InfoTrends Needs to find a new business model

$295 for a one time purchase of one reports ain't got a future going forward. No doubt it's good information in one place. No doubt it will be worth the price to someone. But high price reports doesn't have much of future going forward, in my not s humble opinion.

There's a couple of better models emerging. When I get a chance I'll put it into a report and sell it for whatever the traffic will bear. Meanwhile I'll keep focused on TransPromo Live by Lee Gallagher. "An open discussion on Transpromo and it’s potential applications."

From the InfoTrends buy site:

The term “TransPromo” is used to describe documents that include marketing, educational, informational, or other messaging presented alongside transaction information—whether in print or online. This strategic assessment is designed to familiarize readers with the challenges confronted by today’s marketing executives, the importance of transaction documents as a communications tool, and provide a better understanding of the TransPromo concept.

Features

• Introduction
• The Marketing Communication Challenge
• Transaction Documents
  Definition
  Cutting through the Clutter
  Relevant Consumer Touchpoints
  Managing the Customer Relationship Lifecycle
• What is TransPromo?
  The History of TransPromo
  TransPromo Benefits
  The TransPromo Opportunity
• Key Considerations and Enablers
  Achieving Organizational Alignment
  The Right Offer for the Right Recipient
  Measurement and Tracking
  Digital versus Offset Printing
  Worldwide Placements of Ultra High-Volume Production Color Devices
  Enterprise TransPromo Publishing Systems
  The Lifecycle Discussion
  Making the Complex Simple
• TransPromo… Why Now?
  TransPromo Benefits
  Cost-Effectiveness
  A Post-Sales Communication
  Call Center Cost Savings
  Personalization Attracts Attention!
  The e-Presentment Migration
  Increased Personalization = Increased Response Rate
  Targeting Customers to Build Loyalty and Retention
• Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign Management
• QR Codes
• Conclusion
• Appendix: TransPromo Examples
  Humana, Inc.
  UMassFIVE
  Veterinary Metrics

Huge Score for Ricoh (UK). XRX and HP better get on the stick for MPS.

Twenty countries across Europe should make it much easier to expand into the States. Keep on eye on Infoprint, Ikon and Independents in the USA.

Ricoh’s strong heritage in sustainability and approach to environmental reporting were key success factors.

The ‘Next Generation Print – Europe Project’ could be followed by Next Generation Print -USA Project. The most plausible path might be "Next Generation Print-California' Or "Next Generation Print -Atlanta" Or "Next Generation Print - High Falls, NY. Or "Next Generation Print - PS 96".

Ricoh delivers next generation print to Unilever across Europe:
"London, UK, 17 September 2009 – Ricoh Europe, office and production printing solutions expert has signed an extended contract with existing customer Unilever. The five year contract sees Ricoh extend its Managed Print Services (MPS) for Unilever from five to twenty nine countries across Europe.
. . .

Ricoh's Managed Print Services will be offered as a flexible two-tier model where the scope of the service varies according to the size of the Unilever site. The service includes an assessment of the current document output including security and document bottlenecks. Ricoh Managed Print Transformation Services will reveal hidden costs and then optimise devices while focusing on reducing the environmental impact of energy and paper consumption.

Ricoh and Unilever agreed a selection of multifunctional devices and printers which will be connected to Unilever’s network. The home office solution includes Ricoh’s energy efficient Gelsprinters with GelJet technology. These highly efficient printers not only conserve energy resources but also massively cut energy costs, perfectly aligning with Unilever’s Green IT strategy. The home office solution cost model also gives Unilever visibility of their home worker’s usage.

Ricoh is also providing reporting at site, country and European level utilising @Remote Enterprise-Pro, Ricoh’s remote management tool. This will increase Unilever’s visibility of energy consumption, print volumes, CO2 emissions and toner recycling. The environmental reporting will be incorporated in the overall Green IT metrics.

Deal may give KKR "a 16.5% stake in" EK. Go Print!

I thought it was going to be Japan money.

Not a surprise that it would be KKR. What is very cool (2me) is that it might get Print on KKR's radar. That increases the chance of a Creo spin off. That means they can unlock the value of integrating the offset workflow.

For the last couple of weeks, the price of EK finally moved. I couldn't figure out why. It didn't make sense(2me) that was about "social media" and Twitter and buzz. Now it seems a bit more clear. Meanwhile, XRX was over $9 last time I looked. Hmmm.... Canon? Fuji? Canon+Fuji? (naw.)

Whatever happens next, it's good for my IRA and great for Print. I think to myself, What a Wonderful World.

story at Bloomberg

a refinancing deal that may give KKR a 16.5 percent stake in the imaging company.

George Fisher, a former Kodak chairman, is one of KKR’s senior advisers.

And at the WSj Blog:

Kodak and KKR: Distressed Debt Investing 101 - Deal Journal - WSJ:
KKR is taking the lead on $700 million in debt financing for Eastman Kodak, and charging the struggling camera and printer maker sky-high interest rates.

"KKR will buy up senior secured notes carrying interest rates as high has 10.5%, which is twice the blended interest rate that Kodak is paying on its current debtload. The firm will also receive warrants to convert the debt into 53 million Kodak shares.
. . .
Most interestingly is what the deal says about KKR and private equity generally. The firm built by Henry Kravis defined the LBO model of borrowing lots of money to snap up entire companies. With deals like Kodak, KKR is essentially acting as a lender of last resort, while gaining the potential upside of owning a piece of the company’s equity in the future. It can be a safer bet than the gigantic buy outs that made KKR famous.

TwitterSchool: The Value of Print

ToughLoveforX #KM POV: Twitter is interesting(4U) environment. If interesting(4u) = interesting(2me), twitterstrings entangle |#revolutionizescience

ToughLoveforX #KM POV: If interesting(4U )= interesting(2me) , I follow. Autofollow creates a false metric. |#revolutionizescience

ToughLoveforX #KM POV:Interesting(4U)=interesting(2me) is a good metric for info xchange. Fair xchange -> sustainability |#revolutionizescience

ToughLoveforX #KM POV: process metrics: Follow then RT then DM. Tweet @ is public process metric. To make public is to publish. |#revolutionizescience

ToughLoveforX #KM POV: # tag is filter for interesting(2me). Creates value by reducing energy needed to discover = value of Print.|#revolutionizescience

Video (previously TV) and Print are medium that enable discover. The web is about search. TV and Print require much lower energy. You can tell because it's so easy to fall asleep in the presence of TV and Print. It's almost impossible to fall asleep at the screen.

The new capability of TV and Print is to emit data that can be understood as process metrics and therefore have the potential of creating the value of actionable information.

InfoPrint first to issue statement on Google in Printed Books

Google has teamed up with On Demand Books to offer Print-On-Demand publishing for two million out-of-copyright books.

The story at
Publisher's Weekly.
Times Online (UK)
E Week
LA Times
Cnet News (pix)
San Jose Biz Journal

@Sandraz (Sandra Zoratti, Vice President of Global Solutions Marketing says:

“Today’s news from Google and On Demand books is a boost of adrenaline to the print on demand industry. Despite the headlines on the boom in electronic books, readers still generally prefer printed copies – after all, how can you pass on a book you love to your friend, if it is kept on an e-reader?

The problem has always been how to create a decent business case around producing more niche titles, for an important audience that is less interested in reading on a computer screen than in holding a printed and bound version in its hands. Print on demand solves this, as well as the waste issue around pulping books that go unsold from larger print runs. With Google taking the first big step in this direction, it is likely many other well-known brands will follow suit.”

I say,

End of Print? Ha! As long as they don't get it, I get to buy more under valued stock. The biz model for books going forward is "Read for Free. Pay for Print."

Go Print!

I bet Amazon will respond by looking for a distribute and print network to keep Google out of the book business. Once they get the contextually accurate ads in the form of QR and one tag line in the right hand column we'll get pretty close to Books free-to user, paid for by appropriate advertising to the "printernet". Way cool!

And either BN or Borders will contract with part of that network instead of spending the money for an Espresso Machine.

The story at
Publisher's Weekly.
Times Online (UK)
E Week
LA Times
Cnet News (pix)
San Jose Biz Journal

And then there's Toshiba

Notice that the release is in Asia. The States? A secondary market.

From ContactlessNews
Thursday, September 17, 2009 in News

Toshiba Corp. announced that it has developed a full-color, automated electronic passport printer, VP-P450, that integrates all functions for e-passport personalization.

The company will be demonstrating the printer at the Fifth Symposium and Exhibition on ICAO, CARTES & Identification and CARTES in Asia before it official launches in the spring 2010.

With the cabinet-sized VP-P450 Toshiba introduces an e-passport solution that supports the functions and throughput required in central passport printing offices while achieving a size that makes it suitable for installation in consulates.

The printer outputs in full color and automates a series of processes including: feeding blank passports into the printer, lamination, encoding of IC-chip

Will Canon move world headquarters to Long Island?

Is Toyota a Japanese car maker or an American car maker or The Global Car Maker.

The story below might just be part of the negotiations for the money Canon got from New York State. But, this is the new normal. Only time will tell.

from Newsday.
Canon exec to propose Melville as world headquarters
September 17, 2009 By JAMES BERNSTEIN james.bernstein@newsday.com

When Canon USA Inc. chief executive Joe Adachi travels to the company's worldwide headquarters for a meeting in Tokyo next month, he will propose that the giant imaging company relocate its world headquarters to Melville.

Adachi's plan came at a news conference earlier this week attended by Gov. David A. Paterson, who announced for at least the third time that Canon will remain on Long Island - at new digs in Melville.

"We have a worldwide meeting in Tokyo, and I'd like to try to bring world headquarters to Melville," said Adachi, who will meet with Canon chief executive Fujio Mitarai.

Adachi laughed when asked later whether such a move was a possibility.

"That is my dream," he said, citing his love of the United States. He noted that the economy in Japan is slow, and that the government there may raise taxes on corporations in the country.

Nice work, Katie Maller. I knew I was right to add EFI to the portfolio

I put EFI in to my "printernet" portfolio at 10.768. At 2:52pm EDT it's 12.06. Just keep taking advantage of PRINT IS DEAD. Any way, I got my email from Katie a couple of hours ago. Instead of me having to wade through everything now, I can wait till later.

Just a friendly suggestion.
The format of your email is perfect for tweeting. It hasn't gotten on my radar so you may be already doing that.

And....
If you use a tinyurl or a QR code, you could have all your PSPs have a clickable postcard that would make a great leave behind for the sales force. If it were a TinyPurl and it took the customer to a video at YouTube, I'm thinking your folks stay top of mind. Plus then I could listen instead of read. Less work(2me), which is of course all I really care about it.

Here's what I mean about the print piece:

EFI Extends Fiery Leadership in Digital Production Printing with its Latest Product Innovations

http://tinyurl.com/muplxd

QR code generator


Anyway, keep those cards and letters coming.

Here's Katie's email:

EFI Extends Fiery Leadership in Digital Production Printing with its Latest Product Innovations

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1330904&highlight=

EFI Reaches New Level of Integration with Embedded JDF Technology

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331083&highlight=

Advanced Fiery Technology Now Available on Konica Minolta Color Digital Presses

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1330913&highlight=

Ricoh and EFI Introduce Powerful Fiery QX100 for the Production Printing Market

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331037&highlight=

EFI Launches High Performance Fiery Server Designed for Ricoh Black-and-White Digital Imaging Systems

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsarticle&id=1331087&highlight=

EFI Launches High Performance Fiery Server for New Xerox DocuColor Digital Presses

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331086&highlight=

Print MIS and Workflow News

EFI Web Control Center Manages Remote Proofing and Printing

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1330972&highlight=

EFI and xpedx Enter National Reseller Agreement, Expand Technology Collaboration for Printers

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331098&highlight=

EFI Previews Enhancements to Pace MIS at PRINT 09, Announces Hosted SAAS Option

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331084&highlight=

EFI Makes Anytime, Anywhere Scheduling Control Possible with Launch of PrintFlow Web

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331084&highlight=

Heeter Direct Upgrades to EFI Pace Solution to Strengthen JDF Workflows, Further Streamline Operations

http://www.ir.efi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117454&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1331565&highlight=

Can anyone help me understand what's going on with 2D codes on indicias?

A few weeks ago I got some mailings from financials with 2D codes. Then this morning I got a UPS package from Amazon with a 2D code. This is not a consumer facing application.

On the other hand, my e buddies have been telling me that 2D are too something to be used for process logistics metrics.

But, that statement is being contradicted by what I see. If what I think I'm seeing is true, it could be huge to produce process logistic metrics in education. Real time process metrics fixes about 40% of bottom of the pyramid high school education.

If it's too uncomfortable using a real name with links to your outfit, feel free to use anon or make up a really cool name and give everyone a smile along with some really important(2me) information.

Print, What's Next? I don't know but it's going to come from Japan

revised 8:12 am EDT. data point on Japan and the Yen from Seeking Alpha http://tinyurl.com/n3q3wo

The under appreciated titans of Print are in Japan. Fuji, Screen, Cannon, KM and probably many others that are not on my radar. On the offset side is Komori.

What is digital print without Japan? HP and Cannon, Xerox and Fuji, Ricoh and InfoPrint. I'm not sure who makes the inkjet printheads for Oce, I think KM. Stream seems to have their own channel for digital web presses.

The other "globals" are mostly VARs for "Made in Japan" and made someplace else. What's the real value of Kodak without the Creo piece (Netherlands, I think) What's the real value of HP with Indigo (Israel, I think). iGens are assembled in US, but the pieces are made elsewhere.

Oce is a niche player from the Netherlands. Awesome engineering. Terrible(2me) marketing dna. Even mighty Heidelberg is now in fierce competition with Komori for the offset piece. I don't know exactly how Goss fits but their long term problem is not the "End of Print." It's new competition from Asia.

Consider
A new government has come to power in Japan. It's plausible to believe that the Yen is on the path to realistic valuations. A while ago, Ricoh paid a price for Ikon that was close to the market cap of Kodak.

The QR code was invented in Japan. The MFP was invented in Japan. Social media is most advanced in Japan and Korea.

The question(2me)
Can the Japanese based companies change the culture of exceptionalism and prideful competition with their peers in Japan? Will they be able to change the notion that "Japan is different - which often masks the notion that "Japan is smarter and better?"

If they can break through to something more like the spirit that runs through America and Australia of tinkering until just the right tech is joined to just the right business model, I can't see why some combination of Japanese companies become the Alcelor-Mital of global print.

But, will they learn to play nicely in a group? Chances are no.
The prospect of Fuji talking nicely to KM talking nicely to Ricoh talking nicely to DaiNippon talking nicely to Screen is pretty unlikely. Until that sorts itself out, the outfits I'm trying to keep an eye on are Fuji Xerox and InfoPrint.

From what I can see from Brooklyn, Fuji Xerox in Australia is doing some interesting stuff. In the States, if InfoPrint can get the IBM teams to take Print seriously and Ricoh to keep giving them the room to move, they could well turn out to be big winners.

The genius of America is innovating business models and making art. Google and Apple are the best examples. Our movies are the other. If everyone can learn to be satisfied with doing what the do best, and not trying to "own" the rest, it all gets to where it's going any way with the minimum collateral damage.

Only time will tell if Japan will be able to change fast enough to keep India and China from eating their lunch. Welcome to the new normal.