– Xerox, under pressure from trade publications, acknowledged that potentially thousands of its MFPs may have a defect when scanning originals with small numbers:
- includes the WorkCentre 7300XX & 75XX series as well as the ColorQube 92XX series
- issue discovered by German scientist, David Kriesel
- when scanning a page with numbers in a small font size, the built-in JBIG2 compression algorithm apparently may change the numbers in the finished scanned or copied document (i.e. changing a “6” to an “8”)
- this issue could cause customers major problems, for example, inadvertently alter:
- dimensions on a blueprint
- prescription/medical info for a patient
- the company claims it will issue new firmware to resolve the problem, which would have to be installed by a technician, or problem is eliminated if end user chooses a high resolution mode when scanning.
– Xerox announced it will receive tax incentives from Monroe County (NY) and Empire State Development (state of NY) to help offset the cost to build a $35 million EA (emulsion aggregate polymerized) color toner plant in Webster, New York, which will open in 2/2015. (it will receive more than $500,000 in tax subsidy for a total of 25 jobs)
– Xerox’s Executive Director, Vipin Tuteja, stated that it plans on growing its sales into SMB (small to medium sized businesses):
- “SMBs, being a major growth segment, are our high focus area. However, printing requirements of SMBs are quite different from large enterprises.”
- “They are looking for high quality printers(MFPs) at affordable price points. In fact, A4 devices have become the highest growth category for us.”
– Xerox announced it sold two Nuvera 314EA production b/w systems, Nuvera 144MX b/w system with MICR, and an iGen4 150 production color system to CFH, a printshop in Radstock, England.
– Aberdeen Group released results of study of “best in class” marketers, or those in the top 20% of sales and profitability:
- 60% have advertising/marketing campaigns that are personalized or segmented
- 39% are actively targeting offers to optimize marketing return on investment
- 39% are optimizing marketing activities at each touchpoint along the customer lifecycle
- 67% more top performers than other firms (20% vs. 18%) ensure the right message, to right person, at right time
– Responsys released results of survey:
- 61% of consumers feel more positive about a brand when marketing messages are personalized
- 44% are less responsive to non-personalized mass marketing messages
- 53% are more likely to purchase when a brand personalizes digital communications
- 52% trust brands that enable consumers to share their marketing preferences more than brands that do not
– A2iA Software announced it won a DocumentReader OCR solution contract from Coutot-Roehrig to scan more than a half billion handwritten public records. The company claims an accuracy rate of 70-80% for handwritten records.
– Ricoh publishes more details on the new PRO C5100S/PRO C5110S series of production color systems:
- Base MSRPs of $55,000 and $65,250
- Top speed of 65ppm and 80ppm respectively
- replaces the C6501 and C7501 models
- based upon “Taurus” engine used in office MFPs
- “enhanced toner transfer technology”
- first color copy times of 7.5 seconds and 6.4 seconds
- 4 tandem OPC drum design with transfer film belt
- 300 second warmup time
- 9” color touchscreen LCD display
- Ricoh PxP-EQ toner (polymerized), color gamut increased by 10% as compared with C751 and C901 systems
- “The toner has also been developed to fuse at a lower temperature, meeting Ricoh’s R&D focus to continually reduce the environmental impact of tis products where ever possible.”
- can replace toner while system is running
- 30,000 page yield per toner based on 5% coverage per page
- 208v/12amp power requirement
- main engine weighs 242kg (535lbs.)
- Maximum recommended volume of 150K/month, but max duty cycle is 300K/month for C5100 series
- “elastic fusing belt technology” allows use of textured stocks on C5100 series
- newly improved “flexible and versatile fusing assembly” allows printing on envelopes
- “This technology is ideal for printing challenging applications such as envelopes, where the balance of pressure and heat is critical to maintain a flat and perfectly printed product”
- uses both a heated fuser roller, but also induction heat technology
- optional 200dpi fax board (can upgrade to 400dpi with optional RAM)
- 9” color LCD touchscreen control panel
- Document feeder can scan up to 120opm
- scans both sides at same time for top speed of 220ipm
- holds up to 100 originals
- up to 600dpi
- Standard paper supply is three paper drawers and bypass
- Bypass can hold up to 13”x19” paper
- up to 300gsm
- max print area of 12.7”x18.9”
- auto duplex up to 256gsm maximum
- comes standard with 4 paper drawers
- top drawer holds letter-sized portrait paper only
- hold up to 256gsm
- Options include a 2,000 or 4,000 sheet paper deck, up to 300gsm
- “Media Library” allows customers to save more than 60 media attributes on C5100 series
- maximum paper supply with options of 8.250 sheets
- Bypass can hold up to 13”x19” paper
- 1200x1200dpi, but advertised as offering 4800dpi (interpolated)
- still not true 8 bits per pixel
- uses VCEL technology (vertical cavity surface emitting laser, similar to Xerox products)
- machines slows down to half speed when selecting highest resolution
- Built-in print controller
- actual maker unknown
- Intel i5-2400 3.1 GHz processor
- 2.5GB RAM (can upgrade to 28MB)
- two 187.5GB hard drives
- Comes standard with proprietary Ricoh print driver
- PCL and PostScript print drivers are optional (similar to Canon)
- USB, 10/100/1000BaseT ports
- SD card slots
- optional OCR board
- Optional EFI Fiery E22B or EFI Fiery E42B print servers (6502/8002 offer E22B only)
- both use FS-100 platform
- no Kodak Creo option
- Optional finishing includes:
- 65 or 100 sheet stapling
- 20 sheet saddle-stitch bookletmaker
- z-fold
- 2/3 hole punch
- cover inserter
- GBC StreamPunch
- TCRUs (trained customer replaceable units) allow customer to replace their own imaging units (drums) and other key components
– Ricoh offers more info on new A3 midrange series of color MFPs, the MP C3003, C3503, C4503, C5503 and C6003 featuring (preliminary info):
- 30, 35, 45, 55 & 60ppm respectively
- Base MSRPs are:
- C3003 = $12,500
- C3503 = $14,900
- C4503 = $18,590
- C5503 = $22,014
- C6003 = $25,315
- white plastic body with dark grey accents
- optional fax boards are 200dpi standard
- must buy optional RAM to increase to 400dpi
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- PxP polymerized toner
- 9” color LCD touchscreen that has no hard keys
- swivels up and down
- option to upgrade to 10.1” LED touchscreen display with iPhone-like features
- optional work table
- optional document feeder
- top speed of 80opm, except for C6003 which has scan speed of 110opm
- can scan both sides of original at same time
- comes standard with two 500 sheet paper drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
- top paper drawer only hold portrait direction letter size paper
- bypass handles up to 300gsm, and can feed envelopes, and up to 12”x18” paper
- optional support for 12.6”x17.1” paper size in bypass
- can add stand, two more paper drawers or large capacity letter size only drawer
- can add side mount 2000 sheet letter size paper deck
- 1200x1200dpi (advertised as offering up to 4800dpi with interpolation)
- does not offer true 8 bits per pixel
- built-in print controller
- actual maker unknown
- Ricoh does not publish the processor speed
- 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports standard
- RPCS print driver standard (host-based)
- PCL, PostScript and XPS print drivers are options
- 2GB RAM
- 250GB hard drive
- scanning is standard
- ESA (embedded software architecture) for optional apps
- optional embedded OCR kit
- finishing options include:
- inner stapling finisher with optional hole punch
- floor standing stapling finisher
- hole punch
- booklet making, up to 20 sheets
– Ricoh announced it is buying power from the Theni Wind Power Project in the country of India to boost its sustainability efforts.
– Ricoh announced it will launch “ICE” (integrated cloud environment) solution, providing connection from mobile device to cloud services for document storage, management and printing via its MFPs.
- Pricing not announced
- works with iOS and Android based mobile devices
- customers must establish and pay for their own cloud service accounts
- works with:
- Google Drive
- Concur
- Evernote
- MS SharePoint
- Egnyte
- Dropbox
- Box.net
- Hightail
- NetDocuments
- DocumentMall
- NetSuite
- Salesforce.com
- eFax
– Ricoh announced that its branches and dealers will sell embedded version of Nuance eCopy and Equitrac Office for its A4 MFPs that offer panel integration, such as MP301 and MPC305.
– Ricoh owes Kodak money, according to a New York judge, who found that Ricoh’s subsidiary, Pentax, had breaches its patent licensing agreement.
– Ricoh launched the “Smart Presenter” app for the Apple iPad, featuring:
- gives presenter control of content by driving experience on each participant’s iPad
- individuals can zoom in, zoom out, go back or jump ahead
- presenters can hand off control of meeting to other user
- can run up to 5 meetings at a time consisting of up to 10 users and 30MB of content each
– Samsung of Korea announced that its new desktop A4 b/w laser SL-M2675F MFPs will have separate toner and image unit cartridges to offer a lower cpc. The units will have 26ppm print speed.
– Samsung, in a trademark filing, revealed it plans on launching a smartwatch, named Galaxy Gear.
– Samsung announced it paid 260 million euros to acquire Novaled of Germany, which makes organic light-emitting diodes for use in Samsung smartphones.
– Canon’s VP, Seymour Liebman, announced that if it receives tax incentives, the company will consider opening up a research and development facility on Long Island in New York, near its new North American headquarters in Melville.
– Canon announced it will sponsor the National Geographic Live student matinee series in Chicago, Phoenix, Washington DC and Los Angeles, which offers visual presentations by explorers, scientist, filmmakers, authors and photographers from around the world.
– Canon announced it purchased a supercomputer, the PRIMEHPC FX10, from Fujitsu to use in product development. The computer has peak performance of 20.2 teraflops.
– Canon launched the new Oce’ ColorWave 900 wide format color printer:
- code-named Project Velocity
- raw print speed of 12,000 square feet per hour
- 3.4 billion, 1.2 picoliter drops of ink per second
- users water based ink
- 1600x1600dpi
- uses stationary Memjet color inkjet printheads, so much faster print speed than ordinary inkjet plotters
- maximum media width of 42”
- up to 6 paper roll capacity
- automatic paper cutter
- optional high capacity stacker
- PowerM print controller
- uses Onys Thrive RIP software
– Epson announced it sold a SurePress L-4033AW production color inkjet label press to Luminer Converting Group of Lakewood, New Jersey.
– Toshiba announced a new free downloadable app, called eBRIDGE Print & Capture, allowing printing and scanning through use of Android based smart phones and tablets.
– Toshiba announced it will open a new division in the country of Turkey, to promote thermal, hydro, wind and solar power systems.
– Toshiba’s CEO, Hisao Tanaka, in a press conference, discussed company forecast:
- announced that company forecasts total sales of $6.45 billion for its nuclear power division by 3/2016
- forecasts an operating profit for entire company of $4.1 billion by 3/2016
- forecasts total 2015 sales of 7 trillion yen
- will boost production of flash memory chips
- will reorganize its television business after the division lost 100 billion yen in past 2 years
- (did not discuss its MFP/printer business)
– According to IDC, the world’s mobile population is anticipated to reach 1.3 billion by 2015, or 37.2% of the total global workforce.
– CLARIFICATION: While Pitney Bowes Corp. did sell its FM business in Europe to Swiss Post, and its U.S. arm, called Pitney Bowes Management Services, to Apollo Global Management LLC of New York for $400 million, Apollo is still operating this FM business, and maintaining all existing vendor and customer relationships.
– AIIM released results responses to question; “What would you say are the biggest issues caused by paper-based processes in your organization?”:
- 48% = time spent rekeying data, searching for paper copies and filing
- 42% = storage volume and outsource paper storage costs
- 41% = inability to monitor workflow progress
- 39% = lost paperwork or case files
- 29% = compliance and audit issues
- 24% = poor access to case or process documents for front office/call desk staff
- 19% = inability of staff to work remotely
- 18% = delays caused by mail or courier delivery
– AIIM found that 70% of enterprises are using scanning at some point, but only 13% are using capture to extract data.
– AIIM published list of most popular uses of ECM (enterprise content management) features in regards to mobile devices:
- view and access ECM content
- edit and upload documents to ECM
- capture of photo images
- scan and upload documents capture using mobile device’s camera
- fill in forms using device keypad
- interaction with onpremise workflows
- capture of customer signature using device’s camera
- capture of customer signature using stylus
– Kyocera (aka Kyoto Ceramic Company) announced it has acquired the Circuit Solutions division from NEC Corp., which makes boards for smartphones and in-vehicle applications.
– Kyocera announced it will build a 2nd manufacturing plant in Kyoto, Japan that will make FC-CSP (flip-chip chip scale packaging) for use in mobile devices.
– InfoTrends corrected itself, and republished results of study of Office Solutions market in the U.S.:
- includes document management, document capture workflow, document output management and device management solutions
- CAGR (cumulative annual growth rate) of 8.5%
- total revenues reaching $2.8 billion by 2017 (originally stated $2.8 million)
– ARC (American Reprographics Co.), reseller of wide format, FM and managed print services solutions, released its second quarter financials:
- net sales down 1.5% to $104.6 million
- 75% of sales were to AEC (architects/engineers/contractors) customers
- added 175 net new contracts
– Hewlett Packard, which announced it closed down its Snapfish photo printing service in country of India, announced it is also closing down service in Belgium, Netherlands and Spain.
– Hewlett Packard admitted that some of its LaserJet products have a data security issue:
- originally discovered by Michal Sajdak of Securitum
- hackers are able to lift administrator’s passwords and other potentially sensitive information
- able extract plaintext versions of users’ passwords via hidden URLs hardcoded into devices’ firmware
- WiFi enabled devices leaked WiFi settings and PIN codes
- HP announced it will issue new firmware to resolve problem
– Hewlett Packard announced new options for its Indigo 5600 and 7600 production color systems:
- Print Care 2.0, a toolset that provides:
- on-press diagnostics
- remote support tools
- subsystem view that consolidates tests, diagnostics, troubleshooting
- scan and send capability to share images with remote support
- Automatic Alert Agent
- New charge roller that offers lifespad 5 times longer than current
- New photo imaging plate (PIP) and underlayer for improved ease and time of installation
- New version of SmartStream Production Pro Print Server
- faster RIP engine
- scalable architecture
- browser based interface
- FOGRA and GRACoL profiles
- Direct2Finish for automated near-line finishing
- Duplo Ultra 300Ai UV Coater
- C.P Bourg Booklet Maker ExPress
- ElectroInk UV Red for tracking anti-counterfeiting applications
- Ultra Thick Substrate Kit to print up to 600 micron (24 mil) opaque PVC materials
- Humaneyes Software for lenticular substrate printing
– Hewlett Packard announced it is combining three different records management software applications into one, called HP Records Manager 8:
- consists of TRIM, Autonomy Records Manager and Autonomy Meridio
- Robert Youngjohns is head of new division
- works with MS SharePoint and data warehouses
– Okidata announced it will have a booth to demonstrate its tabletop color LED envelope printers at the upcoming Minuteman Press World Expo in Chicago, IL.
– Okidata announced the pricing for its managed IT services, which are fulfilled by ISS Solutions:
- $550 to $850 per month
- 36 month subscription
- gives customers access to NOC for 5-10 users and 90 days of help desk support
– Mutoh announced it will hold an open house at its Phoenix, AZ location to demonstrate its color inkjet wide format solutions on 8/29/2013.
– Presstek, makers of offset presses, announced it has purchased VIM of Israel, which makes printing plates.
– DoxTek of Orem, UT, a reseller of Hyland OnBase and Kofax, announced it has acquired Red Eagle Consulting, a software reseller in Marietta, GA.
– Nuance’s Brett Beranek, in an interview, says the company hopes that “your voice will be the only password you will ever need”, based on new voice biometric technology the company is working on.
– Calvin Duncan, a former mailroom clerk for the City of Philadelphia, was arrested after being caught ordering and stocking $1.3 million worth of printer cartridges, then selling them to Laser Cartridge Plus of Russellville, AR for $545,412.
– Lexmark announced it is again the official printing technology provider for the PGA (professional golfing association), and is providing 80 devices for this weekend’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY.
– GE announced it won Centricity EHR contract from the United States Olympic Committee, which has healthcare facilities for Olympic athletes in Lake Placid (NY), Colorado Springs (CO) and Chula Vista (CA).
– Nuance announced that its healthcare division say sales up 29% last quarter.
– CPSI announced it won EHR contract from Taylor Regional Hospital of Georgia.
– Head of Obama’s EHR program is quitting. Farzad Mostashari, announced he is leaving the position of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. No replacement was announced.
– Allscripts reported its last quarter’s financials:
- revenue down 7%
- shares are down 6%
- third straight quarter that it has fallen short of expected profit
– Allscripts announced it won contract from Mercy Health System of Maine.
– Results of survey conducted by Aeffect and 88 Brand Partners reveals:
- 24% of consumers have accessed their EHRs at a hospital they have received services from
- 52% express an interest in accessing their EHRs
– The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded a $14 million contract to CACI International to development an electronic records program.
– Epic announced it won EHR contract from Sidney Health Center of Montana.
– Fletcher Allen Health Care of Vermont announced it expects $200 million in losses over next 10 years due to Medicare cuts, but will add 280 employees now that it has gone live on Epic EHR.
– Medicare announced that it has identified 2,225 hospitals that will have their payments reduced for a year starting on 10/1/2013:
- total of $227 million in fines
- part of Medicare campaign to reduce number of patients that are readmitted within a month of being discharged from hospital
- 18 hospitals will lose 2%, the maximum possible
- 154 hospitals will lose 1%
– Cerner announced it won contract from Medical Center of Central Georgia.
– HIPAA/Data Security Breaches:
- MO HealthNet of Missouri notified 1,357 patients that their PHI was exposed when one of its contractors mailed information to the wrong addresses.
- Cogent Health of Iowa notified 32,000 patients that its subcontractor, M2ComSys of India, exposed their PHI, due to unsecure web server.
- A cyber-attack that hit Harbor Freight Tools and likely exposed card data processed at all 400 of its retail tool stores could rank among one of the biggest retail breaches this year, one card issuer says.
- The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has fined the Bank of Scotland £75,000 (about $115,500) after customer account details were repeatedly faxed to the wrong recipients.
– Dr. Farid Fata of Rochester, MI was arrested for allegedly billing Medicare of $35 million fraudulently, including administering chemotherapy and PET scans on cancer patients who had no chance of survival.