Xerox Laying Off - Ceases Toner Production

At the plant in Oklahoma...

About 100 of the 170 employees at the Oklahoma City plant will be laid off and toner manufacturing will cease.

Officials say consumers are using newer equipment that uses different toners and the need for black toner product has decreased.

The Xerox facility broke ground in Oklahoma City 34 years ago.

Couple this with X's announcement last month of 3,000 layoffs globally, and the new plant in Webster and there really isn't any surprise here.

Xerox Reports Third-Quarter 2008 Earnings

(Norwalk, Conn.) -- Xerox Corporation announced third-quarter earnings of 29 cents per share.

Xerox said the profit edged up 2 percent, topping Wall Street's forecast, as sales to smaller businesses helped offset weakness in large U.S. corporations.

-Bigger companies bought less new equipment from the printer and copier maker-

crimping the Norwalk, Conn.-based company's sales growth and causing it to miss the consensus revenue prediction.

Xerox's sales grew just 2 percent, to $4.37 billion, short of the $4.47 billion that analysts polled by Jhomson Reuters were expecting. Sales would have been flat were it not for a weak U.S.
dollar.

Net income was $258 million, or 29 cents per share, a penny per share higher than the average analyst estimate. In the year-ago period, net income was $254 million, or 27 cents per share.


Check these out:

The Death of Xerography

Opinions, Everybody's Got One

Imaging Industry Wall Street Insider - New Blog

"Sub Prime"

In our industry, 95% of our transactions are leased and have been since the beginning.

Most customers and most selling professionals really do not know the intricacies involved with leasing and lease agreements and how the overall economic environment effect these basic pillars of our trade.

Well, I scrounged up a pretty good post over at Imaging Industry Wall Street Insider regarding this subject.

Enjoy.

And check out the Team at Woodford Group

Starbucks and HP?

"Put that Coffee Down...Coffee's for Closers

LOS ANGELES, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday that Chief Financial Officer Pete Bocian will leave the coffee chain at the end of the month to join computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as chief administrative officer.

Bocian, 54, had a short tenure at Seattle-based Starbucks, which has been closing U.S. stores as it grapples to revive its flagging domestic business amid the weak economy.

Bocian joined Starbucks in April 2007 from NCR Corp (NCR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a maker of automated teller machines (ATMs), and became CFO in October 2007, a company spokeswoman said.

Troy Alstead, 45, Starbucks' senior vice president of global finance, will succeed Bocian.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Larry Miller said he held Bocian in very high regard.

"I'm a little surprised. He hasn't been there very long," Miller said, noting that it seemed like Bocian was moving on to a good position.

Still, Miller said, "Nobody likes change on the investor side ... Anytime there is a change in management it brings questions."

Toshiba Business Solutions Establishes New Market Presence with Its 55th Dealer Acquisition in Indianapolis HPS Office Systems

IRVINE, Calif., Nov 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Further growing its nationwide network of wholly owned subsidiary operations, Toshiba Business Solutions (TBS) today announced that it secured its 55th organization through the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Indianapolis-based HPS Office Systems (HPS), a key market player in the upper Midwest.

HPS will transition to join TBS-KY/IL, under the leadership of subsidiary president, John Applegate. The acquisition of HPS is a strategic market entrance into Indiana that will enable TBS-KY/IL to provide continuous service coverage from Lexington to Chicago. Prior to this acquisition, HPS was an authorized independent Toshiba and Savin dealer with a successful 35 year history selling and servicing Toshiba products.

"HPS has had a long-standing reputation for outstanding customer service in Indiana that extends back to the late 1930s, so it is with great pride that we announce this tactical move to make HPS an official member of the Toshiba family," said Wayne Wilkinson, senior vice president/general manager, TBS. "This acquisition is a strategic move for Toshiba that will allow us to apply greater focus on this previously untapped market in Indiana, while further strengthening Toshiba's national market presence through its TBS channel."

With nearly 70 years of experience in servicing the Indiana market, HPS has a large clientele between its offices in the "Hoosier state," which includes locations in Indianapolis, Muncie, Bloomington, Terre Haute and Columbus. Previous owner, Leon Mordoh, began his career with HPS in 1965 and will continue to provide leadership at HPS headquarters as vice president and general manager.

"TBS-KY/IL is thrilled for the opportunity to integrate HPS into our organization, extending Toshiba's ability to reach Midwest businesses and provide them with world-class products and services," said Applegate. "HPS is well-known for its commitment to its customers, which perfectly aligns with Toshiba's culture and standards of excellence in innovation, service and support to its customers."

Recently, TBS also completed the acquisition of the assets of Rocky Mountain Copiers Inc. (RMC). RMC now is a fully integrated component of TBS-CO's existing operation in Colorado Springs, Colo. RMC was the 54th acquisition by TBS since its inception.

Canon Officially "Nixes" IKON

The letter -

"October 31, 2008

TO:

Canon Office Imaging Dealers and Office Product Dealers

SUBJECT: Acquisition of IKON Office Solutions, Inc. by Ricoh Co. Ltd.

On October 31, 2008, Ricoh Co. Ltd. ("Ricoh") announced completion of its acquisition of IKON Office Solutions, Inc. ("IKON").

Canon USA and IKON have entered into a confidential agreement regarding the terms of their relationship following the acquisition of IKON by Ricoh. Effective upon the closing of the acquisition, the retail dealer agreements between Canon USA and IKON terminated, and IKON is no longer an authorized retail dealer of or authorized service provider for Canon-brand business equipment. IKON will no longer be able to place new orders for Canon-brand business equipment with Canon USA.

However, IKON is not precluded from selling and may continue to sell its inventory of Canon-brand business equipment, spare parts and supplies, and is not precluded from providing and may provide maintenance and repair services for Canon-brand business equipment. In addition, Canon USA will continue to sell spare parts and supplies to IKON for three years, and will provide certain technical support to IKON for Canon brand business equipment for at least one year.

Sincerely yours,

CANON U.S.A., INC."

So, what does this mean?

It means that RiKON will be able to service existing Canon clients for a max of three years, unless RiKON decides to purchase "years" of service part stock.

RiKON can not sell any new Canon devices.

For any Canon service issues that may require escalation, RiKON is as high as it will go.

I do not know what this does to the Re-Man plant down in Mexico - last I knew, it was all Canon re

Copiers - It's Not Rocket Science, it's Nuclear Science

I ran across this post from a sub-mariner, deep under the ocean, somewhere...

It's funny -

The nuclear maintenance process, in layman's terms

• Oct. 18th, 2008 at 9:56 PM

Imagine you have a copier, or a few copiers, at work. They are ordinary copiers, capable of doing all the expected things of any such machine in any ordinary office. But in order to operate them, you have to pull out the instruction manual and follow its procedures, every time. You must do this even for the simplest jobs, like making single sided black and white copies. As you step through the procedure, there are several important caveats. Prior to performing each step, you must place a circle around its number, so you can't possibly lose your place. In order to take the specified action, you must point at the label and intended position of each switch, and read it carefully before operating. And once the switch is pressed or the button is moved, you must place an X over the circle in the book. Only then can you move on to the next step.

If there's something wrong with the copier that you didn't expect, or any other exception that keeps you from performing the procedure as written, you must track down your immediate boss, who has to determine the course of action to take. If it ends up being something that won't be fixed, the office manager has to sign off on a written alteration to the procedure to allow for continued operation.

If you're caught trying to forge ahead without concurrence, you'll be stopped, and all your bosses will be notified. If your bosses think it serious enough, they'll stop work on that copier, and perhaps even all copiers in the office. Then they'll all sit down with you in the conference room and painstakingly try to determine the "root causes" of you having faltered. Once this "critique" is done, you will likely have to complete a formal written upgrade before you can resume using any copier in the office. They need to be sure you understand procedural compliance.

To ensure that the procedures are being followed, there will be periodic monitoring of copier operations. For the most part, it'll be any combination of your bosses, from your immediate supervisor all the way on up to your department head and the office manager. A few times a year, the regional headquarters will send people over to check on your operations. And once a year, a team comes all the way from the national office to make sure everything is up to par. And if you tank it in front of them - it's all over. Then they'll take the keys to the office, and the regional HQ has to buy off on everything your office tries to do - from opening in the morning, to restock, to new product testing. And yes, this most definitely includes the copiers.

-----

Well, I think it's funny...
Click to email me.

Photizo Group Hosts First Annual Managed Print Services Decision Maker Conference

The Photizo Group, leading research firm specializing in the analysis of the printing and imaging industry, will host the first annual Managed Print Services (MPS) Conference on April 26-28, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas for managed print services decision makers.

Lexington, KY (PRWEB) October 23, 2008 -- The Photizo Group, leading research firm specializing in the analysis of the printing and imaging industry, will host the first annual Managed Print Services (MPS) Conference on April 26-28, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas.

The first of its kind, this conference is dedicated to MPS decision makers and will provide them with a forum to network and to share their experiences and knowledge with other MPS professionals. The conference, featuring panel discussions, interactive sessions and case studies, is organized into three tracks. The first track will be targeted to companies that are embarking on their first MPS program and the second, to firms that want to make their existing programs more effective through advanced MPS services such as document management optimization and workflow enhancement. The third track focuses on the small business and their MPS implementation issues.

All conference attendees will have an opportunity to participate in the information-packed sessions with subjects ranging from market data, case studies, and best practice presentations all geared to the success of their MPS programs. Conference speakers are MPS practitioners from a range of companies who have practical, real world experience which will benefit both those companies that have existing MPS programs and companies who are considering launching an MPS program.

"In the course of our speaking to literally hundreds of MPS decision makers, a common concern has been the lack of forums for sharing unbiased, practical experience for optimizing businesses through Managed Print Services. The Photizo Group has developed this forum specifically to fill that gap," said Ed Crowley, founder and president of the Photizo Group. "This intensive two day conference will arm the decision maker with unbiased information to control, optimize and enhance a Managed Print Service program from the ground up."

The Managed Print Services Conference will be held at the Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, April 26, 2009, 6:00 pm through Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 4:00 pm. Early bird registration, now open, is $795. After December 1, registration will be $995.

For more information on the MPS Conference, sponsorship and speaker opportunities please go to www.managed-print-services.com/conference.htm.

###

"So It is Written, So it Shall Be..." - IKON is Gone...

Ricoh Completes Acquisition of IKON Office Solutions


Official Announcement - Financial - here.

It was an incredible summer.

Companies are like the seasons, always changing - let's see what the next year brings...

Printelligent Announces PrintAlert(TM) -- Remote Monitoring Software

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct 31, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --


Rob Wellman, CEO of Printelligent, announced the release of PrintAlert(TM) -- a proprietary software application enhancing Printelligent's Managed Print Solution by remotely monitoring clients' networked printers, resulting in flexible and proactive service programs.
"PrintAlert was developed in-house because our clients wanted extreme flexibility in Printelligent's service response resulting from data collected from their printers," said Wellman. "We tried using third-party remote monitoring software applications, but none of them provided the flexibility needed."

Printelligent customers receive multiple benefits from remote monitoring of their printers, ranging from simple page count readings to proactive consumables service. Printelligent is able to tailor service response programs for each client, with varying levels of service for specific printers. With PrintAlert installed, initiation of on-site client service no longer depends on an employee calling Printelligent to request service. The service visit is often completed before clients are even aware of a service need. Reporting becomes extremely accurate and eliminates the need for the physical gathering of printer page counts. PrintAlert is a free application to all Printelligent clients receiving Managed Print Solution services.

PrintAlert scans for devices in standard network environments that have IEEE management information bases (MIBs),ensuring only print device data is captured. Data is collected using SNMP -- a standard monitoring protocol. Collected information includes the printer's lifecount (pages printed to-date) and status messages such as a low toner alert. Data is collected periodically, pushed through the client's firewall and sent over the Internet to Printelligent's internal database using secure data transfer protocols. The resulting network traffic is negligible, similar to a user surfing the Internet. Data encryption keeps information secure, and the only firewall ports used in data transfer are those typically already in use for web traffic. No ports are "left open" but rather PrintAlert pushes data back to Printelligent, opening a port as needed in much the same way a web browser functions.

PrintAlert is already monitoring over 1,200 client print devices for Printelligent. Curt Schaefermeyer, LAN administrator at Mountain America Credit Union, said, "We have been using PrintAlert with great success. Installation was very straight forward and took all of 15 minutes. It's been quietly residing on our network gathering printer data and passing it to Printelligent for several months now. Printelligent is more aware of our printer fleet activity as a result."

Printelligent clients enjoy the benefits of working with one trusted provider for all printing needs. Clients receive remote monitoring of printer fleets, supplies and service on-demand, as well as tailored management reports regarding the company's networked printers. On-going reviews reveal over/under utilized printers and recommendations for strategic printer purchases. Printers are placed to serve the needs of employees, and maximize printer use by funneling the majority of print volume to lowest cost printers. Service costs are summarized in a quarterly invoice including all print-related costs.
"Printelligent's clients reap rewards whenever technology can automate a workflow process because time savings and service improvements are the result," said Wellman. "PrintAlert is helping Printelligent be extremely flexible and very proactive in the delivery of our services."

About Printelligent

Since 1988, Printelligent has managed networked print environments for mid- to large companies with typical cost savings of up to 38% in general office printing costs. Printelligent's clients print smarter through remote monitoring of printer fleets, service and supplies delivered at time-of-need, tailored management reports, strategic printer purchases and one simple quarterly invoice. Printelligent is the industry's most experienced Managed Print Solutions provider, and enjoys a strategic relationship with HP as an Office Printing Solutions Elite Partner and Authorized Edgeline Access Partner. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Printelligent has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles, serving a diverse group of local and regional clients. Visit our recently updated website at: www.printelligent.com.

SOURCE: Printelligent

The Death of Print - 12,000 Layoffs And Counting

"Print is Dead" - Dr. Egon Spengler, New York City, 1984

It has been a long time coming, and in my opinion, will never happen, but the move toward a 'Paperless Society' is plodding along.

According to preliminary figures released this week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, circulation for 507 daily US newspapers fell 4.64 percent in the six months to September to 38.16 million copies.

Where are all the readers going?

And Toshiba Continues...Irvine is a Long Way From Memphis

Collins Distributing Company Now Designated as a National Distributor for Toshiba America Business Solutions

Originally walking in Memphis, seems the siren call of the "Best Coast" has lured yet another 'easterner' out here.

From the article:


IRVINE, Calif., Oct 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) today announced that Collins Distributing Company (CDC) of Memphis, Tenn. is now an authorized national distributor of Toshiba copiers, facsimiles and multifunction printing products (MFPs). For nearly 40 years, CDC has served dealers nationwide and has been an authorized Toshiba distributor in the Southeast since 1999, selling more than 1,500 Toshiba units annually. To help provide greater service coverage, CDC recently opened a new office supporting West Coast operations. CDC's newly inaugurated Toshiba National Distributor status will provide TABS an even stronger presence in this competitive market...

About Collins Distributing Company

Founded in 1971, Collins Distributing Company (CDC) is an office equipment wholesaler headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. CDC focuses on selling digital imaging equipment such as copiers, multifunction products (MFPs), parts and genuine supplies exclusively to office equipment dealers across the nation. CDC offers a full line of stocked Toshiba hardware products, onsite parts and supplies, flexible credit terms, and installation and technical support, both before and post product deployment. CDC's central U.S. location in Memphis, near FedEx headquarters, makes it a prime location for quick, efficient delivery of product, reducing the need for dealers to stock and maintain inventory. CDC's annual revenue is approximately $25 million.

Canon cuts forecast

1st profit fall in 9 yrs

TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a 26 percent drop in quarterly operating profit and cut its annual outlook, predicting its first fall in nine years as the global downturn drives up the yen and hurts copier and camera sales.

The yen on Monday traded much firmer against the euro and the dollar than Canon's assumptions for October-December, raising concern that the company may miss its latest 2008 outlook and head into another year of profit declines next year.

Canon's downward revision, its second for the year, was widely expected after Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) last week lowered its annual operating profit forecast by 57 percent, citing a stronger yen and slower sales of flat TVs and digital cameras.

Canon is the world's largest digital camera maker ahead of Sony and Nikon Corp (7731.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

"The economic slowdown we are facing is something that comes along once in 50 years or once a century. It is beyond what any one single company can deal with on its own," Canon Managing Director Masahiro Osawa told a group of reporters.

"Our basic stance now is we hone our corporate strength, so we will be running ahead of competition when the economic recovery comes."

Canon cut its operating profit forecast for 2008 by a quarter to 580 billion yen ($6.18 billion), down from 756.67 billion yen a year earlier and below the market consensus of 693 billion yen from 19 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

YEN CLOUDS 2009 OUTLOOK

The supplier of IXY and EOS brand digital cameras is assuming euro/yen exchange rate of 135 yen for the last three months this year, and a dollar/yen rate of 100 yen.

In comparison, the euro traded around 115 yen and the dollar at about 93 yen on Monday.

"With the euro at 115 yen now, I'm afraid their forecasts do not make much sense any more," Mizuho Securities analyst Ryosuke Katsura said.

If exchange rates stay at current levels next year and Canon's local currency-based sales are unchanged from 2008, its operating profit would fall by about 40 percent from this year to around 350 billion yen in 2009, Katsura said.