MFP installs decline

– IDC published report stating that worldwide hardcopy peripheral (HCP) market declined 1.2% during last quarter
– 25 million units shipped in 3rd quarter of 2018
– Inkjet based units down 1.5%
– Laser/LED based units down 0.7%
– Includes all devices that print (A2, A3 & A4, inkjet, laser, LED, home use, office use, photo printers, etc.)
– Color laser based installs up 2.3%

Sharp to lay off 3,000 workers

– Sharp, owned by Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan (aka Foxconn) announced it will shed 3,000 workers in Japan
– Is shifting production of Apple iPhone sensors to a plant in China

Ricoh to close office and shed workers

– Announced it will close location in Melbourne, Florida
– 76 employees will be laid off 

Ricoh branches to service robotics

– Announced partnership with NXT Robotics of San Diego, CA
– NXT is maker of security robots, and software for unmanned ground vehicles
– “our partnership with Ricoh allows us to provide service on a round-the-clock basis throughout the globe”
– Ricoh branch copier technicians will be dispatched to fulfill the service requests

Xerox launches new solution

– now offering DocuShare Flex, a cloud-based content management solution
– can integrate with DocuSign, QuickBooks Online and Salesforce.com
– includes iOS app, WebForms and customizable accounts payable toolkit

Xerox wins production print contract

– award from Square Brothers, a commercial printer in Perambur, Chennai, India
– installed three Versant 180 production color laser systems
– reasons given for choosing include:
o handles up to 350gsm
o media profiling tools
– will be used to produce business cards, invitations, brochures, package printing, collaterals, paper inserts

Samsung has smartphone plans stolen

– The South Korean company, which has a long history of allegations of stealing technology from competitors, is now apparently the victim
– It is reported that more than one Chinese company has gotten its hands on Samsung’s designs for a smartphone with a foldable OLED screen
– Samsung estimates the damage done to its revenue could be as much as $5 billion

CFO of Chinese tech company arrested

– The Canadian Department of Justice announced that it arrested Ms. Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei Technologies Corp., one of the largest smartphone makers worldwide
– Facing extradition to the U.S. for allegedly shipping U.S. origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of U.S. export and sanction laws 

HP Inc. names new executive

– Cathie Lesjak, current COO, announced she is retiring
– Kim Rivera, currently chief legal officer and general counsel, was named as new President of Strategy and Business Management
o Prior to HP, was attorney for DaVita Healthcare, Clorox, and Rockwell
– Reporting to CEO, Dion Weisler

New scanning app for Android devices

– The Mopria Alliance (which includes KMBS) released its Mopria Scan document scanning app designed for devices that use the Android operating system
– Enables scanning directly to Android device

US Post Office offers promo for PPS

– Announced it is planning on launching a 2% postage discount for direct mail that provides recipients a “multi-sensory experience”, which could include:
o Unique materials
o Special effects like holograms
o Surface treatments/embellishments
o Embossing

Kyocera to offer cybersecurity service

– Kyocera (aka Kyoto Ceramic Company) will launch LanScope Cat, a unified endpoint management and security solution
– Integrates with an enterprise’s existing security information and event management (SIEM) solutions to aggregate endpoint data and logs
– Provides automation and centralized management of employee monitoring, IT asset management, device control and blocking, and malware investigation
– Automatically takes inventory of all PCs, laptops, peripherals and software licenses
– Pricing not announced

Printer ink causes health scare

– Domino’ Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan was evacuated and some went to hospitals as a precaution after a package arrived with unknown substance
– Package turned out that leaky package contained printer ink
– 21 people reported headaches, minor respiratory distress and other minor health issues.

ECi acquires Print Audit

– ECi Software Solutions of Fort Worth, TX, announced it has acquired Print Audit, maker of managed print services software, which is headquartered in Calgary, Canada
– ECi, vendor for copier dealer ERP systems, like OMD, eAutomate, Lacross, etc., had already purchases Print Audit competitors PrintFleet and FM Audit.

Toshiba launches 4 new b/w A3 MFPs

– Now shipping the eSTUDIO 8518A series
– The 5518/6518/7518/8518A b/w A3 series MFP feature:
o 55, 65, 75 or 85ppm top speeds
o Base MSRPs of $24,176, $29,376, $35,154 & $43,222
o 600x600dpi, 1200x1200dpi or 3600dpi interpolated modes
o Organic photoconductor
o Fuser rollers (instead of induction fusing)
o 24 second warmup
o Document feeder scans both sides of original at same time
§ Top scan speed of 240ipm or 120opm
§ Holds up to 300 originals
§ Auto skew correction
§ Scan in color or b/w
o Maximum monthly volume of 720K/month
o Comes standard with 540 sheet paper drawer, 1,160 letter sheet paper drawer and 120 sheet stack bypass
§ Optional 2500 sheet side mount paper deck
§ Holds up to 13” x19” paper
§ Support for banner sheets up to 47”
§ Auto duplex up to 140lb. index
o 10.1” color touchscreen LCD control panel
§ Optional 101 key keyboard
§ Optional 10 key keypad
§ Web browser standard
o Optional fax board
o Finishing options include:
§ Multi position stapling
§ Booklet making
§ Hole punch
o Built-in eBRIDGE controller
§ Actual maker unknown
§ 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports
§ 320GB hard drive
§ Optional FIPS & IPsec security kits
§ Optional OCR board
§ Optional WiFi/Bluetooth
§ 1.33GHz Intel Atom processor
§ 4GB RAM

§ PCL, PS & XPS drivers
§ Optional connectors for SharePoint, MS Exchange, Google Drive

Toshiba launches 3 new color A3 MFPs

– Now shipping the eSTUDIO 5516/6516/7516AC series
o 5516 offers 55ppm color and 65ppm b/w, 6516 offers 65ppm color and 75ppm b/w and the 7516 offers 75ppm color and 85ppm b/w
o Base MSRPs of $31,362, $38,940 & $42,056
o 600x600dpi, 1200x1200dpi (2 bit color)
o Organic photoconductor
o Fuser rollers (instead of induction fusing)
o 20 second warmup
o Document feeder scans both sides of original at same time
§ Top scan speed of 240ipm or 120opm
§ Holds up to 300 originals
§ Auto skew correction
§ Scan in color or b/w
o Maximum monthly volume of 600K/month
o Comes standard with 540 sheet paper drawer, 1,160 letter sheet paper drawer and 120 sheet stack bypass
§ Optional 2500 sheet side mount paper deck
§ Holds up to 13” x19” paper
§ Support for banner sheets up to 47”
§ Auto duplex up to 140gsm
o 10.1” color touchscreen LCD control panel
§ Optional 101 key keyboard
§ Optional 10 key keypad
§ Web browser standard
o Optional fax board
o Finishing options include:
§ Multi position stapling
§ Booklet making
§ Hole punch
o Built-in eBRIDGE controller
§ Actual maker unknown
§ 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports
§ 320GB hard drive
§ Optional FIPS & IPsec security kits
§ Optional OCR board
§ Optional WiFi/Bluetooth
§ 1.75GHz Intel Atom processor
§ 4GB RAM
§ PCL, PS & XPS drivers
§ Optional connectors for SharePoint, MS Exchange, Google Drive

Brother claims TAA compliancy

– Announced lineup of document imaging devices and personalized services and solutions that are TAA (federal Trade Agreement Act) compliant so dealers can market to federal government agencies
– Includes HL-L6400DWG b/w laser printer and the MFC-L6900DWG b/w A4 MFP

Two arrested for fake currency from MFP

– Jessica Rodrigues and Jade Adams both pleaded guilty for making fake $50 bills using color MFP
– Caught when they attempted to use their 7 year old son to make purchases using the fake currency
– Both face up to 6 months in jail

Security printing market continues to grow

– Research published by Smithers Pira Inc.
– Security printing market to grow to $36.6 billion industry by 2020
– Includes products such as:
o Diplomas
o Event tickets
o Coupons
o Bills, transcripts
– Security measures include:
o Watermarks
o Void pantographs
o Prismatic coloration
o Halos
o Fluorescent toners
o Thermochromatic inks

Issues caused by improper document mgt

– study published by Vanson Bourne Research
– 83% of workers are forced to recreate existing documents due to improper document management
– 96% of employees face difficulty finding most recent version of documents
– 45% say searching for documents is challenging and time consuming

Multi-state dealer changes its name

– Des Plaines Office Equipment of Illinois, Kramer & Leonard of Indiana and McShane’s of Indiana will all change name to Pulse Technology LLC
– All report to owners Chip Miceli and Victor Miceli in new headquarters in Carol Stream, IL

Dealer opens new location

– R J Young, a multistate dealer headquartered in Nashville, TN, announced it has opened new location in Knoxville, TN
– Will have 29 locations in 8 states in the southeast

VA to award 3D printer contract

– The VA Puget Sound Health Care System (in Pacific Northwest US) announced intent to implement 3D printing in radiology departments
– Goal is to create 3D printed model and prosthetics in a matter of minutes
– Will use 3D software from GE Healthcare

Office printing statistics

– From study done by Print Audit
– 90% of companies do not know how many printers they have or how much they spend on printing
– Print is typically the third highest operating expense after rent and payroll
– Typical office worker prints 10,000 pages per year at average annual cost of $725
– 4 prints are made for every one copy
– Up to 41% of print-related expenses avoid formal procurement approval
– Up to 60% of IT Help Desk calls are print related

LRS makes big acquisition

– LRS is Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc, a solutions firm headquartered in Springfield, IL
– Is largest provider of the VPSX secure print release (follow you) printing solutions to the healthcare vertical in the U.S.
– Announced it has acquired Drivve Software, headquartered in Germany, with U.S. headquarters in Austin, TX
– Drivve makes document capture solutions for MFPs from Sharp, Canon, Xerox, Toshiba, Okidata & Samsung among others
– LRS will now be a better position to compete against the Nuance Healthcare Bundle which includes AutoStore capture and Output Manager package.
– Purchase price not announced

England moves to ban fax from healthcare

– In England, Health Secretary Matt Hancock bans the National Health Services (NHS) from buying new fax machines
– insists that they be phased out in the country March 31, 2020. 
– The Royal College of Surgeons agrees, estimating that NHS still has 8,000 fax machines in service.

Share This

Share this post with your friends!