Reprographics 101

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

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  • Xerox Leads Global Managed Print Services Market (but, David did defeat Goliath, so don't be intimidated by any competitor)

    Reprographers (and others who visit Reprographics 101 and who may have an interest in MPS), please note that, although very large companies (such as Xerox) have certain competitive advantages because of their size, scope, geographic reach and financial resources, it is not impossible for smaller competitors to successfully compete with very large companies for MPS business. I know that for fact, since, in my prior life, we (my former companies) did successfully compete head-to-head, on certain FM and MPS-like deals, with much larger companies (including Xerox, IKON and others.)

    So, reprographers don’t lose hope; don’t ever take the position that you can’t successfully compete. As for two examples: (a) we replaced Xerox as the “staffed” FM/MPS vendor for a very large engineering firm. Xerox had been inside that firm for around 8 years. Our advantages and relationships outweighed/overcame Xerox’s advantages and relationships, (b) we won, in a joint venture with Savin Corp, the staffed FM/county-wide MPS business from a major county, successfully defeating Xerox and other larger companies in the first completion and subsequently won a 2nd competition for that same deal, successfully defeating Xerox, Canon, etc. In an FDOT (department of transportation) staffed FM/MPS deal, we made the short list of four, and three of the four companies that were not short-listed were all much larger companies, including Xerox and OCE (and OCE had been the previous vendor.) So, based on my own experience, size, scope, geographic reach and financial resources don’t always swing deals in favor of very large companies; it is often “the best strategy” (and comprehensive solutions that are truly in the best interest of the customer and good relationships with the customer) that wins the day. Don’t be intimidated. David did defeat Goliath!

    Okay, having said all that, let me now say congratulations to Xerox for the number one MPS ranking it has achieved!

    Xerox Leads Global Managed Print Services Market

    Friday, December 09, 2011

    Press release from the issuing company

    Xerox Corporation remains the worldwide leader in managed print services (MPS), as businesses large and small enlist the company’s help to cut costs and reduce the time employees spend on print-related activities. 
 


    According to Gartner, Inc., the MPS market experienced double-digit growth in 2010. Xerox led the way, as more and more IT leaders discovered the benefits of better managing the way documents are printed, shared and updated. For example:



    Large organizations: British Airways, Cisco, Kelly Services, Cuyahoga Community College and University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are using Xerox Enterprise Print Services PDF file to make it easier and more cost-effective to print across multiple networked offices, in-house print centers and on the road. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, Xerox integrates MPS into the IT infrastructure to help businesses convert paper into digital, simplifying and speeding up workflows in ways that save time and money.



    Organizations with a smaller print infrastructure: The cities of Rochester, N.Y. and Riverside, Calif. and the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College are using Xerox Print Services to take control of print costs by applying the same tools and techniques used to save millions for large corporations. Xerox provides remote support for break-fix, supplies and procurement to manage their in-house printing and copying.
 


    Small and medium-sized businesses: Clients are working with Xerox partners around the world to better manage print devices from multiple vendors using Xerox Partner Print Services PDF file and PagePack® 3.0.



    Additionally, this week, Xerox was ranked by Gartner as the worldwide market share leader with 33 percent of MPS revenues in 2010. Gartner also positioned Xerox in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2011 Magic Quadrant for MPS Worldwide.
 


    “Xerox continues to lead the MPS market because of our ability to adapt to the needs of our customers,” said Stephen Cronin, president, Xerox Global Document Outsourcing. “We believe our position in the market is confirmed not only by analyst rankings but also through the return on investment and real business benefits our customers realize by taking a simpler and more effective approach to their document management.

  • PacBlue Printing announces the launch of its on-line digital print ordering site

    Blog author’s comments:

    Before I saw PacBlue’s Press Release, I don’t recall having come across this company before. PacBlue Printing operates in Vancouver, Canada. Quite a beautiful city; I attended a couple of conventions in Vancouver over the years. After perusing through PacBlue Printing’s web-site, it is evident that they are a very diversified, service oriented digital printing and reprographics company, serving the A/E/C Industry as well as many other industries.

    Here’s a bit about PacBlue Printing; then you’ll see the Press Release they issued about their new on-line ordering system. Thomas Repro (HQ’d in Dallas, TX) recently released its new, updated on-line ordering system, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to mention another company focused on making it easy-and-simple to place orders for reprographics and digital printing services.

    Here’s a bit of information about PacBlue Printing:

    PacBlue Printing (Head Office)

    380 West 2nd Avenue, 2nd Floor


    Vancouver, BC
Canada V5Y 1C8


    Phone: 604.714.3288

    PacBlue Printing offers business solutions for these types of companies, among others:

    · A/E/C Industry

    · Graphic Designers

    · Marketing Professionals

    · Real Estate Development

    · Retail and Hospitality

    · Museums & Galleries

    · Cultural & Sporting Events

    · Art & Photography

    · Manufacturing & Wholesale

    · Governments & Non-Profit

    PacBlue Printing offers these products and services, among others:

    · Marketing Materials

    · Lightjet Printing

    · Signs & Banners

    · Vinyl Graphics

    · Displays & Stands

    · Finishing & Bindery services

    · Scanning & Imaging

    · Large-format digital printing & copying

    · Small-format digital printing & copying

    · A/E/C reprographics services and ProjectFile™

    ProjectFile™

    Project Communication & Collaboration

    Why You Want ProjectFile.™

 The Goal: Make construction and development projects easier to complete and more profitable with less risk. You can try to do this without a ProjectFile communication and collaboration platform, but you should consider several things first.

    Good People Are Hard To Find.
 Staffing human resources is one of the more difficult issues facing construction and design-build firms when engaging in a project. ProjectFile augments your company staff by managing key tasks that could otherwise add several man-days, -weeks, or even -months, depending on the size and number of projects you’re working on. What’s more, ProjectFile is not subject to fatigue, distractions or lapses in judgment that occur more frequently with manual processes, saving you time and money.

    RECENT PRESS RELEASE From PacBlue Printing:

    PacBlue Printing Launches Online Digital Print Ordering Site

    Friday, December 09, 2011

    Press release from the issuing company

    PacBlue Printing, Vancouver’s premier small, large and grand format printing company announced today the launch of a new web-to print service for customers. The addition of this service broadens PacBlue’s online presence and product offering. The new online store, gives customers 24 hour access to an online website where they can personalize artwork templates, receive instant quotes, place print orders and pay by credit card. 
 


    “Customers demand for the new web-to-print service is high and we already have a number of large companies effectively utilizing our web-to-print solutions on a business-to-business basis. The implementation of the online ordering site has given us the opportunity to further enhance our service offering and business potential”, said Jonathan Colley, CEO/President at PacBlue. 
 


    The online ordering site was built with customer usability in mind. Instead of overwhelming users with long product descriptions or add-ons, the online store presents users with three basic options for placing their print orders: Best price, Upload your design and Design online.
 


    “Customers can now order 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and benefit from PacBlue’s online high quality, well-priced, digitally printed products”, said Mr. Colley. “We offer free product templates and other resources to help customers get the best results when ordering their prints online and now through the end of December we are giving a great coupon discount equalling the value of the HST.”
 


    This is just the beginning. As demand grows the PacBlue team will continuously add new features, products and services to keep the online order site current and provide 100% customer satisfaction.


  • Stadium Capital continues building its position in American Reprographics Co (ARC) shares (information updated for purchases through 12/7/2011)

    I’ve done several previous posts on Reprographics 101 about Stadium Capital continuing to build its position in ARC shares. Today is yet another “update post.”

    Since the last time I posted about Stadium Capital’s ownership (and purchases) of ARC shares, Stadium Capital has completed three additional purchases of ARC shares. Here’s the latest table reflecting Stadium Capital’s purchases of ARC shares from August 23, 2011 through December 7, 2011.

    Note that on December 5th , Stadium Capital purchased 143,472 shares, its largest individual-day purchase of ARC shares since August 25th.

    At the rate Stadium Capital is purchasing ARC shares, it might not be too long before Stadium Capital’s position in ARC shares is greater than Micro Device’s position in ARC shares. (Micro Device is owned by Mohan and Suri.)

    Transaction Date

    Purchase Price

    # of Shares Purchased

    # of shares owned, after purchase

    %age of O/S Stock Owned

    8/23/11

    $3.79

    30,600

    4,676,921

    10.12%

    8/24/11

    $3.88

    17,991

    4,694,912

    10.16%

    8/25/11

    $3.80

    244,000

    4,938,912

    10.69%

    9/2/11

    $3.54

    29,315

    4,968,227

    10.75%

    9/6/11

    $3.45

    1,833

    4,970,060

    10.75%

    9/8/11

    $3.57

    6,591

    4,976,651

    10.77%

    9/9/11

    $3.49

    11,641

    4,988,292

    10.79%

    9/12/11

    $3.54

    17,256

    5,005,548

    10.83%

    9/20/11

    $3.56

    13,737

    5,019,285

    10.86%

    9/21/11

    $3.50

    9,170

    5,028,455

    10.88%

    9/26/11

    $3.47

    5,500

    5,033,955

    10.89%

    9/28/11

    $3.33

    27,524

    5,061,479

    10.95%

    9/29/11

    $3.29

    22,203

    5,083,682

    11.00%

    9/30/11

    $3.35

    41,019

    5,124,701

    11.09%

    10/3/11

    $3.20

    18,348

    5,143,049

    11.13%

    10/17/11

    $3.64

    15,497

    5,158,546

    11.16%

    11/1/11

    $3.89

    2,201

    5,160,747

    11.17%

    11/9/11

    $4.29

    14,605

    5,175,352

    11.20%

    11/15/11

    $4.30

    804

    5,176,156

    11.20%

    11/16/11

    $4.34

    8,304

    5,184,460

    11.22%

    11/17/11

    $4.28

    5,225

    5,189,685

    11.23%

    11/23/11

    $3.99

    10,669

    5,200,354

    11.25%

    11/29/11

    $3.94

    2,517

    5,202,871

    11.26%

    12/5/11

    $4.29

    143,472

    5,346,343

    11.57%

    12/6/11

    $4.14

    1,718

    5,348,061

    11.57%

    12/7/11

    $4.25

    9,169

    5,357,230

    11.59%

    Stadium Capital had amassed 4,646,321 ARC shares prior to August 23rd, and I’m pretty sure that those earlier share purchases were completed when ARC’s stock price was substantially higher than it’s been of late.

  • Z Corporation to be Acquired by 3D Systems (Z Corp manufactures 3D printing systems)

    If you’re a reprographer and offer 3D printing services, are you earning a profit on your 3D printing services? When I asked several reprographer friends that question, four years ago, no one replied “yes.” Perhaps now it’s a profitable service?

    Z Corporation to be Acquired by 3D Systems

    Customers Gain Access to the Most Comprehensive Suite of 3D Content-to-Print Solutions; a Wide Community of Users and Partners; and Future Products Based on Combined Research & Development

    11/21/11

    BURLINGTON, Mass. – Z Corporation, the leader in multi-color inkjet 3D printing, today announced that it will be acquired by 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD), becoming the first company capable of delivering an integrated platform of mixed 3D printing technologies, 3D content, and 3D design services. The news is part of a wider announcement today in which the Contex Group, a subsidiary of Ratos AB, announced that it had signed an agreement to sell its subsidiaries, Z Corporation and VIDAR Systems, to 3D Systems Corporation for USD 137m in cash. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

    3D Systems Press Release

    Z Corporation Open Message to our Customers and Partners

    “Our vision is to help designers create more ideas, more communication, and more innovation; and joining 3D Systems enables to us deliver on that promise even faster,” said Z Corporation CEO John Kawola. “We intend to make multi-color 3D printing accessible to far more designers, provide a more complete customer experience, rapidly advance new applications, and build the foundation for a new generation of Z Corporation innovations.”

    “This decisive step will unleash the growth and value creation potential that this opportunity presents to our expanding base of customers, employees and shareholders,” commented Abe Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. “This is a strategic fit for both businesses that will expand our capabilities in product development, channel coverage, manufacturing and marketing. We share Z Corporation’s commitment to its customers and partners, and look forward to building the 3D content-to-print platform of the future.”

    Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that include terms such as “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “estimates,” “intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include comments as to the company’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors,” and “Risk Factors” in the company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements.

    About 3D Systems Corporation
3D Systems is a leading provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and on-demand custom parts services for professionals and consumers alike. The company also provides creative content development, design productivity tools and curation services and downloads. Its expertly integrated solutions replace, displace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing new products by printing real parts directly from digital input. These solutions are used to rapidly design, communicate, prototype and produce functional parts, empowering its customers to create with confidence.

    More information on the company is available at www.3DSystems.com.

    To experience our entire range of 3D content-to-print products and services please visit www.printin3D.com, www.production3dprinters.com, www.toptobottomdental.com, www.quickparts.com, www.3Dproparts.com, www.alibre.com, www.bitsfrombytes.com, www.botmill.com, www.The3dStudio.com, www.freedomofcreation.com, www.sycode.com, blog.3dsystems.com, or via email at moreinfo@3Dsystems.com.

    About Z Corporation
Z Corporation enables design professionals to create more. More ideas. More communication. More innovation. Wherever innovators use technology to develop ideas, we stretch the boundaries of what is possible. Product design. Architecture. Education. Even the leading edge of entertainment, health care, and retail mass customization. Z Corporation provides 3D printing technologies used to create new products and services more effectively than any other means. We serve the world’s most productive designers and engineers, and are committed to making our solutions the fastest, easiest, most accessible, and most valuable. Z Corporation. Create more. www.zcorp.com.

  • WRIT and Trammel Crow to develop high-rise apartment in Alexandria VA

    DISCLOSURE: I own stock in Washington Real Estate Investment Trust. Fine, old-line, conservative company with a very nice dividend yield.

    ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov 30, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has entered into a joint venture with Trammell Crow Company to develop a 15-story, 270 unit high-rise apartment community in Alexandria, Virginia.

    The joint venture recently purchased the proposed development site, a one-acre parcel located at the northwest quadrant of the intersection of First and Fayette Streets in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. The project is within walking distance of the Braddock Road Metro Station and is in close proximity to Braddock Metro Center, the 345,000 square foot office campus purchased by WRIT in September 2011.

    The total cost of the project is estimated to be $95.0 million, with a projected stabilized return on cost between 7.0-8.0%. WRIT is the equity partner and will contribute 95% of the required equity, and Trammell Crow will be sponsor/developer and will contribute 5% of the required equity. Construction is expected to commence in fourth quarter 2012 and will take approximately 24 months to complete. Stabilization is estimated by first quarter 2016.

    “This development presents an excellent opportunity to expand our apartment portfolio in a growing submarket. The Braddock Metro Neighborhood Plan is bringing renewed focus to the area, with several blocks of new apartment, townhouse, condominium, office and retail development underway with additional development planned in the coming years. Our project will be marketed to young professionals wishing to reside in a mixed-use, transit oriented environment with a strong amenity base. Combined with our previously announced 160-unit 650 North Glebe development in Ballston, our apartment development pipeline will add 430 Class A units to our portfolio, allowing us to take advantage of the high demand and low vacancy forecasted over the next several years,” said George F. “Skip” McKenzie, President and Chief Executive Officer.

    WRIT is a self-administered, self-managed, equity real estate investment trust investing in income-producing properties in the greater Washington metro region. WRIT owns a diversified portfolio of 71 properties totaling approximately 9 million square feet of commercial space and 2,540 residential units, and land held for development. These 71 properties consist of 26 office properties, 18 medical office properties, 16 retail centers and 11 multifamily properties. WRIT shares are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and its trading symbol is WRE.

  • Fedex Office awarded reprographics contract by Boeing, but American Reprographics Co (ARC) is not totally out of the picture

    Boeing Corp recently decided to enter into a contract with Fedex Office (most reprographers, I think, still refer to Fedex Office as Kinkos) to provide reprographics and graphic imaging services to Boeing, replacing American Reprographics Co (ARC) for the service that ARC has been providing to Boeing for the last several years*. Overall, not good news for ARC. Overall, good news for Fedex Office. But, be sure to read the last paragraph of this post, because ARC, apparently, is not totally out of the picture.

    (* OCE had the Boeing deal before ARC took it over a few years ago.)

    According to a knowledgeable source, ARC achieved a 99.8% satisfaction rate for the services it provided to Boeing, but, in spite of that, ARC lost the deal to Fedex Office. With that high of a satisfaction rate, why’d ARC lose this deal to Fedex Office? Was it price? Probably not. Was it service? Doesn’t appear to have been for that reason. Was the loss due to a strategic relationship? I think so.

    As we are all aware, Fedex Corp is a major transportation company; Fedex owns or leases a significant number of aircraft. While Fedex’s aircraft fleet does include Airbus aircraft, Fedex’s fleet also includes Boeing aircraft.

    If I was the guy running Fedex Office’s business and wanted my company to take over the reprographics services relationship that ARC has with Boeing, I know what I would say to my boss at Fedex, and what I would want my CEO to say to Boeing’s CEO. In just about any business where a prospective vendor (in this case, Fedex Office) is also a significant customer (in this case, of Boeing’s), that relationship, the “customer-vendor” relationship (in this case, the Fedex-Boeing relationship) certainly carries with it the power to influence who’s going to get a deal – – and, of course, the “deal” I’m referring to is the Boeing reprographics deal.

    My guess is that Boeing is the type of company that requires large-format and small-format imaging services, with quite a bit of the large-format imaging services generated by Boeing’s production of technical (design/engineering) documents. ARC and other reprographers have a great deal of experience with, not to mention extensive technology (software) designed to handle, file conversion, file management, document management, technical document collaboration, reprographics, job-submission, quality control, and job-cost-center tracking and reporting. The “big question” in my mind, does Fedex Office have the reprographics know-how and the technology know-how (and software) and the business-process know-how to do as good a job, as comprehensive a job, for Boeing that ARC has been providing to Boeing? Only time will tell. Second “big question”; while Fedex Office learns what it needs to know to successfully service Boeing’s reprographics and document management requirements, will ARC stay in place for a period of time, even after Fedex Office begins its implementation? It looks like that will be the case, for, according to a knowledgeable source, ARC’s nationwide contract with Boeing has been extended for at least two months and, for one critical Boeing facility, has been extended for a year! So as to ARC, it wasn’t all bad news. One thing’s for sure, even with the relationship advantage that Fedex Office evidently had on this deal, Fedex Office, in my opinion, better get crackin’ on all that it needs to know to fully and comprehensively deal with Boeing’s document management and reprographics requirements. For, who knows what could happen, down the road, if that does not happen.

  • It’s that time of year. Happy Holidays!

    Best wishes for a very merry whatever-it-is that you celebrate.

    My way of saying, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanza, Peaceful Ramadan, and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year to all.

    2012 is the “year of the dragon” (Chinese Lunar New Year). As to the reprographics industry, I hope that dragon is ready to rock, roll, roar and ring in an outstanding year for all.

    Seasons Greetings!

    Joel

  • Wisconsin Dept of Transportation Purchasing Agent gives his all to the matter of purchasing a wide-format imaging system

    Purchasing agent at Wisconsin Department of Transportation is giving Wisconsin’s taxpayers his all!!! Perhaps the third time (for detailed specifications required) will be a charm?

    Note: this is an active bid procurement. If you want to access the bid documents, you will need to go to the purchasing department’s web-site.

    REQUEST FOR BID (RFB)

    FOR

    PLOTTER PRINTER WITH ON BOARD SCANNER INCLUDING

    INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE

    RFB # 269000

    Issued by:

    STATE OF WISCONSIN

    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

    Division of Business Management (DBM)

    Bureau of Information Technology Services (BITS)

    Bids must be submitted

    No later than 2:00 PM CST

    December 6, 2011

    (bid submission has been extended to mid-December)

    METHOD OF AWARD

    Award(s) shall be made on the basis of the lowest total cost from a responsive, responsible bidder who meets specifications based on the following formula:

    Machine Cost

    Cost x 1

    Monthly Maintenance Base Cost

    Cost x 36 months

    Monthly Maintenance Usage per square foot.

    Cost x 10,000 sq ft per month x 36 months

    Monthly Maintenance Consumables per square foot.

    Cost x 10,000 sq ft per month x 36 months

    The sum of these four components will be used to determine total cost. These components are marked on Attachment D.

    When the bid document was initially released, here’s what the detailed “specifications” were …..

    SPECIFICATIONS

    The following specifications are minimum acceptable requirements. The bidder may offer an alternate product believed to be an equal. Any alternate product(s) bid must be clearly identified by manufacturer and catalog, model or stock number. Adequate detailed specifications of the product offered must be included with your bid to establish equivalency and to ensure that the product being bid meets all specifications. Failure to provide product specifications and information may disqualify your bid. WisDOT shall be the sole judge of equivalency and acceptability. Any attachments, documents, price lists, etc. to support your bid, must include the bid number.

    Bid specifications may not be revised without an official written addendum issued by Purchasing.

    The new device must meet the following SPECIFICATIONS:

    · Must be available as an inkjet printer, inkjet copier/printer with on-board scanner, or multi-function with a wide format scanning system.

    · Print 10 D size sheets per minute.

    · Printer must print paper up to 3 mm thick.

    · Media loading and cutting must be fully automatic.

    · Print tray must be positioned at the waist level.

    · Maximum plot length must be at least 45 feet.

    · Must have a 4 roll cut sheet tray configuration

    · Must have an integrated wide format 24 bit color scanner with output tray.

    · Must support image quality of 600 x 600 dpi or greater for printing and scanning.

    · Must have at least a 15” color LCD monitor with integrated print server\controller attached to the device for walk up service.

    · The user interface must be clear and intuitive.

    · Must support PostScript for easy drag and drop printing of PDF, DWF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, and DGN files.

    · Must have the ability to scan documents and store them within an FTP directory or print them to a remote printer.

    · Must have the ability to scan multi-page PDF’s and TIFF’s.

    · Device provider must have support and maintenance service available with device. Quote annual maintenance to include, but not limited to, parts and labor. Service to be performed by a certified technician.

    Later on, the detailed specification were changed, by Amendment, to these:

    · Must be available as an inkjet printer, inkjet copier/printer with on-board scanner, or multi-function with a wide format scanning system.

    · Print a minimum of 500 sq ft per hour in color.

    · Printer must print paper up to 3 mm thick.

    · Media loading and cutting must be fully automatic.

    · Maximum plot length must be at least 45 feet.

    · Must have a 2 roll cut sheet tray configuration with front eject.

    · Must have an integrated wide format 24 bit color scanner with output tray.

    · Must support image quality of 600 x 600 dpi or greater for printing and scanning.

    · Must have at least a 15” color LCD monitor with integrated print server\controller attached to the device for walk up service.

    · Must have touch screen interface.

    · Must support PostScript for easy drag and drop printing of PDF, DWF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, and DGN files.

    · Must have the ability to scan documents and store them to the network.

    · Must have the ability to scan multi-page PDF’s and TIFF’s.

    · Device provider must have support and maintenance service available with device. Quote annual maintenance to include, but not limited to, parts and labor. Service to be performed by a certified technician.

    And then came the questions (and Wisdot’s answers):

    The following questions were received:

    1. The Specification under Item # 11 – 2nd Bullet point suggests that the Printer must Print 10D size Sheets per minute. That is 360 sq ft per minute. I know new technology comes out every day… but unless I missed something, the fastest Toner-base plotter in a Mid-Volume Reprographer can only print out 9-10 D’s per minute today. I know of no Inkjet device that could possibly print this quickly.

    AND


    1. Both the T1200 and T2300 inkjet systems are only capable of producing 1.7 D’s per minute in the fastest B/W mono check print mode. So unless, you are looking for a bid to secure a roll fed web printer (?)… I think this speed is not possible to attain?

    AND


    1. I notice in your bid specs that you require an “inkjet” printer, it must be able to print 10 “D” size per minute and have 4 rolls.

    AND

    1. To my knowledge, such a machine does not exist at 10 “D” per minute in color.

    AND

    5. Drag and drop printing for DGN files? This capability is not supported with any large format inkjet.

    Answer: This specification was changed with Amendment 1 dated November 23rd, 2011. See the updated specifications below

    6. Multi-page PDFs and TIFFs. The scanner on the HP T2300 does not support this yet. Does the bid require a single source brand like HP or Canon, or should we combine an HP or Canon Plotter with Contex scanner?

    Answer: This specification has been eliminated. DOT is looking for a single source brand.

    7. Need to know the media size , postscript, Operating System , connections.

    Answer: See the specifications below and review the bid document.

    And, here are the latest detailed specifications that came with the 2nd Amendment:

    Updated specification:

    SPECIFICATIONS

    The following specifications are minimum acceptable requirements. The bidder may offer an alternate product believed to be an equal. Any alternate product(s) bid must be clearly identified by manufacturer and catalog, model or stock number. Adequate detailed specifications of the product offered must be included with your bid to establish equivalency and to ensure that the product being bid meets all specifications. Failure to provide product specifications and information may disqualify your bid. WisDOT shall be the sole judge of equivalency and acceptability. Any attachments, documents, price lists, etc. to support your bid, must include the bid number.

    Bid specifications may not be revised without an official written addendum issued by Purchasing.

    The new device must meet the following SPECIFICATIONS:

    · Must be available as an inkjet printer, inkjet copier/printer with on-board scanner, or multi-function with a wide format scanning system.

    · Print a minimum of 500 square feet per hour in color.

    · Printer must print paper up to 3 mm thick.

    · Media loading and cutting must be fully automatic.

    · Maximum plot length must be at least 45 feet.

    · Must have a 2 roll cut sheet tray configuration with front eject.

    · Must have an integrated wide format 24 bit color scanner with output tray.

    · Must support image quality of 600 x 600 dpi or greater for printing and scanning.

    · Must have a touch screen interface

    · Must support PostScript for easy drag and drop printing of PDF, DWF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, and DGN files.

    · Must have the ability to scan documents and store them to the network

    · Must have the ability to scan multi-page PDF’s and TIFF’s.

    · Device provider must have support and maintenance service available with device. Quote annual maintenance to include, but not limited to, parts and labor. Service to be performed by a certified technician.

    · Support must be available within 24 hours of initial contact to support vendor.

    Time is money! It is not uncommon for purchasing agents who have no particular expertise with wide-format imaging systems to stumble and fumble when calling out detailed specifications for the systems their agencies want to purchase. Perhaps it would have proved easier for the purchasing agent to call to a meeting various equipment vendors, knowledgeable about wide-format imaging systems, so that the detailed specifications could be arrived at up-front? Some of the specifications in the originally issued list were kind of amusing!

  • Construction Employment Declines by 12,000 in November as Industry’s Unemployment Rate Hits 13.1 Percent

    Article found on AGC’s web-site …..

    December 02, 2011

    Construction employment shrank for the second straight month in November as residential, nonresidential building and heavy construction segments remained in low gear, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released today by AGC. Association officials said the employment drop reflects continued declines in public sector investments. They added that construction employment could benefit from increased transportation investments and other pro-growth measures designed to boost private sector demand.

    “Industry employment has remained virtually unchanged since early 2010 despite a pickup in some private construction,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “Although the construction unemployment rate fell to 13.1 percent in November from 18.8 percent a year earlier, the lack of industry job growth means former construction workers are finding work elsewhere or leaving the workforce altogether. That’s ominous for future construction hiring.”

    To read the full press release, click here.

  • Managed Print Services for the Small Enterprise – an excellent explanation of the MPS business

    One way to learn the MPS business is to study the promotional pieces that other companies, those who are already offering MPS programs, create to explain MPS to their customers and prospects.

    Here’s the beginning of a promotional piece that American Reprographics Co (ARC) put together (see blue type below and there’s a link to the complete piece at the end of this post.)

    You’ll note that this promotional piece appears on the letterhead of ABACUS PCR, which is the technology (software) that ARC’s technology development team created for tracking output, so that ARC would not be reliant on tracking software created by SepiaLine, Technesis, Control Systems or others.

    I just finished reading the entire promotional piece, and it is very, very well written. Great explanation of the MPS business.

    Managed Print Services for the Small Enterprise

    The past 18 months has brought many headlines about architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) companies across the country scrambling to find ways to cope with a steeply declining marketplace.

    One way companies cope is drastic cost reduction, as any unnecessary expenses are cut away. One overlooked expense for most companies is the real cost of printing. Yes, printing. Print costs can be significant, especially in industries like construction. A common strategy popular the last few years for reducing overall print costs has been to initiate a Managed Print Services (MPS) agreement with a trusted vendor.

    These programs have been quietly effective at reducing the print costs of large corporations. And now these same strategies are being utilized by medium and small enterprises.

    So while these benefits are significant and easy to measure for multi-national corporations, for smaller companies it’s difficult to predict the savings. Most architectural firms, for example, employ fewer than 10 people. A company with 5 employees, or even to one with 100 employees, won’t see such significant return on investment in an MPS strategy.

    So, how does a small or medium size company reap the benefits from more closely managing their print services?

    This paper explores the basic concepts of MPS and looks at how they can be applied in a smaller organization in a cost-effective way.

    You can read the complete promotional piece at this Internet address:

    http://tinyurl.com/74g9sb5