Epson WorkForce 610 "Spec Review"

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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

-=Good Selling=-

Xerox WorkCentre 5225 & 5230 Spec Review

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

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

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=-