Samsung Snags World's Largest ElectroWetting Company. What about the Silver Nanoparticles?

In the "...Not that we here at DOTC are prophetic, or anything..." category.

Mentioned on TheDeathOfTheCopier, November 26, 2010 in "What is ElectroWetting: Dipping a Toe into the future of "Print"? we pondered moving images on everyday paper.

"...With the right paper, the right process and the right device fabrication technique, you can get results that are as good as you would get on glass, and our results are good enough for a video-style e-reader..."

At the time, it seemed more a movie than reality.

It seems Samsung may have an idea or two about this - they just bought the company.

Printelligent Picks Up DirectPointe's MPS Practice

Last year, Lawton Smith and DirectPointe received the MPSA's Corporate End User Implementation Leadership Award.

That was great.

One of the best stories Lawton will ever share is the one about him sitting on his couch, at 3AM, in a leopard thong(that is not true, but it paints a picture) remotely configuring dozens of devices all over the country.

Lovin that WebJet Admin!

I am guessing, thong aside, that Printelligent recognizes expertise as well as the MPSA - so much so, they bought them.

I a very interesting move, Printelligent purchases DirectPointe's(an integrator)MPS division.

A sign that integrators are getting out of MPS?

Combine this with all the copier dealers failing, I mean, "getting out of" MPS and perhaps there is something to this.

Too bad there aren't any MPS consultants out there helping both sides get their heads around MPS Purity.

MPS isn't going away - the future of copier manufacturers, hardware dealers and printed business workflow is.

See more here.


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Strategy Development Does Not Work For THE Death of the Copier(DOTC)

*** THE DOMAIN NAME IN QUESTION, HAS BEEN PARKED...first noticed, January 12, 2011. ***
-----------------
There has been something on my mind, bugging me for a few months - well not bugging me.

More like lurking.

You see, my livelihood is tied directly to Managed Print Services as an MPS Practice Manager.

Interesting little tidbit, 12 months ago I was selling MPS - today I am responsible for the full P/L.

Everything from hiring technicians, hiring MPS Selling Professionals, forging and maintaining MPS partnerships, and building an MPS team. Continuously, every single day, selling MPS internally to other practice managers, Business Development Managers, Executive Management, and Ownership.

And as I continue on this particular odyssey, it is my responsibility to evaluate all things MPS; new and interesting Data Collection software, EAutomate Add-ons, supplies fulfillment programs, devices, OEM MPS Programs, etc.

I attend as many MPS Webinars and read/consume every article I can find - from MPS to Change Management to EDM to ECM to BPO.

I try to get as much exposure to every MPS Selling webinar, class, or program I can find.

The results of this analysis can fill a dozen manuals - perhaps someday I will put my findings into "print".

All this accumulated information, I apply was relevant to my little MPS practice.

My point here is simple - although I know a good deal about MPS and the internal MPS programs, I do not make a living pontificating or selling training classes.

I do not compete with the likes of Water or Print Management Solutions Group. And even though I feel I have an above-average understanding of the global MPS market, my research does not go toe to toe with the likes of InfoTrends, IDC, or Photizo.

Am I opinionated? Yes.

Is this blog followed by many people of like opinions? Yes.

Do I see bad training, stunted vision, and archaic selling techniques? Yes.

Will I continue to point out blaring inadequacies in our industry? Yes.

With this in mind, do me a favor...open a browser and type in www.deathofthecopier.com - just promise to come back...and read on...


##### THIS POST WAS FIRST PUBLISHED ON 12/29/2010. ON 1/21/2011, THE DEATH OF THE COPIER FIRST NOTICE, DEATHOFTHECOPIER.COM HAS BEEN PARKED AND NO LONGER POINTS TO STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT'S SITE #####

tDOTC Managed Print Services: Top 15 Posts of 2010

12/2010

No order, really. And an end-of-the-year tradition.

Enjoy.

1. More Than Managed Print Services - Born Free, You and Me

2. MPS Selling Appointment: "This is Turning Out to Be One Hell of a Morning!"

May is just around the corner...sorta...MPS and Orlando!

European Managed Print Services Industry Shows Its Vitality at Major Industry Conference

Record attendance indicates Europe on track to become largest MPS market

Lexington, KY – December 6, 2010 – The success of the recent European MPS Conference signals strong and growing interest in managed print services, the business model sweeping the imaging industry. The European event drew 162 attendees to Barcelona, Spain from November 10-12. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom were among the most represented markets, with participants traveling from 18 different countries as far as South Africa and the United States. HP, Ricoh, FMAudit and DocuAudit Europe were Platinum Sponsors of the 2010 European MPS Conference.

Archived footage of the European MPS Conference Webcast can be found at http://www.mpsconference.com/wrapup/ondemand.html.

“We keep hearing from our attendees that the MPS Conferences hosted by Photizo Group are becoming a watering hole for the industry--a true source of education and networking with peers and experts. That is so important, because with organized, focused resources like these, MPS professionals and users increase their chance of success,” said Photizo founder and CEO, Ed Crowley. The highly acclaimed Barcelona keynote and presentations inspired attendees with stimulating insights and ideas:

The Day I Had Drinks with a Hero...

April 1941, Pearl Harbor.

The newly wed couple fresh from the states live in a one bedroom house.

They share the shower, and toilet with 2 other couples. He a Naval corpsmen, his beautiful young bride the homemaker.

After being married a few months and living with family in a small, cramped California house, they journey thousands of miles and half an ocean's distance to finally live together alone.

Together in Paradise.

This is Oahu, April of 1941. Cane fields surround the lazy, sleepy town of Honolulu. Soft, tropical breezes stir through the palms drying out remnants of morning showers. The island was home to 50,000 service men but it still had jsut one traffic light.

Hawaii a US Territory, statehood nearly two decades away. The town has one road in and out; no skyscrapers, mega-resorts, or miles of lights, to wash out the stars of the night sky.

A time as foreign to us contemporaries as the surface of Mars.

On the morning of December 7th, eight months after arriving in Paradise, and a mere 30 minutes before "all hell breaks loose", a sailor gives his new bride a kiss on the cheek and heads of to another day doing whatever a corpsman does. She expects to greet her husband at day's end, with a home cooked dinner.

At work, a line of gray battleships - the might and power of the United States Navy - are tied off - "Battleship Row". They carry names of honor; Nevada, California, Tennessee, Maryland, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah and Arizona.

This sailor will be late for dinner.

What is ElectroWetting: Dipping a Toe into the Future of "Print"?

"...Electrowetting involves modifying the surface tension of liquids on a solid surface using a voltage. By applying a voltage, the wetting properties of a hydrophobic surface can be modified and the surface becomes increasingly hydrophilic (wettable)..."

HUH?

Right. Ok then.

I didn't think "wettable" was a word. Then I looked it up...in a book.

Electrowetting is the science behind low cost, flexible video-rate "e-paper". So cheap as to be considered disposable.

Cisco Rumored to Acquire Skype - Before IPO finalized

I found this over at The Akbas Post

Cisco to buy Skype? Impact on MPS?

Conversations are documents - aren't they? Think about it, think about it...

Killer Paper The Return: Receipts Contain Chemical Bisphenol A

From the "Be Scared. Be Very, Very Scared" category: The paper receipts you get from McDonalds, CVS/pharmacy, Walmart, and 33 other retailers are tainted with the endocrine-disrupting chemical BPA, which has been the target of nationwide efforts to ban it in food and beverage containers, especially those used by babies and children. Animal tests show that BPA, a plastics hardener that is also a synthetic estrogen, can cause reproductive and behavioral abnormalities and lower intellectual ability, as well as setting the stage for cancers, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. 

WOW - so those little pieces of thermal paper are going to make me cry more often, act strangely, make dumb decisions and send me out of the store wheezing, short of breath?

Meritus Ventures Announces Investment in Photizo Group

LONDON, Ky., Jul 27, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Meritus Ventures announces investment in Photizo Group, Inc. (Photizo) of Versailles, Kentucky. Photizo, founded in 2004, is a consulting and research firm that provides market information and services to vendors, dealers, and end user communities in the managed print services market.

Managed print services (MPS) is at the intersection of business services and technology, focusing on providing a total printing solution that enables organizations and companies to better manage their print environment through the outsourcing of hardcopy devices, software, supplies, and services. Each year, hundreds of players in the managed print services market attend Photizo's international conferences and purchase Photizo's cutting edge market research and intelligence reports.

Examples of industry players include Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Cannon, and Ricoh.

Meritus Ventures was the sole investor in the transaction, and Ray Moncrief of Meritus has taken a position on Photizo's board of directors. Photizo has demonstrated an annual revenue growth rate greater than 50% since 2006 and doubled revenue from 2008 to 2009. In addition, the company had positive earnings in 2009 and is on track for increased revenue growth and profitability in 2010.

No Really - NO MORE PAPER. Sixth Sense TED/2009

September 2009 -

Speechless.

This is crazy and you have to check it out.

New ways to read toilet paper labels, people and newspapers - which is weird.

8 minutes.

And the last thing she says, "...maybe, in another ten years, we'll be here with the ultimate Six Sense Brain Implant..." - Good Lord.




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The Recharger Show, Managed Print Services and One Miff'd CEO

A few weeks ago, I ran across a blog entry over at "Adventures in Office Imaging". I know Nathan, the guy who wrote an MPS song, and has sponsored the "Destroy your Printer" contest, these last two years.

What caught my eye was the title, "Skipping this year's Recharger World Expo"

In the second paragraph,

"...The "Summit" is really just a sales pitch camouflaged as an MPS-101 course. It encourages everyone-and-his-uncle to dive into the market, then tells them they need a toner vendor or a printer-copier manufacturer as their "MPS partner..."

HOLY CRAP!

I put a few questions together for the author, the CEO of Expert Laser Services, Luke Carpentier. He was very kind in answering

Memorial Day - Say Thanks to A Vet...

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Much Ado About NOTHING: Output Device Hard Drive security - of course, Congress has to Get involved - more waste!

Deficit?

Unemployment?

Crazy, religious zealots wanting to Nuke us and our friends?

Failing public education, yet successful indoctrination of our yoots ?

The heart and soul of a society?

The DEATH OF THE AMERICAN WAY?

You would think that with the above and oh so many other concerns, like regulating the substance we exhale(WTF!), congress would have many more important things to do.

Apparently not.

Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) sent a letter today to the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calling for an investigation into the, "retention of documents on the hard drives of digital copy machines..."

This is stupid, fear mongering, and yet so damn predictable.

Before you go off thinking I don't recognize this a real issue - I do, I did, back in 1999. That is not the problem.

The problem is simply this, the congress, indeed this administration, is using any perceived fear to leverage their way into the free market rendering the market a little less "free" with every effort. And right next to them, shoulder to shoulder, is CBS - the Dan Rather, made up letters, the Murphy Brown, a fictitious character, who takes on the spelling skills of a sitting Vice President of America, a non-fictional character - network.

Can the hard drives hold sensitive data? Yes.

Has the "industry", known this from the beginning? Yes.

Have these same industry players openly addressed the issue and presented solutions? Not all. But some have.

Have clients known about this issue? Not all, but those who were smart enough to see the potential, they acted. Some purchasing the hard drives out right at lease end. I know for certain, The Church of Scientology, has been practicing this level of security for at least a decade.

How come they were so smart 5 years ago and the manager at a Tommy Bahama's restaurant in Scottsdale isn't? Well, it's not his job.

And how does this figure into Managed Print Services?

It's so classic, it is almost nauseating.

Let's remember Stage One of the MPS adoption model - Control. Within this stage is the requirement of there being "one decision making entity". This addresses the "facilities handles copiers", and "IT handles printers" mentality. MPS can not exist if there are two separate decision making teams involved with output concerns.

Throw in the fact that IT is usually responsible for supporting corporate, IT, security policies - not facilities; not Purchasing - and we have a predictable, security hole.

So What?

This industry can regulate itself - we don't need any help from a congressman from MA.

Although...how delicious is it going to be when Veejay, Espe, and all the others from Canon, Ricoh, Konica, Kyocera, Oki, Brother, Lexmark and Panasonic are sitting at the same table, being grilled by congress - hide the Katana's!

Story here. I need a drink.

Click to email me.

Commercial Paper Shrinks for Second Week

UPDATE 1-U.S. commercial paper shrinks for 2nd week - Fed
14 hours ago via Thomson Reuters

By John Parry and Walden Siew

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. commercial paper market shrank for a second straight week, hinting that companies may still be cautious about the pace of economic growth, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

Firms typically use commercial paper to restock shelves in anticipation of consumer demand and to pay wages. Many have been trimming commercial paper issuance as they slow the pace they add to inventories, for fear the U.S. economic rebound might run out of steam, some analysts say.

Recent shifts in the commercial paper market "are linked to a slowdown in the inventory rebuilding cycle that we saw in the second half of 2009," said Howard Simons, strategist with Bianco Research in Chicago.

For the week up to March 24, the size of the U.S. commercial paper market fell by about $7.9 billion to $1.114 trillion outstanding from $1.122 trillion the previous week.

In addition, money market funds, which are big participants in the market, have been selling commercial paper recently, eroding the market's size, said Tony Crescenzi, market strategist and portfolio manager at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO).

As risk aversion subsides, some investors in money market funds have been switching into riskier, higher-yielding assets such as corporate bonds and stocks, analysts said.

A surge of corporate debt issuance over the past year has replaced some of the short-dated commercial paper debt companies and banks might otherwise have sold, limiting the size of the commercial paper market, strategists add.

"Companies have been terming out their debt and (are) not interested in issuing," Crescenzi said. "Companies can issue debt at longer maturities at decent yields" to borrow fairly cheaply, he added.

The overall U.S. commercial paper market is now about half its peak size of $2.2 trillion outstanding in August 2007 when the credit crisis began.

U.S. asset-backed commercial paper rose to $414.4 billion outstanding in the latest week from $410.3 billion outstanding the previous week.

Unsecured financial issuance fell by $11.6 billion after falling by $24.2 billion the previous week. (Reporting by John Parry and Walden Siew; Editing by James Dalgleish and Padraic Cassidy)
------------------------

Secular, not cyclical - Print Is Dead.


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Lexmark on the Block? Bank of America speculates "Yes"

Once again, there are rumors of Lexmark's demise.

3/2010

Oki? Sharp? Brother?

Who shall woo the Lex?

Trading at a 52 week high, the Kentucky based printer manufacture looks to be a good LBO candidate.

Last year, the stock was settling around $15 a share. On Tuesday, it closed at $36.82, up 5.53 percent.

The fact that the stock is trading at its 52-week high makes it attractive.

"These types of deals occur at market tops," said Tom Carpenter, vice president and senior equity analyst at Hilliard Lyons in Louisville.

Carpenter also noted that Lexmark has significantly improved its printers over the past couple of years and focused on segments in which people print more.

Lexmark's market capitalization is close to $3 billion.

And with their focus away from consumer and more towards B2B, they have made some inroads and may be attractive to a more financially sound, tier II player.

Lexmark eyed as takeover candidate

Lexmark Advances on Talk It May Be an LBO Candidate

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WOW! Ever been On Demon Drop?

managed Print services Job Trends

managed Print services jobs

As a kid, I would venture down to Sandusky Ohio, Cedar Point, and ride the best roller coasters in the world.

I remember when Demon Drop opened. It was the "bomb".

A simple trip up and a ten-story drop - remember, this was in 1983, before the internet and online gaming.

Imagine my surprise when I read the Demon Drop had been relocated from Sandusky, to out here, in my neck of the woods

I was checking the updated graph showing job openings with "Managed Print Services" in the description - couldn't help but make the comparison.

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Lexmark Get's a Win: And they Have a Facebook Page?

I was going to let this pass without comment.

Indeed, the press release is impressive: Moving BB&T from 30,000 to 10,000 machines, managing supplies and providing initial document work flow - all components of a real MPS. (At what margin, I wonder)

So a mention here may have been warranted.

But then, at the bottom of the release this:

"For more information, see the "Lexmark" Facebook page and the "LexmarkNews" Twitter feed..."

Ok, I am about the biggest MPS Nerd I know, but not even I would "friend" or "follow" any printer manufacturer. Or admit it if I had...

Am I off on this?

Anyway, just an observation - remember when pagers first came out?


LEXINGTON, Ky., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) has awarded an exclusive, five-year managed print services contract to Lexmark International, Inc. ( LXK).

"Lexmark is providing BB&T with an output solution that will significantly reduce costs, while scaling as the company expands and grows," said Marty Canning, Lexmark vice president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. "With Lexmark's managed print services solution across its business, BB&T will have a holistic, streamlined approach that will pay dividends for its employees, customers, the environment and BB&T's bottom line."

Lexmark was evaluated and selected in a strategic sourcing event from among many other printing and imaging providers. As part of the agreement, Lexmark will standardize and optimize the number and type of output devices throughout BB&T's 1,800+ retail branches and at its headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C. Lexmark expects to reduce the total number of devices at BB&T from 30,000 competitive devices to approximately 10,000 new Lexmark laser printers and multifunction products (MFPs) in support of the company's cost savings and business initiatives.

"Lexmark's extensive managed print services capabilities and experience became clear to BB&T during this print optimization project," said Ken Hernandez of Enterprise Spend Management at BB&T. "We selected Lexmark because of the company's thought leadership and the clear experience they have to drive this type of initiative successfully. Lexmark's strong technology offering and competitive pricing make them the right choice for BB&T."

Lexmark will monitor, manage and maintain BB&T's output devices and provide proactive services to ensure toner and other supplies are replenished when needed, eliminating the need to store inventory of these items. In addition, Lexmark will provide ongoing value by automating and streamlining paper-based processes to help BB&T further reduce costs.

Lexmark will also install its Print Release solution, which will enable BB&T employees to authenticate before documents can be printed, faxed, scanned or copied. This approach will improve document security and reduce the number of pages printed annually, thereby further reducing BB&T's costs.

For more information, see the "Lexmark" Facebook page and the "LexmarkNews" Twitter feed.


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The IT VARs Are Already in Your Accounts and Now they are Doing Managed Print Services

Not only are more and more VAR's getting into MPS, they are leading with MPS.

Utilizing their existing infrastructure as leverage and presenting MPS as an entre into ALL of their services.

Quick, Google, MSP (Managed Service Provider)

I found this video on the MSP Mentor forum.

It is mostly about I.T. services, "propeller head" stuff.

But, later into this interview, MPS is mentioned at 3:05.


Click to email me.

Here's the deal.

If you are selling copiers today, odds are, you will not be selling copiers 5 years from now.

Improve yourself - start by studying MSP's.

Talk with your IT contacts, ask them what they look for in an IT provider. What are the challenges they face and what would be a perfect relationship.

People to stay away from? Your corporate insiders; i.e. Sales/Service Managers, Owners, peers.

There is a great deal more out there than speeds and feeds.




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Staples Is Now Selling IT Services: Didn't They Just Start Selling Managed Print Services?

"I think VARs that read this will be a little envious of what we have to offer here.

With Staples, we have a Fortune 100 organization, great relationships on the product side, and we can offer very competitive pricing and a great services story for customers as well," - Joe Kalinoski, vice president of finance for Staples Technology Solution.

According to sources, Staples Technology Solutions, the new division, will include access to "...certified specialists for Cisco Systems, Citrix, Linux and other areas; onsite and remote server and desktop support for Apple Mac, Windows and Linux platforms; printer fleet management; and data center assessments and other services ranging from sub-floor cleaning and 24x7 data center emergency supplies..."

- Holy Crap!

They can even clean your sub-floors! Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot?


First off - quite the bold marketing statement from the vice president of finance. I can not think of too many VARs who would be envious of working retail hours, wearing matching vests, and conducting inventory twice a year.

And when was the last time you heard a VP of Finance delve into corporate Value Props? Doesn't staples have a marketing department?

This new effort will fall under Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples.

The prose gets worse, Joe continues,

"By combining these two entities we have a one-source supplier of office products, print solutions and managed print IT services," he said.

"It was a logical evolution to get into the technology space. It was a natural that we were answering our customer calls for not only office products but also technology products. We think we can be one of the lowest-cost providers."

RED FLAGS:

"one-source supplier"
"products"
"lowest-cost providers"

I guess Staples doesn't know what the "V" in VAR stands for.

The target market is focused on companies with 1-250 employees - they may have an IT department but they may not. Staples stresses an "intimate, high touch" strategy for this often overlooked niche.

"Staples is dipping its toe into the water in the IT services space," said Candy Murphy, vice president of Staples' Contract Technology Solutions.

Murphy said the goal is to offer the services nationally. Network and data offerings were the result of Staples' late 2006 acquisition of Thrive Networks, a Boston-area solution provider that services a large portion of eastern Massachusetts.

"The IT industry is highly fragmented," Murphy said, "It (Staples'reputation) brings the trust and the reliability of the brand name," she said.

Jim Lippie, president of Staples Network Services by Thrive said, "We bring a level of expertise and we've learned how the small business works," adding, "There's a real thirst for small businesses to have a larger provider while having the security, but high-touch of a smaller company"

Plus, "They want us to take ownership of all the headaches, mysteries, and risk associated with maintaining a company's IT infrastructure, and make it so they never have to think about them again," Lippie said. "In a nutshell, they want us to make their IT problems go away, and that's exactly what we do."

Time will tell.

But didn't IKON try to do this a while back? Everything except offereing to clean your sub-floors, that is.

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