{"id":6992,"date":"2014-06-05T09:03:48","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T13:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/?p=6992"},"modified":"2014-06-05T09:04:07","modified_gmt":"2014-06-05T13:04:07","slug":"the-25-most-significant-events-in-the-office-imaging-industry-of-the-past-25-years-part-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2014\/06\/the-25-most-significant-events-in-the-office-imaging-industry-of-the-past-25-years-part-5\/","title":{"rendered":"The 25 Most Significant Events in the Office Imaging Industry of the Past 25 Years Part 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re down to the final five of our 25 most significant events in the office imaging industry of the past 25 years. I could have easily done 40 even though I believe I\u2019ve touched on 25 events that most readers would agree are significant. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be hearing from readers with additional significant events that we should have considered. I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed the series so far. It\u2019s been loads of fun putting it together and I appreciate the feedback from everyone in the industry who offered their suggestions, some of which made the list, others just missing.<\/p>\n

\"eCopyShareScanOP\"<\/a>Network Scanning Comes to the MFP<\/strong><\/p>\n

As important a device as the MFP has become in the office, it became even more important back in 1996 when Simplify (later to become eCopy before its acquisition by Nuance) launched ShareScan, software that enabled network scanning from the MFP. \u00a0\u201cSimplify had been trying to pursue the network scanning software market in the early nineties and was working with scanner vendors, but it was sort of the confluence of what they were doing and the GP30 and GP200 from Canon\u2019s early digital copiers on the network that brought together the idea that once the copier was digital and networked, you can go for more than printing,\u201d recalls Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report<\/em>. \u201cTogether and what was Simplify at the time created what was network scanning, scan-to-e-mail market and made it\u00a0 credible business, which to this day is widely used. That was at a time when the printing side and IT side were still kind of laughing at MFPs from copier companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"downward\"<\/a>Declining Print Volumes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another one of those significant events that is taking place as you\u2019re reading this\u2026on your computer screen or on some type of portable device. Print isn\u2019t going away, but print volumes are declining. Everybody in the industry is experiencing that decline one way or another and is looking for ways to offset it. Look at companies like Sharp and Toshiba and what they\u2019re doing with digital signage. Do you really think they\u2019d be as intensely focused on that business if print volumes were going up? The name of the game in a world where fewer pages are being printed is alternate revenue streams whether it’s\u00a0digital signage, digital content, MPS, Managed Services, or some other as yet to emerge service or technology. This is an event that shows no signs of abating even though the printed page is far from dead.<\/p>\n

\"bizhub_PRO_C6501\"<\/a>Light Production Devices Bring the Dealer into the Production Space<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Konica 8050, I\u2019d trace it back to there,\u201d says industry veteran Harry Hecht. \u201cThat had a big impact on the industry because it was pretty much a DocuTech\/Kodak-dominated business. It opened the door for all the other Japanese manufacturers to get into that production space, monochrome first and then color. For those that can handle it, it helped their businesses and for the end user brought things down from a $200,000 device to a $100,000 or $90,000 device.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"branch<\/a>Vendors Divesting Themselves of Branch Accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing when one steps back and views the various trends and sees how one trend eventually leads to another even though at the time when that trend emerges, such as the growth of direct distribution, it looked as if it were going to go on forever.<\/p>\n

Lou Slawetsky of Industry Analysts considers it both a major event and the tail end of a trend. \u201cI don\u2019t think any vendor, Xerox aside, made significant sums of money in direct distribution. They acquire, acquire, acquire, and so then they began to divest themselves of direct distribution in those areas they could. Wherever you see true branches as opposed to subsidiaries I think you\u2019re going to see them divest themselves of that distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he explains, what often happens when a vendor opens a branch in a dealer territory, their independent dealers take on other brands. \u201cI can prove that,\u201d emphasizes Slawetsky. \u201cIf the dealer is selling 100 units a month of one brand, he\u2019s not going to sell 200 units a month, he\u2019ll sell the same 100, maybe one or two more, which means the original vendor or incumbent, if you will, is going to lose distribution from that dealer. And I don\u2019t think the manufacturers make up the profits in the branch that they lost from that dealer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Slawetsky\u2019s opinion, and it\u2019s a valid one, vendors never truly analyzed that scenario as carefully as they should have. \u201cThey said we can pick up distribution, revenue, service revenue, but they never asked about the downside when the dealer takes on another brand. Now they\u2019re realizing what that downside is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OKI<\/a>The Channel Takes a Serious Look at A4<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the past few years A4 product introductions have been rolling out at a fast and furious pace. These introductions have shaken up the A3 world, and although haven\u2019t supplanted A3, are giving it a run for its money. This trend has had both a positive and negative impact on the dealer channel with lower prices and smaller margins while providing end users with a wider variety of output options, options that make sense in a world where print volumes are on the decline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re down to the final five of our 25 most significant events in the office imaging industry of the past 25 years. I could have easily done 40 even though I believe I\u2019ve touched on 25 events that most readers would agree are significant. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be hearing from readers with additional significant events that we should have considered. I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed the series so far. It\u2019s been loads of fun putting it together and I appreciate the feedback from everyone in the industry who offered their suggestions, some of which made the list, others just missing. Network Scanning Comes to the MFP As important a device as the MFP has become in the office, it became even more important back in 1996 when Simplify (later to become eCopy before its acquisition by Nuance) launched ShareScan, software that enabled network scanning from the MFP. \u00a0\u201cSimplify had been trying to pursue the network scanning software market in the early nineties and was working with scanner vendors, but it was sort of the confluence of what they were doing and the GP30 and GP200 from Canon\u2019s early digital copiers on the network that brought together the idea that once the copier was digital and networked, you can go for more than printing,\u201d recalls Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report. \u201cTogether and what was Simplify at the time created what was network scanning, scan-to-e-mail market and made it\u00a0 credible business, which to this day is widely used. That was at a time when the printing side and IT side were still kind of laughing at MFPs from copier companies.\u201d Declining Print Volumes Here\u2019s another one of those significant events that is taking place as you\u2019re reading this\u2026on your computer screen or on some type of portable device. Print isn\u2019t going away, but print volumes are declining. Everybody in the industry is experiencing that decline one way or another and is looking for ways to offset it. Look at companies like Sharp and Toshiba and what they\u2019re doing with digital signage. Do you really think they\u2019d be as intensely focused on that business if print volumes were going up? The name of the game in a world where fewer pages are being printed is alternate revenue streams whether it’s\u00a0digital signage, digital content, MPS, Managed Services, or some other as yet to emerge service or technology. This is an event that shows no signs of abating even though the printed page is far from dead. Light Production Devices Bring the Dealer into the Production Space \u201cThe Konica 8050, I\u2019d trace it back to there,\u201d says industry veteran Harry Hecht. \u201cThat had a big impact on the industry because it was pretty much a DocuTech\/Kodak-dominated business. It opened the door for all the other Japanese manufacturers to get into that production space, monochrome first and then color. For those that can handle it, it helped their businesses and for the end user brought things down from a $200,000 device to a $100,000 or $90,000 device.\u201d Vendors Divesting Themselves of Branch Accounts It\u2019s amazing when one steps back and views the various trends and sees how one trend eventually leads to another even though at the time when that trend emerges, such as the growth of direct distribution, it looked as if it were going to go on forever. Lou Slawetsky of Industry Analysts considers it both a major event and the tail end of a trend. \u201cI don\u2019t think any vendor, Xerox aside, made significant sums of money in direct distribution. They acquire, acquire, acquire, and so then they began to divest themselves of direct distribution in those areas they could. Wherever you see true branches as opposed to subsidiaries I think you\u2019re going to see them divest themselves of that distribution.\u201d As he explains, what often happens when a vendor opens a branch in a dealer territory, their independent dealers take on other brands. \u201cI can prove that,\u201d emphasizes Slawetsky. \u201cIf the dealer is selling 100 units a month of one brand, he\u2019s not going to sell 200 units a month, he\u2019ll sell the same 100, maybe one or two more, which means the original vendor or incumbent, if you will, is going to lose distribution from that dealer. And I don\u2019t think the manufacturers make up the profits in the branch that they lost from that dealer.\u201d In Slawetsky\u2019s opinion, and it\u2019s a valid one, vendors never truly analyzed that scenario as carefully as they should have. \u201cThey said we can pick up distribution, revenue, service revenue, but they never asked about the downside when the dealer takes on another brand. Now they\u2019re realizing what that downside is.\u201d The Channel Takes a Serious Look at A4 During the past few years A4 product introductions have been rolling out at a fast and furious pace. These introductions have shaken up the A3 world, and although haven\u2019t supplanted A3, are giving it a run for its money. This trend has had both a positive and negative impact on the dealer channel with lower prices and smaller margins while providing end users with a wider variety of output options, options that make sense in a world where print volumes are on the decline.    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[95,96,429,1153,202,208,1450,1437,272,1452,1451,498],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6992"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7000,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6992\/revisions\/7000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}