To all of my friends in the Reprographics Industry……
BEST WISHES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES FOR A HAPPY, HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.
Joel
Reprographics 101
(more than you ever wanted to know about the reprographics industry)
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The information printed below – about Memjet
vs. HP vs. Memjet – was copied from:FORM 10-KHP INC – HPQ
Filed: December 16, 2015 (period: October 31, 2015)Annual report with a comprehensive overview of the companyHP INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)Note 16: Litigation and Contingencies (Continued)0
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Memjet Technology Ltd. v. HP. On August 11, 2015, Memjet Technology Ltd.
(“Memjet”) filed a lawsuit against HP in U.S. District Court in the
Southern District of California. The complaint alleges that HP infringes eight
Memjet patents. The products accused of infringement are those that use the HP
PageWide Technology, including the OfficeJet Pro X series, OfficeJet Enterprise
X series, HP PageWide XL, wide scan printers, and printers using 4.25-inch
thermal inkjet printheads, such as HP Web Presses and Photo Kiosks. On October
2, 2015, HP answered Memjet’s complaint and asserted a counter-claim against
Memjet for infringement of four HP patents. The products accused of
infringement include various Memjet OEM printers that incorporate Memjet’s
printheads and print engines. On November 20, 2015, HP asserted three
additional patents against Memjet. The patents asserted by both parties
generally relate to inkjet printhead and print system technology. Both Memjet’s
and HP’s respective complaints seek injunctive relief and monetary damages from
the other party for alleged patent infringement. On November 16, 2015, Memjet
was granted an ex parte preliminary injunction in Germany (State Court
Munich), against HP Deutschland GmbH’s sale and offers for sale of HP PageWide
XL printers. Memjet’s injunction request alleges that HP infringes a Memjet
European patent. On December 4, 2015, HP
filed an opposition and an application to suspend enforcement of the
preliminary injunction pending a court hearing and decision. On December 9,
2015, the court denied HP’s application to suspend enforcement prior to a
hearing. A hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2016. -
Link to ad:
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Article on
Lexington-Herald Reader (.com)0
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The U.S.
Magistrate (judge) overseeing this case held an Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) conference,
attended by all parties, on November 24th; the purpose of that conference to
determine, through informal discussions, if the case could be settled without
resorting to trial. As it was put in the
minutes I read, “case did not settle.”0
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mso-fareast-language:JA;}Subsequent
documents indicate that the case is now entering the discovery process. -
Press
ReleaseDecember 18,
2015 (published on MarketWiire)ARC Document Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: ARC), the nation’s leading document
solutions provider for the construction industry, today released an open letter
from K. “Suri” Suriyakumar, the Company’s Chairman, President and
CEO, offering a forward-looking perspective on the company’s transformation.
The letter is available on the Company’s investor relations website at
ir.e-arc.com.The contents of the letter follow:To Our Shareholders: Here at the end of the year, I’m writing to keep
our shareholders abreast of the developments at ARC Document Solutions. As we
all know, ARC is going through a transformation — a transformation that is
difficult and complex, and thus I believe it is only appropriate that we report
on our progress.ARC is evolving from an analog, print-based and transactional business,
to a cloud-based technology services organization that we believe is far more
valuable in the long term. The current disconnect in our stock price is
obvious, but one could argue that it is to be expected considering the nature
of the changes occurring in our business and the variety of perspectives that
guide the investments of our stockholders. Yet what some of the Company’s
observers might find daunting, we find encouraging and exciting. To us, the
progress of our new initiatives indicates that the value we are creating for
our customers, employees, and stockholders is substantially greater than the
value we have delivered in the past as a simple print provider.SKYSITE™, one of the most exciting technology solutions we’ve ever
produced, has literally put our customers’ plans back in their hands via the cloud and mobile device usage. Instead of
referring to files on a desktop computer and ordering prints, with SKYSITE and
a tablet, our customers can access and collaborate on any document, anywhere,
at any time on jobsites across the country. Just 10 months since its release,
more than 400 customers are currently subscribed with licenses for 10 users or
more, and we expect significant growth to continue in 2016.Even more dramatic results were seen in Archiving and Information
Management which grew more than 15 percent year-over-year in the second
quarter, and 44 percent in the third quarter. Construction customers and
facility managers are increasingly frustrated at the lack of real-time access
to vital legacy documents because they are locked up in boxes deep inside a
distant warehouse. With legacy data storage systems, the process is inefficient
and time consuming. Our ability to provide instant search-and-retrieval
capabilities, including mobile access to large-format construction documents,
allows us to capture a unique and sizable market segment that has not existed
previously. The more we demonstrate the power of this solution to our clients,
the more ways they are finding to use it.As for the new solutions we offer on the Technology Services front, both
BIM services (Building Information Modeling) and Hyperlinking services have
been providing tremendous value to our customers, significantly reducing costs
and increasing efficiency in their construction document workflows. Together
SKYSITE, BIM and Hyperlinking are on track to generate more than $1 million in
new sales this year, a 100% improvement from 2014. We expect the very healthy
growth in 2015 to continue into 2016 and beyond.As we have described previously, all of the products and services we
sell are categorized as three primary solutions to our customers —
Construction Document and Information Management (CDIM), Managed Print Services
(MPS), and Archiving and Information Management (AIM).As ARC continues to transform, new revenue growth is generated by
products and services driven by technology. As a result, we have a traditional
segment of the business, driven by print, that is larger in size and slowly
shrinking, while a new segment of the business, driven by technology, is
smaller in size but growing aggressively.If we closely analyze the revenues generated by technology-driven
products and services, two components emerge. The first component is the
software side of the business which includes SKYSITE, PlanWell Archive, and
Abacus. The second component is the professional services side of the business
where we deliver key solutions such as BIM and Hyperlinking.Both of these new components point to the potential of our future and
demonstrate the significantly increased value of our business as it evolves.With everything that is new and exciting about our business, our legacy
operations continue to generate sizable revenue, good margins, and impressive
cash flow from operations, allowing us to fund the development of new software
solutions that are critical for us to compete in today’s market. Even with the
five percent revenue erosion we experienced in traditional reprographics over
the past two quarters, our color imaging sales more than offset those losses on
dollar-for-dollar basis. MPS, while affected by the delay in several national
contract implementations this year, still secured three large contract
renewals, each of which provide more than $1 million in annualized revenue, and
experienced significant growth in regional sales.What is critical at this stage is the company’s ability to compete in
today’s market, demonstrate growth, and comfortably meet all of its financial
obligations. On this front there is no question of our success. The Company is
on track to generate more than 10 percent growth in both cash flow from
operations and in free cash flow in 2015, and we will have paid down nearly $30
million of our senior debt by the end of the year.ARC has a unique story that takes some time and effort to understand,
but we believe the payoff for looking forward with us will be great; the new
business we are creating has enormous potential.Having said all that, challenges remain both for us and our customers in
the design, engineering, and construction industries. Much of this has to do
with the fragmented approach to using technology in the field. Some of it has
to do with timing — no one wants to start using a new product or service in
the middle of an 18-month construction job. And some of it has to do with how
we sell it — we’re still learning.Even in our legacy business we face disruptive changes. A hybrid
environment where both technology and paper are in heavy use creates both
operational and logistical challenges for our people in the field. The use of
color printing is growing, but competition remains strong. We continue to
challenge customers with new ways of thinking about the use of their documents
and their printing environments, and we are not always successful. Sometimes
even existing customers can slide backwards.After a recent merger, one of our largest customers decided to revert to
a decentralized purchasing model for office print services instead of using an
integrated MPS solution to reduce the total cost of print ownership.Representing annual revenue of more than $10mm, the loss of this customer
will have an impact on our forecast next year, but just as importantly, it is
an example that demonstrates the diversity of needs, level of understanding,
and changing priorities of our evolving market.While these challenges require our attention to address in a responsible
and proactive manner, we cannot — and we will not — be distracted by them.
The value of the future we are building far outweighs the temporary setbacks we
might encounter along the way. In the meantime we will learn from both our wins
and our losses. We have never tried to kid ourselves into thinking that
changing the industry we serve would be easy!As we wrap up 2015, the fundamentals of the company remain sound. As
such, I am re-affirming our guidance for the year.*Our financial health is excellent, and while we expect only modest
growth this year, what we’ve learned as this transformation progresses is
incredibly valuable. Our capital structure provides a rock-solid foundation,
and our cash generation in the business is the fuel for change and greater
value in the future. We invite our investors and other stakeholders to join us
in creating this vision in the years ahead.K. Suriyakumar Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer* Outlook For 2015, the Company’s diluted annual adjusted earnings per
share outlook is expected to be in the range of $0.33 to $0.36. The outlook for
annual adjusted cash provided by operating activities is expected to be in the
range of $58 to $61 million. Annual adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the
range of $70 million to $73 million.0
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mso-fareast-language:JA;}Forward Looking Statements This documents contains forward-looking
statements that are based on current opinions, estimates and assumptions of
management regarding future events and the future financial performance of the
Company. Words such as “progress of our new initiatives,”
“expect,” “forecast,” “potential,” and similar
expressions identify forward-looking statements and all statements other than
statements of historical fact, including, but not limited to, any projections
regarding earnings, revenues and financial performance of the Company, could be
deemed forward-looking statements. We caution you that such statements are only
predictions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations
stated in forward-looking statements include, among others, the factors
described in the caption entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A in ARC
Document Solution’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2014, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other periodic filings
and prospectuses. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events, or otherwise, except as required by law. -
OKI Data acquires subsidiary company of Seiko
Instruments.OKI Data Corporation, an OKI Group company
specializing in the printer business, has completed the acquisition of the
globally-deployed wide format printer business of Seiko I Infotech Inc.
(“SIIT” hereinafter), a subsidiary of Seiko Instruments Inc.
(“SII” hereinafter), from SII.
OKI Data Corporation established OKI Data Infotech Corporation (“OKI Data
Infotech” hereinafter) by acquiring all SIIT shares held by SII. The new
company began operating as a member of the OKI Group on October 1, 2015. On the
same day, OKI Data Corporation’s overseas subsidiaries in Europe and the US
completed the acquisition of the wide format printer business and assets from
SII’s European and US group companies. OKI Data Infotech will assume
responsibility for all services and products in the wide format printer
business currently provided by SII’s European and US group companies.OKI Data Corporation positions the high-value-added
printer business as its major growth area with the professional printer market
being an important sector.0
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mso-fareast-language:JA;}“We are pleased to have completed the
acquisition of the wide format printer business from SII,” said Takao
Hiramoto, President of OKI Data Corporation. “Through this acquisition, we
have not only acquired a portfolio of wide format inkjet printers for signs and
LED graphic plotters, but also the corresponding technologies, development
resources, and sales channels. By offering one-stop printing solutions
targeting the printing, distribution, and retail industry sectors, we will
strengthen our printer business in the professional printer market.” -
This is to let the Reprographics Industry know that
Bryan Dyer, former owner of Lellyett & Rogers (based in Nashville, TN),
passed away this afternoon, after a long battle against cancer.Our condolences to Bryan’s wife, Velda, and to the
rest of the Dyer family. And, our
thoughts are with the family and with Bryan’s former associates at L&R.0
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mso-fareast-language:JA;}Bryan was inducted into the Reprographics 101
Reprographics Industry Hall of Fame last year.
He was one of the smartest, sharpest, most savvy guys to ever grace our
industry.
UPDATE ON JAN 13th, 2017 to share with my blog-visitors the NOTE I sent to Brian when he retired from L&R in late 2008:
Bryan,Congratulations on your retirement!Because you are such a humble person, most people
in the reprographics industry still don’t know, and quite possibly will never
know, that you, as chief “architect” of L&R’s A/E/C reprographics business,
managed to create one of the most successful business models ever developed in
our industry, if not the most successful business model ever developed in our
industry. Quite obviously, it takes a
person of superior intellect to pull that off, and that, Bryan, is what you
are, a brilliant guy. I’ve often
described you this way to other people, “Bryan Dyer is scary-smart.”However, rarely, if ever, do businesses succeed
purely because of the efforts of one smart person. Some wise person once said, “if you want to
succeed in business, find smart people to join your team, and then let them do
their thing.” And, you did just
that. L&R’s team is the most
outstanding team I’ve met in my 38 years in the reprographics industry – – –
the team you assembled and empowered is nothing short of amazing; the L&R
team is certainly a testament to your leadership!Bryan, I will never forget the moment [when we were
meeting with one of your customers in Knoxville (he was in management with
BWSC’s office in Nashville and he came to Knoxville to listen to your
presentation to BWSC’s Knoxville office)] when your customer, a
financially-astute older gentleman, made a comment along these lines, “our
printing expenses are higher because of L&R, but our bottom line improved
dramatically, and we’re sure that one of the reasons for that stemmed from
staff productivity increases made possible by the L&R FM/OnSite program we
use.” Seldom do reprographers hear that
kind of comment from customers. Your
team’s development work, implementation and follow-through, made “service”, not
“price”, the prime issue for L&R customers.
If the IRGA gave out OSCARS, L&R would have a full trophy case.I had the privilege of working with you and your
team for a brief period of time, and I thank you for giving me that
opportunity, thank you for allowing me to share my opinions with you, and thank
you for the wonderful debates we had.
Last but not least, thank you for being my friend.Bryan, congratulations on your retirement. I hope your retirement years will be filled
with lots of fun times, great health and much happiness.Joel Salus0
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font-family:”Times New Roman”;}December 2008 -
A few months ago, Canon/OCE released this
news:Océ ships
5,000th Océ Arizona® printerOcé – A Canon
Company. Venlo, The Netherlands. 23 July 2015.Océ, the
market leader in mid-volume flatbed printers, today announced the shipping of
the 5,000th printer in the Océ Arizona Series. This milestone achievement
demonstrates the enthusiastic acceptance of these award-winning UV flatbed
printers by discerning customers the world over.The first Océ
Arizona systems were installed at customer locations in May 2007. Since then,
the series has helped transform the entire sign and display printing industry.
As the first flatbed printer to use Océ VariaDot™ grayscale piezoelectric
printing technology, the Océ Arizona 250 GT printer set new print quality
standards and significantly expanded the application set for flatbed printing.
Today, in an article posted on
LargeFormatReview.com, the people at largeformatreview.com shared this news
from HP:HP has now installed 30,000
wide-format Latex printers worldwideHP claims that its wide-format
latex printers have grown to become the solution of choice to print service
providers around the globe. With 30,00 installations now confirmed, it’s hard
to argue against that claim.0
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mso-fareast-language:JA;}“The 30,000
units milestone is a phenomenal achievement”, said Joan Perez Pericot,
Worldwide marketing director, Large Format Printing, HP. “The versatility of
the HP Latex technology has enabled our customers to pioneer into new
high-profit applications such as interior decoration and target higher margin
markets where customers are sensitive to using eco-solvent, solvent or
UV-curable inks” -
If I were a
betting man (and I’m not), I’d bet that this merger won’t go through.Link to
article:0
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Reprographics 101 