Samsung warns of “2016 Tech Gloom”
– CEO, Kwon Oh-Hyun, sent a letter to Samsung shareholders
– “We expect core products of our company, such as smartphone, TV and memory, will face oversupply issues and intensified price competition.”
– “We expect that 2016 will also be a tough year”
Xeikon announces recent label system wins
– Won contracts for its Xeikon CX3 Cheetah production color toner label printing system
– Top speed of 30 meters per minute
– Installs at: o CS Labels of England
o LabelMakers of Bradford, England
o Abbey Labels of Bury St. Edmunds, England
o Mercian Labels of Staffordshire, England
Brother shipping faster b/w devices
– HL-L5200DW b/w laser printer has MSRP of $329 o Top speed of 40ppm
o 250 sheet paper drawer
o 256MB RAM
o Can add either an additional 250 sheet drawers or 520 sheet drawers
o WiFi
o Data security kit
– MFC-L6700DW b/w MFP with MSRP of $1099 o Top speed of 46ppm
o Document feeder scans both sides of original at same time and holds up to 70 originals
o Scan to cloud services
o 4.85” color LCD touchscreen display
o 512MB RAM
o 520 sheet paper drawer
o Toner cartridge yield of 12,000 pages based on 5% coverage
– HL-L6250DW b/w laser printer o Top speed of 46ppm
o 256MB RAM
o Maximum of 1,610 sheet paper supply
o 10/100/1000BaseT, USB & Wireless
– HL-L6400DW b/w laser printer o Top speed of 52ppm
o 256MB RAM
o Maximum of 2,650 sheet paper supply
o 10/100/1000BaseT, USB & Wireless
o Integrated NFC card reader
– MFC-L6750DW b/w MFP o Top speed of 48ppm
o Document feeder scans both sides of original at same time and holds up to 70 originals
o Top scan speed of 28opm or 56ipm in b/w or color
o Scan to cloud services
o 4.85” color LCD touchscreen display
o 512MB RAM
o 520 sheet paper drawer
o Toner cartridge yield of 12,000 pages based on 5% coverage
– MFC-L6900DW b/w MFP o Top speed of 52ppm
o Document feeder scans both sides of original at same time and holds up to 80 originals
o Top scan speed of 50opm or 100ipm in b/w or color
o Scan to cloud services
o 4.85” color LCD touchscreen display
o 512MB RAM
o 520 sheet paper drawer
o Toner cartridge yield of 12,000 pages based on 5% coverage
Photizo Group MPS survey results
– 34% of decision makers indicated they were ready to leave their existing managed print services contract due to dis-satisfaction o 21% would leave altogether
o 13% would switch to new provider
– If 21% of customers leave MPS, that would equal $1.6 billion of annual revenue in the $7.6 billion North American MPS market
– First time MPS buyers are 5 times more likely to switch partners o First time MPS buyers are 6 times more likely to exit MPS altogether
– Of those leaving MPS, 79% were engaged in all-inclusive programs
Fujitsu launches new solution
– Launched PaperStream Server, a document capture solution
– (Competes with eCopy, AutoStore, etc.)
– Web-based processing platform
– Can integrate with existing DM or ECM solutions
– Batch processing
– Pull from watched folders, email, CSV, XML or other client apps
– Pricing not announced
HP Inc. turns off printers remotely?
– Impacts customers who have signed up to HP’s Instant Ink program
– Is a print as a service model, so instead of buying print cartridges, customer is paying for print
– Unit is connected to Internet, and customer signs up using credit card
– If customer’s credit card is expired, or does not process monthly payment, HP apparently sends signal to the printer, so that it will no longer print
– Customer either has to restart payments, or pay cash for new cartridges to replace the Instant Ink cartridges
HP Inc. launches new printers and MFPs
– OfficeJet Enterprise Color MFP X585 series, with PageWide inkjet print heads o A4 print/scan/copy (fax on “F” and “Z” versions)
o Auto duplex standard
o Top speed of 42ppm b/w and 44ppm color in high quality mode Top speed of 75ppm b/w and 75ppm color in low quality mode
o 8 second page out time
o 8” color touchscreen LCD display “Z” series also offers pullout 101 key keyboard
o Up to 2400x1200dpi
o PCL & PS print drivers standard
o Document feeder does not scan both sides of original at same time (except for the “Z” version) Holds up to 50 originals (except “Z” series which holds up to 100)
– “Z” series also offers ultrasonic double feed detection
– Top scan speed of 44opm (top speed of 65opm on “Z” version)
o Max duty cycle of 80K/mo, but recommended for 2K-6K/mo
o Comes standard with 500 sheet drawer and 50 sheet stack bypass Holds up to 1,050 sheets with optional drawers
– Handles up to 200gsm
o 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports Optional wireless
o 1792MB RAM
o 796MHz processor
o 320GB hard drive
o “Z” series comes standard with OCR board
o Print only version of this engine is the X555 series
Hewlett Packard and Dell compete
– Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO, Meg Whitman, was asked about impact of $67 billion merger between Dell and EMC
– “In last quarter, we had about 107 deals that we actually took from Dell and EMC, whether they were partner deals or customers”
– We are capitalizing on the fact there’s a lot of integration challenges and a lot of things going on at Dell and EMC”
– “I think we have got another good year and a half to two years to capitalize on that but I would say fundamentally, these two companies have taken entirely different strategies”
– “they will not have $60-$65 billion of debt on the company”
– “they are doubling down on old technology with a big cost take out play”
– “That is what they are doing. They are doubling down on a lot of older storage products, server products, and then they are going to take cost out?
– “Their major objective has got to get cost out of that company so that they can begin to pare down that debt”
Xerox offers new translation solution
– Launched the new optional Easy Translation Service App
– Works with Xerox MFPs with ConnectKey feature
– Lets users scan a document and MFP will translate to or from over 35 different languages
– Pricing not announced
– Xerox claims to now have over 700,000 ConnectKey enabled devices in the field worldwide
Xerox to add $1 billion in debt
– Announced it closed on a $1 billion senior unsecured loan to be drawn by 4/1/2016
– Loan arranged by JP Morgan Chase Bank, Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank and Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.
– Company stated it intends to use money to repay maturing bonds and for general corporate purposes
– The USA Today newspaper reported that Xerox paid no income tax in 2015, even though it was profitable
Xerox wins production print contract
– Award from MPD Offset, a commercial printer in Swindon, England
– Installed a new Xerox iGen5 120 production color toner system
– Reasons given for choosing the system were 364mm x 660mm sheet size, ability to handle coated, textured and specialty stocks up to 350gsm
– Also come with 5th toner station with orange, green or blue toner options
Sharp buyout update
– Talks for Foxconn (aka Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan) to acquire Sharp are “on the right track” according to reports
– Foxconn had postponed acquired Sharp for $6 billion after emergence of new information on Sharp’s debt was made available
– “It is not important when an official signing will take place, but that Gou (CEO of Foxconn), who thinks 2-3 steps ahead of everyone, is already going into action by being in Thailand today.”; stated source in regarding to meeting held in Bangkok with Sharp executives.
Ricoh wins production print contract
– Award from MGX Copy, a commercial printer in San Diego, CA
– Installed four PRO C9110 production color systems
– Goal it to have a “dim the lights” operation
– Award from United Book Press (division of Ironmark), a commercial printer in Gwynn Oak, Maryland
– Installed a InfoPrint 5000 continuous feed b/w inkjet production print system
Ricoh announces new PPS options
– Now reselling the Watkiss PowerSquare 224 system as option for the Pro C7100X and Pro C9100 series of production color systems and the Pro 8100 production b/w systems o Is a booklet maker with variable stitch leg length to support different book thicknesses
o Max book thickness of 10.4mm
o Automatically sets the stitch position, wire draw length, the spine width and trim dimension
– Also now shipping the BDT option, which allows for feeding of banner paper with the C9100 and C7100X series
Ricoh wins ethics award
– Was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the 2016 World’s Most Ethical Companies.
– Scores are generated in 5 categories: o Ethics and compliance
o Corporate citizenship and responsibility
o Culture of ethics
o Governance
o Leadership, innovation and reputation
EFI wins wide format contract
– Award from Alphagraphics location in Denton, TX
– Installed an EFI H1625 wide format color inkjet system
– “This has been a great machine for us. The lack of heat with the curing system is a benefit in terms of growing the types of products we offer. We are doing work on foamcore board and corrugated plastic that we used to outsource, and we have even started printing some special projects on wood and glass.”; stated Rob Chatwin.
US commercial printing shipments up
– The U.S. Commerce Department report that shipments are up for 19 consecutive months
– December, 2015 shipments were up 5.1%
– For calendar year, up 3.46% to $86.5 billion
IDC survey on document processing
– Advantages to automating document complex projects: o 36% increase in revenue, and 30% reduction in costs
o 23% reduction in risk
– Disadvantages about current document processes o 43% = must use several disconnect systems/applications and often copy/past or rekey information
o 38% = difficult to relate documents or versions of documents to important context
o 63% = cite inefficient document processes negatively impact customer satisfaction
o 51% = cite documents that are misfiled or lost
o 24% = getting documents routed, reviewed and approved takes too long
o 46% = closing gaps in document processes would reduce cycle time and speed time to results
Toshiba dealer wins federal GSA contract
– Announced that Kelley Imaging Systems, headquartered in Seattle, WA, secured a GSA contract
– Contract enables Kelley to sell Toshiba MFPs to government entities in the U.S.
– Other Toshiba dealers and branches can collaborate with Kelley in bidding, securing and managing government contracts
Toshiba looks to sell off more divisions
– See below regarding Canon buying the medical division
– According to Apple Daily, the company is also looking to sell its shares in Powertech Technology (PTI) and Walton Advanced Engineering, both in Taiwan
– May collect as much as $14.1 million from sale of Walton.
– Toshiba previously disclosed that the company made net losses of $6.3 billion for FY15
Toshiba’s robots are dying at Fukushima
– The company recently announced it spent two years to develop a new robot to remove radioactive material from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan
– Apparently when the robots approach the radioactive fuel rods, the robot’s wiring gets short-circuited, rendering them dead
– About 7% of the Fukushima prefecture remains uninhabitable
– 100,000 residents have fled area since the March, 2011 disaster
Toshiba ships new b/w A3 MFP
– e-STUDIO 2803AM Ledger-Size MFP Starts at $2,195
– rated at up to 28 ppm
– 2,400 x 600 dpi resolution
– color scan rated at up to 22 opm
– Print, scan, copy, and Super Group 3 fax
– 10/100 BaseT Ethernet network interface and USB 2.0 High-Speed port
– optional wireless connectivity
– Includes PCL 6 (PCL,X L), PCL 5e, and PCL 5c print drivers
– optional PostScript driver
– Scan to USB memory drives
– 150-sheet duplexing reversing automatic document feeder
– duplex printing
– 350-sheet paper capacity expandable to 1,700 sheets
– 18-second warm-up time and sub-seven-second first-copy-out time.
Canon wins production print contract
– Award from Bay Photo Lab of Scotts Valley, CA
– Installed a DreamLabo 5000 production color inkjet system
– Chosen due to its ability to print at 2400dpi and top speed of 1000 prints/hour
Canon settles printer/MFP lawsuit
– Company agreed to pay $930,000 to settle a class action lawsuit
– Allegations that its some of its printers/MFPs contained a print head defect making them inoperable
– To get an award of cash payment of up to $50 or a voucher valued at up to $75 redeemable on Canon’s website store, the owner had to show proof that he/she incurred an out-of-pocket expense for the specific purpose of remedying a printhead issue
TNS Global survey results of work habits
– 52% of people believe that working from home is just as productive as working from office
– 50% of those who work from home believe they are more productive
– 50% expect to work from home in the future
– 69% expect that offices will exist in distant future
– 84% of those who work from home have other people present in home o 40% drive less
o 30% sleep more
o 46% feel less stress
o 20% exercise less
o 38% snack more
o 41% believe it has not negatively impacted their career
IDC reports on worldwide MFP/printer sales
– Includes sales of all printers, MFPs, including inkjet, toner, business and consumer models
– Data is for 3rd quarter of 2015 versus same time period in 2014
– HP = marketshare of 38.7%, down 7.9% to 9,983,710 units
– Canon = marketshare of 20.5%, down 6.5% to 5,293,411 units
– Epson = marketshare of 15.8%, down 1.3% to 4,075,438 units
– Brother = marketshare of 7.3%, down 3.2% to 1,881,925
– Samsung = marketshare of 4%, down 21% to 1,039,723
– Total market down 6.3% to 25,800,110
Hyland launches new solution
– Hyland Software, maker of OnBase ECM (enterprise content management) solutions, announced new product called ShareBase
– Is a Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) solution, allowing customer to securely share and access documents in and outside of their organization
– Works with corporate email address, so shared document remain firmly under administrator control
– Automates notifications and sharing if used with OnBase, triggering events as soon as documents upload into ShareBase
– Stores content in data centers around the world, but allows users to choose a preferred region
– Workers can share and collaborate on content from anywhere via browser
InfoTrends publishes research on ads
– Average response rate of advertising/marketing campaign using combinations of media channels o 6.6% = mobile app only
o 7.2% = social media only
o 7.4% = print only
o 7.9% = print and mobile
o 7.9% = email only
o 8.3% = print and social media
o 8.8% = print and email
o 9.5% = print, email, social media and mobile app
– Actions taken by customer: o 55.6% = visit retail store because of direct mail piece
o 56.4% = visit company web page
o 45% = direct mail influenced purchase decision
o 19.8% = mailed something back
o 16.7% = used a smartphone to scan a barcode
o 15.4% = called the company
Nuance buys back shares from raider
– Announced it is spending $500 million to buy back 26.32 million shares from Carl Icahn
– Purchase price of $19 apiece
– As part of deal, Icahn executives, Brett Icahn and David Schenchter are leaving Nuance’s board of directors
Marco Boer of IT Strategies outlines change
– Only 12% of Fortune 500 companies in 1955 are still active
– 75% of automobile shopping is done on-line, before stepping in showroom
– Offset press printed pages are declining 6% year over year
– Digital print is growing 8% per year, with color inkjet growing 20% YoY
Ricoh enters the medical equipment field
– Company announced it has acquired Yokogawa Electric of Japan
– Yokogawa makes equipment that measures brain activity
– Uses magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology
– Ricoh project that this new division will have sales of $437 million by 2025
Canon may have winning bid
-oshiba has granted Canon the exclusive negotiating rights for its medical equipment division
– According to reports, this is because Canon offered more money ($6.2 billion) than others
– “I think the bid is clearly positive for Toshiba if the number is right.”; stated Damian Thong, a financial analyst.
– The division makes x-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems
