All Print Jobs To Go .PDF

Print system turns everything into PDF I saw this opinion by By James E. Gaskin - He describes a product from Ingenica that converts a print stream into a PDF's and the PDF "...becomes a print job that works on just about any Windows-supported printer. Still, have ink-jet printers on every desk, but can't convince your 5250 terminal emulation program to upgrade the driver and support those inkjets? UniPrint makes it happen..." This piece of information struck me because of a complicated implementation I recommended less than a year ago. When installing a "mini-fleet" of Canon devices( a few 5020i's, 105's, c518i 's, and some 5570's) we ran into some difficulty printing AS400 streams on the Canons. Yes, it can be done and was being done on one of the older Canons but we could not get consistent performance out of one of the newer units. 

 I think we could have used this product.(maybe) Anyway, what I find interesting is the ability to change any print stream or print job into a PDF. I do not know that much about the difference between printing a job out of Word vs printing to a .PDF format and printing the PDF but this sounds to me to be akin to a "universal print driver". More from James, "...Print streams, designed for locally attached printers, look pretty bloated compared with PDF print jobs. UniPrint says a one-page document may be 1MB of normal print-control language stream, but only about 100KB as a PDF file..." 

And now, all is clear to me. What was hanging my Canon up was the copier's inability to consistently interpret the print stream control characters; the copier would hang and wait for end-user intervention. Usually waiting for a paper tray selection. And something more - "...

Pricing will seem high for those companies that have never priced "grown-up" printing support: $3,999 for one Windows server for up to 60,000 printed pages per year. Those companies used to fighting ornery print streams and a lack of printer drivers for AS/400 systems will realize the price becomes an investment in better printing. And if the company has AS/400s or the like, "cheap" as a product description disappears.

It seems odd to charge for pages printed because computer people in small and midsize companies don't see that pricing model often. Yet those same companies pay for copiers on a sliding scale based on copy volume, so it won't be a total surprise..."

Now doesn't the above statement sum up one of the current issues in MPS?

More Green from HP

Carbon Footprint Reduction..."


In an article, "HP takes steps to reduce carbon footprint" HP's plans to help it's customers reduce their Carbon Footprint.

Excerpt, "...The company has set its sights on its printing group in an effort to give customers more choices to limit their environmental impact. Similar programs will come later this year to HP's computer and server business groups.

The environmental effort includes the introduction of an HP Eco Highlights label that will appear first on two LaserJet printers and a new inkjet printer made almost entirely from recycled material. The label will list a product's environmental attributes such as its energy savings or Energy Star rating."

HP also is starting an Eco Solutions program that it hopes will allow companies to reduce their environmental impact by 30 percent. The program includes a carbon footprint calculator and a printing assessment that measures a company's impact and costs from its printing work."

Looks like programs and labels.

And from this blog off ZDnet, a post by Heather Clancy:

"...New HP ECo Highlights labels, which simply summarize the features in a particular product that could be consider “green.” Think of this like the label you find on pretty much everything you buy at the grocery story. Right now, at least, the criteria for this labeling is pretty arbitrary and it will depend on the product category, Coughlin admits. The labels will show up first on LaserJet printers: The HP LaserJet P4051x, LaserJet P4515x and LaserJet P4515xm models. One thing that is kind of cool about these new printers is the packaging, which mimics what consumer electronics companies have been doing for years with appliances to cut down on waste.

- Through HP Auto-On/Auto-Off features that enable a printer to go into a deep sleep mode in which it uses only 1 watt of power. (Kind of like an induced coma, only the printer wakes up a whole lot quicker than you would.)

- A new HP Carbon Footprint Calculator for Printing: This provides a way for companies to compare the environmental impact of their existing printers and imaging technology against new options. It looks at paper usage, power consumption, ink and other things that might affect a product’s overall carbon profile. There’s also a specific calculator for LaserJets. The company’s Eco Printing Assessment looks at a company’s entire printing consumption footprint, not just what it’s doing with just one printer.

- Also being introduced this week is the HP Deskjet D2545, a $49 printer that HP touts as being made almost entirely from recycled content (83 percent of the system). The printer uses HP 60 cartridges that also were made from recycled plastic.

- And what eco-announcement would be complete without the requisite corporate green pledges? As it relates to printers, HP has promised to improve energy efficiency by 40 percent by 2011, relative to 2005 levels. It will triple the amount of recycled materials that go into its inkjet printers by 2010, relative to 2007. It will continue its long-time printer recycling push, aiming for 2 billion pounds of computing and printing equipment by 2010. It will also put a big emphasis on making sure that the photo paper it sells is made from materials that are harvested under certified forestry program. Here’s more on its developing paper policy ..."

Life-threatening ailment didn't derail the Danka Konica deal

Wow

It was a healthy negotiation, Frazier said. "I won't let anything like that get in the way of getting a deal done,"

Here

Speaking of Getting New Equipment and The Economic Stimulas

The Economic Stimulus Plan and Your New Edgeline in '08

Get a bunch of Edgelines this year, and write 50% more off!

Xerox - HP - EDS

With most of the focus on the IT side of this acquisition some missed the fact that one of EDS's largest clients is Xerox.

From this recent post - "...Although HP's recent announcement to acquire EDS for $13.9 billion (£7.1 billion) may have sparked talk of consolidation in the IT services industry, spare a thought for the impact of this deal on Xerox, a long-standing EDS partner. With HP aggressively looking to widen its footprint in the corporate printing space as part of its Print 2.0 strategy, the acquisition of EDS will help it make further inroads to compete with Xerox Global Services (XGS), currently a $3.4 billion (£1.7 billion) organisation and a key growth engine for Xerox..."

and

"...HP is Xerox's most notable competitor in the MPS market, offering assessment, optimisation and management of the document output environment. Although HP has been ramping up its MPS portfolio, it currently lacks the document lifecycle and workflow and document outsourcing capabilities ... Another key differentiator is multivendor support capabilities—Xerox claims to have approximately one million competitive devices under ...(outsourced) management, made possible by its multivendor trained support staff. Also, Xerox's higher penetration in the high volume production and copy centres gives it the ability to better manage and optimise environments using these devices..."

It will be interesting to see how this all ends up.

Leasing Your MFP Fleet -

I have been running into more and more opportunities with I.T. folks who do not understand leasing.

**** THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE ****

**** THE FOLLOWING REFLECTS MY OPINIONS ****

I am currently researching for an in depth analysis of the leasing process from the end users' prospective - and it isn't pretty.

Because the subject is so vast and complicated, I have decided to post portions of the final white paper.

First off, I am familiar with leasing and all the "gotcha's" that contracts carry. I have seen, all sorts of leasing agreements in business technology and the Uniform Industry and I have been very fortunate to work with some of the most honest and open agreements in each industry.

For you I.T. folks, or anyone else who may not be familiar with leasing - here is a "Primer".

Leases are used to defer payments over time. If a company wants to avoid a significant capital outlay a lease is a great option. In addition, because the technology changes quickly, copier leases often include provisions to trade up to a newer model, allowing you to upgrade without buying anew.

You are paying extra for the ability to "pay over time".

For instance, if the purchase price of a machine is $20,000 and you would like to pay a monthly payment for 60 months, the monthly payment is NOT $20,000/60 or $333.33. The monthly would be closer to $586.00/month. If you multiply this out by 60, your total "cost" for the unit, over time, is $35,160.00 - this to say that you would be paying $15,160.00 for the service of paying a known monthly figure for a determined period of time.

The Vendor or Supplier does not usually make more profit on a lease vs. purchase. Although some vendors or dealers add “points” to the lease rate. This increases your monthly and adds to their profit margin.

After a client signs a lease and after the equipment is delivered and accepted, the leasing company cuts a check directly to the Vendor for the purchase amount of the equipment. You, the Customer now have a direct relationship with the leasing company for the equipment. You are establishing a "revenue stream" for the leasing company based on the equipment payment portion of the lease; when service is bundled into the payment, you are also working directly with your service provider, usually the copier dealer.

In a nut shell - When you sign a lease, you are forging a commitment to pay at least the dollar amount on the lease for the number of months stated. There is no other way to envision this agreement - there are no easy or painless methods of terminating a lease early once you "sign on the line which is dotted" - no matter what the circumstances. No matter what the "trusted" copier sales person tells you, you can not get out of the agreement easily and without paying for the privilege.

-- More to follow ---

A Return to Edgeline

Managed Print Services is Hot, but Edgeline is Hotter. Getting back to Edgeline.

To authorize by PIN or LDAP or Exchange, that is the question.

One of my recent installs required print, copy, scan and fax rights by authorization(login).

I know authorization is nothing new when it comes to connected copiers - I have worked with hundreds.

Yet imagine the impact on the end user in terms of the degree of "hassle" involved with walk-up copying.

- Example:

Copier sales person - "...it's easy, simply log into the copier the same way you do you computer at you desk"

I.T. guy - "...sure, our end users are familar with their login, and they don't need to remember two different accounts..."

End User(usually at the Executive Level) "...you mean to tell me, I need to log in completely, with my password, every single time I want to make a copy??? Forget that..."

Well, for this client, we decided to use the four digit employee number as the PIN. And each PIN has different rights, some can copy in color, some can not. Some users can scan back to a folder, some can not, etc. And all activity on the system can be tracked by PIN. That is to say, ALL printing, copying, faxing, scanning activity.

The four digits work much better then the network login. And with Edgeline, all the PINS with rights, can be copied or set remotely.

HP to acquire EDS for $13.9 billion

That's FOURTEEN BILLION...

HP said the deal, which has been unanimously approved by the HP and EDS boards of directors, will close in the second half of the year. HP expects that the addition of EDS will more than double HP's services revenue of $16.6 billion in fiscal 2007. At the end of 2007, HP and EDS had a collective services revenue of more than $38 billion and 210,000 employees, doing business in more than 80 countries, HP said.

Well, this certainly illustrates the level of HP's commitment to market domination

I found this statement by Peter Cohan, "...I think HP's most profitable business, printers, might be able to make better use of the $12.8 billion in capital. This Imaging and Printing Group earned a 13% estimated net margin. It grew a mere 4% to $7.3 billion in revenue and given that this unit is by far the most profitable in HP's stable of businesses, this would appear to be the best place to invest for future growth.

Now may be a good time to sell HP stock. Mark Hurd came into HP as a nuts-and-bolts operator. This deal suggests that Hurd has run out of growth options and that HP can't grow earnings through more cost cuts. I have no doubt that Hurd could cut costs once EDS has been integrated..."

This follows what Hurd said back in March, ""We are shifting our portfolio to drive growth and are aligning our portfolio to margin rich opportunities for investors," he said. "We continue to look for opportunity [for higher gross margins] in software and in services."

What does this mean for IPG, if anything? I don't know yet, but IKON sure as heck would not cost FOURTEEN BILLION dollars...

IKON Introduces New Printer Line

They are Ricohs with IKON labels. The Ricoh lasers are very good laser printers.

"While our customers utilize multi-function devices in the office and production environments, there is still a robust demand for single-function printers to complement these devices and meet workflow demands," explains Mike Dane, Vice President, Product and Services Marketing, IKON Office Solutions. "We created the IKON BusinessPro printer line to allow us to be a 'one stop shop' for customers by providing them with affordable, value-packed printers at three different price points, designed for a range of business environments." Centre Daily Times

Interesting, huh? Ricohs not HP's. Very interesting.

Well, been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

This has been in the works for almost a year - Ricoh has got to love it, and IKON can fill a market niche - I just wonder how well the copier techs are going to translate from copier to laser printer service.

And I wonder how much the CPC service will be on the Ricoh's - but I really wonder if any of the IKON reps will actually jump on this product and sell it.

Edgeline Success by being Green

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and Newcal – Saving the World One Printer at a Time

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - San Francisco, CA, United States, 04/09/2008 - Using HP Edgeline solutions from NEWCAL Industries, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is taking another step towards saving the planet – one printer at a time.

...When it came time to replace one of MBARI’s copiers, Erin Lamb, Purchasing and Accounting Specialist, remembered the research institute’s goal of implementing innovative technology to reduce human impact on the environment. “We had done some research on other solutions, but nothing compared to HP’s Edgeline. We know we’ve made an eco-friendly choice and we anticipate cost-savings because the Edgeline doesn’t use as much power or ink as our previous copier.”...


Wow!

Opinions, Everybody's Got One

"...Xerox has shifted from selling copiers..."

I ran across this little Opinion from the L.A. Times - Here is an excerpt:

Conservation leads to innovation

By Gary Gardner, May 9, 2008

"A green industrial revolution?

...Does it matter if some staples..."(as in bread, milk, etc. not staples that hold pages together) "...run out...will the same ingenuity that produced oil refining in the late 19th century and the "green revolution" in the late 20th century save us again in the future?...

...Consider the idea of businesses offering services instead of goods in today's economy. Xerox has shifted from selling copiers (goods) to leasing them (a service), which gives the company, as perpetual owner of the leased machines, a strong incentive to manufacture them to be refurbishable. This greatly extends the life of materials and reduces waste..."

Well, if you read the above statement, what do you think?

When did Xerox stop manufacturing copiers?

When did leasing equipment (ANY equipment) become an act of “conservation”?

And didn’t Xerox sell off its leasing interest years ago? Xerox is not a “…perpetual owner of the leased machines…”. The leasing company owns the machines. This is the most basic, simplistic concept of leasing.

Also, these plastic, over-heated machines, which are designed with built-in serviceability, have an expected life of around 36 months with new machines hitting the market almost every 3-6 months.

The author's belief that copier companies have a "strong incentive to manufacture them to be refurbishable..." is naive and misguided. And unfortunately, naivety is a characteristic of the Greenie ilk.

Xerox/Ricoh/Canon/Toshiba/Konica/Sharp or NOT interested in being a "...perpetual owner of the leased machines..." they are interested in creating perpetual customers of new machines not used or referbed machines. And why would anyone be interested in “perpetual customers” ? The answer, of course, is to make more money and to increase profits – not save the world.

- Reducing costs can increase profit – again, a simple and basic micro-economic concept.

1. Managed Print Service programs reduce costs.

2. Lower energy consumption or machines that consume more intelligently reduce costs.

3. Printing on both sides of the paper reduces costs.

4. Reducing the redundancy of equipment (i.e. fax machine next to a laser printer, next to a connected copier) reduces costs.

These four issues reduce costs and impact the environment in a positive way. These four issues are customer driven and implemented to increase revenues, reduce costs and increase profits - CAPITALISM.

The Green movement is losing it's issue to it's arch nemesis - Capitalism.

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End Users, Clients - Technology Challenges

The weakest links in any system are the people. It's Friday, I saw this, and couldn't resist -

The best is the gentleman who gets toner blown all over him and then takes the monitor over to the copier to make a copy of his screen!

glumbert - Bad Day at the Office

Enjoy - Click


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