Weekend Copier Notes from 06/22/08

WEEKEND MFP INDUSTRY NOTES
6-22-08

The following is a quick review of copier/MFP industry news from industry publications.


- The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently published a document on the effects of paper types on the performance of digital production color print engines:
o Moisture level of paper can impact performance:
 Too much moisture effects:
• Caused by improper storage of paper
• Too much conductivity of toner to paper, or over saturation
• Paper shrinks when heat from fuser removes moisture from paper
• Edges of paper can become wavy
• Paper jamming increases
• Paper jams in finisher
 Too little moisture:
• Caused by improper storage of paper
• Decreased conductivity causes by too much static
• Images may not have enough density
• Static buildup causing paper jams
• Misregistration of images
• Jams in finisher
 Loading paper in the wrong grain direction
• Variance in stiffness
• Paper feed problems
• Feed problems in finisher
 Surface is too smooth, can cause problems with ability of rubber paper feed tires to grab paper properly
 Surface too rough causes:
• Unlike liquid ink, toner rests on surface, so image quality is poor as toner does not work its way into crevices on surface of paper
• Paper is too abrasive, causing premature failure of the fusing section due to friction from paper’s surface
 Machines that advertised vacuum paper feeding can have problems with thinner stocks as the paper is porous and lets air through
 Paper is not designed for digital, so has improper filler or formation
• Uneven toner density
• Paper’s filler leaves buildup inside machine, as heat and static from digital engine causes surface of paper to lose chemicals
 Recycled paper may leave a lot of paper dust in system, causing imaging, feeding and fusing problems.

- Canon reported that in the first half of the year, its profit declined for the first time since 2002. Net income fell 18% to $1.96 billion. Sales slipped 2%, while operating profit declined 17%.

- Oce’s FM division won the top award from the 2008 Black Book of Outsourcing. Survey results based on 8 weeks of responses from outsourcing users in the U.S.

- After announced in February that it would by Prism Software (maker of solution software, Prism DocRecord, DocForm,etc.), Peerless announced it was backing out the deal, as Prism did not meet certain obligations. Both firms are experiencing financial difficulty. Peerless, formerly a maker of print controllers, sold off this to Kyocera



- According to RIT about toner technology:
o Many manufacturers still using a mechanical process, pulverizing or grinding process to make color toner for production machines
 Particles as small as 7 microns
 Uneven in shape
 May require fuser oil to stick to paper
 Is abrasive to parts in machine, like the fuser section
 Particle is too large for high resolution
 Particles vary in size, as no control over uniformity
 More heat required to melt
 Higher toner stack puts more stress on fuser, and can increase toner cracking during folding
 Fuser oil content can prevent UV coating
o Polymerized toner, or chemically prepared toner offers many benefits
 Particles are more round
 As small as 3 microns
 Particles are more uniform in size, as more control over shape
 No fuser oil required
 Less abrasive to machine parts
 May work well with UV coaters
 Lower toner stack means less chance of toner cracking during folding
 Less heat and pressure needed to fuse
 Higher image resolution can be obtained (5 micron needed for 600dpi appearance, 3 micron needed for 1200dpi appearance)
 Less toner needed to create fill

- Results of the DRUPA printshop equipment show in Germany:
o 391,000 visitors
o 128 countries represented
o $15.5 billion spent at show on equipment orders

- Hewlett Packard announced that it will layoff people from its printing division, due to sagging sales:
o The printer division produces 40% of the profit for all of HP
o It also produces 26% of all of HP sales
o 64% of the division’s revenue is from supplies
o HP stock has declined 7% this year
o The graphic arts division of HP’s printing group now accounts for 10% of the division’s revenue
o Inkjet printer sales are down 5%
o HP branch still accounts for 54.4% of all desktop printers sold
o Will shrink the print division from 5 business units to three
 Inkjet unit will specialize in hardware and supplies to consumers (primarily for home use)
 Corporate unit will offer printers, supplies and management software to large corporate customers
 Graphic unit will offer printers and supplies to wide format users
o Most of the U.S. employees of the printer division (3,400) work at the division headquarters in Boise, Idaho, which designs the products, while manufacturing is done overseas.

- Ricoh launched a new print-only color laser system, the Aficio SP C420DN offering:
o 31ppm top speed color or b/w
o 1200x1200dpi top resolution at half speed (600dpi at full speed)
o Does NOT offer 8 bits per pixel
o Up to 120lb. index stock through stack bypass
o A4 system, meaning up to legal size only
o Optional extended warranties do NOT include supplies
o Supports banner printing 8.5” x 35”
o Base MSRP of $1299
o PCL and PostScript drivers
o 800MHz processor
o Optional 60GB hard drive for network spooling

- Ricoh won an award from Premier Healthcare, a huge healthcare buying group. The Pinnacle Award was given a second time to Ricoh for exceeding expectations. The award was presented to Dave Barwick and Scot Petraglia, who handle the Premier national account for Ricoh.
- Ricoh announced that it has partnered with Cima Software Corp., so that its DocuClass document management solution software can be accessed through the Ricoh MFP’s control panel.

- Fuji of Japan announced that it will use devices from Cypress Semiconductor Corp. of San Jose, CA to make color MFPs that are relabeled by Xerox as Document Centre or WorkCentre MFPs. The Cypress-made 4PLL CY2545 clock generators will be incorporated to reduce electro-magnetic interference that could occur inside the MFP.

- Xerox announced it has sold two iGen4 production color systems to Ifolor AG, a printshop in Switzerland, to join three of the iGen3 models already in use.

- Xerox announced it will provide copiers for use during the Democratic Party convention in Denver, CO in August. Xerox’s CEO, Anne Mulcahy, is a registered Democrat Party supporter.

- In a related story, Forbes magazine reported that Xerox spent $270,000 on lobbyists in Washington D.C. The company is trying to influence decisions being made that may affect the copier maker.

- IKON won a copier bid from the Waynesville, Missouri School District. The 5 year contract includes all service, equipment and supplies for up to 1.2 million copies per year. The school district is eliminating many of its desktop printers, as it found it was spending $60,000 on cartridges.

- PrintAudit Software, which captures meters from copiers and printers, announced it will work with DocuAudit software, which allows copiers sales reps to create detailed print management proposals.

- Kyocera named former Ricoh executive, Jeffrey Pelliconi as National Sales Manager of Strategic Channels, reporting to Steve Petix. Mr. Pelliconi will be in charge of the EcoPro print management program.

- Fedex reported a $241 million dollar loss, and blamed it on the poor performance of its Kinkos division. It has decided to change the name from Kinko’s to Fedex Office.

- BERTL announced its BERTL 2008 Best awards based on its lab testing:
o Canon imageRUNNER 3030, C5185, 5075
o Sharp MX-6201N
o Oce’ VarioPrint 6250
o Xerox DocuColor 260, iGen3, WorkCentre 7132 & Phaser 8560MFP
o Ricoh Aficio MP 2500SPF

- Canon announced it has authorized Texas Imaging Systems as an authorized dealer in Austin and San Antonio, TX. Details:
o Owner is Randy Davidson
o Randy Davidson was part of the original Unicopy, which was a multilocation Sharp dealer, which sold out to DANKA.
o Randy then went on to found Dahill Industries in 1986, a Sharp dealer with locations in Texas and Arizona.
o Randy sold the Texas Dahill locations to Global Imaging, which is now a part of Xerox.
o Randy sold the Arizona locations to Sharp, and are now Sharp branches.
o Because of a non-compete clause, Texas Imaging was started by Randy’s daughter, Elizabeth. Randy bought it from his daughter in 2000.
o Plans on opening a location in Waco.
o The locations are also authorized for Sharp.

- Sharp’s VP of Sales, Richard Boomsa, announced that it will extend its contract with Global/Xerox for 5 more years. This means that all the dealerships that were part of Global that were authorized for Sharp before Global sold out to Xerox, will remain authorized for up to 5 more years. This includes Dahill of Texas, Berney Office Solutions(Alabama), Lewan & Associates(Denver), MWB Business Systems (California), Pinnell (Oregon) and Imaging Concepts of New Mexico.

- EFI announced it had sold 20 each of the Digital StoreFront web to print solutions at the DRUPA show.