First Magic Paper, Now Magic Fabric - One more nail(futuristic) in the Coffin of the Copier

One step closer to the Death of the Copier - "Magic Fabric"

The Propeller-Heads at M.I.T. are perfecting an "optical fabric" that can be used to "gather and image".

These professors have created a polymer fiber that can detect the angle, intensity, phase, and wavelength of light hitting it, information that can be used to re-create a picture of an object without a lens.

Without A Lens.

Digital or analogue. A4 or A3. Copier, Fax, MFP, MFD, Mopier, plotter, scanner, Edgeline or ColorCube - they ALL HAVE A LENS.

When we remove the lens, we kill the copy part of a copier - or do we?

Original article, MIT, here.

Greenpeace Trespasses, Paints and Decries HP's Environmental Stewardship

I almost joined Greenpeace as a freshman in my college days.

Back when Springsteen was on the "No Nukes" tour and Greenpeace was out saving the whales.

Yet, by senior year, I was wearing and selling "Nuke The Whales" T-shirts.

Proceeds going to the floor "beverage fund".

I'd like to think I've grown up. It's clear, Greenpeace hasn't.

In a remarkable display if ingenuity - an act of "Mission Impossible" proportions - Greenpeace operatives breached security, scaled the walls to HP's roof and vandalized the technology producers property.

Judging from the large, all capitalized, block font and the lack of South LA-like hieroglyphics, the roof graffiti was most likely produced by young, suburbanite, some-what educated hooligans with excellent penmanship and way too much time on their hands.

We assume the colorant used is water soluble and non-toxic.

All this over PVC and BFR's; elements that HP will remove by 2011 instead of 2009.

A statement from G-Peace -

"Earlier this year, HP postponed its 2007 commitment to phase out dangerous substances such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic from its computer products (excluding their server and printer lines, (GoIPG!)) from 2009 to 2011,"

Not only did G-Peace scratch out their display for the benefit of everyone above the altitude of 400 feet or so, in a cunning application of high-technology, they also dispatched automated phone calls to HP from non-other than Captain James Tiberius Kirk!

Bill is urging HP to phase out toxic chemicals in its products.

DeathOfTheCopier's DOUBLE-DOG-DARE to G-Peace:

There is a place I hear of, seven to eight thousand miles West of Palo Alto. A land of great growth and pollution and many, many corporate HQ's with roofs - Communist Red China.

The double-dog-dare is simple: go there and tag any one of their roofs - hell, tag a wall or corporate driveway.

And then, if you can, come back home and tell us all your great tale. Like Beowulf and the Grendle.

Most likely, you will be sharing space with Tank Man and his family in a dark, musty cell.

Locked up and forgotten.

Interesting footnote. HP has been "Green" since before it was "hip"(1957), before the word "Green" applied to anything anti-human and well before G-Peace even existed,1971.




LAT

HP Defends

Canon Quarterly Profit Plunges 86% - YIKES!

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 28, 2009

Filed at 3:10 a.m. ET

TOKYO (AP) -- Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) said second quarter profit sank 86 percent as the global economic malaise weighed on sales of its copy machines, printers and digital cameras while a stronger yen took a bite out of overseas earnings.

The electronics manufacturer said Tuesday its net profit was 15.6 billion yen ($164 million) for the April-June quarter, down from 107.8 billion yen a year earlier. Revenues declined 28 percent to 793.8 billion yen, from 1.11 trillion yen last year.

For the current fiscal year through December, the company cut its revenue target to 3.20 trillion yen from 3.33 trillion yen. It held its profit target steady at 110 billion yen, which would mark a 64 percent yearly decline.

Canon, which brings in three-quarters of revenues from overseas, was hurt by the stronger yen compared to a year earlier. The company said the rise in the Japanese currency has taken about 151 billion yen from its revenue over the first six months of the year, compared to last year.

A stronger yen means sales abroad are worth less when repatriated to Japan.

A lone bright spot for the company was its SLR, or single-lens reflex, cameras, where demand was steady. But its overall camera business suffered as selling prices of cheaper digital models continued to fall rapidly.

Unlike many Japanese companies, Canon's fiscal year matches the calendar year. The company reports earnings under U.S. accounting rules.

Destroy Your Printer Contest - HumanKind Strikes Back

For decades they watched us.

Observing our habits. Infiltrating every aspect of our lives - soon, they determined our happiness and added to life's frustration.

Ignored by IT Professionals, enshrined by 9 to 5 receptionists and personal assistants all over the globe, their presence grew, barely noticed.

Until one day, humankind woke surrounded by millions of life sucking monsters.

Hellions of our own creation - Gremlins/Frankenstein/Desepticons inhabit our corner offices, corporate cube farms, our bedrooms, kitchens and dens.

Thousands of their brethren hibernating in basements, garages, attics, and on the shelves of hundreds of IT rooms.

Waiting.

There are some brave souls refusing to give in to the machines. Armed with little more than axes, log splitters, front loaders, gravity and ...high-explosives, they fight.

Florists, ceramic makers, cottage builders and yes, brew masters - from the grass roots of humanity they carry the banner against tyranny and oppression; mysticism and paper jams.

Recovered from a bunker -"a buried bus out back" - is the video story of one team of hero's - submitted for your review.



More stories of heroism, here.

Age Old American Tradition: Movies About Selling

You know them all by heart:

Glengarry Glen Ross - "...hold this watch..."

Boiler Room - "...done and done..."

Cadillac Man - "...I love the sale..."

Tommy Boy - "...fat guy in a little coat..."

Wall Street - "...greed is good, greed works..."

And of course, on the small screen, The Office - "...that's what she said..."

Yes I like both corny and intense selling based movies - so do you.

I think there is on the horizon, another selling movie classic.

Hell, the title sold me even before I checked out the clips - "...Live Hard, Sell Hard..."

You gotta love a trailer with "Fox on The Run" in the background.


I don't smoke, but I swear, someday a study is going to come out saying tobacco is good for you as long as your don't inhale through a filter - "...Smoke one for America..."

This is the Rated PG trailer, there is more realistic, R rated trailer on the movie's site or here. You gotta love his business card.

Fun with InkJets - No duplexing. Wasted paper, Ink, Electricity and Hopefully a Few Students

Enjoy -

HP - invent from Tom and Matt on Vimeo.

"Building Cars Nobody Wants To Buy..." Ford Posts $2.3B 2Q Profit - Beats Estimates

"The One" has killed 2 of the 3, but FoMoCo is still standing.

And what's this? Profiting?

No Way.

This must not stand!

Not long after Ford tells the government to Pound Sand the boys in the Glass House pull one out for the Dirty D - what next?

Lions in the Superbowl?


The auto maker reported a net income of $2.3 billion or 69 cents a share, compared with a loss of $8.67 billion, or $3.89 a share for the same period a year earlier.

The company refused U.S. federal aid and filing for bankruptcy, which may have created consumer goodwill but has allowed Chrysler Group LLC to merge with Fiat SpA (FIATY) and General Motors Co. to dump about $40 billion in debt.

Precarious is Ford's financial position and for them to be the come back kid, to succeed IN SPITE OF THE OBAMA PLAN, they will need to scratch and scrap for every penny - especially with Canada and the Unions supporting one of their primary competitors, GM.

Sales and Selling...Earth and Water..that's what it's all about..

Full article here.

Why Your Customer Should Re-Write Your Lease Agreement: It's About Them, Not You.

One More Dead Cow, in the Summer of No Sacred Cows - with another List of 22 at the end of the article.

Read on...
-------

For two decades, I have been helping prospects and clients understand, digest and work around lease agreements.

Cutting my teeth back in the 80's on technology leasing with IBM and Compaq.

I got the gist when working for CINTAS , reviewing uniform service contracts with my prospects.

At CINTAS, I was witness to the most one sided, legal extortion schemes. My competitors, usually, small time, local "linen" service company contracts were stunning.

Evergreen clauses that would never end. Price increases that where arbitrary and whimsical.

And closing statements that go like, "... just sign, don't question, or you will be sleeping with the fishes - ifyouknowwhatImean, andIthinkthatyoudo..."

The companies I sold for implemented decent agreements. So it was always one of my selling approaches to review competitors agreements and compare to mine - line by line, before signing.

That's how it all started.

Fast forward to present day, and it's like Deja Vu all over again. Just last week, I sat down with a prospect to review their existing lease.

We had a very nice discussion, we used lots of nice words talking around the subject when I straight out told him,

"...dude, you're screwed for the next 28 months. How the hell did you let this happen and what are you going to do to insure it doesn't happen again?"

The same old argument, same result.

"It's Standard For The Industry"

Dozens of times, the poor fellow across the desk from me says, "the copier rep said it was standard leasing procedure...standard for the industry...we all do it..."

Wow, that must have made you feel "special" - as in short-bus special. Did you say, "thank you sir, may I have another?"

Speaking of standard, I pull out lease agreement after lease agreement, guiding my prospect through the labyrinth of "guarantees", automatic renewals, termination and lease end responsibilities, shipping, property tax, processing fees, lease payment dates; on and on and on.

The subject changes to Capital Expenses vs. Operational, 60 Month vs. 36 Month, FMV vs Dollar out and combined lease/service agreements.

Pretty standard stuff.

And then we open up to the philosophical -

"...What, precisely is an equipment lease, anyway?" I ask.

Glazed eyes, a moment of awkward silence and then, "well, to me, it is a way for me to use equipment and not pay for the whole thing all at once..." he responds. Of course, I nearly fall out of my chair - I think he may just get this, there is hope.

Specifically, a lease agreement is a means by which a company (or person) gets to utilize leased items, paying an agreed, recurring amount over a predetermined, agreed period of time.

The benefits can be many, but the primary reason is to use equipment without a huge cash outlay.

The cost of this luxury - a "fee" similar to interest. This "fee" as I call it, is incorporated into each payment. For a lessee, that's lease jargon for "customer", to determine this amount, simply multiply the number of payments by the monthly amount and compare this figure to today's purchase price.

The difference is what you are paying for the ability to utilize equipment, over time.

There are a great many details involved with leasing and lease agreements - I won't go into all of them now - for some clients, just knowing the above can mind-shattering.

So once we agree that the basic function of a lease is for people to use equipment over time without purchasing the gear I ask,

"...should a lease be used as a customer retention device? Or should the quality of the relationship determine the future?"

- again, blank stare and crickets. Just when I think his head is going to explode like in Scanners,

"No Greg, it shouldn't. A lease is not a customer retention technique"

I think he's got it!

Anything more then payment amount and length of term(other than the "if you don't pay us, we will come get you, clause) is marketicture.

Our conversation dwindles to the mundane. I promise to keep in touch with him, he promises to negotiate "very vigorously" over his bloated service agreement and we part ways.

He on his 28 month journey of pain - which will be punctuated by him finding out there is a HUGE amount due at the end of the lease in the form of shipping charges - charges that can magically disappear when he re-ups for another 60 months.

Me, I get to go find someone else to help.
---------------

For those about to get into a lease - take heed, there are many things you can do to maximize your position as a lessee.

Of course I have a list.

A list of 22 steps/insights you can review and ignore before jumping into your next 62 month sentence.

Here are three:

1. Prior to your very first meeting with a prospective copier vendor, request he bring a copy of his lease agreement and service agreement to LEAVE BEHIND for your review.

This will set the tone for the rest of your relationship.

If you get ANY resistance at all, if he doesn't bring the document or let you keep it or uses phrases like, "...it's our corporate/legal policy not to release this information until executing a lease..." or "...I can let you read it, but I need to take it back with me..." or the best ever "...it's standard in our industry..." tell him you don't want to do business with him.

2. Have him explain the benefits of leasing vs purchase.

This will be revealing even though you already know why you want to lease. Most copier newbies don't really know why, they have just read the GE Capital or IKON Financial "Why Leasing is Good" memo.

3. Then ask if he recommends a 48 or 60 month lease and why.

He should come back by saying he never recommends anything over 36 months.

Want the complete, DeathOfTheCopier list?

Hit me up with an email, use that Contact Me button thingie on the left - and I will send the list to you directly.

Want to Learn More?

Managed Print Services Appointment - Another Ticked Off Konica/Minolta Client:Leasing and "Integrity"

de lage landen: Copier Lease Gone Bad - in a city called "Homer"

Leasing Your MFP Fleet -

Bad Experiences with Leasing - Toshiba, IKON, Canon, Saxon

Too Big to Fail - A Review of Xerox ColorCube Print Advertising

With a plethora of Xerox ColorCube reviews available, Death Of The Copier tracked down a review of Xerox's print advertisement for ColorCube.

I was struck when I opened my June edition of Wired - the first page ad was for BMW, followed by Visa then Breitling and four pages in, Xerox.

I felt then, that it didn't matter if the ink melts in your car, Xerox has a consistent, appealing message.

Apparently, I am not the only one who sees this.


Images attract and invoke response which is the critical first step in the selling process.

From the article:

"... Xerox Corp., ... serves up an ad that stops readers via the strength of the primary colors dominating it. There's nothing gratuitous about the blocks of red, blue, yellow and black—which look like they belong in a child's playroom—because they are the product, which Xerox calls its ColorCube..."

Agreed - "Color Sells" and K.I.S.S

But words matters as well. In this case, 35 words, what the advertising people call "copy" -

“The new Xerox ColorCube multifunction printer uses unique cartridge-free Solid Ink technology, which is nontoxic, mess-free and reduces waste by 90%. Better yet, you can save up to 62% on color prints. The ultimate win-win.”

35 words - very simple, easy to understand, non-threatening(no FUD) - the ad is engaging and interesting and takes about as much time to digest as a Tweet.

Here is the article:

Compelling and relevant

Story posted: July 20, 2009 - 6:01 am EDT

Typewriters Still Used at NYPD - To the Tune of a New, 3 Year, $1 Million Dollar Contract

In article in CIO, it is reported by the Post, that even after a major technology overhaul at the NYPD, officers "still use typewriters to fill out property and evidence vouchers, which are printed on carbon-paper forms..."

- that's right, CARBON-PAPER FORMS.

And we worry about taking somebody's DeskJet 500 away?


The NYPD has updated and connected all of their 76 precincts by a videoconferencing system that ties into a command center and all offices have real time access to major databases.

The moral of the story is that even though you have the biggest budget and a most deserving technology project, some things just can not be changed.

I wonder what the commission was for what has to be that Last Typewriter Salesperson in The World.

Enjoy the article here.

Toxin Detection As Close As An Inkjet Printer - Introducing Bioactive paper

"...researchers demonstrated the concept on the detection of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as paraoxon and aflatoxin B1 on paper using a "lateral flow" sensing approach similar to that used in a home pregnancy test strip.

The process involves formulating an ink like the one found in computer printer cartridges but with special additives to make the ink biocompatible..."

OK - HUH?



I found this article over the weekend and because we here at DeathOfTheCopier care about all things printer and nano-technology related I had to delve in.

The article goes on, "...An ink comprised of biocompatible silica nanoparticles is first deposited on paper, followed by a second ink containing the enzyme, and the resulting bio-ink forms a thin film of enzyme that is entrapped in the silica on paper. When the enzyme is exposed to a toxin, reporter molecules in the ink change colour in a manner that is dependent on the concentration of the toxin in the sample..."

Essentially it's this - certain elements can be placed in ink and utilized in ink jet cartridges. The ink is then applied to paper.

The special components in the ink will react in a certain way when exposed to particular substances/toxins. The ink will change color depending on the amount of toxin.

Just like a pregnancy test.

But this application will be used to assist in detecting toxins, pathogens and viruses, without the need for sophisticated instrumentation.

"...Portable bio-sensing papers are expected to be extremely useful in monitoring environmental and food-based toxins, as well as in remote settings in less industrialized countries where simple bioassays are essential for the first stages of detecting disease..."

Hang on to those DJ500's.

Death of The Copier and MFP Solutions Blog - Greg To Art

7/2009

A little self-promotion - article written by Scott Cullen and published over at BERTL.

WHAT’S THE DEAL? TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

By Scott Cullen

The truth is out there and it’s only a few clicks away on of the imaging industry’s cutting-edge blogs.

Blogging is nothing new, but feet on the street sales reps in the imaging industry who blog are certainly something you don’t run into every day. Meet two of the most prolific and opinionated bloggers in the imaging industry-- Greg Walters and Art Post.

Walters works in the managed print services division of a West Coast IT integrator and HP value-added VAR. His “Death of the Copier” blog (http://thedeathofthecopier.blogspot.com/) is hip, happening, and sometimes irreverent, and a must-read for anyone doing business in the imaging industry.

Post is a self-proclaimed “docusultant” with a Ricoh dealership in Highlands, New Jersey who, like Howard Cosell, tells it like it is. He started his blog, (www.mfpsolutions.blogspot.com) 15 months ago and the hits just keep on coming.

The inspiration for Walter’s blog, at least its eye-popping title, was the introduction of HP’s Edgeline technology, a technology that was going to be the death of traditional copier technology as we know it. Well, we all know what happened there.

“The Death of the Copier was because we had the Edgeline engine and it was going to take over the copier world,” recalls Walters. “That’s how it started and very quickly evolved into content and information about managed print services, the print industry in general, copiers, printers, and all that stuff.”

It’s all that stuff that makes Walter’s blog a fascinating read. He knows what he’s talking about having been in the imaging industry for 20+ years, including a stint at IKON. He’s no shill for any manufacturer, including HP. Honesty is Walter’s best quality and his blog does indeed make for scintillating reading even when he’s sharing stories from other sources.

Walters’ blog gets 14,000 views a month, which is pretty darn good considering the topic. Are there really that many people who want to read about the imaging industry each month? Guess so. He has no idea why so many hits, but isn’t wasting time figuring it out. When he’s not integrating and providing added value to customers in his day job, he’s blogging, and he’s making appearances at industry conferences and events. From the looks of it, Walters’ 15 minutes of fame is just beginning.

"With bloggers like Post and Walters, it’s refreshing to find two industry veterans willing to cut through the hype and tell it like it is."