Lantonix's xPrintServer Allows You to Print Directly from Your iPhone or iPad

Plug-n-play devices don't usually live up to their names, which is unfortunate. What usually happens is you plug it in, fail, look at the instructions, get confused, re-read the instructions, get more confused, call customer service, get put on hold, hang up, get no helpful information, look on Google or YouTube for an answer and then throw everything in frustration. However, the one exception to that rule is the xPrintServer from Lantonix. Well, it may be the exception...

The only problem is how to print from your iPad or iPhone. If you've already purchased a printer with AirPrint capabilities then this should be easy for you to accomplish because, well, that's what it's made for. Though, if you are like most other people in the world and hold onto your printer way longer than you should, then you have limited options.

One of those options is to add a printing app to your iPad or iPhone. Unfortunately, those apps are generally tied to specific models of printers, which makes finding the right one hard. However, if the printer upgrades its drivers then you may have a problem.

The xPrintServer simplifies this. Essentially, the xPrintServer is a box that attaches to your router and to your printer. Once that's done, you can print from your iPad and iPhone, no matter where you are in your house or office. All is not perfect with the xPrintServer. Signs of stubbornness abound and connecting to a wireless printer via WiFi without the USB cable can be difficult and unresponsive.

Pricewise, the xPrintServer runs $100, which is a lot, especially when compared with an app that does the exact same thing for $5. The first thing you need to do, if you decide to go with the xPrintServer, is see if you have an AirPrint compatible printer and then check if there is an i-device app specifically for your printer. After that, consider how much you value simplicity. If the answer is worth $100 then you should give the xPrintSever a try.

Source: The New York Times - Printing From Your iPhone, at a Price

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Zebra Technologies Releases New 4" Desktop Printer Series

Zebra Technologies Corporation has just announced the release of the GC420 desktop printers in EMEA. The GC420 series are compact printers that allow businesses, both big and small, to see more and do more by enabling track-and-trace capabilities for numerous applications.

Like I said, the GC420 series is capable of performing a lot of different applications, including:

• Manufacturing - light industrial work-in-process, product and shipping labeling.
• Transportation and Logistics - boarding tickets, bag tags and parking passes. 
• Retail - price labeling, shelf marking and receipt printing. 
• Healthcare - laboratory specimen and blood bank labeling. 
• Post - electronic stamping and address labeling. 

According to EMEA Product Manager for Zebra Technologies Mark Togher, "Zebra prides itself on not only being innovative, but also being able to meet the unique needs of our customers globally. The GC420, like all of our printers, provides flexibility and high performance for increased productivity. In addition, our EMEA customers also appreciate that the printers offer excellent value, providing features and performance at a very competitive price, and making it easier to adopt bar code technology."

The new GC420 printers offer productivity enhancements that are essential for small to mid-size manufacturers, transportation and logistics businesses in addition to retail, healthcare and post. These compact printers also provide excellent value performance based on customer-proven mechanical design. They also offer flexibility to print in either thermal transfer or direct thermal mode. What's more is that they also offer powerful performance and throughput with a 32-bit processor, co-resident EPL and  ZPL programming languages and triple connectivity. Other features include:

• Large 8MB memory with support for large fonts and graphics. 
• Peel/Dispenser (optional). 
• Energy Star compliance. 
• Odometer for print length tracking and supplies management. 
• Unicode for global character printing. 
• ZBI 2.0 for integration, adaptation and handling of data peripherals.

In addition to that, the GC420 printers are easy to load and operate and are also backward compatible with select Zebra 4" printers. These low-maintenance and durable printers also reduce training requirements and operating costs and are built to withstand rough handling in busy work environments with their dual-walled construction.

Source: Market Watch - Zebra Technologies Introduces new 4-Inch Desktop Printer

Xerox Seeks to Increase Business with Digital Services Model

Xerox isn't having much luck in terms of share worth these days as the company's shares have failed to break $8 per share since falling below that point in the beginning of May. The company's stock fell dramatically last August from $10.45 per share to $7.70.

Digital commerce and communication have been identified as threats to Xerox's traditional core business of photocopiers and printing. As a result, diversification spread into other services. Xerox acquired Affiliated Computer Services back in 2009, which also slightly turned the business model away from printing and more towards things like add-on services, though the branching out has proved to be fruitful for Xerox.

According to a statement from Morningstar's Michael Holt, "These services aren't tied to printing, but instead stem from IT outsourcing and processing Medicaid claims, which account for half of Xerox's revenue." Holt also stated that printing is cyclical, which exposes Xerox to headwinds. However, as our economy transitions its business model to services, Holt expects greater stability of operating results.

Tablets and smartphones have not been kind to consumer printing, though Xerox has had less exposure to this than some of its competitors like HP and Lexmark. According to Keith Bachman, analyst for BMO Capital Markets, "Xerox is in better shape, since Lexmark has a residual inkjet business and HP has a very meaningful inkjet business - this is positive for Xerox given the trends over the next five years."

The remnants of Xerox's printing business focuses on business and commercial printing, which is also dying at a slower rate than consumer printing. According to Bachman, "There are trends at the corporate level where companies are consolidating four or five laser jets into one in an attempt to lower the cost of printing." In addition to that, Bachman mentioned how Xerox, Cannon and other business printing manufacturers are managing companies' print services by putting printers on office floors that are located away from offices in an attempt to deter employees from printing, though they are still close enough to keep employees from complaining.

However, Xerox's shift to a services business model is one of the clearest signs that the days of a thriving printing industry are well in the past. The consensus analyst estimate for Xerox is $0.26 per share on sales of $5.6 billion. Xerox shares were recently trading at $7.25 and have dropped 12% year-to-date. Lexmark and HP, two of Xerox's biggest rivals, were also trading negative.

Source: Forbes - Xerox Works To Duplicate Copier Glory In Digital Services Model

Stocks for Printer Makers Drop Significantly

Laser and inkjet printer maker shares fell recently after Lexmark joined a whole host of other technology companies warning of falling sales in Europe. Lexmark's stock dropped as much as 17%, making it one of the biggest losses on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to that, Lexmark's drop dragged down Xerox and HP, two rivals of the company.

Deteriorating economic conditions in Europe and a stronger dollar have led to grim forecasts from several American technology companies, including Advanced Micro Devices and Applied Materials. HP shares decreased by 3% to $18.77, the lowest in over a year, while Xerox saw stocks decrease as much as 3% as well. Japanese rival companies Canon and Ricoh both closed down on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as well.

Michael Holt, an analyst for Morningstar, stated that printing, which is always one of the most dispensable parts of a company's budget, is always the first target of cost-cutting measures. According to Holt, "When you see times of macro economic distress, printing is one of the areas most susceptible to changes in demand. Even if we have long term negative trends in printing, they can be exaggerated in the short run by economic conditions."

Lexmark derives nearly 40% of its sales from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, though it recently cut its profit outlook on Thursday and said second quarter revenue would decrease by nearly 12%, a number greater than what was initially anticipated. Lexmark also stated that it would be hurt by a strong dollar in the second quarter as well. The euro has shed 5.5% against the U.S. dollar this year alone.

Unlike Lexmark, HP has other business ventures that it can fall back on, including its Personal Systems Group, which is currently being merged with its printing group. HP derives nearly 20% of its revenue from its Imaging and Printing Group, which the company considers a steady cash flow due to recurring sales of printer cartridges. According to Holt, "Lexmark is focused on mainly business printing but HP has exposure to both businesses and consumers. We see consumer printing as declining much more rapidly than business."

Source: Reuters - Lexmark's outlook warning pulls down printer makers

Washington State Reimbursed $4 Million from Ricoh for Overcharges

Washington state government agencies will be receiving a $4 million windfall thanks to a settlement deal that was recently announced, requiring Ricoh Americas Corporation to pay back overcharges on copier services. The company has a $17 million per year contract with the state of Washington for supply of copiers and services, which is set to expire next April.

The review of the charges was ordered after an anonymous note gave the tip to the Washington Attorney General's Office back in 2009. The announcement was made by the State Department of Enterprise Services, which also announced the agreement with a news release on its website.

The $4 million settlement is based on samples of contract sales conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in response. In addition to that, it covers charges dating back to 2007 by Ricoh's subsidiary IKON Office Solutions, according to DES spokesman Steve Valandra. Ricoh purchased IKON and, according to Valandra, "stepped up and did the right thing" once the charges were noticed.

The $4 million will ultimately go back to state agencies and local governments that participated in the state's contract for copier services and were overcharged. According to Valandra, "What we will do over the next few months is see what agencies and local governments used the contract and how they were affected - and direct the money back to them."

Joyce Turner, Director of Enterprise Services, also stated, "We worked diligently to address the concerns and are pleased with the settlement agreement ... These negotiations and the process taken to bring this to resolution provide a model for government and industry working together to ensure that the taxpayers of Washington are best served."

Source: The Olympian - Ricoh to reimburse state $4M for copier overcharges

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Xerox Trying to Revitalize India Operations

Xerox recently hired a local to the top position at its Indian subsidiary, which broke an eight year trend of expat CEOs leading operations at the printer and copier juggernaut. In addition to that, the change made it clear that the $22.6 billion company's intent to kick-start growth and regain lost ground in India with an influx of hiring, an overhaul of the top management and a restructuring of the portfolio for a sharper focus is still on track.

Rajat Jain was named the Managing Director for Xerox in India back in February and was given a clear mandate to accelerate growth in the country. Local professionals have also replaced expats in four senior positions with only the finance function currently headed by an expat. It has also been noted that nearly 100 professionals have been hired to spur new creativity.

Xerox's urgency is definitely noticeable due to the fact that the company is currently developing India-specific products to enter newer segments, like consumers and small businesses. Xerox India also wants to focus on services, which have become a large revenue generator for its parent company. This renewed growth mindset has come as competitors like Canon, HP, Epson and Ricoh have been gaining ground over the years in key markets like A4 multifunction printers and A3 copier multifunction printers. Canon also grabbed Xerox's leadership position in the Indian copier market five years ago.


Xerox jumped into the India market back in 1983 as Modi Xerox. Back then, the company was a joint venture with ModiCorp, which is now the Spice Group. In 2002 the company got wrapped up in a nasty bribery scandal as well as corporate governance issues. Since then, Xerox has increased its stake in the joint venture while ModiCorp has moved on. 


According to Jain, who joined Xerox India from Mobile2win India and was formerly MD of Walt Disney India, "The fresh appointment of so many senior professionals shows the parent's recommitment and faith in the Indian operations." 


Source: The Economic Times - Xerox Corp hires 100 key professionals to kickstart growth

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Toshiba Wants to Know If You Will Take the National No-Print Day Challenge?

Toshiba is taking green printing and copying to the next level by asking you to use less paper. In addition to that, the company is even sponsoring National No-Print Day on October 23, 2012, a day when Toshiba hopes paperless offices become more of a reality, for at least one day, that is.

Now it may seem a bit ironic that a printer and copier company would sponsor a day that has people not using its products, and that point isn't lost on Toshiba, which addresses the issue on its official website for National No-Print Day. On the site the company states, "We're people. People who breath the same air, swim in the same water, and play fetch in the same parks as everyone else. We're people who recognize the earth is an irreplaceable asset."

In addition to that statement, the website features a video starring "Tree", a bearded cubicle-dweller in a tree costume who dutifully works to remind his coworkers about saving paper. Tree gets to take a much deserved break on National No-Print Day and uses that time to skateboard, play basketball, shoot pool, sunbathe and have pillow fights with beautiful women (I swear all of that happens in the video).

Some naysayers may see National No-Print Day as a cheap gimmick by Toshiba to grab some publicity, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't actually consider the idea. Some eye-opening stats come up in the video as well, including the fact that the average office worker uses over 10,000 pages of copy paper every year and wastes over 1,400 prints annually, which is the equivalent to 1.2 trees.

According to a statement from Toshiba America Executive Bill Melo, "We know that approximately 336,000,000 sheets of paper are wasted daily -- that's more than 40,000 trees discarded every day in America. We as individuals and companies are failing to make the link between printing waste and its negative impacts on our landfills, natural resources and the environment."

Toshiba also promises to plant a lot of trees, around 1.5 million by 2025, as long as users take the following pledge:

"Being of sound ink and toner, I honor the sacrifices made by Tree and his leafy colleagues, and do hereby give them the day off on National No-Print Day, the 23rd day of October, 2012, a day on which I will steadfastly refrain from printing, copying and otherwise causing hardworking trees to lose their pulp."

Toshiba wants to know...will you take the pledge?

Source: PC World - National No-Print Day: Will You Take the Pledge?

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New App Transforms Your iPad into A Scanner, Copier and Fax Machine

With things becoming increasingly more digital these days, the need for things like printers, scanners and copiers is decreasing. However, there are still those times when you absolutely need to use one or more of these devices. The problem is that these things are expensive and not many people want to fork over the money if they are only going to use the device a handful of times a year. Fortunately, there is a new app out for the iPad that is drastically cheaper than buying one of these devices and gives you the same benefits.

The Scanner Pro app, which sells for $6.99, uses your iPad or iPhone camera to take a high-res picture of documents and other things. Naturally, the larger screen of the iPad makes things easier but if all you have is an iPhone then you can use that too. Once you take a picture of the document you can send it to the cloud via Evernote, DropBox, Google Docs, etc... to store it. Your scanned document can then be printed at any printer that supports Air Print, turning your iPad or iPhone into an inexpensive portable printer/copier.

In addition to that, documents can be sent directly to any computer via local WiFi network, which makes getting PDFs into a computer faster and simpler. Scanned documents can also be faxed over the web for $0.99, which is just like making an in-app purchase. You can manually enter the fax recipient or you can pick one from a list of contacts and the fax is then sent in a few seconds once the payment transaction goes through.

When you take a picture of a document with the app, which also supports multiple pages, the app automatically determines the document borders before saving. Each page is clearly marked on the document and can be easily moved by touch, which is an important feature, as it provides you with a nice way to limit a copy/fax to only some of the scanned pages if need be.

The app itself can save pages as JPEG images or PDF documents and it is also possible to open the scanned image in an appropriate app for handling the selected document type from directly within Scanner Pro. This allows you to further tweak the pages and documents whenever you need to. If you occasionally need to scan, copy or fax something and you don't really feel the need to have an actual copier around gathering dust, the Scanner Pro app is definitely something you should check out. For $6.99 you really can't go wrong.

Source: ZDNet - Turn your iPad into a scanner, copier, and fax with Scanner Pro

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Kofax Sets Up Complete Capture Solution for U.S. Military

Kofax plc has just announced that a branch of the United States Military has selected the company for its capture solutions, setting up a contract worth more than $300,000. The military branch will implement Kofax Capture, Kofax Transformation Modules, Kofax VRS Elite and Kofax Monitor to automate the capture and processing of 1,000,000 personnel health forms, medical lab reports, EKG results and other medical documents that it receives every year. Kofax's solution will allow the branch to route the resulting images and data to a Microsoft SharePoint app, allowing for easy access by employees.

According to Executive Vice President of Field Operations for Kofax Alan Kerr, "Kofax solutions enable government organizations to leverage the secure, automated, capture enabled processing of documents to reduce costs and paper, improve service and become more efficient."

Kofax Capture provides scan-to-archive capabilities by scanning documents and forms in order to create digital images, extracting index data for retrieval purposes and delivering those images and associated data to a plethora of different repositories and applications. By doing things this way, customers of Kofax can greatly reduce the cost of retrieval while also improving upon regulatory and compliance efforts. Kofax Capture is also very flexible and scalable, allowing customers to determine where and how images are captured and indexed.

Kofax VirtualReScan Elite, or VRS, is the patented image enhancement and perfection software used by the company. This software reduces the time it takes for manual document preparation while also enhancing the quality of scanned images. This drastically improves manual scanning productivity as well as the efficiency of document capture processes. High quality images are vital because they can greatly impact the success of downstream data extraction and retrieval needs.

The Kofax Transformation Modules add things like classification, page separation, data extraction and validation capabilities to the Kofax Capture. All of this is incorporated to run diverse capture-to-process applications. Kofax Transformation Modules are able to significantly reduce labor costs, improve information quality and accelerate business processes by automating tasks that are usually labor intensive, error prone and time consuming.

The last piece of the contract includes Kofax Monitor, which provides real time monitoring and performance capabilities. This ensures the operational health of Kofax Capture and advanced recognition and communication systems. In addition to that, it monitors the systems' components, which includes scanners supporting Kofax VRS and its business service viability. This provides real time access to operational information, which also allows for immediate corrective action to be taken.

The name of the exact branch of the United States Military that is incorporating this system from Kofax plc has yet to be released, though whichever branch it is, they sure are getting quite the setup from Kofax. However, Kofax isn't exactly lacking in the deal either; $300,000 for a single contract sounds pretty good to me.

Source: Office Product News - Branch of U.S. Military Selects Kofax For Its Capture Solution

New HP Printer Manufacturing Plant to Go Up in China

HP recently signed an agreement to start up a new printer manufacturing facility in Chongqing, China, which is expected to produce 60 million inkjet and laser printers every year after completion.

CEO for HP Meg Whitman was present during the signing ceremony and met with Chinese officials according to Chongqing's economic and information technology commission. Foxconn, the notable Taiwanese electronics manufacturer behind some of the biggest pieces of tech in the industry including Apple's iPad, is set to build the manufacturing facilities that HP is investing a currently unreleased amount in.

This new facility is expected to take two to three years to complete and will be completed in three stages. It is expected that, by 2015, the facility will produce 40 million inkjet printers every year, as well as 20 million laser printers and 150 million ink cartridges. The value of these products is also projected to produce $25 billion annually according to the commission.

HP, which ranks as the leading PC vendor in the world, already has facilities in Chongqing, which include a desktop and notebook manufacturing plant. HP announced last year that it would be expanding its manufacturing base in Shanghai while also building a regional China headquarters in the city as well. In addition to that, HP is looking to improve its enterprise business in China by investing more in delivering cloud computing products.

Other PC vendors, like Acer and Asus, also have manufacturing and operations facilities in Chongqing as well. Chongqing is also striving to become a major hub for technology in China. However, the city has recently become linked to a political scandal involving the city's former party secretary Bo Xilai, who has since been removed from his position. Zhang Dejiang, who replaced Bo Xilai, met with Whitman on Tuesday and welcomed HP's investment in Chongqing, noting that the new manufacturing operation was helping to develop China's western region.

Source: PC World - HP to Build New Printer Manufacturing Facility in China

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