Canon Production Printers Now Available at Printer Connection

As the Year 2012 comes to an end, we are pleased to have a new product line to announce from our team.  

For high volume printing in mono black or the wonderful world of color, we now provide the CANON PRODUCTION PRINTERS.  

For high volume printing, the color printer is called the Canon imagePRESS Color C7010VP.  

Mono printing is handled by this first pictured machine on the right.  That's the Canon Oce VarioPrint DP family which has three models at top speeds of 135, 120 and 110 PPM pages-per-minute.  This printer is the first offspring from the marriage/ merger/ buyout by Canon of the Oce organization.  The VarioPrint DP benefits from the marking engine technology of an Oce-developed printer and the versatility of Canon paper handling attachments for pre- and post-printing duties.  The DP denotes the unique new Océ DirectPress® Technology, a highly stable technology that prints consistently high-quality images on a wide range of media and produces zero ozone.

For less than "full-on-boogie" non-stop printing, the printers that will fit most of our customers are the top-end of the Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE 8200 series of printers.  These printers are from a long line of Canon advancements in printing as well as the copy/ scan/ booklet production types of work with which our customers, or at least the IT transaction printing department customers, are not typically concerned.

All of these printing solutions are available with IPDS data stream printing capabilities.

For more information or for a quote on Canon Production Printers, please contact Warren Neeley at WNeeley@PCIprinters.com or via phone at 817-939-5614.  

Zebra Xi Printer Compared to Printronix T5000

Check Out a Better Printer of a "Different Stripe".

Top Ten reasons to just buy and use the Zebra Xi printers, and not look at a great alternative:


Zebra Xi

1.  You've got more money than sense.
2.  You really like changing ribbons as often as possible.
3.  The "BANG!" of the printer cover slamming shut serves as an audible alarm to wake up your workers.
4.  Raising the cover to check on ribbon length is like an unveiling.
5.  Cleaning printers and changing bad print heads because of permanently open or broken covers are some of the little joys in life.
6.  All the cool kids have them.
7.  "The software company made me do it, those big bullies."
8.  The striped animal logo is cool.
9.  You do not want any attention lights, for it ruins the ambiance.
10. Reprinting unreadable barcodes gives a sense of worth.

Printronix T5000 Thermal Printer

Why not take a look at a comparison of the Zerba Xi Printer to the fabulous Printronix T5000 Thermal Barcode Printer?  There are several great reasons to check out the Thermal T5000 right away:

Ribbon Length
Longer 625m ribbons for less stops than what is required when using a limit of only 450m ribbons

Ribbon Loading
Open cantilevered print head for quicker ribbon loads and less ribbon troubles that "threading" it, and no "collapsing" take-up ribbon spindle as on the Zebra printers

Label Loading
Open cantilevered print head for quicker label loads and less time and troubles than "threading" the labels past the print head in the confined Zebra printer working space

Operator Features
Angled control panel eliminates need to squat, internal aluminum silver gray back panel compared to the black Zebra improves visibility of ribbons and media with cover closed, friction fitted top cover improves safety and longevity, integrated and automated barcode "ODV" scan / eliminate unreadable / reprint

Printer Features
Direct drive versus belt and drive motor system, top indicator light draws attention to ribbon changing needs, 100% complete software compatibility to Zebra Print Language

 

Click Here to go to GLM Group's site for video comparisons of the Xi and the T5000. 

....And for current Zebra users, request a demo form to receive an evaluation T5000 unit.

 

For more information, contact Warren Neeley at 817-939-5614, Warren's full website at www.ChooseGLMgroup.com or email to WNeeley@PCIprinters.com.

 

Printronix Thermal Printers and our Dramatic Supplies Warranty

There is a quiet but a powerful reason to buy the combination of

Printronix T5000r Thermal Printers

Printronix thermal transfer printers, ribbons and printhead replacements from PCI Solutions.
In analyzing a printer acquisition, one may hear the words "care and feeding" One should. At the minimum, one will hear it from us. The more proper phrases in the printer business is Total Cost of Ownership or TCOP, and Supplies Cost of Ownership or SCOP. Keep in mind that the printhead in a thermal printer is a customer replaceable supply item that costs from $820 list price each for a 300 dpi four inch head and up to $1,133 list price each for the eight inch version.

Buying the Printronix supplies, printheads and printers from PCI Solutions will provide a fantastic customer protection plan in regards to print head warranty.

For a customer buying thermal ribbons, printers and printheads from PCI Solutions, the printhead warranty will be 4,000,000 inches or one year from purchase.

What does the four million inches mean in terms of production? 4M inches is also 333,333 feet. The largest ribbon in the thermal market (Printronix exclusive) is 2,051 feet of ribbon per roll. The 4M warranty distance would last through 162 of those ribbon changes or a year, whichever comes first.

PCI Solutions can help you eliminate or at least minimize the hidden operational cost of print heads for your production of high volume thermal transfer bar code output.

For more information, contact PCI Solutions and Warren Neeley at WNeeley@PCIprinters.com or 817-939-5614.

Old Genicom and Tally Line Printers and a New Replacement Path

Genicom 4490

Plenty of enterprises over the years have relied on impact line printers from Tally and Genicom.  As with many things (like owning a Saab car...), life is good with a product until you need to find the replacement part and the technician that has the skills on that machine, and you realize the company and the supply is gone. 

Lately we have had a surprising number of inquiries from customers searching for help with the old Genicom 4490XT printer.

Customers are just not aware that there is a splendid choice for a compatible printer to replace the old Genicom and Tally units - the TallyGenicom 6600 line matrix family from Printronix.

TallyGenicom 6600 Quiet Cabinet

The TallyGenicom 6600 line has been designed to be completely compatible with the TallyGenicom 6200 and TallyGenicom 6300 printers, which in turn were compatible with the legacy printers from Genicom and Tally.

Our friends at Printronix that are supporting and marketing the new line of their TallyGenicom printers have developed some points on the innovations and advantages of the new family of printers.  From their website on this topic:

 

TallyGenicom 6600 Comparison to 6300 & 6200 Series

TallyGenicom 6600 Open Pedestal

Innovations within the 6600 series deliver substantial gains in reliability, productivity and environmental responsibility. These benefits are providing compelling reasons for business or industrial customers to upgrade, expand or replace their current printers: 

Faster print speeds = increased productivity, better workflow and reduced waiting time for documents to print and choices of speeds up to 2,000 lines per minute
Improved print quality = crisper clarity in documents; a higher impact force improves printing on multi-page forms
Longer lasting ink = fewer ribbon changes which yields increased productivity and contributes to lower cost of ownership
Leading-edge ribbon technology = less IT interventions due to a patented feature that is only available with TallyGenicom consumables
Embedded microchip = precise, integrated control over ribbon life, print quality and operating costs
Reliable connectivity via Plug and Print = no down time. Intellifilter™ provides the widest possible range of emulations, configurability and tools at a user's disposal. Installation requires no host changes, allows for easy data stream substitutions, and is done without reprogramming
Robust remote printer management = option to control entire global printing network from anywhere.

For more information on the TallyGenicom 6600 line, contact Warren Neeley at 817-939-5614 or via email at WNeeley@PCIprinters.com.
 

InfoPrint 6500 Printers Still Running Mission-Critical Operations

There is still a brisk business in fulfilling the demand for the InfoPrint 6500 line of line matrix printers.  Regardless of the fact that IBM sold the entire division and then Ricoh eventually shut down the sales and operations of the InfoPrint Industrial Printers, many customers are still demanding the InfoPrint logo on their line printer.  

It's a secret that is not even loosely guarded anymore - Printronix built every one of the IBM InfoPrint, then Ricoh/IBM InfoPrint, then Ricoh InfoPrint versions of the 6500.  The only big difference is the IBM IPDS print language that only was available in the 6500.  The Printronix version is good, but in some bar code and heavy production, IPDS uses it just needs testing and verification to ensure the exact performance of the print stream.

There are some situations in which the customer does not want "to fight an uphill battle" to simply get a few printers.  Some customers have a list of approved printers previously tested, and the reward of testing the Printronix name is not deemed worth the hassle and time involved with their internal process.  Another issue is their software vendor's own approved list and the risk or threat of technical support restrictions that come with a non-approved printer acquisition.

For new printers, go for the Printronix P7000 lineup.  If you are bound by "approved list" restrictions, or just By-Golly you love that InfoPrint or the Eight-Bar Big Blue image, go for it while supplies last of expertly refurbished IBM InfoPrint 6500 line printers.

For more info on the InfoPrint 6500 line, visit http://www.chooseglmgroup.com/Pages/InfoPrint_6500.aspx or contact Warren Neeley at 817-939-5614 or WNeeley@PCIprinters.com.

Customers Struggle with Software Companies Selling Hardware and Fear

The TRICK or TREAT of ISV hardware purchases!

Just in time for October, here's a scary tale about the dark and abandoned mansion at the end of the overgrown path in the woods..... "AHA!! Buy a different printer AT YOUR OWN RISK..."   MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  

Software companies that sell hardware with their attached scare tactics are doing economic harm to their clients for their own profit.

Years ago, the big-time bank software company in small-time rural Missouri yanked IBM around like a new puppy on a brand new leash.  Big Blue would absolutely fawn all over the firm James Henry, usually known to their users as Jack, and Ass. ( No wait - maybe the abbreviation is Assoc - right?)  IBM gained a lot of server sales by Jack selling their bank solution, and they would enforce their profitable support from the fuselage door of one of their jet aircraft.  

Like the old saying "Lips that touch liquor will never touch mine", customers that showed the gumption to buy a printer NOT from Jack's sales team would rue the day that they ever thought of such a foolish move.  No support!  

Meanwhile, Jack was selling hundreds and hundreds of printers from HP - one of the largest competitors to IBM - and the Blue Server Team wouldn't dare tackle that issue for the Printer Division.  Why was Jack a fan of HP and not the new cut sheet performer from IBM?  Well, because they had an entire division that sold TONER and maintenance plans and paper supplies, and the IBM unit cut Jack out of selling toner with it included inside the maintenance plan.

Customers would buy multiple 50 ppm HP lasers and literally bring in toner by the pallet load.  The customers spent way more in operations cost than it would cost to buy and operate the higher volume IBM cut sheet printer, but it did not fit the payment plan for those Gulfstream jets out at the airport.

  

For another example, many auto dealerships have a software and support relationship with a vendor called Reynolds, with a name so nice they named it twice.  The line printer of choice was from C.Itoh - but the problem has been that C.Itoh has gone out of this printer business.  Then Reynolds & Reynolds chose, supported and sold IBM, the InfoPrint 6500 - but the problem now is IBM has gone out of this printer business.  

Customers tell us that Reynolds says that only the IBM InfoPrint 6500 will work.  Funny, but we have plenty of Reynolds customers that dare to disagree and are happily using the IBM 6400 Premium Refurbished & Re-manufactured by Printer Connection.

Read more about the C.Itoh CI1000E and CI500E troubles and click to see replacement options at: ChooseGLMgroup.com 

For more information, contact Warren Neeley at 817-939-5614 or WNeeley@PCIprinters.com

Printronix Video Spot on PCI Solutions and Printer Connection

In July we visited the Printronix headquarters, during the last week or two before the move to their brand new HQ location down the street.  As part of our host's expanded video marketing efforts, PCI had a chance to give our thoughts about our valued partner and their excellence in both printer product and support personnel.

We are certainty glad that the Printronix P7000 Line Printers and the Printronix T5000 Thermal Printers operate more smoothly than the guy on the video, your author ....

Thanks to everyone at Printronix for your hospitality during our visit and your continued support!

For more info on Printronix Printers, contact Warren Neeley at WNeeley@PCIprinters.com or visit his webpage for Printronix.

The Impact Print Operator's "Old Reliable" Choice

The Venerable IBM 6262 Line Printer 

Replacement Options on IBM 6262 Line Printer

Customers have slowly and begrudgingly retired the long-loved IBM 6262 Line Printer.  It was a favorite unit cherished for its reliable toughness, ease-of-use for operators, and the excellent print quality of its fully formed characters.

The IBM 6262 swing gate mechanism allowed operators to load forms and large ribbons quickly and easily. The four form-feed tractors were adjustable with a single knob and permitted routine processing of pre-printed, pre-numbered forms.

The 6262 Print Band Printer came in lines per minute (LPM) speeds of 1200, 1400, and 2200 LPM. With the several IBM computer divisions and customer preferences, the IBM 6262 Impact Line Printer offered a plethora of attachment options – IBM mainframe channel, i-Series - AS/400 – S/34/36/38 heritage Twinax, IBM 3270 and follow-on controller units coax, IBM PC parallel/serial, and Dataproducts parallel.

MODELS BY ATTACHMENT

The model naming convention of "6262-xyy" told the story of how it was attached and how fast it would produce output. The "x" was a character for the attachment, and "yy" was the line speed times 100.

Even though there are no new replacement parts, and even though the long-used printer is being repaired with long-used repair parts scavenged from other donor units, IBM 6262 Band Printers continue to perform in some production environments today. 

Model; LPM with the 48-character-set print band

CHANNEL = 0

6262-012; 1200

6262-014; 1400

6262-022; 2200

　

PC PARALLEL / SERIAL = A

6262-A12; 1200

6262-A14; 1400

6262-A22; 2200

　

COAX = D

6262-D12; 1200

6262-D14; 1400

6262-D22; 2200

　

DATAPRODUCTS PARALLEL = P

6262-P12; 1200

6262-P14; 1400

6262-P22; 2200

　

TWINAX = T

6262-T12; 1200

6262-T14; 1400

6262-T22; 2200

For more information, contact Warren Neeley at WNeeley@PCIprinters.com.

Eliminate manual data entry of written data with Capture and ICR from PlanetPress

Our friends and good folks at Objectif Lune have developed a nice addition to the great product PlanetPress Capture. Users can not only write on documents and electronically kick off the next steps in workflow, but also now the system will process the hand written numbers, dates and codes and prepare and perform the data entry for the next step of proofing.


With a data entry process, it's a good practice to have two steps - Entry and Verification - First the raw bulk entry procedure is accomplished, and then second the verification of the data entry. Best practices should have the verification performed by someone different from the entry person for the highest degree of accuracy.

From the new documentation: "The newest addition to optimize processes is Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR). Special ICR fields can be added to transactional forms to capture handwritten text. For example, this features allows handwritten quantities, dates, time, part-numbers, postal codes, meter readings, and addresses, to be input in systems while skipping manual data entry tasks. Best practices for implementation of this feature will ensure the best results possible. Documentation will be available."

ICR makes it possible to improve the process around corrections on delivery notes, bills of lading and order forms resulting in accurate invoices and up to date systems. ICR does not replace human verification, but it does replace the basic need for human data entry.

With human data entry, a person will rely a lot on detection of hitting a wrong key while typing. Data entry and verification cannot be done reliably by the same person. By nature, this results in lower quality data entry than if entry and verification are done by separate persons. But, an additional resource for verification adds cost to the process, making it a choice between cost of resource and cost of error.

Exactly this is where a major benefit of ICR arises. ICR is an interpretation of handwriting, allowing for subjectivity, thus some errors – just like with manual data entry. However, to alleviate the errors, now only the verification and correction step has to be performed. This reduces cost of resources and cost of errors.
  For more information, check with Warren Neeley with PCI Solutions at Printer Connection: 866-430-6202,  WNeeley@PCIprinters.com, http://www.chooseglmgroup.com/Pages/PlanetPressCapture.aspx

Symblogogy: Ricoh's eWriter Combo Solution Automates Knowledge...

Symblogogy: Ricoh's eWriter Combo Solution Automates Knowledge...: The "eQuill" secure, WiFi enabled, digital clipboard interface [ ctrl-click image to launch demo video ]. Image Credit: Ricoh eWriter Solut...

Ricoh and a friend of ours

We enjoy seeing the success of our friends, and this update is no exception. 

"What we really want to do for commercial printers is to give them the ability and knowledge to drive value to their end customers in different ways," said Theresa Lang, Vice President Solutions & Services at Ricoh.

http://www.mpsconnect.com/articles/share/419837/

Theresa was a vital member of the IBM Printer channel staff 'back in the day.'  Back when IBM Printers did more than $100M annually in revenue with resellers, the channel had not yet been adjusted and strangled by the Directors and VPs that ultimately killed the channel.  InfoPrint later tried to breathe life back into a channel, but the 'grooved swing' and product support alas was long gone.

Back to Ricoh, this article mentions a new technology, and it appears that Ricoh is investing in a company that developed it. "Clickable Paper, a cross-media service that lets consumers access related online content by pointing a smartphone at any printed surface. At Drupa, Ricoh teamed with PTI to demonstrate this technology integrated within PTI's MarcomCentral W2P platform. The Clickable Paper technology—developed by Ricoh Visual Search—is expected to be released next year."

We are very interested in anything that merges mobile computing, 'pocket computers,' traditional and non-traditional output, and the use of today's cloud of available information for the mutual benefit of the user and the generator of that output.

More on that topic in another upcoming blog.

For more details, contact Warren Neeley at www.ChooseGLMgroup.com.

The customer loyalty/customer experience conundrum | RetailCustomerExperience.com

The customer loyalty/customer experience conundrum | RetailCustomerExperience.com

"Every experience, every customer touch and interaction is an opportunity to deliver on the company's value proposition and reinforce the relationship, and a risk of failing to deliver on customer expectations and weakening the glue of the relationship. Experiences matter because they affect and are part of the gestalt of the customer relationship. But the experience is not the same as the relationship, and loyalty is more than the sum of the customer's experiences."

Nice article, and a very important area to consider.  In today's market no relationship is safe forever.  We have been witnessing companies, relationships and future opportunities whirl around more than a Friday night margarita machine.

It's good practice that if you care, tell someone that you love 'em!  Well, the same goes for the workplace and companies.  Tell 'em and show 'em that your relationship is very special and appreciated.  Tell 'em a LOT.  Try for nearly every time.  Each transaction is special and is worth a full measure of effort.

As a company, we have been taken for granted or ignored or forgotten at times, and it bothers how we feel and react because our company is made up of humans.  That's what you have when you deal with humans!  Companies that get it and act upon that knowledge are at an advantage.

One vendor of ours sends us a package every few months or so.  It's a Box of Love - my term, not theirs.  They call it a Fun Box, and it has little chotskies and toys, maybe a 'gimme-cap' and usually some product info.  The latest one came with color photos of us at their vendor meeting, pasted on the outside with balloon captions from our staff.  Now, this company also 'busts their hump' for us without question or reservation each time we call upon them.  Does the Box of Love really make a difference?  Yep, it's a part of their entire package of being a vendor with personality and caring about their relationships.

Why Choose #2 Printronix over a #1 Zebra Thermal?

PCI sells the Printronix line of thermals.  During the IBM Printing Systems days, I heard a point in an IBM presentation that stated that this printer - the combination of the identical twins PRX.T5000 and IBM.4400/6700 units - was number two in sales volume for top-end tough and high volume industrial thermal printers. 

Zebra has held the #1 position in sales for some time.  Customers with installed Zebra printers require compatibility to even consider a switch.  Printronix has been fully compatible for years with the Zebra and ZPL language.

So why change?  Number Two needs to show why its product would be an improvement over the current leader.  What are the Printronix operational efficiencies as compared to the Zebra line?  Printronix has done a very nice job in a video demonstration of just over eight minutes. 

View the Video.

Are you thinking about a refresh of your installed Zebra thermal printers?  Have questions?  If you would like to evaluate a new Printronix T5000 printer for yourself, let us know.  Contact Warren Neeley at WNeeley@pciprinters.com or call 866-430-6202.

Printer Connection is like IBM's DB2?

On a trip across the Internet one day, as an internet 'surfer' can be swept along, I happened upon a video about Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated's implementation of IBM DB2.

It turns out that DB2 helps them run their business much faster than Oracle.  Some big batch jobs that took 30 to 36 hours are now completed in 2 hours.  Nightly runs were cut from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.  They figure that they have saved $1 million.

Then appeared these little nuggets that caught my eye and had me relaying them to the blog - the basic needs and benefits that Coke Bottling achieved are what we deliver to our customers.

SAVE MONEY
PERFORM WELL
RELIABLE
EASY TO USE
and I added to the list
GOOD COMPANY

IBM was talking about product performance.  I believe that our customers have basic needs and that PCI consistently delivers, not just with our products but with our business approach.

SAVE MONEY - Financial justification is always essential in purchasing new systems, but what if there is not enough budget for all the IT projects?  A big part of our business starts with selling a refurbished impact printer to first-time internet customers.  The reason we have repeat business is the other critical nuggets in that list.  Customers experience our attention to EASY TO USE customer service to test, set up, assure fit, and provide post-sale customer support. Our RELIABLE delivery of products or consulting PERFORM WELL and avoids any buyers' remorse on their selection.

Thankfully the same approach works with new printers, software, and maintenance.  We earn our repeat business by being a GOOD COMPANY for printers because printer output is our focus.  It is easy to slip into dealing with platitudes on this type of subject, but after customers have experienced pain with printers and we take away those pains and deliver the rest of that list, we become "Their Printer Guys."

It's a great list - not just for a product but also for a business approach.  I'm glad we fit the list.

Now Available - Xerox Production Printers!

We're headed to the home of Xerox - Rochester NY - for sales training on the first of what we hope is many "Xerox machines" available for sale from Printer Connection. 

Xerox/Compu-Call Announcement

This is the first arrangement like this one for Xerox.

With Ricoh leaving the field with their bat and ball, we move on to the undisputed giant of the business. Ask us about Xerox. Just let us get through a little training first.

Document Management - Anywhere

Our newest offering at Printer Connection is not a printer at all.

Our PCI Solutions joint venture is seeking and presenting tools for today's market for the life of the information bound up in the legacy of the path of documents.

Or, as I wanted to say on a phone call with a vendor yesterday - "Huh? What did you just say?"

In plain words, folks are not printing nearly as much now as they did in the past, and they would like to print even less. Why? The customer preference statistics are clear with all the mobile devices (pocket computers/portals), ubiquitous email and web-enabled avenues for communication - and it's cheaper to send an email with a PDF or a web-address than a bill or statement in a letter.

Part of the promise of 'electrifying' the document is good electronic filing, recovery and re-use. Part of the solution needs to be in saving it and finding it later.

Welcome Fortis and FortisBlue from Westbrook Technologies to the product lineup available from Printer Connection and PCI Solutions.

Fortis is a powerful enterprise content management software solution that electronically captures, stores, and organizes documents, data, images, etc., thus enabling immediate and reliable access to critical information whenever and wherever it's needed. Fortis promotes efficient knowledge sharing by allowing easy retrieval, editing, annotating, and distribution of documents. Quickly obtain the decision-making information you need and provide superior service to clients, customers, and partners.

FortisBlue is a browser-based content management software solution that captures, archives, searches, annotates, retrieves and safeguards paper and electronic documents and data. It is accessible from the Internet or an intranet making it an affordable solution, of particular value for first-time users of content management.

Our blog has covered PlanetPress and PP Capture in previous entries. FortisBlue integrates with PlanetPress Capture and allows significantly powerful management of all PP documents with thin-client or mobile network of all authorized document access.

We are excited to add this strong technology to our growing list of "Print Less and Print Better" offerings.... ok, I'll say it since everyone else does --- SOLUTIONS.

For more information, contact Warren Neeley at wneeley@pciprinters.com or 817-939-5614.

Thermal Is About to Heat Up Around Here

Printronix has achieved some great growth in the industrial distribution marketplace with their midrange thermal product, the Printronix T4M. This sweet little T4M is a cutthroat competitor against the market leader Zebra. Customers that complete a head-to-head comparo with this engineering marvel are switching to the Printronix model in droves.

Source Technologies, the reliable provider of MICR laser printers, has now entered the thermal battlefield with an inventive line of thermal printers that, for the first time in the industry, print with the simple and standard language of PCL. The Source Technologies STp.1125, STp.1120n, and STp.1115 printers offer a very high quality output at 300 dpi and several new setup and calibration features to make the "care and feeding" of the unit more "knucklehead-proof".

We look forward to our vendors' help and our customer discussions to find opportunities for these great options in label printing.

Previously Seen, but Still Ready to Run - The InfoPrint 6500-V20

As Lee Corso is known to say "Not so fast, my friend...."

We recently wrote about "And Now, the Fastest Line Printer On The Market" regarding the end of the InfoPrint line of printers. True enough, but the machines live on and some seek further employment (deployment?).

The IBM InfoPrint 6500-V20 is a twin to the 2,000 line per minute Printronix P7220. Printronix may stand alone as the supplier of the NEWLY MANUFACTURED and fastest line impact printer on the market, but Printer Connection can supply either the Inforprint 6500-V20 or the Printronix P7220 in expertly refurbished versions.

Check out the fastest of the used marketplace InfoPrint impact family here, the 2,000 line per minute InfoPrint 6500 V20: http://chooseglmgroup.com/InfoPrint6500V20Printer.aspx

Contact Warren Neeley at 817-430-6202 or wneeley@pciprinters.com for more information.

And Now, the Fastest Line Printer On The Market

With the sunset of the InfoPrint part of the Ricoh Family Group and its popular 6500 line printers, Printronix stands alone as the supplier of the toughest and fastest line impact printer on the market.

Equipped with a ruggedized and enhanced tractor feed mechanism, the P7220 is ready for years of high speed reliable mission critical performance.

Review the fastest of the family bunch here, the 2,000 line per minute Printronix P7220: http://chooseglmgroup.com/PrintronixP7220LinePrinter2000LPM.aspx

Contact Warren Neeley at 817-430-6202 or wneeley@pciprinters.com for more information.

Give me your best price --- and that's why exactly?

In two different times last week, I experienced the demand of "give me your best price" from resellers that had built absolutely no relationship with our company.

One was with an individual wanting to broker sales into Africa. He said he was currently looking for a 'heavy duty printer that used toner'. OK, that really narrowed it down.... When I could not get him to bring more details to the table, and with his 'one-note-johnny' insistence of asking whether I had such a printer, I said "Sure, I have one for example that costs $100,000". I expected to extend the discussion to different sizes, speeds, and jobs. He immediately opined that "well, I'm sure that you can do better on the price and give me your best price."

You're sure on what basis? Is it due to the mutual trust that we have built over the last 5 minutes, while you answered no questions? Perhaps I can sell that $100k machine with today's best price of $50k and it will magically fit all your printing needs due to hammering me down? You don't even know what the printer does yet.

Another fellow wrote me from the country Jordan. He simply and naively requested a best dealer price list on half the printers that we sell. I like this guy. He has nerve and he is 'net'. Unfortunately for him, he has no idea on how to build a relationship of trust with me. He may eventually deserve to be the level of 'best dealer' for pricing, but he has not done the first thing to justify that request.

Let's do a deal. We will offer a fair price. Let's go through the pricing, discussion, offer, order and payment and shipping, and arriving. Then we can visit about 'best dealer' status.

Printronix Moves to Claim InfoPrint Industrial

Freshly back from the last rites and burial of the InfoPrint organization, Printronix made the announcement that for the last two decades, Printronix had been the sole OEM supplier of over 100,000 InfoPrint line printers and thermal printers.

In the Printronix press release, the company offers maintenance support and spare parts for the IBM and InfoPrint 6400, 6500, 4400 and 6700 printers.

From the announcement:
"Printronix provides a complete solution for InfoPrint Solutions customers, including a full line of printers, consumables and service offerings through the existing InfoPrint Channel Partner network which fully ensures uninterrupted customer support. InfoPrint end users can tap into the full product range offered by Printronix and its Channel Partners, who are trained and have the full backing of the Printronix global technical support team to ensure top tier customer support. "

In regards to Printer Connection, PCI is a Top Printronix (Platinum, one of <20) partner and was a Top InfoPrint partner (Premier, one of 10) until their tragic end.

A style of printer not sold or mentioned by Printronix is the 'Industrial Serial Matrix' printers known in IBM/InfoPrint customers as the 4247 and the previous 4230 and 4232. PCI is also a distributing partner (one of 4) for the Tally 4347 printer. This printer serves as a replacement and upgrade from the old 4247 and the new "Paint Shaker 4247-Z03". PCI can source the former InfoPrint 4247 as its OEM builder Compuprint is also coming out from behind the curtain. PCI strongly recommends evaluating the Tally 4347-i10 against the 4247-Z03 unit for any use on any printer stands other than a granite counter, as the Z03 can make many printer stands actually walk across the floor from the shaking.

Regarding maintenance service - the IBM and InfoPrint service was always and only offered as a 24x7 package, regardless of the customer's need or budget. The service norm in the industry is now 9x5 next business day and often with a spare printer as mission critical backup. PCI continues to offer and provide service and spares on all the InfoPrint and Printronix lines described in this Printronix action. For IBM/InfoPrint printers, service can be delivered by either PCI, Printronix, or a resale from PCI of Ricoh's continuing RPPS/contractor service arrangement for industrial printers.

For any information and discussion of future pricing and availability of service, parts and printers, contact Warren Neeley at 817-939-5614 or wneeley@pciprinters.com.