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At InfoPrint Solutions Company, our main purpose is to help you increase revenue and decrease costs with comprehensive solutions to complex print and output challenges – no matter how large (or small) your business.
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Issue No. 1
August 2007
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InfoPrint Insights is the new output newsletter brought to you by InfoPrint Solutions Company (InfoPrint), the recent joint venture between Ricoh and IBM. We have combined the Output Environment News and Output Environment Update newsletters to bring you a comprehensive bulletin of the latest news and solutions in the marketplace. InfoPrint Insights can help you rethink your print and output solution possibilities.
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It’s been nearly 40 years since the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” gave us a fresh look at artificial intelligence, human evolution and technology. Topics not so far removed from our line of work. Remember the bone tumbling through air that signals the jump forward in time? Our visual aids aren’t quite as dramatic but rest assured we are very excited about our future as InfoPrint Solutions Company. Our mission is to go boldly where no output companies have gone. Our enterprise intends to conquer new output frontiers, and we invite you to come along for the ride.
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To send us comments or feedback and to learn more about the topics in this issue, please use the links provided within the articles and at the bottom of the newsletter or contact your InfoPrint Solutions Partner.
Register to receive future issues of InfoPrint Insights:
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In This Issue:
Solutions
Events & Education
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InfoPrint Solutions Company
On June 1, 2007 we became InfoPrint Solutions Company, a Ricoh-IBM joint venture that leverages a 20-year association and brings together a wealth of research, development, manufacturing, marketing and client care capabilities. After three years operating as a joint venture, InfoPrint Solutions Company will be a fully owned subsidiary of Ricoh. During the joint venture period, InfoPrint Solutions Company and IBM will continue to work closely together to assure a seamless transition for our customers and IPS Business Partners.
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Integrated solutions can simplify your life and help you turn your output environment into a competitive asset. A tuned output environment may eliminate up to 20%-35% of printing and process costs, according to industry analyst Gartner. Let’s explore new output frontiers together!
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Office of the Future
The office of the future hums with automated processes. Consider these examples:
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- Expense reports. Today you may be filling out a paper or online expense form. But you probably have to copy and mail receipts in order to be reimbursed. If your expense process is automated, you can walk up to the MFP, swipe your ID card, select your expense account and scan your receipts. In one easy step, your receipts are submitted electronically and reimbursement can take place much faster.
- Banking. During a loan application, an applicant is asked to provide proof of employment. Rather than mailing in a paper form, you walk up to the MFP at your local branch, enter the loan application number on the touch screen and scan the document. It’s automatically attached to your application and can be accessed online by those who can approve it.
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Many manual, paper-based processes can be automated and streamlined. And as a result, you can decrease paper consumption, reduce business process cycle time, increase customer satisfaction, improve accuracy, support compliance and create an archive system. Information that is captured with an MFP can be intelligently entered into a back-end system without the additional expense and support typically required by dedicated paper scanning systems.
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Ready to take the next step? If you’ve already begun to consolidate devices with InfoPrint MFPs, talk to us about adding a service-oriented architecture middleware server to get even more value out of your MFPs by streamlining business processes. The server integrates with common applications such as Content Manager, SAP, Oracle and SQL databases. If you don’t have MFPs, then let’s assess your environment, establish a road map and make a plan to get started.
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InfoPrint 6700 M40 thermal printer
 New for mid-volume supply chains, the InfoPrint 6700 M40 thermal printer can give you the flexibility to produce both bar codes and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Major retailers and receivers of goods are starting to mandate RFID so it’s becoming an industry standard. Whether demand is driven by compliance or internal ROI, the acceleration of RFID necessitates flexibility and availability. Let us show you how an IBM solution can help enhance uptime and provide flexibility to position you for RFID when you are ready.
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This newest member of the InfoPrint 6700 family, the M40 can keep your supply chain moving fast and efficiently with:
- Support for multiple emulations to simplify implementation.
- Ease of operation, including the snap-in printheads, fast forms loading and intuitive front panel controls.
- Remote setup, monitoring and management, with the complimentary Printer Management Utility.
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New! InfoPrint 4247-L03 impact printer
 Designed for low- to mid-volume supply chain and office printing, the new InfoPrint 4247-L03 multiform printer can provide compelling total cost of ownership, especially compared to laser, while increasing your output options. For example, you can print on up to eight-part forms, wide-format documents, labels and more.
A top priority for users is ease of operation and ease of management. The InfoPrint 4247-L03 includes an intuitive operator panel, auto forms loading and thickness adjustment, auto eject and restore, and an optional dual paper path to help to save user time. Included with the optional integrated Ethernet is a remote printer management tool that enables proactive printer monitoring, remote configuration and the use of a virtual operator panel. Additional attachment choices include parallel, serial and USB.
Our impact printers are proven high performers both in harsh industrial conditions and in offices. Learn more – contact your IPS Business Partner and request a total cost of print assessment.
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Upcoming Event: GraphExpo
Join us at GraphExpo (booth # 2276) in Chicago, September 9-12, 2007. Network with thousands of industry professionals and discover the latest graphic communications technologies and services. We’ll be there to unveil our output solutions for commercial and transaction printers, offices and supply chains.
More information and registration, visit Graph Expo
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Webcast Series: Step Into the Mail Center of the Future.
New postal regulations are causing high volume mail centers to rethink the way that they operate. InfoPrint Solutions Company can help to increase efficiency and save money in the mail center with solutions designed to accommodate changing regulations. How? Step Into the Mail Center of the Future to find out.
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OnDemand recap
Is Inkjet the Technology Story of 2007? This title attracted several hundred clients to the keynote panel event at OnDemand. Charlie Corr of InfoTrends moderated the panel, whose members included representatives of InfoPrint Solutions Company, HP, Kodak, Xerox, and Oce. Each panelist gave a brief presentation, touching on topics such as the advantages of inkjet technology, obstacles to its adoption, the comparison of inkjet and electrophotography (EP), and the future of inkjet technology.
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Office of the Future
The office of the future hums with automated processes. Consider these examples:
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George Promis, our CTO and Director of Technology Alliances, who represented us on the panel, summed up the key takeaways:
- Inkjet is starting to penetrate the production printing market.
- Inkjet and EP will most likely co-exist for some time to come.
- Inkjet is in the early adoption phase and like many new technologies, it presents some challenges that need to be overcome.
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EP is a mature, stable technology that provides excellent print quality, and the speed is trending up for both mono and color. There is, however, no radical changes on the horizon that are likely to significantly reduce operating cost.
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High-speed inkjet technology offers the advantage of scalable configurations and scalable cost, in part due to its simpler design. Historically, production class inkjet solutions have had complex ink delivery systems and short, unpredictable printhead life. We have selected and implemented a new drop-on-demand inkjet technology system, with the objective of improving the reliability, print quality, ease of use, and flexibility of digital production color.
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What does the future hold and when? Promis predicts that both EP and inkjet technologies will continue to be optimized, with suppliers investing in the next generation of color.
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The InfoPrint 5000 full color printing system, our continuous-forms, variable data drop-on-demand inkjet solution, addresses a major mid-point gap in the market. If you want to learn more about its potential benefits for transactional documents, direct mail and books, visit the
InfoPrint 5000 Color Printing System home page.
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InfoPrint Webcasts: Take Communications to the Next Level
Join our output specialists who walk you through ideas and solutions that can help you go to the next level of electronic document creation, management and distribution. Join us to learn more about:
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- MAPPING Suite – encompasses document design, print management and multi-channel delivery. Gain the flexibility to create, repurpose and synthesize document data from multiple sources and distribute it using print and electronic methods.
- Print and Output Challenges – focuses on challenges you face in producing and delivering communications. Dive into trends, personalization, compliance, integration and more.
- Infoprint Server – extends core IBM iSeries output capabilities to aid re-engineering of business processes and transformation of standard iSeries output to Advanced Function Presentation (AFP™) or PDF. Improve service levels, decrease transaction costs, reduce paper flow and enhance competitive advantage with speed and flexibility.
- InfoPrint Designer – helps you re-engineer documents to take advantage of electronic distribution without changing your applications. Design documents, forms and labels with ease. Incorporate data, text, fonts, electronic forms, graphics and more. Ideal for non-technical users.
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For information on webcast schedules and how to sign up, visit:InfoPrint Webcasts.
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- Exact speed varies depending on document complexity, system configuration, software application, driver and printer state.
InfoPrint Solutions Company trademarks are the property of InfoPrint Solutions Company.
Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
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