Reprographics 101

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  • Farewell to Shaun Meany; Dan Mulrooney to lead PEiR Group

    Evidently, members of the PEiR Group were recently notified by Suri (Chairman, President & CEO of American Reprographics Co – ARC) that Shaun Meany, Executive Director of ARC’s PEiR Group trade association for the past 6 years, has submitted his resignation, and that Dan Mulrooney, another ARC veteran, will be assuming the position that Shaun is vacating. Shaun is leaving the PEiR Group because of personal reasons (see letter, later on in this post, from Suri to PEiR Group members.)

    The very next paragraph in this post comes from the “about us” information on the PEiR Group web-site; I’m including this information in this post, because “Reprographics 101” is not just visited by reprographers, so not everyone knows what the PEiR Group is. The PEiR Group is owned by American Reprographics Co (ARC), and ……

    The PEiR Group – Profit and Education in Reprographics – is a trade association for independent reprographers and reprographic vendors. PEiR’s mission is to create a large, unified group of successful reprographers able to influence and advance the industry. We will achieve this by improving the profitability, quality, technology and professionalism of every member through educational programs, strong vendor relationships, and a close relationship with the leading technology developers in our industry.

    I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was very sad when I heard the news of Shaun’s resignation. Shaun is, without question, one of the nicest people you could ever meet. I attended at least three PEiR Group meetings during NGI’s brief membership in the PEiR Group before we sold NGI to ARC, and Shaun ran those meetings. He was always thoroughly organized, on message and well spoken. Excellent presentation skills and a great sense of humor. Impossible to fall asleep at a meeting run by Shaun! Shaun is a class act. I am positive that all PEiR Group members will miss Shaun.

    Please join me in saying to Shaun, “best wishes to you, Shaun, for a happy, healthy, long life and for continued professional success in whatever you do in the future. You have tons of friends in the reprographics business and industry ….. so stay in touch!”

    Suri’s letter also indicated that Dan Mulrooney, another ARC veteran team member, is assuming the position of Executive Director of the PEiR Group. Dan is one sharp guy! I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes chatting with Dan at the most IRgA Convention. He came into the ARC family when his family’s company in Stockton, CA was acquired by ARC. (I’m pretty sure his family’s company was called “Stockton Blue.”) That acquisition took place not long after ARC had acquired Brownies, which, itself, was based in nearby Sacramento, CA. Dan is an industry veteran and, for the past several years, has devoted time to the reprographics industry, serving currently as the Secretary-Treasurer and a Board Member of the IRgA. Please join me in wishing Dan the best of success in his new role as Excecutive Director of ARC’s PEiR Group.

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

    Here’s the announcement of the change that Suri sent to PEiR Group members

    “Ladies and Gentlemen:

    Experience, understanding and vision are the key qualities of leadership that make a trade association work. That is why Shaun Meany, our Executive Director of the PEiR Group, has been so successful, and why we are sorry to announce his resignation.

    Shaun has been with the organization for six years and accomplished much. But spending more time with his family, and caring for his mother who is gravely ill, have become priorities. He will be leaving at the end of the month, and we wish him well.

    Fortunately, we have a strong bench to pull from, with equal experience, understanding and vision.

    I’m happy to announce that Dan Mulrooney, currently ARC’s Vice President of Technology Licensing, board member of the IRgA, and a 20-year veteran of our industry will be stepping into the role of Executive Director of the PEiR Group.

    Dan will be assisted by Niro Perera, PEiR’s Director of Business Development. You can count on their support and continuing efforts to build a strong network, introduce new programs, and add value to your participation in our industry.

    Upcoming programs and events are being planned to cover topics such as digital color services, managed print services (MPS), digital shipping and managed file transfers.

    I hope you will join me in wishing Shaun “bon voyage,” and welcoming Dan as your new Executive Director.

    Sincerely,

    K. “Suri” Suriyakumar

    Chairman, President & CEO”

  • WELL, WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT MEMJET? – HERE'S A GUY WHO HAS ONE!

    This morning, I found a blog that I’d never visited before – “Jim Lyons Observations” – and, lo and behold, I found on his blog a recent article he posted about a MemJet small-format printer. AND, HE ACTUALLY HAS ONE!

    HERE’S WHAT’S SAID ABOUT JIM LYONS ON THE MAIN PAGE OF HIS BLOG-SITE:

    Jim Lyons Observations

    Jim Lyons comments on business and marketing developments in the Printing and Imaging industry, combining many years of experience with an ever-enthusiastic eye on the future. His monthly print column, “Observations”, appears in The Hard Copy Observer — a publication of Lyra Research.

    HERE’S JUST A COUPLE OF “SNIPPETS” FROM THE ARTICLE HIM WROTE ABOUT THE MEMJET SMALL-FORMAT PRINTER:

    “Memjet’s original promise of delivering 60 ppm color printing to the home and office for $200-$300 has morphed into a machine that offers the same breakthrough speed but at a price point that is multiplied by a factor of two or more. Note that Memjet has not identified any U.S. partners, and of the firm’s Asian and European partners, only Lenovo in China has published target per-page costs of 0.1-0.15 Yuan (2 cents) for monochrome and 0.3-0.5 Yuan (6 cents) for color, compared to color laser printing costs of 10-15 cents for a color page and 1-2 cents for a monochrome page. Early indications on hardware pricing for the Lenovo RJ600N point to a range of $770 to $925 in U.S. dollars.”

    “…..Nevertheless, if Memjet can deliver on even its revised price/performance goal, the impact to the home- and office-printing market could be significant.”

    THE ARTICLE JIM WROTE ABOUT THE MEMJET SMALL-FORMAT PRINTER IS EXTENSIVE, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL REPROGRAPHERS TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, WHICH CAN BE FOUND AT THIS INTERNET ADDRESS:

    http://jimlyonsobservations.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-observations-up-close-with-memjet.html

  • Not all reprographers are reporting poor business conditions in 2011

    The following comment was “copied, cut, pasted” into this post from an e-mail I received a few days ago from one of the reprographers who frequently visits Reprographics 101….


    “Business is great…up double digits through April at all locations and in all departments. We hired back a worker we laid off in Dec as well. Thanks for asking.”

  • XEROX AND CISCO TO FORM ALLIANCE TO DELIVER CLOUD SERVICES; COMBINE NETWORK INTELLIGENCE AND PRINT MANAGEMENT

    This Press Release was issued May 09, 2011…….

    Market leaders plan to join forces to bring new revenue opportunities to channel partners; simplify and connect infrastructure for the enterprise

    LAS VEGAS — Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced today that they intend to form an alliance to simplify IT management by delivering cloud-based services and technology solutions that combine network intelligence and print.

    The alliance plans to bring Xerox’s market-leading managed print and cloud IT outsourcing (ITO) services to customers over Cisco’s intelligent network infrastructure. Both companies will arm channel partners with solutions that help businesses extend their existing IT investments to improve performance and reduce cost.

    Through this alliance, Xerox and Cisco plan to make IT applications more accessible and improve efficiency for the workforce with solutions such as mobile printing – the ability to print from any device, anytime, anywhere.

    “This relationship puts Xerox and Cisco at the center of a simplified, connected infrastructure – bringing together networking, printing and cloud services,” said Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO, Xerox. “Together we’re helping businesses transition to the cloud in ways that best suit their operations, and add the services needed to enhance security and productivity for employees.”

    Xerox and Cisco are collaborating to deliver the following solutions:

    * Xerox Managed Print Services (MPS) over Cisco Borderless Networks: consolidate IT and print management using the network’s embedded security, WAN optimization, and Internetwork Operating System (IOS) software. The combined solution monitors print technology and reduces operating costs, protects confidential data from any location, and improves employee productivity with advanced mobile and cloud printing applications.

    * Xerox Cloud ITO Services built on Cisco UCS and Vblock infrastructure: help customers accelerate the rollout of new IT services, so they can better respond to changing needs of the workforce and reduce IT costs through a private cloud, the public cloud or a hybrid cloud environment. These cloud services from ACS, A Xerox Company include infrastructure as a service (IaaS), cloud consulting services, and private cloud deployments.

    * Xerox Mobile Print Solution on Cisco virtual desktop clients and Cisco CiusTM: allows mobile workers to securely print business documents from any email-enabled device – including Cisco virtual desktops clients and Cisco Cius business tablets – to any enabled printer, using Cisco Borderless Networks and Wireless LAN solutions for reliable and seamless connectivity from any location.

    “Aligning Cisco and Xerox cloud offerings brings the power of intelligent networking to printing to help our mutual customers drive innovation across their businesses and become more agile and reduce costs. This strategic alliance also creates a tremendous opportunity for channel partners to grow revenue by building cloud practices,” said John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco.

    Availability:

    Today, Xerox and Cisco are working with channel partners so they can resell, deliver and manage Xerox private and public cloud services on Cisco’s Data Center and Borderless Network architectures. These services, including IaaS, private cloud environments, and MPS, have been released for limited availability to Cisco channel partners. The alliance intends to provide Cisco channel partners with new ways to reduce costs and track print usage for customers, while Xerox channel partners can take advantage of Cisco Smart Services (such as Cisco Smart Care) to support customers’ network solutions. Xerox Mobile Print can be accessed from Cisco virtual desktop clients and Cius when they are generally available.

    For more information about today’s news, please visit http://www.xerox.com/cisco.

    About Xerox

    Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology and services, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine Xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 134,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com, http://www.realbusiness.com or http://www.acs-inc.com. For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

    About Cisco

    Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

    Media Contact(s)

    Becky Dziedzic Xerox Corporation +1-585-423-2623

    Pamela Ferrill Cisco +1-408-527-9076

    Nicole Fachet Text 100 for Xerox +1-212-81-3950

  • Central Reprographics Association went “down for the count” in March 2011

    Sign of the times.

    I don’t remember hearing about this before I went to Las Vegas in late April to attend the IRgA Convention, but, if my memory serves me, I think Bob Roperti (who assumes the Presidency of the IRGA on August 1st) mentioned this to me over lunch one day in mid-May. Anyway, this evening, I received an e-mail from the “final” President of the CRA, Gary Marquardt, about the demise of the CRA, which is what prompted me to write this post. (Gary, thank you for the “heads-up” about the CRA).

    The e-mail I received from Gary simply said this:

    Hi Joel

    As a regular follower of your blog, I thought it appropriate to send you the press release and other documentation attached.

    Please give me a call if you have any questions.

    Thanks,

    Gary Marquardt

    President CRA 2011

    gmarquardt@e-arc.com

    Gary sent me three documents, and, for preservation purposes, I’ve posted them in my Google Docs library. Below each document title, you’ll find a tiny-url link to the documents:


    CRA Closure Press Release

    http://tinyurl.com/3mhtccf

    CRA Dissolution Resolution

    http://tinyurl.com/3vn2xh2

    History of the Central Reprographics Association

    By Cathleen Cushing Duff

    And updated by Shirley Zawoyski

    http://tinyurl.com/3co5mmm

    ____________________________________________________

    Joel’s comments:

    Very sad to see one of the industry’s “regional” associations close down, but, as I said, “sing of the times.” When the CRA was originally founded, many, many years ago, it was not as easy to travel as it is today, and it was a lot more expensive to fly. But, all that said, the CRA was a close-knit group for many years, spanning generations. It was an association where reprographers in that part of the country were able to form close bonds, share information, share successes and failures, much like’s been the case with the IRgA, but, with a smaller (regional) association, networking is a bit more intimate.

    Take the time to read the history of the CRA that Cathie Cushing Duff compiled. It’s a trip down nostalgia lane for someone like me. Even though my former companies were not located in the CRA’s region, there were a lot of people in the CRA who I got to know over my many years in the reprographics industry. Solid people. Salt of the earth, so to speak. Every time I see Cathie’s name in print, it brings back very fond memories. Her dad, Jack Cushing, was one terrific, smart, warm and friendly guy. He founded MiniMAX. And, if it were not for MiniMAX, ReproCAD (now ReproMAX) might never have come into existence. The idea for forming ReproCAD came up in the back of the room at a MiniMAX meeting in Chicago, 1983. Many of us owe an everlasting debt of gratitude to Jack Cushing.

    So, what’s next?

    What’s going to happen to the IRgA?

    What’s going to happen to the WRA and the ERA?

  • Survey: Ninety Percent of Businesses Believe They Are Inefficient

    I saw this “press release” about a Survey conducted by Iron Mountain and thought I’d post about it for my blog visitors. Reprographers are, of course, interested in helping customers improve their business processes – that’s part and parcel of “document management” – so what Iron Mountain is doing should be good food for thought for reprographers.

    Here’s the beginning of the press release about the Survey Iron Mountain did:

    May 31, 2011
    BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)—

    Despite near unanimous agreement that improving core business processes like contracts management, accounts payable and order fulfillment make more successful organizations, few companies understand how to improve these data-intensive processes. That’s according to a recent survey of 5,500 company records managers.

    Conducted by Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the information management company, the survey on business efficiency asked respondents to weigh the importance of improving processes through better information management against the current state of those processes in their organizations.

    The results reveal most are unhappy with how their core processes run, despite having formal programs for how their companies should manage information. The key findings include:

    Click on this link to access the complete press release:

    http://tinyurl.com/4x7hyvz

  • Internet-based Planroom products (Update #2)

    On January 26th, 2011, we posted an article highlighting various Internet-based planrooms. And, on January 28th, 2011, we posted “update #1” to add one planroom that we missed on January 26th.

    Today, we came across “smartbid.net” and smartbid.net offers a planroom service as a part of its overall service for construction project bidding, so we are adding smartbid.net in this update, update #2.

    http://www.smartbidnet.com/features/

  • SPS' stock price looks to be near its all time low, but ARC's stock price is holding fairly steady

    While ARC’s stock price and market cap have remained relatively stable the past year and are both well above the lows hit back in March 2009, Service Point Solutions’ stock price and market cap appear to be at all time lows. SPS’ closing price on May 31, 2011 was right around .39 Euro.

    This, in spite of the fact that ARC suffered a loss for Q1 2011 and SPS announced that, for Q1 2011, it was “back in the black” (i.e., profitable.)


    You can access SPS’ stock chart at this link:

    http://www.servicepoint.net/SPSG/bolsa.html

    Click on the tab “Todos” at the top right of the chart. (“todos” means “all”) Doing so will show you SPS’ stock price history since May 2005.


    On May 24, 2011, ARC stock closed at $8.48.

    Today, May 31, ARC stock is trading at right around $9.13.

    That’s an impressive 7.7% gain in just the past week …. on “no news.”

  • Web-2-Print …….. What? This is something new?

    This morning, I noticed that Andy Tribute, one of the Printing Industry analysts who frequently writes articles and creates video presentations that are published on WhatTheyThink.com, has a new presentation titled……


    “Web to Print – It is the Future for Print”

    By Andrew Tribute

    “I recently attended and spoke at the Xerox Forum, an event run in Berlin by Xerox Europe. I was speaking on a panel and was asked what I would recommend for printers to invest in within the next year. My answer was that I would recommend developing their Internet expertise in the area of web to print to make it easier for customers to work with them.”


    Unfortunately, Andy’s presentation is “premium content”, meaning that, if you want to watch it, you have to “pay to play.” This is one presentation that I have no interest in paying to see. I certainly appreciate that some people want to make money for the research they undertake in order to position themselves to put forth expert opinions about opportunities and what not, but, come on, any printer or reprographer who is not already aware that “web-2-print” services are nowadays absolutely necessary if you want to maintain your customer relationships and add new ones, should have his/her head examined …. and will probably not be in business five years from now. Come on, folks, reprographers and printers have been talking about “web-2-print” for at least ten years, if not longer!

    The main principle involved in “web-2-print” is that, if you make it easy for customers to order services – and, I mean, make it very easy – they will like doing business that way, for it will save them time. Contrary to what some might say, it’s not always “cheapest price” that gets the business. Sometimes, it simply comes down to “who offers the easiest way to get something done.”

    When I think of companies who offer web-2-print services, three company names come immediately to mind:

    * Mimeo.com

    * Uprinting.comt

    * 48HourPrint.com

    This is not to say that there are not hundreds of printing companies (and reprographers) who don’t offer web-2-print ordering, for that is the case, there are, for sure, hundreds that do. But, I’ve been following Mimeo.com since it was founded, and they offer one of the slickest ordering interfaces I’ve ever come across. And, last year, I needed to get a set of business cards printed for a convention I was going to be attending, and I used Uprinting.com for my cards. They made it so simple, so easy, fantastic service! When I visited 48hourprint.com’s web-site, I read some of their customer testimonials; this was one:


    “I have used several other online printing services, and 48HourPrint.com has definitely become my favorite. The ordering process is smooth and hassle free. As a small business owner, I have to wear a lot of hats and get easily annoyed when ordering a product takes up too much of my time. Your service couldn’t have been any easier, and the product looks perfect.”

    Gareth Conner


    Creative Conners, Inc.


    Many reprographers, for years, have been offering “on-line ordering” for plans and specs. ARC calls their on-line ordering “EWO” (electronic work order). At NGI, we referred to ours as “EWOF” (electronic work order form.) Virtually every reprographer who offers an e-planroom service offers some sort of electronic order form for placing orders. The question is, how many reprographers have extended their EWO’s and EWOF’s into the non-A/E/C printing services end of their businesses. And, for those that have, have they made it “oh-so-easy” (some call it “idiot-proof”) to use? The harder it is for customers to use a web-2-print interface to place orders, the less successful your web-2-print initiative will be. And, the opposite is equally the case.

    Frequent visitors to this blog have read articles I’ve posted about Service Point Solutions, and more than one of those articles has mentioned Service Point Solutions’ web-2-print initiatives. SPS is expecting web-2-print to contribute handsomely to its recovery …. and to its growth.

    Anyway, we should all thank Andy Tribute for sharing his expert opinions, even when those opinions are offered as “premium content”, but the thought of me paying even $1 for advice that web-2-print is an opportunity, well, thank you, I’ll pass on that one.

  • 3D Laser Scanning Services – is this really an “opportunity” for reprographers?

    This morning, while I was walking to my “office” (which, this summer, will be the Boston Public Library), I noticed a white panel truck, owned by “Survey Engineering Group”, parked on the side of Clarendon Street, and a list of “survey services”, offered by that firm, was displayed on the side of their truck.

    Survey Engineering Group offers a number of different traditional “surveying” services, but one service, listed at the bottom, was “3D Laser Scanning.”

    When I did a “wrap-up” post about the recent IRgA Convention in Las Vegas, I wrote about the panel presentation that kicked things off – the presentation I’m speaking of was the one where there were three different speakers, each speaker presented his thoughts about the future of reprographics and the future for reprographers. Two of those speakers indicated that reprographers might consider offering 3D scanning services; that offering that service might be a good opportunity for reprographers.

    On the Internet, on the web-site of a “professional engineering surveying services company”, I found what I think is a fairly good definition of what a 3D Laser Scanning service is:

    3D Laser Scanning
    Laser scanning is a relatively new technology, having been used as a precise survey instrument only since 1998. Now, it is quickly becoming the new industry standard as a way to make very accurate measurements in complicated environments. This is precisely why using this technology is the best solution for measuring as-built conditions inside buildings. This instrument collects survey data points at a rate of 50,000 points per second. It has an effective range of 400’ to 500’. With several “scan” setups inside a room or of a building, a complete 3D model can be made of the existing conditions. These models are then used to create 2D civil or architectural drawings, 3D computer models, and final survey documents.

    I haven’t polled reprographers to find out if they are planning to offer 3D Laser Scanning Services, but given the fact that 3D Laser Scanning Services are already offered by professional engineering firms and by survey engineering firms, and considering the fact that those firms have long made a living from providing information about “existing conditions” (of a plat of ground, the size of a structure, etc, etc.), I personally don’t see how reprographers are going to have much success, if any, if they choose to enter the 3D Laser Scanning Services business, unless, of course, they are going to purchase a survey engineering company and morph into a business that is completely outside of the traditional “reprographics services” domain.