The paper printer will be dead in four years, says IEEE

Due to the rising popularity of tablets that have more accessible price points

PAPER PRINTERS will soon become a thing of the past due to the rising popularity of tablets that have more accessible price points, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has said.

Speaking with the group’s technical expert Kevin Curran, The INQUIRER was told that within four years, no one will need to print anything on inkjet or laserjet printers anymore, as we will instead access and review documents and images digitally.

“The printer will be a thing of the past [and] there’ll be no need for hard copies,” Curran said. “The more time you spend online, the more at home you feel reading on tablets instead [where] everything can now be done virtually.”

Curran highlighted that the introduction of cheaper tablets, such as the £30 bargain tablet from India, the Ubislate 7CI, which launched in the UK in December, will help push this trend of digital document, image and video viewing to become the norm.

Curran compared the time in which paper printers will have become obsolete to the rise of devices such as Apple’s iPad, which has taken less than four years to achieve global dominance since launch, so much so that people cannot imagine a time without them.

He also used Youtube, which has taken only about seven years to become so prominent that it accounts for almost 20 percent of downstream internet traffic in the US, as an example that people are ditching traditional forms of media consumption and becoming more comfortable with the virtual world.

Curran also noted the positives associated with the digital convergence of information, in that it will be more economically friendly and won’t require as much tree harvesting or shipping.

While paper printing on inkjet and laserjet machines will see a fatal decline in the home, Curran predicts that this will not be replaced by 3D printing, saying that “not everyone’s home will have one”, like many industry experts have muttered lately.

This is due to the lack of affordability of good quality, industry grade 3D printers, which we will instead see appear as dedicated services in local stores, which consumers will take advantage of when they need to.

For example, people will go to a dedicated home fixtures store or website service that owns a 3D printer to have one-off furniture and home accessories created for them and delivered to their doors.

Curran said that 3D printing will also become more popular in retail, for example in restaurants, with chefs using food printers to create delicately formed dessert pieces and uniquely shaped foods to improve experiences for customers

 

Originally published @ http://www.theinquirer.net/

Bolton College Saves 1/3 on Print Costs with Konica Minoltas Managed Print Solution

Bolton College is one of the largest providers of vocational training and further education in north-west England. Recently the College relocated to a new £70 million town-centre campus. As part of the relocation, the College’s IT department used the move as an opportunity to rationalise the print management and document imaging provision for academic staff and students.

Railton Knott, IT Manager for the College, outlined what was involved: “At our previous location there were over 280 printers. These were mostly black and white laser printers, with a few ink jet and colour models and in some cases, there were two or three printers in a single room. Managing the logistics of a printer fleet that size, with various suppliers and different contracts was very demanding – not just from an administrative perspective but also from the management of costs and support. The diversity of models meant the IT team were dealing with supporting a range of different technical support issues, and having to stock and supply many different consumables – such as toner cartridge types. It was clear we needed to rationalise our range of suppliers and print technologies.”

The College also had a number of older photocopiers that were not networked. Railton and his team needed a more efficient and effective solution to meet the demanding needs of the College and decided to investigate using multifunctional devices for their workgroups. The move to a new state-of-the-art campus was perfect timing for this project and the team worked closely with its procurement partners, Tenet Education Services, in its selection process for a new supplier of print services.

Christine Dennen, Tenet’s Procurement Officer added “We decided to use the Buying Solutions (renamed Government Procurement Service – GPS)  public sector framework agreement and issued a tender document. One supplier declined to tender and from the remaining six we shortlisted three, one of these being Konica Minolta”. Konica Minolta is one of only seven suppliers that have been awarded a framework agreement with Buying Solutions to supply multifunctional printing products and services, print room and managed services. Christine continued, “We went to the IPEX print exhibition in Birmingham and saw demonstrations of some of the systems. The Konica Minolta print technologies and services stood out in terms of build quality and while not the deciding factor, this was an important consideration. It was also going to be much easier to integrate the software solutions used by the College with the Konica Minolta systems than those of other suppliers.”

The bEST OpenAPI system architecture, used by Konica Minolta multifunctional devices, allowing seamless integration of third party software – for applications such as authentication tools, pull print functionality and metadata enhanced scanning. Applications are integrated into the panel of Konica Minolta devices, offering enhanced features including document delivery and sharing. For the College, Konica Minolta was able to demonstrate how ‘MiFare contactless card authentication’ could be integrated into the company’s multifunctional devices. The Pcounter software used by the College to monitor usage of the multifunctional devices around the campus could also be integrated into the Konica Minolta managed print systems.

“The key deciding factors for the award of the tender to Konica Minolta were down to the proven professionalism of approach; the ‘future-proof’ nature of their proposal; and the cost-effectiveness, underpinned by providing the most competitive bid”, Christine said. Konica Minolta implemented a networked print solution based on 38 colour multifunctional devices placed at strategic locations around the college. “The installation process for the Konica Minolta multifunctional devices was one area I didn’t have to worry about”, Railton also added. “Konica Minolta was very flexible about delivery, fitting in with the building completion schedule.”

Following installation, full training was provided which eased resistance to the loss of desk-top printers amongst college staff. “The move to the new building, coupled with the obvious increased functionality provided by the networked devices, meant that everyone was very positive about the new print solution and the obvious environmental and cost benefits to the College. Virtually all the personal printer fleet was eliminated and we were also able to remove a lot of stand-alone fax machines and scanners, because the Konica Minolta devices provided these functions as an integral element.”

In addition to office multifunctional devices, the College had a requirement for digital production print systems for use in its new print room. Konica Minolta was also able to supply three state-of-the-art high speed mono and precision colour digital systems, with an online perfect binding finisher for producing books and bound documents. The College uses Konica Minolta JT Web software that allows users to send print jobs to the print room via its Intranet using a simple web browser interface. Konica Minolta high-speed digital systems have allowed the College to reduce the amount of outsourced print work, enabling it to remain responsive and flexible whilst controlling quality and reducing costs.

In operation the new networked managed print solution supplied by Konica Minolta has proved to be a huge success, reducing operational costs and administrative time, whilst at the same time increasing efficiencies. Railton continues “All the devices are set to black and white, double-sided output as the default, which sets a standard and minimises costs – although users are able to select a variety of other options depending on their requirements. Students have access to six devices and are allocated an initial copy and print allowance which they can then top up as and when they need to. Staff use their MiFare cards to authenticate themselves at the multifunctional device which enables them to access various features and collect their jobs from whatever device they want – for example they can collect their print from another floor if they are on their way to a meeting.  The system also provides a wealth of Management Information and statistics around usage which is vital for the College’s core functions such as internal billing.

“The usage records have also allowed Konica Minolta to optimise usage of the multifunctional devices; for example it has allowed us to reposition devices in high workload areas with those less utilised to balance duty cycles across our fleet.”

Following installation, the College has enjoyed excellent after sales support and care from Konica Minolta. “The reliability of the devices is great, but if we need to make a service call, response is rapid and issues are sorted out fast”, Railton says. Christine added, “We have an excellent relationship with Konica Minolta. We hold regular account review meetings where we are able to monitor services, develop the services and plan for the future. The team is always pro-active in their approach, respond very quickly to any action points, and it feels like a true partnership.”

The College has seen substantial benefits from the new Konica Minolta print solution, both economic and logistical. “The cost of our print output has reduced by a third since we switched to using Konica Minolta multifunctional devices. The billing is simpler to understand and administer and all the device contracts are on a co-terminus end date to ease transition. We are spending a lot less on toner and ink cartridges which previously had to be catalogued and stored. Now print consumables like this are automatically supplied as and when a device requires it, due to the innovative CS Remote Care solution built into the devises, meaning we don’t need to manually order, or hold and administer stock. Our print room can now cope with all the major College print jobs including perfect bound colour work. “Print output is one thing I no longer have to worry about”, Railton concluded.

 

Case Study Available @ http://www.konicaminolta.co.uk/fileadmin/content/uk/Business_Solutions/Press/casestudies/Konica_Minolta_helps_Bolton_College_Save_A_Third_on_Print_Costs_Case_Study.pdf

 

 

Originally published @ konicaminolta.co.uk

Infirmary Health Saves $240,000 with Managed Print Solution from Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta today announced that Infirmary Health System, a leading provider of healthcare in southwest Alabama, has implemented Konica Minolta Optimized Print Services (OPS) throughout its entire network of hospitals, outpatient facilities and medical clinics. By standardizing on a managed print solution Infirmary Health has saved over $240,000 as well as simplified the management of 2,000 printing devices and improved efficiencies and document security.

“Maintaining our large printing fleet across multiple hospitals and clinics was a strain on the IT department and our operational budget,” Eddy Stephens, CIO, Infirmary Health System, Inc. “It made more sense to move to a single managed print service plan with Konica Minolta OPS maintaining and supporting our entire fleet regardless of the manufacture and model. Not only has it helped to drive down operating costs, but the IT department no longer has to manage multiple vendors or service devices ourselves. With everything else I have on my plate as CIO of a large healthcare provider, printing is now one less thing I have to worry about with Konica Minolta OPS.”

For the past 15 years Infirmary Health has leveraged Konica Minolta printers, bizhub® multifunction printers (MFPs) and production print systems. Looking ahead to the long-term changes in healthcare reimbursements from government and private payers, Infirmary Health turned to Konica Minolta to implement a managed print solution that would help reduce its operating budget and drive costs out of the system. Infirmary Health now saves $20,000 monthly on replacement toner cartridges by moving to Konica Minolta OPS for the ordering and delivery of all consumables, replacement parts and maintenance kits, regardless of the device make or model.

With a total of 2000 printing devices throughout the organization, Infirmary Health has moved to a vendor supported maintenance model with a dedicated Konica Minolta technician on site to service and ensure optimal uptime. Now when IT receives a call related to printing, it is sent directly to the Konica Minolta technician. The combination of a dedicated Konica Minolta technician and local technician support ensure that Konica Minolta can easily service and maintain all the print devices located throughout nine different hospital facilities and more than 30 satellite clinics.

“Like so many large organizations with multiple locations, Infirmary Health’s printing environment was not optimized for efficiency and was comprised of excess printing, imaging and fax devices,” says Sam Errigo, senior vice president, Business Intelligence Services, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. “Konica Minolta’s Optimized Print Services (OPS) takes the complexity and inefficiencies out of managing a print environment for both productivity and cost savings. Our approach combines consultancy, hardware, software and implementation services in order to achieve cost reductions and trouble-free processes.”

Click here to read the full case study.

 

Originally published @ http://kmbs.konicaminolta.us

Lexmark aquires medical software company PACSGEAR in $54M deal

 

Lexmark has that it has bought PACSGEAR, a medical information company, for $54 million.

PACSGEAR will report to the Lexmark stand-alone business unit Perceptive Software.

PACSGEAR works to help health care providers capture, manage and share medical images and related documents and integrate them with existing picture archiving and communication systems and electronic medical records.

Lexmark said in a press release that the acquisition will make Perceptive Software “uniquely positioned to offer a vendor-neutral, standards-based clinical content platform for capturing, managing, accessing and sharing patient imaging information and related documents within healthcare facilities.”

PACSGEAR’s customers include Kaiser Permanente, Henry Ford Health System, Hospital Corporation of America, Mount Sinai Hospital, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Paul Rooke, Lexmark’s chairman and chief executive officer, said that the acquisition of PACSGEAR “further differentiates Lexmark’s solutions by better enabling health care organizations to capture and process digital content, and then ensure it is connected with the applications and people that need it most so they can deliver the best patient care possible.”

Lexmark has spent heavily in recent years on acquiring software expertise and customers in world markets. In August, the company announced its $72 million purchase of the German company Saperion AG, a developer and provider of enterprise content management and business process management software with customers including the energy company E.ON, Lufthansa, Vodafone, Daimler and Siemens.

In 2012, Lexmark acquired ISYS Search Software, based in Australia; U.S. based-Nolij Corp; and Luxembourg-based Brainware.

In addition to Saperion, so far in 2013 Lexmark has purchased Twistage, a San Franciso-based company with a cloud software platform for managing video, audio and image content; Seattle-based AccessVia, which has software that prints on-demand in stores on printers, multifunction products or handheld devices in the aisle or in production facilities; and Acuo Technologies of Minneapolis, a leader in clinical management software and the medical imaging industry.

Read more: http://medcitynews.com/2013/10/medical-software-company-pacsgear-acquired-lexmark-54m-deal/#ixzz2hAIJ5XFq

Sharp discounts shares to raise up to $1.4B

Japanese firm seeks to rebuild balance sheet after losses

Sharp Corp., a supplier of screens to Apple Inc., will raise as much as 137 billion yen — $1.4 billion — by selling stock at a discount as the Japanese company seeks to rebuild its balance sheet after record annual losses.

Shares will be priced at 279 yen apiece, which is 4.1 percent lower than Monday’s closing price, Osaka-based Sharp said in a regulatory filing. Japan’s largest maker of liquid-crystal displays will raise as much as 119.1 billion yen from a public share sale and 17.4 billion yen from selling stock to Makita Corp., Denso Corp. and Lixil Group Corp., it said.

Sharp posted losses totaling 921 billion yen during the past two financial years amid intensified competition in LCDs and flat-panel TVs. The supplier for Apple’s iPhone and iPad is tapping into the Japanese equities rally after previously selling minority stakes to Samsung Electronics Co. and Qualcomm Inc.

Sharp last month said it would raise as much as 166.4 billion yen from the sale of stock. The company’s shares have slumped 23 percent since the plan was announced Sept. 18.

The stock dropped 8.2 percent to close at 291 yen in Tokyo trading before the announcement. Sharp shares have fallen 4 percent so far this year, while Japan’s benchmark Topix index has gained 33 percent.

In August, Sharp reported a net loss of 18 billion yen for the June quarter, narrower than the 138 billion yen loss a year earlier. Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, totaled 3 billion yen for the quarter, compared with a loss of 94 billion yen a year earlier, the company said. Sales rose 33 percent to 608 billion yen.

The maker of Aquos TVs is forecasting net income of 5 billion yen for the year to March 2014, its first annual profit in three years, after job cuts. The company sold a stake in its largest LCD plant to Taiwanese billionaire Terry Gou last year to boost sales through his Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of electronics.

 

By Grace Huang, Bloomberg News

North West Online Business Goes Pink For October

NetGiant Ltd, a Greater Manchester internet retailer, is donating 50p to Breast Cancer Care for every Magenta (pink) printer cartridge sold during the month of October.

The multi-brand company will use their printer consumables website, TonerGiant.co.uk, to head up the campaign. Besides the charitable donations, TonerGiant.co.uk will undergo a pink ‘makeover’ from October 1st, in an aim to spread awareness about breast cancer. The whole team will be involved and have been learning about the risks of the disease, as well as precautions and measures that can be taken against it.

In an aid to help the fund-raising even further, the team will be taking part in plenty of activities in October, using ‘Pink Fridays’ as way of raising awareness. The NetGiant team will be learning line dancing, baking cakes and wearing pink supportive t-shirts on these Fridays, in order to mirror the messages on their website.

Director Joanne Flynn said, “To be able to be a part of this month of fundraising is something that we, as a team, are collectively really proud of. Breast cancer awareness is becoming a much more popular topic in the media, but unfortunately it’s not as popular as we’d like it to be just yet.”

Managing Director, Gary Flynn, added “As an online business with a public front, we have a direct opportunity to raise awareness for this great cause. We’ve all been working really hard to think of ways we could support the charity, and hopefully, at the end of the month, we can say we’ve done our bit.”

TonerGiant.co.uk is one of NetGiant Ltd’s internet retail brands, and has been trading nationwide since 2006. Experiencing positive growth and expansion over the last decade, and being awarded the Bolton & Bury Business of the Year Award in 2012, NetGiant Ltd hopes to use this commercial success as an outlet to support Breast Cancer Care this October.

Gary Flynn’s final words were, “We’re all set up and on board now and we can’t wait to start seeing some of our sales go towards Breast Cancer Care. We must of course remember that this is just a start and we’re all really eager to see more of the same attitude to the charity across the UK.”

 

(PRWEB UK) 6 October 2013

Lexmark Appoints (Another) New GM For Australia and New Zealand

Paulussen hops the pond with Lexmark

Lexmark has appointed Arjan Paulussen as its new general manager for Australia and New Zealand.

“Arjan’s leadership skills and customer-centric approach, when combined with Lexmark’s award-winning imaging technology and software solutions, will help partners and customers succeed in the ANZ market,” said Leonel Jose Da Costa, Lexmark’s vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific.

Mr Paulussen was previously Lexmark’s US director of sales.

Before joining Lexmark, he held senior sales, sales management and corporate business development positions at KPN Royal Dutch Telecom in Europe and the US.

Mr Paulussen holds a BA in Business Administration from the Amsterdam School of Business and an MBA degree from Bradford University.

“I am excited to join the A/NZ team and look forward to developing a greater understanding of our customers’ challenges and helping them solve them through our unmatched combination of technology ownership, industry expertise and customer intimacy,” he said.

 

Article by  Stephen Withers

Staples Launches New Store In the Uk With 3D Printing Buzz

THE borough’s first citizen did the opening honours as customers flocked to the new Staples store on Basingstoke’s Brighton Hill Retail Park.

The leading stationery retailer invited Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane Councillor Dan Putty to open the store, and while there he saw a 3D printer in action.

The store has relocated from nearby premises, in Winchester Road, to the retail park so that it could improve its range and services.

Store manager Barrie Howells said: “It was fantastic – the associates were buzzing with excitement and we had hundreds of new customers as well as our regulars. With the band, face painter and balloon and Sharpie artists, it had a real carnival feel.”

 

Mr Howells said the customers were impressed with the store.

“They loved it and said it felt fresh and exciting,” said Mr Howells. “It’s also a great working environment, with the layout of the store making it easy to help customers. We had six times the amount of transactions on the opening Saturday compared to a normal Saturday.”

The store is among the first selected by Staples to sell 3D printers, called The Cube, giving people the chance to produce realistic, 3D models from A4 paper.

Mr Howells said: “The customers loved seeing it working. There was a crowd around the display all day and we even sold one to a customer on Sunday who had seen it when they were in on Saturday. I’m certain we’ll sell some more this week.”

 

Original Article by Richard Garfield

HP Australia boss departs

 

PC giant hunting for new MD.

HP South Pacific managing director David Caspari has resigned from the company, CRN has learned.

A company spokesperson confirmed the move and said Caspari would depart to spend time with family and friends.

HP Australia’s vice president of information, technology and services Howard Bowland will take over Caspari’s role while the company looks for a replacement. 

Caspari joined HP five years ago from a stint as the India president of Cisco. He arrived at HP just after its US$13.9 billion acquisition of EDS, and was appointed the managing director of EDS to transition and integrate the business into HP. 

Prior to his current role he served as the company’s senior vice president of services for the Asia Pacific.

HP has been through the largest staff purge in its 73 year history over the last year, with 27,000 of the company’s global 350,000-strong workforce losing their jobs.

The job cuts, designed to reap savings of US$3.5 billion, also hit Australia, with several high-ranking executives let go from the company mid last year.

 

Originally published @: http://www.crn.com.au/News/356712,exclusive-hp-australia-boss-departs.aspx

 

Konica Minolta and Komori Debut World’s First 23”x29” Digital Inkjet Press at PRINT 13

 

Combining Konica Minolta’s UV Inkjet Technology with 
Komori’s Precision Manufacturing Technology

PRINT 13, September 8-12, McCormick Place South, Konica Minolta Booth #518

Ramsey, N.J. and Rolling Meadows, I.L. – September 4, 2013 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) and Komori Corporation, Inc. (Komori) today announce the KM-1/IS29 Inkjet Press will be showcased as a technology preview at Konica Minolta Booth #518 during PRINT 13 from September 8-12 at McCormick Place South in Chicago. Co-developed by both industry leaders, the KM-1/IS29 combines Konica Minolta’s superior UV inkjet technology with Komori’s expertise in precision manufacturing to provide high-speed output, superior color quality, and reliable digital throughput.

The KM-1/IS29 is a digital, UV color inkjet press that processes cut-sheet pages up to 29” size. Fast outputs of 3,300 sheets per hour simplex, and 1,650 sheets per hour duplex, make the KM-1/IS29 ideal for fast-paced commercial printing environments where larger size cut-sheet pages are necessary and quality is important.  The larger sheet size improves throughput and efficiency. The maximum page size of 23”x29” enables six-up letter page layouts, a wide variety of gang runs and easy integration with existing production workflows, making it the ideal solution for short run, variable data (VDP) and fast turnaround jobs.

Imaging on the KM-1/IS29 is supported with “inkjet head,” “ink,” and “process” technologies owned by Konica Minolta, a leading company in inkjet head and digital printing, including color management with toner-based printers. The latest inkjet head technology enables superior image quality at 1200×1200 dpi, and the newly developed exclusive UV ink allows printing on coated or non-coated paper including standard offset paper without any pre-coating. In addition, Konica Minolta’s tried and tested process technology provides high quality, stable printing.

To support this new digital offering, Komori designed a new sheet transport system, a new cylinder configuration as well as a new sheet reversal mechanism to enable high speed two-sided printing.  The KM-1/IS29 can instantly switch from single to double sided printing with no operator intervention. 

“As the first of its kind in the marketplace, the KM-1/IS29 is ground-breaking technology for production print environments,” says Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. “Customers can count on Konica Minolta for industry-leading solutions that deliver superior performance and efficiency.”

”We are very excited to introduce the KM-1/IS29 to the US market at Print 2013,” says Kosh Miyao, president and chief operating officer, Komori America Corporation. “The machine is truly a fusion of offset and digital technology that will be a game-changer in the printing marketplace.”

Commercial availability is targeted to begin at the end of 2014. Starting country/region will be determined at a later date.  

 

Originally published @: http://kmbs.konicaminolta.us/wps/portal/web/home/about/news/