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.