Print On Demand

Ok Art,

Here are a few of my contributions:

Canon IR7200 72 ppm 55ppm scanning to pc and or e-mail. They seem to have come up with a "Scan Router Pro" type of intermediary (lower priced than e-copy) scanning software solution. It enables you to scan to designated stations and email accounts right from the LCD screen. In terms of the box, it looks just like the IR5000/6000, but the rep says it's the the IR8500 engine slowed down.(No mention of the IR600 platform). But a former Canon rep who works for us now says that the 8500 engine is based on the new 5000/6000 platform. I don't really see the 2 cpm faster speed as an advantage for Canon (if someone does it's negligible). But once again their advantage is in scanning to PC as well as low cost scan to e-mail solution. Not to mention the general "print for pay" world trusts Canon on reliability. Although I'll put ours up against theirs any day. But much to my dismay, some of the folks at the Ricoh booth were still heard to be "disin" the scan application in high volume environments. Same old song that doesn't need repeating, but a point should be made that (to my knowledge) we're the only manufacturer of digital copiers that doesn't offer scanning above 45cpm. HMMM????

On a lighter note, one of our reps went over to the Konica booth and asked them: "what makes the Konica 7085 a better system than the Aficio 1085?" They said: "it's built better". He asked: "how so?" They said "more metal inside" He then asked: "then how come the Konica weighs 200+ pounds less?". They didn't have a good answer for that one.

I personally checked out the Konica 7920. The Konica offering to supposedly compete with the AP3800CMF. Same features as ours (print,copy,scan, printer based engine), only slower. 20ppm B&W / 20PPM full color. Extremely cheaply and flimsily made. I opened what looked to be a bypass tray on the right side of the machine, but it turned out to be the duplex tray. I closed (or thought I did) the cover and noticed that the bypass was located below it. You really have to look to find it. It in essence was not a tray but a bypass feeder sort of like our old 3313's. The color samples they had coming off the machine looked terrible. Colors were way off (unnatural). I'd be embarrassed to hand out those samples (even from our 3800). I had seen enough, and didn't look any closer at the box. I started looking at the 7075. Then I noticed someone trying to figure out what the error message on the screen of the 7920 was about. It was telling them to close the cover that I had inadvertently thought was a bypass tray (honest, I wasn't trying to sabotage their machine). It took 2 of them to figure out it was the duplex tray cover (after opening and closing most of the machine). Back to the 7075. 75cpm but short on paper supply as usual(4 500 sheet trays)I think you can add an LCT with another 4500 sheets (still way short of ours). But they've made some nice enhancements. They've followed our lead with a large user friendly,easy to understand touch screen display. But a big plus is their ability to insert a color cover post process into a saddle stitch book. It comes with their booklet maker finisher. We can only do it with the SR85 bookletmaker with cover feeder option attached to an SR810 finisher. A very expensive alternative to the Konica bookletmaker.

Now for the question everyone wants an answer to. Will the Fiery version of the AP3800 give better color quality than the original AP3800? The answer is no it's still one bit depth color. It's still "office color". However you will have super high speed processing (especially those large Mac files). You're also going to have all the the fiery tools we've come to know and love, especially lots of color control in postscript. On the 3800 there's virtually none in postscript. You're also going to be able to solution sell high speed output with velocity software driving a bunch of AP3850's(new model name for the fiery version of the 3800C). Print shops are going to love this in non color-critical long runs. They can even use Velocity to drive non-ricoh fiery controllers. I've got a print shop that has our 850 along with a 6513. I'll pitch this solution to him along with the SR85
on-line/offline booklet maker to use for both B&W online and color offline bookletmaking.Cool idea huh?

So there's three for you Art!

Topic: 2002 NYC Print On Demand Show (4 of 4), Read 3 times
Conf: BW: General Discussion
From: Arthur Post (salmonrive@msn.com)
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2002 09:53 PM

Great job Pete!

You have done your homework well. I got back in time to see my sons baseball game.

But the info is not for me it's for all of us.

I went the other route and did not look at competitive machines except for the new RISO two color single pass machine (featured on the Print 4 Pay Hotel this week). I looked at finsihing and document solutions that we could not offer to the customer with certain Ricoh boxes.

I was over at the BAUM booth and looked at thier BUAM jr. auto folder. This folder will fold up to 11 x 17 sheets in four pre-defined fold modes. V, Z, Bi, along with french (sounds very sexy to me). It will stack 300 sheets in the feeder and the exit tray will fill up every one hundred folds.

So, whats the big deal! The price, MSRP of $2,400!!, I've been paying $2,400 wholesale for the MBM version. I'll admit that the MBM is a little more versatile in features, along with input and output. But the BAUM name is worth its weight in gold with print 4 pay or print on demand markets. It's and exciting throw in for standalone folding for different weights and stocks.

Next.........., too late must prepare for work tomorrow, I tell you all about the coolest print on demand printer to hei the market in the last ten years...........in a few days.

Re-posting this made me realize I never did tell you all about the color label printer from Canon. It prints @ 1200 dpi (inkjet), variable data printing, and prints full color images onto rolls of adhesive labels.

At this time the product was not available in the US ad they were going to release it to Canon USA in the third quarter of 2002. As of yet I have not seen one.

Is there anyone out (maybe you IKON guys) that knows more or has this product?

Art

What a show! Had the chance to look at the Canon IR8500. I don't think we'll have much competition here. Suggested Retail $45,000, with out the options. The IR8500 looks, copies, and prints the same as the ir600. They have stuck with the small liquid crytal display, however they have solved the problem with mailboxes dumping the memory after 3 days. There is a saddle stitcher available along with the same finishing products as the ir600.

Max paper is 7,650 sheets. 110lb thru all cassettes. If looks would sell a system the aficio 850 has them beat. We have a sexy stlyish system, the 8500 is just a box of plasctic.

Halftones are exceptional, don't get caught with halftones against the Canon. Our 850/1050 sucks even with the eb fiery controller.

Minolta 1501/2001, these units are three different pieces that look like they were patched together. Corporate color only!! 90lb stock is the heaviest and it has to be run thru the single sheet by pass!!!!!!!!! Black & White speed is 15 for 1501 and 20 for 2001. This system looks cheap and is built cheap. Bottle fed toner!!!

User must replace all consumable parts, with level 3 servicing. There are three different levels with Minolta. Check my post on the Minolta 2001.