TCPglobal - news, views and issues on total cost of printing

Issue #1203 – Poor, if not frightening, first quarter results from market leader Hewlett-Packard, together with a not-so-good outlook for the printer industry as a whole, are a pointer that the printer industry absolutely cannot sit back on its laurels and expect to survive on past business models and product ranges.

Issue #1013 – As Lexmark claims to have outperformed the market over the course of 2009 and 2010, we see some of the most significant giveaways ever seen and a market position that is, nonetheless, on the edge and inferior to other major manufacturers.

Issue #0936/1 – Recent reports in the press and in Hewlett-Packard’s quarterly financial results and end of year round-up indicate that the company is putting its shareholders, and pressure from Wall Street, above the welfare of its staff and customers, to the detriment of its business. Supply of printers has not met demand and EDS staff in the UK are reported to be planning a strike, as has already occurred in Germany.

Issue #0925/1 – Making the most significant announcement in some time, Hewlett-Packard revealed plans earlier this week to enable a more thorough Managed Print Services (MPS) offering – through an extended alliance with Canon for use of MFP hardware, which finally plugs the yawning gap in Hewlett-Packard’s printer and MFP hardware line-up, and the creation of a range of on-board MFP solutions designed to streamline and enhance the digital workflow in the enterprise.

Issue #0918/1 – Printer users are faced with massive increases in supplies prices that are pushing their Total Cost of Printing through the roof. Those suffering most are small and medium businesses with a high print volume as printer manufacturers steadily push up supplies prices. But, printer manufactures are themselves suffering with huge loss of revenue from supplies. Why? Are they guilty of cutting off their noses to spite their faces? This article presents masses of data to show why printer manufacturers are alienating their customer base and pushing customers into the hands of the third party supplies industry.

Issue #0906/1 – Financial results for the last quarter released by Hewlett-Packard this week underline the difficult times that the industry is facing during this current economic downturn. However, whereas immediate revenues are down and Lexmark’s troubles gather pace, there are clear positive signs within the industry.

Issue #0804/1 – Still heading downwards on a slippery slope, Lexmark’s latest financial results show exactly why the company’s strategy needed modifying, suggesting that further action is needed and that there may be some way to go before anyone sees an overall upturn, despite record results in some areas.

Issue #0802/2 – In a highly undesirable move, Lexmark has increased prices in the UK on almost its entire range of supplies products by an average 6.4%. Yet again we see Lexmark increasing supplies prices immediately after reducing them – it was only in November of 2007 that Lexmark reduced supplies pricing in the UK by an average of 4%!