Print4Pay Cafe

The Week in Imaging

2011-04-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

- Recent survey data from Computer World magazine about company’s usage of MFPs:

o most companies fail to utilize the advanced functionality of the hardware

o 91% have activated scan to email

o 86% have set auto-duplex as default

o 39% use N-up function (putting 4 pages of info on one sheet of paper)

o Most do not user secure print feature, even though they are printing confidential documents

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- Many EHR systems (including Epic) supposedly are based on an old programming language developed in the 1960s called MUMPS, which stands for “Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System”

o MUMPS was developed by Neil Pappalardo and colleagues in Dr. Octo Barnett's animal lab at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston during 1966 and 1967. The original MUMPS system was, like Unix a few years later, built on a spare DEC PDP-7 computer.

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- Four out of five community hospitals believe they can achieve meaningful use by 2013 with their current electronic medical record systems, meaning one-fifth of community hospitals plan to switch their EMRs within the next couple of years, according to a KLAS news release.

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- InfoTrends said a recent survey on scanning usage reveals:

o 52.4% are scanning more

o 43% staying same

o 4.6% scanning less

o 45% using content management systems more

o 44% are now managing scans with software systems

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- The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) reported that results of a recent survey reveals that nearly 70% of printshop owners feel that their sales will grow in 2011.

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- Texas Instruments announced it will spend $6.5 billion to buy rival chip maker National Semiconductor.

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- The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, which is in charge of pushing healthcare providers to get EHR systems, announced it has appointed Dr. Farzad Mostashari as the new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. He previously worked for New York City’s Department of Health.

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- Recent data from survey on ambulatory-care (non-hospital) physicians conducted by Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) on usage of EHRs:

o 72% are satisfied with their EHRs

o 61% claims their EHRs have increased productivity and boosted practice revenue

o 52% claim to be using EHRs

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- Recent research from IDC on what decision makers feel about sales people:

o 24% believe that sales reps are NOT prepared for appointment/meeting/presentation

o 30% believe they are somewhat prepared

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- Xerox announced that it purchased United Business Solutions, a Ricoh dealer in Addison, Illinois. (Ricoh will cancel this dealership, so Xerox will rush to convert them to Xerox product) Former owners were Reed Byhring and Fred Martin. Purchase price not announced.

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- According to Infonetics, revenue for managed security services will grow by 62% over the next 5 years to $17 billion worldwide.

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- Recent survey results from Information Week magazine regarding what IT is doing to keep devices on their network secure:

o 68% educate their users about security

o 62% put written policies in place, but no technology in place to enforce

o 50% technology in place to enforce

o 48% rely on employee common sense

o 37% require encryption

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- Adam Greene was named at Senior Health IT & Privacy Advisor in the Office of Civil Rights, which is part of the Department of Health & Human Services, and is enforcing HIPAA legislation on the healthcare industry. In a speech he reminded healthcare administrators:

o Business associates and subcontractors can be held directly liable for HIPAA breaches

o In accounts of disclosures of patient information (PHIs), treatment info, payment info and healthcare operation info must be tracked and disclosed

o New restrictions will be put on use of patient data for marketing and sale of protected health info (PHIs)

o Minimum HIPAA breach penalty raised to $50,000, maximum still at $1.5 million

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- Hewlett-Packard is suing a former executive for allegedly stealing trade secrets before he took a job with HP rival Oracle.

o Filed Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, the lawsuit alleged that Adrian Jones, a former HP senior vice president in Asia, stole proprietary information before he resigned in February and moved to

o An internal investigation at the time of his resignation uncovered that Jones failed to disclose a "close personal relationship" with a subordinate, gave that subordinate a 97% salary bump and expensed thousands of dollars spent visiting that person with no relevant business purpose, HP said.

Before he left, Jones copied "hundreds of files and thousands of e-mails" related to HP's business strategies, future plans, employee data and customer data, the suit said.

o HP seeks an injunction from the court to prevent Jones from using the sensitive information to put the company at an "unfair competitive disadvantage."

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- The media is still publishing reports of copier hard drive security threats.

o The Kilgore News Herald newspaper of Texas ran an article that said; “employee and customer data could easily be downloaded (from copier) by criminals”

o Senator Bob Smith of Middlesex, NJ stated to the press; “It’s frightening to think about all the information that is potentially at risk unless we require (copier) hard drives to be erased…”

o Ondrej Krehel, Chief Security Officer at ID Theft 911 stated; “I don’t think vendors have been doing a good job of pushing the security capabilities available on their devices”

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- HIPAA breach: MidState Medical Center In Meriden, Connecticut reported that an employee took info on 93,500 patients home on a personal hard drive. The employee was fired, but the drive has not been found.
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- According to the Health Information Management Systems Society, here is list of most common EHR installs in the hospital/acute care market in the U.S.:

o Meditech 1,212 installs

o Cerner 606

o McKesson 573

o Epic 413 (but fastest growing)

o Siemens 397

o CPSI 392

o Healthcare Management Systems 347

o Healthland 223

o Allscripts/eClipsys 185

o 273 hospitals claim to have developed their own

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes from 3/21/11

2011-03-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

Cerner announced that it won EHR contracts from:

o Sharon Regional Health System of Ohio. Contract is $13 million over 5 years.

o Miami Children’s Hospital

o Sheridan Memorial Hospital of Wyoming for $9.8 million

HealthTexas gave out details on the install of its new EHR system:

o First 60 days average cost per physician of $32,409

o For entire year, average cost per physician of $46,659

o In-house staff spent an average of 134.2 hours per physician and $10,325 per physician during implementation

The HHS OCR (Health & Human Services division of Office of Civil Rights) is requesting $46.7 million in federal funding increase to accelerate its enforcement of HIPAA regulations on healthcare providers in the U.S. The increase includes the placement of a “Privacy Officer” in each of the OCR’s ten regional offices, to coordinate HIPAA data breach investigations. The agency predicts that it will need to investigate up to 20,000 breach reports per year.

Epic announced it won EHR contract from Cooper University Hospital of New Jersey.

Ponemon released data from survey of patients regarding their PHI (protected health information):

o 70% want control over their medical records

o 80% expect their healthcare provider to ensure privacy of their medical records

o 49% of patients who had their info exposed (HIPAA breach) took no new steps to protect themselves

o 50% did not report that theft of their medical info to police

 43% did not want to make a “big deal out of it”

 37% were afraid of being embarrassed

 21% are afraid of loss of health insurance coverage

 18% are afraid of lower credit score

o 55% are not familiar with new HIPAA regulations

o 79% are not aware of the creation of a national database of health information

Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana is urging lawmakers in his state to reconsider their ruling which rejected the $35 million in HITECH Act funds for implementation of EHR systems.

Black Book Rankings gave out results of EHR survey:

o Top EHR for radiologists is MedInformatix of Los Angeles

o Top EHR for pathologists is PSA (a division of MED 3000) of South Carolina

o Top EHR for oncologists is MOSAIQ, from Elekta of Sweden

o Top EHR for cardiologists is MicroMD from Henry Schein Inc. of Ohio

CareLogic announced it won EHR contract from Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services of Michigan.

Siemans announced it won a Soarian EHR contract from UMass Memorial Health Care of Massachusetts for $140 million

According to Kalorama Information, a total of $15.7 billion was spent on EHR systems in 2010.

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has introduced legislation to expand the types of doctors that can get HITECH funds to pay for EHR systems to now include:

o behavioral health

o mental health

o substance abuse treatment professionals and facilities.

According to research completed by Center for Studying Health System Change, some 16 million more people are expected to receive healthcare via Medicaid by 2019 under Obamacare, and that it predicts there will not be enough doctors to see all these patients in many areas.

Sage announced it won an EHR contract from United Medical Centers of Texas.

MedAssets announced that it has added biometric finger vein readers from PatientSecure to its GPO catalog.

HIPAA Breach: Health Net Inc. of Rancho Cordova, CA, announced that 9 hard drives from one of its servers went missing, potentially exposing PHI (protected health information) for over 1.9 million patients.

Scanning in healthcare vertical on the increase according to research conducted by Record Nations:

o Requirements for Medicaid payments have causing 22% increase in scanning

o Need to recover physical space caused 11% increase

o 8% growth in scanning documents from healthcare business that were closing due to law requiring retention of records for 7 years

o 4% growth caused by a desire to “go green”

A hospital in Chennai, India reporting that a computer virus entered its network and “wiped off voluminous medical records of the premier hospital that treats 15,000 patients a day”

Allscripts announced it is opening up development centers in Pune and Bangalore, India.

A lawsuit was filed against Walgreen’s by disgruntled customers in California, trying to prevent the pharmacy chain from selling customer data. Without identifying individuals, Walgreen sells data that includes patient’s sex, age, state, and name of drug. The data is sold to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Golden Gate Capital of San Francisco has made an unsolicited offer to buy Lawson Software of Minnesota for $1.8 billion. Lawson financial software for healthcare vertical offers:

o Automated data-collection and management tasks

o Budget Preparation & Reporting

o Grant Management

o Compliance Control Manager

o Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable

o Financial Reporting Self-Service

o General Ledger

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging 2/27/2011

2011-03-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

- The University of California Davis announced that it has awarded contract to InterSystems Corp. of Massachusetts for integration services with its Epic EHR system.

- Epic claims that its EHR system at Kaiser Permanente securely manages the records of 8.6 million patients.

- Epic announced it won EHR contracts from:

o Sentara Health System in Norfolk, VA, 8 hospitals, for $273 million

o Franciscan Alliance, including all 13 hosptials and 165 practices for a total of $100 million.

- Allscripts announced it won EHR contract from St. Joseph’s Health System, which has locations in California, Texas and New Mexico.

- The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), using it new enforcement power, slapped a $4.3 million penalty against Cignet Health of Maryland for failure to honor patients’ requests for access to their medical records, as part of the HIPAA law.
- A study conducted by DowJones VentureSource found that:

o venture capital investment in medical software rose from $387.5 million in 2009 to $460 million in 2010, representing a growth of 19%

o an estimated 77% of venture capitalists predict that investment in healthcare information technology will continue to increase this year

- Massachusetts General Hospital agreed to pay HHS a fine of $1 million to settle a HIPAA violation involving 192 patients.
- KLAS Research announced results of a survey of customer satisfaction of EHRs in the ambulatory market:

o Allscripts = 16%

o Epic = 12%

o NextGen = 10%

- Hewlett Packard claims it won managed print services contracts, including its printers and MFPs from the following healthcare vertical customers:

o Bayer Schering Pharma AG

o Centra Health

o Children’s Hospital of Boston

o Cigna

o Exempla Healthcare

o Health Net

o Humana

o San Juan Regional Medical Center
- The Medicare Fraud Strike Force reported that it arrested 111 people last month, for allegedly bilking Medicare out of $225 million in false claims.
- Adam Greene, Senior Health IT and Privacy Advisor in the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), part of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), announced the minimum fine for HIPAA violation will increase from $100 to $50,000. This means that the minimum fine for misplacing just one patient record could result in a $50K fine.
- eClinicalWorks won an EHR contract from BayCare, a community based healthcare system in Tampa, FL.
- McKesson won an EHR contract from Stanly Regional Medical Center of Albermarle, NC.
- CapSite survey finds that 23% of hospitals plan to use consulting help to get their clinical systems up and running
- Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health & Human Services, announced the following about the EHR vendors that have been certified as meeting federal “meaningful use” standards:

o 231 vendors now certified

o 66% of these have fewer than 50 employees

- David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for HITECH stimulus money announced:

o 21,300 healthcare providers have signed up to qualify

o $20 million has been paid out so far from Medicaid

o Medicare payments start in May, 2011
- PatientKeeper announced it won contract from Madison Memorial Hospital of Rexburg, Idaho.
- Cerner, maker of EHR systems, announced it is in negotiations to but the former Sam’s Town Casino complex in Kansas City.
- The Henry Ford Health System of Michigan announced that an employee lost a flash drive containing the records of 2,777 patients. This is their second HIPAA violation in less than a year.

- Allscripts partner, dbMotion, announced contracts with:

o Orlando Health

o University Hospitals of Cleveland

o Sharp Healthcare (which will connect to its Cerner system)

o Huntington Memorial Hospital of Pasadena, CA
- Siemens announced it won an EHR contract from Jefferson Regional Medical Center of Pennsylvania.

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes 2/20/2011

2011-02-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

- In the recent budget submitted by President Obama, it includes adding 1,054 agents to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to enforce new healthcare regulations. (this is first part of original plan to add 11,000 agents to IRS)

- HIPAA Data Breach Update:

o Charleston Area Medical Center of West Virginia announced that it inadvertently exposed personal protected patient information on its website. The breach impacted 3,655 patients and exposed them to potential identity theft, as the info included their social security numbers. Patient data on the website had been accessed more than 90 times, with some of the site’s hits formcing from Indian and Germany.

o St. Francis Health System of Tulsa, Oklahoma announced that its HIPAA breach impacted 84,000 patients, after a computer was stolen from one of its outpatient facilities.

- More HIPAA oversight? Senator Stuart Smalley (aka Al Franken of Saturday Night Live fame) of Minnesota was named the ranking member of a new U.S. Senate committee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. His duties will include; “oversight of laws and policies governing the collection, protection, use and dissemination of commercial information…”

- In new statistics released by RedSpin Inc., and IT security audit firm regarding HIPAA breaches:

o Private health information of more than 6 million people has been compromised since 8/2009

o Breaches occurred in all but 7 states in the U.S.

o Average breach affected about 27,000 people

o Average of 82 days passed between discovery of breach, and when it was reported to federal government (law requires notification within 60 days)

o 6 out 10 breaches were intentional and malicious

- Imprivata released EHR survey results of hospital executives:

o 75% claim meaningful use (investing in EHR systems that qualify for federal stimulus dollars) is the top budget priority in 2011

o 54% cite physician adoption of EHR to be greatest challenge to meeting meaningful use rules

o 48% believe that password management issues will slow physician adoption of EHR systems

o 87% say that the time it takes for an EHR system to access a patient record affects physician satisfaction

o 73% say that EHR access time impacts patient care

o 50% report that at least 26% of physicians are accessing EHR remotely

o 65% have deployed personal devices for physicians, or have plans to deploy by end of 2012

o 49% have virtual desktop infrastructure or have plans to implement by 2012

- Canon now shipping a new option that allows it to sell one of its color copiers as an output device for MRI reports, radiology reports and CT scans:

o Option is called the Canon imagePRESS Server T1 V2 Controller

o Works with Canon imagePRESS C1+ color copier (single drum 14ppm unit) that is already equipped a Canon CYPHER PS Print Server

o The T1 V2 processes DICOM (digital imaging and communication in medicine) data, which is used in radiology systems (instead of traditional PCL or PS)

- Does healthcare vertical really buy biometric units? Genesis Healthcare of Zanesville, Ohio announced it is investing in biometric finger vein readers from Lumidigm. Reasons:

o Coupled with BIO-key software, it integrates into most EHR software, including Epic, Allscripts and others.

o Helps compliancy with new HIPAA regulations

o “Because skin dryness is so prevalent in the healthcare industry, due in part to constant hand washing, traditional fingerprint sensors can produce up to a 20% failure rate” according to Bill Spence, VP of Lumidigm

- Sutter Health gives out more details on its Epic EHR implementation:

o Chain of 26 hospitals in California

o Originally had systems from IBM (MedSeriesIV) and Siemens, awarded a contract to Epic in 2007 for $500 million

o After originally putting the brakes on the project, it announced it would spend an additional $400 million to complete Epic EHR project by 2015.

- University Hospitals of Ohio announced it awarded its EHR project to Allscripts, for its Sunrise Enterprise Acute Care EHR version 5.5, in all 7 of its hospitals.

- Siemens Healthcare announced it won more Soarian EHR contracts:

o Baptist St. Anthony’s Health System of Amarillo, Texas

o Peconic Bay Medical Center of Riverhead, New York

o Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, LA

o MaineGeneral Health of Maine

- McKesson, an EHR vendor, announced it won a contract from Parrish Medical Center of Titusville, FL.

- eClinicalWorks announced it won an EHR contract from Riverside HealthCare of Chicago, Illinois.

- ImageSoft, a dealer in Michigan, announced it has won document management contracts (with Hyland OnBase software) from Duke University and Henry Ford Hospital.

- According to a survey on EHRs conducted by the University of Chicago, 78% of Americans favor the use of electronic medical records systems. Other data:

o 59% believe it will reduce costs

o 72% support sharing of data between providers

o 80% favor electronic prescriptions

o 79% believe that access to their personal health records (PHR) on-line would keep them better informed

o 48% are concerned about privacy of records

o 64% believe that the benefits outweigh privacy concerns

o 44% are not willing to pay more to get benefits of electronic records

o 57% do not believe that use of electronic records would impact their choice of physician

- Record Nations, a national network of document scanning service provider, published results of survey:

o Rate of medical record scanning grew 22% in 2010

o Scanning requests to get space back grew 11%

o Requests to scan from businesses that were closing was up 8%

o Requests to scan due to “green” concerns up 4%

- Survey conducted by Oce’ reveals the following about document management systems:

o 30% were only managing paper records

o 81% said it improves process of filing and retrieval

o 47% able to use in business process workflows

o 40% said collaboration was easier

o 77% use to improve processes and operational efficiencies

o 72% use to reduce paper and save storage space

o 50% use to comply with regulations

o 21% use to increase competitive edge

- Palisades Medical Center of New Jersey, which had chosen Siemens Soarian as its EHR, announced that it chose DB Technology’s RASi software as its document management system.

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes 2/5/2011

2011-02-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

- Meditech announced it won EHR contracts from:

o Sierra View District Hospital of Porterville, CA.

o Saint Francis Medical Center in Grand Island, NE

o United Memorial Medical Center of New York

 Also acquired Lexmark Perceptive imageNOW document management system

- Epic apparently won EHR contracts from:

o Kadlec Medical of Washington

o Resurrection Health of Chicago, IL

o Providence Hospital of Oregon

o Providence Hospital of Washington

o Owensboro Hospital of Kentucky

o Yale New Haven Hospital of Connecticut

- Swedish Medical Center of Seattle, WA announced that its Epic EHR system shutdown for 4 hours due to a software glitch, forcing doctors and nurses to temporarily conduct business with pen and paper.

- Allscripts won EHR contract from UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, Mass.

- HIPAA Breach News: The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) reports that the number of entities reporting breaches of patient files affecting 500 or more patients has hit 225, since the first breach was reported to OCR in 9/2009.

o 10 reports of breaches impacting more than 100,000 patients

o 4 reports of breaches impacting between 50,000 and 99,999 patients

o 6 reports of breaches impacting between 25,000 and 49,999 patients

o 27 reports of breaches impacting between 10,000 and 24,999 patients

o 61 reports of breaches that involved a laptop computer

- HIPAA Breach in Indianapolis. Saint Vincent Hospital notified 1,800 patients that their PHI info may have been exposed due to someone hacking into their email system.

- Apparently Methodist Hospitals of Indiana is suing consulting firms FTI Cambio and HealthNET as well as Meditech for supposedly convincing the hospital to abandon its in-progress $26 million Epic implementation and instead spend $16 million upgrading their existing Meditech EHR. Methodist wants out of its Meditech contract and asking for $16 million in damages.

- McKesson announced it won contracts from:

o F.F. Thompson Hospital of New York

o OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital

- According to Lyra, here are average monthly volumes in the healthcare vertical:

o B/W midrange MFPs = 6,525 pages/month

o Color midrange MFPs = 7,160 pages/month

o B/w desktop printers = 2,165 pages/month

o Color desktop printers = 1,235 pages/month

o Inkjet printers/MFPs = 675 pages/month

- Congressman, Jim Jordan, of Ohio introduced House bill HR408 which apparently would repeal the EHR reimbursement funds in the HITECH Act. Even if the House of Representatives passes the bill, it would still have to be approved by the Senate, and then President Obama.

- Quality Systems, Inc. (NextGen EHR) turns in record Q3 numbers:

o Revenue up 23% to $91.9 million

o Board chair, founder, and former CEO Sheldon Razin holds almost $400 million worth of shares.

 He started the company in his garage in 1973 with $2,000 in capital and took it public in 1982. Its market cap is now over $2 billion.

- Research firm KLAS has released its 2010 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: EHR Software & Professional Services report, which includes the annual rankings of healthcare information technology vendors. The rankings are based on more than 17,000 interviews conducted yearly with healthcare providers.

o Winners in the Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record (EMR) category, by practice size:

 More than 100 physicians: Epic EpicCare Ambulatory EMR

 26 to 100 physicians: eClinicalWorks EMR

 6 to 25 physicians: Greenway Medical PrimeSuite Chart

 2 to 5 physicians: e-MDs Chart

o For practice management systems, by practice size:

 More than 100 physicians: Epic Resolute/Prelude/Cadence

 26 to 100 physicians: McKesson Horizon Practice Plus

 6 to 25 physicians: Greenway Medical PrimeSuite Practice

 2 to 5 physicians: e-MDs Bill

o Also in the 2010 report, Epic was the top-ranked overall software vendor, with a performance score of 86.7 out of 100, followed by CareFusion and 3M.

o The top-rated overall services firm was Hayes Management (88.9), followed by Deloitte Consulting Inc. and CTG.

- University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City announced it is conducting an investigation after a screening showed the electronic medical records of 13 University of Iowa football players may have been accessed inappropriately.

o The hospital says under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the patient medical records can only be accessed by health care workers with legitimate reasons to review those records. The hospital says it routinely screens for possible privacy violations to protect the confidentiality of patients, including those with "high public profiles."

o The football players have drawn national attention after they fell ill following off-season workouts. They have been in the hospital since Monday. Since then, there have been media reports on the results of drug tests and the player's conditions.

-=Greets from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging 1/28/2011

2011-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

- Medsphere announced it won a contract for its OpenVista EHR system from Cooper Green Mercy Hospital of Alabama.
- Meditech announced it won contract from Charlotte Hungerford Hospital of Connecticutt.

- BMC Healthcare of Maryland announced it will use Meditech EHR in hospital and eClinicalWorks in its physician offices.

- HIPAA breach. The St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital in Indiana had to notify 1,800 patients that their protected health information (PHI) may have been compromised when a hacker successfully persuaded some employees to reveal a login to the hospital’s email system.

- A survey of hospital by Accenture shows EHR installs:

o Epic = 30%

o Cerner = 30%

o Eclipsys (division of Allscripts) = 10%

o GE Centricity = 10%

o McKesson = 10%

o Meditech = 5%

o Siemens = 5%

o Quadramed = 5%

- Children’s Hospital of Boston, MA announced that it acquired:

o eClinicalWorks as its EHR

o Perceptive (Lexmark) imageNOW as its document management system

o Hewlett Packard for its MFPs and printers

o NSi AutoStore as middleware to connect HP MFPs to imageNOW

- Allscripts announced that its EHR connects to Cardiac Science Corp’s automated external defibrillators and diagnostic cardiac monitoring devices.

- In survey published by OpenText of internal medicine trainees, it was revealed that over two-thirds were spending more than 4 hours per day on documentation.

- Cerner announced an install of its Millennium EHR system at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System of Houston, Texas, as well as Lancaster General Health of Lancaster, PA.

- According to The New York Times newspaper, the United States government and Israel’s government worked together to develop the Stuxnet worm that’s blamed for crippling Iran’s program to develop a nuclear weapon. The worm reportedly knocked out one-fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges.

- HIPAA breach: A nurse fired for allegedly looking at the medical records of Tiger Woods is suing for defamation and says he never saw the golf star's files, the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.

o David Rothenberg seeks 400,000 dollars in damages plus reinstatement and a letter of explanation from officials at Health Central, the hospital where Woods was taken after a November 2009 car crash.

o Hospital officials fired Rothenberg in December of 2009 for looking at the record of Woods three times within 10 minutes on his computer, according to the lawsuit filed Friday.

o Rothenberg, who faces the loss of his nursing license, accused the hospital of defamation and conspiracy to defame plus violating polygraph procedures and causing harm to his reputation.

o Rothenberg argues the evidence against him was circumstantial and that he left his computer terminal unattended and someone else logged in to peep at the golf star's medical records.

- According to a one industry author, in the year 2010, Epic secured EHR contracts from the following hospitals:

o Johns Hopkins

Catholic Health Services of Long Island

New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Ochsner

Moses Cone

Bronson

St. Joseph Michigan – Lakeland

Martin Memorial

Idaho – St. Luke’s

US Coast Guard

Provena

Aurora

University of Mississippi Medical Center

JPS Health Network

SUNY Upstate Medical University

LSU Health

Rochester General

ProHealth Care

Owensboro

Rockford

Sansum

Access Community Health Network

Bassett Healthcare

Stormont-Vail Health Care

Hurley Medical Center

Temple University Health System

Amphia Hospital (Netherlands)

Memorial Healthcare System

Orange Regional Medical Center

Tampa General Hospital

Wenatchee Valley Medical Center

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging 12/29/10

2010-12-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

- According to EHR study conducted by RAND Corp, regarding adoption of EHR systems in hospitals:

o Number of hospitals using either basic or advanced EHR up from 24% to 38%

o Largest increase in quality of care was for patients treated for heart failure for hospitals with EHR versus those without

- Results of EHR study conducted by University of California-Davis finds:

o Initial implementation of EHR results in a 25-33% drop in physician productivity

o Internal medicine units adjusted to the new technology and experienced increase in productivity

o Pediatricians and family practice doctors did not return to original productivity levels

- Dell announced it is buying InSiteOne Inc. of Wallingford, CT, and provides medical diagnostic image archiving services.

- According to Black Book Rankings about EHR adoption:

o 90% of healthcare providers that purchased EHR systems are off track to meet meaningful use implementation goals

o Only 10% foresee achieving requirements for stimulus funding this spring

o Over 400 EHR system developers have emerged in past year

o Top five reasons why will not meet requirements:

 93% say lack of support from their EHR vendor

 89% say delay caused by cost of additional support by EHR vendor

 82% caused by rushed selection of EHR vendor

 77% lack staff to implement

 69% are underfunded to rectify difficult EHR system interfaces

- The State of Wisconsin is still pursuing a lawsuit it filed against McKesson for $150 million, for allegedly overcharging Medicare and Medicaid programs.

- Allscripts announced that its EHR can not be integrated with WellDoc DiabetesManager solution. WellDoc allows physicians to have real-time patient self-care data, including; blood glucose data, mediation use, lifestyle info and other diabetes related info.

- Premier Inc., one of the 6 large healthcare group purchasing organizations (GPOs) in the U.S. announced that over the past year, 1,220 hospitals participating in its group buy program have identified $81 million in savings. Savings under the program vary between 5% and 15%.

- HIPAA breach. Dean Health System of Wisconsin notified 2,000 surgery patients that their personal information was exposed when the laptop computer belonging to a doctor was stolen.

- Centra Health System of Virginia notified 14,000 patients that their personal info was exposed when an employee’s laptop computer was stolen from her rental car.

- EHR vendor, eClinicalWorks of Massachusetts reports:

o CEO if Girish Kumar Navani

o Will be hiring up to 200 in 2011 due to growth

o Currently has more than 1,300 employees

o Will build new headquarters for $18 million

o Will finish the year with $150 million in revenue

o 5 year goal is to have 100,000 providers and 100 million patients on its HER

- Results of healthcare survey conducted by PriceWatersCoopers (PwC):

o 86% of patients do not access their medical records electronically

o What consumers would use web-access to health info for:

 58% lab reports

 56% prescription orders

 53% immunization records

 52% upcoming appointments

 48% physician visit notes

 33% suggested preventive health screening

o 72% would trade employer-based insurance for higher pay

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging 12/13/2010

2010-12-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

- Kofax, maker of document capture middleware software, announced it won large $400,000 install at Rohm and Haas, a large global manufacturer of chemical products with 50 locations.
- According to “GreenOrder”, a sustainable business strategy firm:

o Copier sales in US are worth $24 billion annually

o Older copiers use up to 60% more energy than new models

o Average office worker creates 1.5 pounds of paper waste each day

o Recycled paper uses 44% less energy and produces 48% less waste

o More than 100 million cartridges end up in trash each year in US

o Cartridges take up to 450 years to decompose

o Toner remanufacturing employs 35,000 in the US

o Reconditioning cartridges saves 264 gallons of oil and 845 lbs. of solid waste each month

o Fewer than 10% of all electronics discarded are recycled each year in US

o Electronics contribute 50 million tons of trash each year to landfills

- Hyland, maker of OnBase document management software, which has a large market share in the healthcare vertical, announced version 10.0 adding:

o Intelligent automated indexing

o Business process and notation modeler

o Site provisioning for MS SharePoint

o Comprehensive full-text search with Autonomy IDOL integration

o Integration for MS Outlook 2010

- EHR usage survey. Survey conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals:

o More than half of physicians surveyed are using at least a partial EHR system in their practices

o Nearly a quarter have a system in place that meets criteria for basic EHR system

o 10% have fully functional EHR in place

- McKesson, maker of EHR systems, announced that Professional Data Services Inc. won its “Value Added Reseller of the Year” award for its sales of McKesson Practice Partner EHR during last year.

- According to survey of EHR usage in pediatric hospitals conducted by Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine:

o 2.8% have a comprehensive EHR system

o 17.9% have a basic EHR system

o 15.7% exchange health info electronically

o 34.3% have CPOE (computerized physician order entry) systems

- According to survey from College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME):

o 15% of hospital CIOs are confident that they will have EHR installed by April, 2011

o 5% expect to meet meaningful use targets in first 6 months
- Allscripts, maker of EHR systems, announced it won a contract from Berkshire Health Systems of Berkshire County, Mass.

- Pediatric Cardiology Associates in Syracuse, N.Y., implemented Allscripts EHR.

- Cerner announced it won an EHR contract from WellSpan Health of Pennsylvania.

- Epic won an EHR contract from University of Colorado Hospital.

- Medsphere won an EHR contract from Lutheran Medical Center of New York.
- Auxilio, a managed print services provider that focus on the healthcare vertical, announced it won contracts in California from:

o Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital

o Petaluma Valley Hospital

o Queen of the Valley Hospital
- Worldox, a document management program for the legal vertical, won the “Gold” award from Legal Technology News for 2010 based on customer satisfaction.
- Ricoh announced it has chosen to offer IPRO Tech software for its legal vertical market customers, including the eCapture, Allegro and Eclipse eDiscovery products.

-=Greetings from the Highlands=-

This Week in Document Imaging 11/28/2010

2010-11-29T19:20:00.000-08:00

- Microsoft’s Peter Neupert stated that the company is abandoning efforts to make HealthVault (cloud based storage of PHI info) profitable because of the complexity of the U.S. health system. Now the benefit of continuing to offer the product was “simply to increase brand relationship” by raising Microsoft’s image with customers as “important, critical and trusted”.

- McKesson announced it won an EHR contract from North Sunflower Medical Center of Mississippi.

- The Ohio Regional Health Information Partnership (OHIP), a state regional extension center (REC) has selected eClinicalWorks as the ambulatory EHR vendor of choice.

- Details from survey from the Agency for Health Research and Quality:
o based on data from 10,567 staff from 470 medical offices in 33 states
o More than 50% have encountered problems when exchanging information
o 69% reported that patient was unable to get appointment within 48 hours for serious problem
o 85% reported that a wrong chart/medical record was used for a patient
o 63% reported that a chart/medical record was not available when needed
o 70% reported scanning a patient record into the wrong patient folder
o 22% reported that pharmacy contacted office to clarify prescription
o 44% reported that patient’s medication list was not updated during their visit
o 39% reported that lab results were not available when needed
o 79% reported that an abnormal result from a test was not followed up within one business day
o 55% reported problems communicating with labs/imaging centers
o 50% reported problems communicating with other physicians
o 52% reported problems communicating with pharmacies
o 58% reported problem communicating with hospitals
o 82% had electronic appointment scheduling
o 59% have electronic access to test/lab/imaging results
o 51% have EHR systems
o 41% have electronic medication ordering
o 37% have electronic ordering of tests

- The California Department of Public Health fined 7 hospitals for HIPAA breaches:
o Kern Medical Center fined $250,000 for theft of 596 patient records from unlocked locker
 Also fined $60,000 regarding unauthorized access to emergency room patient by two employees
o Pacific Hospital of Long Beach fined $225,000 for employee gaining unauthorized access to 9 patient records
o Kawaeah Manor Convalescent Hospital in Visalia fined $125,000 for employee gaining unauthorized access to 5 patient records
o Delano Regional Medical Center fined $60,000 for employee gaining unauthorized access to medical record of relative
o Childrens Hospital of Orange fined $25,000 for employee gaining unauthorized access to patient record of coworker’s child
o Oroville Hospital fine $42,500 for employee discussing patient record on cell phone with others and posting on MySpace
o Biggs Gridley Memorial Hospital of Gridley fined $5000 for two employees gaining unauthorized access to medical record of coworker

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging 11/21/10

2010-11-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

- Survey shows hospitals with EHR systems are ready to meet some components of the “Meaningful Use” rules set forth by federal government to access HITECH stimulus dollars:

o Conducted by HIMSS (health information management systems society)

o 22% have capability to achieve 10 or more of the required core measures in Stage 1 of meaningful use

o 34% can achieve between 5 and 9 of the core measures

o 40.47% can achieve 5 or more of the menu items

o 9.61% can achieve 12 core measures

- Most common benefits of installing an EHR(electronic health records system) according to New England Journal of Medicine:

o No more filing, pulling, re-filing or creating paper charts

o No lost charts

o Less time filing

o Universal chart access

o Easier compliance with chart requests

o Improve external communication

o Fewer call backs from pharmacies

o Higher quality documentation

o Spend less time charting

o More efficient chart signing

o Built-in health maintenance protocols and reminders

o Improved medication management

o Improved customer service

o Free up valuable office space

o Eliminate transcription costs (average physician spends $12K to $25K/year)

o Eliminate chart creation costs (average of $5 per chart for supplies and labor)

o No more paying staff to pull and refile charts (average of $0.40 per transaction)

o No more cost to find lost charts (average of $2500 per year)

o Eliminate paper faxes for prescription renewals (average of $36K/year for supplies and labor)

o Reduce undercoding, where physicians are not getting paid for everything they do (average of $25K/year)

- Study by Medical Economics magazine shows that annual cost for an average physician practice to manage paper charts is: (instead of using EHR)

o $12K/year for transcriptions

o $2400/year for paper chart supplies

o $41.6K/year in labor to pull and refile charts

o $2.5K/year in labor to find misplaced charts

o $36K/year for inbound faxes

o $21.875K/year for outbound faxes

o $25K/year for money lost in downcoding (not claiming enough)

o TOTAL = $141,375/year

- According to the Kansas City Business Journal, due to wildlife environmental concerns, EHR vendor Cerner is reconsidering the location of its future 600,000 square foot office in Wyandotte County.

- Cerner wins contract from DeLand Hospital of Florida and North York General Hospital of Toronto.

- Cerner announced it will sponsor the USA Bid Committee to help bring the FIFA World Cup soccer championship to the U.S. in 2022.

- McAfee and Cisco have released their detailed cybersecurity reports for the third quarter:

o 60,000 new pieces of malware were identified per day, quadruple the 2007 rate

o In third quarter, McAfree identified 14 million unique pieces of malware, up 1 million

o The Zeus botnet malware let business to lose $70 million to Ukranian organized crime

o The Cutwail botnet malware used denial of service attacks against 300 websites

o 60% of Google search terms delivered customers to malicious sites in first 100 results

o 10% of malware was encountered via search engines

o 7% of malware was referred by Google

o 7% of all encounters targeted Java

o 1% targeted Adobe Acrobat Reader

o Pharmaceutical vertical was the most targeted

- Survey of large healthcare organizations conducted by Ponemon Institute reveals the following about data security:

o 85% feel they comply with HIPAA

o 72% enforce policies with includes termination of employees who pose threat

o 71% provide training to users

o 66% have business associate agreements

o 65% ensure minimal system downtime

o 53% perform timely system updates with patches

o 47% secure patient data in motion

o 47% know where patient info if physically located

o 45% conduct independent audits

o 39% prevent cyber attacks

o 32% identify major data breaches

o 31% prevent major data breaches

o 30% determine root cause of data breach

o 29% protect patient info used by business associates

o 23% limit access to data storage devices

o 10% protect patient info used by outsourcers, including cloud computing vendors

- According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the most common cause of data breaches impacting more than 500 people is the theft of laptop computers.

o Of the 189 data breaches recorded this year that involved more than 500 people, 52% were result of theft

o 20% were from unauthorized access

o 18% were from loss

o 24% involved laptop computer

o 22% involved paper records

o 16% involved desktop computers

o 14% involved portable devices like smartphones

- Holy Cross Hospital if Florida had to notify 40,000 of its patients that a former employee may have stolen their personal information and sold info to a third party. 4 of the 5 people involved have been arrested, including the former hospital emergency room worker. The info was used to illegally obtain credit cards, effectively stealing their identities.

- McKesson Corp, an EHR vendor, announced it is cutting its lobbying spending by 61%, from $110,000 in third quarter, versus $281,000 a year ago. It lobbied Congress, DHHS, CNS and FDA.

- McKesson announced it won an EHR contract from HealthPoint of Tampa, FL with its Practice Partner product that will cover 110 physicians.

- Greenway Corp. & Sage Corp. announced that their EHR products were endorsed by PA REACH East and PA REACH West, the Pennsylvania regional extension centers (RECs)

- Most companies do not erase sensitive data from hard drives according to study conducted by Kroll Ontrack:

o Only 49% stated that their businesses deployed a data eraser method

o Among that group, 75% do not delete data securely

o Average business suffers at least one data breach per year

o Data breaches cost U.S. companies an average of $6.75 million

o Only 19% deploy data eraser software

o 6Z% use a degausser to erase media

o 33% do not know how to ensure data has been erased

o 22% say they reboot the drive to see if data is still there

o 60% of all old business computers are fully intact with proprietary business data in the second hand computer marketplace

o 40% say their companies gave away their used hard drive to another individual

o 22% don’t know what happened to their old computers

o 16% rely on a product or service report to confirm all of their data had been wiped

- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported its data breaches in October of 2010:

o Notified 2,574 veterans that there personal info may be compromised

o Two stolen desktop computers

o Lost 22 Blackberry devices

o 79 internal unencrypted email incidents

o 79 mishandling incidents (i.e. mixing up prescriptions)

o 10 mis-mailed medications

- AvMed Health Plans had a class action lawsuit filed against the company by the law firm of Edelson McGuire:

o Two unencrypted laptop computers were stolen on 12/11/2009 in Gainesville, FL, with possibly 1.22 million customers having their personal information compromised.

o Info stolen included Social Security numbers

- According to Dan Vesset, analyst at IDC, the Healthcare business intelligence market was $600 million in 2009, and will grow faster than any other vertical market in the next 5 years. Growth driven by:

o Increased focus on financial performance management

o Labor productivity

o Cost control

o Analysis of billing

o Analysis of payments

o Bed occupancy rates

o Patient treatment

- St. Joseph Health System, with locations in western U.S., announced it chose Microsoft’s Amalga Unified Intelligence System for data storage. It will load data from its Allscripts, GE and Meditech EHR systems.

- Allscripts, maker of EHR systems, announced that it will allow outside developers to write programs. So far, 200 software developers have expressed an interest with 45 already signing on.

- Allscripts has partnered with the Illinois Technology Association to support and promote the ITA Fall Challenge, to identify students who are future technology leaders. Partnership led by Celia Harper-Guerra, Senior VP of Talent Acquisition and Development for Allscripts.

- Allscripts announced it won an EHR contract from SA Health, the public health system of Australia that covers 80 hospitals. Also have install at West Penn Allegheny Health System.

- The Ohio Health Information Partnership, a regional extension center serving parts of the state, announced it selected 5 preferred HER vendor:

o Allscripts

o eClinicalWorks

o eMDs

o NextGen

o Sage
- Geisinger Health System of Pennsylvania was featured recently in Bloombery Businessweek as having spent $35 million to install Epic EHR, and then spent another 4@ million to get the system to work with its pharmacy database.
- Epic won EHR contract from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
- Dell reported that its sales to healthcare vertical are responsible for its recent financial performance. The company reported that its profits more than doubled, and its revenue was up 19%. Examples of contracts won:

o Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX

o Western Maryland Health Systems in Cumberland, ND

o Songjiang Hospital in Shanghai, China
- Dr. Robert Wheatley of Florissant, MO reported that his laptop computer was stolen from a locked vehicle which contained information on 1,400 patients.

- Vangent of Arlington, VA won a $3.3 million EHR contract from Indian Health Services for locations in:

o Aberdeen

o Albuquerque

o Bemidji

o Billings

o California

o Nashville

o Navajo

o Oklahoma City

o Phoenix

o Portland

o Tucson
- Athenahealth announced its EHR product was selected as preferred choice by Tri-State Regional Extension Center (REC) which covers Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana.
- Meditech wins EHR contract from Memorial Hospital of Illinois. The company also has system in place at Chandler Regional Medical Center of Arizona.
- NextGen won contract to provide its EHR to physicians of Baptist Health Care of Florida and Alabama.
- C3 Partners LLC announced it is offering a on-line software package to assist physicians make sure they are meeting Meaningful Use requirements for fed stimulus funding. www.hitechanswers.net

- According to Office for Civil Rights, over 5 million people have been affected by healthcare data breaches since September, 2009.

This Week in Document Imaging 117/10

2010-11-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

- According to the Department of Health & Human Services, more than 5 million Americans have been affected by HIPAA data breaches since, 9/2009.
- According to The Ponemon Institute, hospitals spent $6 billion annually because of patient data breaches, and Federal regulations (i.e. HIPAA) have not improved the safety of patient records. Research showed:
o hospitals are not protecting patient data
o hospitals admit to being vulnerable to data breaches
o breaches are occurring frequently and often go unreported
o only a small percentage of healthcare organizations rely on security technology

- ScImage Inc. of Los Altos, CA announced that it has developed software to integrate EMR software systems with Konica Minolta ImagePilot digital radiography systems, using HL7 communications and web-viewing technologies.

- Former employee, Cam Giang, pled guilty to stealing personal information (name, date of birth and Social Security numbers) from 218 coworkers while at University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Mr. Giang was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison.

- A skin printer? The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine announced they have developed an inkjet printer that deposits skin cells directly onto a wound to help it heal faster.

- Results of survey conducted by CompTIA:
o 34% of healthcare providers report using EHR system
o 16% report using a partial EHR system
o 29% are evaluating their options
o 20% have not yet started research

- More reason why healthcare firms should use biometric finger vein reader options:
o 100 times more accurate than finger print scans
o Nearly impossible to hack
o Scanner converts subcutaneous vein pattern into thousands of zeroes and ones
o All data encrypted and hidden behind firewall
o Encrypted to AES 128 bit
o You can not leave your vein pattern at a crime scene
o Prevents medical records overlays and merging
o Prevents identity theft
o Prevents lack of ID for unconscious patients

- Allscripts announced it won an EHR system contracts from:
o United Hospital Systems of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
o Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital of New York
o Martin Memorial Health Systems of Florida

- Allscripts CEO, Glenn Tullman stated that the federal government will spend as much as $27.4 billion between 2011 and 2021 to encourage health professionals to install EHR systems.

- Epic wins more EHR contracts:
o $56 million from New Hanover Regional Medical Center (which is receiving $13.7 million in federal incentive money)
o $450 million system at the 28 hospital Sisters of Mercy Health System in Arkansas
o Fairview Northland Medical Center in Minnesota
o Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Minnesota
o Pen Bay Healthcare of Maine

- According to survey conducted by KLAS, the most popular EHR providers for community hospitals:
o For small hospitals of 1 to 150 beds = Meditech
o 151 to 300 beds is Cerner
o 300+ beds is Epic

- Meditech reported that its last quarter’s revenues were up 23%.

- Meditech announced it has certified Canon & Kyocera MFPs as printers for its system.

- Sage Intergy wins contract for 90 radiation therapy centers in 16 states for 21st Century Oncology, headquartered in Florida.

- NextGen announced:
o wins EHR system contract from ACT Health Management Services of North Carolina with 400 locations and 70 clinicians
o wins HER system contract from Methodist Hospital of Texas (5 hospitals and 289 physicians)
o reported that its revenue was up 14% to $81.5 million during last quarter.

- Athenahealth wins a EHR system contract from Holy Cross Hospital of New Mexico.

- EHR federal government timeline:
o Fall of 2010 = certified EHR technology available and listed on ONC website
o January, 2011 = Registration for EHR incentives begin
o January, 2011 = State Medicaid providers may launch the programs
o April, 2011 = Attestation for EHR incentive programs begins
o May, 2011 = incentive payments begin
o November 30th, 2011 = last day for hospitals to register and attest to receive incentive payment for FY2011
o February 29, 2012 = last day for physicians to register and attest to receive incentive payments for CY2011
o 2014 = Last year to initiate participation in program
o 2015 = Medicare payments are reduced for those that have not installed EHR system and shown meaningful use
o 2016 = last year to receive incentive payments and last year to initiate participation
o 2021 = last year to receive incentive payment

- Microsoft reported that only 150 hospitals worldwide are connected to its HealthVault personal health platform.

- McKesson, provider of EHR systems, announced it is buying US Oncology for $2.16 billion. US Oncology of The Woodlands, Texas, makes EHR systems for 1,300 community-based oncologists.

- Cerner wins contract for EHR system at Regional Medical Center in South Carolina. Also has install at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

- After originally not being selected, Missouri healthcare officials are giving Cerner a second change after the Kansas City based company failed to make a two-state list of preferred EHR vendors.

- eClinicalWorks announced it won an EHR systems contract from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, for its 800 doctors.

- A survey of hospital medical records departments conducted by CapSite found:
o 3M Health Information Systems has 30% marketshare
o Meditech has 22% marketshare
o 41% plan to invest in new applications during next 24 months

- The 2010 HIMSS (health information management systems society) Security Solutions Survey found:
o 50% spent 3% or less of their IT budgets on security
o 14% of hospitals have yet to conduct a risk analysis
o 33% of clinics have yet to conduct a risk analysis
o 31% have encrypted data on laptop computers
o 16% have not encrypted any laptop computers
o 69% have plan in place to respond to a data breach
o 33% of hospitals have fulltime chief security officer
o 8% of clinics have fulltime chief security officer
o 38% have designated a staffer to handle security responsibiities

- Surescripts Inc., which operates a nationwide e-prescribing network, announced that it will now support and enable the electronic exchange of all types of clinical information.

- Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has sued health insurer WellPoint Inc. for $300,000, alleging the firm took too long to notify Indiana residents affected by a HIPAA data breach, affecting 32,000 people. The breach was related to a website that inadvertently exposed personal financial info and SS#’s.

- FormFast Software announced it won contract for electronic forms software from Capital Region Medical Center of Jefferson City, MO.

- Scientists from the University of Oxford have shown that they can improve a person’ math abilities for up to 6 months by applying an electrical current to the human brain.

- A document management survey conducted by Version One revealed:
o 86% of senior IT professionals are still reliant on paper records
o 51% stated that they are “very reliant” on paper based records
o 1% stated that they “hardly ever” rely on paper
o 13% stated that they are “occasionally reliant” on paper
o 32% would switch to document management system (DMS) to improve customer service
o 20% said that assurance that electronic documents are legally admissible would be key driver for eliminating paper
o 48% want to be assured that DMS would provide enough security

- WorkflowOne announced it won a document management solutions contract from the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Dayton, Ohio.

- Survey results from Medical Group Management Association (MGMA):
o Hospitals with EHR systems reported $49,916 greater total medical revenue after operating cost per physician than practices using paper
o After 5 years of use, practices reported an operating margin 10.1% greater than practices in their first year of EHR

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging "Industry Notes" 10/31/10

2010-11-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

OpenText of Canada, maker of fax servers (FaxPress & Rightfax) and DMS (Hummingbird) announced it has purchased StreamServe Inc., for $71 million, which makes electronic forms software.
- Keane Inc., a company which specializes in offering managed IT services to healthcare industry, announced it was acquired by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) of Japan for $1.2 billion.

- Allscripts, a vendor of EHR, announced that last quarter’s revenue was $192.5 million compared to previous quarter’s revenue of $190.3 million

- McKesson, EHR vendor, announced it won contract from Cowherd Family Medical Center of Heber, Arkansas.

- Federal authorities arrested 4 people in connection with $200 million fraudulent Medicare claims in Miami. The companies involved were American Therapeutic Corp. and Medilink Professional Management Group, and had to do with bogus mental health therapy sessions.

- Auxilio, a company that specializes in offering managed print services to the healthcare industry, announced it won another bid in New York, with a $3.5 million, 3 year contract from New York Hospital Queens.

- Surescripts Inc. announced it is expanding its nationwide e-prescribing network with a new service that will allow for exchange of clinical health information. It includes:
o Up to date summaries of patient’s recent visits
o Secure messaging tools
o Net2Net Connect for sending and receiving clinical info outside their network
o Message Stream for electronic exchange of clinical info
o Clinical Message Portal for those without EHR that wish to send and receive info

- Results from healthcare survey conducted by SK&A:
o Survey of 213,500 medical offices
o EHR adoption at hospital-owned offices grew from 44.1% to 54.9% (10.8% increase)
o EHR Adoption at health-system owned offices grew from 50.2% to 61.2% (11% increase)
o Overall, medical office EHR adoption has grown from 36.1% to 38.7% (3% increase)
o Most commonly used EHR functions are:
 28.4% use electronic patient notes
 27.3% use electronic labs/x-rays
 25.9% use electronic prescribing
o Physician offices with more exam rooms, more physicians on staff, and higher daily patient volumes have highest EHR adoption rates
o Physician specialties with highest adoption rates
 Radiology = 59.9%
 Pathology = 59.8%
 Aerospace medicine = 59.5%
 Dialysis = 59.3%
 Emergency medicine = 57.6%
o Which states use EHR more?
 Northern states = 40.9%
 Southern states = 40.1%
 Minnesota = 62.6%
 Utah = 55.4%
 Wisconsin = 52.3%

- Survey data released by during the recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA):
o Practices with EHR systems that were not owned by hospitals or integrated delivery systems (IDNs) reported $49,916 greater total medical revenue as compared with those with paper medical records
 These practices also reported greater expenses per physician ($105,591), but had greater median revenue per physician ($178,907) than those with paper medical records systems
 After 5 years of EHR use, had operating margin that was 10.1% greater than practices using EHR for 1 year
o Practices with HER system that were owned by hospitals or IDNs had operating margin that was $42,042 higher than those with paper records
o Medical records staff per physician decreased by 44.12% after install of EHR
o 62% of medical practices will limit the number of new Medicare patients they accept if scheduled reimbursement cuts, totaling more than 30%, go into effect
o Almost 50% stated that they will stop seeing new Medicare patients altogether
o 75% said they planned on delaying purchase of new equipment or facilities
o 50% are planning on reducing staff
o 45% may put off purchasing EHR

- Cerner, maker of EHRs, which recently announced it will build a new office in Kansas, is now asking Kansas City for $50 million in industrial revenue bonds to pay for new computers and other equipment in the new facility. If approved, the city would own the equipment and lease it back to Cerner.

- Siemens, maker of EHR, won contract from Charleston Area Medical Center of West Virginia.

- iSalus Healthcare, maker of EHR systems, announced that the CEO it recently fired, Mark Day, is now suing the company. Mr. Day claims he was fired after reporting that he was suspicious that employees were stealing software.
- Epic, maker of EHR systems, won a contracts from:
o Rush University Medical Center of Illinois.
o New Hanover Regional Medical Center of North Carolina for $56 million to replace McKesson Horizon system

- The Kansas Foundation for Medical Care Inc. and University of Missouri Board of Curators published a list of preferred medical software providers, including GE Healthcare and McKesson. Noticeably absent is Kansas City-based Cerner Corp.

- CapSite announced that its survey reveals that 41% of hospitals will invest in new health information management (HIM) solutions in 2011.

- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will implement auditing procedures to check healthcare providers that are claiming funds for install of EHR systems.

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

This Week in Document Imaging "Industry Notes"

2010-10-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

- The Ottawa Hospital of Canada announced it awarded a contract to Telus Inc. for software system to run 3,000 Apple iPads on a wireless network, with access to its database.

- According to Steven Waldren, director of AAFP’s Center for Health IT, the fed government payments for EHR installs is taxable.

- Cerner wins customer award. Ovum, a division of DataMonitor, announced that based on a survey of the ambulatory healthcare market (not hospitals, which are acute care), that Cerner’s EHR software is number one. More details:
o “Cerner is the most versatile and multi-faceted”
o eClinicalWorks in second place
o GE Healthcare in third place

- Cerner announced it will build a new 600,000 square foot office at Village West in Kansas City, Kansas that will employ 4,000 personnel. Total investment of $16.5 million.

- The Hospital Corporation of American (HCA), headquartered in Nashville, TN, with locations across the U.S. , is apparently testing Cerner’s EHR. This is significant as its current system is from Meditech.

- Siemens, maker of EHR system and other technologies, announced it will layoff 17,000 people worldwide due to slow sales.

- Epic, maker of EHR systems, won more hospital contracts:
o Yuma Regional Medical Center of Arizona, which has 333 beds, and contract is worth $73 million.

o Moses Cone Healthcare, which has facilities in North Carolina and employs 7,400 people. Total contract value up to $120 million.

o Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York

- Katina Candrick was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and a $163,000 fine for stealing information on 1,200 patients while working for MedAssets.

- Athennhealth, maker of EHR systems, announced that its revenue has grown 33% this past quarter to $63.1 million

- Allscripts, maker of EHR systems, announced it won contract from the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center of New York.

- HIPAA data security breach. Keystone Mercy Health Plan and AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan, insurance providers in Pennsylvania, reported the loss of an unencrypted portal flash drive that contained patient data for 280,000 members.

- GE Healthcare announced EHR installs at:
o Capital Region Healthcare in Concord, NH
o Decatur Memorial Hospital in Decatur, IL

- McKesson, maker of EHR systems, announced it won a contract from Greater Florida Anesthesiologists.

- McKesson agreed to pay the state of Connecticut a $15 million fine to settle charges of illegally inflating drug costs.

- Cause of data theft named after Greek god. The Zeus malware program is being blamed for many thefts of customer information. The computer virus first appeared in Europe in the mid-90s. and the makers continue to modify it to circumvent whatever security measure are put in place. It is a keylogger software, meaning it affects a PC, and then tracks keystrokes, making it ideal for tracking bank account information.

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook"

Getting into already-tied-up accounts by selling solutions

2010-10-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to meet Yusuf when he joined the Print4Pay Hotel forums and then emailed me a short note about the solutions that Dipritec provides for the MPS and MFP industry. Since I had not heard of Dipritec and their solutions I asked him to be a quest blogger for us. Enjoy!!

Getting into already-tied-up accounts by selling solutions

There is one customer objection that every sales person cringes upon hearing: “We have signed a 3-year contract with another company and can’t buy printers until that contract goes out”.

Now I am not a printer salesman, and I won’t claim expertise in the area. But one thing I do have under my belt is that we have many resellers selling our print management solution, and they claim to have found a great way to overcome this objection.

Simply tell the customer that you are not interested in selling them printers, so the exclusivity agreement doesn’t matter. Instead, tell them that you are interested in how they manage those printers that your competitor has sold to them.

Very commonly, they are aware that they do not have a good strategy for managing their printers. For example, it can be difficult to track and reduce costs of printing, or they may lack functions such as print and pull. I have written another article about how a pull and print solution can help companies reduce costs and improve security.

If the organization is big and has multiple offices, a problem that is very often persistent and difficult to solve is how those printers are networked efficiently from an IT standpoint. For example, are there print servers in each office and how does that affect energy usage and maintenance costs? How are printer drivers kept track of and updated centrally? And how much time does the IT support spend on printer related issues?

By first going in with a standalone software solution instead of machines, many of our resellers’ account managers have established long-term relationships with their competitors’ customers, even when those customers have been tied up in long-term contracts. Learn the basics about a great print management software, and use this strategy next time you get the above objection!
Yusuf Hasanogullari
Tel: +353 (0) 876 74 04 22
yusuf@dipritec.com
---
Dipritec - Take control of your printers
www.dipritec.co.uk

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Sharp MX-B402 "Spec Review"

2010-10-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sharp launched a new A4 b/w laser MFP, the MX-B402 featuring:

o Base MSRP of $4795

o 40ppm top speed

o Will replace the MX-B401

o 50 second warmup time and 8 second first copy out time

o Has 25% lower cost per page to the dealer
o 20,000 page yield for black toner (based on 5% coverage per page)
o 7” color touchscreen LCD display with thumbnail preview
o 600x600dpi
o Optional fax board with PC fax
o Handles up to 110lb. index paper weight
o Comes standard with 100 sheet stack bypass and one 500 sheet paper drawer, and can up to 3 more drawers to make unit floor standing
o Auto duplex & 50 sheet document feeder standard with 35opm scan speed
o Card shot standard
o Built-in print controller:
 Actual maker unknown (most likely Zoran)
 IPv6
 10/100/1000BaseT& USB ports in rear
 USB port in front for print from thumb drive
 Optional card readers
 800MHz processor from Freescale
 512MB RAM (separate 1GB RAM for copier features)
 80GB hard drive
• Optional hard drive data security kit
 PCL & PostScript print drivers standard
• Optional XPS print driver which requires purchase of 1GB RAM option
 imageSEND scans documents to 7 destinations
• USB/network/email
• Scans in color
 Internet fax
 OSA technology for optional embedded applications
o Optional internal 30 sheet stapling finisher

-=Greets from Sandy Hook=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes

2010-09-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

- TIFF format works better with OCR than PDF? According to Sam Schrage, president of AnyDoc, maker of document capture software, “It’s really about applying the least common denominator. With TIFF files, you have a better idea of what you are getting. The only variation is going to be the layout. With electronic files, you have to worry about different formats, versions of formats, and even things like macros.”

- Another healthcare data breach. The University of Kentucky is notifying 2,207 people that their personal information including Social Security numbers was on a laptop computer that was stolen.

- Federal regulators now estimate that nearly 4.8 million individuals have potentially had their personal information exposed due to the 138 breaches reported so far.

- A study by Frost & Sullivan predicts that revenue for the U.S. ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) market will double from $1.3 billion in 2009 to an estimated $.26 billion in 2012.

- The Drummond Group announced that it has received approval by the feds to offer certification services to healthcare customers for their EHR systems. Pricing starts at:
o Remote testing of EHR = $19,500
o Onsite testing = $23,500 plus travel
o (the other firm who is allowed to certify is CCHIT)

- Epic announced it won an EHR contract from Maine Medical Center, to replace their Eclipsys system.

- Cerner announced it won an EHR contract from Naples Community Hospital.

- The Detroit Medical Center claims that its new EHR system from Cerner will save the hospital $5 million per year. The system cost the hospital $50 million to implement.

- The CFO of Danbury Health System of Connecticut was arrested and charged with cutting checks totaling $140,000 to an EHR software company he ran out of his house.

- Aon Consulting is notifying 22,000 State of Delaware retirees that it inadvertently included their Social Security numbers in a request for proposal that it prepared to the state.

- Survey results from Imprivata about healthcare customers readiness for HIPAA rules:
o 76% claim a data security breach is their greatest security concern
o 38% report that they can not track inappropriate document access
o 76% report that top budget priority is buying an EHR system
o What type of authentication will you deploy to meet HIPAA?
 83% = passwords
 37% = biometrics
 35% = proximity ID cards
o 90% believe that use of passwords slows down patient care from doctors
o 48% are still not sure if their existing EHR qualifies for fed gov reimbursements (under ARRA/HITECH act)
o 46% believe the biggest challenge for complying with fed rules is educating employees
o 47% are not sure if they are subject to any state laws regarding data security
o 97% state that new fed rules drive their purchasing decisions

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Canon imageCLASS MF9280Cdn and MF9220Cdn "Spec Review"

2010-09-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

Canon launched two new A4 desktop color laser MFPs, the imageCLASS MF9280Cdn and MF9220Cdn featuring:
o Copy/scan/fax/print standard
o Auto duplex standard
o 50 sheet document feeder
o Comes standard with 250 sheet paper drawer and 100 sheet stack bypass
o Optional 500 sheet paper drawer
o 22ppm color or b/w top speed
o 4 tandem OPC drum design
o 3.5” full color LCD display (not touch screen)
 Easy Scroll Wheel to help select features on the display
o Built-in print controller
 Actual maker unknown
 USB port
 Can print from or scan to a USB thumb drive
 Scan to email with LDAP
 MF9220 offers PCL print driver only
 MF9280 has PCL and PostScript print drivers
 Apparently no XPS print driver available

Need to lease or buy a new multifunctional copier? Call a P4P solutions expert at p4pcafe http://www.p4pcafe.homestead.com/

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes 8/22/10

2010-08-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

- Legal vertical workload increases. According to Cowen Group, litigation support departments at law firms are experiencing double digit growth in workload during 2010. Data includes:
o work hours are up
o increases in eDiscovery workloads
o increase in litigation support
o many plan to add staff
o increases in budget for technology purchases

- IBM announced it will offer healthcare IT in the cloud working with Aetna Insurance through its ActiveHealth unit. It will compete with similar offerings from Practice Fusion, AthenaHealth and eClinicalWorks.

- Prompted by the CBS report in April on copier data security, a newspaper in Europe, called News of the World, did its own investigation of copier hard drives. The newspaper purchased a number of trade-in copiers and found:
o NATO briefing notes
o Details of a bank account belonging to BAE systems (a large defense contractor)
o The information was found on the hard drive of a Canon imageRUNNER

- Fujitsu launched a free service that lets individuals use their mobile phones to keep personal health records. The cell phones have sensors to record weight, body fat and blood pressure.

- Fujitsu and the University of Tokyo announced that they have jointly built a supercomputer system that can development drugs to treat cancer and metastasis.

- The Forrester Group reported that its survey of healthcare IT professionals revealed that 75% had their systems go down over the last year. 61% stated it took more than 1 hour to recover from the crash.

- Epson announced a new print driver, called ESC/P-R, that will allow some of its color inkjet printers to print from Royal Phillips ultrasound equipment in the healthcare industry

- Recent data on healthcare reveals:
o currently there are roughly 750,000 healthcare establishments in the U.S.
 6,013 hospitals
 918,000 physicians
• 67% affiliated with hospital
• 60% have no HER
• Less than 25% of doctors prescribe drugs electronically
o In addition to medical records and forms, the most common paper documents per department are:
 Customer Records include contracts, forms, authorizations, contact reports and email
 Human Resources include resumes, contracts, expense reports, vacation requests and reviews
 Legal includes contracts, e-discovery and auditing
 Purchasing includes purchase orders, receiving slips, invoices and confirmations
 Product management includes designs, drawings, data sheets and contacts
o The most common reasons why they will invest in technology:
 81.5% want to increase productivity
 67.7% want to lower costs
 60% want to address security requirements
o Only 40% of those surveyed had some type of document management system

- Recent AMA survey shows that it is not uncommon for medical practices to report a gross collection rate of only 60% or less. This means that for every $1.00 of medical services billed, the physician may only receive 60 cents. Other findings:
o gross charges denied by payers has grown to 14-18%
o denied, rejected, resubmitted and underpaid claims can costs as much as $100,000 per month
o practice can lose as much as $75,000 per year in denied claims that are never resubmitted
o many practices do not resubmit up to 50% of their claims
o underpayment of claims is as much as 35% lower than contracted amount

- In a recent healthcare industry trade magazine, in section titled “The Healthcare IT Guy”, recent reminders were given for doctors to qualify for federal funds for implementation of an electronic health records (EHR) system: (of which MFPs, scanners, document management and middleware can play a role)
o If starting implementation in 2012, will be eligible for full payments from Medicare ($44K over 5 years)
o Can start as late as 201 to get full payments from Medicaid ($63K+ over 6 years)
o For hospitals, payments include a base amount of $2 million, plus $200 per patient, starting with the hospital’s 1,150th patient discharged and ending with No. 23,000, beginning in 2011 fiscal year.
 Both doctors and hospitals that cannot “demonstrate meaningful use of EHR” by beginning of the 2015 fiscal year will be penalized

- As the healthcare industry “digitizes”, one of the concerns is the amount of data storage that will be required. In a recent article in “Healthcare Technology”, the data collected by medical imaging (radiology) equipment was detailed:
o “Prior to the mid-90s, most of the scanning was only two slices. Now 3D visualization is a must-have application and a primary diagnostic tool. This has had a significant impact on the medical imaging industry. For example, if you took a head and neck scan in 1994, it was about 21 slices. Today, a single head and neck scan is 240 slices.”
o Formats/acronyms used in radiology are; PACS (picture archiving and communication system) and DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine)

- Four different insurance companies announced that they will offer financial incentives to physicians and hospitals for meeting federal EHR meaningful use rules:
o Aetna
o Highmark
o UnitedHealth
o WellPoint

- EHR provider, Epic, announced contracts with:
o Tucson Medical Center
o Kaiser

- Two senators attempt to expand who can get the HITECH subsidies from Medicare and Medicaid:
o Sheldon Whitehouse & Jack Reed of Rhode Island introduced bill
o Want monies to be available for EHR implementation by mental health, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment professionals
o Currently, psychiatrists are eligible, but not psych hospitals, clinical social workers and substance abuse programs

- Another healthcare data security issue. Someone broke into a Texas allergy clinic and stole four PCs containing personal health information (PHI). It cost the clinic $15,000 to send the mandatory breach notifications letters to its 25,000 patients, far more than the cost of replacing the computers.

- And another. Four Massachusetts community hospitals are investigating how thousands of patient records ended up in a pile at a local dump site that was 20 feet wide and 20 feet long. A newspaper photographer discovered the records when he was dumping his own trash, and notified the 4 hospitals; Milford, Holyoke, Carney and Milton.

- The Department of Health & Human Services announced that in 2007, Medicare overpaid physicians by $13.8 million for incorrectly coded claims.

- Eclipsys (which was just acquired by Allscripts) announced it won an EHR contract from Isabel Healthcare of Falls Church, VA.

- Allscripts, maker of EHR software, announced it has hired former U.S. Attorney, Ken Alexander, as its new Executive VP and General Counsel. It also announced it won a contract from the Iowa Health System.

- According to an Institute of Medicine study, 1.5 million Americans are injured each year and 7,000 die from preventable medication errors.

-=Greetings from the Highlands=-

Sharp MX-M623 and MX-M753 "Spec Review"

2010-08-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

Gathered from Print4Pay Hotel Members from around the world and a few moles in very good places!

- Sharp gave out more details on its new digital b/w A3 copiers, the MX-M623 and MX-M753:
o Replace the M620 and M700
o Base MSRPs of $19,500 and $23,900
o 62ppm and 75ppm top speeds respectively
o Unlike competitive models in this speed ranges, these models have the “hole-in-the-middle” design, so do not look like true “console” designs that customer prefer in this speed range due to copy volumes
o Code name for this engine is the Sharp “Dragon” engine, which was originally launched in 2004
o Models have the textured light gray plastic design of slower speed Sharp models
o 8.5” full color LCD touch screen control panel
o Uses second generation “microfine” pulverized toner
o Optional retractable keyboard
o Optional common access card (CAC) reader
o OPC drum and developer have yield of 300,000
o Toner yield of 83,000 pages based on 5% per page coverage
o 300K/month maximum duty cycle
o 1200x1200dpi print output, 600x600dpi copier output & 600x600dpi scan resolution
o Comes standard with 3,100 sheet paper supply
 Maximum paper capacity with options of 6,600 sheets
 Letter size LCT for $1425, Tabloid size LCT for $2900
o Document feeder can:
 Hold up to 150 originals with top scan speed of 75opm
 Can scan both sides of original at same time
o Finishing options include:
 $3450 for 50 sheet staple or $6550 for 100 sheet staple
 $5000 for 50 sheet staple and 80 sheet booklet maker
 $715 for punch kit
 $2275 for cover inserter
o Built-in print controller features:
 Actual maker unknown (most likely Zoran)
 Uses 800MHz processor from Freescale (not Intel)
 1GB RAM (can be increased to 2GB)
 80GB hard drive
 $399 for hard drive security kit
 Comes standard only with USB port for “host” based printing, meaning that the customers computer has to do the processing of the print jobs
 Optional onboard processing (included on the “N” models)
 $3400 for PCL print driver
• $745 for PostScript print driver
• $595 for barcode printing
• $625 for XPS print driver (for Microsoft Windows 7)
• All require extra 1GB RAM for $500
 $1095 for network scanning
• color scanning
• scan to email/desktop/FTP/SMB/USB (no scan to WebDAV)
• $1230 for compressed PDFs
 Can scan to or print from a USB thumb drive
 Open Systems Architecture (OSA) allows for optional embedded applications but requires $349 Application Integration Module
o $1295 for analog fax board and $545 for Internet fax
- Canon claims that it new imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFP models are environmentally friendly. That it emits 20% less CO2 when compared to previous models. The machine’s plastic exteriors also are made partly by plant-based materials. (company did not explain why it has not switched to dark plastic instead of off-white plastic which requires bleaching)

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Kyocera FS-3140MFP "Spec Review"

2010-08-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

- Kyocera (aka Kyoto Ceramic Company), announced two new A4 b/w MFPs, called the FS-3040MFP and FS-3140MFP offering:
o Actually made by Kyocera
o 42ppm top speed
o Base MSRPs of $2649 and $2979
 Models are identical, except 3140 includes analog fax
o RADF holds up to 50 sheets and has top speed of 42opm b/w and 25opm for color
o Toner yield of 15,000 pages based on 5% coverage per page and sells for $81
o $268 for maintenance kit with yield of 300,000 pages
o ASi (amorphous silicon or ceramic drum)
o 200K/month maximum duty cycle
o 22 second warmup time
 7 second first copy out time
o 100 sheet bypass and 500 sheet drawer standard
 Can add up to three more 500 sheet drawers for $249 each
 Optional envelope feeder
o Auto duplex
o Built-in print controller:
 Made by Peerless
 667MHz IBM PowerPC processor
 256MB RAM (can upgrade to 768MB)
 No hard drive
 10/100BaseT & USB ports
 PCL, PostScript & XPS print drivers standard
 Scan to PC/network/FTP/email (no LDAP)
 No secure print or accounting

P4P Notes: Based on a monthly volume of 5,000 pages per month over 36 months, this device will cost you $2,268 for consumables! Note, that this does NOT include service or parts. The cost per page is 0.0126, thus if you were to use the maximum duty cycle of 200,000 pages in one month, your cost would be $2,520 for that month!

Do you need a quote from a qualified, experienced representative for a multifunctional copier? If so read our mantra P4PCafe

-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-

Xerox Phaser 6125 "What's the Total Cost of Operation"

2010-08-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

In 31 years of selling laser printers to commercial accounts, well...I've pretty much seen it all. Over those years I've had many clients who did not purchase a laser printer from me, because they thought my printer was too expensive!

What peeves me the most is when I'm trying to communicate (help) the cost per page of a device or the total cost of ownership of the device. Many accounts will opt for the small inexpensive printers where the manufacturer states "with a maximum duty cycle of 40,000 pages per month" (Duty cycle: the maximum possible number of pages that can be printed per month) I ask you, what the heck does Duty Cycle really mean? Does it mean, I can print 40,000 pages each and every month on this device that only cost me $349 for the printer?

Let me show you what happens if you would print 40,000 pages per month on that device. The first printer device we'll look at is the Xerox Phaser 6125 (whoa, a Phaser, I'll need one of these to fight off the Romulans when Kirk and Spock pick me up later tonight).

I have this neat software package that can actually give the cost per page of most printers and multifunctional products and why shouldn't I. I'm the darn expert. Some software programs may vary in the price per page.

So, this really hot (phaser) Xerox Phaser 6125 sells for $349. While it has a neat print speed of 12 pages per minute for color and 18 pages per minute for black. The black toner cartridge cost for this device is $63.36 with a yield of 2,000 pages. Mind you that the 1,600 pages is based on probably 5% coverage of the page. There are three color cartridges, Cyan, and Yellow are $54.63 each and Magenta is $55.31 each. The estimated yield for the color cartridges is 1,000 pages based on 20% coverage.

Now, you may ask what is 20% color coverage of the page, pretty much if you condensed all of the color print area to one area, it means it can't cover more than 20% of the page. Take a trip here to see color page coverage examples

Back to the color cost per page (we're just gonna focus on the color cost per page), divide the cost of all four cartridges by the yield, and then add em up and you have a color cost per page of .1926. Ok, I gonna print me my maximum volume of 40,000 pages, so, how much is that gonna cost me? It's gonna cost you $7,704 each and every month, and if you maintain that volume for 36 months, you'll be out a whopping $282,529! WHOA, NOW THAT'S A REALLY BIG NUMBER!

How about if you print all your docs with 40% coverage (go back to the page coverage link for an example). Get a load of this number, simple math it's twice the cost. $565,345 for the total cost of operation and that's about .39 cents per page. YIKES, THAT WILL ALMOST GET ME A RIDE INTO SPACE VIA THE RUSSIANS!

Wanna see more? At 100% coverage the Total Cost of Operation runs up to $1,413,217 and a cost per page for just under ONE DOLLAR. DAM, 1.4 MILLION DOLLARS THAT'S ENOUGH TO GET ME ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE FOR A WEEK!

Hey, I understand that most users don't print all their pages at 40%, and I understand (because I'm in the business) that this printer will might choke a few times before it prints 40,000 pages in one month, however how does the end user know this? There's no disclaimers, well maybe it can do 40,000 pages per month, but at 12 pages per minute that would take almost 55 hours to complete. Point is there should be some type of real measuring stick for these types of devices. Like there's no way on Earth or Romulus that this system will print 40,000 color pages per month every month and I don't like this "Print volume uniformly distributed over 30 days" it's in the fine print of the brochure!

In closing, if you're thinking about doing on 40,000 color pages per month, with 20% coverage on the page, opt for the SAVING MONEY, and call a Print4Pay Hotel member to save you some real cash. Here's a neat link (P4P Cafe) to get a quote on a Really Nice MFP so you can get that Really Expensive Ride to Romulus!!

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh's New 430DN Color Printer "What's the Real Cost"

2010-07-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

As budgets increase, more attention is paid to the "Total Cost of Ownership" (TCO).

What's the Total Cost of Ownership?

It's the combination of price paid for the printer along with the estimated cost for consumables and service.

Calculating the Cost of the Ricoh 430DN

Black Toner $84 with an expected yield of 24,000 pages = .0035
Cyan Toner $220 with an expected yield of 21,000 pages = .0105
Magenta Toner $220 with an expected yield of 21,000 pages = .0105
Yellow Toner $220 with an expected yield of 21,000 pages = .0105

Total Cost Per Page for the first 50,000 Pages = .035 cents for color and .005 cents for black (monochrome).

Now, you may be wondering why I mentioned the first 50,000 pages. The reason, is that after the first 50,000 pages other consumable items will be needed. These are listed below:

Color Photoconductor (Drums, 3 included)cost of $470 and a yield of 50K = .0094 per page
Black Photoconductor (Drum, 1 included) cost of $157 and a yield of 50K = .0031 per page
Waste Toner Bottle with a cost of $24 and a yield of 50K = .0005 per page
Transfer Unit with a cost of $143 and a yield of 100K = .00143 per page
Fuser/Maintenance Kit with a cost of $227 and a yield of 120K = .0019 per page.

So, after the first 50,000 pages you'll have a cost per page of .0513 for color and .0104 for monochrome. The cost per page does not include service or labor. While I'm on the service and labor kick, I've seen customers buy color lasers printers and then dump them when they reach the first time they have to invest in consumables other than toner, they'll then go out and get another new system to keep the low cost per page, plus they don't incur any additional service costs.

Cost for 150,000 color pages (with cost of printer) without service/labor is $8,079. I would throw in another $550 or so for service/labor and you'll have a cost of $8,629 and then we divide by the pages printed for the Total Cost of Ownership. The cost..... do we get a drum roll? Ta Da! .0575 per page for color. This is a very good cost per page!

These figure are based on a 20% page coverage, if you need samples of page coverage, take a trip here.

In a couple of days we'll look at the "Sweet" features of the Ricoh 430DN Printer. BTW the "D" stand s for Duplex and the "N" stands for Network>

-=Greets from the Highlands=-

New Ricoh 430DN Color Cost Per Page @ .038?

2010-07-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this new Color Printer from Ricoh. Printer Showcase is stating a cost per page of .038 per page! Strange the numbers I have from Ricoh is .0513 per page for 20% coverage. All in all .0513 is very inexpensive also, just would like to know how they figured their cost per page?

-=Greetings from the Highlands=-

Paradigm Imaging Group Reveals New Rocket Scanner Controller

2010-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

PARADIGM IMAGING GROUP

1590 METRO DRIVE #116

COSTA MESA, CA 92626

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jane Napolitano

Email: jane@paradigmimaging.com

Web site: http://www.SCANtopia.com

Paradigm Imaging Group Reveals New Rocket Scanner Controller®

Costa Mesa, CA – April 27, 2010 – Paradigm Imaging Group, a leading distributor of large-format scanning and printing solutions, reveals new upgrades to their Rocket Scanner Controller®

Paradigm’s exclusive Rocket Scanner Controller®, a key component of their popular line of multifunction scan-print-copy systems, has been upgraded and improved. The new Rocket® boasts a faster CPU, better graphics controller and a new, sleek design. The 2GB memory can now be upgraded to 8GB, up from 4GB in the previous version.

Specifications:

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
RIP Processor: Intel Core™ 2 Quad Q8400 (4M Cache, 2.66Hz,1333 MHz FSB)
Memory: 2 GB DDR PC2-5300 expandable up to 8GB
Onboard Graphic: Integrated Intel X4500, DirectX 10 Support, DVI resolution 2048 x 1526
Hard Drive: 250GB SATA IDE (7200 rpm), 8MB Cache
CD-ROM: CD/DVD R±RW Combo Drive
Ports and Connectors: Front Panel:
2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Microphone-In, 1 Earphone-Out, Power-On button, Power LED, HDD LED

Back Panel: 1 PCI-E x16 slot, 1 PCI slot, 1 RJ45 Gigabit LAN port, 1 D-sub VGA port, 1 DVI-D VGA port, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 PS/2 keyboard port, 1 PS/2 mouse port, 1 Line in port, 1 Line out port, 1 MIC in port, 1 Clear CMOS button
Networking: 100Base-T 100Mb/s and 1Gb/s operation with Support Wake-On-LAN function
Keyboard: Mini 101 PS/2 keyboard w/touch pad or standard 105 PS/2 Keyboard
Monitor: 15" Touch Panel (1024x768) or 17" LCD (1280x1024)
Dimensions: Chassis 9” (w) x 8” (h) x 13” (d) (not including monitor & keyboard)
Said Randy Geesman, President of Paradigm Imaging Group, “The Rocket® is a vital differentiator in our popular line of multifunction solutions, enabling us to provide a powerful controller in a unique, compact design. This is another example of our ongoing quest to enhance and expand our product offering, providing our customers with current, viable, intelligent large format solutions.”

About Paradigm Imaging Group
Paradigm Imaging Group is a large format solutions provider whose expertise extends from scanning and printing products to imaging systems integration, software development and product distribution. Paradigm counts among its clients companies in reprographics, architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing, as well as numerous public agencies at all levels of government. Since 1989, Paradigm has grown to become a leading provider of large format scanning and printing solutions.

-=Greets from Sandy Hook=-

How to scan2word and scan2excel from Ricoh & NSI

2010-03-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a really cool solution for NSI Autostore and Ricoh java enabled device that allows you to scan2word or scan2excel plus a few other excellent time saving workflows!

Buy a Multifunctional Copier Printer Scanner? The Time is NOW!

2010-03-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

This thread was posted today by a Print4Pay Hotel member. If you're in the market for an Multifunctional Copier, Printer or Scanner, the time to buy or lease is NOW before prices increase again!!

I have noticed there have been a lot of changes in the Value of International Currency vs the USD.

Samsung a year ago was getting a huge currency advantage with the South Korean WON at 1453 vs $1.00. It has now fallen to 1125 as the USD continues to weaken.

The Canadian $1.00 is now slightly above the USD.

$1.00 USD has fallen from 98 Yen to 90 Yen over the last year.

Some MFP vendors will soon be forced to soon raise prices simply because of current unfavorable currency valuations. It is not uncommon for National Copier Manufacturers to strike a deal with their foreign HQ twice a year to fix currency rates for the next six months. That negotiation usually occurs around now with a weak USD and again in Sept.

Here's another:

The Chinese YUAN has only marginally changed in the last 12 months compared to the USD.

I have read on CNBC that this could be as much a result of Chinese Govt manipulating their currency on the world market to be undervalued to encourage exports.

Need a proposal or quote for a new Multifunctional Copier? Click this link and have P4P Specialists prepare a free proposal for you at no charge!

-=Cheers from Sandy Hook=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes 2/26/10

2010-02-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

- According to Modern Healthcare magazine, here are the most popular Electronic Health Records (EHR) software systems for acute care facilities:
- Meditech of Westwood, MA, has 26.6% of market
- McKesson of Alpharetta, GA has 14.1% of market
- Cerner of Kansas City, MO has 12.6% of market
- Siemens of Malvern, PA (HQ in Germany) has 9.5% of market
- CPSI of Mobile, AL has 7.9% of market
- Epic Systems of Verona (Madison), WI has 6% of market
- Eclipsys of Boca Raton, FL has 5.5% of market
- Healthcare Management Systems of Nashville, TN has 5.3% of market
- Healthland of Glenwood, MN has 3.8% of market
- 8% of hospitals surveyed have developed their own proprietary systems

- At the upcoming Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS) show on 2/1-4/2010 in Atlanta, GA, the following companies will have trade show booths:

- AthenaHealth, who offers physician billing, practice management and EHR
- Liberty Solutions Inc., a dealer for Cerner, Allscripts, Siemens, Epic, Eclipsys, Meditech & McKesson
- Ambir Technology, maker of card scanners
- Axolotl, maker of Elysium Exchange solutions
- Computer Discount Warehouse (CDW) Healthcare division
- ClearWave Inc., authentication kiosk manufacturer
- Emdeon, payment cycle solutions provider
- InterSystems, maker of Cache’ database software and DeepSee business intelligence software
- NextGen Healthcare, provider of EHR
- Sage Inc., provider of EHR
- SSI Group, provider of claims processing solutions
- Sunquest Information Systems, provider of diagnostic information technology solutions
- Wellsoft, provider of EDIS patient tracking and clinical documentation solutions

- According to HIMSS, about 23% of all data security breaches of healthcare institutions are caused by an employee.

- Joy Pritts, a lawyer from Georgetown University, was named the Chief Privacy Officer for the Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Under the new law/stimulus bill, she will advise on the data security of healthcare agencies using Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems.

- When implementing Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems, requirements that must be addressed include:
- Capturing admission forms, ID and insurance cards
- Scanning patient records
- Transmitting lab instructions
- Filing insurance claim forms (CMS-1500 & UB-04)
- Processing EOB forms
- Processing supplier invoices
- Meeting FDA and other regulatory obligations
- Complying with record retention policies and privacy regulations (HIPAA laws)
- Allowing doctors and administrators simultaneous access to patient clinical records while controlling varying levels of security
- Incorporating Xrays, EKGs, MRIs, test results and supplemental documents with patient records
- Providing access to patient records from remote locations to prescribe treatment

- According to Khaled El Emam, a professor at University of Ottawa, up to 15% of healthcare insurance claims in the U.S. are fraudulent. In New York, alone up there is up to $4 billion in Medicare/Medicaid fraud.

- In the ARRA act, the current rules for healthcare providers to get stimulus funds, includes three requirements as part of the “meaningful use” rules, labeled as “core measures”:
- requirement to record whether a patient uses tobacco
- requirement to record blood pressure
- requirement to record the percentage of elderly patients who receive either one or two prescription drugs deemed to be of “high risk” to the elderly

- Customer confused to difference between EMR (electronic medical records) and EHR (electronic health records)?
- EMR is an umbrella, includes EHR, and encompasses electronically born records as well as paper records
- EHR is roughly 60-75% of patient information, born electronically

- The Justice Department has requested a $2 million budget increase so it can hire 12 attorneys for electronic discovery support.

- Data from recent survey of businesses that use third party managed IT services (MSP) conducted by Ziff Davis:
- Ability of MSPs to exceed customer expectations
- Mean Time Between Failure = 25%
- Systems Uptime = 25%
- Overall Quality = 20%
- Contribution to Meeting Company Business Goals = 16%
- PC Maintenance Expenses = 14%
- Most Common MSP Task Performed:
- AntiVirus = 91%
- Data Backup = 89%
- Help Desk = 72%
- MS Windows patches = 71%
- Remote Admin = 71%
- Systems Monitoring = 68%
- PC Audits = 38%
- PC Discovery = 21%
- Number one reason why MSP fails to sign up a client is when MSP sales rep calls on IT Mgr. instead of CFO, as the IT Mgr. views the MSP as a threat to their job

- THINKstrategies research published results of survey regarding usage of MSPs (managed IT service provider):
- 30% of companies with revenues of $50 million or less are using MSPs
- 55% of companies with revenues over $50 million are using MSPs
- 52% of SMBs (small to medium sized businesses) are NOT considering using MSPs

- Lenovo, which is headquartered in China, and purchased the personal computer division of IBM, announced that it will launch a managed IT services division in 2010.

-=Cheers from Sandy Hook=-

Sharp MX-2301N "Spec Review"

2010-02-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

- Sharp launched a new A3 color MFP overseas that it may also launch in U.S. The new MX-2301N features:
- 23ppm top speed b/w or color
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- Based on the Pastel platform, same as existing MX-2600N and others
- 8.1” color LCD touch screen display
- Does NOT have retractable keyboard like other models
- Optional OSA embedded software
- Built-in print/scan controller (most likely made by Zoran)
- Does NOT offer XPS print driver
- Does NOT offer hard disk overwrite/erase
- Does NOT offer Internet fax
- Optional fax board
- 100 sheet document feeder, with top speed of 50opm (does NOT scan both sides of original at same time)
- Comes standard with two 500 sheet drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
- Auto duplex standard
- Can two more 500 sheet drawers
- Optional internal stapling finisher only

-=Cheers from Sandy Hook=-

Kyocera TASKalfa 552ci "Spec Review"

2010-02-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

- Kyocera now shipping the new TASKalfa 552ci color laser MFP featuring:
- Base MSRP of $20,168
- 55ppm b/w and 50ppm full color top speeds
- 4 tandem amorphous silicon drum design, with life of only 300,000 pages
- 8.5” tilting color touch screen LCD display
- 58 second warmup time
- 4.6 second first b/w copy out time, 6.1 seconds for color
- 225K/month max duty cycle
- Black toner yield of 25,000 pages based on 5% coverage per page
- Color toners yield 18,000 pages
- 600x600dpi
- Advertised as offering 8 bit color depth (but does not specify if it offers 8 bits per pixel)
- Built-in print controller
- 2GB RAM standard
- Two 160GB hard drives standard (print and copy)
- Hard drive data security kit $580
- Copy data security kit $1155
- 800MHz processor
- PCL, PostScript & XPS print drivers standard
- Peerless technology
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports standard
- No optional 1000BaseT port
- Scan to email/LDAP/SMB/FTP/USB/TWAIN standard
- No EFI Fiery option
- Two document feeder choices:
- DP-750 100 sheet feeder that does NOT scan both sides of original at same time
- top speed of 75opm for $1360
- DP-760 100 sheet feeder that DOES scan both sides at same time
- top speed of 50opm for duplex scan or 100ipm for $1800
- Optional fax board with PC fax for $1155
- Requires $200 memory board
- Up to 400dpi only
- Can add second fax line
- Internet fax option for $300
- Comes standard with two 500 sheet paper drawers supports up to 90lb. index only
- Standard 100 sheet stack bypass supports up to 120lb. index only
- Does not support 10pt. card stock
- Can add two more 500 sheet paper drawers for $1286
- Can add 3,000 sheet letter only paper drawer for $1380
- Auto duplex standard and supports up to 90lb. index only
- A3 and supports up to 11”x17” paper sizes
- Finishing options include:
- 30 sheet corner stapling finisher for $1540
- 50 sheet multi-position stapling finisher for $2617
- Booklet making option is $1500
- Hole punch kit is $680
- Mailbox unit is $1000
- A print only version, the FS-C8500DN has base MSRP of $5973

-=Cheers from Sandy Hook=-

Ricoh MP 4001 & MP5001 "Spec Review"

2010-02-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

These new units are identical to the previous MP 4000 & MP 5000. The only diffference is the addition of App2Me and PPDM.

- Ricoh now shipping the Aficio MP 4001 and 5001 digital b/w laser MFPs offering:
- 40 & 50ppm top speeds respectively
- MSRPs of $12,030 for MP4001 and $14,870 for MP5001
- 100 sheet document feeder with top scan speed of 61opm for b/w and 33opm for full color
- Does NOT scan both sides of original at same time
- 600x600dpi
- A3 offering up to 11”x17” paper size
- 22 second warmup time
- 4.1 second first copy out time
- Drum yield of 160,000 pages
- 30,000 page yield for black toner based on 5% coverage per page
- 200K/month max duty cycle
- Main unit weighs only 213.8 lbs.
- 8.5” color touchscreen control panel
- Two 550 sheet paper drawers standard
- Can add two more 550 sheet drawers for $1520
- 2,000 sheet letter size only drawer for $1570
- Can also add a 1,200 sheet side mount letter only paper deck for $1570
- Auto duplex standard up to 45lb. bond only
- Paper drawers can only hold up to 55lb. bond, but 100 sheet stack bypass
can hold up to 58lb. bond
- Can not handle 10 point stocks
- Built-in print/scan controller standard:
- 768MB RAM (no upgrades available)
- 40GB hard drive
- 533MHz processor
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports
- Optional 1000BaseT port for $340
- PCL print driver standard
- PostScript print driver is option for $920
- No XPS print driver available
- Optional hard drive overwrite kit for $420
- Optional hard drive encryption kit for $390
- Optional file format converter for hard drive document storage for $605
- actual maker unknown
- Scan to email/LDAP/HDD/folder/URL standard
- Optional Mail to Print feature allows user to send an email to unit for printing without need for print driver
- Comes standard with Personal Paperless Document Manager (relabeled Nuance OCR scan software) for single user, can add 4 more users for $200
- Optional 101 keyboard that pulls out underneath the color LCD for $449
- Optional App2Me software:
- create customized workflow
- combine/distribute/edit/create documents
- Optional fax board for $1150
- Up to 400dpi only
- Requires 32MB memory board for $185
- Can add two more fax lines for $650 apiece
- PC faxing standard
- Finishing options include:
- require bridge unit for $230
- 50 sheet corner stapling finisher for $1480
- 50 sheet multi-position stapling finisher for $2680
- Hole punch kit for $765
- Booklet making finisher for $4110

-=Cheers=-

Copier & MFP Lease Calculator

2010-02-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

I ran across this today while doing some updates. This link will tell you what the interest rate is on a copier or MFP lease.

Use scenario #2 for figuring the interest rate.

Remember to use 20% of the purchase price in the residual value area if you are fuguring a Fair Market Value lease. If you plan on returning the equipment at the end of the term, enter zero for the residual value slot.

If you are calculating a one dollar purchase option, then enter $1.00 in the residual value slot.

Enter the purchase price of the equipment, then the term of the lease and the payment that was quoted to you with out tax.

When finished hit the calculate button!

Here's the link Lease Calculator

Enjoy!

Art Post

Weekend Document Imaging Notes

2010-02-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

Gathered from Print4Pay Hotel Members from around the world and a few moles in very good places!

Notes from the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Chicago:

- Keynote speaker was actor, Dennis Quaid, and Alan Greenspan, former fed reserve chairman
- The ARRA act represents some $19 billion in potential payments to physicians and hospitals that can demonstrate “meaningful use” of an EMR
- This stimulus “lowers the financial hurdle, undoubtedly” said Dr. George Taylor, VP of Health IT Programs at Northrop Grumman. “How do you solve the problem of every doctor – trained in different places, with different styles, and different preferences – with an EMR that’s designed for one?”
- Some were concerned that the stimulus money would benefit EMR adoption, but what was necessary to support it in the long term.
- Richard Howe, VP at Healthcare Informatics Associates, stated; “There’s enough money…that if they do it right, the cost savings in there will be enough…” “The stimulus package is adamant about standards – without that, you have nothing.”
- William Buddy Gillespie, VP and CTO for WellSpan Health said; “Sustainability is the word. The infrastructure is sometimes forgotten, and it needs to be stable, expandable and scalable to protect the integrity of the system and the data.”
- Dr. John Halamka, CIO of CareGroup was quoted; “There’s too much data and not enough wisdom…you can get 10,000 data points on every patient and look at it all. You’ll never sleep again! So there needs to be a way to separate the wheat from the chaff and tell you what youneed to know.”

According to imageSource magazine’s Jim Thumma, here are the Top 10 Pitfalls to avoid when implementing an ECM (electronic content management) project
- Lack of vision and leadership
- Poorly aligned business and IT goals
- Projects that are too broad or too narrow
- Failure to involve everyone who will be affected
- Overlooking front end capture
- Failure to integrate business systems
- Poor project management
- Underestimating time requirements for proper implementation
- Solution is implemented too slowly
- Insufficient change management

Iron Mountain, headquartered in Boston, announced it has acquired Legal Imaging Technologies Inc. of San Francisco, and will add it to its Stratify division. Legal Imaging focused on litigation support services for law firms in the Bay area. In 2007, Iron Mountain bought Stratify for $158 million.

Forrester Research released findings of poll on cloud computing: - Data storage needs are growing 30-40% per year
- Only 3% of companies have implemented cloud storage
- 43% are not interested in cloud storage
- 43% are interested, but no plans to adopt
- 3% plan to adopt in 2010
- 5% plan to adopt in 2011 or later
- 3% have already implemented
- 1% are expanding their existing implementation
- 51% will not implement due to security concerns

-=cheers=-

Paradigm Imaging Releases imageFLOW® 2.O

2010-01-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

PARADIGM IMAGING GROUP
1590 METRO DRIVE #116
COSTA MESA, CA 92626
714-432-7226
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jane Napolitano
Email: jane@paradigmimaging.com
Web site: http://www.SCANtopia.com

Paradigm Imaging Releases imageFLOW® 2.O

Costa Mesa, CA – January 28, 2010 – Paradigm Imaging Group, a leading distributor of large-format scanning and printing solutions, announces the release of imageFLOW® 2.0 – an enhanced version of their popular document imaging software.

Paradigm Imaging’s exclusive imageFLOW® 2.0 is powerful, user-friendly document imaging software that interfaces with all current Graphtec large format scanners, Paradigm’s imagePRO® large format scanners, imagePRO® FLEX and EIS multifunction systems. imageFLOW® 2.0 boasts faster scanning speeds and other enhanced features such as:

• Scanning presets for a variety of color, grayscale and black and white formats
• Over 550 included printer drivers
• More than 325 certified ICC profiles
• Color calibration wizard for editing existing ICC output profiles
• Custom media creation
• Batch scanning and job set creation
• Interactive, intuitive user interface

With its full-featured and easy-to-use graphical interface, imageFLOW® 2.0 incorporates the feel and touch of conventional office equipment. A variety of large format applications such as document archiving, copying, reproduction and file communication are managed seamlessly without extensive operator training. imageFLOW® 2.0 provides optimized default settings for a variety of original document types including maps, drawings, blueprints, photos and posters, thereby providing touch-button operation for many projects involving large format scanning and copying.

Says Randy Geesman, President of Paradigm Imaging Group, “The enhancement of imageFLOW® is another step forward in our ongoing effort to promote innovative products while offering the utmost in customer service and support. We will continue to expand our product offerings to meet the demands of an ever-evolving market.”

About Paradigm Imaging Group
Paradigm Imaging Group is a large format solutions provider whose expertise extends from scanning and printing products to imaging systems integration, software development and product distribution. Paradigm counts among its clients companies in reprographics, architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing, as well as numerous public agencies at all levels of government. Since 1989, Paradigm has grown to become a leading provider of large format scanning and printing solutions.

###

New Print Audit® Case "School" Study Showcases a MPS Success Story

2010-01-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

Print Audit 6 helps Ohio public schools reduce paper waste by 2.2 million pages and sets an example of environmental responsibility for students and staff

CALGARY, ALBERTA (January 27, 2010) – Factoring in the printing habits of teachers, students, and administrators, schools often use considerably more paper than is necessary. With almost 4,000 students and 1,000 computer workstations, Garfield Heights School District in Ohio consumed literally tons of paper each semester. The school contacted their office equipment provider ComDoc with the duel goal of conserving resources and reducing their impact on the environment.

The results of ComDoc’s solution, which have been published in Print Audit’s newest case study, include an 11-ton reduction in paper waste and a 32 percent decrease in color printing volumes.

“Print Audit 6 has allowed us to virtually eliminate our school’s inefficient document creation practices,” stated Shari Bailey, IT Administrator for Garfield Schools. “We can now control what the staff members and students are printing and copying and we have a much better understanding of how our printing devices are being used.”

ComDoc’s solution for Garfield Schools combined the power of 29 new, high-efficiency print devices with Print Audit’s flagship suite of print management tools, Print Audit 6. Print Audit Rules gave administrators the power to dictate where and how documents could be printed while Print Audit Analysis allowed them to better understand how their print environment functioned. At the same time, Print Audit Embedded and proximity cards allowed the schools to accurately track and manage the usage of multi-function devices and walk-up photocopiers.

All in all, the school system reduced its paper consumption by 2.2 million pages in one year – an amount equal to 285 trees, 244,407 gallons of water waste, 64,703 pounds of CO2 emissions, and 329,000,000 BTUs.

Please visit the following link to read the full case study:
http://www.printaudit.com/downloads/pdf/casestudies/Garfield_Schools_Case_Study.pdf

About Print Audit®:
Established in 1999 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Print Audit is the fastest growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print management software solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $150 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 190,000 trees a year. Print Audit has offices located in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

For more information on Print Audit, please contact:

Angela Onstine
1.877.412.8348
pr@printaudit.com
www.printaudit.com
Facebook: http://www.printaudit.com/facebook
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PrintAudit

Outside of North America, please contact:

Print Audit - Europe
+44(0)1483 726206
www.printauditeurope.com
inquiry@printauditeurope.com

Print Audit - Australasia
+612 9922-3756
http://www.printauditaustralasia.com

Print Audit - South Africa
+086 110 5777 (Within South Africa)
+27 11 531 1869 (Outside South Africa)
www.printauditsa.com
info@printauditsa.com

Print Audit – America Latina
+55(21)2220 0939
www.printaudit.com.br
Informações em Português:
suporte@printaudit.com.br
Informaciones en Español:
espanol@printaudit.com.br

-=Cheers=-

New A3 Color Workgroup Printer, MFP, From Kyocera Mita

2010-01-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

New A3 Color Workgroup Printer, MFP, From Kyocera Mita List at $5,973 And $20,168 Respectively

January 26, 2010 - Kyocera Mita America is introducing two new color imaging systems for workgroups and offices, the FS-C8500DN laser printer and TASKalfa 552ci MFP, which list at $5,973 and $20,168 respectively and are being distributed through authorized dealers.

Both imaging systems use Kyocera Mita's long-life consumables, and have a 300,000-page preventive maintenance (PM) schedule. They're based on the same A3 600 dpi 55 (black)/50 (color) ppm engine, and have a 225,000-page maximum duty cycle. The TASKalfa 552ci adds network scan and copy (with optional fax), and incorporates the company's open-development platform, Hybrid Platform for Advanced Solutions (HyPAS).

Specifications

Network print is standard; the FS-C8500DN is equipped with 1 GB of memory upgradeable to 2 GB), while the TASKalfa 552ci is equipped with a standard 2 GB of memory. Kyocera Mita includes Adobe PDF and Microsoft XPS file printing capability (including Kyocera’s Direct Print utility) and departmental accounting and tracking capabilities. The systems are compatible with Apple Macintosh, Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems (including Windows 7). A USB host port is available for printing from USB memory drives in PDF, JPEG, TIFF and XPS file formats. The TASKA 552ci can also be used to scan to USB memory cards.

Media handling for both printer and MFP includes automatic duplexing and standard 1,100-sheet paper capacity. Options include a 3,000-sheet document finisher that can support up to 120 lb. index stock, and paper capacity can be expanded to 4,100 sheets for four paper sources.

Network and device-management tools include KMnet Viewer, PrintQ Manager, Status Monitor, and PRESCRIBE. PrintQ Manager is a server-based software tool that enables administrators to monitor, maintain and analyze print jobs and usage on all Kyocera networked printers. Also available is Color Optimizer, a KX Driver plug-in that provides color-enhancement for prints.

Security includes a standard IPv6- and IPsec-compliant network interface, and password-protected printing. An optional Data Security Kit provides hard-drive encryption and overwrite (date can be overwritten up to three times). (The TASKalfa 552ci's optional data security kit is currently under ISO 15408/Common Criteria evaluation).

Check back here soon and I'll have the cost per page for this device along with life for consumables.

-=Cheers=-

Weekend Document Imaging Notes

2010-01-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

Gathered from Print4Pay Hotel Members from around the world and a few moles in very good places!

- Cintas Corp. of Cincinnati, Ohio, best known as a provider of commercial uniforms, announced that it has expanded its document management division. It opened a new data storage facility in Chicago, which it hopes will allow it to serve 160,000 customers.

- The Department of Health & Human Services announced it has published the “meaningful use” rules for medical practices to use EHR so they can qualify for reimbursement through Medicaid and Medicare, under the ARRA program. With ARRA, physicians serving Medicare patients can be eligible for up to $44,000 in funding to adopt EHRs, and up to $63,500 from Medicaid.

- Healthcare IT acronyms and their definitions:
- ECM = Electronic Content Management is a set of technologies used to capture, store and deliver content and documents and content related to organizational processes.
- EMR = Electronic Medical Records is a medical record in a digital format.
- EHR = Electronic Health Records, of which EMR is one type
- PMS = Practice Management Software that deals with day to day operations of a medical practice
- DMS = Document Management System is a computer system used to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents.

- The Top 10 trends to drive healthcare IT market in 2010, according to Healthcare Technology Online:
- Electronic Medical Records (EMR) adoption will gain momentum
- Personal Health Records (PHR) will become recognized as a viable method to transport patient data to complement EMRs and EHRs. Advances in secure personal storage, smart cards, and software technology will help drive this trend.
- Cost Containment Will Be Paramount. The U.S. currently spends $2.5 trillion per year on healthcare, and this is expected to climb to $4 trillion by 2015.
- Alternative Care Delivery Models Will Emerge. Expect to increase in worksite and health clinics, as well as home health services.
- War Waged On Medicare Fraud. Document management will be instrumental in reducing the estimated $60 billion per year in fraud.
- Increased Focus On Outbreak Preparedness. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies can help plan for potential emergencies.
- Patient Safety Initiatives Intensify. Bedside medication administration systems, diagnosis support software and patient tracking systems will be used.
- Healthcare Professionals In Short Supply. Demand for healthcare services will begin to outpace supply of healthcare professionals. Workforce management and advanced scheduling technology will be needed.
- Storage and Business Continuity Concerns Abound. Nearly 30% of data stored on world’s computers today are medical images, and this will increase. Institutions consistently need to upgrade their storage systems, with ease of replication and restoration.
- Physician Groups Join Healthcare Systems. Many physicians don’t want to deal with headache that comes with installing an HER system. By joining a healthcare system that already has an HER established, the physician group can quickly become eligible for ARRA incentives.

-=Cheers=-

Toshiba announced a new option for its color MFPs

2010-01-21T17:16:00.001-08:00

Toshiba announced a new option for its color MFPs, the eBRIDGE Color Profiler Tool featuring:
- Works with ES1000 spectrophotometer ($1299)
- Software that enables the creation of ICC device output profiles
- Target Reader creates characterization data files used to build custom color profiles
- Data Viewer allows end user to view character data in several ways
- Profile Builder initiates construction of the ICC profile
- Profile Viewer assists in verifying the integrity of the ICC profile
- ICC stands for International Color Consortium, a standard in color management
- Base MSRP of $499 for software
- Provides color management, without owning an EFI Fiery

-=Cheers=-

8 Great Tips for Buying or Leasing a Copier!

2010-01-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

Here's an email I received today from "K"

I am desperate for advice. I'm am in the process of leasing a color copier (of which I knew nothing until 2 weeks ago) for a non-profit organization that I work for. I am down to choosing between the Konica-Minolta Bizhub C360, Ricoh Aficio MP C4000 or Sharp MX 3100. We are coming off of a b&w copier with no networking so are really just looking to start up with some basic color copier features with networking that all these machines offer. My main concern now is durability and quality of service. I know that latter will depend on who we lease from but ANY insight to help would be greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!!!!
i.e. Tell me which you would choose!

First, I would rule out the Sharp, and here's my reasoning. Sharp is not a top tier manufacturer when it comes to multifunctional copiers. My experience is that they are inexpensive and built to stay that way, meaning alot of plastic and inexpensive parts seem to be used over and over.

KonicaMinolta and Ricoh are two very good choices. Durability wise...both should be able to last 5 years or longer. Feature wise they are both equal except for a few bells and whistles.

I can't tell you which to choose among these two. What I can tell you is to do a little digging with the company that is trying to sell you these units. Here's some questions I would ask.

1) How long the rep been with that company? The longer the better
2) If buying from a dealer, how long has the dealer been servicing that product line? 2 Years or less = not good
3) Ask for three to five references of service for that model from your reps, and then call those companies and ask them about billing practices, how fast they respond to a service call and if they think the service reps are competent, clean and friendly.
4) Take a trip to their web site, if their web site is out of date, so are they!
5) If you have the resource do a D & B check on them, if they are not paying their bills they are in dire straits and you will be too if you buy from them.
6) Ask for a sales contract for you to review first, read the fine print.
7) Ask for a lease contract to review first, read the fine print (especially about your option to own at the end of the lease)
8) Go see the units, ask if you can go to their location of business to get a demonstration. Seeing is believing, you can get a good look at their operation and if they conduct business in a professional manner.

Hope this helps, if you would like me to review sales contracts and leasing, I can do that also! Visit the New P4PCafe!

-=Cheers=-

Canon U.S.A. Unveils imageCLASS MF5800 Series Black-and-White Laser MFPs for Demanding IT Professionals

2010-01-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.-- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in document imaging and advanced office solutions, today announced two new additions to its award-winning imageCLASS line-up – the imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn black-and-white laser multifunction printers (MFPs). These MFPs will enable IT administrators to better position small businesses and workgroups for short- and long-term growth, while delivering the exceptional quality and reliability of the imageCLASS line.

“These new imageCLASS models meet the needs of small businesses that need an MFP that allows its users to be more productive, while also enabling administrators to accurately track and control device usage”.“These new imageCLASS models meet the needs of small businesses that need an MFP that allows its users to be more productive, while also enabling administrators to accurately track and control device usage,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A. “The imageCLASS MF5800 Series adds advanced Canon technologies for electronic document management and reduced energy consumption in a single, compact device.”

The new MF5800 Series provides IT and system administrators advanced levels of device management to ensure cost-effective yet powerful usage by general staff. Department ID management allows administrators to set up to 100 User IDs and passwords, enabling them to retrieve output numbers and set limits on how much employees can print, copy or scan. An embedded Web server provides an administrator the ability to manage the device remotely through a standard Web browser where they can view and modify settings such as address books, device activity logs and network information. Both models support USB 2.0 and 10/100 Base T Ethernet as standard interfaces, allowing the device to be used by one or shared by many and a wireless option is also available.

Further enhancing the capabilities of the new imageCLASS MF5800 Series, both models come bundled with an assortment of document management tools that help empower employees to be more productive. The fax forwarding mode allows a user to forward incoming fax and internet fax documents to an e-mail address, network folder or another fax numberI. Documents can be scanned directly to a USB flash drive in Canon’s Hi-Compression PDF mode, which significantly reduces scanned file size while maintaining outstanding text and image quality. The MF5880dn adds advanced sending capabilities, allowing users to scan and send documents directly to an e-mail or network folder.

Both new imageCLASS machines offer all-mode auto-duplexing functionality and utilize Canon’s On-Demand SURF (Surface Rapid Fusing) technology, which uses a linear ceramic heater that heats instantly for reduced energy consumption and fast warm-up speeds, resulting in first print and copy pages in approximately six and eight seconds, respectively. The imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn also boast print speeds of up to 30 pages-per-minuteII.

In addition, a 250-sheet cassette and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray come standard, while an optional 500-sheet cassette is also available. The new MF5800 Series utilizes Canon’s Single Cartridge System, which requires customers to only replace one consumable, ensuring consistent imaging quality and reducing total cost of ownership.

Today’s IT environments are increasingly complex, and it is essential that all the parts work together. The MF5880dn is the first Canon imageCLASS model approved by SAP® AG through the SAP Printer Vendor Program, meaning users will be able to enjoy the functionality of the device on their SAP solution platform. The MF5880dn also features support for PCL (Printer Command Language), while both machines utilize Canon’s proprietary host-based printer language, UFRII-LT (Ultra Fast Rendering), which takes full advantage of a PC’s processing power. IP address filtering and MAC address filtering help prevent access to a company’s network and its confidential data.

The black-and-white imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn meet the ENERGY STAR guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE). Canon is a long-time ENERGY STAR partner and is a strong advocate of consumer education of energy-efficient products through its product labeling and environmental programs.

The Canon imageCLASS MF5850dn and MF5880dn will be available through select authorized Canon resellers at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $995 and $1,195III, respectively.

Ricoh Aficio MP 2851 and MP 3351 "Spec Review"

2010-01-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Ricoh launched the Aficio MP 2851 and MP 3351 offering:

Couple of interesting notes on this from Print4Pay Hotel Members, seems Ricoh will be keeping the 2550B and the 3350B versions around for bids. There are almost no generational improvements in these outside of App2ME, standard PPDM, and the optional keyboard.

- 28ppm and 33ppm top speed
- Base MSRPs of $7600 and $9250
- A3 laser b/w models handling up to 11”x17 ledger sized paper
- Optional Personal Paperless Document Manager (PPDM)
- Scan to PDF
- Scan to MS Office (Word, Excel or PowerPoint)
- Scan to email/FTP/folder/web folder
- Can scan in color, even though output is b/w only
- Can convert to WAV audio files
- Data from fillable forms can be extracted in a .csv file
- Optional App2Me features:
- Can create custom workflow
- User can create custom control panel interface
- Optional eCopy
- Optional Ricoh GlobalScan NX
- Finishing options include stapling, hole-punching and booklet making
- Full color touch screen control panel
- Optional 50 sheet document feeder (does NOT scan both sides of original at same time)
- Top color scan speed of 50opm for b/w and 29opm for color at 200dpi
- Optional fax board
- Optional controller
- Actual maker unknown (most likely Oak Technologies)
- 533MHz processor
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports standard
- PCL print driver standard, but PostScript is an option
- 768MB RAM (can not upgrade)
- 40GB hard drive
- 600x600dpi
- 22 second warm-up time
- 4.5 second first copy out time
- Comes standard with two 500 sheet paper drawers and a 100 sheet stack bypass
- Can add up to two more 500 sheet drawers, or a 2,000 sheet letter size paper deck
- Drawers and auto duplex up to 28lb. bond paper only
- Bypass can hold up to 42lb. bond paper

-=Cheers=-

HP LaserJet FP3520 "Spec Review"

2009-12-30T15:58:00.000-08:00

Hewlett Packard launched the Color LaserJet FP3520 featuring:

- Desktop color laser printer made by Canon
- 30ppm b/w or color top speed
- Base MSRP of $699
- A4 model, up to letter/legal size only
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- 600x600dpi actual (advertised as offering 3600dpi with interpolation)
- Built-in print controller
- 515MHz processor
- PCL and PostScript print drivers standard
- 512MB RAM standard (can upgrade to 1GB)
- 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports
- Optional hard drive for spooling
- 250 sheet output tray
- Optional auto duplex $200
- Comes standard with single 250 sheet paper drawer and 100 sheet stack bypass
- Optional 500 sheet paper drawer
- Handles up to 58lb. bond glossy stock in bypass or 500 sheet drawer
- Black toner cartridge yield of 5,000 pages based on 5% coverage per page for $133.99
- Color toner cartridges have yield of 7,000 pages each based on 5% coverage per page
for $264.99 each
- 17 second first page out time after sleep mode

-=cheers=-

Canon recently won an Editor’s Choice award for....

2009-12-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

Canon recently won an Editor’s Choice award from Better Buys for Business magazine for the new imageRUNNER 3200 series featuring:

- IR-3225 offers 25ppm for $5200
- IR-3230 offers 30ppm for $6600
- IR-3235 offers 35ppm for $8500
- IR-3245 offers 45ppm for $10,500
- All are A3 models, allowing ledger size 11”x17” paper handling
- Optional embedded software via the Multifunctional Embedded Application Protocol (MEAP)
- Color touch screen LCD control panel
- Optional 101 key keyboard
- Control panel has instruction manuals built-in via help mode
- Optional Web access from control panel
- Optional print controller for $900
- PCL print driver standard
- PostScript print driver is $600
- 768MB RAM (can upgrade to 1GB) & 60GB hard drive
- Optional WiFi port
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports
- Optional Universal Send scan kit
- Can scan in color or b/w
- Scan to email/LDAP/FTP/folder
- Scan to PDF, XPS, JPEG, TIFF standard
- Two 550 sheet paper drawers standard and 50 sheet stack bypass
- Can add two more 550 sheet paper drawers for $1450 and/or a 2,700 sheet letter size drawer for $2100
- Auto duplex standard
- Optional corner stapling internal finisher for $1230
- Optional multi-position stapling finisher for $2700
- Hole-punch kit for $670
- Optional booklet making finisher for $4000 with optional hole-punch for $850
- Optional 100 sheet document feeder for $1200 (does not scan both sides of original at same time)
- 1200x1200dpi
- Optional fax board for $950 but is only 400dpi, second line for $420, third line for $950
- 35 second warm-up time
- 1000 account codes standard

Need to purchase or lease a new multifunctional device? P4P members are on your side click p4pcafe.

-=Cheers=-

Top Tips for Buying/Leasing a new Multifunctional Copier

2009-12-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

Since the GIANTS are losing big time, I opted to put together a short blog on "Top Tips for buying or leasing a new multifunctional copier." Like em, love em or leave em, after 30 years in the biz I'm sure you'll find these helpful!

1. Find your local expert, he or she may have called you or sent a mailer.

2. Ask them how long have they been in their present position.

3. Ask then how long have they been with their present company.

4. Ask for local service and sales references for other firms similar to yours.

5. Visit their website, if it's old and out of date, so are they!!! To give an example I just visited a dealers web site and checked the current products, most of these products are discontinued, no dealer updates. Most likely they handle their service and support like they handle the web site!

6. Ask the salesperson about continuing education, do they take part?

7. Do a credit check on the company you are considering to do business with, you want to do business with a company that is financially fit! Need I say more!

These are all great tips, but what happens if you don't have the time to meet, it's your companies policy to focus on your core. How do you find the Quality Authorized Dealers, Direct Branches or Sales/Consultants that have the knowledge to improve the way you move, print, scan, copy and fax paper?

Take a trip here p4pcafe, I've put together 2,400 experts in the industry that will be able to consult for multifunctional hardware, software and third party solutions! These are the best of the best, I know because they're members of the Print4Pay Hotel which is the only Global web site dedicated to Imaging Industry Professionals. If you're in need of a system fill out our form and a P4P Hotel member will contact you within 24-48 hours!!

Help me with finding a qualified dealer and representative!

-=Cheers=-

MFP Knowledge Quiz!!

2009-12-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Make your own Quiz!

This Week in Kodak "TWIK Notes"

2009-12-27T09:16:00.000-08:00

- Kodak announced that it will restate its 401K match and pay raises in 2010 for its employees.

- Kodak announced that Heidelberg’s factory direct branch in Australia will resell its Digimaster and NexPress production print systems.

- Kodak announced that it has sold a NexPress SE3600 production color system to Cohber Press, a print shop in Henrietta, New York.

- Kodak announced that it has sold its New York state based water treatment plant to Monroe County for $9.5 million.

- Kodak announced it sold it OLED (organic light emitting diode) division to LG Electronics of South Korea.

- Kodak announced it is relinquishing a lease it has held for last 22 years for a large hangar at the Rochester International Airport. It was paying $112,000 per year for the lease for its company airplanes.

- Kodak added executives for its scanner division, hiring Tony Barbeau as General Manager and Russell Hunt as Regional Business Manager.

Top 10 Ways to Save Energy and Reduce Waste With Your Office Copiers & Printers

2009-12-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

Here are ten simple, effective ways you can save energy with the copiers and printers in your organization.

1. Reduce - Print what you need, when you need it. A print-on-demand document strategy reduces paper and electricity waste because you aren't producing extra copies for 'just in case' scenarios that may never come.
2. Re-use - Set your printer/MFP’s default to make two-sided (duplex) copies.
3. Recycle - Choose recycled papers and printers/MFPs that can print on them reliably.
4. Live long and prosper - Buy office equipment that has a proven record of durability so that replacement is required less often. Longer equipment life cycles help minimize e-waste in landfills.
5. Go to sleep - Copiers and printers are on all day but are only used for a small part of the day. Use the “stand-by” and “sleep” modes available on the device.
6. Print multi-up - Print PowerPoint presentations and other documents in 2-up or 4-up mode. This reduces paper and electricity.
7. Get the right size/type of device - An efficient low-volume MFP (less than 20 pages per minute) can use 70% less energy per page than a mid-volume MFP(20-44 pages per minute). For higher volume jobs, digital duplicators and high-speed inkjet printers print up to three times faster and use up to 95% less energy than mid-volume and high-volume toner-based MFPs.
8. Stay cool - Office equipment generates heat in work spaces, which then requires more power for cooling. Put printing devices in areas with natural ventilation and good airflow to reduce the need for air-conditioning. Consider RISO digital duplicators or high speed inkjet printers print color quickly and affordably, but don't produce heat.
9. Choose ENERGY STAR - Look for the ENERGY STAR logo when buying office equipment. The logo ensures that the device has automatic power-management features and uses energy more efficiently.
10. Learn - Visit this website to learn about a printing technology that reduces power consumption while also printing low-cost color at speeds of up to 150 pages per minute.

Looking for a new multifunctional copier system? Look here P4P Cafe

-=Cheers=-

Leasing Copiers "Who Stole the Cheese!"

2009-12-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Snuff and Scurry, two of my favorite mice.

While going through my emails the other day, I had an email from a client in the South. The email was in reference to "what is really the interest rate for a Fair Market Value lease for a copier."

The email stated that for the life of them they could not figure out the interest rate and was asking for help and advise. Well, asking me to figure out the interest rate is like asking me to get my dog to stop sniffing every pole or fire hydrate he passes. Not going to happen!

What I did enlighten them on is how copier companies figure out the monthly lease payment.

First, there has to be a rate factor that the salesperson gets from either the leasing company or the copier companies management. There are many different rates from many leasing companies and the rate factors change with the term of the lease (12,24,36,39,48,60,63 months), also the dollar amount of the lease would also change the rate factor along with the option at the end of the term (buy out).

There are primarily two different types of leases used:

Fair Market Value: Leasing company gives you the option to purchase for a percentage of the purchase price. This type of lease has the least amount of interest. True lease, tax deductible and write off every month

Dollar Out: You own the equipment at the end of the term for one dollar. This lease will have a higher interest rate than Fair Market Value. This is a finance lease and may not be depreciated like a true Fair Market Value Lease.

What's more popular?

The Fair Market Value lease, basically has four options at the end of the term. A) Ship back to leasing company at your expense at the end of the terms. B) Renew the payments at the end of term for 30 days, 90 days, or longer, check the lease that was signed. C) Trade the equipment back to the dealer and start a new lease, the dealer will then return the system for you. D)Buy the equipment from the leasing company for Fair Market Value.

How is the Cheese Stolen?

So, who is stealing the cheese? Well in this particular email, the customer wanted to find out the interest rate, that I couldn't help with, however I asked them to send me a copy of the quotes and I would tell them how much interest they were paying over the term of the lease. The next day I received five quotes.

Now for you newbies out there, as long as you have the monthly lease amount you can figure out the lease purchase price of the system or at least come close. You take the monthly dollar amount of the system and divide by the rate factor. In this case the customer was quoted $762 per month for a 60 month lease. They were also quoted a purchase price of $26,375 and they had a buy out of $9,142. This made the lease base according to the Direct Branch $35,517.

Now using an average rate factor of .0200 we take the lease price of $762 per month and divide by .0200 which equals $38,100 that would be funded to the Direct Branch for the system that had a purchase price with buyout of $35,517. Well...., we can see that someone has "stolen the cheese". If you now take the purchase price with buyout that was quoted at $35,517 and multiply it by the fair (60 month) rate factor of .0200 (fair for over $20k), the customers payments should have been $710.34. Hence the customer is getting ripped for $52 per month on a 60 month lease, thus paying an additional $3,120 over the term of the lease.

What's a rate factor?

Rate factors are given from the leasing company to the dealer or direct branch. A rate factor of .0200 means that the cost to borrow is $20.00 per thousand dollars. Thus if you wanted to prove the above numbers you would multiply $20.00 x 35.517 which would equal the payment of $710.34.

This was not a cost per copy lease, nor were service and supplies built into the lease, it's basically a game that has been played in the industry for years. Not only are they making money on the hardware but also "padding" the lease for additional profit!

To be fair, there are many different rate factors from different leasing companies, in this example I used an average rate factor. There are lower rates and higher rates that could either increase or decrease the amount to the dealer or direct branch. Most dealers and direct branches are in the average that I quoted.

Don't Blame the Salesperson

Don't blame the salesperson, most of the time the salesperson is not even aware of the average rates, there is a finance department at the dealer or direct branch that "pad" the rates to the sales person and or dictate that they HAVE to use these rates or ELSE! The salesperson is not getting the extra dollars for the unit.

In the instance above, the salesperson probably quoted the right purchase price, however they had to use a "padded rate" which increased the lease price per month. The branch received the additional profit from the lease.

Word to the wise, always when leasing ask for a purchase price for the equipment or the total amount of the order. Do some homework, ask what rate factor they are using and how they arrived at the price per month for the lease. If you think you're paying too much, you probably are.

How can you find fair rate factors? Well, that's probably the hardiest part of the equation. You can always send me an email and I can give you the average for any dollar amount or term. Then you can do the math!

Oh, by the way, there are many dealers and branches that pass along rates without padding the rates, I think there are more of these than those who pad. I also think that this "padding" is much more common with direct operations than dealers. Just my thoughts!!

-=Good Selling=-

Samsung now shipping the CLX-8540ND

2009-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

- Samsung of Korea now shipping the CLX-8540ND color laser A4 MFP featuring:

- base MSRP of $8249
- 40ppm top speed
- 100K/month max monthly duty cycle
- Built-in print controller with 800MHz processor
- 1GB RAM
- 160GB hard drive
- 10/100/1000BaseT ports
- Maximum paper capacity of 2,720 sheets
- 600x600dpi (9600dpi with interpolation)
- Optional hanging stapling finisher
- Color touch screen LCD control panel
- 20K black toner yield
- Color toners yield 15K

-=Cheers=-

Sharp now shipping MX-M200D, MX-M260 & MX-M310

2009-11-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

- Sharp now shipping new low end b/w laser MFPs, the MX-M200D, MX-M260 & MX-M310 offering:

- MX-M200D offers 20ppm top speed
- Replaces AR-M207e
- Based on Pegasus A3 engine design, first launched in 2003
- Base MSRP of $4090
- Comes standard with 40 sheet document feeder
- Unlike other Sharp models, does not offer the textured plastic exterior
- Small, non-touch screen monochrome LCD panel
- Toner yield of 16K based on 5% coverage per page
- Developer and drum yield of 50K
- Comes standard with USB port and 48MB RAM
- Scans in color and b/w, but only TWAIN scan standard
- Optional network printing and scanning for $750 with PCL print driver
- PostScript print driver for $395
- Fax board for $660
- 10MB fax memory for $195
- Comes standard with two 250 sheet paper drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
- Auto duplex standard
- Additional 250 sheet drawers are $450 each
- No finishing options
- MX-M260 and MX-M310 offer 26ppm and 31ppm respectively
- Based on Andromeda A3 engine launched in 2003
- Replace the AR-M257 & AR-M317
- Base MSRPs of $5650 and $6995 respectively
- Come standard with USB port and 32MB RAM
- Optional 1GB RAM
- No scanning standard
- Optional print controller for $1195
- PCL print driver
- PostScript print driver for $395
- 300MHz processor
- 64MB RAM (can upgrade to 320MB)
- $395 for data security kit
- No hard drive option for spooling or storage
- Network scanning is additional $1095
- Scan to email/FTP/desktop in b/w only
- Application Integration Module allows end users to enter data at control panel for their scans for $349
- Fax board is $1195
- No second fax line option
- Toner yield of 25K based on 5% coverage per page
- Developer and drum yields of 75K
- Come standard with two 250 sheet paper drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
- 8.1” monochrome LCD touch screen
- 100 sheet document feeder with top scan speed of 39opm
- Can add two 500 sheet drawers for $795
- Optional internal stapling finisher for $1795

-=Cheers=-

Fuji Xerox Launches New Generation of Digital Colour MFD's with Smaller Carbon

2009-11-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

Fuji Xerox today launched a new series of high-performance digital colour MultiFunction Devices (MFDs) featuring technologies that quickly provide colour documents delivered with environmentally conscious engineering using 75 percent less energy.

While all Fuji Xerox MFDs meet international ENERGY STAR standards, the new ApeosPort-IV/DocuCentre-IV C5570/C4470/C3370/C2270 series have the lowest Typical Electricity Consumption value in the industry, based on standard use over one week. These devices are ideally suited to help Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and corporate offices reduce energy consumption and meet environmental targets.
Four technologies combine to provide performance that matches the green credentials:

LED Print Head

Fuji Xerox has developed a precision LED print head with output resolution of 1200x2400 dpi, equivalent or superior to conventional laser raster output scanner systems. LED print head technology makes it possible to build smaller devices and reduce power consumption by 45 percent. A newly developed biomass plastic comprised of 30 percent corn constituent (by weight) used for many components further reduces carbon dioxide emissions during manufacture.

Induction Heating Fuser

For the first time, Fuji Xerox replaced the traditional fuser with a new Induction Heating (IH) fuser which uses 25 percent less energy. MFDs consume most energy waiting for jobs in standby or low-power modes, during which 70 percent goes to the fuser – the heating element that keeps toner viscous and ready for printing. Using a heating process similar to a cooktop to quickly convert and transfer heat, IH fuser can rapidly return to operating mode using less electricity.

LED Scanner

The scanning unit uses LEDs in place of conventional xenon lamps for 1.5 times brighter light using 70 percent less energy. This also permits greater scanning precision, and speeds up to 70 images per minute.

Emulsion Aggregate (EA) Eco Toner

Even the toner in the new ApeosPort-IV/ DocuCentre-IV series is more efficient. Using a specially grown toner than melts at lower temperatures, power consumption is cut an additional 15 percent. EA-Eco toner is actually small beads of colorant (ink) suspended in uniform beads of quick-melting polyester – a technology found only in Fuji Xerox products.

“These industry-leading technologies are further evidence of our belief in innovation,” said Richard Penny, marketing manager, Fuji Xerox New Zealand. “But none of the new features come at the expense of environmental responsibility. By innovating smartly, we believe Fuji Xerox will continue to lead in the office as the choice for users that want the best technologies without compromise.”

Design and Usability

Using the efficiency of the IH fuser, Fuji Xerox has reduced the First Copy Out Time to five seconds for colour copies (three seconds monochrome), the fastest available for this MFD class. Warm-up time from a cold start is also a class-leading 28 seconds.

For easier identification, the parts of the MFD that are most frequently accessed are now featured in dark blue – a design standard starting with ApeosPort-IV/ DocuCentre-IV series.

Control comes via an 8.5-inch touchscreen user interface. The positioning of the buttons and touchscreen are designed to match standard order of operation. This new range of MFDs also allows print or store images directly from USB storage devices.

The ApeosPort-IV/DocuCentre-IV series is available from Fuji Xerox New Zealand sales agents.

###

Samsung "Where's The Beef in the New 6545N?"

2009-11-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Alright, I received the press release on the new "Sammy" Multixpress 6545N. Forty-Five page per minute A4 device, looks identical to the "Sammy" 6345N (also a 45ppm A4 device). So I asked, "Where's the Beef?", why does the 6545N have an MSRP that is $2,000 higher than the 6345N?

A few differences that I found:

6545N has a 100 page Document Feeder compared to the 6345N, the 6545N sports Open Architecture software via XOA while the 6345N has no open architecture. The cost per page is lower on the "Sammy" 6545N, the MSRP for the toner is $99.00 with a yield of 25,000 pages compared to the 6345N that has a cost of $125. Plus the drum on the 6545N is rated at 80K and the 6345N is rated at 60K. Samsung put a new color display on the 6545N, and added some additional options such as a 2 bin sorter and a 4 bin mailbox. That's about all I found going through the specs. Otherwise these systems seems almost identical.

"Where's The Beef?" Are you telling me customers are going to anti up an additional $2,000 for finishing options that are not included? Are customers going to pay $2,000for a color display? Will they lay out an additional $2,000 for Open Architecture.

Now there was something in the press release that caught my attention.

"All copiers are available through Samsung’s BTA Distribution and Dealer channels, which can be located by calling 1-800-SAMSUNG or by visiting www.samsung.com. Samsung Power Partners receive special promotions, lead referrals, training and technical support, as well as collateral and marketing materials. To find out more about becoming a Samsung Power Partner, visit www.samsungpartner.com."

BTA & Dealer Channels, ok tells me they are looking for Dealers and they may have configured this unit especially for the dealer community. That's a good thing, dealers need a higher MSRP and need to maintain margins while still being able to upgrade existing systems on leases. However, if this is the case, Samsung needs to discontinue the Samsung 6345N which has a list of $2,995 (you can find this box on the web for as low as $1,645).

Don't know about you, but I'd have a hard time laying out an additional two grand for this box.

-=Good Selling=-

Samsung announces premier color multifunction printer for high speed offices

2009-11-20T05:36:00.000-08:00

19 November, 2009

Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, hasannounced its premier color laser multifunction printer (MFP), the MultiXpress CLX-8540ND. Having an MSRP of $USD 8,249.00, the CLX-8540ND is currently offered by Samsung's valued network of Service Dealers and OA Distributors.
"The CLX-8540ND is our flagship hybrid printer designed as a printer-copier solution for workgroups in large corporate environments and for copy-intensive small-to-mid size businesses," said Doug Albregts, vice president, Information Technology Division, Samsung Electronics America Inc. "Along with being one of the fastest digital color printers on the market, the CLX-8540ND also bridges the gap between Letter/Legal verses Ledger printers by including advanced printer and copier features usually only found on larger machines. What we've done is simplify the selection process for IT managers who are looking for a truly multifunctional printer."

The CLX-8540ND is one of the fastest color MFPs on the market capable of replacing or complementing bulky Ledger MFPs. The high volume of printing and copying required by large workgroups, such as government offices or university centers, are easily met by the CLX-8540ND's quick startup time, up to 40 pages per minute (PPM) output capability and up to a 100,000 sheet monthly duty cycle. To process multiple jobs, the CLX-8540ND is equipped with an 800 MHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. The end result is print jobs and high resolution scans are processed, stored and handled quickly and easily. The optional paper tray capacity, expandable to 2,720 sheets, allows the CLX-8540ND to run large print jobs without interruption.

The CLX-8540ND's Real-Time Calibration Technology creates consistently clear, sharp color prints at 9,600 x 600 dpi. Samsung's Easy Color Manager software allows the convenience of on-screen adjustment of color balance, brightness, contrast and saturation. The Auto Color Detection feature alleviates the hassle of differentiating between color and black & white prints and automatically adjusts toner usage, saving money. Documents, either letter or legal, can also be scanned at an enhanced up to 4,800 x 4,800 dpi and then saved, printed, e-mailed or faxed to any networked location.

The CLX-8540ND offers management tools to help minimize operating and maintenance costs. The modular design allows for upgraded accessories, such as a 2-bin finisher, a 4-bin mailbox and a High Capacity Feeder, to be easily installed and, in those rare cases, can be quickly serviced. The Samsung 7" color LCD display user interface is simple to use and can be configured to corporate preferences. For creating company letterhead and commonly used forms on the fly, there are form overlay and watermarking features provided to make it simple and flexible to maintain standardization.

HP Recognized for Leadership in Managed Print Services by Global Industry Analyst Firms

2009-11-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 16, 2009

HP today announced its managed print services (MPS) offering has been recognized as the preferred choice for enterprise customers by IDC, a leading provider of IT research and advice.

HP Managed Print Services transforms business processes by optimizing a company’s imaging and printing infrastructure, effectively managing the total imaging and printing environment and improving and streamlining document workflows. It helps customers cut costs, increase productivity and reduce their environmental footprints.
HP was identified as the leader in a recent survey conducted by IDC, “Managed Print Services – Global Market and Provider Analysis.”(1) Within the survey sample, HP had the highest share of new and outstanding MPS contracts among hardcopy manufacturers.(2)
“HP has expanded its capabilities to strengthen the MPS industry with its IT heritage, and we continue to increasingly capture the growing MPS market and surpass expectations,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “Our recent momentum is a powerful proof point in HP’s strategy to establish long-term contractual relationships with the world’s top companies as we continue to lead the digital print transformation.”

The IDC report is the latest in a series of third-party studies that show HP’s leadership in MPS. Others include the 2009 Magic Quadrant for MPS from Gartner, which placed HP in the Leaders Quadrant(3) and Photizo Group’s 2009 MPS Market Forecast, which positions HP as the global leader.(4)

“The IDC study, coupled with HP’s recognized leadership in similar reports, firmly demonstrates that HP remains the best choice for customers as they invest in MPS and look for new ways to reduce costs and improve productivity,” said Bruce Dahlgren, senior vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “Once again, HP’s extensive product portfolio, strength in networking and services, and expert knowledge has positioned the company as a leader, demonstrating that customers continue to choose HP as their trusted partner in managed print services.”

In related news, HP recently announced a Managed Enterprise Solutions (MES) global business unit led by Bruce Dahlgren within the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG), an expanded alliance with Canon, enhanced channel-led programs, hardware and solutions, the HP Payback Printing Campaign and the largest ever rollout of HP printing workflow solutions.

The first of its kind for its comprehensive, demand-side coverage, IDC’s “Managed Print Services – Global Market and Provider Analysis” covers 10 countries in four geographic regions – the United States, Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The analysis shows that cost cutting is the primary motivator of adoption for MPS, with optimizing the printing infrastructure and environmental sustainability as other key motivators. Motivators also examined were regulatory compliance and security, paper document storage, business process transformation, a merger or acquisition, or a services contract extension.

“The results of the survey show HP’s strength in MPS,” said Angèle Boyd, analyst and group vice president, IDC. “With HP’s IT assets and HP Enterprise Services, formally EDS, IPG is a significant force in this growing market.”

About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

-=Cheers=-

Brother MFC-8380DN "Spec Review"

2009-11-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

- Brother is now shipping a new desktop AIO, the MFC-8380DN featuring:
- Copy/print/fax/scan
- 30ppm top speed b/w only
- Auto duplex standard
- 1200x1200dpi
- 50 sheet stack bypass
- 250 sheet paper drawer
- 20 sheet document feeder
- Built-in print controller
- 64MB RAM
- Fax board standard
- 25-400% reduction and enlargement
- Scan to email, scan to file, scan to USB
- Comes with OCR software
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports

-=Cheers=-

Xerox to mark anniversary of first copier

2009-11-18T16:36:00.001-08:00

On Friday, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns will host a reunion of retirees who were involved with the development of the Xerox 914 , which made photocopying cheap, easy and ubiquitous.

The copier also helped make what is now known as Xerox Corp. — a Connecticut-based Fortune 500 firm that employs close to 7,000 in the Rochester area and 54,000 worldwide.

The reunion will be held at the company’s Webster campus. The Rochester-based Haloid Xerox unveiled the product at a New York City trade show on Sept. 16, 1959. And the company began turning out the 600-pound pieces of equipment from a factory on Orchard Street on city's northwest side, with the first reaching customers in early 1960.

Dell Printer Spec Review

2009-11-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

- Dell launched three new printers, with the following features:
- All are made by Fuji of Japan (which makes most Xerox copiers and printers)
- Dell 5130cdn is 47ppm A4 top speed full color laser printer for $1549 base MSRP
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- polymerized toner
- optional paper drawers can make unit floor standing
- optional hanging stapler finisher
- unit’s exterior is dark grey plastic
- 8.5 second first print out time
- 1200x1200dpi
- 800MHz processor
- PCL and PostScript print drivers
- supports up to 216gsm paper weight
- auto duplex up to 163gsm
- Dell 7130cdn is A3 speed LED color printer for $2700 base MSRP (Xerox sells an MFP version)
- Dell 3330dn is 40ppm A4 b/w laser printer for $599 base MSRP

-=Cheers=-

Print Your Own Personalized Holiday Cards & Envelopes In Color

2009-11-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season quickly approaching, it’s time to think about ordering your company’s holiday cards (and the color printed envelopes you put them in). While your competitors are busy searching catalogs and websites for a source for custom-printed high-quality cards for $3 a piece, why not consider a RISO ComColor high-speed inkjet printer and produce the cards in house?

Everyone knows that RISO ComColor printers are fast (up to 150 color pages per minute) and cost efficient ($.01 to $.03 per color page, depending upon coverage), but did you know how versatile they are? With no heat or fusing process and a short, simple paper path, you can print on a variety of paper weights from 12 lb. bond to 210 lb. index. Go ahead and print 3 1/2” x 5 ½“ postcards or newsletters and mini-banners up to 13 ½” x 21 ½”. Plus, how about full color personalized envelopes? Holiday party invitations, 2010 calendars, business cards? With ComColor, you can print it all on demand at a price you can afford.

Let's get started: First, find a beautiful full color holiday design that you want print on an attractive high quality card stock. Of course, you will want to add your organization’s logo. And you will want to print a personalized message inside, like “Christine, Thank you for your business this year. We at ABC Company hope you have a prosperous 2010. Happy Holidays!” Okay, perhaps a handwritten note would be a bit more warm and personal, but if you have several hundred customers, a mail-merged note might be more time efficient, don’t you think?

So here is what it would cost you for, say, 500 full color holiday cards: A nice heavy weight 8 1/2" x 11" ivory linen card stock will cost about $.05 each. Add another $.15 for a matching 6” x 9” ivory envelope. Total cost so far: about $100

Using your ComColor to print your full color graphic design on the front of the card should cost about $.015 each. Your text script on the inside should cost about $.005. Finally, your printing on the outside of the envelope (with a logo, message, and address) might cost you another $.01. Total cost of printing 500 envelopes and two-sided cards: about $15.

That’s it. No address labels to manually apply, no set-up charges, no rush charges, and no waiting. Just print ‘em and mail ‘em! The total time to print 500 cards and envelopes: about 15 minutes! Total cost: $115! The savings on this job alone would likely pay your January lease payment on your ComColor inkjet printer – and that makes for a very happy new year!

-=Cheers=-

Give Me ComColor or Give Me Death!

2009-11-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

Thus the famous line from Patrick Henry "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" was spoken on March 23rd, 1775, thus delivering the Virgina troops the Revolutionary War.

Geez, what would have happened if Patrick Henry had a ComColor high-speed inkjet printer? Well for starters he would have been able to print of all his speeches. It was noted from 1763 to 1789 not one of his speeches lives in print! Patrick Henry could have printed thousands of folded booklets in color and delivered them to the masses in Colonial Virginia!

Patrick Henry once called the King of England a Tyrant, a fool, a puppet & a tool to the Ministry. Whoa, if he had the ComColor running at full speed he could have printed low cost color pictures (by the thousands) of a fool, a tryrant and a tool, inserted the king's likeness and shipped them back to the king!

Having 10,000 acre plantation in Henry County, Virgina must have been a duanting task. Here Patrick Henry farmed tobacco from 1779 to 1784, a ComColor device would be just the ticket for managing the Plantation's communications.

Patrick Henry had a bulldog spirit. He was an attorney, and a Governor but above all he had a radical spirit that transformed the nation. ComColor, not so much for transforming the nation, however the ComColor is on it's way to transforming how we print and communicate in color. The ComColor has a radical spirit about it, not just your every day copier/printer but a communication solution that will change the way we communicate on paper.

-=Good Selling=-

Océ Offers Customers Secure Printer Access

2009-11-10T03:49:00.000-08:00

Océ Offers Customers Secure Printer Access

A partnership between Océ North America and HID Global allows Océ customers to gain secure access to their MFPs by presenting their proximity cards to the reader

TRUMBULL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Océ, an international leader in digital document management, today announced that HID Global OMNIKEY® brand readers are now available for Océ MFPs. Since the readers are fully interoperable with HID Global access cards, any organization can now utilize the same HID contactless access card that they use to secure their building to access an Océ MFP.

Authenticating with the same HID card used for other purposes enables an end user to have a less cumbersome and time-consuming log-on process. Instead of carrying around multiple cards or having to remember another password, a simple presentation of an HID card to the reader grants instant access to any Océ MFP configured by an administrator. The reader also makes it easy for IT departments to integrate MFP security into their overall security policy and procedures.

“In today’s office, information and document security are increasing concerns. Our customers are implementing security policies to control, manage and secure usage of MFPs but often at the expense of forcing users to remember user names and unique passwords. Using the same access card that may be used to enter their buildings or facilities enables users to more easily authenticate to and use their MFP and work within the security policies their company has set in place. For IT and security officers, it means easier implementation and management of MFP based security policies across their network,” said Thomas O’Neill, Director Product Operations; Quality & Technology Center, Océ North America, Document Printing Systems.”

After an HID OMNIKEY brand smart card reader is installed by an Océ technician, each enabled device can be programmed individually to recognize users. Alternatively, with the addition of PRISMAenterprise™ Authentication Manager software, an administrator can remotely enter a user’s information once, resulting in immediate recognition from all compatible devices. Adding additional modules of the Océ PRISMAenterprise Suite such as Account Manager and My Panel Manager allows for central tracking and assignment of costs by user, user group, device and device group. Users may also establish personal address books, default startup screens and program custom shortcut keys that appear only upon their login.

Availability

HID OMNIKEY brand readers are now available from Océ direct sales offices. A variety of acquisition plans are available, please visit www.oceusa.com.

About Océ

Océ is a leading international provider of digital document management technology and services. The company’s solutions are based on Océ advanced software applications that deliver documents and data over internal networks and the internet to printing devices and archives -- locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.

Océ employs around 22,000 people, with 2008 revenues of approximately $4.3 billion, operates in around 100 countries and maintains research and manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore. Océ North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City, UT and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represented approximately half of Océ’s worldwide business in 2008, and employment is approximately 10,000. For more information about Océ, visit www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S., consult http://global.oce.com.

About HID Global

HID Global is the trusted source for secure identity solutions for millions of customers around the world. Recognized for robust quality, innovative designs and industry leadership, HID Global is the supplier of choice for OEMs, system integrators and application developers serving a variety of markets, including physical and logical access control, card personalization, eGovernment, cashless payment and industry and logistics. Headquartered in Irvine, California, HID Global has over 1,500 employees worldwide and operates international offices, supporting more than 100 countries. HID Global is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. For more information, visit www.hidglobal.com.

“Océ PRISMAenterprise” is a trademark and “Océ” and the Océ logo are registered trademarks of Océ Technologies, B.V. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks and are the property of their owners and are respectfully acknowledged.

-=Cheers=-

Muratec Knocks it out with MFX-4555 Launch

2009-11-09T05:46:00.000-08:00

- Muratec is now shipping the new MFX-4555 A4 b/w MFP, featuring:
- actually made by Samsung of Korea
- Base MSRP of $5995 (MSRP is $1,000 more than the Samsung 6545N)
- 45ppm top speed
- 100 sheet document feeder (holds up to legal only)
- Can't print or copy 11”x17”
- Scans in color or b/w, even though output is only b/w (scans at 20opm in color)
- Scan to PC, email, FTP and USB thumb drives
- Touch screen 7” LCD control panel
- Built-in print controller with PCL and PostScript print drivers
- 500MHz processor
- USB and 10/100baseT ports
- 80GB hard drive
- 256MB RAM standard (512MB max with options)
- Comes standard with 520 sheet paper drawer and 100 sheet stack bypass
- Maximum paper capacity of 3,240 sheets with options
- Handles up to 32lb. bond paper weight in drawers, up to 58lb. in bypass
- Optional fax board
- Optional hanging stapling finisher
- 5 second first copy out time

Very nice unit for attorneys, mortgage, accounts and real estate. Click here for brochure.

-=Cheers=-

Kyocera Mita America Wins Most Reliable Multifunctional Product Line in Industry

2009-11-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

November 4, 2009

Kyocera Mita America Wins Most Reliable Multifunctional Product Line in Industry
Kyocera Sets Record of Winning “Most Reliable” More than Any Other Manufacturer in Past Decade of OPA Survey

FAIRFIELD, N.J. – November 5, 2009 – Kyocera Mita America, Inc., one of the world's leading document solutions companies, is proud to again be named the Most Reliable Monochome multifunctional product (MFP) line, in a recent survey of service managers and dealers. Kyocera Mita’s products earned a total overall reliability score of 8.4 (out of 10), as compared to the industry average of 7.9. Kyocera Mita has won this particular award more than any other manufacturer – in three of the past five years – while this survey has been conducted by Office Products Analyst, a publication of Industry Analysts, Inc.

“Based on our research, the Kyocera monochrome MFP line is the most reliable brand available today. Kyocera has won this honor more than any other manufacturer in the past ten years, and we congratulate them on their outstanding performance,” said Andy Slawetsky, President, Industry Analysts, Inc. “The feedback from service technicians clearly indicates that Kyocera must be a top consideration for customers when selecting a black and white MFP.”

OPA conducted in-depth telephone interviews with 135 dealer service managers throughout dealerships nationwide. Responses encompassed 44,462 multifunctional units. Copier dealer service managers were questioned on the products they work closely with on a daily basis. Eighty three models from seven manufacturers were studied and assessed on performance criteria such as mean number of installs, average monthly page volume, preventive maintenance (PM) cycle, and average pages between calls.

“Kyocera Mita has made extraordinary strides, amidst the business challenges all of us face, to introduce a record number of new MFPs that extend and represent our traditional hallmarks of superior performance, ultra-reliability and an industry leading lowest total cost of ownership,” said Mike Pietrunti, president and CEO, Kyocera Mita America. “We take great pride in our technical excellence and the significance of earning such an honor determined by our loyal dealers. This most recent survey by Industry Analysts, Inc. is a clear testament of our efforts.”

ABOUT INDUSTRY ANALYSTS
Since 1973, Industry Analysts, Inc. has been a leading expert in the imaging industry. Specializing in custom market research and product testing, IA, Inc. performs end-user and reseller surveys as well as lab services for customers across the globe.

ABOUT KYOCERA MITA AMERICA
Kyocera Mita America, Inc. www.kyoceramita.com/us, headquartered in Fairfield, N.J., is a leading provider of computer-connectable document imaging and document management systems, including network-ready digital MFPs/printers, laser printers, color MFPs/printers, digital laser facsimiles, and multifunctional and wide format imaging solutions. Kyocera Mita America is a group company of Kyocera Mita Corporation. Kyocera Mita Corporation is a core company of the Kyocera Corporation, the world's leading developer and manufacturer of advanced ceramics and associated products, including telecommunications equipment, semiconductor packages and electronic components. Kyocera Mita America, the first document solutions company with third-party certified sales data, has earned numerous honors for its products’ high performance, reliability and cost efficiency. Kyocera Corporation's consolidated net revenues exceeded $11 billion for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009.

-=cheers=-

HP Laptops for $298!

2009-11-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

As I was glancing through my alerts for HP, I ran across and article from the LA Times.

"For one week starting Saturday, Wal-Mart stores will hold an electronics savings event which includes an HP laptop with 3GB of memory for $298; a Sharp 52-inch flat-panel television for $898 and a Sony Blu-ray player for $148."

I may have to get me one of each!!!!

=Cheers=-

Panasonic Launches New MFP "Panasonic DP-MB350"

2009-11-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

Panasonic launched a new desktop b/w A4 MFP, called the DP-MB350 offering:

- 35ppm top speed in b/w only
- Can scan in color or b/w up to 9600dpi
- Scans in TIFF, PDF or JPEG formats
- Scan to email/TWAIN/PC/FTP
- Copy/print/scan/fax right out of box (PCL print driver only with 128MB RAM)
- 3.6” full color LCD control panel
- first copy out time of 15 seconds
- 10/100BaseT and USB ports standard
- Provides incoming fax previews
- Junk fax filter
- Fax forward to email, PC or FTP
- 50 sheet document feeder
- Auto duplex standard up to 24lb. bond
- OPC drum cartridge yield of 20,000 pages
- Toner cartridge yield of 8,000 pages based on 5% coverage per page
- 1200x1200dpi printing (interpolated to 2400dpi)
- Comes standard with 520 sheet paper drawer (legal size maximum, up to 44lb. bond)
- Can add second 520 sheet drawer
- Has Quick ID Copy function for copying insurance cards or drivers licenses
- Comes with READiris Pro 7.0 OCR software
- Base MSRP of $1995.00

-=Cheers=-

Xerox 5135 & 5150 "Spec Review"

2009-11-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

- Xerox now shipping to new A3 b/w copiers, the WorkCentre 5135 and 5150 featuring:
- 35ppm and 50ppm top speeds respectively
- Actually made by Fuji of Japan
- Replaces the WorkCentre 5030 and 5050 models
- 36,500 page yield toner cartridge (based on 6% coverage per page)
- 125K/month and 200K/month maximum duty cycles
- Base MSRPs of $5499 and $10,999
- Optional print/scan controllers
- Optional fax boards
- Advertised as being manufactured using reused components from previous model copiers
- Optional searchable PDF (OCR)
- Document feeder holds up to 75 originals
- Top scan speed of 85ipm
- 600x600dpi
- 1,100 sheet paper capacity standard (two 500 sheet drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass)
- Maximum paper capacity with options of 4,700 sheets
- Auto duplex standard
- Optional finishers offer hole-punch and stapling
- Do not support the EIP embedded solution platform

Canon ir-adv C5000 series printers

2009-10-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

OKI Printing Solutions Expands MFP Portfolio with Affordable Devices

2009-10-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

Okidata now shipping three new desktop b/w A4 MFPs,the MB460, MB470 and MB480 offering:- 297MHz processor

- 30ppm top speed when printing, 22ppm when copying
- MB460 offers 600dpi
- MB470 & MB480 offer 1200dpi
- USB & 10/100BaseT ports
- PCL & PS print drivers on MB470 & MB480
- MB460 only offers PCL print driver
- 50 sheet document feeder
- 64MB RAM standard (up to 256MB with options)
- MB460 offers 250 sheet drawer and single sheet bypass
- MB470 offers 250 sheet drawer and 50 sheet bypass
- MB480 offers two paper drawers and 50 sheet bypass

-=Cheers=-

Xerox WorkCentre 7425, 7428, 7435 "Spec Review"

2009-10-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Xerox now shipping 4 new mid-range color MFPs, the WorkCentre 7425, 7428, 7435 offering: replaces the 7325, 7335, 7345 & 7346

- actually made by Fuji of Japan
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- Polymerized toner, called Xerox Emulsion Aggregate (EA)
- 7425 offers 20ppm color and 25ppm b/w
- 7428 offers 28ppm b/w or color
- 7435 offers 35ppm b/w or color
- optional fax board (only 400dpi)
- first copy out time as fast as 5 seconds for b/w, 6.4 seconds for color
- Duty cycles of 60K/mo, 80K/mo & 105K/mo respectively
- Base MSRPs of $10,499, $11,599 & $13,499 respectively
- Scanning is OPTIONAL and does not come standard with print controller
- 75 sheet document feeder
- Maximum scan speed of 54opm
- 1200x1200dpi (interpolated to 2400dpi)(2/4 selectable bit depth)
- 600x600dpi when copying or scanning
- Built-in print controller offers 667MHz processor
- PCL & PS print drivers come standard
- 1.5GB RAM and only a 40GB hard drive
- Comes standard with bypass and only one paper drawer
- Up to 256gsm paper handling in bypass or drawers
- Up to 12”x18” paper in bypass
- Maximum paper capacity with options of 5,140 sheets
- Can replace drawer 1 with a 60 envelope feeder
- auto duplex standard
- Optional Bates stamping
- 30 second warmup time from sleep mode (longer if turned off)
- gloss mode
- Optional EIP for embedded applications
- Optional SD card reader (print from digital camera memory sticks)
- Optional scan to searchable PDF (OCR board)
- Optional USB port for scan/print from thumb drive
- Optional thumbnail preview for jobs on hard drive
- Optional EFI Fiery print server with 1.86GHz processor and 80GB hard drive
- Optional internal stapling finisher
- Optional external finisher with stapling, hole-punching & booklet making

-=Cheers=-

Lexmark Celebrates 20th Anniversary

2009-10-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

- Lexmark recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the launch of their first desktop b/w laser printer. Here is a quick history:
- Lexmark was formed in 1991, when IBM sold off its imaging division to investors
- The name Lexmark came from the fact that IBM had a facility in Lexington, Kentucky that made devices that put marks on paper.
- Current Lexmark, CEO, Paul Curlander, was the product manager for
computer printers
- The division originally focused on making typewriters (Selectric, WheelWriter, etc.)
- In 1981, IBM launched the IBM PC and a dot matrix printer
- In 1969, Gary Starkweather invented first laser printer at Xerox PARC.
- In 1971, Xerox produced first laser printer.
- In 1976, IBM installed its first laser printer, the 3800, a huge floor model, at
F. W. Woolworth’s data center in Milwaukee, WI. Many of these high speed models are still in use today
- In 1984, Hewlett Packard launched the first Laserjet, which was a Canon-made
8ppm model, 300x300dpi, which weighed 75lbs.
- 1985, first IBM laser printer was a table top model, the 3812, selling for $7000 each, and was developed in Boulder, Colorado.
- In 1988, HP launched the first DeskJet inkjet printer.
- Paul Curlander and team of 100 in Lexington, KY were tasked with making small, lightweight, desktop model, which became the IBM 4019 featuring:
- First model able to print on envelopes
- First model to print pages in order
- First test print made at 5:09pm on 4/14/1987 by Harry Cooper
- On 5/6/1987, test unit was printing pages with text and pictures
- Approved for production by Marvin Mann, the first Lexmark CEO
- Original selling price of $2600.00
- Launch date of 10/10/1989
- Sold 100,000 in first year
- Won Product of the Year by PC Magazine
- Toner cartridges are still made and sold for the 4019
- On 10/24/1994, Lexmark launched the Optra series, its first non-IBM labeled printers

- Lexmark announced it signed a 4 year, multi-million dollar managed print services contract with Kingfisher, a global home improvement retail group. The deal includes install of new b/w and color laser MFPs/printers at 330 stores.

-=Cheers=-

Fujitsu SnapScan fi-6010N "Spec Review"

2009-10-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

Fujitsu now shipping the SnapScan fi-6010N desktop scanner featuring:

- large 8.4” color LCD touch screen (like a digital copier)
- scan to email
- scan to folder
- scan to network fax
- scan to FTP
- scan to network printer
- full 101 keyboard
- user can preview, zoom, pan and rotate scanned images
- open source integration capabilities for embedded solutions
- optional software developer kit (SDK)
- 25opm in b/w or color
- Duplex mode scans at 50ipm
- Auto rotate
- Blank page deletion
- Color detection
- Deskew and despeckle
- Page size detection
- Ultrasonic double feed detection
- 50 page document feeder that can handle embossed cards
- Base MSRP of $2999

-=Cheers=-

Print Audit 6 Now Available for Macintosh OS X

2009-10-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Print Audit 6 Now Available for Macintosh OS X

The Apple version of Print Audit 6 will provide OS X users around the world with a comprehensive suite of print management solutions

CALGARY, ALBERTA (October 19, 2009) – Continuing its longstanding dedication to the ease of use and compatibility of their print management products, Print Audit has released a new version of their flagship product, Print Audit 6, for the Macintosh operating system.

With Apple computers and OS X gaining significant popularity in office environments over the past five years, the leading print management company has provided Mac users with a version of their award winning software that offers all of the features and benefits of the Windows version of the product.

“Market data and our own customer feedback shows that Apple products are becoming increasingly common in the workplace, particularly in the educational and creative spheres,” said John MacInnes, President and CEO of Print Audit. “For this reason, releasing a Mac OS X version of Print Audit 6 was a natural step that will allow even more organizations to accurately manage their printing and decrease associated costs.”

Print Audit 6 for Mac contains the same features as the Windows version of the software. The solution is comprised of three components called Analysis, Rules, and Recovery which work together to help organizations to save money, increase efficiency, and reduce their environmental impact.

Print Audit 6 for Mac is compatible with all Macintosh computers running OS X 10.4 or higher.

To learn more about Print Audit, please visit www.printaudit.com.

About Print Audit
Established in 1999 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Print Audit is the fastest growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print management software solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $150 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 190,000 trees a year. Print Audit has offices located in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

For more information on Print Audit, please contact:

Angela Onstine
1.877.412.8348
pr@printaudit.com
www.printaudit.com

Outside of North America, please contact:

Print Audit - Europe
+44(0)1483 726206
www.printauditeurope.com
inquiry@printauditeurope.com

Print Audit - Australasia
+612 9922-3756
http://www.printauditaustralasia.com

Print Audit - South Africa
+086 110 5777 (Within South Africa)
+27 11 531 1869 (Outside South Africa)
www.printauditsa.com
info@printauditsa.com

Print Audit – America Latina
+55(21)2220 0939
www.printaudit.com.br
Informações em Português:
suporte@printaudit.com.br
Informaciones en Español:
espanol@printaudit.com.br

-=cheers=-

How much of your office copying/printing is in color?

2009-10-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

Would like everyone's input on this, this poll is for end users of MFPs, MFDs, and other printing equipment for the office.

How much of your office copying/printing is in color?

Please click this link for the Poll:

How much of your office copying/printing is in color?

-=Cheers=-

CUSP and NSi Announce Strategic Partnership for On-Demand SaaS Solution

2009-10-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Rockville, MD— Tuesday May 12, 2008 – CUSP Point Software and Notable Solutions Partner to Provide Powerful and Unique Content Capture Integration in an On-Demand SaaS Solution

CUSP Point Software, the innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for on-demand electronic document management (EDM), and Notable Solutions, Inc (NSi), a market leader in distributed content capture and business automation, today announced a strategic partnership for the integration of AutoStore, NSi’s suite of products, with the CUSP PaperTrail solution to present a unique commercial offering.

This CUSP – NSi Partnership is significant for CUSP’s worldwide Value Added Reseller (VAR) Partners who may now access the full NSi suite of products via PaperTrail, and benefit from greatly reduced expenses in capturing, managing, and securely storing documents without any additional requirements for software, support or upgrades.

Some of the key benefits associated with this alliance include:

Open access for CUSP VAR Partners to NSi’s comprehensive suite of applications.
Documents can be captured from over 180 models of scanners, network-attached scanners, MFPs and copiers from all major manufacturers.
All software, support and ongoing upgrade costs of the NSi Capture technology are included in the CUSP Solution monthly charge.
The capture of information and documents from any paper or electronic source can be automatically routed directly to PaperTrail from the VAR Partner and/or end-user locations.
Using NSi’s SMARTicket application, documents can be pre-indexed prior to scanning by generating a cover sheet containing pertinent search information and routing instructions before automatic archiving once the scan is complete.
Documents that are scanned and routed to PaperTrail can also be routed and delivered to multiple locations such as email addresses, fax, etc.
To offer maximum flexibility, VAR Partners and their clients may choose either to install the full AutoStore andSMARTicket servers at their own location, or choose for those servers to be located within CUSP Data Centers.

“Establishing and Expanding our CUSP partnership is strategic to NSi as we launch an initiative to target the aggressively growing on-demand and hosted document management market,” Said Mehdi Tehranchi, CEO of NSi.
“We have created a tremendous product offering by combining CUSP on-demand EDM and NSi Data Stream Management Software, providing our existing channels a way to satisfy customer’s data management needs with on-demand capture application to boost productivity.”

“CUSP is extremely pleased and proud of the partnership formed with NSi to offer a new paradigm of software excellence in on-demand electronic document management”, commented CUSP CEO Seamus Brennan. “The CUSP – NSi partnership will bring to market a combined offering that features the leading Content Capture and Data Stream Management Software suite offered by NSi and the CUSP PaperTrail Software as a Service (SaaS) Solution that is setting a new standard of security, performance and scalability. In addition to securely accessing your entire document archive anytime and anywhere, you will now be able to securely send your business critical content directly to your PaperTrail repository from scanners, copiers and a host of other multifunction devices. It is a huge step forward for CUSP to be able to offer on-demand EDM solution within a SaaS commercial model.”

CUSP is demonstrating the PaperTrail solution at the PRISM (Professional Records & Information Services Management) annual conference from May 13th through 16th in Anchorage, Alaska.

About CUSP Point Software Ltd.

CUSP Point Software is a leading provider of electronic document management solutions. PaperTrail™ is CUSP’s first offering featuring unsurpassed levels of usability, security and scalability, featuring a highly intuitive, fully rebrandable and seamless end-to-end document management interface. PaperTrail is available through CUSP’s VAR partner program, which enables resellers to offer additional services to their customers and generate significant recurring revenue streams. CUSP is a privately owned company with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, US commercial headquarters in Chicago and regional offices in Colorado and Ohio.

For more information, please visit www.cusppoint.com

About Notable Solutions, Inc. (NSi)

What We Do : “We connect digital office devices to business applications. Our software captures paper and electronic documents, processes them and routes them into target systems.” For more information visit us at http://www.nsiautostore.com/

-=Cheers=-

Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE C7000/C9000 Review

2009-10-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

More information on the new Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE C7000/C9000 series of color MFPs:

- the Canon Advanced imageCHIP system, which runs the MFP, actually consists of:
- Main board which works with the scanner to adjust image size, and process the image
- Accelerator board controls the user interface and controls network connectivity
- Riser board connects other two boards together
- 2GB RAM standard with 80GB hard drive
- When the device feels it needs more toner, it unlocks the door to expose the toner. If end user wants to change the toner, and door is not unlocked, end user must go into the control panel and search for an unlock mode in the Settings/Registration menu
- The new Canon pQ toner does not need fuser oil, and replaces the previous “S” toner and “V” toner used in other models
- The waste toner cartridge is replaced on by a service technician and not by customer
- Every 100 pages, the “Real Time Calibration” is activated to improve consistency of image quality
- Unlike other Canon models, these new models have a paper size sensor in the drawers
- Paper drawers, however, still have a push button that has to be activated in order to open drawers
- There are no screening or gloss optimization controls
- Back to front registration is rated at +/- 1.0 millimeter
- Standard generic print controller does not come with either PCL or PostScript print drivers, as these are expensive options. Also need to add 512MB RAM for PS driver.
- Other print controller options are EFI Fiery & MicroPress
- Maximum paper size is 13”x19”
- Can handle up to 300gsm
- Unit slows down when printing on thick media
- Maximum duplex paper weight is 220gsm (this is only 80lb. cover)
- Does not have paper decurling function
- No perfect bind option
- Optional booklet maker can only stitch up to 20 sheets of paper
- The capacity of the output tray is only 25 booklets
- If customer has installed the Professional Puncher, Paper Folding Unit or Paper Deck A1, Canon recommends that a space of 39.4” between back of unit and wall for technician access.

-=Cheers=-

Samsung Poised for #1 "Launches SIX new Laser Devices"

2009-10-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

Below is a recent alert I picked up on "g" alerts thus confirming that "Sammy" is hot and heavy to become the number #1 provider of printers and MFD devices in the world.

Canon captured high copier market share in the late eighties and early nineties with their personal copiers, Sammy started with low end printers and MFD's and is poised to take additional market share from their Japanese counterparts!.

Here's the alert; Samsung Electronics on October 15 unveiled two monochrome laser printers, the ML-1915and ML-2580N, and four monochrome laser MFPs (multi-function peripherals), the SCX-4600, SCX-4623F, SF-650 and SF-650P, for immediate launch in the Taiwan market, according to Samsung Electronics Taiwan.

The six models feature Samsung-developed AnyWeb and Print Screen Button technologies, Samsung Taiwan indicated.

In the Taiwan market, Samsung aims to compete with Hewlett-Packard (HP) to become the largest laser MFP vendor and to become the third largest vendor, next to HP and Seiko Epson, in laser printers, Samsung Taiwan pointed out.

Samsung: New monochrome laser printers/MFPs

ML-1915 (US$124)

ML-2580N

SCX-4600 (3 functions in one)

SCX-4623F (4 in one)

SF-650 (2 in one)

SF-650P (2 in one)

-=Cheers=-

Panasonic DP-MB350 "Quick Review"

2009-10-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

New Panasonic A4 MFP (no 11x17).. List price is about $1,500. No word on CPC yet, but I bet it will be in the .012-.015 range.

▪ Digital Copier / Fax / Network Printer / Network Color Scanner
▪ 520 sheet paper drawer
▪ 50 page reversing document feeder
▪ Auto duplex
▪ Large 3.5" color display
▪ Readiris OCR software
▪ Recommended for an office with a low volume
▪ Toner yield 8,000 pages
▪ Drum yield 20,000 pages

Panasonic DP-MB350 is a low volume Business Class digital copier for a workgroup or small business. The DP-MB350 is recommended for a business or an office with a volume of up to 15,000 pages per month. This compact Multifunction copier offers network printing, network color scanning and a Super G3 Fax as a standard feature, which makes it the perfect solution for a low volume office.

-=Good Selling=-

Fuji Xerox and Xerox roll out new global product design

2009-10-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. and Xerox Corporation will begin the worldwide introduction of a next-generation product design, based on the new Xerox brand identity adopted in 2008. The new design, which was developed by Xerox in cooperation with Fuji Xerox, will be applied first to the new ApeosPort-IV and DocuCentre-IV series digital multifunction devices, launched on August 28 in Japan and now available in the Philippines.

The new design will be universally applied to the Xerox brand product lineup worldwide, from digital multi-function devices to office printers and high-end production printers, as well as to operation screens of application software.

The main concepts for the new-generation product design include:
– Visually friendly "3D Box" design that highlights the user operation area
– Simple design form that subdues areas other than the operation area
– User and IT friendly UI screen (also applied to software)
– Presentation that embodies the spirit of the new Xerox brand identity

Through these changes, Fuji Xerox and Xerox are reflecting the spirit of the Xerox brand with exclusive and highly appealing design elements that differentiate the brand and its products not only in the marketplace but also in customers office settings where they are a daily part of simplifying the way work gets done.

Ricky Munoz, Fuji Xerox Philippines marketing communications head, said “Our customers will surely be delighted with this design innovation that enhances user experience with our popular Apeos IV and Docucentre IV printing devices.”

-=Cheers=-

Lyra Hires Industry Expert Joel Mazza

2009-09-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

Newton, MA - September 28, 2009 - Lyra Research, the digital imaging authority (www.lyra.com), announces that it has hired Joel Mazza as director of business development. In this position, Mazza is responsible for managing the new business development function for Lyra's advisory services, as well as supporting its consulting and multiclient growth initiatives.

Commenting on his new position, Mazza said, "I am very excited to join Lyra. Lyra is highly regarded in the digital imaging industry and I look forward to introducing potential clients to the benefits and rewards of Lyra's services. I also welcome the chance to use my sales, marketing and industry knowledge to help enhance Lyra's existing service offerings and implement new programs to meet clients' ever-changing needs."

Prior to joining Lyra, Mazza served as a sales and marketing consultant for Technology Partners, a startup remote disaster recovery and data protection firm. During his tenure at Technology Partners, he structured the company's sales and marketing process and its CRM system, and he spearheaded its sales efforts. From 2006 to 2008, Mazza served as director of field sales for ColumbiaSoft Corporation, a developer of enterprise document-management solutions. His primary responsibilities included new business development, sales, and territory management for the Eastern United States, as well as Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. He also oversaw the development of ColumbiaSoft's AEC market, bringing on major accounts in engineering, construction, and real estate management.

In addition to his technology sales background, Mazza has vast digital imaging industry sales and product management experience. He spent six years (2000-2006) with InfoTrends, a strategic research and consulting firm, in a variety of research, sales, and management roles, including a position as a director in the Workgroup Document Solutions Group. His client base at InfoTrends included several Global 1,000 and Fortune 500 multinational businesses such as Canon, Fuji Xerox, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Océ, Seiko Epson, and Toshiba. Prior to joining InfoTrends, Mazza served as a product manager at both Electronics for Imaging (EFI) and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.

"Joel brings extensive new business experience to Lyra," said Frank Stefansson, CEO and executive vice president of Lyra Research. "This experience, coupled with his digital imaging industry sales and product knowledge, makes him an ideal addition to our team. We are confident in his ability to help Lyra achieve its growth objectives and effectively showcase Lyra's industry-leading research and services to our client base."

Sponsorship Opportunities
Mr. Mazza can be reached at jmazza@lyra.com or 860-918-6824.
Lyra Research: The Digital Imaging Authority
Lyra Research collaborates with imaging industry decision makers worldwide, enabling clients to strengthen their market position and achieve profitable growth. Lyra's expert analysts and editors help clients devise and implement creative solutions to business challenges, arming them with competitive intelligence, strategic and tactical advice, news and analysis, and market forecasts.

Since 1991, Lyra's custom research and consulting, advisory services, award-winning journals, and innovative events have set the standard for analysis of imaging hardware, consumables, and digital photography markets.

Visit www.lyra.com to learn more about how Lyra can be your strategic business partner.

Kyocera FS-1128mfp Spec Review

2009-09-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

- Kyocera now offering two new desktop A4 b/w laser MFPs.

Details:- FS-1128mfp (base MSRP of $1371) and FS-1028mfp (base MSRP of $1020)
- Both are 30ppm
- FS-1128mfp comes with document feeder
- 1200x1200dpi
- 300 sheet paper capacity standard
- Auto duplex
- Can add two 250 sheet drawers
- PCL & PostScript print drivers
- 667MHz processor

With standard network printing, copy, color scanning and Fax functions, this highly efficient desktop letter/legal multifunctional printer is small, compact and quiet. The standard document processor feeds reliably and improves your productivity. Designed with ultra reliable ECOSYS technology the 30 ppm FS-1128MFP is a MFP that small business and workgroups can rely on everyday. And with its long life drum, toner and easy to replace toner container you will enjoy a low total cost of ownership compared to typical all in one models.

Note from Art:

Seems like a laser printer with a scanner added to the top and wallaa you have an MFP! Toner is rather high at .0122 based on 5% coverage, however the mainteance kit yield of 100K is awesome and .00175 is very good. Keep in mind that if your coverage is more than 5% your yield per toner and yield per maintenance kit come will come down and your cost will increase. 5% is not alot of coverage on the page. Something else to point out with all laser engines; if you do more one and two prints even though the coverage is 5%, the cartridges will not get the expected yields.

At 30ppm per minute, it's fast! The monthly volume rating of 20K per month is a joke! The system will duplex print because of the document feeder will not duplex copy a two sided original. Here's point that you need to keep in mind, the total cost of the unit is a little over $1,300 more or less. The Document feeder can hold 50 pages, document feeders are larger systems can run $1,000 or more, thus if you are planning on getting one of these and your need is to copy through the feeder alot, you can expect jams and maintenance with these type of document feeders.

-=Cheers=-

Muratec MFX-1950 "Spec Review"

2009-09-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Muratec is now shipping the Muratec MFX-1950 featuring:

- A4 b/w laser MFP
- Base MSRP of $2295
- 20ppm top speed
- 80 sheet document feeder
- 600x600dpi
- 500 sheet paper drawer and 50 sheet stack bypass
- Can add second 500 sheet drawer for $330
- Up to 24lb. bond paper only
- print from local PC via USB via host based printing
- optional PCL print driver for $550
- optional 10/100BaseT port for $480
- fax board
- second fax line for $650
- TWAIN scan only
- Auto duplex
- Two line LCD display
- 16,000 page toner yield
- 20,000 page drum yield
- 23 second warmup time
- 12 second first copy out time
- Optional scan to email/SMB/FTP for $499

-=Cheers=-

Muratec MFX-3550 "Spec Review"

2009-09-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Muratec announced pricing for the new MFX-3550.

Details:- Desktop A4 monochrome MFP
- Actually made by Samsung of Korea
- Top speed of 35ppm
- Base MSRP of $1695 (expected street pricing of $799 to $999)
- 250 sheet second paper cassette for $295
- Toner/drum cartridge yield of 10,000 pages based on 5% coverage

OEM Samsung (Korea),Coding System MH/MR/MMR/JBIG,Modem Speed 33.6,TX speed 3 spp
Print Speed (PPM) 35,FCOT (seconds) 10, Quick Scan Speed - Paper Capacity 300
Max. Paper Capacity 550,Document Feeder (pgs) 50,One-touch dialing -
Speed dialing 200 ,Group Dialing Yes,Dual Lines No,Polling Yes,
Standard Copier Memory 128MB,Max. Copier Memory 384MB,Standard Fax Memory 4MB
Max. Fax Memory 4MB,Max Original 8.4 X 14",Max Output 8.4 X 14"
Document Mem. Back-up 72 hours,Broadcasting Yes,Dimensions 18" X 18.3" X 17.1"
Weight (in pounds) 41.45,Copier Standard,Fax Machine Standard,Internet Fax Standard
Network Fax Standard,PC Fax Standard,Network Printing Standard,PC Printing Standard
Network Scanning Standard,PC Scanner Standard,Network Interface Std. Ethernet
Interface Type 10/100 BaseT,Recording Method Laser,Cassette Paper Wt. 16-24 lb
Supported Bypass Media Letter, Legal, Lefger, Half-Letter, Executive, Monarch, COM # 10, Postcard, OHP,Duplex Printing Standard,Duplex Scanning No

Drum Yield Included in toner,DHCP Compliant Yes,Network Protocol TCP/IP,Max Compression JBIG,Address Book 200 Locations,Scan Resolution 4800 * 600 dpi
Grayscale 256 levels,Interface Standard USB/Ethernet,Scan to E-mail Standard
File Formats PDF, TIFF, JPEG,Scan to Folder Standard,TWAIN Compliant Yes
Scan Boxes(Local) -,Print Resolution 600 * 600 dpi
Page Description Language Standard PCL 5e & 6, PostScript 3
OS Support Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Mac OS 10.3, 10.4, Various Linux
Print Alignment Upper Left Corner
Duplex Print Speed 1-99
Warm-up Time 20 Seconds
Enlargement/Reduction 25-100% ADF, 25-400% FBS
Copy Resolution 600 X 600 dpi
Image Combination Standard-2-in-1, 4-in-1 & Card Copy
Electronic Sorting Standard
Flatbed Scanner 8.5" x 11"

-=Good Selling=-

Equipment Leasing Update

2009-09-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index reported that new business volume of declined by 35.1% as compared to same period in 2008.

Other data:- receivable over 30 days increased by 18.2%
- charge-offs increased by 56.1%
- credit approvals now at 65.5% as compared with 73.3% last year
- 47% of leasing companies reported decrease in transactions

-=Good Selling=-

New Xerox Document Centre models "In Review"

2009-08-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

Fuji, maker of most Xerox MFPs, announced that it will launch a slew of new models that incorporate a new design and color them. Tentative details on the new Xerox Document Centre models:

- main body is still off-white plastic, but center of unit, including shell around keyboard and paper output area will be in dark blue, called the “3D Box” design
- large full color LCD, with large buttons and icons for functions
- entire LCD turns red when a problem occurs
- motion video on LCD to guide end user in paper jam removal
- access Internet from LCD
- will incorporate the new Xerox “ball with X on it” logo
- Models numbers now being used in Japan for new color MFPs are C2270, C3370, C4470 and C5570 :
- 22ppm, 33ppm, 44ppm and 55ppm top speeds respectively
- All use LED printhead instead of Laser
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- Emulsion Aggregate (EA) polymerized toner
- some models have built-in LCD, others have LCD on armature to left side
- All have “hole in the middle” design
- Advertised as offering 1200x2400 dpi (actual is 600x600dpi for top speed, and then 1200x1200dpi in half speed mode)
- only 600x600dpi in copy mode
- Does NOT offer true 8 bits per pixel image quality
- Built-in print controller
- PCL & PostScript print drivers
- 1.5GB RAM
- 40GB hard drive
- USB and 10/100/1000BaseT ports
- USB port is located on front control panel for easy access for end user to print from thumb drive, or scan to thumb drive
- Optional fax board
- Fuser uses induction heating instead of fuser heat lamps
- auto duplex standard
- Comes standard with two paper drawers
- User can add two more paper drawers, and/or side mount LCT (letter size only)
- paper path is up the left side of the unit, and output to the right
- maximum paper size of 12”x18” from bypass
- Up to 256gsm from paper drawers, and up to 280gsm from bypass
- Document feeder holds up to 100 originals and scans up to 70opm
- Finishing options include:
- internal stapling finisher
- side-mounted stapling finisher
- hole punch
- booklet making with tractor feed output

-=Good Selling=-

Epson WorkForce 610 "Spec Review"

2009-08-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Epson today launched its latest inkjet AiO in the WorkForce 610, a $199 4-in-1 model that is targeted to the micro and SOHO business segments. The new model is expected to start shipping later this month and will first be offered exclusively at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com outlets.

Laser quality up to 2x faster
Maximum 38 ppm black/color
Laser quality 15 ppm/9.3 ppm
Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking
Extra High-capacity black and High-capacity color cartridges
Uses up to 70% less power1
PC Fax – directly from PC
Manual 2-sided printing
Smudge, fade & water resistant
2-year limited warranty with registration

Get Faster Print Speeds than the Competition with Epson’s WorkForce Printers for Small Business

-=Good Selling=-

Panasonic KX-MB3020 "Spec Review"

2009-08-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Panasonic is launching a new desktop A4 b/w laser MFP, the KX-MB3020 offering:

- base MSRP of $499 (this is now the lowest priced device in its class)
- 35ppm top speed
- Copy/scan/print/fax
- Scans in color and b/w
- Auto duplex standard
- 520 sheet paper cassette
- Document feeder
- No info released on cost per page
- weighs only 21lbs.

Notes from Art:

At 21lbs. you can be sure that this unit will not last! How long? That's a great question! It is sticker shock to see a system of this speed resell for $499. But can it really handle an average volume of 5,000 pages per month for three years? Me thinks, NOT!, but don't take my word for it go out and get one and see if you spent your $500 wisely. Really, at $499 if the thing broke after 13 months would you pay to have it repaired at $150 per hour? Again, ME THINKS NOT, don't let the cheap price fool you, there's and old saying that the thought of a cheap price is long forgotten after poor performance!..

-=Good Selling=-

Print Audit Launches New Training And Installation Services

2009-08-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

Print Audit’s new professional services provide dealers and end-users with installation and configuration assistance, technical training and sales courses

CALGARY, ALBERTA (July 2009) – Deploying a new print management solution can help businesses save resources, increase efficiency and improve their bottom line. However not all companies have the time and technical resources to deploy and configure Print Audit’s solutions on their own. To help with this, Print Audit is launching a variety of new training and installation services for both equipment dealers and end-users.

Print Audit’s professional services are designed to minimize inconvenience, expedite deployment and to allow company employees to focus on their regular tasks and projects during the transition. Organizations are now able to schedule remote or onsite technical assistance from a Print Audit professional services team member.

Print Audit is also offering online and onsite training classes to IT staff and office equipment dealers. Technical courses provide professionals with the tools needed to effectively plan and implement Print Audit’s solutions. Sales coaching courses arm dealers with strategies to identify hidden opportunities, beat out competitors and increase revenue from both new and existing customers.

"One of Print Audit's fundamental goals is to make our print management tools as intuitive and easy to use as possible," said John MacInnes, President and CEO of Print Audit. "Each company we work with is different and has unique needs. With these new services, companies that prefer to be guided through the software deployment process can now have onsite access to Print Audit’s award winning support team."

Please refer to Print Audit’s Installation and Training Services brochure for more information:

http://www.printaudit.com/downloads/pdf/Print_Audit_Installation_and_Training_Services_Brochure.pdf

About Print Audit:

Established in 1999 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Print Audit is the fastest growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print management software solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $150 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 190,000 trees a year. Print Audit has offices located in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

For more information on Print Audit, visit www.printaudit.com.

Follow Print Audit on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/printaudit

eCopy PaperWorks Simplifies Document Management

2009-08-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

eCopy PaperWorks Simplifies Document Management for the Busy Office Worker

West Caldwell, N.J., August 4, 2009 – Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment, today announced that it will offer eCopy’s advanced desktop document imaging software, PaperWorks™. Replacing the eCopy Desktop™ solution, PaperWorks is a more robust version that allows users to easily scan, merge and modify documents, connect with other business software applications they utilize daily, and communicate with the back office applications for improved document workflow management.

PaperWorks offers great scanning capabilities from Ricoh desktop and network printers, scanners and multifunction devices as well as the ability to convert electronic and paper documents into text-searchable, secure PDFs that can be saved to and retrieved from any system or network folder. Additionally, users can view and edit scanned and electronic document image files with PaperWorks. Inserting bookmarks, adding headers, footers, notes and electronic signatures along with annotating pages using drawing and text tools are among the modifying options available. Furthermore, users can burn-in changes, which can be both an efficiency and security benefit. Other security features include the ability to permanently remove confidential information with blackout and whiteout tools, encrypt documents before sending them over a network and apply password protection to control who can print, copy or edit a document.

Combining information is another helpful feature that PaperWorks provides. In instances when documents stem from different sources, such as e-mail, fax or electronic file, PaperWorks lets the end-user combine these into a secure, searchable, common file format. With the simple drag and drop functions, users can rearrange content within the merged file as well. PaperWorks also enables the integration of documents into business process workflows. Using the optional eCopy PaperWorks Software Development Kit (SDK), this software solution can assimilate with back-end business applications. Additionally, eCopy PaperWorks Connectors for Microsoft® SharePoint®, EMC® Documentum, Autonomy iManage WorkSite®, and Open Text eDOCS DM™, provide several benefits including the ability to deliver, store, and retrieve electronic and scanned information from document management systems.
“eCopy PaperWorks builds on the outstanding value eCopy software has already delivered to Ricoh MFP customers,” said Ron Potesky, senior vice president, Corporate Communications, Ricoh Americas Corporation. “It helps office workers to make better utilization of their time and energy by providing advanced tools to scan, merge, modify and connect documents to the applications used to run the organization.”

For more information on eCopy PaperWorks offered by Ricoh, please visit www.ricoh-usa.com.

About eCopy

eCopy™, Inc. is an innovative provider of open and flexible solutions that transform paperwork into paper that works. eCopy, Inc. is a global company headquartered in the United States, with subsidiaries in Japan and the UK, offices in Germany, France, Scandinavia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. For more information, visit http://www.ecopy.com or join the conversation at eCopy’s Document Imaging Blog at http://documentimaging.typepad.com/.

About Ricoh Americas Corporation

Ricoh Americas Corporation, headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., is a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd., the 73-year-old leading supplier of office automation equipment and electronics, with fiscal year 2008 sales in excess of $20 billion.
Ricoh Americas Corporation is a leading provider of document solutions. Ricoh’s fully- integrated hardware and software products help businesses share information efficiently and effectively by enabling customers to control the input, management and output of documents.

Ricoh Americas Corporation directly or through its network of authorized dealers markets and distributes products in North, Central and South America.
Information about Ricoh's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at www.ricoh-usa.com.
# # #
All referenced product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Note from Art: I'll be testing this product tonight and will give the reviews 2morrow!

-=Good Selling=-

Toshiba Launches MFP Lease Program

2009-07-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

I picked up this press release a few days ago, dubbed "Back in Black" Look at that Toshiba is going wild with an AC DC favorite of mine! I hope Toshiba will "rock" with their new program unfortunately they'll never hit it is as big as AC DC did! Here's the release:

Toshiba America Business Solutions Tuesday unveiled a leasing program dubbed "Back in the Black."

Customers who lease an eligible Toshiba MFP through Toshiba Financial Services between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, 2009, will be eligible to receive up to one year of free monochrome prints and copies.

"The timing of this promotion is ideal for today's budget-conscious companies that are looking to make the right investments in their business," Bill Melo, vice president of marketing and enterprise solutions, Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS), said in a statement.

Customers that lease a new color product will get up to one year of free black pages, or the maximum number designated, whichever comes first. The eligible color models include the e-STUDIO2830c, e-STUDIO3530c, e-STUDIO4520c, e-STUDIO5520c, e-STUDIO6520c, e-STUDIO6520ct, e-STUDIO6530c and e-STUDIO6530ct.

Customers that lease a monochrome product can receive up to six months, or the maximum number designated, whichever comes first. Eligible monochrome models include the e-STUDIO305, e-STUDIO455 and the e-STUDIO555/655/755/855 series.

"This [program] allows Toshiba dealers to explore new product marketing opportunities by offering direct, tangible financial incentives that immediately and positively affect their customers' bottom line, which is a win-win for everyone," said Melo.

The promotion is available through participating Toshiba dealers and Toshiba Business Solutions outlets only.

Separately, parent company Toshiba Corp. Wednesday posted its fifth straight quarterly loss. For the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, Toshiba reported a loss of $610.4 million, blaming weakened demand for chips.

Despite the downfall, the world's No. 2 chip maker reiterated its forecast for a return to a $1.1 billion operating profit for the year to next March, Reuters reported.

-=Good Selling=-

SHARP FO-2080 Targeted for SMB Environments

2009-07-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

SHARP INTRODUCES NEW MULTIFUNCTIONAL DOCUMENT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

FO-2080 provides full MFP feature set making it a versatile solution for SMB environments.

MAHWAH, N.J., July 23, 2009 – Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, today introduced the FO-2080, a digital document communication system that packs Sharp’s multi-functional capabilities into a compact footprint for the SMB market. The versatile FO-2080 combines high speed Super G3 fax functionality with high-quality digital copying, network printing, and direct-to-PC color scanning in an easy-to-use machine that is easily accessible to anyone in the workgroup.

Providing an enhanced level of user-friendliness, the FO-2080 provides auto switching between dual paper trays as a standard feature, eliminating the need to manually switch between legal and letter sized paper for incoming faxes. With an overall maximum capacity of 550 sheets, the two standard 250-sheet paper trays simultaneously accommodate different paper sizes such as letter or legal, along with a 50-sheet bypass tray that can handle heavy paper, labels, transparencies, and envelopes, to keep workflow moving seamlessly. The FO-2080 also delivers features such as 2-sided printing, copying and scanning, as well as E-Sort and Offset Stacking, making tasks such as collating, separating, and sorting absolutely effortless.

“The FO-2080 is a highly functional office document solution that puts the capabilities of multiple machines in the footprint of an average fax machine,” said Andre Pimentel, Associate Product Manager, A4 Multifunction Printers, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. “This is a product that can help enable office administrators to greatly resolve and streamline workflow issues and reduce cost of operation in a number of ways.”

The FO-2080 provides 20 PPM standard copying and printing, as well as network and USB printing. End-users who need a scanning solution can use the FO-2080 for direct-to-PC color scanning. Taking the scanning features to the next level, the FO-2080 provides Sharpdesk, Sharp’s innovative document management software, which integrates business documents into one place for easy organizing, editing, sharing, and archiving. Also provided is Button Manager, Sharp’s built-in utility which offers a simple one-touch solution that enables the user to send scanned files to multiple destinations, including Scan to Email, Scan to File, and even Scan to OCR (Optical Character Recognition).

The Sharp FO-2080 is now available exclusively to the Sharp BTA Dealer Network and Sharp Certified Channel Reseller distributors. For more information about the complete line of Sharp document solution products, contact Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, N.J. 07495-1163, or call 800-BE-SHARP. For online product information, visit Sharp’s Web site at sharpusa.com or sharpusa.com/documents.

-=Good Selling=-

Ricoh Launches SP C820DN for Graphic Intensive Printing

2009-07-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

RICOH LAUNCHES AFICIO SP C820DN / SP C821DN SERIES COLOR LASER

PRINTERS FOR GRAPHIC INTENSIVE ENVIRONMENTS

Color Laser Printers Deliver Vibrant Image Quality And Low Total Cost Of Ownership

West Caldwell, N.J., July 22, 2009 – Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment, today announced the availability of its Ricoh Aficio SP C820DN and SP C821DN Color Laser Printer Series. Ricoh’s newest color laser printers are an upgrade over the previous Aficio CL7200 and SP C811DN models and offer large workgroups an upgraded engine design based off the CL7200 engine, which produces faster warm-up times and first print times. The SP C820DN and SP C821DN eliminates the need for outsourcing as the printers produce high quality prints up to 9600x600 dpi and 1200x1200 dpi at a rate of up to 40 pages per minute for the Aficio C820DN and up to 50 pages per minute for the Aficio C821DN.

Ricoh’s new color laser printers are the perfect solution for graphic-intensive workgroups like marketing departments, print-for-pay vendors, pre-press departments and design agencies looking to produce full-color documents in-house. The SP C820DN and SP C821DN Series comes equipped with numerous professional-grade finishing options like the 1,000-sheet booklet finisher and 3,000 sheet finisher which allow users to produce full-color marketing materials at a fraction of the cost of outsourcing. The printers’ multi-bit printer engine uses true laser technology to achieve photographic quality prints. The SP C820DN and SP C821DN support PANTONE®, ColorSync, and custom ICM and ICC profiles which givesusers the flexibility to keep a wide range of jobs in-house. PANTONE Color Palettes will be available mid. August 2009.

The SP C820DN and SP C821DN not only equip workgroups with the ability to produce high quality output at interpolated resolutions up to 9600x600 dpi but the printers provide users with a combination of fast processing and fast print speeds. Businesses can go here to read the rest of the press release and specs

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Xerox WorkCentre 5225 & 5230 Spec Review

2009-07-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Xerox launched two new A3 b/w laser MFPs, the WorkCentre 5225 & 5230 series featuring:

- 25ppm and 30ppm top speeds respectively
- Base MSRPs start at $7999.00
- Made by Fuji Film of Japan
- 256MB RAM standard (can upgrade to 768MB)
- 75,000 per month maximum duty cycle
- Auto duplex standard
- 75 sheet document feeder standard can scan up to 55opm
- Two 500 sheet paper drawers standard
- 100 sheet stack bypass standard
- Options can add 4,000 sheets to paper supply
- Optional envelope tray holds up to 65 number 10 envelopes
- 4.3 second first copy out time
- Optional finishers offer hole-punch, staple and booklet making
- 1200x1200dpi
- Optional fax board
- Optional print controller offers:
- actual maker unknown
- Scan to email, mailbox, SMB
- Optional scan to searchable PDF
- Color scanning
- 10/100BaseT & USB ports (does not offer 1000BaseT)
- 333MHz processor
- PCL print driver standard
- Optional PostScript print driver
- Extensible Interface Platform (EIB) provides ability for embedded software
- 40GB hard drive

Equitrac Express Print Management Solution Reduces Print Costs by 45% on Private School Campus

2009-07-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

Equitrac Express Print Management Solution Reduces Print Costs by 45% on Private School Campus

Increases Print Network Efficiencies for High School in Ohio

PLANTATION, FL--(Marketwire - July 21, 2009) - Equitrac Corporation's print management system, Equitrac Express® is successfully managing the print network and reducing print waste at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Working in partnership with IKON Office Solutions, a Ricoh company, the school implemented Equitrac Express one year ago to help manage faculty and student print output and distribution. According to Jeff Gaier, Archbishop Moeller High School Technology Director, the school has reduced print and copy costs by 45% in one year. The solution has exceeded expectations for every goal of the project.

Equitrac Express is specifically developed for print management and cost recovery for colleges, universities, K-12 schools and their libraries. With Equitrac software, administrators decide who may print, how many pages and on which machines. Print quotas are easily set and enforced and the solution can be integrated with existing campus card systems to track, analyze or charge for every page output by any student, faculty member, staffer or guest on any desktop printer, networked multifunction printer or walk-up copier. In January 2009, Equitrac Express achieved the Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI) Five-Star rating.

"Equitrac Express can reduce costs dramatically by making users more accountable and giving them more flexibility," said Scott Folcarelli, Regional Director of Professional Services, IKON Office Solutions. "In fact, we often find that the return on investment from this solution is less than one year, plus schools love the environmental benefits of reduced paper, toner and power usage."

"The print controls in the Equitrac solution have enabled us to better manage output which has reduced our overall print costs significantly," said Gaier. "Our old way of printing had no accountability. We were generating an incredible amount of print waste on a daily basis. The Equitrac software makes it easier for us to manage our faculty and student print needs. We are now able to direct print jobs to the most available and most cost effective printer and have essentially freed up a full-time staff person, who previously spent 50% of her time distributing unclaimed print-outs. We are pleased with the results and continue to reap the benefits of the Equitrac solution."

"Print management in the education market continues to provide opportunities for improving workflows, reducing print waste and controlling print and copy costs," said Equitrac Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing Jim Kano. "Equitrac remains steadfast in its commitment to servicing the needs of K-12 schools, colleges and universities, delivering innovative management technologies that positively impact the bottom line."

To learn more about how Archbishop Moeller High School overcame its print management challenges with Equitrac Express, click here to listen to a webcast hosted by Archbishop Moeller's Jeff Gaier and Jim Booth Director of Ancillary Services at University of Lethbridge.

For more about Equitrac solutions for the education market, please visit www.equitrac.com/solutions_edu.asp.

About Archbishop Moeller High School

Archbishop Moeller High School is one of the largest Catholic high schools based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Grounded in the Marianist tradition, the school was established in 1958 and has a staff of 90 that supports 910 students.

About Equitrac Corporation

Making documents count for over 30 years, Equitrac is the leading provider of solutions to authenticate, authorize and account for use of today's multifunction printers, copiers, faxes and scanners. We're home to the best-funded R&D program, global alliances with leading manufacturers and the largest team of print management experts in the world. Equitrac device-embedded and terminal-based software works with all leading equipment manufacturers, and supports systems already in use, including college and university campus card systems, providing measurable results for any organization that needs to make networked printing more manageable, economical, convenient and secure.

About IKON Office Solutions

IKON Office Solutions, Inc. (www.ikon.com), a Ricoh company, is a leading provider of innovative document management systems and services, enabling customers to improve document workflow and increase efficiency. IKON integrates copiers, printers and MFP technologies, and document management software and systems, to deliver tailored, high-value solutions, implemented and supported by its team of services professionals. IKON leverages the manufacturing and engineering expertise of Ricoh, a more than $20 billion global technology innovator, with the experience and reach of its locally based sales and services teams, to provide end-to-end solutions and one of the industry's broadest portfolios of document management services, including on-site and off-site managed services, technical service and support, and customized workflow design and implementation.

Media Contacts:
Kathy McCall
Equitrac Corporation
Tel: +1.954.888.7769
E-mail: Email Contact

Jacqueline D. Sagl
Murray Sagl PR
Tel: +1.978.265.3663
E-mail: Email Contact

Print Audit Adds Machines In Field Report To Facilities Manager

2009-07-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

New Facilities Manager report allows office equipment dealers to uncover more opportunities within their Managed Print Services accounts.

CALGARY, ALBERTA (July 2009) – Print Audit, the print management company, announced today that it has added new functionality to Facilities Manager that will assist office equipment dealers in taking more control of the volumes at their customer sites. The innovative Machines in Field report allows dealers to generate a report that reveals how many pages are being created on devices which are currently not included in their managed print services program.

Facilities Manager is a powerful, easy to use tool designed to remotely collect meter reads, automate supplies fulfillment and report service information for managing fleets of printers, copiers, fax machines and multi-function devices. The Machines In Field report details the percentage of color pages and the percentage of total volumes dealers are capturing at any given customer site.

“It’s common for dealers to significantly underestimate how many pages their managed print services program is losing to competing, unmanaged devices,” said John MacInnes, President and CEO of Print Audit. “The Machines in Field report will help our dealers to develop strategies to both reduce their customer’s costs and increase their own profits.”

Dealers can use the data provided by Facilities Manager in conjunction with Print Audit 6 Rules in order to redirect jobs from the unmanaged devices to their own more cost effective devices. Print Audit 6 Rules is a print management tool which allows companies to fully control how their printers are used. Rules can be configured to redirect jobs from high-cost to low-cost devices, limit color printing to specific devices, force users to print on both sides of the page and more.

To learn more about Print Audit and Facilities Manager, please visit http://www.printaudit.com.

About Print Audit:

Established in 1999 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Print Audit is the fastest growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print management software solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $150 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 90,000 trees a year. Print Audit has offices located in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

For more information on Print Audit, visit www.printaudit.com.

-=Good Selling=-

Print Management Solution from 10ZiG

2009-07-15T05:07:00.000-07:00

New Secure Print Management Solution Available from 10ZiG
ProximityPrint Q allows companies to go green while cutting costs and increasing security

Phoenix, AZ - July 8, 2009 - 10ZiG Technology (formerly BOSaNOVA, Inc.), the market leader in development of Security Solutions, Thin Clients and Network Appliances today announces the addition of ProximityPrint Q (PPQ) to their line of security products. ProximityPrint Q is a secure print management solution designed to reduce waste, track printer output and increase security.

ProximityPrint Q helps companies cut costs and go green by reducing waste associated with abandoned printouts. The system is composed of a physical device and server software and boasts RFID technology for smart card authentication. Print jobs are securely held in the server until user authentication at the device. In addition, security is enhanced by ensuring no document is accessed by a person other than the intended recipient. Follow me printing is also included which allows users to pick up their print job at any printer regardless of where it was intended to be printed.

PPQ works with any printer, a wide range of copy machines and supports any printer driver. Print management is simple with an easy to use web interface. Reporting tools for print accountability allow activities to be monitored therefore reducing the amount of personal printing.

“Most companies are looking for ways to cut back, but oftentimes the result is that security is overlooked. With PPQ, security is enhanced while printing costs are cut,” says Martin Pladgeman, 10ZiG President. “One of the biggest cost savings is found by eliminating personal printers. With the PPQ, employees can securely print documents on regular network printers without the need for their own personal printer.”

ProximityPrint Q is available for purchase through 10ZiG’s resellers. For sales information contact 10ZiG Technology toll-free at (866) 865-5250, or send e-mail to info@10zig.com. For European inquiries contact +44 1509 276252 or email info@10zig.eu. For more details on the products, visit 10ZiG Technology online at www.theq3.com.

About 10ZiG Technology
10ZiG Technology (www.10zig.com), formerly BOSaNOVA, is a privately held company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is principally engaged in the design and development of thin clients, security solutions and network appliances. The company’s solutions include a highly refined user interface, remote management software, and performance optimization. The company’s products are sold through a worldwide network of IBM and CITRIX Business Partners. Industry affiliations include membership in VMware Technology Alliance Program, IBM's PartnerWorld for Developers, Citrix Ready Partner Program, and the Microsoft Partner Program. For more information, visit www.10zig.com.

Contact us at 866-865-5250 or info@10ZiG.com for a free 30-day trial or for more information.

If you need more info go here found this from Alex Woody

Ricoh SP C820/820 Spec Review

2009-07-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ricoh now shipping an A3 floor-standing color laser printer, the Aficio SP C820/821 series offering:

- launched by Ricoh product manager, Ije Rodgers
- 4 tandem OPC drum design
- 50ppm top speed b/w or color for 821, 40ppm for 820 model
- 50 second warmup time
- 600x600dpi (4 bits per pixel) or 1200x1200dpi (2 bits per pixel)
- Comes standard with two 500 sheet paper drawers & 100 sheet bypass
- Can add either two more 550 sheet drawers, or a large capacity letter size paper deck
- Handles up to 140lb. index stock
- Auto duplex supports only up to 90lb. index
- supports printing up to 49” long banners
- Built-in print controller
- 1GHz processor for 821, 600MHz for 820
- 512MB RAM (can upgrade to 1GB)
- 80GB hard drive standard on 821, optional on 820
- PCL & PostScript print drivers
- Finishing options include; stapling, booklet-making & hole punching

Sharp MX-M363, MX-M453, MX-M503 Spec Review

2009-07-13T17:36:00.001-07:00

Sharp now shipping several new b/w laser MFPs, the MX-363, MX-M453 and MX-M503:

- 36, 45 & 50ppm
- All are A3 models, offering up to 11”x17”
- Will replace the MX-M350 and M450 models
- Code-named “Jupiter III” design
- Base MSRPs range from $7990 to $9990 for M363
- Base MSRPs range from $9390 to $11,390 for M453
- Base MSRPs range from $11,990 to $13,990 for M503
- Black toner yield of 40,000 pages based on 5% coverage per page
- Drum and developer yield of 200,000 pages
- Outside of MFP has textured plastic and chrome accents
- 8.5” color touch screen LCD on “N” version models
- Optional retractable QWERTY keyboard
- “U” versions have b/w touch screen and no keyboard
- “U” models have 100 sheet document feeder that operates at 50opm
- “N” models have 150 sheet document feeder that scans both side of original at same time, up to 70opm
- Comes standard with two 500 sheet paper drawers and 100 sheet stack bypass
- Auto duplex standard
- $845 to add another 500 sheet drawer
- $1075 to add two 500 sheet drawers
- $196 for copy desk
- $1495 for side-mount 3,500 sheet paper deck
- $1295 for fax board
- Built-in print controller on “N” versions:
- 800MHz processor
- 320MB RAM standard (can upgrade to 1GB for $500)
- 80GB hard drive
- 10/100/1000BaseT & USB ports
- PCL print driver standard
- $745 for PostScript print driver
- $625 for Windows Vista XPS print driver (requires 1GB RAM)
- $399 data security kit
- Scans in b/w and color
- Comes standard with one license of Sharpdesk OCR
- additional licenses are $233 each
- $1795 for internal stapling finisher
- $2895 for bookletmaker, for up to 15 sheet booklets
- $2895 for 4,000 sheet stapling finisher
- Any finisher requires $425 relay unit
- $698 hole punch kit

Xerox WorkCentre 7400 series "Spec" Review

2009-07-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

More info on the new color MFPs from Xerox, the WorkCentre 7400 series:

- Model 7425 offers 25ppm b/w and 20ppm color for $10,799 base MSRP
- Model 7428 offers 28ppm b/w or color for $11,899 base MSRP
- Model 7435 offers 35ppm b/w or color for $13,799 base MSRP
- Maximum monthly duty cycles of 60K, 80K & 105K respectively
- Print-only version called Phaser 7500, and offers 35ppm b/w or color for $2999 base MSRP
- Use a color LED engine instead of laser
- LED print head has 1200 diodes per inch for a total of 14,592 diodes across the array
- 4 tandem OPC drum design with polymerized toner
- Advertised as offering 1200x1200dpi print resolution (but does not offer true 8 bits per pixel)
- 600x600dpi copy resolution
- Comes standard with 120 sheet stack bypass and 500 sheet paper drawer
- Optional document feeder holds up to 75 originals
- Up to 12”x18” paper handing
- Standard print/scan controller
- 667MHz processor
- 1.5GB RAM
- 40GB hard drive
- PCL, XPS & PostScript print drivers standard
- 8.5” color LCD touch screen control panel
- Optional fax board
- Black toner yield of 26,000 pages (based on 5% coverage per page)
- Color toners yield of 15,000 pages each
- Optional finishing including stapling, booklet-making, hole-punching, v-folding
- Optional EFI Fiery for $4195
- Suggested cost per page is 1 cent for b/w and 7-8 cents for color clicks

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