We were competing for a customer’s business against Xerox. Xerox had already proposed 4 different Xerox models for this customer’s fleet of MFDs. Doing our due diligence we looked up these models on BLI and to my surprise saw that each of these 4 Models had a different manufacturer!!!! I didn’t expect this from Xerox. I was especially surprised to see SAMSUNG & Konica Minolta listed as two of the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer). See excerpts from the 4 BLI reports below.

I don’t know any customer who would knowingly mix 4 different types of MFDs for their fleet. By Xerox relabeling the 4 different OEMs the customer doesn’t know they are doing exactly that. Hopefully this article will allow customers to make an informed decision.

No wonder I hear so many horror stories about Xerox struggling to network their devices when they are made by so many different manufacturers. There is no way a Technician will be completely knowledgeable on 4 different lines. If you have a jar of pickles BUT you label the jar apples it may fool some people initially, but it doesn’t change what’s in the jar! So even though it says Xerox on the out side, it could be Samsung, or Konica Minolta, or Fuji, on the inside.  I thought that you would like to know.

That’s My $0.02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ

Why would anyone want to set up the Total (main) Copier meter to single click an 11×17 page? There is really only one small segment of the business community that wants their copiers set up this way, and that is “Print for Pay”, or Quick Printers. Because they both sell and are charge by the page, it is the printing industry that insists on having their copiers \ MFDs set to single click on 11×17. Their is no other group that I can think of that really cares about it. Now I don’t dislike Print for Pay companies. I made a good living selling to Print for Pay when I was a Color Sales Specialist. Print for Pay buys top of the line equipment, often with high end accessories that is why sales people like them. On the other hand Print for Pay businesses (thanks to Larry Hunt) expect uber-competative pricing (for equipment and service) and demand a high level of service. They are one of the few customer who will pull out a “loop” to show you an imperfection in a copy or print that can not be seen with the naked eye. Print for Pay companies are also notorious for not paying their service on time, or wanting to negotiate down their overages. Now I realize that this is a generalization and that there are some P4P companies that do pay in full and on time, but in my experience they are more the exception rather than the norm.

So why should one small business segment get to dictate to all copier manufactures that they have to have this “feature” to short the total meter? If these companies did a normal amount of 11×17 that a typical business did, this wouldn’t be that big a deal. But most of these Printers run all of their 8 1/2 x 11 jobs two up on 11×17 paper and they cut them in half after they are printed or copied. This cuts their cost in half, which is great for them but who suffers? The consumer who buys a used copier in the aftermarket! These print for pay shops put a lot of clicks on their copiers \ MFDs. When you consider that the actual total clicks could be twice what the total meter reads these MFDs should be junked and not resold. This sure seems to to fit the definition of fraud, IMHO.

We have state divisions of weights & measures, and the attorney generals have offices of fraud and consumer affairs to stop this kind of abuse for cars, and trucks, and planes, and scales. But not copiers or MFDs at least not yet. I understand that Print for Pay is very competitive business, but I think allowing them to set their total meter to count 11×17 (which is twice the size of the standard 8 1/2 x 11) as one click is wrong.

That’s my $0.02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ

I started working for 3M BPSI in Manhattan, NY in 1978, my first real job out of high school. I had a walking territory in the midtown and uptown of the East Side of NYC. Since I didn’t use a car, I didn’t get a Car allowance, but I did get $75.00 every quarter for shoes (LOL). I was originally trained to repair microfilm machines but in December of 1979 I was trained on 3M’s Secretary II Alpha Model 368 Copier. Believe it or not, I still have my diploma. That was the first copy machine that I was trained on. It came with a pair of large wooden tongs and you needed to have an empty solid metal waste basket next to it, because sometimes the paper would get stuck under the “toaster oven” like heater and catch fire. You were instructed to use the wooden tongs to remove the paper (while it is on fire) and put it in the empty, solid, metal waste can to “safely burn out”. Now consider that I use to service equipment in NYC 30 floors up and higher! Can you imagine OSHA being OK with a copy machine where the paper occasionally caught fire! Those were the good old days LOL.

I took about a 10 year break from the industry when I left in 1980 for school and travel, and returned in 1989 as a trainee copy service technician (in the Boston area) first on Mita copiers, and then Canon. While working at this large regional dealership I became a Troubleshooter, and then Field Manager, managing a dozen technicians who serviced the high volume Canon equipment (50ppm and up). In the early and mid 90′s the digital copier came on the scene. My Dealership sent two managers to Novell CNE school (back then Novell had 60% of the Server Market). The Service manager decided to go himself and took one Field Service Manager with him, I was a Field Service Manager but not the one chosen for Novell School. But it was apparent to me that these digital copy machines would drastically change our industry, so I paid for the Novell CNE training out of my own pocket (my then wife was NOT happy about that). when I finished all the classes and associated test to earn my CNE (Novell Certified Network Engineer) both of the managers who were CNE’s gave their notice within two weeks of each other. Leaving me as the only CNE on staff. After financial arrangements were worked out to cover my out of pocket costs I was made a part of the Connectivity Team, and in six months I was manager of the team. I managed that team for several years, and almost took a job with eCopy but decided to stay at NECS. After maxing out my earning potential managing the Systems Support team I decided to go over to “the dark side” (LOL), I became one of three Color Sales Specialists. At this time my dealership was a single line Canon dealer. The CLC was in the sunset of its domination and the ImageRUNNER C3200  had just been released. My first year I sold a little over 3/4 of a million dollars @ 36 profit margin.My favorite deals were selling a New IRC 3200 with a used CLC1150 that package would meet all of my customers needs. The CLC5000′s were still a very viable product in the Print for Pay market.

Then Canon released the infamous C3100 & C6800 hybrid B&W/Color devices that changed things again. I was sitting in a sales meeting when the Director of Sales started chiding the sales force for NOT selling these C3100′s and C6800′s on their own (without the color specialists). I caught him as we left the meeting and said, “so my job is going away?”, he looked at me sideways and said “why do you say that?”. I laughed and asked him if he was just in the same meeting I was. After thinking about what he said in the meeting he said to me, I can see how you might think that, but assured me he would make room for me as a down the street rep. Not really what I had in mind.

Shortly after that Sales meeting I got a call from a Major Account Rep who left the Dealership and went to work for Ricoh Business Systems (RBS) now Ricoh Business Solutions. He told me that they were reconstituting their “Solutions Team” and were looking for someone like me to run the team. After 3 long and intense interviews I was offered and accepted the job of Solutions Manager for RBS-Boston (The New England Market Place). I was later told that in a cost cutting measure Ricoh had disbanded their previous Solutions Team, and were surprised when their sales tanked (DUH!). I took about a year to get the chemistry right between the Solutions Team and the Sales force. But once we did we were a formidable force. The second year I was their RBS-Boston hit our triple crown numbers. We were the only branch out of 13 US branches to do it that year, and RBS-Boston had never done it before in the history of that branch. I was a part of a great management! The branch awarded me an MVP trophy that year. I still have it in my office today.

The Lanier \ Ricoh merger was announced towards the end of that year. We went down to a joint (Ricoh \ Lanier) year end meeting. I was psyched for that meeting! Why not, we were the only branch to knock it out of the park that year. We were strutting around when we got there, when I was told that they would be changing the structure of the branches. I naively said “to match how RBS-Boston is set up?” No, not exactly….. They moved my team into the Service department… I thought WTF? Do you have any idea what we do? or what it took to accomplish what we’ve done? Apparently not. This is when I lost respect for Ricoh’s management because they don’t respect results. They are more concerned about all the branches being the same (= mediocre). How can you work for a company that asks you to accomplish difficult goals and when you do it they change everything that you work so hard to put in place. I can’t and choose not to work for them anymore. I was offered the job of Vice President for the Dealership I worked for back in ’89.

I have been back with NECS for over 4 years, and when you add that to my previous 16 1/2 years I have worked for NECS for a little over 20 years now. So please indulge me in this short stroll down memory lane. This industry has been very good to me. I have had the opportunity to meet and work with some great people. I know that not everyone is cut out for it, and many people burn out after a few years. But for those of us who call it “our industry”, it has shaped us as much as we have shaped it.

What will 2012 bring? I have no crystal ball. But making it through the Tsunami and double dip recession of 2011 still standing tall, I have great expectations for 2012. I hope that it will be good to you too! Happy New Year! Bring on 2012!

That’s my $0,02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ

While the number of choices for companies narrow even further in 2012, the basic choice remains the same when it comes to who will you buy an MFD from? And even more important who will service and support that MFD after the sale? The second question is best answered BEFORE the first question!  Because a cheap initial price will soon be forgotten in the face of poor service and support. It is quality service and support AFTER THE SALE that brings the real value to the deal. Is a few dollars less a month worth the head aches and complaints from your staff & coworkers for the next 3 to 5 years. I know that Purchasing Agents like to boil it down to a like for like comparison and then negotiate the cheapest price possible. And in some cases you may even be comparing the same manufacturer’s MFDs from two different vendors. What will you use to differentiate one Dealer from another? Here are a couple of things to consider:

1) How long has this Dealer been servicing the equipment they sell?

2) What is the average experience of their technicians on the equipment you are buying?

3) How long have they been selling and servicing in your area?

4) What kind of reputation do they have for Service & Support after the sale?
Anyone can provide  3 references, so talk to other companies in your area,
or check the BBB to  see what their rating is.

5) Do they have local System Engineers on staff? How many? Or does the same copier tech who
changes the heat roller do the systems work? Are you comfortable with that?

When you go out to buy a car, do you look for the cheapest car you can find? And then take it to the cheapest repair shop to maintain it? Generally not, especially if you are spending your own hard earned money, you want VALUE for your dollar! Why then does “common sense” go out the window when we are buying something for our company? When we buy a Car, or a TV, or a Suit we don’t look for the cheapest, we look for the best value, and I will pay a little more for it because it will last, and when I find a vendor,merchant, or car mechanic that gives me good service after the sale, I go back there again and again. And I tell other people to go there as well, because they gave me a good value, and good service after the sale.

So what are your 3 main choices in 2012 when it comes to buying an MFD (Copier)?

1. The Direct Sales Arm of the Manufacturer, the  _BS Branch (CBS, RBS, TABS, KMBS)
2. The Large Regional Dealers
3. The Mom & Pop Dealer – small, local, shop with a couple of techs.

If you are a very small office with one small piece of equipment you might consider the small Mom & Pop dealer. You needs will not likely tax their limited resources. But If you have multiple MFDs or multiple offices you are really down to two choices, the _BS Branch or a Large Regional Dealer. The Branch will say “We are the Manufacturer, why would you want to deal with anyone else”. CBS, RBS, TABS, and KMBS have never manufactured anything. They are just another sales channel and are treated no different than any other Sales Channel by the actual manufacturer (Canon, Ricoh, Toshiba, Konica Minolta). But even if the _BS Branch was “The Manufacturer”, what does that mean to you? You still need to answer the question How good is their service & support (after the sale) going to be? Past performance is the best indicator of future results. If you have a large regional dealership that has been in business for 30 to 40 years they have survived and thrived on good service & support. So do your due diligence and look for the best value in 2012. Because the sweet taste of the cheapest price will soon sour when poor service and support cause you head aches not just in 2012 but 2013, 2014, 2015, and beyond. I like to tell potential customers up front that we won’t be the “cheapest” company that they look at, and if that is what they want, “the cheapest”, they shouldn’t be looking at us. We will be competitive, and we will provide the best value for their dollars. But good service & support cost a little more. So you decide in 2012 what you want “The Cheapest Initial price” or “The Best Value for your money”. I already know what I will pick!

That’s my $0.02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ

Luke 2:1 – 20

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, and a very prosperous and Happy New Year! If 2011 was not all you wanted it to be, ask yourself what will you do differently in 2012? Because one practical definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.

Vince McHugh

Don’t think for a minute that I am not a fan of the Fiery Rip, I think Fiery Rips are amazing and can do what nothing else can do quite as well. But the cost significantly more than the standard OEM embedded print engines, The key to successfully placing a Fiery is finding the problem that only the Fiery can solve, and then sell the value. Customers will sometime squawk about having to spend more, but value doesn’t mean the cheapest option, it means the best available for the money. Fiery is often the best value.

So when do I lead with a Fiery? Of course for Graphic Artists, a Mac house, a Print for Pay business, or CRD (Central Reproduction Departments) are all no brainers. But what about a law firm or any customer that DEMANDS critical color matching? We recently put a Canon C7065 with a Fiery A-1 rip in a Law Firm that had recently purchased a Xerox in another city with no Fiery. I spoke to the IT manager who ws involved in the Xerox purchase and he said that he didn’t think much of the Fiery because “they could only affect Pantone colors” (which is not true).  My salesman set up a training session so we could address any concerns about color. The customer handed me their standard corporate color specification sheet. On it were their three main colors, as well as about a half dozen secondary colors. Each color had a Pantone Color, as well as both an RGB formula, and a CMYK formula. Now most people know that Fiery has the best color management optins on the planet. The Graphics Arts package has amazing tools, but what about the standard A-1? Well there is “Spot On” which has always allowed us to edit the Pantone Colors to match them to what the customer thinks they should be. But what about the RGB or CMYK colors? What you may not know is “Spot On” does more than just Pantone editing, Now you can substitute any RBG or CMYK color and change it to any CMYK color you think it should be.

I took their standard color sheet and punched in their nine RGB colors and substituted the CMYK formulas listed next to them, and the colors came out dead on. This worked extremely well except for their “Caseware” documents, the red was still off. Why? Because it was a jpeg image of their 3 primary colors and NOT the actual RGB formula. While the image was RGB color it was NOT the same formula as was on their sheet. It just looked similar. Does that mean we can’t substitute those colors, because they are an image? Not at all, the problem is we don’t know what the formula for THAT THREE COLOR IMAGE IS. But the Fiery’s Graphic Arts package lets us inspect the document to see what the RGB formula is, and once we know that we can apply the CMYK formula that they demand. So that is what I did, I used the Fiery GA package to figure out what RGB colors the Fiery saw the 3 Color JPEG as and then used the “Spot On” color substitution to map those RGB colors to their CMYK corporate standard colors.

Too many sales people shy away from Fiery Rips because they are more expensive. But I have used the Fiery Color Management to win deal after deal. And that will beat the cheapest price more often than not (as long as it is presented correctly). Who among us goes out to by the cheapest TV, or Suit, or Computer we can find? No! we don’t buy the cheapest, we look for value! Why should buying a color MFD be any different.

That’s My $0.02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ

There was a time when IT Managers could stop “rouge” devices from getting on THEIR network. But smart phones and tablets are multiplying and permeating every segment of work and home. An IT manager can no longer say NO to these devices. So What are the alternatives? For the most part it has been all of nothing. It has typically been either print to what ever device you can figure out how to print to or, you can’t print from that blasted iphone (or smart phone) not no how, not no way!

There is another option….SECURE MOBILE PRINTING! That is what the new UniFLOW Secure Mobile printing offers.

Take a look at these Mobile Secure Printing links:

http://download.nt-ware.net/partner/Sales_Tool/EN/index3e89.html?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=42&Itemid=54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWNtcM2jdt8

If Mobile Printing is the “wild west”, then UniFLOW’s Secure Mobile Printing is the “new sheriff in town”!

NECS is doing a Technology Forum in Boston on 11/17/2011 to show off this new technology. If you would like to join us you can see this new Secure mobile printing by contacting me directly by the information below.

THAT’S MY My $0.02
VINCE MCHUGH
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ
603-765-2767 Cell#

That is exactly what we are showing at the NECS Boston Demo Room on 11/17/2011 next week!

“The following companies may have unusual price changes in Japanese trading on October 31. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of the latest close. The information in each item was released after markets shut unless stated otherwise. ….

Ricoh Co. (7752 JT): The office-equipment and camera maker slashed its full-year net income outlook 55 percent to 10 billion yen, citing costs from the company reorganization, earthquake and foreign exchange. The stock sank 1.7 percent to 681 yen. “

I heard late last week that Ricoh would be making some big announcements this week. Based on this information, which according to Bloomberg they posted after close of market on Friday,  it seems logical that a reorganization, and realignment of Ricoh \ Ikon will likely be the “announcement”.

That’s my $0.02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ

Vince McHugh
VP \ Network Solutions
NECS
vince.mchugh@necs.biz

When we spoke to them about doing Variable Data Printing, of which mail merge is the most basic, and most often used form of VDP, they produced a copy of PrintShop Mail (still in the package) which the Xerox Global Dealer had sold them for an additional $1,000.00. They said that they included a single online training session, but no hands on follow up from the Xerox Global solutions person. So they were naturally a little skeptical about me telling them we could train them to do Variable Data Printing for this monthly mailer.

Now I have sold Atlas (and now Objectif Lune) PrintShop Mail, and it is a great solution in the right situation for highly complex VDP print jobs, but selling it to a church to do a mail merge for a monthly news letter (without any real training) is like giving a toddler a bazooka to kill a fly. Yes, it could do the job, but the likely out come will not give you the desired result. A simple fly swatter is a much more elegant solution to the problem of a fly.

We asked them to email me the MS Publisher files that they used for their monthly mailer, and then come in for a demo. I set up our MS Publisher to do a Mail Merge. When we did the demo I showed them their files with a Mail Merge already set up, and with the click of the “print” button out came a run of the churches monthly mailer already addressed to each of their individual parishioners. While I did not show them how to set up MS Publisher to do mail merge during the demo, I did guarantee them that if they gave us their business I would come in an give them hands on lessons on how to set up the mail merge in their MS Publisher, and left them my business card with my cell phone so they would know they could call me personally if they have trouble afterwards. My sales guy got the deal signed this week, and we will be delivering the MFD shortly. I will schedule the follow up training once the equipment is delivered.

A genuine “Solution” often combines, hardware, software, and know how to solve a business problem. When the Xerox Global dealer up sold them Printshop Mail for $1,000.00 with no commitment to this church to make sure that they would learn how to use it, they stole a $1,000.00 from the church! You make think that is a harsh statement, but a good business deal encompasses an exchange of currency for value. The Xerox Global sale of Printshop Mail imparted no value to this church. Because while it had the potential to do what the rep said, without a committed dealer to make it work, the church received no value for their $1,000.00 purchase. The Church understood this, and remembered it when it came time to buy again.

Too many Branches & Dealers have significant turn over in their sales force. So a sales person or solutions engineer who screws a customer on one deal, are often gone by the time the customer’s lease is up in 3 to 5 years. So the new sales person can claim innocence. It’s better to deal with a seasoned sales person who treated you right the last time. Treat your customers right, be just as attentive after the sale as you were when you were trying to win their business and you will add value and earn the right to get their renewed business at a reasonable margin. You don’t, and shouldn’t have to be. the cheapest bid, if you have proven the value that you will bring before and after the sale. Most people will buy value over cheap!

That’s My $0.02
Vince McHugh
vince.mchugh@necs.biz
WWW.NECS.BIZ