Reprographics 101

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

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  • State of Louisiana RFP Procurement for Staffed Copy Center Services for Southeastern Louisiana University

    STATE OF LOUISIANA

    SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA UNIVERSITY

    REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

    MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR THE UNIVERSITY DOCUMENT / MAIL PRODUCTION CENTER

    RFP #: 50015-111214

    PROPOSAL DUE DATE/TIME: DEC 14, 2011 @ 2:00 PM CT

    This RFP stated that the pre-proposal meeting was mandatory. So, if you did not attend the mandatory pre-proposal meeting, it looks like, at this point, that you are not allowed to participate in this RFP, even though the due-date for submission of proposals is December 14th. (However, having just said that, I, myself, have gotten that requirement waived for at least two past RFP opportunities I found after the pre-proposal meetings had already taken place. Persistence sometimes pays off.)

    Here’s a link to the RFP document I’ve placed in my Google Docs library:

    http://tinyurl.com/ceadffy

  • Article implying that the Housing Market has hit bottom

    I found this article on this web-site: http://www.dailyfinance.com

    One Sign That the Housing Market Has Hit Bottom

    By RICK ARISTOTLE MUNARRIZ, THE MOTLEY FOOL

    Posted 9:00AM 11/28/11

    If you think that it has been a rough few years to own a home, imagine what it’s like to be in the business of building new ones. Real estate developers need to buy available land, build attractive housing, and then compete against vacant homes and foreclosures while still selling their properties at a profit.

    Well, in a small yet encouraging sign, luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) is entering the Seattle market by acquiring privately held homebuilder CamWest Development.

    Residential developers snapping up smaller builders will be a common occurrence from now on. There will be a shakeout, and weaker companies — after years of losses — will surrender to stronger rivals. This is sector consolidation, and it’s perfectly natural after a prolonged downturn.

    Toll hasn’t been immune to the malaise. It posted huge losses in fiscal 2008 and 2009. It reported a small deficit in 2010, though it was actually a long overdue profit from continuing operations. However, Toll has one of the better balance sheets in the business. Its CEO is also highly quotable as a housing industry visionary. If Toll’s buying now, instead of waiting for lower prices down the road, it’s a good sign that the Pennsylvania-based developer sees the market bottoming out here.

    CamWest is small, but it fits right into Toll’s sweet spot of high-end residential properties. CamWest doesn’t sell cheap houses. Prices start in the mid $300,000s, with some McMansions fetching over $1 million. CamWest expects to deliver 180 homes in the Seattle area this year, generating $90 million in revenue. In other words, the average CamWest property this year is selling for a healthy $500,000.

    Toll wouldn’t buy a developer toiling at the low end of the market, so the high prices shouldn’t give the market sticker shock. 

However, it clearly sees things picking up on the high end to make this gutsy and opportunistic purchase.



    Creaky Foundations



    We’re not out of the woods yet.

    The National Association of Realtors reported that a whopping one-third of all existing home sales fell through last month. Contract failures were at a more reasonable 8% rate a year earlier. Whether it’s buyers getting cold feet or stingy lenders shaking their heads, there aren’t too many buyers closing on deals despite homes fetching their lowest prices in years.

    If this is what the market is doing at a time when mortgage rates are also near historic lows, what will happen to home prices once rates inch higher, making properties even less affordable for potential borrowers.

    The challenge for developers is to build quality homes at a time when real estate prices are falling at a faster rate than the costs required to construct new digs. It’s easy to see why so many homebuilders are calling it quits or looking to be bought out. Toll — like any smart home buyer these days — can afford to be picky.

    However, seeing Toll dive headfirst into a new market for the company is encouraging. It may be seeing the turnaround that no else is seeing right now.

    Longtime Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any stocks in this article.

    Okay, here’s a couple of the comments that were posted in response to the article:

    doug

    This article is all wishful thinking. For the 99% of us who don’t have the income to buy a high end home, we see no benefit to us, as usual. I don’t base my opinions on what a few wealthy can afford, but what I see in my middle clas neighborhood. Homes don’t sell. Those that do sell for far less than they did just two years ago, meaning that we can’t afford to relocated to where there might be a few more jobs, all at less pay then we earned before. Building lower cost homes is not helping us, in fact, it devalues our homes more, but long term, this will be necessary. The only way to have the housing market improve is to have jobs that pay enough that people can afford to buy homes. If 1% of Americans can afford homes, then we won’t have a recovery for the rest of us. You can argue all you want about tax cuts for the wealthy, but our economy is built on spending by the masses, and without money, the masses can’t spend. The banks, whom we all paid to bail out, won’t lend to us, and so, we won’t see a recovery led by the housing markets. THis article was a waste of time and shameless promotion of something we really don’t need now.

    angalmarketing2

    What a ridiculous, spin article; didn’t appear to be of any help to middle class buyers but really helps those wealthy buyers. Pitiful article.

  • Anoka County, MN uses Franz Reprographics’ PlanCommand application to host documents pertaining to County BID and RFP procurements

    You can see this at this Internet address:

    http://www.anokacounty.us/v1_departments/div-finance-cent-serv/dept-fmcs/purchasing/current-solicitations.asp

  • More on Memjet (Memjet recognized by Popular Science Magazine)

    Memjet Honored with Recognition from Popular Science

    Date: November 17, 2011

    From the web-site of castleink.com, BY ADAM HAIGH, Editor

    New York, NY –- San Diego-based industry disruptor Memjet has received new recognition for their first class color printing technology. Widely respected magazine, Popular Science has named Memjet as the “Best of What’s New” for 2011 in the Computing category. Every year to pick their winners, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products and narrow it down to 100 tech innovations of the year. The article is in the December 2011 issue of the magazine, currently available on newsstands everywhere.

    The last twelve months have shown Memjet to be a huge factor in the color printing industry. CEO Len Lauer said in regards to the award,

    “We’re honored and privileged to cap off what has been an impressive year for Memjet with this recognition from Popular Science, an industry leader in science and technology reporting. Having the opportunity to work these past months with some of the world’s leading brands including LG, Lenovo and our other solutions partners, we look forward to 2012 and our continued strong growth in the printing industry by offering disruptive technologies to fuel a new category of fast, affordable color printing powered by Memjet.”

    It is important to note, as we have said before, that Memjet does not brand it’s own printers, but instead they work with partners to develop the units. The color office printer which received the recognition impressed the evaluators far exceeds the printing speeds of anything else on the market as well as improves the overall cost efficiency of having an inkjet printer for a business. The one-page per second speed that Memjet has reached is four times the rate of the average laser model, and with unsurpassed print quality. Inkjet models even in their fast draft mode do not come close to the speed of Memjet-powered printers, much less the quality.

    The 8.77” fixed print head spans the entire width of a sheet of A4 (letter) sized piece of paper. It’s 70,400 nozzles are equivalent to 17 times more than is found in standard inkjet printheads. These 70K plus nozzles deliver an astonishing 774 million dot of ink per second to a sheet of paper. In addition to being faster than any other print out there on the market, Memjet is also more energy efficient than their competitors in both the inkjet and laser segments. Memjet technologies are protected by over 3,000 patents and have 2,000 more patents pending.

    Memjet Office Printer in High Demand (small-format printer)

    From the web-site of castleink.com, BY ADAM HAIGH, Editor

    Date: September 22, 2011

    New York, NY –- According to a recent news article a German company, Compatech GmbH, is the latest to become a distributor for Memjet’s technology in the European market.

    As we have mentioned before, the printers are not Memjet printers, but Memjet-powered printers. Companies, in this case, Lomond, which is based in the United Kingdom, have agreed to a deal with Memjet for their technology, but the purchasing company puts their name and brand on the printer. In fact, Lomond will be the brand on all such printers for the entire EU market. In addition to distributing the EvoJet printers, as they are called, themselves, Lomond’s printers are also being distributed by Austrian company TEKAEF.

    One of the other important facts with Memjet printers and ink that means a lot of remanufacturers is the ability to easily refill them. There is no need to worry about proprietary cartridge technology or anything else that prevents these printers from going about their business and continuing to improve the efficiency of offices. While it did take some time for the technology to fully come to market, the wait has definitely been worth it.

    The new printers will be unveiled by Compatech at their Refiller Discussion and Compatech Marketplace due to begin on the 8th of October, 2011.

  • The Managed Print Services (MPS) business isn't Rocket Science

    There’s been so much talk about “Managed Print Services” (MPS) over the past couple of years, I decided that I’d take a few minutes to share with you my thoughts about the “MPS Business”, for whatever that’s worth (probably, not much, but, whatever….)

    The first think that I’d like to say about the MPS business is that, although some would like you to think that the MPS business is like rocket science (in other words, that you have to be a genius to be in, or do well in, that business), it definitely “ain’t” rocket science. From my perspective, having been heavily involved in the “FM” (OnSite services) business during both of my previous careers in the reprographics business and having done pre-sales analysis, proposals, sales and implementations of staffed FM’s and unstaffed FM’s, the MPS business, which is not much different from the FM business (if, in fact, there’s much of a difference at all), is certainly not rocket science. Any reprographer can get involved in the MPS business (or the FM) business. It’s not all that difficult! Brings to mind the old saying, “making a mountain out of a molehill.”

    Every day (except when closed for Holidays and weekends), reprographers operate their stores and production facilities; those stores and production facilities are filled with computers and reprographics equipment; the equipment requires maintenance, the equipment requires consumables, rules are established for which jobs should be done on this and that. Using work-orders, output is tracked by order. So, in essence, how is operating a reprographics facility any different than operating an MPS business at a customer-site? It’s not all that different. Frankly, the reprographics business is a lot more complicated than the MPS business.

    I’ve always viewed “sales” in the reprographics business as a “consultative” sales process, rather than a hard-sell process, the latter being typical for selling copiers (at least it was, years ago) or for selling cars. My brother, who is in the car business, will tell you that the key to selling a car is to get the customer to fall in love with the vehicle. Once that’s done, the sales job comes down to price (at least it does for most customers.) In the reprographics business, it is very important to determine the scope of services each specific customer will benefit from having, and, of course, it is important to be knowledgeable about the customer’s business, work-process, work-flow and how that customer interfaces with other project participants who are working at other firms. And, it is important to be knowledgeable about reprographics equipment options, document management software and processes, and I.T. issues that relate to that (there are other things I’m forgetting to say as I write this post, but I trust you get the drift). When you – the sales representative – and your company have that base of knowledge and are committed to doing “the right think” for your customer, you are in a position to be a “consultative” salesperson. When you think about that, have not reprographers been doing “consultative” sales for years and years, well before anyone coined the terms “FM” or “MPS”?

    What prompted me to write the above paragraph was that I recently came across an article on the web-site of the Photizo Group (this article also appears on the web-site of the author who wrote the article, I’ll give you a link later on), and the title of this article is “Throwing out the ABC’s for a New Generation of Sales Reps”. After reading that article, I found myself thinking, “what, this guy must have come from the copier sales/leasing business?; evidently, he did not have, like I had, the good fortune of working with reprographics sales reps who know that consultative selling (which is my spin on how he characterized what’s necessary to sell MPS) is necessary if you’re truly going to build trust and target solutions that are highly beneficial to the customer. To me, the greatest compliment an FM/MPS customer can pay you is to say, after an FM/MPS service has been implemented, “thank you for bringing this business model to our attention and for working with us to develop an excellent solution for our needs. It’s great – we should have done this years ago.” We received compliments like that, as far back as 1984! I’m sure that most reprographers who’ve gotten involved in MPS/FM’s have heard that as well. So, reprographers, trust that you and your sales reps probably know more about “consultative” selling than most of the players in the MPS business who evolved from copier sales.

    About the article I mentioned above, this next paragraph is the Photizo Group’s lead-in to that article…..

    Throwing Out the ABCs for a New Generation of Sales Reps

    “A pioneer in the MPS industry, Brian Stevenson, former president of LaserNetwork and president of footPRINT Managed Services, discusses the lessons he learned while building one of the largest independent MPS providers, as well as what a successful MPS sales rep is really about. Read this article and more at MPS Insights Pro.”

    You can also find that same article on Brian’s company’s web-site; http://footprintmps.com/

    I don’t know anything about Brian’s background, except what was said by the paragraph on the Photizo Group’s web-site. Presently, he is the President of “footPRINT Managed Services” and was formerly the President of LaserNetwork. Both of those companies are in the MPS business, in one way shape or form. Did he sell LaserNetorks and then, sometime later on, start up a new business? Apparently, Brian’s new company, footPRINT, offers consulting services – to companies who want to be in the MPS business and to prospective MPS customers who want to go with the MPS business model, but who aren’t exactly sure how to go about it, or what it’s all about.

    Anyway, after I visited footPRINT’s web-site, I then proceeded to the web-site of Brian’s previous company:

    http://www.lasernetworks.com/

    I was very amused when I read this particular paragraph on LaserNetwork’s web-site:

    The COST PER PAGE® program, pioneered in 1996, includes on-site support of all printing and imaging devices and networks, management of all printer and imaging fleet assets, and provisioning of all printing supplies, everything except paper and power, for a pre-determined, fixed cost per page fee.

    Pioneered what?! Heck, as far back as 1984, our first company, Rowley-Scher Reprographics, was offering a “staffed FM” service for customers where “all costs” (equipment, equipment maintenance, consumables AND labor AND PAPER) were included in set, firm prices “per print” (for small-format output) and “per sq. ft.” (for large-format output), and we were providing “cost by project information” (or cost by department) information as well. 1984, more than a decade before LaserNetwork “pioneered” its COST PER PAGE® program. And, Rowley-Scher was certainly not the first reprographer to offer a “per print, per sq ft”. National Reprographics (NRI) in NYC and The Louis Frey Co in NYC were both doing that, years before Rowley-Scher started doing that, and there were several other reprographers doing that in other areas of the U.S.

    Okay, I gotta end this post, and I’m going to end it by saying that, if you are a reprographer and are not in the FM or MPS business (or whatever you want to call it), then you are missing out on a very profitable piece of the pie, and your customers are “up for grab.” As I said, it “ain’t” rocket science. All you’ve got to do is “just do it.”

    One last comment: at the recent ERA convention, a reprographer, who is not in the FM/MPS business, asked me how you come up with a cost-per-print – and a selling-price-per-print – for an FM/MPS program. He said, “I know I’ve got to consider equipment costs and maintenance costs and supply costs, but there’s no way to know the volume of output that’s actually going to be done.” Reprographers, think about that question. Then, think about your reprographics business, your store, your production center. If you cannot figure out how to come up with a cost per print and a selling price per print for an MPS/FM program, then how in the world did you determine what your list and low prices would be for the services you offer out of your store / production center?

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING!. My daughter and son-in-law are both chefs. This afternoon, we’re going to have an incredible, multi-course, gourmet Thanksgiving dinner. Not at my house, but at another relative’s house. My only “hope” is that I don’t have to clean up!; if you have any chefs in your family, you know what I’m talking about.

  • Photizo Group Releases …. Managed Print Services by the Numbers

    Just to get your interest level up ….. at the top of the “Numbers” page, Photizo shares this projection…..

    $78 Billion – Global MPS market revenue in 2015 as predicted by Photizo’s MPS Market Forecast

    Okay, now click on this link, enter your information and you’ll be able to access the two pages that contain numbers.

    http://marketing.photizogroup.com/acton/form/1167/0032:d-0001/0/index.htm

    __________________________

    Joel’s comment:

    Where are these numbers coming from? I have a feeling that these numbers are being pulled right out of …..

  • ARC Executives to Attend Oppenheimer’s Business Services 1-on-1 Conference

    In a press release issued on November 22nd, ARC indicated that its Chief Operating Officer, Dilo Wijesuriya, and Chief Financial Officer, John E.D. Toth, will be attending the above referenced conference on December 7th, 2011, at Oppenheimer’s Headquarters, located at 300 Madison Avenue, New York City.

    This is Oppenheimer’s 4th Annual Business Services 1-on-1 Conference.

    ARC did not indicate in its press release that Suri would be attending this particular conference, so perhaps this will be the first time for Dilo to take the lead on conference of this sort.

    To Dilo, good luck, have fun!

  • Service Point talks about its growing photobook business, Vistaprint pays a lot of money to acquire Albumprinter

    Press Release from the issuing company….

    Service Point Germany reaches the third position in Europe in the growing market of digital photobooks

    Service Point Germany jumps from 6th to 3rd biggest European producer of photobooks

    Photobook demand increased by 24% in 2010 with similar growth expected in 2011

    Highly reliable, robust and safe production processes is key to Service Point success

    Barcelona, 23 November 2011 – According to research published by Futuresource this month, Service Point jumps from sixth to third largest digital photobook producer in Europe. Service Point has developed a unique market offer, with emphasis on high quality gloss photos, wide range of sizes and a state-of-the-art production facility.

    The market has shown excellent growth in the recent years. Four percent of all Europeans bought a photobook in 2010, an increase of 24% of the demand, a growth rate which is anticipated to continue throughout 2011. The projections foresee that over 20 million are expected to be sold in 2011 in Europe.

    In this attractive market, Service Point has managed to achieve an important position thanks identifying the opportunity three years ago and setting up the most modern photobook factory in Europe. Not only was it considered producing photobooks that were popular with end customers, but also securing the ISO 9001 certificate, which guarantees its business customers the reliability and robustness that they need to take their photobooks to market.

    “Our quality finishes and variety of formats is accelerating our growth because customers are demanding new and better quality products; within our offer of online services this is a successful key initiative in which we want to continue investing in the coming years” says Juan José Nieto, President of Service Point.

    Not only is the market growing, but customer preferences are also becoming more sophisticated. The demand for better quality, especially gloss photos, larger sizes such as 30x30cm and special covers such as leather or textile is motoring Service Point Germany’s rise towards becoming the biggest photobook producer in Europe.

    “Because our production equipment is so advanced, it’s easier to automate the process which means that our turnaround times are faster than our competitors,” says Juan José Nieto.

    Service Point Solutions (www.servicepoint.net) provides an all-in-one managed solution for clients wishing to have their information processed, communicated or managed by a true service-focused partner. Our 2,140 professionals, based in eleven countries (UK, US, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Hong Kong, France, Sweden and Russia) provide products and services across a network of 130 service points and 800 facilities management programs. SPS is headquartered in Spain and listed on the Madrid and Barcelona stock exchanges (ticker: SPS.MC).

    For further information Pablo Biosca / Miguel Ramos

    pbiosca@newsline.es

    + 34 93 580 10 12

    Well, since I’ve posted Service Point’s press release about its European “photobook” business, I guess I should mention that Vistaprint, on October 25, 2011, announced that it was acquiring a company known as “Albumprinter”. Take a look at the portion of the press release that Vistaprint released in October …..

    Tuesday, October 25, 2011

    Press release from the issuing company

    Vistaprint N.V., a leading online provider of professional marketing products and services to micro businesses and the home, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Albumprinter, a privately held Dutch photo book and photo product company, for EURO 60 million payable at closing and up to an additional EURO 5 million based on a performance based earn-out. This acquisition is in line with Vistaprint’s recently announced strategy to be more proactive in its evaluation of acquisition opportunities in adjacent markets.

    Albumprinter, based in Amsterdam, with a manufacturing presence in the Hague, is one of the top providers of photo books in the estimated EURO 400 million European online photo book market. With approximately EURO 37 million in revenue in the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2011, the company employs about 150 full-time employees, and has a primary market presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden and Norway. Through its award-winning proprietary front-end technology, automated manufacturing processes, customer service and marketing focus, the company processes thousands of orders per day through both a direct-to-consumer model via its brands Albelli, Bonusprint, and Önskefoto, and an indirect model, for which it has partnered with leading retail stores throughout Europe. See http://www.albumprinter.org for more details on the company.

  • Take a vacation to Budapest Hungary

    This post has nothing to do with reprographics.

    Courtesy of one of my former associates in Hungary, Livia, here’s a video promoting Hungary.

    I’ve been to Hungary at least 30 times (mostly, Budapest); it’s a wonderful country to visit on vacation. Budapest, in particular, is a beautiful, history-filled city with lots of interesting museums and other places to visit.

    The video points out several “inventions” that Hungarians came up with. If you visit the “National Museum” in District 9, you will find a very interesting exhibit of all of the inventions that Hungarians have created.

    And, did I mention that the food is great. And, while you’re at it, try some Palinka (wine as strong as vodka.)

    Okay, here’s the video that Livia sent me ……

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmz8Ni9zO4M

  • ABC Imaging New York City regional hub plans move to larger facility

    Just received from Richard Bangs, ABC Imaging’s Business Development Manager ….. breaking news …..

    “New facility provides production staff expanded workflow capability to better manage complex client print jobs. ABC Imaging managers anticipate an easy transition with new facility fully-operational by December 5th.”

    Washington, DC—November 23, 2011—ABC Imaging, a leading print technology and document management company based in Washington, DC, announced plans to move its regional hub in New York to a larger location with more efficient workspace by December 5th.

    The new location, at 14 East 38th Street between Madison and Fifth avenues, continues ABC Imaging’s presence in the heart of Manhattan. The company has operated a regional hub in the city since 2003.

    “Moving to 38th Street will enable our staff to develop even more efficient workflows, especially for more complex jobs,” said Medi Falsafi, President and CEO of ABC Imaging. “Anytime we enhance workflow, we enhance our quality assurance as well, which means we can quickly and easily put the best possible product in our client’s hands.”

    ABC Imaging managers anticipate a smooth move from their existing Park Avenue hub to the new location. Given the company’s experience in setting up new production hubs, “the transition will be transparent to our clients,” Mr. Falsafi said.

    At the same time ABC Imaging will move their New York hub, it will open a new hub in downtown Philadelphia, PA. The Philadelphia hub becomes the company’s 35th hub.

    “While other firms consolidate their operations, ABC Imaging continues to expand,” Mr. Falsafi said about the company’s current business activity.

    ABC Imaging equips its regional hubs with similar or identical small and large format digital printers and IT hardware. The duplication of equipment enables ABC Imaging to provide clients consistent output—especially critical for color digital printing—from one ABC Imaging location to another in North America, Europe, Dubai, and Shanghai.

    About ABC Imaging

    From its headquarters in Washington, DC and more than 30 locations worldwide, ABC Imaging (www.abcimaging.com) provides full-service, on-site solutions for document management, printing, scanning, archiving, and back-office support. ABC Imaging’s industry-leading technology includes innovative office service software easily customized to support a variety of vertical business models. ABC Imaging seamlessly integrates its technology and systems with most accounting and ERP systems. Our mission—“Impress Every Client, Every Time.”

    Contact Information

    Timothy Sachs Senior Vice President ABC Imaging 202.429-8870 x144 tsachs@abcimaging.com

    © Copyright 2011 ABC Imaging