Reprographics 101

(more than you ever wanted to know about the reprographics industry)

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  • ARC's shares surged to $6.80 mid-day today; let's take a quick look at Stadium Capital's investment in ARC

    I noticed a few minutes ago that ARC’s shares were trading at $6.80 early this afternoon.

    I’ve done several previous posts on the blog about Stadium Capital’s aggressive accumulation of ARC shares, from August 23rd until now, after Stadium Capital first did an SEC Form 4 filling to indicate that they owned 10% or more of ARC’s stock.

    Here’s a quick look at Stadium Capital’s (unrealized) gain on its investment in ARC shares since August 23rd. Note that the table below only considers the shares that Stadium Capital has purchased since August 23rd, 2011. Stadium Capital owns another huge slug of ARC stock that it purchased before August 23rd, and Stadium Capital’s cost-per-share for its prior purchases – purchases before August 23rd – might be over or under the price-per-share that ARC’s stock was trading at today.

    Number of shares purchased

    746,418

    ARC stock price afternoon of Feb 6th

    $ 6.80

    Value of these shares

    $ 5,075,642

    Cost of these shares

    $ (2,869,279)

    Unrealized gain, as of today

    $ 2,206,363

  • FINAL REMINDER – CONTEST ENTRY DEADLINE IS FEB 7 AT 5:00PM: GUESSS ARC'S FULL-YEAR 2011 SALES

    So far, only a few people have entered the contest, so the chance of winning the prize is excellent for anyone who enters this contest.

    Here’s a link to the post I did about the contest:

  • Hubcast.com Cloud-based printing service (post also mentions ARC and ishipdocs and Gilmore Global)

    Hubcast.com’s business model sounds similar to ARC’s ishipdocs business model …. but “similar to” is not the same thing as “same as.”

    The similarity is that both Hubcast.com and ishipdocs are “printing services in the cloud.” And, both rely on a “network” of printers/reprographers around the U.S. and, for that matter, around the globe.

    But, beyond that, it appears that there’s a big difference in how hubcast.com and ishipdocs are promoted and sold.

    After reading up on Hubcast.com (including reading one of their brochures) and after comparing that information to how ARC’s ishipdocs works, I think the following statements are a fairly accurate comparison (hey, if I’m wrong about this, someone let me know!):

    CLOUD-BASED PRINTING SERVICE:

    Both are that.

    PARTICIPANTS:

    Both have established a “network” of printing companies / reprographers (i.e., “print-partners”) around the U.S. and around the world.

    SALES & MARKETING:

    Whereas Hubcast.com promotes and sells printing services directly to end-user customers, ishipdocs promotes and sells to end-user customers and ishipdocs print-partners also promote and sell to end-user customers.

    PRICING:

    Apparently, Hubcast.com actively participates in pricing negotiations on behalf of its end-user customers. An ishipdocs “print-partner” negotiates pricing, per order, with the ishipdocs print-partner where the job is to be printed and delivered. (Participants, on both ends of the print-order-transaction, might be ARC-owned facilities or might be independent reprographers/printers who’ve signed up to be part of the ishipdocs network.)

    PAYMENT:

    I’m not absolutely sure about this, but it “sounds to me” like the end-user customer directly pays Hubcast.com, and Hubcast.com directly pays its network print-partners. With ishipdocs, the end-user customer pays the ishipdocs print-partner who originated the order, and that same print-partner pays the ishipdocs print-partner who fulfilled the order. (In other words, ARC may not be involved, at all, in an ishipdocs print-order transaction.)

    TECHNOLOGY:

    Apparently, Hubcast.com has developed order-submission technology that enables the end-user customer to enter his/her order into the Hubcast.com system. I’m not 100% sure how ARC’s ishipdocs software works, since I haven’t taken the time to review ishipdocs 2.0.

    OTHER:

    Hubcast.com’s business model appears to be very similar to, if not the same as, the business model followed by Gilmore Global. (Note: Gilmore Global’s sister company, Gilmore Reproductions, is a member of ReproMAX.)

    While visiting Hubcast.com’s web-site, I did notice that one of Hubcast.com’s officers came to Hubcast.com from Mimeo.com:

    Gary Millrood, Senior Vice President of Sales

    Gary’s experience developing go-to-market strategies, driving new customer acquisition, managing channel development and working with key strategic partners for companies from developing high-growth start-ups to Fortune 1,000 enterprises gives him the skills and experience to lead HubCast’s sales and channel development. Before joining HubCast, Gary served in roles as vice president of enterprise sales and channel development for Mimeo.com. Prior to Mimeo.com, Gary was the vice president and general manager of the OEM and Channel Development Group and the vice president of sales for SumTotal Systems. Gary holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Marquette University.

    Here’s a link to one of Hubcast.com’s brochures:

    http://tinyurl.com/6qlqj46

    Here’s a link to Hubcast’s web-site:

    http://www.hubcast.com/

    And, here’s a link to a video of Hubcast’s President, Tony Dolph, responding to questions from Cary Sherburne of WhatTheyThink.com; Tony shares with viewers the success of Hubcast’s global cloud printing network and the international cost savings potential.

    http://whattheythink.com/video/56087-hubcast-president-tony-dolph-updates-about-company/

  • KIP c7800 – Xante Excelagraphix 4200 – OCE ColorWave

    Recently, I did a post about Xante’s soon-to-be-released Excelagraphix 4200 wide-format ink-jet printer. And, I also posted KIP’s calendar/schedule for the launch of KIP’s new c7800 color, high-volume, production printer. One of KIP’s officers said this to me in an e-mail I received this morning…. “Response at the Atlanta show last week was fantastic!” At some point in the not-too-distant future, I hope to be able to cover the new ColorWave wide-format “crystal-point-technology” printer that OCE is rumored to be releasing sometime this year. At this point, I don’t know if the new ColorWave model will be faster or slower than the CW600 OCE released in May 2008 (in other words, I don’t know if the new ColorWave model will be a higher or lower volume model.)

    About the new KIP c7800 ….. “the KIP C7800 is a high-speed, high-quality color and B&W production print system for wide-format applications that demand the highest levels of quality, speed and cost-efficiency. Ideal for a comprehensive range of technical and production needs, the KIP C7800 improves your output as it speeds your workflow — providing powerful print control capabilities and versatile production advantages, including a wide range of print submission methods, cloud-based printing, scan and copy, variable data printing and fully integrated stacking and folding. With all these advantages, the KIP C7800 saves serious time and money — making high-quality wide-format printing more cost-effective than ever before. Output is faster. Operation is simpler. Finishing is automatic. Reliability keeps you up and running to meet tight deadlines — and superior image quality will keep your customers coming back for more. The KIP C7800 print system offers superb resolution at remarkable print speeds: up to 4,200 sq. ft. per hour in B&W, 3,500 sq. ft. per hour in color.”

    References:

    (1) KIP c7800 brochure (link to document in my Google Docs library):

    http://tinyurl.com/7ow6wdq

    (2) Info from the web-site called www.energystar.gov

    Qualified Product Details

    Printers — KIP c7800
Model

    Digital Color Printer

    Product SpecificationsKIP c7800

    Product Type

    Printers

    Manufacturer

    KIP

    Model Name/Model Number

    KIP c7800

    Manufacturer Warranty (years)

    Yes, existing

    Size Format

    Large

    Color Capability

    Color

    Marking Technology

    Electrophotography (EP)

    Monochrome Product Speed (ipm)

    120

    Color Product Speed (ipm)

    N/A

    Optional Accessories/Capabilities

    Other :Auto Stacker

    Continuous Form?

    Yes

    Black DPI

    600dpi

    Color DPI

    600dpi

    Internal Memory/RAM(MB)

    3GB

    Maximum Default Delay Time to Sleep (minutes)

    60min

    Automatic Duplex Output Capable

    No

    If automatic duplex output capable, is duplexing shipped as the default?

    No

    Joel’s further comments:

    So, if the “output-speed” of the KIP c7800 is 120 inches per minute (when printing in color), then that means that the output-speed is around 2 inches per second. Or, in terms of 24×36 prints, that print-speed equates to 5 – 24×36 prints per minute. (Note: in KIP’s brochure, it says that the c7800 can output at up to 3,500 sq ft per hour when printing in color. Calculation check: 5 prints x 6 sq ft each x 60 minutes = 3,600 sq ft per hour; close enough.)

    Comparison-wise, the output-speed of Xante’s Excelagraphix 4200 is stated to be 12 inches per second, or 6x faster than the KIP c7800. Or, in terms of 24×36 prints, that print-speed equates to 30 – 24×36 prints per minute.

    KIP is currently showcasing its new c7800 system at KIP offices around the U.S. (I previously posted KIP’s calendar-schedule for that.) I expect to see the new KIP c7800 at the ISA show in Orlando in late March. Anybody have pricing and operating cost info? (Note that I’ve just e-mailed a KIP representative for pricing and operating cost information.)

    KIP has years of experience with wide-format printing systems, something we cannot say about Xante. But, who knows? It could be that Xante’s printer will prove to be a reliable, dependable device. Older reprographers (and I am one of those), will likely recall the initial launch in the U.S., in 1981, of the Shacoh 920 wide-format black & white copier (offering 36” wide output). At the time, the only competition to the Shacoh 920 was Xerox’s 2080 model (which could only output 24” wide, even though it could accept originals 36” wide.) Many reprographers (and, admittedly, I was one of those) were skeptical that the Shacoh 920 could perform reliably and dependably … and, oh boy, we skeptics wrong about that! Shacoh (later renamed KIP) went on to establish strong market-share in the reprographer marketplace.

  • RFP for Printing Services from Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council

    RFP for Printing Services

    Published in the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday, February 5, 2012

    The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council requests printing proposals for the regional hurricane evacuation guides. There are 12 “County” versions (total 390,000 copies). The size of the piece is 22” x 35”, folded to 8.75” x 11”. Finished job to be delivered by May 1, 2012.

    For detailed information, visit www.tbrpc.org.

    Proposals must be received by Noon on February 21, 2012. No faxed proposals. All proposals received after Noon on February 21st will be rejected.

    Respond to Wren Krahl. Wren@tbrpc.org, or 727-570-5151, extension 22.

    I’ve requested the RFP document, but have not yet received it. If and when I get it, I will update this post to provide a link to the document.

  • iPAD included in conference registration fee; no hard-copy handouts, at all

    The other day, my brother in law, a dentist, told me that he recently attended a continuing education course and dental conference, and, instead of the materials being handed out in the form of “hard-copy”, each attendee was presented an iPAD on which all of the course and conference materials had already been downloaded.

    The iPAD was included with each attendee’s registration pack; as you might imagine, the cost of registration for the course and conference was not cheap. (He already owned an iPAD, so, after he returned home, one of his family members got the new iPAD.)

    All reprographers who offer “small-format” document printing services, I’m sure, have, at some point in the past, benefited from orders for printing conference, course and training materials. The question is, “at what point in the future might demand for ‘hard copy’ printing services for materials of this nature almost completely evaporate?

    A bit less than two years ago, I had the opportunity, right after Service Point Solutions’ GlobalGrafixNet conference was over, to stay at a fancy hotel in downtown Rome. When I checked into the hotel, there was a conference getting ready to start – it was some sort of training conference for sales reps who worked for a large pharmaceutical company – and, to support the training courses, the conference organizer was handing out very thick (I think they were 4” thick) 3-ring bound manuals; each manual had approximately 16 tabs and over 500 sheets printed 2-sides. There were around 100 or so manuals; nice print job!

    With the proliferation of e-reader and tablet devices, such as Amazon’s, Apple’s, Barnes & Nobles’, etc., not to mention the fact that most businesspeople travel with their laptops, the trend towards e-publishing manuals (as digital files), rather than publishing hard-copy manuals, is rapidly growing. It won’t be long until that printing work almost completely disappears. 5 years? 10 years? What’s your guess?

  • Dietzgen, Azon, National, Precision Paper

    Can somebody help me out with answers to these three questions?

    Are Azon/National and Precision under the same ownership?

    Has Dietzgen been acquired by the owners of Azon/National/Precision?

    And, if the answer to that last question is “yes”, can anyone share any of the details about the transaction?

  • ABC Imaging looking for sales reps "in various areas"

    Well, I noticed this posting on LinkedIn this morning. Nice to know that someone is in a hiring mode.

    ABC Imaging provides print solutions and digital document management services for many market sectors around the globe.


    We are currently recruiting for a Sales Account Executive to join our Sales Team in various areas. The Sales Account Executive is responsible for sales, new business development and account management for ABC’s customers.

    RESPONSIBILITIES:

    Cold calling, responding to customer sales needs, properly qualifying prospects
    Applying a solutions selling methodology to the sales cycle
    Promptly completing proposals and sales activities
    Responsible for sales, new business development and account management for ABC’s customers in their assigned territory

    QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:

    Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent sales experience
    3+ years experience in Reprographics/Digital Print sales in the architectural, engineering and/or construction industries
    Proven successful sales track record
    Experience with the bidding /RFP process, including creating proposal, negotiating, and implementing changes
    Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, required
    Ability to speak knowledgeably about department capability and company to potential and existing clients
    Ability to communicate effectively with employees when delegating work and explaining procedures and processes
    Positive attitude towards daily work, coworkers, and clients

    careers@abcimaging.com with you resume

  • Mahil Maurice leaving ARC to pursue new opportunity

    I received an e-mail, yesterday evening, from Mahil Maurice. Mahil e-mailed me to let me know that he would soon be departing ARC to pursue another opportunity in the San Francisco Bay area.

    Many of us have had the pleasurable opportunity of meeting Mahil at some point during the past three years, as he was responsible for “rolling out” and promoting ARC’s ishipdocs software program. Mahil gave excellent demo’s.

    He’s a very bright young man with a very bright future, and I’m sure that many reprographers will join me in wishing Mahil the best of luck and success with his future endeavors!

    His profile on LinkedIn appears below, but it does not yet reflect the new opportunity he’s decided to take on.

    Mahil Maurice

    Sr. Product Manager – Cloud & Digital Content Solutions

    San Francisco Bay Area Computer Software

    Current

    Sr. Product Manager – Cloud & Digital Content Solutions at ARC Technologies (www.e-arc.com)

    Past

    Sr Director, Application Engineering at Visage Mobile

    Senior Program Manager at AT&T

    Senior Program Manager at NorthPoint Communications

    Education

    Golden Gate University

    St. Paul’s English High School

    Public Profile

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mahil-maurice/2/652/838

  • XPEDX PAPER STORES TO CLOSE

    This appeared on XPEDX’s Facebook page. If you click on the blue type immediately below, it will take you to XPEDX’s Facebook page, where you can read lots of interesting comments – about the closing of Xpedx’s retail stores – submitted by quite a number of Xpedx’s customers.

    xpedx Stores

    xpedx serves customers across many industries, and our Stores community is probably the most diverse of all. From graphic designers to party planners, churches to small business owners, we strive to provide excellent service along with the products you need in the quantities you want. If you don’t know, our largest base of customers is printers, and that industry is undergoing quite a lot of change. We want to continue to be a top supplier to the print industry, and to make sure that happens, we’re making some changes.

This year xpedx will realign operations so that we can continue to provide excellent service while helping our customers keep pace with the fast-growing digital print market. This means we will transition away from our current stores business model, to servicing many customers from xpedx’s well established distribution network. We will also open “mini-merchant” locations based in some of the country’s top digital print markets. 

While this is the right decision for xpedx overall, it will lead to the closing of our Stores division, which will unfortunately affect many talented and dedicated team members. Depending on your line of work, it could also affect you. Know that your local store associate is ready to discuss the changes coming our way.

Throughout this change we will go to great lengths to help our employees through the transition, and will do our best to limit disruption to all of our customers’ businesses. 

We value our relationship with everyone in the Stores community – whether we know you personally, professionally, or through our social networks.

Look for future updates here, and please send well wishes to our wonderful xpedx Stores team.