Inkjet Wholesale News aims to provide updates on the latest significant occurrences in the field of printing. Whether it’s the launch of a new technology or volatility of market prices, we’ll be here to give you the lowdown on what happened, when it happened, and what it means!
OEM Introduces World to Ricoh MP 402SPF
Last week, we reported on how Ricoh, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), has received UKAS accredited ISO 12647 certification for all its products that use digital toner technology. The week before that we had announced that the company had launched the Ricoh Pro C5200s. Now, the OEM has gone and announced another new printing device to the world in the form of the Ricoh MP 402SPF. The new multifunction printer (MFP) falls under Ricoh’s Workstyle Innovation Technology category and combines the Ricoh Smart Device Connector with a number of already existing business tools. According to the OEM, the unique features of the new MFP make it an ideal device for banks, insurance, and doctors’ offices.
The Ricoh MP 402SPF is a monochrome MFP, which means that it is capable of faxing, copying, scanning, and printing. The most notable aspect of the Ricoh MP 402SPF is that it boasts of a Super VGA Smart Operation Panel spanning 10.1 inches. It is the Smart Operation Panel that is a component of the OEM’s Workstyle Innovation Technology. The control panel allows users of the Ricoh MP 402SPF to operate various functions of the printing by using gestures that are common with modern touchscreen devices such as flicking, pinching, and swiping.
Furthermore, this control panel is versatile in that it allows users to pre-configure various setting and even set up one-touch shortcuts on the screen for them, which boosts access speeds. The Ricoh MP 402SPF is also compatible with the Ricoh Smart Device Connector that allows it to be operated via smart devices. This application can run without any network connections, which is another plus for some users. Other great qualities of the Ricoh MP 402SPF is its print speed and processing power.
This device can churn out pages at a very impressive maximum print speed of 42 pages per minute (ppm). With respect to processing power, the Ricoh MP 402SPF is built around a 2GB RAM and a 320GB hard disk drive. It is also worth mentioning that despite these capabilities, this device is compact and has a small footprint. The scanning power of the Ricoh MP 402SPF is also very good. It has a Single Pass Document Feeder (SPDF) that allows for double sided scanning at an incredible maximum speed of 80 images per minute (ipm). This is further supplemented by shortcuts on the control panel such as ID Card Copy.
Ricoh has further paid attention to the security angle in terms of their new device. Locked Print makes it easier for users to save and secure documents on the hard disk drive. The purpose of the Locked Print feature is to prevent documents from being printed without their owners being present because of which security is maintained. Moreover, an NFC card reader can also be deployed to ensure greater security levels.
One of the goals of the OEM while developing this product was to make it easier for users to share information, which they achieved with the Ricoh Smart Device Connector. As per the Vice President of Ricoh’s Product Marketing division, John Brophy, the company’s objective with the Ricoh Smart Device Connector in the Ricoh MP 402SPF is to push “customers’ workflows into the next generation of office automation”. He further added that “every aspect of this device was designed with efficiency and productivity in mind”.
Kodak Could Incur Losses worth $17 Million Due to Prosper Sale
It’s been very much an up and down ride for Kodak when it comes to their Prosper Sale. In August last year, Kodak had revealed that its Q2 profits had boosted the Prosper Sale but last month this year news came out of the OEM’s camp that the Prosper Sale has been delayed. In that last announcement, Kodak actually explained why the Prosper Sale had been delayed. According to the company, the reason was that talks with potential buyers hadn’t come to fruition. In fact, the entire affair is quickly turning into a saga since it refuses to come to a conclusion.
Now, it seems as if the long-running Prosper Sale saga is going to end up damaging Kodak materially. The news out of the company now is that it can incur losses worth anything between $12 million and $17 million due to restructuring charges associated with Prosper Sale. The OEM even explained how it came to those figures. Those figures can be divided into asset write – offs worth $2 million to $3 million, inventory write – downs worth $5 million to $6 million, separation benefits worth $5 million to $7 million, and approximately $1 million miscellaneous expenses associated with the move.
As is evident, the most significant expenses are associated with separation benefits. As per Kodak, approximately $3 million to $5 million of the total separation benefits will be handled through cash while the balance will be managed with the help of the company’s pension plans through the vehicle of special termination benefits.
The nature of the restructure that Kodak has undertaken was announced as well. In the issued statement, Kodak explained that it is “streamlining its commercial inkjet operations” so that it is capable of tapping into opportunities in various market segments such as packaging, high volume direct mail, and publishing while generally maximising performance. Furthermore, another objective of the restructure given by Kodak is that it would allow it to emphasise Ultrastream technology development and focus on print head components.
Along with information on what type of expenses Kodak will incur due to the Prosper Sale, the company also explained changes in the prices of its digital printing plates. As per the company, prices of digital printing plates will go up by four percent to six percent in Chinese markets. The reason cited for this increase in prices is the increase in prices of raw materials and energy used in the production of these digital printing plates.
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