Discussion

By Bill Cline on Mar 04, 2011

This is not a rant or comment, but instead I have a question for Xerox. How is it that you turn to the printing industry and ask for us to purchase your equipment, yet you have another team that goes into a company (Kelly Services)and under cuts the printer by placing the exact same equipment with the end user? Am I the only one confused with this business model or has it always been this way from Xerox? Not that the commercial printer want to sell copy equipment or fax machines, I guess some may want to, but to place digital equipment and set up online print on demand systems for an end user makes you a competitor of what is today’s commercial printer in our industry.

By Luther Erlund on Mar 07, 2011

Bill, this model has existed in Xerox for over 10 years. However, many printing companies continue to buy their equipment and support their research and development. Pitney Bowes does the exact same thing with their regional print and mail facilities so Xerox is not alone in their approach. If you purchase Xerox or Pitney Bowes products do not let them see your customer list as it will become a leads list for them.

By patti quinn on Mar 07, 2011

Bill, as Luther points out, Xerox has been helping large enterprise companies manage their office environments for years. We’re helping them save operating costs by optimizing how they manage office documents – one way is to install multifunctional devices so they can more easily print, copy, scan and fax – reducing time spent on office-related printing so employees can focus on taking care of real business.

This offering does not have a negative impact on the graphic communications industry, as this work is being done within the enterprise’s office settings. Where appropriate we connect enterprise customers with Xerox Premier Partners (our customers in the graphic communications industry)for more advanced print needs – customized marketing communications for example.

With our heritage in innovation and understanding of the printing industry, Xerox is able to meet the print needs of graphic communications providers as well as the Enterprise and SMBs.

As the Vice President of the Graphic Communications Industry at Xerox, I can say without reservation that we will continue to bring advances in technology, workflow and integrated solutions to help graphic communications providers achieve their specific business goals.

Thanks for asking the question ~ I hope my answer helps clarify the issue.

Gina Testa, Xerox Corporation

By Kevin Keane on Mar 08, 2011

Hi Bill

I salute the efforts you make to market the work of a collection of top flight printing companies and can appreciate your expressed concerns.

I wish we could adjust the nomenclature of our industry so that we had commonly agreed upon labels for the various segments -- probably wishful thinking! I have Google alerts set up for 'commercial printing.' Over the weekend, it kicked out a blurb from Bertl that said Oce and Canon were going to alter the landscape of the printing industry in Korea. (WTT ran the story on Monday.) From the news release:

"The compelling combination of the two companies is set to change the landscape of the Korean printing industry, by providing printers for use at home, office equipment, larger digital presses and now an array of commercial printers."

Obviously, Oce/Canon define the 'printing industry' in terms that include everything from printing photos to signage to architects renderings -- not all of which we have traditionally considered in the purview of commercial printers like those you help market.

There is a huge amount of printing done in offices, banks, brokerages, law firms or temp agencies like Kelly Services that involves toner on paper, but probably is not commercial printing as we know it. It is the type of printing that the Managed Print Services companies are targeting -- it is what the CEO of Lexmark once famously described as the "Waterfall of Pages."

In my view, and especially based on some recent acquisitions by Xerox, the firm clearly sees an opportunity to help businesses manage the waterfall of pages and save those businesses some money from perhaps un-needed or duplicative printing in the office environment. In fact, it seems pretty clear that Xerox sees an opportunity to make good money itself.

Years ago, I sat on the Board of the NAQP as the franchise company representative. We got involved in an imbroglio with Xerox over perceived competition by Xerox Business Services units and quick printers. (Not terribly different than the bruised feelings that erupted between the former quick print segment now called print-for-pay, or small commericial printers, and Adobe last year.)

It was the late David Kearns, then CEO of Xerox who sat me down and educated me as to the many and really quite different segments of the still mammoth printing industry.

In 2009 there was quite a hullaballoo stirred by experts suggesting that commercial printers should get into trans-promo printing. In my view that recomendation is, for 98% of the small commercial plants -- nuts! We are not enterprise printers, we are small commercial printers -- and if you accept the view that most of the industry is the smaller shop, with less than 3 million in revenue and around 15 employees or so, then most of the traditional commercial printing industry is not and probably should not be involved in enterprise printing and by extension trans-promo.

A wag I know suggested this short hand: Commercial printers go to Graph Expo, enterprise printers go to Xplor.

I recently joined the MVTO Movement Linked In Group - (Mid Volume Transactional Printing.) I think we need to pay attention to what is happening in other segments of the industry, thus going to Xplor will certainly broaden one's horizons, but it is also possible that the needs, equipment and marketing strategy for a segment aimed at reprographics or large format signage is similar to, but still very different from our traditional ballpark.

I recall visiting with a very nice fellow from Pitney Bowes at Print 09 -- he was explaining a massive printing inserting labeling machine. I asked him for a retail price and he quoted one with many zeroes, and I thought -- this is good to see, but your average print for pay small commercial printer would likely never need this amazing machine.

A number of folks have already pooh-poohed Heidelberg's strategy to offer the Ricoh digital press along side the Heidelberg conventional press with the Prinect software deciding which is the better solution for the commercial printing customer. In an era of ever shorter run-lengths and insane turn-around times, I think it is quite the intriguing strategy -- TBD of course!

MPS, Enterprise printing, MVTO, print-for-pay, even VistaPrint's moniker of "micro-businesses" for the segment they target, each one is doing printing in the waterfall of pages, but not every segment may be an ideal opportunity for commercial printers.

Adobe, HP, Kodak and Xerox have all had challenges in assisting the various segments without offending another segment, but in this case, in my respectful opinion, Xerox is not taking business away from our traditional commercial print segment.

At Print 09, Gina Testa hosted the first Xerox luncheon and panel with Margie Dana, Howie Fenton, and Dr Joe Webb. I had the audience mic, and I began by complimenting Gina for her sartorial sense of style - said it was far more memorable than traditional Xerox suits :) before I launched into my query about the commercial printing industry's apparent phobia of cloud computing. In the old days, in my NAQP Board days, dealing with Xerox meant a lot of fellows in suits and certain rigidity that goes with that form of haberdashery. In recent years there has been a more balanced approach. Perhaps the many very capable and business savvy women serving in key leadership roles have fostered this flexibility. In any case, you have to be impressed when Gina takes the time to respond to your concerns.

You do great work for your companies Bill, Press ON and Think Spring!

By Clint Bolte on Mar 14, 2011

Very little has been written about or commented on of the over capacity in the digital printing arena. In my observation it exists in every metropolitan and regional market... both commercial and particularly in-plant.

Xerox and its 25 other viable digital print engine competitors have been very successful at selling more and more razors into all markets with fewer and fewer razorblades being needed. This is not sustainable.