Xerox UK scores again. Maybe the UK should lead on the Color Qube?

It's always good to hear about a "2nd purchase."

printweek.com
"Printflow has invested in its second Xerox iGen3 following an 'increased migration' of customers from mono digital print to colour work.

The company is using the new machine to complement a fleet of six digital presses that includes a Xerox DocuTech 6180 and an existing iGen3.

"I expected the Color Cube to have a bigger impact than it is currently having." Oops!

That comment came from Xerox 8400 ink in response to May 9th post when Color Qube was announced. At the time, I was concerned about execution, execution, execution. now that Big X has added the ACS piece the chances for distraction are worse than ever.

On the other hand, Ursula Burns has real world and engineering dna. My hope is that if anyone can get the attention of the mother ship, she could be just the right person to do it.

But it ain't going to be easy.

Xerox 8400 ink:

"I expected the Color Cube to have a bigger impact than it is currently having. I think the solid ink sticks are a great improvement from cartridges and refillable liquid ink kits. This will save countless dollars on repair and maintenance. I think Xerox should be doing more promotion and let the world know and become familiar with this new technology.

I personally was skeptical in the beginning and was not sure how reliable this method would be. Now I actually looking forward to purchasing one for myself and really witnessing the power of this new machine.

Many graphics designers need the best quality in their prints and if this technology is to take over then Xerox must be as innovative as the Smart Car and have all the small issues worked out.

Added 10.15.09 6:23 am EDT Xerox 8400 ink

I am waiting for the release of all the competitor's solid ink printers. There has not been too much positive talk around the new Xerox printers, and I do not see Xerox moving very quickly to fix the "kinks".

Soon the competition will release their own version that does not have the same problems that Xerox is having. Also, it may be me, but I do not see very much promotion to the public, only to offices.

The Business Model for Print going forward emerges in Cambridge. Its @Hotprints.

The trail started this morning with an article published in Printweek.

Hotprints offers 16pp photobook to users of Facebook and Bebo Free with ads or £1.99 without ads. http://ilnk.me/2b4| Exactly ! Go Print!

That got me going in this direction:

@HotPrints is the killer app for "web to print" The team. http://ilnk.me/2b5 | Who will do the same for Free textbooks for #HSdropouts?

@HotPrints "brings casual printing to social networks" | "Casual printing" is the right ( product, person, time) | Go Print!

@HotPrints All adverts will be removable full page inserts." | Books as #newspapers with FSIs. Go Print!

@HotPrints is the killer app for "web to print" The team. http://ilnk.me/2b5 | Who will do the same for Free textbooks for #HSdropouts?

It's clear to me that Amazon is working on the same model going forward. Google is probably on a similar path. The challenge is inventing a business model that works in an economy that is defined by Free (to the user.)

Now that @Hotprints has surfaced, it should move along at a much faster speed.

Where print fits in Education. It's not about learning. It's about attendance and transpromo.

An important problem facing the world is the risk of adolescent men with little hope and education. In the States it manifests as high school drop outs and incarceration. In other parts of the world it manifests as instability and sometimes terrorism.

A sustainable approach is to intervene early enough to make a difference.
Consider:

@ToughloveforX Signs of #HS dropouts "failing semester course as freshmen, chronic absenteeism, one suspension in four years." Denver http://ilnk.me/262

For all the blabla the internet is a communication pipe, not a medium. Video and Print are the two mass medium. With the addition of Transpromo and transinfo, exchange data can come from print. That exchange data can deliver the actionable information needed for real time interventions.

The problem of education as an enterprise is a classic signal v noise problem.

Freshman who fail or are chronically absent or are suspended are missed in a time starved, information dysfunctional environment.

Appropriately designed and delivered interactive print can help solve the "early intervention problem."

A click of the cell phone can send an SMS to mom's cell phone to let her know that junior is not doing his homework on the day he doesn't do it. A simple homework compliance chart handed out to the class and requiring mom's signature will harness the Hawthorne effect to solve 80% of the homework compliance problem.

A view of Xerox going forward : Go Xerox !

The challenge is

to marry its document technology with ACS's back office services.

If people stay focused chances seem pretty good(2me).

Ford Outsources Benefits To ACS -- InformationWeek
Affiliated Computer (NYSE: ACS) Services, the outsourcer that's in the process of being acquired by Xerox (NYSE: XRX), said it won a contract to provide benefits administration services to automaker Ford.

Under the deal, terms of which were not disclosed Thursday, ACS will provide Ford with a range of services, including the administration of health and welfare, pension, and savings plans. Ford employees will be able to tap the services through an online Web portal maintained by ACS and through ACS' call center operations.

Full disclosure : Long Xerox.