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My last couple blogs have been about the unseen costs of printing and the benefits of color. So how can you responsibly incorporate color printing into your business plan without running up costs? 1. Reduce Use of Ink Jet Printers Inexpensive to purchase, inkjet printers are actually the most expensive color output devices to operate. This goes hand-in-hand with office supply stores advertisements focusing on their high profit ink jet cartridges. While convenient for small home office print jobs, ink jet printers become inefficient, slow and costly when running lengthy full color documents. 2. Cut back on Unnecessary Background Color Documents with solid color backgrounds use significantly more toner and increase the cost of printing. Instead, use bright colors on a white background. Your handouts will be easier to read and look more professional.

By Tristam Wallace I wanted to pass along a link to a great article on MFPs and security in Computer Technology Review, written by Sharp's Vince Jannelli.  It is a very succinct and well-written summary of security concerns around  MFPs and I agree with nearly everything in it. However, I want to address the following statement that Vince made in relation to platform virus security: "A proprietary platform is idea, since it won't be susceptible to viruses designed to attack more popular operating systems available on personal computers." I don't dispute the statement. But, it is important to weigh the trade offs between a proprietary platform and an open platform. While the risk of viral attack is lower because it is unlikely hackers will develop malicious code aimed at proprietary MFP platforms, the costs of managing those proprietary platforms are significant -- particularly for those companies that have mixed fleets (brands) of MFPs.

from Xerox If you work in an office, chances are you don’t change the copier or printer cartridge because it’s too messy or you just don’t know how to do it. That’s according to a new Zogby survey, commissioned by Xerox, of more than 2,000 office workers across the U.S. aimed to better understand some of the reasons behind office printing habits. Of those surveyed, more than 1,000 respondents said they have experienced a mess when changing a printer/copier toner cartridge. The mess, plus a lack of knowledge on how to change a printer cartridge, is why more than 10 percent of respondents typically put off printing until someone else changes the toner cartridges.

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 13, 2009  -- Because of a long-held perception that color printing is expensive, most office workers think using a color printer for routine office documents is a luxury. That's according to a new survey about office worker print behaviors conducted by Zogby and commissioned by Xerox. In addition, the overwhelming majority said they'd print in color if it cost the same as black and white printing. That's possible with Xerox's Phaser 8860 solid ink printer and MFP, which lets customers print color guilt-free for the same price as their black and white printing. In addition to providing high-quality, vibrant prints, these products are extremely easy to use - no bulky, messy toner cartridges to change - and produce 90 percent less waste than traditional color laser printers.

From BLI

December 30, 2008 - For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with limited resources, being able to store and then retrieve a needed document manually can be a time-consuming task that lowers productivity and ultimately costs money. Xerox’s DocuShare Express document management software can help automate the process. Based on the company’s popular DocuShare platform, the solution is tailored exclusively for the SMB market to help manage critical business documents easily and affordably.

For starters, Xerox stripped out the deployment complexity of its enterprise-class offering. DocuShare Express features an automated Quick Install Wizard to help business owners get up and running quickly, as opposed to the dozen or so configuration screens required to set up the solution properly. The company also made DocuShare Express more affordable: $1,800 for 10 full-access users plus 10 read-only seats, which is about half the cost of a comparable DocuShare deployment.

By Corey Smith eWeek posted today a great article titled, How to Choose the Best E-mail Archiving Solution for Your Enterprise. An increasing number of enterprises are investigating e-mail archiving solutions due to regulatory compliance, legal discovery and storage management issues. Understanding how to evaluate these e-mail archiving solutions is critical if you want to effectively address these business challenges. If you understand the options for email archiving and how they apply to electronic document management, you can increase efficiency in your business and provide savings to your bottom line.

By Craig Faczan Many VARs neglect imaging supplies in their product portfolios, and for good reason: There is very little margin on printers and OEM cartridges. With high-quality aftermarket products, however, you can develop a good source of recurring profits. According to market research firm InfoTrends, OEMs own 73 percent of the market in monochrome cartridges and 93 percent in color cartridges—statistics that are lost on many solution providers. Generally speaking, competing with aftermarket cartridges is a losing battle: The market is small, price-driven, and saturated with competition. Why compete with thousands of companies fighting for a small percentage of the business when you can strategically convert customers from high-priced OEM cartridges and reap the rewards? In the life of a typical laser printer, 80 to 90 percent of its total cost of ownership (TCO) is from cartridges. A high-end network laser printer that outputs a million pages may cost $1,000. Over its life, the printer will probably use about $8,000 in cartridges and require about $1,000 worth of service. To compete with local providers, the Internet, and even the OEMs, you likely would need to sell at 10 percent margins to reap about $1,000 of profit over the life of the printer. Clearly, that is not a compelling business model.

From BLI November 26, 2008 – Xerox Office Group (XOG) held a briefing for industry analysts at its Wilsonville, OR, facility on November 19 to deliver a sneak preview at an all-new and groundbreaking color MFP set to debut in 2009. While details about the product (name, speed and price) won’t be shared until closer to its launch, the concept and execution certainly look intriguing—perhaps even game-changing for certain segments of the market. The news: Xerox is readying an A3-class color MFP based on its solid-ink technology as a competitor to 11" x 17" color laser engines and HP’s Edgeline inkjet-based offerings. Pioneered by Oregon State University researchers in the 1980s and commercialized by printer maker Tektronix (Xerox acquired the color printing and imaging division of Tektronix in 2000), solid-ink engines are currently used by Xerox in some A4-class printers and MFPs such as the Phaser 8860 family (which includes the 8860 and the 8860MFP). The technology uses melted ink sticks, as opposed to toner particles or liquid ink, to render an image.

By James True The Small-to-Medium (SMB) business segment may be one of the most misunderstood markets ever. Vendors erroneously assume SMB is a large, undifferentiated market that is easy to sell into, especially compared to large enterprises, where big brands and massive corporate sales forces are needed to get a foot in the door. In fact, SMBs vary substantially in their technology needs. The smaller prospect is very different than the larger mid-sized firm in terms of the technologies they can use as well as how they buy, support and implement these technologies. The differences between small and mid-sized companies are well-illustrated by their document management technology needs. In particular, integrating electronic document management technology with the business applications commonly used by the small enterprise poses a special challenge.

November 17, 2008 -- A new study from the Photizo Group captures the nuances and preferences of the Western European Managed Print Services (MPS) market. The Western European MPS Decision Maker Tracking Study™ is the first dedicated research into managed print services in France, Germany and the UK. The first-of-its-kind study is available now. "The practice of managed print services can be adopted by companies anywhere, but priorities, concerns and preferences can and do vary, according to our research. As vendors pursue MPS opportunities, this information can guide their efforts in productive directions. Companies in these countries considering MPS contracts will also benefit from understanding how others in their markets are evaluating and adopting MPS," said Ed Crowley, founder and president of the Photizo Group.