The Death of Print Continues -

2009


Borders may get kicked off the NYSE, Newsweek and Time are writing "news for smart people", Google closes down its print ad program and The New York Times is getting an economic stimulus package from a Mexican.

You can not make this stuff up.


Borders Book Stores received a letter December 31st, warning that if the publicly traded company can't get their stock price above ONE DOLLAR in six months, the company will be delisted. Borders stock fell below $1 December of 2008.

Time and Newsweek are generating smaller, more serious, more opinionated and more liberal publications.

They are targeting a narrow niche of readers, in print and on the Web, and not writing for the masses.

With cut backs and layoffs, the old levels of editing and degree of fact checking do not exist in today's lean, mean survival culture.

And finally, Mexican mogul(huh?), Carlos Slim, is kicking down $250 million to the Gray Lady, which could make him the largest shareholder of the New York Times.

The hot-cash-injection will be used to refinance existing debt and will provide the company with increased financial flexibility.

Carlos, started his empire in the cigarette business, moving into telecommunications, taking control of Mexico's state-owned telephone monopoly.

"He transformed a state-owned company into one of the most profitable businesses in the country," said analyst Jose Coballasi of Standard & Poor's in Mexico City.

He is considered the second richest man in the world.

And this just in, Google has announced that it will be closing Google Print Ads as of March 31st.

The service launched in November 2006 was to deliver the client base of Google Adwords to the print industry. Google was able to attract 50 or so newspapers to the program.

In an effort to evade the slings and arrows of the few remaining newspaper owners Google released this:

"We believe fair and accurate journalism and timely news are critical ingredients to a healthy democracy. We remain dedicated to working with publishers to develop new ways for them to earn money, distribute and aggregate content and attract new readers online. We have teams of people working with hundreds of publishers to find new and creative ways to earn money from engaging online content. AdSense, DoubleClick, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Earth, Google News and many other products are a part of our significant investments to innovate in this space.

These important efforts won’t stop. We will continue to devote a team of people to look at how we can help newspaper companies. It is clear that the current Print Ads product is not the right solution, so we are freeing up those resources to try to come up with new and innovative online solutions that will have a meaningful impact for users, advertisers and publishers."

PrintFleet Inc. Unveils Schedule For 2009 Dealer Seminar Events

January 1, 2009

GANANOQUE, Ontario — PrintFleet Inc., a global leader in managed print software and supporting professional development services, announced the 2009 dates of its industry recognized Managed Print Services Road Show Seminar Events.

With 30 seminars and more than 1,000 dealer principles, sales managers, service and IT executive attendees over the past three years, the PrintFleet Road Show seminar series has fast become a global industry “must see” for anyone looking to get serious about integrating a managed print service program into their business model.

Themed “The Sustainable Business Model” and leveraging bold statements such as “when times are tough, leadership matters” within promotional event materials, the series IV event promises to again deliver the same high-impact, practical approach to the MPS business model, but this time headlining with even more industry leaders catering to various segments of the printing and imaging channel.

The dates and locations of the road show include: Dallas, Jan. 21-22; Miami, Feb. 18-19; Irvine, Calif., May 6-7; Chicago, May 27-28.

“A clear enabler of the rapid growth of managed print services is the evolution of the dealer and reseller channel from a hardware centric sales model to a professional services model,” said Ed Crowley, president and CEO of Photizo Group. “Providing dealers with the tools and information they need to transition to this model is critical. This is why we are so pleased to be part of the PrintFleet Dealer Seminars.

In our research into hybrid dealers (dealers who are MPS centric and who combine the best of the IT reseller channel and the BTA dealer channel), one of the clear differentiators we have seen is that the best hybrid dealers are organizations who have learned the value of educational events such as PrintFleet’s Dealer Seminars to ensure they understand the latest thinking and best practices for MPS implementation.”

“These events are so unique due to their open, convivial atmosphere which allows dealer principles to swap war stories and share strategies of success with their various MPS programs,” said Laura Hunt, director of marketing and strategic partnerships with PrintFleet Inc. “Everyone is searching for the right method to deploy a managed print services program. This is why we have assembled a team of the best in class supporting vendors and industry analysts to help steer our new events. Series IV: The Sustainable Business Model will be the runway dealers are looking for to launch their MPS programs and gain further market share from their clients.”

The PrintFleet Road Show, Series IV: The Sustainable Business Model has a promising lineup of sponsors and speakers including: Synnex Corporation (event sponsor); Photizo Group (keynote sponsor); GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation, Parts Now!, Supplies Network, LMI Solutions and Compass Sales Solutions (partner sponsors). Other industry speakers include Lyra Research.

Ricoh May Want to Get "The Umbrella of Silence"

Wall Street Journal, by Dana Mattioli ...Glenn Floyd, senior director of field and headquarters human resources for Ricoh Americas Corporation in Atlanta, said he has spotted more employees hanging around in certain places like the hallways where executive offices are located, where they may be more likely to hear information about the state of the company or possible layoffs. The company is currently undergoing a reorganization, and Mr. Floyd said many employees are uneasy. "I think everyone's worried about stability right now. They come in one day and someone they worked with for 20 years isn't here anymore and it makes them wonder if they're next," he said.

To prevent private information from leaking, Mr. Floyd said he and management now have conversations behind closed doors, rather than sharing even benign information in public places, like the hallway or an open office..."


Click to email me.

The 2009 Lyra Symposium

I will be covering the Lyra Symposium next week, Monday through Wednesday.


Jim Lyons from the Photizo group will be there blogging along.

It is my intention to post articles each night or during the show.

Canon Will Pay for The Nine Months of Your Lease

I found this - in Coral Gables, Fla.

Canon Pays 9 Months Of Your Lease

Canon will pay up to 9 months of your exisiting lease when you Refresh your equipment with New Canon Copiers.

FUNDS WILL BE DIRECTLY REIMBURSED TO THE CUSTOMER WITHOUT HAVING THE AMOUNT ROLLED INTO THE CUSTOMERS NEW LEASE AGREEMENT. Up to $300,000.


Fax lease and maintenance agreement to Canon Review Center at 333-333-3333 indicate CODE: 237 / CP9

If you dont have the agreements, fax most importantly your Vendor, lease payment and how many months your have left on your lease.

This offer expires June 30, 2009, however may change without notice.

Why continue paying for 3-5 year old equipment? Get new equipment today.

Call 333-333-3333 ext 333 Refer to Promotion CP9

Or 333-333-3333 for faster response
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This announcement clearly says funds will be "reimbursed..." directly to the customer, not rolled into the new lease.

So where does this money come from? The Canon War Chest.

As mentioned on P4P, Art wrote, "...In an effort to gain its customers back from IKON (which was acquired by Ricoh), Canon Business Solutions launched the “War Chest” program, giving sales reps ability to pay for up to 9 months of a competitive lease..." This is a result of Canon's attack on IKON/Ricoh.