Interesting discussion about MFP's

"One conclusion that Jim offered up was are we 'Driving Our Own Demise'?

Well, come to think of it, we are offering our customers more solutions to print and copy less along with scanning more. Along with that we sell hardware devices that put ink on paper. The manufacturers HP, Canon, Xerox, Ricoh and the rest all survive by planned obsolecense and the need for consumables. How can these manufacturers survive by reducing the amount of pages that are printed and copied every year?

I've heard from a few members in the P4P Hotel in recent days, and we continue to see an increase in the scanning of documents, in some cases users are scanning more than they copy and print. Far be it from me to be the first to start charging for scans, however I think the industry may have to go that way, especially if print and copy volumes continue to drop."

There are links to the Lyra Symposium at MFP Solutions Blog

So I said

I think you've put your finger on a big deal problem. Imagine Xerox having just invented erasable paper that, as I understand it, eliminates toner and is designed for print once, after about 1 hour (don't quote me) then Print again.

It's not really a surprise that they can't figure out the business model.

My take is that it's going to be about connecting MFP's to a global output network. Print 10 copies here, print 200 copies at the inplant or the commercial printer.

Do you think that might make sense?

By the way here's the description of the blog referenced.

P4PHotel was envisioned as a means to satisfy our “Need for Knowledge” for the Copier Industry. We have developed this site for the Digital Imaging Specialist to share information and to find answers quickly! P4PHotel is a place to store our knowledge, share and make searchable our knowledge, while sharing inspirations, ideas and our passion for our industry.