuji wins production print contract
– Fuji of Japan, which makes most of the product sold by Xerox, announced it won contract from Sema, a commercial printer in Australia
– Installed an iGen5 production color system
– Will be used to produce marketing materials
Lexmark to cancel toner reward program
– According to The Recycler magazine article
– Program was designed to reward customers for returning print cartridges back to Lexmark so that they could not be used by toner refiller companies
IDC reports on production print unit sales
– Worldwide market for production printers up 5.2% during last quarter to a total of 10,700 units
– Unit shipment value up 0.9% to $1.3 billion
– Color laser units up 19.1%
– High speed inkjet based systems up 7.1%
– B/w inkjet systems down 8.7%
– For entire 2015 year, all makes and models totaled 40,674 units, up 7.9%
o Xerox unit sales up 3.2% to 20,595 in 2015 for 50.6% marketshare worldwide
o Ricoh units sales up 31.7% to 8,492 in 2015 for 20.9% marketshare
o Konica Minolta unit sales up 14.4% to 6,587 for 16.2% marketshare
o Canon unit sales down 16.8% to 2,775 units for 6.8% marketshare
o HP unit sales down 7% to 946 units for 2.3% marketshare
IDC reports on hardcopy peripherals market
– Worldwide market for all printer, copier, MFP devices during 4th quarter was down 10.8% to 27.58 million units (includes laser, LED, inkjet, etc.)
– 7th straight quarter of decline
– Color laser based devices with speed of 45ppm or greater increased to 182,000 units
– Laser based devices down 13.7%
– Inkjet based devices down 9.6%
– Business inkjet devices up 16.3%
HIPAA/Data Security update:
– Advisen Inc. published results of survey of businesses across multiple verticals:
o 80% expressed concern over large data breaches
o 55% do not have adequate resources to detect breaches
o 75% have developed an incident response plan
o 42% have tested their incident response plan
o 64% have purchased cyber insurance
o 51% have selected a data breach response vendor
o 72% have experienced 5 or more network security incidents in last 12 months
o 37% are confident in their patch management
o 35% are confident in their mobile device management
o 28% are confident in their encryption
o 27% are confident in their antivirus agents
Government to add more codes to ICD-10
– The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will add 3,651 hospital inpatient procedure codes
– Will also add 1,900 diagnosis codes
– Takes place in fiscal year 2017
– Codes are used by healthcare providers to claim reimbursement for services
– Example of code is = V97.33XD: Sucked into jet engine, subsequent encounter.
