MFP Copier Blog

This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago (3rd week of October)

Art Post · 10/20/136:51 PM

Geesh, can you believe color systems have been around for ten plus years now! From reading one of the threads, yes I remember having to sell color develops not color pages. Mention develops to a new rep and they'll look at you like you've gone mad, or utter what's a develop? Enjoy some of the threads from ten years ago this week!

RE: Competitive help with Toshiba

October 20, 2003 4:57 PM

Reply by Guest

Pete from RBS here in Jersey killed em with this whe they were looking for a segment 5 replacement ( I gave him the idea ).I told him to show the customer a graph of how many placements Toshiba has compared to Ricoh. Toshiba was less than 3% were...

Canon 3200 cpc

October 20, 2003 3:41 PM

Topic by merlin

Just ran into a Canon 3200 with .0765 cpc in color and .013 in b/w. Sell price on based machine with feeder, duplex and stand $ 10,100.

RE: IS100e Scanner

October 20, 2003 2:09 PM

Reply by Darren ....

Graham, "yup" to TWAIN I presume? I called Ricoh pre-sales support and the person I spoke with said "no" after they put me on hold for a while trying to figure out what it was ... then they told me "no" based on the fact that they could not find a...

Competitive help with Toshiba

October 20, 2003 1:03 PM

Topic by Guest

Anyone having consistent success against Toshiba? Anyone with any face to face competitive dirt on Toshiba? I would really be interested if there are any striking differences when the products are connected? Is Ricoh easier to use, easier to...

RE: Canon Ir8500 Lite Report from IA

October 20, 2003 11:36 AM

Reply by Guest

Any experience competing the Ricoh 2090 against the the IR8500?How about in a connected environment? Please advise if you know of any specific advantages that my client should know about.Thanks.

RE: 1022/1027 Accessories

October 20, 2003 10:29 AM

Reply by Graham

I can still get most of that stuff from Lanier, let me know and I will see what is avalible to buy. I just sold a couple 5627 Lanier systems (Ricoh 1027) fully loaded and not a single back order on any portion.Graham

RE: 1060 Memory Question

October 17, 2003 10:41 PM

Reply by Ted

I've been buying the 256MB memory from Can-Ram for $58.00. They are the Canadian manufactuer for the Ricoh Memory and HDD's in Canada. It's OEM. I think there is a link on this site for them. (Graham?)P.S. their 128MB memory is $31.00.

RE: 1060 Memory Question

October 17, 2003 4:26 PM

Reply by Guest

You need the 256...A marketing dept for some reason can't get it correct.-=Mike=-we all know where to go for uncensored honest advice TOP ... Post ... Reply ... Reply/Quote ... Email Reply ... Delete ... Edit Previous ... Next ... Previous Topic...

RE: Website Re-design

October 17, 2003 3:54 PM

Reply by Darren ....

Website is GREAT! ... can you use the "How well do you share?" tagline? With the open forum policy without censorship that you have here at the P4Photel, I imagine the "League" doesn't appreciate this site as much as we all do. I just wondered if...

RE: I guess they ran out of golf bags

October 17, 2003 1:31 PM

Reply by Darren ....

Maybe the next step for Ricoh would be to buy out P4Photel.com - is it for sale? Will it one day go the way of the Connectivity Cafe? It has obviously become the most imformative and active source for Ricoh family products. THANKS GUYS!

RE: 1200 Series User History

October 17, 2003 1:18 PM

Reply by Darren ....

quote

riginally posted by dalsteen:Savin C3210SP (Aficio 1232SP)Installed: 6/9/03Color meter 1 per color development.On 8/27/03B&W: 38,877 (mo. average 14,649)Color: 22,428 (mo. average 8,451)Update - 10/17/2003Black Developments: 62,883Color...

Oce 5160 Gets

October 16, 2003 7:06 PM

Topic by Guest

October 15, 2003Oce 5160 Gets Top Rating from BERTLOce VarioPrint(TM) 5160 Digital Printing System Receives BERTL's 'Five-Stars/Exceptional' Rating. BOCA RATON, Fl, Oct. 15 -- Oce, a leading provider of production-class printing solutions, today...

RE: kyocera KM 6330

October 16, 2003 2:31 PM

Reply by Ted

That's comparable to the 1060 with the SR850. Again, RMAP GEM is $14,592 with over $3400. profit. One thing to note on the Mita...if you get it with scanning, it only scans pdf's and tiff's. No jpeg. No big deal unless you have a customer scanning...

RE: 551-XP-Doc.Server issues

October 16, 2003 10:37 AM

Reply by Boston Mike

Also try 800-57-Ricoh...they will help you even though it is pre sales...same people post or pre...might have to butch a little but they always help

RE: New Products...

October 15, 2003 5:57 PM

Reply by Old Glory

Was just told by Ricoh Customer Service that there is a 250 unit back-order on 1022's and they will probably be substituted with the new units. No ETA.

RE: New Products...

October 15, 2003 10:51 AM

Reply by Graham

From what I have seen, looks like December or so. (This is all hearsay though). If we can get the information, it may be worth having them wait on the 22/27 models. Also, on that kind of deal, if Ricoh has the inventory sooner, I would think they...

RE: New Products...

October 15, 2003 10:09 AM

Reply by Ted

Does anyone have any info on when the 2022/27's will be released? I need them by 11-15-03. Working a 150+ machine deal with multiple locations in TX and they love the 2090/105's, 1060/75's, 2035/45's, especially the scan-to-email on them and, and...

RE: Can we do this?

October 15, 2003 7:32 AM

Reply by Darren ....

Any printer that will accept PCL ... including non-Ricoh? That would open up a whole new client base.

Copy That: Xerox Still Heavy

October 14, 2003 9:55 PM

Topic by Guest

Copy That: Xerox Still Heavy On ResearchMonday October 13, 9:58 am ET By Nick Turner Sophie Vandebroek moved excitedly around the room.The chief engineer of Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX - News) was showing off the company's latest breakthroughs and could...

kyocera KM 6330

October 14, 2003 9:42 PM

Topic by Guest

KM 6330 15,200DF610 finisher .006463 ppm system

Ricoh Aficio 1075

October 14, 2003 9:41 PM

Topic by Guest

1075 $20,501interposer, lcc, hole punch and finsishercpc .0055

Xerox 2101

October 14, 2003 9:38 PM

Topic by Guest

Xerox 2101 $46,299includes Fiery, Bookletmaker and Paper Deckcpc min 200K .00396 months free warranty, supplies only ! .0019

iR Canon 105 Imagerunner

October 14, 2003 9:32 PM

Topic by Guest

iR 105 $43,700includes stitcher and InserterCPC 100K .0040 200K .0038 300K .0035

RE: New Wide Format

October 14, 2003 3:53 PM

Reply by Graham

This is just a picture from the Japan Ricoh Site

RE: New Wide Format

October 14, 2003 9:48 AM

Reply by Color1

Is this the new digital Ricoh machine that I have heard about? Do you have any additional details or speculations?

RE: High Volume Print for Pay

October 13, 2003 8:38 PM

Reply by Guest

I believe each system needs its own fiery, however you should get right from the horses mouth and call.Jim DiGrutilia "Product Manager" 2090/2105 @ Ricoh 973.882.2000Art

RE: Canon Leasing Specials

October 13, 2003 3:38 PM

Reply by Boston Mike

FYI...I called them a few months ago for a lease and you have to have or had some Canon withing the last 2 years in order to use Canon leasing.

Canon Leasing Specials

October 13, 2003 2:55 PM

Topic by Ted

Canon Leasing is running a special, No Payments Until 2004. The rates are 36mo. -0.0276; 48mo. - 0.0259. These are FMV rates. If you want to add property tax into the lease payment, I think you just have to add 0.0022 to any of the rates. I think...

-=Good Selling=-

The Problem with Printing

Art Post · 10/20/1310:14 AM

Well, since this is the MFP Solutions blog, I thought I would post up a You Tube video from NSI. I'm just as guilty because there are many times when opportunities are available for reducing printed pages that I over look these and concentrate on the hardware sale. Often, I've asked myself, "why do I do that?". In many cases it's because of something I call "outta sight, outta mind", or I realize it's less painful for me to focus on just selling the hardware.

However, maybe that's the ticket! Let's sell the hardware to the net new accounts, get in deep on the onset of the hardware sale. Once we've placed the hardware we can then schedule and appointment to talk about reducing paper, eliminating bottlenecks and talk about a digital workflow.

I recently had the chance to present a secure print application to major account after we sold the hardware, their problem was unique, but there was a solution from NSI, even though it's been many months from when we started the project I'm still hopeful that a AIX secure print will come to fruition with this account. More importantly it was more about the knowledge I gained from working with NSI. I know have another solution in my pocket that I can present when needed. Enjoy the video.\

-=Good Selling=-

Managed Print Services in the Wide-Format A/E/C Space

Art Post · 10/17/1311:04 PM

Thought I would share this email from Joel about MPS in the AEC wide format market place. Joel is an active blogger, has more than 40+ years experience in the wide format industry and writes his own blog @ Reprographics 101. Enjoy!!!

Art:

Well, I went to the RedSox-Tigers game last night, and it was a long game, in spite of the fact that the Sox only got one hit. It did, actually, come down to the last at-bat. Sox could have pulled it out with just one swing. In this contest, I can't lose. I'm a RedSox fan, but my granddaughter's great uncle, on the other side of the family, is the third base coach for the Tigers (Tom Brookens), and he is an absolutely delightful guy, so, even though I would normally be pulling, strongly, for the Sox, I'm happy when the Tigers win. Well, I'll be at game 2 tonight; hope it is not as cold/breezy as last night.

Changing subjects.....

Very recently, I received an e-mail from one of my friends - his company offers, among other software/technology products, "tracking" software - and here's what he said in the e-mail he sent me:

"Joel, I was at the Synnex National Conference last week in South Carolina, not many wide format people but a lot of MPS providers mostly small companies that have been passing on the wide format business because they weren’t aware of software that would work with wide format and small format. It looks like a market for AbacusPCR."

Art, the "tracking" software that his company offers is very, very widely used at FM/MPS sites all over the U.S., inasmuch as his company's parent company, ARC Document Solutions, is a nationwide enterprise involved in providing FM/MPS services. [ARC DS is "mostly" involved in providing FM/MPS services to firms and businesses in the A/E/C industry (Architecture, Engineering and Construction). But, ARC DS does not just offer FM/MPS services to the A/E/C Industry. ARC DS targets prospects outside of the A/E/C industry as well.]

The product (the tracking software product) my friend mentioned in his note to me, AbacusPCR, is one I've mentioned to you previously (at least I think I've mentioned this to you previously; I am getting old.)

The one unique aspect of AbacusPCR is that it was, from the get-go, designed to track output generated on both wide-format and small-format print devices (tracks scanning as well.) Abacus also has on-line device management tools.

I've been in and around the reprographics industry for 40+ years. Personally (through the two different companies I was an owner of), I was involved in the FM/MPS business - serving A/E/C firms - in a big way, twice. So, when it comes to "tracking output", I very well understand the challenges ... and the importance.... of tracking systems (software and hardware) that track BOTH wide-format and small-format devices. When I first began offering FM/MPS services, which was back around 1983, there wasn't any software (or hardware) to track output - primarily because "stuff" wasn't digital. So, we developed a system of paperwork to "manually" track and account for output (on devices we provided to our customers for their offices). Later on, as devices became "digital" and "network-connected", we explored various tracking software (and hardware) that came onto the market. For example, we were an early user of Equitrac keypads. But, the one failing of Equitrac is that, although its devices did a fairly good job tracking output on "copiers", it's later-developed software, for tracking "digital printing" was, well, not all that good .... and the "hole" was that Equitrac was awful at tracking output on large-format print devices (plotters and such.) In fact, most of the companies who later developed software (combined with keypads) to track small-format output devices (and there are, as you know, many companies who offer that type of software) targeted, by design, small-format device tracking, since small-format output is used by every company, whereas large-format output is mostly an A/E/C industry thing.

Equipment dealers, those who first offered only small-format print devices but who later expanded into offering wide-format print devices, and, in particular, those dealers who later expanded their offering to include "MPS" services, are not going to be successful pushing into the A/E/C industry, MPS-wise, unless they are prepared, and are able, to offer software tracking solutions that conform to the output reporting requirements of A/E/C firms. Over the years I was active in the reprographics business offering FM/MPS services, I had to compete, at times, with equipment dealers who also offered FM/MPS services and who "said that they" could offer output tracking and reporting. I never lost a single FM/MPS deal to an equipment dealer. That's a bold statement, but it is true. [We did lose deals to other reprographers who offered FM/MPS services (including tracking and reporting), but never to equipment dealers who were not reprographers.] I attribute that to a very wide lack of understanding (of the tracking and reporting requirements for A/E/C firms) in the equipment dealer marketplace. That was to my advantage, and, of course, I took advantage of that lack of understanding whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The "main point" of this long-winded e-mail is that a) you have a very wide audience of equipment dealers who are trying to survive and grow and, in an effort to survive and grow, many are pushing into the "MPS" space ... and some (perhaps more than just some, given the subject matter of some of your blog posts the past couple of years) are trying to push into the A/E/C "MPS" space. For those efforts to be successful, they are going to have to explore alternatives to "tracking" and "device management" software products that were primarily designed for installation in "small-format" MPS situations; they are going to have to explore, evaluate and acquire (or license) software tracking products that were primarily designed to address BOTH large-format and small-format. Small-format equipment dealers, those who've added large-format (wide-format) devices to their product offerings, will not be successful (in the A/E/C space) competing against reprographers who offer FM/MPS services or against reprographers who are equipment dealers and who also offer FM/MPS services. 98% of the A/E/C FM/MPS business is going to stay in the reprographics camp and that will continue to be the case until equipment dealers (who are not reprographers) get savvy as to how to track, report and invoice "output" from wide-format print devices. Success in the FM/MPS business in the A/E/C space does not just require one be good at installing and servicing equipment, it requires a thorough understanding of, and the implementation of, tracking, reporting and invoicing regarding output generated on large-format print devices (and, of course, small format as well.) For example, most A/E firms in the U.S. use accounting/project management software from Deltek (huge A/E/C market share). AbacusPCR can directly export, into Deltek, the data A/E firms need to 'account for cost' and to 'capture and report reimbursables.'

Sorry for the long-winded post. I often get carried away when I begin writing about a subject that I'm very fond of, one that's near and dear to my heart. I've seen articles from you about the opportunities for equipment dealers to push into wide-format and to push into MPS in the wide-format space. In the A/E/C space, tracking, reporting and invoicing (for output) is not just something that A/E firms prefer, it is ESSENTIAL to their needs. Your readers should be aware of that, if they want to have any chance for success in the wide-format A/E/C space.

Joel

The Cannatta Reports 28th Annual Awards & Charities Dinner

Art Post · 10/16/1311:52 PM

I'd like to thank Ed Warner and Everbank Leasing for inviting me to this years event that was held in Florham Park, NJ. Ed and Fred went out of their way to invite me to this special event.

WOW! The Park Savoy in Florham Park, NJ was packed, it was the "sea of sales people". Industry Dealer Owners, Principals, Vendors, Manufacturers and Media all converged at The Park Savoy for The Cannatta Reports 28th Annual Awards & Charity Dinner.

Tonight was a event for the industry to get together to share some awards, and more importantly for our industry to give back to a charitable cause, this years cause was for the Hackensack UMC for cancer research (hope I go that right).

Awards for the evening went to:

Printer Manufacturer of the Year:

Kyocera Document Solutions America, Inc.

MFP Manufacturer of the Year:

Ricoh Company Ltd.

First in Class Manufacturer of the Year:

Muratec America Inc.

Executive of the Year:

Rick Taylor

President & COO

Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Katsumi "Kirk" Yoshida

Memorial Presentation:

Presented by Mike Stramaglio

President & CEO, MWAi

Accepted by:

Robert Ingoglia

Charity Presentation:

Presented by Frank G, Cannatta

Accepted by:

Dr. Andre Goy, M.D., M.S.

Chief of Lymphoma and Director

John Thuerer Cancer Center at Hackensack UMC

For those of you who may not be familiar with the event, the presenters get to roast the award winners and the award winners then get to do some roasting of their own. My favorite moment of the night was from Jim D'Emdio (President of Muratec America), he brought the house down. I'm thinking Jim may have missed his calling as a comedian. All in all it was a night for the industry to come together, have some fun, and fund a great charity.

Special thanx to Bill, Gregg, Lou, Jim, Scott, Patti, Kevin, Bill, Leo and many others who spared some time to make it a memorable night. Yes, one more special thanx to Frank Cannatta and his staff for putting together a wonderful event and giving back to a great cause!

-=Good Selling=-

Selling Copiers and MFPs "Earning Mental Toughness"

Art Post · 10/15/1310:54 PM

For those of us that have been selling copiers for 20-30 plus years (yes there's still a few of us around) the month to month and then quarter to quarter grinding quota cycles can take their toll on your mental toughness.

Yes, there was once a time even for me when I hesitated to make the next cold call on the phone, then praying that someone did not answer the phone when I called, and even turned tail performing an in person cold call because I was afraid that I would be rejected when I opened the door. I'm sure if I had these feeling that there are many of us that have struggled with rejection in our sales career.

You can't buy mental toughness, and someone can't teach you mental toughness. Mental toughness is something you earn, and you can earn it in a variety of ways. In my teens I worked for a "family" produce company in NJ, I was the only employee who was not related to "the family". At 16 years old it was a learning experience that I'll never forget. I was hired to lift, sort and stack trailers and produce racks with produce. Since I was not in "the family" whenever I thought about doing it my way, it turned out to be the "wrong way". When I was asked what happened with this or that, I replied "I thought....blah blah", I was reminded by screaming family members that I was not paid to think. I was paid to do what I was told. At 16-19 (I did that job for 3 years) years old it was my introduction into the world of business. It seemed I was always making mistakes, fouling things up , dropping things or trying to do something that I thought was a better way. However, I hung in and took my lumps, I learned that I was not going to get fired, and after sometime the screaming was something that I got use to. I learned not to take it personally and to let things go. I learned the mental toughness to stay with the job, because I went on with my work after a screaming episode and went back to work the next day.

When I started in copier sales, let me back up a minute I was actually hired as a technician first. After six months I had my review and the owner of the company gave me outstanding marks on my ability to take copiers apart, to say the least he was not impressed with the way I put them back together and wanted to lay me off. He did state, that if I wanted to stay on, I could try my hand at sales. I took the sales job and never looked back.

I've had those days where every it seems like everyone is hanging up on you, or how about the cold calls when the receptionist states "you're the 4th copier person that stopped in today", better yet, you were told by the owner of the company you cold called to "get the F out"! These were all learning experiences that earned me mental toughness and in the long run I learned that there are far worse things that can happen in your life than having someone hang up on you, or tell you to get out and even state tell you that we bought from the cute sales person. Eh, we've all been thrown of better places that yours right (was a line I would repeat to my self).

The attitude to take forward every day is that I have a great product, an awesome solution, excellent product knowledge and a great support company. If someone hangs up, doesn't want to listen and cuts me off or tells me we're not interested, my attitude turns to "that person or company is missing out on the most important thing that I bring to the table", which is ME. Then in my own mind I recall a great line my father always stated, "What do you expect from a pig but a grunt" and with that I'm off to my next phone call or appointment!

Go out and earn your mental toughness and you'll become a superstar sales person.

-=Good Selling=-

31 Ways to Close More Sales (#10 of 31)

Art Post · 10/15/1310:44 PM

Busy month so far, I'm just about completed with renovating the home office and put the finishing touches on my new desk.

Tomorrow night I'll be off to Cannatta Charity Fund Raising Event. The event starts @ 5:30PM and I have no clue when it will end. I'll try to get a few picks and also hope to have a few stories to tell. On with #10 of 31 Ways to Close More Sales!!

10. Step Lease Close: Most leasing companies have this program, call your rep and find out the details they’re different from each leasing company. The details start out with a very low payment in the first 12 months of the lease to get the customer under budget and then the lease payments will graduate higher every year. Great way to get new business for new start ups.

-=Good Selling-=

An Interview with the KING of MPS aka Greg Walters

Art Post · 10/13/134:59 PM

Six months in the making and I finally had the chance to offer up some questions to the King of MPS aka Greg Walters. I'm thinking it was six years or so ago that Greg launched his "Death of the Copier" blog.

Greg was in the MPS business at the time and was writing about the MPS industry in his spare time.

Greg & I finally had the chance to meet a few years ago at the Photizo Event in Orlando.

Greg, whatever possessed you to move from Big Bear Mountain California to the East Coast?

Wow - the answer is best served over a few shots of Jack. Let's just say, I had and still have, the best of reasons in the world for moving the Davidson, NC.

How did you get involved into the printer business and when?

It all started with one of my first HP LaserJet sale back in the 80's. I had just sold a small legal office a system - Compaq Deskpro, WordPerfect, and the laser. After a bit of training, we set up a mail-merge for around 30 letters and hit print. Lo' and behold, out crept the first letter, then the second, then the next, and next. Her face broke out in a huge smile and I said, "see how easy that was?" After about the 20th page, remember, this was at a speed of nearly four pages a minute-her face sank.

She realized, I think, she was witnessing the evaporation of one of her primary duties and quite possibly, her job. I will never forget that experience. That was 1989 and I think it was an HP IIP

Well, I stayed in technology for a while, then did a stint outside the industry selling everything from uniforms to AFLAC finally getting back into tech in 1999 by joining OCE. I've worked with a Panasonic dealership, IKON, ultimately landing at a west-coast VAR, SIGMAnet, working inside a brand new managed print services practice (2007).

The MpS practice tanked and I was given the opportunity to try and turn the ship around. After building a great team, a eight months of work and ownership support like no other, we brought the department out of a -$25,000.00/month tailspin into +$1.4M sustainable, practice. It was a great experience.

Walters & Shutwell, sounds like an accounting practice, but what are you guys really doing?

We consult providers helping them understand their existing customer service gaps and implement change. We also write and speak about technology, society, and existing in today's wild and crazy, connected world.

Our favorite activity is helping end-users manage and optimize their IT service portfolio. We help companies understand the need of their internal customers and engage the best vendor mix to support those needs and the business objectives. IT departments and players are looking for ways to be more relevant by contributing the direction of the company and supporting the technology requirements of the organization.

It can be complicated but that's really what we do - we simplify the complex.

What makes Walters & Shutwell unique and special in the market place?

We help our clients identify the GAPs between the maturity levels of their end users and their IT providers. Which means we help design the internal IT portfolio, mixing outsourcing and insourcing and optimizing the entire process. In the managed print services space, we advise providers on what not to do when implementing MpS and help end users design self-maintained MpS programs.

The Walters Shutwell uniqueness is derived from our many years of experience applying technology and marshaling the resources to support business goals. Secondly, our end-user or 'buyer' centric approach - we believe in the people trying to make the best decision for their company and we thrive on helping "aware" organizations transform.

Does Walters & Shutwell support any trade associations, and if so why?

We believe in CompTIA and the Managed print Services Association.

I always tuned in to your blogs and enjoyed them immensely, now that you’re more involved with enabling dealers to expand their services. Do you miss blogging every day and if so or if not why?

Admittedly, I do miss the blogging world a bit - but that was then, this is now. We both blog on our site and two books are in the works - one very overdue, the other, Jennifer and I are putting together as a practical guide. We like to contribute to the industry by helping individuals thrive within and beyond our niche.

Blogging on Walters Shutwell is different than DOTC and who knows, if the mood strikes, we may spark the site back up.

What are your thoughts about 3D printers & office equipment dealers is this some synergy?

Be careful, drawing too many similarities between 3D printing and copiers could be foolish - toner may be a metaphor for resin but so what?

All I remember is the difficulty we had moving from analogue to digital, monochrome to color and implementing MpS. These devices make things and even if they are priced around $5,000.00, do we honestly believe that there will be one on every floor of a business? Can we see selling a couple to the same church who picked up a color machine to run programs or the real estate office that still uses fax?

Will they need service as often as our copiers do today? I don't know.

I DO think 3D printers will impact manufacturing, retail, medical, consumer goods and even more. I also think millions, if not billions, of 3D printers will be sold. Maybe, just maybe, there could come a time when we see 3D printer retailers on every corner, just like Inacomp, BusinessLand, MicroAge and ComputerLand once were for PC's.

3D printers are an idea in search of a channel and almost and answer is search of at problem.

Are you a sports fan, and if so what are your favorite sports teams?

I grew up outside Detroit, so the Wings, Tigers, Lions and Pistons are all favorites.

Have you ever had the special order or sale that made you say “that’s why I do this” and if so please tell us about it.

There have been too many instances to remember.

I consider you the face behind MPS, what are your thoughts about the future of MPS, can MPS survive?

Survival depends on how one defines MpS - for some, "copier sales is MpS" so it's been here since the 70's and will stay as long as the copiers survive.

When we define managed print services as the "Active management and optimization of output devices and related business processes", MpS will never go away.

If, on the other hand, we define MpS as simply toner/service delivery, exactly like the copier model, I give it 5 to 10 years, maybe not even that.

Facts are stubborn things, print/output is going down. It may not be for you or your dealership but overall, people are printing less. No amount of mobile print software or lower toner cost will stem this tide, people are communicating differently now days.

The key for survival is adaptability - we are in the 'information/communication management' business and evolving into that mindset core to sustainability..

Over your career in supply sales I’m sure you may have a funny or humorous story, can you tell us one?

I have plenty. Once, I engaged my HP PBM(rep) to attend a "quick and easy" user training session. I did not know she wasn't familiar with the toner filling process on the new device. While I was talking about the device, I asked her to fill show how easy it was to fill the device. Facing the group, my back was to her, I sensed something was not right.

When I looked, her head was down and half the bottle of toner had spilled all over. She was embarrassed and frozen

Silence. Crickets from the group.

You know what I said, it's what we all say when something goes wrong with a demo, "I'm glad this happened…now we can show you how easy it is to vacuum our toner out of the carpet. May we borrow yours?"

We all laughed and moved on.

It's the human aspects of this crazy business that both stymie and amaze me.

Good times.

Greg can now be found over at Walters & Shutwell, and for those of you that are wondering the "Death of the Copier" site is still functional and still offers up great reads about MPS.

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago (2nd week of October)

Art Post · 10/9/1310:47 PM

The Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to a close.

I don't have a lot of time tonight, below is the list of threads that populated the Print4Pay Hotel forums this week ten years ago. Look at some of the pricing that was posted then, the Canon iR 105 for $43K!!! It also seems not much has changed with cost per pages. I hope you all enjoy!!!

Canon Leasing Specials

October 13, 2003 2:55 PM

Topic by Ted

Oce Swings To 3Q Net Loss

October 10, 2003 3:26 PM

Topic by Guest

Dow Jones Business NewsNEWS SNAP

ce Swings To 3Q Net Loss On Impairment ChargeFriday October 10, 4:51 am ET By Neil Moorhouse, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Dutch printing systems maker Oce NV Friday swung to a loss in the third...

Oce 5160 Gets

October 16, 2003 7:06 PM

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kyocera KM 6330

October 14, 2003 9:42 PM

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KM 6330 15,200DF610 finisher .006463 ppm system

iR Canon 105 Imagerunner

October 14, 2003 9:32 PM

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iR 105 $43,700includes stitcher and InserterCPC 100K .0040 200K .0038 300K .0035

Copy That: Xerox Still Heavy

October 14, 2003 9:55 PM

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Ricoh Aficio 1075

October 14, 2003 9:41 PM

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1075 $20,501interposer, lcc, hole punch and finsishercpc .0055

Xerox 2101

October 14, 2003 9:38 PM

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Xerox 2101 $46,299includes Fiery, Bookletmaker and Paper Deckcpc min 200K .00396 months free warranty, supplies only ! .0019

RE: New Products...

October 15, 2003 10:09 AM

Reply by Ted

RE: High Volume Print for Pay

October 10, 2003 1:32 AM

Reply by John

The units will be placed in different geographical locations, so I didn't think micropress would be a viable alternative. Each location would have independant operation of the other locations and the copiers would have different jobs and such.

RE: High Volume Print for Pay

October 13, 2003 8:38 PM

Reply by Guest

I believe each system needs its own fiery, however you should get right from the horses mouth and call.Jim DiGrutilia "Product Manager" 2090/2105 @ Ricoh 973.882.2000Art

RE: Can we do this?

October 15, 2003 7:32 AM

Reply by Darren ....

Any printer that will accept PCL ... including non-Ricoh? That would open up a whole new client base.

RE: Can we do this?

October 15, 2003 7:27 PM

Reply by Guest

Great stuff, I can turn anyones color printer into a color copier.Art

RE: 551-XP-Doc.Server issues

October 16, 2003 10:37 AM

Reply by Boston Mike

Also try 800-57-Ricoh...they will help you even though it is pre sales...same people post or pre...might have to butch a little but they always help

RE: 1200 Series User History

October 17, 2003 1:18 PM

Reply by Darren ....

quote

RE: I guess they ran out of golf bags

October 17, 2003 1:31 PM

Reply by Darren ....

RE: 1060 Memory Question

October 17, 2003 4:26 PM

Reply by Guest

RE: 1060 Memory Question

October 17, 2003 10:41 PM

Reply by Ted

RE: New Wide Format

October 14, 2003 9:48 AM

Reply by Color1

Is this the new digital Ricoh machine that I have heard about? Do you have any additional details or speculations?

RE: New Wide Format

October 14, 2003 3:53 PM

Reply by Graham

This is just a picture from the Japan Ricoh Site

RE: Automatic Meter Reads?

October 10, 2003 11:52 AM

Reply by Old Glory

Yes, we have it via PCSM...Printer Cost and Security Manager from Equitrac. The software collects the data from multiple units and then will send the compiled data in an email at prescribed times. With the new imbedded Gware software, you don't even...

RE: Auto paper select on the SR90

October 11, 2003 3:30 PM

Reply by Guest

Please share more details about the problem you are having. And, I'll see what I can find out from my techs that were involved with the install.We just installed one and the only hang up we had was the Cover Inserter. I think we just had to run a...

RE: Canon Leasing Specials

October 13, 2003 3:38 PM

Reply by Boston Mike

FYI...I called them a few months ago for a lease and you have to have or had some Canon withing the last 2 years in order to use Canon leasing.

RE: New Products...

October 15, 2003 10:51 AM

Reply by Graham

RE: New Products...

October 15, 2003 5:57 PM

Reply by Old Glory

Was just told by Ricoh Customer Service that there is a 250 unit back-order on 1022's and they will probably be substituted with the new units. No ETA.

RE: kyocera KM 6330

October 16, 2003 2:31 PM

Reply by Ted

RE: Website Re-design

October 17, 2003 3:54 PM

Reply by Darren ....

31 Ways to Close More Sales (#9 of 31)

Art Post · 10/8/138:43 PM

I had scheduled the last stop of the day about a mile from my home. For almost three years I've been calling, emailing and dropping off production information for a net new account. Three years with nothing, I was beginning to think that the company set up a false DM, had an email account and voice mail account and just dumped all of the sales calls there.

But low and behold, I walked in and the DM was there!! Got what I needed to know, they will be making a move in 4-6 months and at least I'm in the door. Just goes to shop you that you never ever give up!!!

Here's #8:

8. Build in a Freebie to the lease to Close:

Close the customer by offering them something they may need for the office however they just couldn’t afford to get it. Whether it’s a pc, server, or a tablet. Don't drop your drawers on price, but offer additional value to the deal.

Comments?? Would love to hear them..

Where's the sizzle for selling Managed IT or BDR (backup Disaster Recovery)?

Art Post · 10/7/139:37 PM

I've been thinking about this for the past week or so.

Where the frak is the sizzle for selling Managed IT or BDR (backup Disaster Recovery)?

Selling Managed IT and BDR is boring!! As my wife states "it's a real snooze"!

Where is the sizzle? Am I missing something? There's no oohhs and ahhs with Managed IT/BDR, unlike when you see a beautiful color print emerge from an MFP aka copier. Or do you see a clients eyes light up with that look of "buy me" when you tell them your BDR service will mirror all of your data in two separate data locations on the east and west coast. Nope, it's still a fraking snooze.

Is this what sales have come down to in the office equipment industry, selling services from a brochure?

Even now, when telling clients about the new cloud services that they can print from the cloud, scan to the cloud and even enable documents as searchable .pdfs can still get a "really, we could do that"? or "gee these would be nice features to have" and "we want that". This is SIZZLE!

"I'm mad as hell and not gonna take this anymore", was actually a famous line from the 1976 flick NETWORK.

I'm mad as hell and I'll dig deeper on appointments and look for those opportunities that will enable me to NOT to be the same as everyone else. I will help companies manage the great expanse of data and help them manage, collect, analyze and store their data that will help them improve their business process! I promise to find the pain that every company has and bring forth a solution of hardware (SIZZLE) and software that will be the correct prescription to alleviate the pain and improve their business and make them more profitable!

I'm thinking what I may have just posted above is the new Art Post manifesto for taking my sales to the next level. Everything changes nothing is constant and we need to be prepared and excited to change and try new concepts. Not changing or diversifying can be our demise, but look at how much some of us have changed in the last 20 years. Did I ever think 20 years ago that I would ever even consider selling Managed IT or BDR, NO, because it's still a fraking snooze!

-=Good Selling=-

How Well Do You Know Your Sales Comp Plans?

Art Post · 10/6/1312:00 PM

Most will say, argghh, it's way to complicated and I don't have the time for that. All I want to do is sell and make money or I'm sure the commission report is correct and there's no need to double check, or how about this one that was once stated to me many years ago. "we don't make mistakes with commission reports". WHAT!! I just shrugged my shoulders and kept quite but thought "what do you expect from a pig but a grunt".

Knowing the ins and outs,of your comp plan and the manufacturers programs will win you extra business or lose additional business if you are not an expert with those plans.

Knowing when to hold them and when to fold them should be a crucial part of your learning curve as a sales person in the industry. I try to be as up to date as possible with all of the manufacturers programs and have learned by stupid mistakes the ins and outs of my comp plan. Stupid can be good, cause the 2nd time around you will have learned your lesson about being ignorant of the comp plan.

Most of the manufacturers have special programs for Print4Pay, Real Estate, Health Care, Major, Municipal or let me put it this way "most vertical markets that still have a paper intensive workflow. Don't be wishy washy and expect these plans to be laid out to you, some will and some won't. The some won't is probably just because everyone is busy, we're all trying to do more with less and sometimes these plans are forgotten.

"Outta Site" and "Outta Mind" is a saying that I use for many of my advertisers, and it is so true. I have reminders pinned in the walls of my cubicle so I don't forget!!

Thus take some time to think of all the plans that are in your sales arsenal, make your own flyer, pin or tape it to your wall at the office, your pitch book and be prepared to do some business!

-=Good Selling=-

BTA East Grand Slam 2013 "My Top Six Likes" Part 2

Art Post · 10/3/1311:11 PM

If we were took take a look at the copier industry in 10 year snapshots, I would name the snapshot from 1981-1991 as the "Decade of Expansion", 1991 -2001 as the "Decade of Digital", 2001-2011 would be the "Decade of Color" and 2011-2021 as I see it now would be named the "Decade of Diversity". Dealers have been and are diversifying their portfolio of services to their new and legacy account base.

Fonality: Which leads me to Fonality! I'm a hardware geek, and I am not ashamed! This was the first BTA show that I've attended where I was able to speak with a telecommunications vendor. Ask your self, how many times has a new prospect of an existing customer asked you if you can provide them with phones? I hear it at least four to five times a year, some of us will provide a referral to the customer, others will say "sorry we don't do phones" and very few of us will say "yes, we can help you!".

"Fonality is turning the tables about how you think about and purchase a business phone solution for you company. It has never been easier to a complete business-grade voice, collaboration, and contact center solution for a simple , all-inclusive (we like that word right!), per user price."

The above is an excerpt from their brochure, I did speak with Bill briefly and I liked the idea of offering telecommunications services. I'm sure it's not for all of us, but why walk away from controlling or offering all the communication services?

Darrell Amy (Dealer Marketing): What an excellent speaker he is! I could only wish that when he was selling copiers that I was one of his customers looking for a system, you just have to be impressed with how he delivers his message.

The message? Dealers need to embrace the change in the way customers want to interact with your sales teams. The days of walking down the street handing out 50 business cards and brochures is long gone. Darrell understands the significant changes in social media that's taken place in the last couple of years. Darrell's put together an awesome webinar that will enable dealer sales management and sales people to learn the 7 steps of making social media work for you!

Even an old guy like me that has figured out social media will be in attendance on the 9th of October, because you can teach and old dog new tricks!!! Go here for additional info for the webinar.

Too late to post #6 come back tomorrow or the next day or even the day after for the finale!

-=Good Selling=-

This Week in the Copier Industry 10 Years Ago

This Week in the Copier/Office Equipment Industry 10 Years Ago (1st week of October)

Art Post · 10/2/139:38 PM

I'll be you're wondering why the funky spaceman suit right? Back in October of 2003, China launched their first manned space mission the Shenzhou 5.

Seems every week I forget to put in the additional search criteria for all of the manufacturers from ten years ago. Let's see....Xerox, Canon, Ricoh, Konica, Minolta, Sharp, Kyocera, Toshiba, Savin, Oce, Muratec, Panasonic, sure I'm missing someone.

Where else can you get a snap shot of the industry ten years ago? Not with Industry Analysts, nor The Week in Imaging, and another no for ENX. Only on the Print4Pay Hotel forums.

Please consider this open invitation to join as a member, the basic membership if free and you'll love it!!!!

On with the threads for the industry from ten years ago!

Off & Running!

October 1, 2003 4:02 PM

Topic by Guest

Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. Announces The Formation Of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. — A New Powerhouse that will Challenge and Change the Way People Think About Document...

Who's Gonna Take Over Imagistics??

October 2, 2003 6:56 PM

Topic by Guest

A Sharp Focus on Imagistics? When Imagistics International (IGI ) was featured here on Aug. 26, 2002, it was trading at 18.95 a share. It has since jumped to 29.55 -- thanks to improving gross margins and better operating income, in spite of the...

New Color MFP from Xerox!!!!!

October 1, 2003 4:08 PM

Topic by Guest

Xerox Unveils Fast, Affordable Office Color Copier-Printer; WorkCentre M24 Aimed at Small WorkgroupsWorkCentre M24 Aimed at Small WorkgroupsCHICAGO, Sept. 29, 2003 – Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) today introduced the WorkCentre® M24, a...

NEW Duplicator with Paper Cassette

October 2, 2003 7:21 PM

Topic by Guest

Priport™JP5800 Ricoh Europe Web Site Ricoh´s newest Priport™JP5800 digital duplicator delivers a higher level of quality and performance in a user-friendly design. With a printing speed of up to 120 sheets/min. and an extensive...

Ricoh launches

October 2, 2003 7:37 PM

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Ricoh launches the next generation in digital photography Later this September, Ricoh Australia will launch a new digital camera, the Caplio G4 wide - the fourth generation in digital photography. The Caplio G4 wide is the world’s first sub...

Canon Sales Organizations Merge

October 2, 2003 6:49 PM

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Canon Sales Organizations MergeCanon Business Solutions-Southeast, Inc. and Canon Business Solutions-Northeast, Inc. Merge. The name of the merged company is Canon Business Solutions-East, Inc. BURLINGTON, NJ, Oct. 1, 2003 -- Canon Business...

Adobe and Xerox

October 1, 2003 4:16 PM

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Adobe and Xerox Announce Strategic Initiative to Promote Print Production Workflow StandardsSeptember 30, 2003 08:06:00 AM ETSAN JOSE, Calif. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2003-- Adobe PDF, JDF, XML and PostScript Technologies Incorporated...

JP 4500 Duplicator coming soon

October 2, 2003 7:25 PM

Topic by Guest

Ricoh will be releasing a another duplicator based on the JP 3000 engine. The model number will be the JP4500.Higher dpi and a new revolutionary master material will increase ink yeild and quality. There may e a few more goodies on this box, I hope...

Looks like we're giving HP a run for thier money

October 2, 2003 7:15 PM

Topic by Guest

Aficio™AP600N – High-performance A3 Network Printing for Business Users Amstelveen, The Netherlands, September 2003 -- Ricoh Europe B.V. announces the Aficio™AP600N desktop printer for business users. With the Aficio™AP600N,...

Help w/ Printing from MACROS

October 2, 2003 11:32 AM

Topic by Guest

Has anyone had this occur?client switches from HP to RICOH MFP, and uses MACROS in word, more specifically word 98. The Macro with the HP would automatically go to the correct paper drawer containg letterhead, and the RICOH will not. All though this...

T/R Systems Announces

October 1, 2003 4:10 PM

Topic by Guest

T/R Systems Announces MicroPress X Series Connectivity to Canon CLC 1180/1140/1110; Solution Provides Variety of Options for Mid-Volume Segment of Print-on-Demand MarketSeptember 29, 2003 6:27:00 PM ETATLANTA & LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS...

RE: NEW Duplicator with Paper Cassette

October 2, 2003 7:30 PM

Reply by Guest

Ricoh's Priport™JP5800 digital duplicator delivers a higher level of quality and performance in a user-friendly design. With a printing speed of up to 120 sheets/min. and an extensive paper capacity of 2500 sheets, the largest duplicating jobs...

RE: Looks like we're giving HP a run for thier money

October 4, 2003 10:03 AM

Reply by Darren ....

By the way - did you see news about HP going into a relationship with Konica/Minolta to sell HP versions of their 50+ multifunction machines with their own print controllers? IT people will love that!

RE: iR3200 user report

October 1, 2003 2:06 PM

Reply by Ted

Since we are a Canon Dealer also, I checked with our DSM for Canon and no they are not being discontinued. There are over 60,000 on backorder, and they are producing them as fast as they can. What we are being told is that it may take 30-60 days to...

RE: Tip from Ted

October 2, 2003 9:52 AM

Reply by Guest

Ted - so do most of the Konica's 45ppm+. Thanks for the info!

RE: Quark & 3800CMF Problems

October 3, 2003 3:47 PM

Reply by Color1

Within Quark was the proper PPD downloaded? If so make sure that the originator was using the correct color profile. It doesn't make sense that the 206 would do a better job. Was the 206 even true p/s or was it Ricoh Script?

RE: Around The World with Ricoh

October 2, 2003 7:34 PM

Reply by Guest

Ricoh Hong Kong Limited Unifies business Units to Forge a Stronger Brand in Hong Kong [10/2/03 9:58:04 AM] Ricoh Hong Kong Limited (RHK) announces to unify all their local trading entities into one single company name with effect from 1 October 2003....

-=Good Selling=-

BTA East Grand Slam 2013 "My Top Six Likes"

Art Post · 10/1/135:04 PM

Baltimore was awesome! The BTA event had excellent attendance by Office Equipment Dealers plus all of the vendors that I spoke to were in agreement that they thought the show was well attended and the quality of contacts and meetings were top notch.

Not in an particular order, but here's what I liked when I visited the vendors looking for new products, features and or services.

Global Printer Services: Half the battle when looking for a new vendor or adding services is the knowledge and tenure of the representatives that work for that company. We all like stability and can develop a relationship with reps that have some tenure and an excellent track record. I've been attending the BTA and Photizo events for a little more than a year now. At every event is Roy Divine (Account Manager) for GPS. I've found him to be quite knowledgeable and an expert when it comes to helping a dealer grow the MPS side of the business. GPS specializes in offering dealers re-manufactured HP laser printers with warranties to help build an MPS fleet with a low investment. For more about GPS click here.

Okidata: Oki has always been one of my favorites for niche type imaging systems. A fellow BTA member motioned me over to him and handed me what I thought was a brochure, it was a brochure alright however the image was fused onto a letter size magnet!! Image was awesome, I later found out that this was a sample from the new OKI C941dn color printer (C941dn, C931dn, C911dn.

This beast (C931dn) will handle up to 360gsm single sided, is a five color process with Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and White or Clear!!! FYI, the C931 and C911 are 4 color only. Oh, I forgot to mention the C921dn has a speed of up to 50 pages per minute. I gotta get me one of these!!

While other printer and MFP manufacturers are thinking of ways to generate business process solutions, OKI continues to knock it out of the box to create color imaging systems that will increase clicks!!! Kudos to Oki!

Muratec: If I were going to start my own dealership or desired a 2nd line, Muratec is on my short list for the first call! They've got A4, A3, Managed IT, Mobile and more.

AS I came up to the Muratec booth I noticed there was a new fellow with them. He was young, Japanese and a real ringer for either being a product person or an engineer. Now, I always like to have some fun, especially at someone else's expense. Well I guess you had to be there, later both he and I agreed that I speak very little Japanese and he speaks very little English.

Thus on to my point, Gregg Ross demo'd me the latest and greatest A4 MFX 3590X device. Most of it was old news except for two features, one was the internal mounted convenience stapler device, which I thought was cool feature to have. The other and more alluring was the fact that the Muratec 3590X out of the box is able to scan to any shared folders on the network ( I was on the phone with Lou @ Muratec a few minutes ago and he claimed that they have had this feature for sometime ).

No third party software to reside on a server, no additional expense to the dealer or customer or dealer, and easy to deploy once the system is installed. I can't do this with the systems that I sell out of the box, I need additional software, maintenance and install is required. Thumbs up to Muratec on this one!

Stay tuned 4,5 & 6 will be posted in a few days!!

-=Good Selling=-

Managing Print Costs for Wide Format Ink Plotters

Art Post · 9/30/139:00 PM

Managing Print Costs for Wide Format Ink Plotters

Over the weekend I took the time to finish one of my spreadsheets that enables us (Print4Pay Hotel members) to identify the cost per square foot for HP inkjet plotters.

Let me tell you this was no easy task. Why in the world is there no information from HP that states how many milliliters of black ink is used to print one square foot for a CAD drawing?

Every time I searched the HP web site for additional information about cost per page for Design jet plotters I was stymied by a notice that stated there was no information.

I was able to find a few documents that related to color use, but nothing related to CAD drawings. Each HP plotter cartridge tells us how much ink is in the cartridge, but you'll never use all of the ink due to evaporation, ink head cleaning/purging and some residual ink left in the cartridge. For example one cartridge has 69ml (milliliters) of ink. Thus I was curious as to how much ink is a milliliter. A milliliter measures to be one thousandth of a liter. I know liters because that's because most of the soda bottles are now measured in liters, but how about a milliliter? Is that less than a shot glass, more than a tablespoon? I found this handy document that tells us 1ml is also equal to 1cc, 2.5 ml is equal to a half of teaspoon, 5ml is a teaspoon, and 30ml equal two tablespoons or 1 fluid ounce.

Ok, I get it, so the HP cartridge that hold 69 milliliters of ink is equal to a little more than 2 ounces. Since the cartridge resells for $69, the price per milliliter is $1.00.

As I stated the key was to find out how many milliliters is used to print one square foot for a CAD drawing. Once I was able to find that, I was able to put together a cost per square foot spreadsheet for most of the HP wide format plotters that are used or designed to print CAD documents.

Last week I wrote a blog titled "15 Critical Questions for Selling Wide Format in the AEC Market", these questions were outlined in a down loadable document. With that document I've now been able to include a "Square foot" calculator (just type in the width and length of the document), which enables you to find the square footage of wide format document, a cost per square foot for the HP ink , cost for the black print heads, cost for the Canon print heads, maintenance kits, cost for cut sheet wide format paper, cost for Diazo paper. The three awesome spreadsheets that will calculate your customers cost for running their current plot device!

As most businesses are catching up with how much the cost to print a standard letter or legal page on their current print devices, most AEC companies that own ink based plotters/MFP's still have no clue as the cost per square foot. Thus, this is a market where we can educate the customer on their existing ink printing costs and hopefully migrate them to LED Plotters/MFP's that have a much lower cost per square foot to print or copy.

"Wide From ROI Spreadsheet" is available here for a one time download of $24.95, or you can sign up for a Premium Print4Pay Hotel membership and get the document for FREE, plus unlimited updates for as long as you are a Premium Member. Go here to find our more about "Wide Format ROI Spreadsheet" and how you'll be able to add more GP/profit to your sales and find those hidden opportunities!

-=Good Selling=-

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