For Immediate Release
Contact: Art Post
(732) 291-3146
FIRST INDEPENDENT WEBSITE DESIGNED FOR SALES AND TECHNICAL IMAGING PROFESSIONALS EXPANDS ITS MESSAGE BOARDS
HIGHLANDS, NEW JERSEY, March 26, 2004¾ The Print4Pay Hotel: The Imaging Professional’s Resource Center, has announced that it is opening up five new message boards devoted to technicians of Ricoh family group products, making it the first independent Website in the history of the office equipment industry that enables both resellers and technicians to share knowledge about the equipment they sell and service.
“We’re excited about being the first independent support Website that provides such a wide and varied array of information to service technicians in addition to sales reps, our core group of members,” notes Art Post, founder and CEO, and a docusultant with Century Office Products in Middlesex, NJ. “Because of the time they spend in the field working directly with the equipment, techs often have a better understanding of the daily issues involved in servicing these devices compared to folks at the corporate level. These message boards enable technicians to leverage a wide and varied knowledge base. ”
The five new message boards dedicated to the technical services side of the imaging business include: Networked Printers, Copiers and Fax; PC Networking Questions; AS400 Applications; Shop Talk; Mac Operating System. “By adding these topics, we’re hoping to drive more technical people to the site,” notes Post. “Technicians need to get information as fast as sales people, especially if they have a problematic machine in the field. Through the site and the various message boards, techs can post questions and get an answer in hours rather than days.”
Post emphasizes that the message boards that allow Print4Pay Hotel members to share knowledge ultimately add value to the customer-dealer relationship, and that more knowledgeable techs have a direct impact on the dealerships they serve as well as the products they service. “This is a rapidly changing industry that’s becoming increasingly complex as manufacturer’s introduce more solutions that integrate with a customer’s network,” says Post. “We’re looking to enhance the service that we provide to customers and the message boards can strengthen a technician’s expertise on specific machines as well as software and solutions issues. We’re all here to serve the customer and any medium that enhances that relationship particularly when it comes to expediting resolutions for specific hardware or software issues, then we all benefit—sales rep, technician, customer and manufacturer.”
The Print4Pay Hotel (www.p4photel.com), which debuted in 2001, provides extensive imaging product information—both on the Ricoh family group products and competitive products—and serves as a forum for imaging industry personnel to share knowledge. In addition to the message boards, the site provides its members with the latest press releases and literature on Ricoh family products and competitive products, industry news, and classified ads as well as photos and links to related industry sites. The site currently has more than 350 members and averages 500 page views per day. Although most members are from the U.S., the site also serves members from Canada, United Kingdom, Norway and South Africa.
The Print4Pay Hotel was envisioned as a means for imaging industry professionals to satisfy their “Need for Knowledge.” The site, www.p4photel.com, allows digital imaging specialists to share information and find answers quickly. It’s also a place where imaging professionals can store their knowledge, search their knowledge, and share their inspirations, ideas and passion for the industry.
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