Reprographics 101

Océ's Tips on What to Consider When Purchasing a Wide Format Scanner

January 27, 2012

Friday, January 27, 2012

Press release from the issuing company (OCE)

Today’s scanners are faster, more productive, capture color more accurately, have better image quality and are more affordable due to advancements in technology. There are also more options than ever before, which can make it difficult to select the wide format scanner that is right for your unique needs.

Whether you plan to use your scanner for digitizing maps, fine art, construction drawings or posters, it is critical to understand the many choices available. Below,

Océ, a Canon Group company and an international leader in digital document management, outlines the five key attributes to consider when purchasing a wide format scanner.

Key User Requirements

An understanding of how your scanner will be used, who will be using it, your scanning volumes and flexibility needs will help you identify the most important user requirements.

• Color or Black & White (B/W): Determine whether you will need color or black and white (B/W) output or possibly both for your wide format scans. The document originals you are using and your archiving requirements will help you make this decision.

• Scanner Usability: Certain key features ensure your scanner will be user-friendly and productive for walk-up users and novices. These include, scan templates, matrix copying, output trays and auto/stream feeding.

• Scan Speeds and Scan Modes: The larger your scan volumes, the faster your scanner should be; not considering speed when purchasing a wide format scanner can potentially create a workflow bottleneck. Also, make sure the scanner you are considering offers a broad range of dpi and scan mode settings.

• Scan Destinations and File Types: The more flexibility users have, the more productive they will be. Ensure your scanner supports scan to file, scan to print and the most common file types (e.g. PDF, PDFA, TIFF, and CALS).

• Scanner Configuration: The ultimate in flexibility is a scanner that supports or can be upgraded to meet these configurations – stand-alone scanner, support for multiple printers and a multifunction scanner and printer combination.

• Document Sizing: The size of originals scanned determines the width of scanner needed. Size requirements also depend on the physical limitations of your space.

Image Quality

Resolution and bit depth are critical components to image quality. When evaluating a scanner, consider the two types of resolution available: optical resolution and interpolated resolution. The key to selecting the right resolution is to understand your applications. For example, if you are scanning to print for applications such as painting replicas, photos or posters a higher dpi resolution will be needed. Conversely, if you are archiving B/W files, a lower dpi resolution is sufficient.

Bit depth – the number of bits of color information per pixel – is important when scanning color images. The more bits of information available, the more available the color and the more accurate the color representation.

Image Enhancement Capabilities

Image enhancement software helps to ensure that originals are scanned with optimal quality the first time with minimal user intervention. Software should be able to clean up damaged or dirty originals while enhancing weak lines. This can be especially important when scanning older documents. Look for image enhancement technology that analyzes and enhances every line of the document in real time from the top to the bottom of the original.

Additional features that improve image quality include automatic background compensation, filtering, half toning and file size optimization.

Scan Technology

You will likely have two choices of scan technology to consider: CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or CCD (Charge Coupled Device). A CIS scanner has the ability to produce fine lines and small type, making it ideal for technical documents (e.g. CAD, GIS, AEC, and maps). Graphic arts applications to scan photographs, renderings and posters often require a CCD scanner.

Running test scans using your more commonly used documents to determine image quality is an easy way to decide which technology is best suited for your needs. If quality differences are not discernible, consider factors such as speed and costs.

Sustainability

Many users strive to reduce their impact on the environment – making energy consumption an important factor when selecting a wide format scanner. Selecting a scanner that has a fast warm up time and a standard timer clock so users can power-up and power-down according to their operational needs can help minimize energy waste. Also, look for the ENERGY STAR^®, ISO 14001 and RoHS certifications.

For more information about the key attributes to consider when selecting a wide format scanner, download the Océ Wide Format Scanner Buyer’s Guide at www.oceusa.com/ScannerGuide. Whether your scanning needs include full or partial sized documents, archiving or copying, this buyer’s guide will lead you through all of the options available.
Conversation with the now ex-CEO of Alphagraphics

January 27, 2012

Cary Sherburne, one of the contributors to the whatheythink.com web-site, had a conversation with the now ex-CEO of Alphagraphics. (Alphagraphics now has a new owner, Blackstreet Capital, and Blackstreet Capital and Alphagraphics’ CEO, Frank Cushing, decided to part ways.)

Click on the “title” of this article, as that is the link to the article now appearing on www.whattheythink.com

AlphaGraphics Has a New Owner

By Cary Sherburne (January 27, 2012)

Rumors that AlphaGraphics was on the blocks proved to be true when the company announced it had a new owner. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke to CEO Kevin Cushing to get the story behind the story for our readers.
HOK’s 2nd Annual BIM Awards

January 27, 2012

AECbytes Feature Article

January 26, 2012

HOK’s 2nd Annual BIM Awards 

Article Summary

This article takes a look at the projects selected as the finalists in HOK’s 2nd Annual BIM Awards competition. This is an internal competition to evaluate and award projects within HOK that have exhibited exemplary use of BIM technology in one of four major categories; Design, Delivery, Collaboration, and Visualization. I was invited to serve on the jury of the competition and therefore had the opportunity to review all the finalist’s presentations and get an understanding of their projects.

Article Link

http://www.aecbytes.com/feature/2012/HOK_BIM_Awards.html

ARC's shares surged above $6.00 today; let's take a quick look at Stadium Capital's investment in ARC

January 26, 2012

I noticed a few minutes ago that ARC’s shares surged above $6.00 today.

I’ve done several previous posts on the blog about Stadium Capital’s aggressive accumulation of ARC shares, from August 23^rd 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 how Stadium Capital’s investment in ARC shares since August 23^rd. Note that the table below only considers the shares that Stadium Capital has purchased since August 23^rd, 2011. Stadium Capital owns another huge slug of ARC stock that it purchased before August 23^rd, and Stadium Capital’s cost-per-share for its prior purchases – purchases before August 23^rd – 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 mid-day Jan 26	$ 6.09
Value of these shares	$ 4,545,685.62
Cost of these shares	$(2,869,279.05)
Unrealized gain, as of today	$ 1,676,406.57

Morningstar Research predicting that it’s likely that Caterpillar’s U.S. Sales will increase this year (citing improvements in construction sector)

January 26, 2012

In a note to investors this morning, Morningstar Research did a write-up on Caterpillar’s recently reported results.

I’ve highlighted one of the comments (in bold type):

During the quarter, Caterpillar saw 28% year-over-year volume growth in its construction segment, driven by fleet replacement in developed economies and continued solid growth in emerging economies. However, the firm’s dealers in China saw declining deliveries to end users; Cat’s sales improvement in the region stemmed from continued inventory building at distributors’ lots. The whole industry in this geography has seen weakness in recent months, and we expect the company could see slower results in 2012. Conversely, the improving construction picture in North America (as shown by leading indicators such as the Architecture Billings Index) will probably lead to climbing U.S. volume for the year, with low interest rates helping to further spur demand.
Xerox Reports 14% increase in EPS on Flat Revenue

January 26, 2012

Growth in services was driven by an 8 percent increase in both business process outsourcing and document outsourcing.

Managed print services are proving not only to be the industry standard but also an engine of growth for Xerox’s business.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Press release from the issuing company

Xerox Corporation announced today fourth-quarter 2011 results that include adjusted earnings per share of 33 cents, up 14 percent from fourth-quarter 2010, and $1.3 billion in operating cash flow. Adjusted EPS excludes 7 cents related to amortization of intangibles, resulting in GAAP EPS of 26 cents.

The company ended 2011 with full-year adjusted EPS up 15 percent, pro-forma revenue up 2 percent and operating cash flow of $2 billion. “Our performance reflects Xerox’s operational discipline in delivering strong bottom-line results while scaling our services business and maintaining our leadership in document technology,” said Ursula Burns, Xerox chairman and chief executive officer.

In the fourth quarter, total revenue of $6 billion was flat; revenue from the company’s services business was up 6 percent, and revenue from its technology business was down 5 percent. Growth in services was driven by an 8 percent increase in both business process outsourcing and document outsourcing. Technology revenue, which represents the sale of document systems, supplies, technical service and financing of products, was significantly impacted by economic weakness in Europe.

“While operating in a challenging economic environment, we’ve grown our global market share for equipment revenue, further strengthening our industry leadership. Installs of Xerox equipment increased 8 percent in the fourth quarter. And, our managed print services are proving not only to be the industry standard but also an engine of growth for our business,” said Burns.

“Signings for our diverse services offerings were up 15 percent in the fourth quarter,” Burns added. “Our services portfolio remains a competitive advantage — providing clients cost-efficient ways to run more productive enterprises and benefitting our business for the long term through a healthy base of recurring revenue.”

The increase in services signings continues to put near-term pressure on gross margins as Xerox makes initial investments to implement new contracts. Fourth-quarter gross margin was 32.2 percent, and selling, administrative and general expenses improved to 19.3 percent of revenue. Fourth-quarter 2011 results include 2 cents from a curtailment gain net of restructuring expenses. Operating margin of 10 percent was down 0.4 points from fourth-quarter 2010.

Full-year 2011 results include:

• Net income of $1.3 billion, adjusted net income of $1.6 billion, up 21 percent

• Total revenue of $22.6 billion, up 5 percent, 2 percent pro-forma

• Operating margin of 9.8 percent, up 0.3 points pro-forma

• Operating cash flow of $2 billion

• $700 million in share repurchase

The company expects first-quarter 2012 GAAP earnings of 17 to 20 cents per share. First-quarter adjusted EPS is expected to be 21 to 24 cents per share.

Full-year 2012 GAAP earnings are expected to be 97 cents to $1.03 per share. Full-year adjusted earnings are expected to be $1.12 to $1.18 per share, including restructuring.

The company also expects $2 billion to $2.3 billion in cash flow from operations for 2012.

The Xerox board of directors recently increased the company’s share repurchase authorization by $500 million to more than $1.3 billion. With this authorization, the company expects to repurchase between $900 million and $1.1 billion in Xerox shares during 2012.
Océ Business Services Partners with Mimeo to Deliver Océ PrintExpress

January 26, 2012

On December 25^th, I posted a Press Release from OCE Business Services about its new OCE PrintExpress on-line print and distribution service.

Here’s the link to that Press Release:

http://reprographics.blogspot.com/2011/12/oce-business-services-introduces-oce.html

Yesterday, Cary Sherburne, one of the contributors to the whattheythink.com web-site, published an article about OCE Business Services’ partnership with Mimeo.com on OCE PrintExpress.

Here’s an intro, and a link, to that article. Please note that, if you want to read the full article, you’ll have to pay for it, it’s not accessible for free.

Commentary & Analysis

Océ Business Services Partners with Mimeo to Deliver Océ PrintExpress

By Cary Sherburne  (January 25, 2012)

Océ Business Services introduced Océ PrintExpress, an online print and distribution service that augments its Managed Print Services offerings. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne speaks with Océ Business Services and its partner, Mimeo, to get the scoop.

http://whattheythink.com/articles/55910-oce-business-services-partners-mimeo-deliver-oce-printexpress/
Blackstreet Capital Severs Ties with AlphaGraphics CEO Kevin Cushing

January 26, 2012

I recently posted a Press Release that spoke about Alphagraphics (the “franchisor”) being acquired by a private equity group, Blackstreet Capital

Here’s an article that appeared on whattheythink.com, this morning, about the departure of Alphgraphics’ CEO.

(Reprographers, if you are not already dialed into whatheythink.com, I would suggest that you do so, for even though the WTT web-site is mostly directed at companies involved in the printing industry, they do publish articles that are sometimes of interest to Reprographers.)

Blackstreet Capital Severs Ties with AlphaGraphics CEO Kevin Cushing

Thursday, January 26, 2012

By WhatTheyThink Staff

WhatTheyThink has learned that Blackstreet Capital, which recently acquired the AlphaGraphics franchise network, has chosen to sever its relationship with CEO Kevin Cushing, who has served in that role since 2004. Cushing also owns a couple of AlphaGraphics franchises, which he plans to continue to operate. Art Coley, formerly Vice-President of Global Development, has been promoted to interim President of AlphaGraphics.

Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with former AlphaGraphics CEO this morning upon learning of his exit from the company. Cushing said, “Leading AlphaGraphics was one of the richest experiences of my life, for me and for my family. It was challenging, and I leave the role feeling that I was a genuine, authentic and forward-thinking leader. I will look back and know that I gave it 1000 % of my time talent and energy, which the results demonstrate. This was a team thing, not a Kevin thing–I was fortunate to have a great team and terrific franchisees. Every owner is entitled to run the business as they choose, and Blackstreet Capital wanted to start with a clean slate. I am in great spirits and looking forward to the next new thing… and I am taking calls!”

Sherburne adds, “I have worked with Kevin extensively over the years, and found him to be an exceptional leader, as well as a genuinely kind and caring person. I had the extreme pleasure of helping craft AlphaGraphics’ NetVision4 based on Kevin’s vision for the future, and that was an amazing experience. The fact that the AlphaGraphics network wholeheartedly embraced this challenging and dynamic path forward speaks highly of the relationship he had with the owners and their respect for him. ”

WhatTheyThink is attempting to secure a comment from AlphaGraphics headquarters and/or Blackstreet Capital.
RFP (ITB) for Copy Center Services and Convenience Copiers – City of Orlando FL

January 26, 2012

City of Orlando Florida

Invitation to Bid

IFB10-0283 / RC

IFB Title: DIGITAL MULTI-FUNCTIONAL DEVICES AND QUICK COPY CENTER

No, this is not a current bid/proposal opportunity. And, it won’t be an opportunity, for anyone other than the current vendor, until 2015 or later.

In spite of that, I’ve chosen to do an article about this deal – – – for those who are willing to do “homework”. Those who know me know that I’m into that sort of thing – for how in the world will you ever be able to be successful – in the reprographics business, or, for that matter, in any business – if you aren’t willing to do homework?

Over the past few years, there’s been a whole lot of talk about the opportunity to generate revenues and profits from offering “MPS” (and FM) services. And, personally, I believe that there is opportunity, but I also believe that “it ain’t easy.” And, I think that’s especially true when it comes to “government sector” business.

As to “homework”, I will never forget the “homework process” that I went through to pass the C.P.A. exam. I was out of college for five years before I decided (or, I guess I should say, before my wife pushed me) to sit for the C.P.A. exam. One of the things I did to prepare for that exam was to order copies of prior exams (they published prior exam questions AND answers.) Had I not studied the Q’s and A’s in prior exams, I doubt that I would have been able to pass that exam (the “success rate” for first-time participants is less than 10% – the Bar exam is easier to pass than the C.P.A. exam.)

Anyway, studying MPS/FM procurements, where you can get your hands on all of the documents associated with RFP/ITB procurements, is, to me, certainly one way of educating oneself about how to go about the process of generating proposals that respond to ITBs or RFPs. With regard to the procurement that I’m going to mention below, if I were truly doing homework on this procurement, I’d request from the City of Orlando copies of all of the proposals that were submitted in response to the City’s procurement along with copies of the evaluation of the proposals that were submitted.

Okay, I’ve posted two different documents in my Google Docs library, one of which is a “consolidated” document that contains the Contract, the RFP (ITB), and the successful vendor’s proposal (including pricing).

The (consolidated) document begins with Amendments to the Contract, and, so far, there have been 4 amendments.

After the Amendments, you’ll find the actual, official “Contract.
Term of Agreement: 5 years; August 2010 to July 2015

(But, note that the Contract allows for up to five additional one-year extensions; if all of those extensions are approved, then this Contact won’t end until July 2020!)

And, after the Contract, you’ll find the “Invitation to Bid”, which was issued on April 23^rd, 2010.

And, after the Invitation to Bid, you’ll find the bid/proposals submitted by the vendor who was awarded this bid – that proposal was submitted by Seminole Office Solutions, a dealer/distributor of copying equipment. Seminole Office Solutions is recognized – certified – by the State of Florida as a “Minority, Women, Service-Disabled Veteran Business”. (I am pretty sure that Seminole Office Solutions fits only one of those categories, but that’s all you need, just one.) I did not read the ITB document to find out if “certified” businesses received a preference (in the bid evaluation), but, if there was a preference given, I seriously doubt that it was more than a minor preference.

The “Bid Proposal” does show all pricing; a) for convenience copiers (there were about 120 included in this procurement), and b) for staffed copy center services. (Note that none of the prices include paper, since the City of Orlando provides paper under this contract.)

Examples of pricing:

For copies/prints produced by the staffed Copy/Center (8 ½ x 11):

Black & White: $.0144

Color: $.039

(Paper is not included in the price)

Here’s a link to the file that contains all of the documents I mentioned above:

http://tinyurl.com/7qlc9er

And, here’s a link to the “Summary of Contract Actions” (so far) for the Contract the City of Orlando has with Seminole Office Solutions. This particular document reveals the value of this deal to the vendor.

http://tinyurl.com/86khqv8

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Joel’s further comments:

Inasmuch as our company (the one I “retired” from in Dec 2007) was active in Florida, I was very aware of the very first procurement the City of Orlando held for the procurement I’ve mentioned in this post. I think that took place sometime around 2000, but I’m not sure of that date. Prior to the City of Orlando making the decision to “outsource” the operation of its Central Copy Center and to consolidate all of its convenience copiers under one single vendor, the City self-operated its Central Copy Center and leased copiers from multiple vendors. Prior to the City of Orlando adopting the “outsource” model, Hillsborough County Government (100 miles to the West) made that decision, and, in joint venture with Ricoh (then called Savin), our company won that deal. (Under that deal, Savin provided around 270 convenience copiers to Hillsborough County, NGI operated the Hillsborough County Central Copy Center. It was a bigger deal that the City of Orlando deal, and we had the Hillsborough County deal (first with Savin, then with Ricoh) for about 10 or 11 years.)

The first time the City of Orlando held its “outsource” competition, Xerox Corp won that deal. Several years later, IKON successfully unseated Xerox. However, IKON got that deal (which was the 2^nd time the City held this procurement) because it offered pricing that was stupendously lower than all other proposers. (If I’m recalling this correctly, IKON’s pricing, in that deal, was at least 30% less than pricing offered by the next closest proposer.) I remember sending a letter to IKON’s CEO asking him “what were your people thinking!”

Anyway, “some” have said that only large equipment manufacturers can be successful in large government-sector deals. The fact that Seminole Office Solutions won the deal in 2010 should put a kibosh to that sort of thinking. (My belated congrats to Seminole Office Solutions, for I’m sure they had heavy completion from much larger companies. But, having said that, I hope they are making money on the deal. But, when one compares pricing, that’s not assured. If I’m recalling this correctly, our pricing to Hillsborough County, for copy/print services provided by the staffed Copy Center we operated inside the County Office Building, were $.027 for b/w and $.27 for color (8 ½ x 11, prices did not included paper, paper was an additional cost.) Compare that to the pricing that Seminole Office Solutions is getting under its agreement with the City of Orlando.

Happy homework!
Xante to soon release its Memjet-enabled, wide-format Excelegraphix 4200 ink-jet printer; blazing fast, here's some detailed information

January 25, 2012

This morning, I had the opportunity to speak on the phone with Mark Swanzy, COO of Xante, about Xante’s soon-to-be-released Excelagraphix 4200, memjet-enabled, wide-format, ink-jet printer.

I asked Mark a series of questions, and, below, you will see my questions (in black type) and my write-up (in blue type) based on his responses.

At the very end of this post, you will find “my comments” about the Excelagraphix 4200.

1) When will the Excelagraphix 4200 be released on the market (i.e, when will it be available for purchase and delivery)?

Sometime between April and June 2012.

2) What is the price of the Excelagraphix 4200?

Base unit with feeder and stacker, somewhere in the vicinity of $80,000 to $100,000 – but, since manufacturing costs have not yet been finalized, price of the unit has not yet been finalized.

Price of unit – as a base unit without feeder or stacker – projected to be somewhere around $70,000 to $75,000.

3) What is the operating cost (per square foot) projected to be for the operation of the Excelagraphix 4200 printer?

Memjet printheads and ink are the “consumables” required for the printer and are included in “operating cost”.

At 100% ink-coverage, cost of operation is projected to be $.32 per square foot.

Operating cost is projected to be directly proportionate to ink-coverage-area, so, at 50% ink-coverage, cost is projected to be $.16 per square foot, at 10% ink-coverage, cost is projected to be $.032 per square foot, and at 5% ink-coverage, cost is projected to be $.016 per square foot.

“Black & White only” print cost is projected to be the same as the print cost for “color” printing.

4) Will the Excelagraphix 4200 print only on cut-sheet media, or will the Excelagraphix 4200 print from roll-media?

The first release of the Excelagraphix 4200 will be a “cut-sheet” model. Planned accessories/options are expected to include a) a cut-sheet feeder and b) a cut-sheet stacker. (They also have plans to add a conveyor, at some point in the future.)

A roll-fed model is planned for approximately one year from the date that the initial cut-sheet model begins shipping.

5) Warranty period and what’s covered under the warranty?

Warranty has not yet been finalized, so, at this point in time, I don’t have any information about that to share with you.

6) Will a service contract be offered for the unit, and, if so, what will the cost of a service contract be?

Xante will be offering service contracts, but pricing has not yet been finalized.

7) Will Xante be offering software with/for the Excelagraphix 4200, and, if so, what will that software be?

Adobe Postscript 3 RIP with Xante iQueue Workflow software.

8) Will Xante be establishing a dealer-network for the Excelagraphix 4200?

Xante will be selling directly and through dealers to end-user customers in North America and through dealers and distributors outside of North America.

Xante has the right to sell/distribute worldwide.

9) Media / print substrate requirements?

Memjet print technology is a water-based, dye-ink imaging technology. What you print “on” needs to be receptive to that imaging technology.

The Excelagraphix 4200 printer will be capable of printing directly onto media / substrates up to ½” thick.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Excelagraphix 4200 wide-format printer from Xante

http://www.xante.com/product-information/excelagraphix-4200/

Mark Swanzy

Chief Operating Officer

XANTE CORPORATION

2800 Dauphin Street

Mobile, AL 36606

251-473-6502 Ext. 4202

251-473-2880 (Fax)

251-751-5016 (Cell)

mswanzy@xante.com

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Blog-author’s comments:

While I was disappointed to learn that the printer, when first released, will not have a roll-feed capability, it was interesting to hear that the printer will have some sort of “cut sheet feeder”. At this point, I don’t know whether that feeder will be automatic (and, if automatic, whether it will be a suction-feed or friction-feed media feeder (similar to what you find on folding units) or be an “operator-assisted” feed table. To obtain very high-productivity, especially considering the very-fast print-speed offered by the printer (up to 12” per second!), the printer is going to need enable fast media feed. But, even if it has a cut-sheet feeder, that’ll mean that reprographers who use this printer for printing A/E/C plans will need to stock different sizes of cut-sheets, which is something reprographers were able to do away with when roll-feed, automatic-cut-to-size printers came to market, years ago. If I was a reprographer, I’m not sure I’d be all that happy having to stock “rolls” AND “cut sheets” (unless, of course, the Excelagraphix 4200 was the only wide-format unit in my production center.)

Of interesting note, it does look like the Excelagraphix 4200 might an answer for reprographers who are looking to be able to offer A/E/C plan sets in color rather than in b/w and to be able to offer “color” sets at the same price they are now offering b/w sets. I don’t yet know the financial details of KIP’s soon-to-be-released c7200 high-volume, color, production unit, but I think it would be an interesting exercise to do a cost comparison (factoring in equipment cost, service cost, operating cost), OCE ColorWave 600 vs. KIP c7200 vs. Excelagraphix 4200.

When I asked Mark Swanzy about the Memjet-enabled wide-format ink-jet printer that a Hungarian equipment manufacturer (by the name of OWN-X) is working on, he did say that that company’s wide-format printer (called the Widestar 2000) will be roll-fed unit. He also said that he does not think OWN-X’s unit will be released until after the European trade-shown known as Drupa.

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Blackstreet Capital Severs Ties with AlphaGraphics CEO Kevin Cushing