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February 1, 2010 - In his latest column, Wirth Consulting's Terry Wirth takes a close look at the real cost of ink for today's ink-jet All-in-Ones. As Terry notes, "The multi-color (or chamber) cartridge that has been used by many other vendors in the past has been largely abandoned in favor of individual cartridges for each color because of a single glaring weakness: the multi-color cartridge houses roughly equal quantities of the various ink colors in a single cartridge." Read the entire article here.

HP Rolls Out Zero-Percent Financing Program

February 8, 2010 - On January 29, Hewlett-Packard announced a new zero-percent financing program aimed especially at helping small and mid-size businesses.

The program is being offered through HP Financial Services, which is HP's asset-management services and leasing subsidiary. The new financing program offers businesses the choice of either leasing or owning HP products. Under the new program, customers can choose from a:

12-month lease with a $1 purchase option; or
36-month lease with fair-market value purchase option.

Businesses in the United States and Canada can take advantage of both offers through April 30, 2010. In the U.S., businesses can finance between $1,500 and $150,000 worth of products from HP’s product portfolio. Canadian businesses can finance products ranging from CDN$5,000 to CDN$150,000. Complete details for both offers are available at www.hp.com/go/totalfinancing.

Xerox, ACS Shareholders Approve ACS Acquisition

February 8, 2010 - Shareholders of Xerox Corporation and of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. today approved Xerox's acquisition of ACS, a global IT services firm. The transaction will be completed shortly. More than 96 percent of the Xerox common shares that voted at the Xerox meeting voted "FOR" the acquisition. Read more here.

A Closer Look At Ink Costs And What You May Not Know

Panasonic Exiting A3 MFP Market; Will Focus On A4

February 4, 2010 - Panasonic System Networks Company of America today announced that it will "substantially increase" its footprint in the A4 (8.5"x14") MFP segment. The firm says the A4 MFP market has "undergone rapid growth and is emerging as the de facto standard in the marketplace." Consequently, it states that the A3 (11"x17") MFP market is "fading," and will no longer be Panasonic's focus. Based on internal company research, it states that the A4 market will be dominant by 2012 and will account for the majority of imaging devices sold. Read more here.

Consumables' Revenue Declines By 2% In 2009, Reports Lyra, But Ink-Jet Systems May Help Lead Recovery

February 1, 2010 - The global economic recession has resulted in reduced consumer and business capital expenditures on printers and copiers worldwide, according to a new forecast released by Lyra Research, a market-research firm based in Newtonville, Massachusetts. According to Lyra, an oversupply of printer hardware, cartridges and associated media occurred in late 2008 and early 2009, with dealers responded by drastically cutting inventory levels. Read more here.

Lexmark 4th-Quarter Revenue Up 12% Versus 3rd Quarter

February 2, 2010 - Lexmark International has announced fourth-quarter revenue of $1.07 billion, a 12% increase versus third-quarter 2009, and a decline of 1% versus fourth-quarter 2008.

However, net earnings for fourth-quarter 2009 were $60 million (76 cents per share), up 230 percent versus fourth-quarter 2008. Read more here.

Kodak Posts 4th-Quarter Profit, Revenues Increase 6%, Ink-Jet Hardware And Cartridge Revenue Increases 81%

January 29, 2020 - Eastman Kodak Company is reporting its first profit in five quarters, with fourth-quarter 2009 sales of $2.582 billion, an increase of 45% compared to 2009's third quarter, and a 6% increase compared to 2008's fourth quarter. For its consumer ink-jet printer/All-in-Ones, which the company began marketing in 2007, Kodak reported an 81% increase in hardware and cartridge revenue versus 2008's fourth quarter.

Altogether, the company reported fourth-quarter 2009 earnings of $430 million, or $1.36 per share. Read more here.

New Battle In The War Over Ink Costs: Page Yield Versus Ink Quantity

January 17, 2010 - The subject of consumables' pricing for digital-imaging systems has always been a touchy one, and not just for ink-jet printers and All-in-Ones. At the high end, many vendors are reluctant to disclose consumables' pricing, fearing to incur the ire of dealers who would like to keep such information under wraps. In the color ink-jet printer and All-in-One segment, the subject is especially sensitive, since printer acquisition pricing is low, with profits derived mainly from a steady stream of revenue from sales of ink cartridges. Read more here.

1st A3 Mono Desktop Printer From Ricoh In Five Years

Feburary 2, 2010 - Ricoh Americas Corporation has introduced its first 11"x17" (A3) desktop laser printer in five years, the Aficio SP 6330N laser printer. Read more here.

OKI Enters Graphics Arts/Light-Production Market

January 28, 2010 - OKI Data Americas is entering the graphic-arts/light-production market with the launch of a new Graphic Arts & Production business unit that will market new color imaging systems, the OKI proColor Series, including a digital color press (right) for the graphic-arts and production markets. Leading the new division will be Randy Rickert, who recently served as general manager of Mutoh America Inc., a manufacturer of large-format commercial ink-jet printers. Read more here.

Canon Inc. Reports Profits Up For 4th Quarter

January 27, 2010 - Fueled by sales of digital cameras and ink-jet printers, particularly in Asia, Canon Inc. of Japan has reported a net profit of 61.56 billion yen ($686.6 million) for its fiscal 2009 quarter, a net profit that is over five-times greater than the net profit of 11.62 billion yen it reported for 4th quarter 2008. Read more here.

EFI Launches New Vue Print Application That Brings Production-Printing Power To Office Workers

January 26, 2010 - Electronics for Imaging (EFI) is seeking to give office workers access to production-class printing with a new print tool, Fiery Vue (left), that makes producing professional finished documents, including bound booklets, much easier.

Vue, which is a free download available at http://www.efi.com/fieryvue , has a three-dimensional user interface, enabling users to see exactly how documents will appear before printing them, minimizing trial-and-error and wasted consumables and time. Read more here.

Ricoh Launches New Aficio MFPs With App2Me Solution

January 27, 2010 - Ricoh Americas is launching the latest additions to its monochrome Aficio family, the Aficio MP 4001/MP 5001 Series, which it rates at 40 and 50 ppm respectively, and incorporate monochrome network print and copy and color scan. The two new MFPs are also among the first to support App2Me, a new tool for customizing documents and streamlining workflow. Read more here.

New A3 Color Workgroup Printer, MFP, From Kyocera Mita List at $5,973 And $20,168 Respectively

January 26, 2010 - Kyocera Mita America is introducing two new color imaging systems for workgroups and offices, the FS-C8500DN laser printer and TASKalfa 552ci MFP, which list at $5,973 and $20,168 respectively and are being distributed through authorized dealers. Read more here.

New Frontier-Based A4 Workgroup Printers From Sharp

January 22, 2010 - Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) has expanded its Frontier Series with two new A4 workgroup laser printers, the color MX-C400P (left) and monochrome MX-B400P, both rated at 40 ppm. The printers are based on Sharp's Frontier MFP counterparts, and are designed for mid-volume business workgroups.

The new printers employ the same engine, print controller, supplies and maintenance items, paper drawers and finishing items as Sharp's A4 MFPs.

The printers have a recommended monthly print volume of 5,000 to 8,000 pages, and use separate toner and imaging drums. Read more here.

Xerox Posts 4th-Quarter Earnings, Beats Expectations

January 21, 2010 - Xerox reported its fourth-quarter 2009 results that include earnings per share of 20 cents, beating analyst expectations, and fourth-quarter net income of $180 million. The company’s full-year 2009 net income was $485 million, including after-tax acquisition-related costs of $49 million. Total 2009 revenue was $15.2 billion, down from $17.6 billion in 2008. Read more here.

Toshiba iStore To Sell TABS Dealers Remanufactured OEM Lexmark, HP Parts

January 19, 2010 - Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) has announced a new program that enables TABS dealers to purchase OEM refurbished Lexmark, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba parts at Toshiba's iStore intranet site. TABS says its dealers will be able to purchase the parts at significant cost savings, and with same-day shipping.

Notes Terry Wirth, president of Wirth Consulting, "It's a pretty smart move on Toshiba's part. It means their dealers won't have to shop for parts from a third-party, such as Katun (among many others). From Toshiba they can be assured of quality, since the remanufactured parts are OEM, and they can use their existing account, streamlining their accounts-payable and ordering process, saving dealers considerable time--they won't have to shop around for best price, pay multiple invoices, etc." Read more here.

Xerox Expands SMB Distribution In Europe With Irish Acquisition

January 20, 2009 - Xerox has announced its acquisition of Irish Business Systems (IBS) for approximately $31 million, expanding Xerox's reach into the small- and mid-size business (SMB) segment in Europe. IBS has eight offices throughout Ireland, is a managed print services (MPS) provider, and is the largest independent supplier of digital imaging and printing solutions in Ireland. Read more here.

HP Strikes Deal With Stratasys, Will Market 3D Printers

January 19, 2010 - Hewlett-Packard and Stratasys of Minneapolis, MN, have struck a deal under which HP will market an HP-brand 3D printer to be released later this year. Stratasys 3D printer create three-dimensional plastic models directly from 3D digital designs, and are used in CAD (computer assisted design) and component-making. The printers cost upwards of $10,000, and are used by designers and architects--they're not for consumer use, at least not yet. The printers can produce an object measuring up to 8" x 6" x 6".

Stratasys 3D printer

Under the terms of the agreement, Stratasys will develop and manufacture for HP an exclusive line of 3D printers based on Stratasys' patented Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Read more here.

New Color Pro C720/720s Production Systems From Ricoh; Will Market New Document-Server Software

January 15, 2010 - Ricoh Americas is launching two new production color systems, the Pro C720 and C720s, which are based on Ricoh's C900 platform. The print/copy systems are equipped with EFI Fiery controllers, and targeted at corporate and commercial print environments,

and have duty cycles of 320,000 pages per month and 72-ppm rated print speed. Read more here.

Canon's Bid For Océ May Be Blocked

January 14, 2010 - Business Week and Bloomberg News are reporting that Canon Inc.’s $1.1 billion bid for Océ NV may be in jeopardy. According to Bloomberg, a group of investors holding 13 percent of the Dutch printer/copier company said they won’t sell their shares, while a group representing about 200 investors said that Canon's offer was too low. In November 2009, Canon agreed to purchase Océ for approximately 730 million Euros ($1.1 billion), or 8.60 Euros per share, which is 70 percent higher than Océ last closing share price. For its part, Océ, which is based in Venlo, the Netherlands, reported a net loss of 23 million Euros for its 2009 fourth quarter. Read more here.

New Canon Pixma All-in-Ones For SOHO Start At $99.99

January 8, 2010 - Canon U.S.A. has expanded its Pixma family of SOHO color ink-jet All-in-Ones (AIOs) and printers, with a standalone printer listing at $49.99 and AIOs starting at $99.99. Among the new arrivals is the PIXMA MX340, which is Canon's first entry-level AIO to feature an automatic document feeder and wireless connectivity. Also new is the PIXMA iP2702 color photo printer, which lists at $49.99.

All of the new products feature innovative new styling, as well as several upgrades, and are currently being demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Read more here.

Hewlett-Packard's Joshi Bullish On Printer Market

January 4, 2010 - In an interview with Bloomberg News, Hewlett-Packard executive Vyomesh Joshi, who leads HP's Imaging and Printing Group, said he believes the printer market is ready for recovery in 2010, with customers who've held off buying in 2009 finally taking the plunge in 2010.

Joshi acknowledges that 2009 was tough for sales of printers and MFPs, but adds that supply sales were still healthy: "... supplies sales were fine. What that means is that printing is healthy—even with economic pressure, customers are still printing the content." Read more here.

New Kodak ESP 7250 Color Ink-Jet AIO Lists At $199, Features Blackberry Smartphone Printing

January 6, 2010 - Eastman Kodak is introducing the ESP 7250 All-in-One (AIO), a color ink-jet AIO that lists at $199. and features Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, including direct printing from Wi-Fi-enabled Blackberry Smartphones. Users can also print directly from iPhones and iPod Touch devices with Kodak's new Pic Flick application. The new ESP 7250 (right), which will ship in April 2010, is the eighth member of the company's color ink-jet All-in-One product family, which it began launching in 2007. Read more here.

Send Us Your Test Units!

Wirth Consulting invites vendors to participate in our free test-report program. Our What You Should Know Hands-On Test Reports are unique test reports that contain not only tested performance data, but indepth examinations of special features, ease of use, and maintenance that you won't find anywhere else.

The first page of each report can be viewed free of charge on this Web site, and entire reports are automatically delivered to subscribers' e-mail inboxes. We test printers and MFPs in the small- and mid-size business (SMB) market segments in our facility, and test office/dealer digital-imaging products onsite at the vendor's location.

ImageXpert™ test target used in Wirth Consulting test program. See our test methodology here.

Send Us Your B2B/SMB Digital Imaging Product(s)!

Vendors who wish to participate in our free testing program should contact us. We will evaluate any SMB/B2B digital-imaging device that at a minimum has a network interface. You'll also get an opportunity to review the report in its entirety before we publish it.

--Terry Wirth, Wirth Consulting