Weekend MFP Industry Notes Newsletter

Weekend MFP Industry Notes Newsletter
1-30-2011


- The blowback continues from the CBS TV report on copier hard drive security, as the states of New Jersey, Arizona and Washington have all introduced bills into their respective state legislatures, that would impose heavy fines on vendors who do not remove or erase contents of hard drives at end of lease.

- Xerox reported its last quarter’s financials:
o earnings per share of 12 cents
o total revenue up 42% (includes ACS)
o cash flow of $1.3 billion
o operating margin of 10.4%
o 11% increase in revenue from Business Process Outsourcing
o 5% increase in IT outsourcing revenue
o 13% increase in service signings
o 4% increase in equipment sales
 Color equipment sales revenue up 6%
 25% increase in A4 b/w units
 27% increase in A4 color units
 4% increase in color printer units
 2% decrease in midrange b/w units
 22% increase in midrange color units
 11% decrease in b/w production print units
 19% increase in color production print units
 Gross margin decreased 1% to 34.1%
o Total liabilities of $18 billion
o Bad debt expense decreased by $45 million
o Digital pages under contract declined 2%
 Color pages under contract increased 11%
o $264 million in employee severance costs from 6,000 employee layoff
o $19 million loss associated with sale of operations in Venezuela

- Xerox’s chief financial officer (CFO), Lawrence Zimmerman, announced he is leaving the company. Replacement will be Lucan Maestri, formerly of Nokia Siemens.

- Xerox announced that Better Buys for Business gave a “Innovative Product of the Year” award for the Xerox WorkCentre 7545/7556 color laser MFPs (which are made by Fuji)

- Xerox announced it sold an iGen4 220 production color system to SCICOM Data Services of Minnetonka, Minnesota. The 220 is two iGen4 110 systems connected together to produce full-color two-sided documents at 110ppm.

- In Japan, Fuji has taken the old single OPC engine from the Xerox DocuColor 12 color MFP, and reintroduced it as the DocuColor 1450, now running at 14ppm, and using polymerized toner (EA emulsion aggregate) instead of pulverized toner with fusing oil. Unknown if Xerox will sell this in the U.S.


- Ricoh dealer, DocuSource, of Cerritos, California, announced that it has achieved Gold Solution Provider status from Hyland, for its success selling the OnBase document management software package. “We have consistently made investments in the growth of this business – in sales, marketing and most notably, technical resources. We are thrilled to see our efforts pay off” said DocuSource VP, David Kaye.

- Ricoh announced launch of version 2.0 of its Personal Paperless Document Manager software (PPDMv2):
o Manages paper documents, PDFs and MS Office files
o Assemble document by dragging and dropping pages from other documents (XPS, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, JPG, BMP, TIFF) to create new PDF
o Change, edit or markup PDFs
o Creates searchable PDFs with OCR engine
o Send or retrieve from MS SharePoint
o Convert files to Amazon Kindle
o Convert capture of text by digital camera into text file
o Auto highlight, redact, underline or cross-out by alphanumeric pattern search

- Ricoh announced it will begin providing low-interest loans to employees in Japan to encourage them to make their houses more environmentally friendly (adding solar panels, etc.). The loans will be for 10 years in length at 4% interest.

- In an interview in Computer Resellers News magazine, Ricoh U.S. president and CEO, Jeffrey Hickling, stated; “While a much larger share of our revenue comes from direct, we increased our investment in dealer support 50% in 2010”. “In what we’d call the midmarket and the commercial accounts, a direct coverage model alone can be prohibitively expensive”

- More details on the new Ricoh A3 color laser MFPs, the Aficio MP C3001 and 3501 series:
o top speeds of 30ppm and 35ppm respectively
o Base MSRPs of $12,340 and $14,750
o uses 4 tandem OPC drums w/PxP polymerized toner
o Induction heating belt fusing system
o 8.5” color touchscreen LCD control panel w/customizable icons
o 23 second warmup time with 7.8 second first color copy out time
 Recovery time from sleep mode of 13 seconds
o 600x600dpi as copier, 1200x1200dpi as printer, 4 bit (does not offer true 8 bits per pixel)
o Document feeder holds only up to 50 originals with top color scan speed of 41opm
o Auto duplex standard
o Comes standard with two 550 sheet paper drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
 With options, can expand paper supply to 4,400 sheets maximum
• $580 to add 550 sheet paper drawer
• $1780 to add two 550 sheet drawers
• $1990 for 2,000 sheet letter drawer
• $1892 for side mount 1,200 sheet deck
• Top paper drawer holds 550 sheets of letter size paper only
• Bypass can hold up to 100 sheets, up to 12”x18” for tabloid full bleed output
• Bypass supports banner printing
• Drawers hold up to 256gsm, but auto duplex only supports up to 169gsm
• Bypass holds up to 300gsm for simplex output only
• Option can convert second paper drawer to envelope feeder for $280
o Support App2Me for panel integration with third party software
o Includes 1 user license of Personal Paperless Document Management (PPDM) for simple OCR loaded on one PC
o Finishing options include
 250 sheet internal shift tray (no stapling) for $338
 500 sheet hanging 50 sheet corner stapling finisher for $1045
 1,000 sheet finisher with 50 sheet multi-position staple for $1480
 Optional bookletmaker finisher allows 10 sheet booklets for $3150 (plus $230 bridge kit)
• Optional 2/3 hole punch for booklet maker for $765
o Uses 1,584 watts of power
o Black toner yield of 22.5K pages and color toner yield of 16K pages (based on 5%)
o Optional $1375 analog fax board
 Up to 3 fax lines for $700 each
 200dpi standard, can upgrade to 400dpi maximum with $195 RAM board
 Optional Internet Fax
o 150K/month max duty cycle
 Recommended max volume of 20K/month
o Built-in “GW” print controller
 Actual maker unknown (most likely Oak Technology)
 600MHz Intel Celeron processor
 1.5GB RAM standard (can not upgrade)
 160GB hard drive standard
• Requires $605 File Format Converter Kit to use boxes
• Comes standard with hard drive data overwrite, but ISO 15408 Common Criteria certified data overwrite is a $390 option
 PCL & XPS print drivers standard
• PostScript print driver for $611
 10/100BaseT port standard
• 1000BaseT port is $460
• WiFi for $565
• Optional USB port is for scan to and print from thumb drive
o Also accepts SD digital camera memory cards for $356
o Accept connection from digital camera for $267
 IPv6 support
 Optional slide out keyboard
 Ricoh Embedded Software Architecture (ESA running Java) allows for optional integrated applications
 Scan features standard include Twain/email/LDAP/SMB/FTP/URL
• Optional OCR called “ESA Transformer”
• Optional GlobalScan NX for routing
o Optional embedded EFI Fiery E3200

- New Ricoh Aficio C4501 and C5501 offer following advantages as compared to old C4000/C5000 models:
o 45ppm and 55ppm
o Base MSRPs of $16,010 and $19,780
o Standard document feeder holds up to 100 sheets with top color scan speed of 67opm
o C4501A and C5501A will have base MSRPs of $16,680 and $20,460 as they will come standard with document feeders that scan both sides or original at same time
 85ipm simplex, or 116ipm for duplex
o Faster warmup times (i.e. 22 seconds versus 34 seconds for C4501)
 Faster first copy out time (5.9 seconds for color versus 6.5 with C4501)
 Faster recovery from sleep mode (19 seconds versus 32 seconds with C4501)
o Black toner yield of 25,500 and color toners yield 18,000 pages each based on 5% coverage per page
o Auto duplex standard
o Comes standard with two 550 sheet paper drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
 With options, can expand paper supply to 4,400 sheets maximum
• $580 to add 550 sheet paper drawer
• $1780 to add two 550 sheet drawers
• $1990 for 2,000 sheet letter drawer
• $1892 for side mount 1,200 sheet deck
• Top paper drawer holds 550 sheets of letter size paper only
• Bypass can hold up to 100 sheets, up to 12”x18” for tabloid full bleed output
• Bypass supports banner printing
• Drawers hold up to 256gsm, but auto duplex only supports up to 169gsm
• Bypass holds up to 300gsm for simplex output only
• Option can convert second paper drawer to envelope feeder for $280
o Optional $1375 analog fax board
 Up to 3 fax lines for $700 each
 200dpi standard, can upgrade to 400dpi maximum with $195 RAM board
 Optional Internet Fax
o Finishing options include:
 2000 sheet booklet maker finisher for $4110 plus $230 bridge kit
 3,000 sheet stapling finisher for $2860
 1,000 sheet stapling finisher for $1480
 $765 for hole punch kit
o Built-in print controller features:
 1GHz Intel Celeron processor
 2GB RAM versus 1GB
 160GB hard drive standard
• Requires $605 File Format Converter Kit to use boxes
• Comes standard with hard drive data overwrite, but ISO 15408 Common Criteria certified data overwrite is a $390 option
 PCL & XPS print drivers standard
• PostScript print driver for $611
 10/100BaseT port standard
• 1000BaseT port is $460
• WiFi for $565
• Optional USB port is for scan to and print from thumb drive
o Also accepts SD digital camera memory cards for $356
o Accept connection from digital camera for $267
 IPv6 support
 Ricoh Embedded Software Architecture (ESA running Java) allows for optional integrated applications
 Optional slide out keyboard
 Scan features standard include Twain/email/LDAP/SMB/FTP/URL
• Optional OCR called “ESA Transformer”
• Optional GlobalScan NX for routing
 New scan to web mail (SSL over SMTP)
o Optional embedded EFI Fiery E5200

- Hewlett Packard confirmed that it has a world-wide backorder problem on toner cartridges for LaserJet P1102W and LaserJet M1212 models. It is working on “restoring” inventory as soon as possible.

- Hewlett Packard hopes to expand an operations center in Des Moines, Iowa using state tax dollars of up to $1.6 million. The company would supposedly use the handout to add 308,000 square feet to an existing facility.

- Hewlett Packard’s Alon Bar-Shany announced the availability of software development kits (SDKs) to allow third party applications to drive HP Indigo production color presses.

- Hewlett Packard announced that by 2012, it will incorporate the webOS it acquired when it purchased Palm Computing in 2010, into future MFPs and printers for integrated applications.

- Toshiba America Business Solutions received an A****A Award from its parent company in Japan for work performed last year with Habitat for Humanity.

- Toshiba’s plans to build a nuclear reactor in Galena, Alaska are “effectively stalled” according to Dennis Witmer, an energy consultant, due to lack of approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

- Toshiba announced it was chosen as the exclusive supplier of copiers for a new printshop/shipping store chain called “Instant Imprints”. The San Diego-based franchise chain was started by former UPS Store/Mailboxes Etc. executive, Ralph Ascar.

- Global Graphics, which makes print controllers, claims that it has developed an option for printing from smartphones or tablets without need for drivers:
o no need for print drivers
o do not need to be connected to Internet
o uses Bluetooth or WiFi
o is small device that would be embedded into printer or MFP
o device contains Intel Atom processor and raster image processing technology from Global Graphics
o pricing and availability not announced

- A judge found a Kodak patent on digital camera technology invalid, imperiling Kodak’s patent infringement lawsuit against Apple and Research in Motion (Blackberry)

- Kodak reported its 2010 financial results:
o total sales of $7.187 billion, down 6%
o digital sales revenue up 1%
o Inkjet and Workflow Software revenue up 18%
o Inkjet revenue up 35%
o Loss of $58 million
o Graphic Communications Group (NexPress, Digimaster, Stream, etc.) total sales of $2.681 billion, down 2%
o $322 spent on R&D
o 27.1% gross profit margin

- Kodak announced it entered into an agreement with NEC to share patents.

- Canon announced its last quarter’s operating profit was $1.2 billion, up 9%

- Canon now showing how a Canon imagePRESS C1 MFP can be equipped to print X-Rays and radiographs on plain paper. Pricing unknown.

- Canon announced it sold its stake in Tech Semiconductor of Singapore, maker of memory chips, for $121 million to Micron Technology.

- In Europe, Canon officially launched MEAP Web. Details:
o MEAP stands for Multifunction Embedded Application Protocol, and is used for optional embedded solutions, like eCopy, etc.
o The original MEAP uses JAVA operating system running on top of UNIX main operating system
o Other users of JAVA are Ricoh, Lexmark, Samsung, etc.
o New platform instead uses Web services technology which is now preferred method for integrating optional solutions and sells as package for $1000 per MFP
 Still must run on top of current MEAP’s Java platform
 May require imageRUNNER ADVANCE Essentials kit for $2400
 MEAP connectors are $900 each
o Only works on new imageRUNNER ADVANCE models
o Runs applications up to 5 times faster than previous technology
o Enables faster development at a lower cost to application maker
o Easier to deploy and can scale better across an enterprise
o Apparently, MEAP Web cannot access the imageRUNNER mailbox, USB port, job management or login capabilities
o Uses NetFront web browser from Access Company Ltd. of Japan
 Supports HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, Flash and Cascading Style Sheets
 Built-in PDF viewer and direct PDF printing
 Can pass to application the ID for authenticated user
 Canon Service Provider is MEAP app running inside MFP that allows application to scan and send images to FTP server or via fax
o Apparently, MEAP Web will not work with Nuance eCopy ShareScan or the current Canon uniFLOW (which is actually a relabeled product from NT-Ware Inc.)
o Unknown when Canon will launch in the U.S.

- More details on version 5.0 of Canon’s uniFLOW solution option for imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFPs:
o Based on software from NT-Ware Inc. of Germany
o Uses OCR engine from IRIS of Belgium
o Authenticated access for scan to email
o Integration with MS Exchange
o User defined workflows
o Server based application
o Ability to restrict user access to specific Canon MFPs, functions and features
o Able to restrict color printing
o Able to capture an image of every print, copy, scan and fax from both Canon and non-Canon devices for HIPAA audit trail
 Can screen images for restricted keywords
 supports non-Canon MFPs and printers in areas of secure printing, copy tracking and ID card authentication using NT-Ware microMIND
o create complex printing workflows
 documents of certain amount of pages can be automatically routed to more cost effective device
o universal print driver
o SQL connector for import and export of data with cost recovery solutions
o Base package pricing:
 $2456 for 50 users
 $5456 for 250 users
 $9819 for 500 users
 $19,092 for unlimited users
o Modules that are sold separately from the base package are:
 Reporting/Statistics
 Rules Based Routing
 Rule Based Configuration
 Secure Printing
 Enhanced Security Features
 Advanced Scanning
 These optional modules are each priced at:
• $1409 for 50 users
• $1746 for 250 users
• $3945 for 500 users
• $5579 for unlimited users
o Requires a $895 device license for every MFP
o EXAMPLE: A fully loaded system for company with 10 MFPs and 250 users would be $24,882.

- Lexmark announces new connector for its MFPs, called “Interact”:
o Allows panel integration with Perceptive imageNOW document management solution
o Connections also available for Pharos, eCopy, Kofax and NSi AutoStore

- Perceptive, a division of Lexmark, also now has connectors to HP and Xerox MFPs.

- A computer hacker named Deral Heiland invented a program called “Praeda” (which is Latin for plunder) which supposedly can be used to hack into printers and MFPs that are connected to the Internet, that don’t have the appropriate data security features. The hacking software can be used to enter a customer’s network through the connected printer or MFP and steal data or take over other devices.

- Police arrested John Kenneth Martin of Diboll, Texas after they caught him trying to use fake $10 dollar bills he created on a color copier in order to get a burger from Jack in the Box fast food restaurant.

- InfoTrends predicts that document outsourcing will increase 2.2% by 2014.

- According to Eric de Goeijen, a print for pay industry analyst, the total print opportunity for 2011 is estimated to be 10 trillion pages. Of that number, 216 billion pages will be from digital production print devices.

- The United States Postal Service proposed closing 2,000 facilities in an effort to cut costs, after it posted a $8.5 billion loss in 2010.



- Sharp announced it will hire 300 people for new solar cell plant in Wrexham, England.

- Sharp launches the MX-2310U color laser A3 MFP featuring:
o 23ppm top speed
o 4 OPC tandem drum design
o Code name of “Gemini Plus”
o Based on the original “Pastel” platform
o Base MSRP of $8695
o Has a polymer resin frame (plastic) rather than a steel frame like most A3 MFPs
o With one paper drawer, only weighs 159lbs.
o 7” color touchscreen LCD display
o Does NOT offer a retractable keyboard like other Sharp models
o Comes standard with 100 sheet document feeder
 Does NOT scan both sides of sheet at same time
 Top scan speed of 50opm at 200dpi (color or b/w)
o Comes standard with 500 sheet paper drawer and 100 sheet stack bypass
 Second 500 sheet drawer for $845
 Two 500 sheet drawers for $1075
 Three 500 sheet drawers for $1495
o Output options include:
 100 sheet side exit tray $150
 Internal corner staple for $1795
 Hole punch kit $698
o Uses LEDs in scanner for lower power usage
o 20 second warmup time
o 18,000 page yield for black toner, and 10,000 page yield for color toners
 100,000 page yield for black developer and 60,000 page yield for color developers
 100,000 page yield for black drum, and 60,000 page yield for color drums
o 400dpi fax board $1295
 Internet fax $545
o Built-in print controller
 600MHz FreeScale PowerQUICC III processor
 1GB RAM
 160GB hard drive
 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports
 Windows printing standard
 PCL driver with RAM for $725
 PostScript print driver for $745
 XPS print driver with RAM for $1125
 Barcode kit $595
 Copier hard drive security kit $549
 Scan to email/SMB/FTP/network folder/USB standard
 Application Integration Module (for optional integrated apps) for $349
 External accounting kit $189

- The Church of Scientology in Los Angeles, opened up a new printshop that included the installation of a 121 ton web press, which will be used to produce 35 million educational booklets per year at 55,000 pages per hour.

- Police arrested Sandra Cornejo, who runs the printshop at Fontana School District in California, after it was discovered that she ordered $9000 worth of Apple iPads using the school’s account with Xerox/ACS.

- Meditech announced it won EHR contracts from:
o Sierra View District Hospital of Porterville, CA.
o Saint Francis Medical Center in Grand Island, NE
o United Memorial Medical Center of New York
 Also acquired Lexmark Perceptive imageNOW document management system

- Epic apparently won EHR contracts from:
o Kadlec Medical of Washington
o Resurrection Health of Chicago, IL
o Providence Hospital of Oregon
o Providence Hospital of Washington
o Owensboro Hospital of Kentucky
o Yale New Haven Hospital of Connecticut

- Swedish Medical Center of Seattle, WA announced that its Epic EHR system shutdown for 4 hours due to a software glitch, forcing doctors and nurses to temporarily conduct business with pen and paper.

- Allscripts won EHR contract from UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, Mass.

- HIPAA Breach News: The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) reports that the number of entities reporting breaches of patient files affecting 500 or more patients has hit 225, since the first breach was reported to OCR in 9/2009.
o 10 reports of breaches impacting more than 100,000 patients
o 4 reports of breaches impacting between 50,000 and 99,999 patients
o 6 reports of breaches impacting between 25,000 and 49,999 patients
o 27 reports of breaches impacting between 10,000 and 24,999 patients
o 61 reports of breaches that involved a laptop computer

- HIPAA Breach in Indianapolis. Saint Vincent Hospital notified 1,800 patients that their PHI info may have been exposed due to someone hacking into their email system.

- Apparently Methodist Hospitals of Indiana is suing consulting firms FTI Cambio and HealthNET as well as Meditech for supposedly convincing the hospital to abandon its in-progress $26 million Epic implementation and instead spend $16 million upgrading their existing Meditech EHR. Methodist wants out of its Meditech contract and asking for $16 million in damages.

- McKesson announced it won contracts from:
o F.F. Thompson Hospital of New York
o OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital

- According to Lyra, here are average monthly volumes in the healthcare vertical:
o B/W midrange MFPs = 6,525 pages/month
o Color midrange MFPs = 7,160 pages/month
o B/w desktop printers = 2,165 pages/month
o Color desktop printers = 1,235 pages/month
o Inkjet printers/MFPs = 675 pages/month

- Congressman, Jim Jordan, of Ohio introduced House bill HR408 which apparently would repeal the EHR reimbursement funds in the HITECH Act. Even if the House of Representatives passes the bill, it would still have to be approved by the Senate, and then President Obama.


- Quality Systems, Inc. (NextGen EHR) turns in record Q3 numbers:
o Revenue up 23% to $91.9 million
o Board chair, founder, and former CEO Sheldon Razin holds almost $400 million worth of shares.
 He started the company in his garage in 1973 with $2,000 in capital and took it public in 1982. Its market cap is now over $2 billion.

- Research firm KLAS has released its 2010 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: EHR Software & Professional Services report, which includes the annual rankings of healthcare information technology vendors. The rankings are based on more than 17,000 interviews conducted yearly with healthcare providers.
o Winners in the Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record (EMR) category, by practice size:
 More than 100 physicians: Epic EpicCare Ambulatory EMR
 26 to 100 physicians: eClinicalWorks EMR
 6 to 25 physicians: Greenway Medical PrimeSuite Chart
 2 to 5 physicians: e-MDs Chart
o For practice management systems, by practice size:
 More than 100 physicians: Epic Resolute/Prelude/Cadence
 26 to 100 physicians: McKesson Horizon Practice Plus
 6 to 25 physicians: Greenway Medical PrimeSuite Practice
 2 to 5 physicians: e-MDs Bill
o Also in the 2010 report, Epic was the top-ranked overall software vendor, with a performance score of 86.7 out of 100, followed by CareFusion and 3M.
o The top-rated overall services firm was Hayes Management (88.9), followed by Deloitte Consulting Inc. and CTG.

- University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City announced it is conducting an investigation after a screening showed the electronic medical records of 13 University of Iowa football players may have been accessed inappropriately.
o The hospital says under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the patient medical records can only be accessed by health care workers with legitimate reasons to review those records. The hospital says it routinely screens for possible privacy violations to protect the confidentiality of patients, including those with "high public profiles."
o The football players have drawn national attention after they fell ill following off-season workouts. They have been in the hospital since Monday. Since then, there have been media reports on the results of drug tests and the player's conditions.