Tesco Ink Cartridge Refills: Mixed Blessing?

By Peter Lavelle
Friday 30 11:11 GMT

Supermarket giant Tesco is one of several retailers stocking ink cartridge refill kits. These kits have a reputation of being fiddly to use, and often leave the user sporting more ink than the empty cartridge. However, according to a recent (and charismatic) article by Cork student journalist Daniel O'Connor, Tesco have solved this problem. He states that, through whatever miracle, the Tesco injection method is almost totally unproblematic. There is only one proviso: the user must inject the ink slowly. Otherwise the ink spills through the semi-permeable foam of the cartridge and (as per usual) leaves the user doused.

On the other hand, (without malicious intent) O'Connor may not be telling the full story. According to a 2006 report by independent testers Wilhelm Imaging Research, Tesco refill printouts fade 730 times faster than specialist ink brands. For example, though you can expect official HP cartridge printouts to last 73 years, Tesco refill printouts last 2 months. Moreover, Tesco refill kits lack ISO certification: the hallmark of quality ink (you can find this certification at specialist ink cartridge retailers.) Hence the Tesco kits are unregulated and lack industry recognition.

In short they may be simple to use compared to other refill kits. But is simplicity enough when the product is shoddy? Probably not, when quality remanufactured cartridges are available elsewhere at comparable prices.

Sources

Daniel O'Connor, 'Tesco Refill Kit Scores Full Marks,' CorkStudentNews.com, 29 April 2010.
Mark Goldstein, 'Refilled Ink Cartridges Fade Rapidly,' PhotographyBlog.com, 23 August 2006.
Robert Redwood, 'Cheap Ink Refills,' EasyElements.com.

Anti-Cameron Print Mimics Banksy

By Peter Lavelle

Thursday 29 19:33 GMT

The general election is upon us, and you might reasonably ask: what significance could this have for ink cartridges and printers? To my knowledge, none of the main parties have policies geared toward ink cartridges (though the US Department of Weights and Measures does dispute the excessive pricing of official branded cartridges.)

However, though the politicians may have nothing to say about printing, that doesn't mean printing has nothing to say about the politicians. Case in point: the pavement stencil of David Cameron that recently appeared at Hither Green train station in Greater London. According to NewsHopper.co.uk reporter David Mills, the image resembles the work of graffiti artist Banksy, and likens David Cameron to Adolf Hitler. (Actually, I'm reasonably positive the artist had Orwell in mind: something about boots stamping on a human face forever.)

Either way, it's an inventive example of guerilla propaganda. Perhaps more potent than a hundred officially-sanctioned posters.

Sources

David Mills, 'Is David Cameron Pavement Print The Work Of Banksy?' NewsHopper.co.uk, 29 April 2010.

Managed Print Services: News Or Marketing?

By Peter Lavelle
28 April 18:34 GMT

Today I again broach a topic that deserves much more attention than I can devote. SiliconRepublic.com has released an article reporting that 84% of Irish companies don't regulate their print expenditures. This itself barely warrants comment: chances are that managers at these companies have higher priorities (I can hardly imagine CEOs and President lurking behind copiers waiting for redundant printouts.) The news article deserves comment though because SiliconRepublic.com represents this statistic as a failed or missed opportunity by Irish business. It trumpets possible virtues in regulating printing costs. In other words, this news article is a disguised advert for managed print services.

To scratch the surface: the survey from which SiliconRepublic.com take their statistics was conducted by a firm that sells managed print services. The person from whom SiliconRepublic.com take their quotations (attesting to the tragedy of print overspending) is an employee at this managed print services company. His comments asserting the value of managed print services barely withstand scrutiny too – though I won't dissect them here. I'll make my point instead and end this post. News and marketing material serve two different purposes: the first to inform and the second to persuade. To intentionally confuse them is to mislead people. It is propaganda.

Thank you and goodnight.

Sources

Anonymous, 'Few Companies Know Cost Of Printing, Survey Says,' SiliconRepublic.com, 28 April 2010.

Ink Cartridge Desk Lamps: Product Upgrade Or Not?

By Peter Lavelle
27 April 2010 10:31 GMT

Yesterday geek chic website GeekSugar.com reported the newest ink cartridge innovation: desk lamps made from empty ink cartridges. The product is the invention of Etsy sellers Lowell and Louise, and closely resembles the ink cartridge chandeliers previously released on Etsy (now defunct.) Like any ordinary lamp, users plug the device into the socket and all darkness is banished.

The most interesting thing about the GeekSugar.com post though is that the reporter doesn’t call these lamps recycled ink cartridges. He calls them upcycled ink cartridges. Is this verb commonly used? I would dismiss it as a neologism except it warrants a Wikipedia entry. I quote: “Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.”

This definition is expansive enough to mean turning one product into another i.e. the newly converted product has equal value to the previous product. However the term itself implies that the newly created product has superior value i.e. “up-scaling”. Perhaps this is for propaganda reasons. By suggesting that products made from old products are better, recycled is encouraged.

This is beside the point however. The question is: what prompted GeekSugar.com to assume that desk lamps have more value than ink cartridges? Perhaps because cartridges are peripheral products inserted into a parent machine? Perhaps because the retail value of lamps is higher? (Unlikely: official brand cartridges are hardly cheap.) In short I am asking: what determines the hierarchical value of things? Is this hierarchy fixed? For instance, would all consumers rate desk lamps above cartridges? How about computers versus televisions? Or spoons versus knives? What informs these opinions?

I would love to research this question. However I have more pressing obligations. Perhaps another time.

Sources

Anonymous, ‘Office Space: Ink Cartridge Desk Lamps,’ GeekSugar.com, 26 Monday 2010.

Text-Message Based Printer Saves Lives

By Peter Lavelle
Monday 26 April 18:26 GMT

One consequence of working in a particular product industry is that you become especially aware of that product on a daily basis. For instance, my father is the procurement manager for a greeting cards manufacturer. He has inspected and selected the materials for greeting cards for almost three decades. It is hence impossible to send him Christmas and birthday cards, because he scrutinises whatever he receives. Has that glitter been glued effectively? Are the layers of paper nicely integrated? The man cannot help himself.

I mention this because almost six months into writing an ink cartridge and printer blog I notice the same thing happening to me. I might not yet be reciting the pages per minute printing average of the newest Lexmark multi-function (indeed, I have made this blog a shrine to novelty printers.) However, I have developed the printer equivalent of a spider sense. I could (rather have) written essays analysing the internal state of the printer industry. I am constantly alive to new mobile applications for wireless printing (choose your weapon, sir: Motorola Droid, Apple iPad, Lexmark Prestige.) Time is running out before I don an Epson-branded hairshirt and rename myself the Inkjet Monk.

This all of course makes the discovery of a new printer application both surprising and (alas perhaps) exciting. For instance: this press release describing that SMS printers (commonly used by restaurants here to print receipts) are being used by medical authorities in Mozambique to reduce mortality rates. Health workers there are using the SMS printers to convey critical Early Infant Diagnosis messages to doctors. They have reduced the average diagnosis waiting period from 85 to 33 days.

Now how extraordinary! What inventive thinking that a machine used by the English in the services industry is saving lives in Mozambique! (I might obviously ask whether the technology has reduced treatment times – not just diagnosis times. That however would be cynical.) Perhaps I’m not thinking straight. Right now however it seems remarkable that, in the printing industry, where the biggest announcements typically involve saving 33% in managed print services, somewhere authorities are using printers to save children’s lives.

Sources

Tim Clayton, ‘SMS Printer: What Is It And How Is It Being Used?’ PRFire.com, 26 April 2010.

Lexmark Marketing Encourages Less Printing: Are They Crazy?

By Peter Lavelle
23 April 2010 11:04 GMT

Have you ever read The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams? If so you perhaps recall an anecdote early in the novel about the Damogron Frond Crested Eagle. This misguided creature constructed nests from paper mache, making it impossible for newly born eagles to liberate themselves. The hatchlings suffocated in the nest, and the Eagles nested themselves to extinction. Douglas Adams himself puts it: “The Damogron Frond Crested Eagles had heard of the notion of survival of the species but wanted no truck with it.”

I include this extract because ink cartridge manufacturer Lexmark have apparently taken inspiration from the Damogron Frond Crested Eagle for their latest marketing campaign. The basic principle: people print too frequently. People contribute to the destruction of the rainforests by using paper needlessly. People ought use their printers less and buy fewer ink cartridges. Indeed the key slogan for the campaign is: “Print Less, Save More.” Have Lexmark's management therefore lost their marbles? Perhaps they've hired Tony Robinson as a creative consultant, and the campaign comprises a “cunning plan” to attract environmentally-conscious consumers?

Well – people concerned about the environment may not believe their ears when they hear Lexmark's explanation. Because apparently the corporation is doing something environmental campaigners have wanted since forever: putting the planet before profit. Preaches the Vice-President of Lexmark's Asia Pacific Headquarters Chin Hon-Cheng: “Cutting down on the use of paper is the key message of our “Print Less, Save More” campaign. One of the biggest kinds of wastage is the printing of unnecessary documents.” Other initiatives in Lexmark's campaign include: increasing awareness of the print preview function (revelatory!) and encouraging people to buy eco-friendly printers (ground-breaking!)

Irony aside though, Lexmark's initiative constitutes a positive (and even necessary) move toward creating a green society. The success of the campaign depends now upon: 1) the reaction of the public followed by 2) the reaction of rival printer manufacturers. Simply put: if consumers embrace Lexmark's initiative this will both benefit the environment (and potentially consumer wallets) and encourage other companies to launch similar initiatives. On the other hand though, Lexmark may not emphasise the economic benefits of their campaign enough. The slogan “Print Less, Save More” after all resembles behavioural modification as much as marketing. Rather: consumers may sense they're being told how to behave, and react negatively. Everything therefore depends on the approach Lexmark take.

What do you think? Is the public ready for marketing interlaced with environmental messaging? Or are Lexmark signing their own death warrant? Leave your comments below!

Sources

Anonymous, 'Lexmark Pushes For More Efficient Printing,' Star-TechCentral.com, 22 April 2010.
Douglas Adams, 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy,' Flag.Blackened.Net, 1978.

HP Updates Print Management Software; What Might This Mean For People?

By Peter Lavelle
Thursday 22 April 11:12 GMT

Am I the only one who thinks print management software announcements increasingly resemble science fiction plots? Last week for example Google announced the Cloud Printing Service for the Chrome operating system. This application enables people to print images on any printer anywhere on the planet. Doesn't that sound convenient? Certainly. But doesn't that also resemble a certain movie featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and a genocidal computer network? Yes – I am arguing that Google Cloud is the printing equivalent of Skynet. Expect Google to announce (in the not too distant future!) a centralised artificial intelligence determining what deserves printing.

Fortunately perhaps then, Google are not the only corporation capable of engineering a Cloud Printing overlord. Because Hewlett Packard has announced plans to update its print management software. The new Smart Decisions Suite (credit to whoever dreamt up that title) enables management to view the activity and status of network printers. These managers (admittedly mere mortals and not AIs for the moment) acquire Godlike power over printing activity. “You there,” the pink-faced supervisor calls at the trembling employee, “Was that reprint of yesterday's spreadsheet truly needed?” The employee shakes his head: from then on each printout becomes a torturous decision.

Hewlett Packard has also collaborated with communications firm Research in Motion to create an ePrinting application for Blackberry users. The new application enables users to print wirelessly through business networks and Hewlett Packard's PrinterOn public network. This is fantastic news for companies: employers can legitimately ask underlings to create printouts anywhere. Employees on the other hand – already tightly leashed by their Blackberries – discover their private lives further eroding. Thanks Hewlett Packard!

The HP Cloud Printing service officially launched in 2007. The service has obvious advantages: by bypassing printer-specific drivers people can print documents on any machine. This is certainly advantageous. Yet the service (whether using Google Chrome or HP Smart Decisions) troubles me because any network requires administration. Cloud Printing hence centralises power and hands employers undue powers of surveillance over employee activities. In addition, WiFi-printing enabled Blackberries increase the extent to which persons are employees rather than private individuals. WiFi has enabled employers to demand more from people outside regular working hours simply because they are more accessible. I don't seriously believe Cloud Printing foreshadows a Skynet-like scenario (although the tendency to centralised worldwide communications is troubling.) I am however concerned that Cloud printing etc. reduces persons to the tasks they complete. HP's recent announcements (and Google's last week) have done nothing to allay these concerns.

Sources

James Hutchinson, 'HP Signs Up Fedex, Hilton, For Public Cloud Printing Service,' ComputerWorld.com, 22 April 2010.
Shaun Nichols, 'HP Updates Print Management Product Line,' v3.co.uk, 22 April 2010.

Cookbook Advises Cannibalism; Not First Time

By Peter Lavelle
Wednesday 21 April 17:48 GMT
Image: http://ytorf.com/2008/10/a-modest-proposal/

Experimental cooks of an inquisitive nature may be intrigued by a recent misprint by publishers Penguin Australia. The newly released Pasta Bible advocates that budding chefs add: “salt and freshly ground black people” - pepper, quite clearly – to their tagliatelle with sardines and prasciatto. Already seven thousand copies of the cookbook have been pulped by Penguin Australia at a $20,000 charge. However, there are no plans to recall the volume from retailers.

The Head of Publishing at Penguin Australia Robert Sessions defended the company's proofreaders, attesting that only “small minded” people would be offended. Moreover, by advocating cannibalism the Pasta Bible inadvertently enters a rich literary tradition. Back in 1729 Jonathan Swift (known for Gulliver's Travels largely) published a pamphlet called A Modest Proposal. Herein Swift proposed that the most effective method of alleviating Irish poverty at the time was eating Irish infants. I quote:

“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, basked or broiled.” Swift proceeds to suggest that Irish children are particularly suited to ragouts.

Knowing this Robert Sessions at Penguin Australia may have been even more brazen in his response to the printing error. He may indeed have refused to recognise the spelling error as a misprint altogether. After all – if eighteenth-century classic writers can advocate cannibalism, why not modern publishers?

Sources

Adam Arnold, 'Book Axed Over 'Ground Black People' Typo, News.Sky.com, 19 April 2010.
Jonathan Swift, 'A Modest Proposal,' Art-Bin.com, 1729.
Richard Lea, 'Penguin Cookbook Calls For 'Freshly Ground Black People,' Guardian.co.uk, 19 April 2010.
Rob Bautigam, 'Books About Cannibalism,' ShroudEater.com, 26 October 2008.

Ought Games Developer Ubisoft Scrap Paper Manuals?

By Peter Lavelle
Tuesday 20 April 12:17GMT

Longstanding computer gamers around the planet may share a tear: veteran developer Ubisoft have announced they will no longer box their releases with paper manuals. Instead, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 owners will find future releases packing on-screen manuals completing the same function. The first release to feature this on-screen manual will be Shaun White Snowboarding released this autumn, with all future releases obeying the same format. Expect classic manuals – such as those boxed in Final Fantasy releases containing back stories long enough to constitute novels – to become rare collectables.

The reasons for Ubisoft's decision bear scrutiny however. For example, the President of Ubisoft's North American branch Laurent Detoc recently said: 'Ubisoft is often recognised for making great games, but it's a special privilege to be the industry leader in saving trees.' This may be correct – Ubisoft are also switching their DVD cases to 100% recycled material with Technimark.

Yet there are conspicuous absences in their green initiative: releases for the Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable will retain forest-munching manuals. Perhaps Ubisoft felt these console formats could not conveniently support on-screen manuals? Perhaps the developer will abandon printed manuals for these formats if the initiative succeeds? Either way, customers should not be misled: Ubisoft executives have not yet taken to chaining themselves to sycamore trees and wearing hemp clothing – for the moment.

Another of Ubisoft's reasons bears scrutiny too. The company's recent press release states that: 'Including the game manual directly in the game will offer the player more intuitive access to game information, as well as allow Ubisoft to provide gamers with a more robust manual.' But is this truly accurate? Presumably Ubisoft intends nothing more radical than shifting a text manual from paper onto screen or monitor. Yet it is commonsense knowledge that reading text for prolonged periods on screen damages our eyesight.

Indeed, the American Optometric Association recognises a condition called C.V.S. (Computer Vision Syndrome): defined as “A complex of eye and vision problems which are experienced during and after computer use.” Hence Ubisoft are not only misleading gamers when they argue that on-screen manuals provide intuitive access to game information (how is navigating game menus easier than browsing pages?). Ubisoft are also risking the health of their consumers, by shifting printed text to the monitor without taking the new medium into account.

Moreover it is also possible that Ubisoft are missing a huge chance by not exploiting the on-screen format of their manuals. Players of Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophesy for North American readers) may remember that training took place in-game, communicating with a computer generated version of chief developer David Cage. Learning in a virtual 'backstage' prior to the game proper, Cage taught the gamer the tricks necessary to survive in the game's universe. The relationship resembled that between Neo and Morpheus in The Matrix.

Now – according to cognitive researchers Kirschner, Sweller and Clark, this learning method is simply more effective than reading (see: Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work, 2006.) Gamers cognitively process and easily assimilate the control method etc. between learning the controls and interacting with Cage. Simply put: the most effective learning is through doing. By comparison, translating textual instructions into action is simply more challenging: hence why following instruction manuals is troublesome.

Therefore by merely bringing paper manuals on screen Ubisoft are wasting the chance to redefine the training manual. The developer may be saving forests, but to argue that bringing manuals in-game creates an intuitive experience is simply false. If anything, bringing manuals in game may be detrimental to the experience because of the additional strain on player's eyesight. But who knows? Perhaps Ubisoft will someday recognise and amend this mistake.

Sources

Anonymous, 'Ubisoft Launches Environment-Friendly Packaging For Its PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 System Video Games,' GamesUltra.com, 20 April 2010.
Ben Parfitt, 'Ubisoft To Ditch Instruction Manuals,' MCVUK.com, 19 April 2010.
Brett Molina, 'Ubisoft Going Green, Ditching The Paper Game Manual,' USAToday.com, 19 April 2010.
Chris Faylor, 'Ubisoft Doing Away With Printed Manuals,' ShackNews.com, 19 April 2010.
Josh Lowensohn, 'Ubisoft Ridding Its Xbox, PS3 Titles Of Manuals,' News.Cnet.com, 19 April 2010.
Mike Luttrell, 'Ubisoft Will No Longer Print Game Manuals,' TGDaily.com, 20 April 2010.
Paul A Kirschner et al., 'Why Minimal Guidance During Insruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure Of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching,' Cogtech.Usc.Edu, 2006.

Xerox ACS Aggregate Social Media Information For Customer Service Solutions

By Peter Lavelle
Monday 19 April 12:24 GMT

In September last year ink cartridge manufacturer Xerox bought business outsourcing firm ACS (Affiliated Computer Services) for $6.4 billion. The purchase signalled Xerox CEO Ursula Burns' desire to move from hardware production to services provision. The copier market has (excepting niche categories such as MFP colour devices) reached saturation: becoming service-oriented is hence an obvious step for Xerox. By purchasing ACS, Xerox is actually replicating measures taken by Hewlett Packard and Dell. These two companies have respectively bought Electronic Data Systems (now called HP Enterprise Services) and Perot Systems (operating as Dell Perot Systems) in recent years.

Business process outsourcing – along with related practices managed print services and document management – marks an untapped revenue source for electronics companies (and copier manufacturers in particular.) Therefore everyone wants their share of the treasure. Now – Xerox bought ACS back in September. Since then the business process outsourcing players have been arguing among themselves: how will Xerox secure their share of the treasure?

Finally they have received their answer. Last Wednesday ACS announced a new service called Community as a Strategy: a method of enabling companies to compile consumer thoughts about them, and incorporate this data into their customer service strategies. For example: perhaps you supply computer peripherals, and are encountering logistics difficulties. Products are not leaving the warehouse quickly enough, and deliveries are too slow. Unless customers complain, how can you formulate an effective CRS solution to the problem?

The Community as a Strategy service aims to resolve this difficulty – by scanning the internet (using relevant keywords) for perspectives about your company, and compiling them in a document. Based on the aggregated data, companies then device a response to their problem – whether logistical, branding, or whatever. ACS is offering companies a direct line to their customers' thoughts.

According to the ACS press release blurb, Community as a Strategy will let companies: “pro-actively connect with their customers before they contact them.” This will undoubtedly enable companies to provide a more effective service to their customers. However, the service also augurs an unsettling change in business-customer relations. By contracting ACS to trawl social media networks (Facebook, Twitter etc.) to collate customer opinions before customers have themselves communicated these opinions to the company, such companies render themselves almost (pardon the surreal metaphor) psychic butlers.

Imagine you're reclining on a beach somewhere – thoroughly relaxed. It's deserted. You think to yourself: “A cool pint of Stella Artois would be fantastic now.” Then suddenly a Stella Artois marketing rep pinches your shoulder, holding a pint. Where's he come from? You accept – why not, you're thirsty? - but by fulfilling your wants before you've expressed them (i.e. incorporating comments made on Facebook not intended for the company into customer relations) the magical Stella rep has done something profoundly invasive.

It's equivalent to restaurants bugging their tables to discover customer opinions of the service. The restaurateur may only wish to create a better dining experience – but what gives him the right to invade his customers' privacy? Of course, the ethics of the internet are less clear-cut than a restaurant. Arguably all content – including that on social media sites – is public. Hence Xerox ACS can justify their Community as a Service strategy. Yet regardless of whether the service increases Xerox's standing in the business process outsourcing market, it is troubling that the company would disregard the private / public divide simply because it is technically permissible.

Sources

Alan Tan, 'Warning: BPO Will Get Hot As Xerox Enters The Market,' EnterpriseInnovations.net, 30 September 2009.
Anonymous, 'ACS Introduces Next Generation Customer Service Solution With Comprehensive Social CRM Offering,' BusinessWire.com, 14 April 2010.
Anonymous, 'The Ethics Of Social Media,' SocialMediaWorld.net, 8 February 2008.
Brendan B. Read, 'ACS Launches Social CRM Solution,' CallCenterInfo.net, 15 April 2010.
David Roe, 'Xerox Moves Into Social Media Space With New CRM Solution,' CSMWire.com, 15 April 2010.
Joe Mescher, 'Social Media Marketing: Making Money Without Sacrificing Ethics,' SocialMediaCommando.net, 13 April 2010.
Larry Dignan, 'Xerox Buys ACS; Makes Its Big Services Bet,' Blogs.ZDNet.com, 28 September 2009.

Google Chrome Cloud Printing Enables Universal Printing

By Peter Lavelle 16 April 2010 11:08 GMT

Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks of the anticipated Google Chrome OS has been the absence of computer peripherals compatibility. The drivers contained in printer software etc. simply haven't been announced compatible with Google's operating system, requiring printer owners to use Linux or Windows to print pages from the internet. Yesterday though, Google announced a significant step to repair this weakness in their operating system, with the introduction of: Google Chrome Cloud Printing.

This system does far more than simply provide printer driver compatibility with Chrome, as you'd probably expect from Google. Instead, Chrome Cloud Printing bypasses the driver compatibility altogether by running the printing application straight through Chrome. Users simply submit their print jobs to the Google Cloud – enabling them to print not only through computers connected to their network, but any PC (or electronic device) connected to the Cloud. Printing jobs therefore become possible through any hardware running Chrome anywhere on the planet.

Google recognises that new machines are at present unlikely to come packaged with the Chrome Cloud application. Moreover, their recent announcement only signals their intention to release the service: it is not yet available. Yet Google hopes their application will eventually become packaged as standard in Linux, Windows and even Mac machines. Moreover, the Chrome Printing Cloud potentially gives Chrome a major advantage over Windows and Linux operating systems. These after all remain dependent on the drivers contained in the printer software. Google's solution on the other hand encourages universal compatibility among both hardware brands and device types. Expect further updates as Google release them.

Sources

Anonymous, 'Google Cloud Print: Printing From Anywhere, To Anywhere,' iTechReport.com, 16 April 2010.
Chris Ducket, 'Google Chrome Increases Printer Voodoo,' Builderau.com, 16 April 2010.
Duncan Geere, 'Google Cloud Print Revealed,' PocketLint.com, 16 April 2010.

HP Unveil New ‘Plug And Play’ Laser Printers

By Peter Lavelle
Wednesday 14 April 13:31 GMT

In recent years printer manufacturers have done their utmost to make their customers feel like nuclear scientists. How else to explain the laborious number of steps required to get the machines working? There’s not only the problem of connecting the printer to the computer via USB cable. There’s the problem of installing the printer drivers (CD-ROM or Flash Drive), then installing the maintenance software, then registering the printer. Half an hour into the process, you’d swear constructing a fission reactor was less tiresome.

Which makes Hewlett Packard’s recent announcement that they’ve seen the error of their ways all the sweeter. Retailing soon at all good computer hardware stores: HP laser printers that work the moment they’re to the computer. That’s right - Hewlett Packard have banished to the netherworld the driver installation disc, making quality laser printing a simple matter of ‘plug and play.’

The new laser printers (the LaserJet Pro P1100 series, the LaserJet Pro M1130/M1210, and the LaserJet Pro P1566/1606dn series, retailing for around £100) are intended for the office – but there’s no obvious reason why home users shouldn’t benefit from this convenience also. Unless – of course – you fancy yourself a nuclear scientist?

Sources

Marie Boran, ‘HP Brings Industry’s First ‘Plug and Play’ Laser Printer,’ SiliconRepublic, 14 April 2010.

Epson Introduce Augmented Reality Feature Into Portable Printers

By Peter Lavelle
Tuesday 13 April 11:18 GMT

Epson’s Colorio range of portable printers resemble something in which you’d transport a sandwich. The plastic handle swings upward exactly in the manner of a child’s lunchbox, and the front cover opens to reveal – not a packet of Walker’s crisps, but the printer settings. Doubtful appearance aside though, the Colorio design is actually rather clever: the cover acts both as protective cover and paper tray, and the printer houses a 2.5 inch LCD screen for previewing images. What’s more though – it’s portable! Users need simply grasp the handle and – blammo – printing on the train! In the garden! On the mythical floating island of Laputa!

Recently Epson contributed even more to the Colorio range of innovative features by giving customers the option to create ‘augmented reality’ postcards. (For the uninitiated, ‘augmented reality’ is the practice of superimposing computer generated images on otherwise lifelike images. This can range from introducing animated characters into film ala ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ to displaying statistics during a football match.) Colorio owners in Japan need only produce a greetings card or postcard, then place the postcard before a webcam. The image on screen then becomes animated – interacting with the watching Colorio owners.

Colorio printers are presently available in Japan only, retailing for $600. Epson have no plans to introduce them into Europe or North America – though perhaps they should. The design (lunchbox resemblance aside) is practical and the features engaging.

Sources

Anonymous, ‘New Look For Portable Printers,’ Wired.com, 6 October 2006.
Cosmin Ghiurau, ‘Epson Printers Augmented Reality Greeting Card For New Year 2010,’ AugmentPro.co.uk, 30 December 2009.
Daniel Ionescu, ’15 Amazing Concept Printers,’ PCWorld.com, 27 March 2010.

Lehigh University Eliminates Dorm Printers In Green Initiative

By Peter Lavelle
Monday 12 April 12:10 GMT

Recently universities are proving quick to adopt “green” printing policies.

Last week the University of Wisconsin (perhaps surprisingly) made headlines by announcing it was changing the official college font from Arial to Century Gothic. The underlying logic was that Century Gothic used fewer pixels to print each letter – thereby promising thousands of dollars in ink cartridge savings.

Today Lehigh University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania announces a similar initiative: in an effort to reduce printing expenditures, the Residential Services are removing printers from the student dorms.

Speaking to college newspaper The Brown And White, Lehigh director of Resident Services Ozzie Breiner said the decision was prompted by two factors.

The first is perhaps specific to Lehigh facilities: “… most of the laserjet printers currently provided in the residence facilities are not housed in a climate-controlled environment, and high humidity causes them to jam frequently and break down."

The second factor though may prompt universities elsewhere to review their printing policies: "We have found that a majority of our students already have their own printers, which are equipped to meet their needs.”

Residential Services will remove the printers from student housing in August.

According to Eric Feather’s article in The Brown And White, the decision can only reduce printing expenditures at Leigh: aside from frequently breaking, packs of computer paper are frequently stolen from the residential printers, and documents are not collected.

The policy has drawn a negative reaction from the student body though, chiefly on the grounds that alternate library printers are located too far away. Laments student Jeffrey Hoffman: "In no shape or form am I going to take 20 minutes out of my life to get in my car and go to the library just to print a document.”

The new Lehigh University policy therefore prompts numerous questions.

Are college authorities right to eliminate official printing facilities to reduce costs? Is this policy not counterproductive given that students must continue printing with their own machines – thereby eliminating any green benefit? Or do college authorities believe the benefits derive from students’ printing more responsibly with their own machines?

Ought Residential Services not pass on their print savings to students? Ought other colleges adopt an equivalent policy? And finally – why are universities proving so quick recently to regulate their printing policies?

(I bet you never thought printing could be so morally ambiguous.)

Sources

Eric Feather, ‘Printers In Dorms Ousted To Go Green,’ TheBrownAndWhite.com, 12 April 2010.

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns Receives Sizeable Pay Increase

By Peter Lavelle
Sunday 11th April 15:45 GMT

The cliché goes that with great power comes great responsibility. Yet by all accounts great power also comes with great financial compensation – as Xerox CEO Ursula Burns can attest. Promoted from Vice President in July 2009, Burns received an estimated $11.2 million in cash and stocks last year – compared to her previous salary of $6.8 million. Though Burns received a relatively paltry(!) $900k base salary, she accrued $6.9 million in stock through the company's Executive Long Term Incentive Program.

Burns's salary will likely balloon again in the near future: in May she will replace former Chief Executive Anne M. Mulcahy as company chairperson.

Sources

Matthew Daneman, 'Xerox's Burns Saw A Big Raise in 2009,' DemocratAndChronicle.com, April 8 2010.

Further Employment Woes For HP Workers

By Peter Lavelle
Sunday 11th April 11:28 GMT

Printer manufacturer Hewlett Packard keeps an uneasy relationship with its workforce. Two weeks ago employees at HP Enterprise Services (members of the Public Services Union) cancelled a planned strike regarding pay-cuts and redundancies in North-West England. Hewlett Packard would have faced a potentially thousand-strong picket line, if not for last-minute intervention from employer-worker mediation company ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services.)

The latest employment turmoil meanwhile at Hewlett Packard concerns planned redundancies at the company's Erskine facility North-West of Glasgow. Workers there have been given 90 day's notice, following a year's 'restructuring and consultation' exercise. The 1,300-strong workforce – concerned largely with production – have feared for their positions since May 2009, when HP first announced the restructuring initiative.

The recent announcement though only substantiates those fears: according to the Inverclyde Employment Rights and Advice Centre's Jim McCourt, hundreds of redundancies could follow. Mr. McCourt said: “The axe has been hanging over them [the Erskine plant workers] for a year. In some ways it's a relief to know the process has started.” Hewlett Packard will presumably announce the exact number of job losses in the coming weeks.

Sources

David Moroney, 'HP Workers Fear For Their Jobs,' Greenock Telegraph.co.uk, 10 April 2010.

Spray-On Printer Could Revolutionise Skin Grafts

By Peter Lavelle
Friday 09 April 11:11 GMT

Inkjet printers have proven a source of unexpected inspiration for people in recent years. For example, Italian inventor Enrico Dini has since 2003 been creating a machine that prints buildings. His printer compresses particles – replicating the natural process of creating sedimentary stone (of course, Dini’s machine takes not countless years but mere hours.) Elsewhere, conceptual designer Yejin Mun recently incorporated inkjet printing into his P: log system: a blogger platform giving prisoners creative release. Inmates express their grievances in long-hand before scanning their entries online – where it becomes available to print!

The latest group to experience a sudden brainwave staring at their Hewlett Packards are the medical researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Smith, North Carolina. They have been developing alternatives treatments for burn victims (skin grafts are subject to many complications and scarring) and believe inkjet technology holds the solution. Rather than crudely attaching whole pieces of skin to the damaged area, they have developed a spray-on skin machine. The device uses cells from the victim’s dermatitis (ensuring colour continuity etc.) and takes three weeks treatment to mend. The advantages? Printer grafts replace the missing areas cell for cell: if conventional grafts are like bunging a hole with wet toilet paper, inkjet grafts are like inserting the missing piece of a jigsaw.

The research team at Wake Forest (called the Translational Regenerative Medicine Forum) call their innovative treatment: bioprinting. To date only rodents have been beneficiaries, but the results have encouraged the team: they have applied to the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human tests. Eventually, the machine could aid soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and provide alternative treatments for conditions including diabetic foot ulcers. Indeed, inkjet technology could ultimately replace whole organs: product development firm Organovo recently make the world’s first organ printer available commercially.

Sources

Lani Shadduck, ‘Old Printers Offer Hope For Burn Victims,’ Huliq.com, 8 April 2010.
Maggie Fox, ‘Inkjet-like Device Prints Cells Directly Over Burns,’ NationalPost.com, 7 April 2010.

iPhone OS 4.0 Conference To Announce iPad Direct Printing?

By Peter Lavelle
Thursday 08 April 10:31 GMT

The Apple iPad launched in the United States less than one week ago, and the British launch is more than two weeks away. This isn’t stopping Apple though from updating the software of their hugely successful tablet (300k iPads were sold on opening day alone according to EnGadget.) Countless sources around the interweb are reporting that Apple will announce direct printing from the iPad at today’s iPhone OS 4.0 conference. This will enable iPad owners to send documents directly to printers using the magic of WiFi – avoiding the hassle of connecting to a personal computer first. Of course, the printer concerned must be WiFi enabled: otherwise it’s rather like pointing your remote a television switched off at the mains.

The websites reporting this expected announcement are at pains to highlight their reasoning process. Electric Pig writer Mic Wright outlines for example:

“The support pages for the iPad versions of iWork currently state: Printing directly from iPad is not currently available.” Look at that wording carefully – “not currently available.”

Fortunately for those people who find one beating about the brains inadequate, William Wallace at HandHeldItems.com states things even more plainly:

“But if you looked at the support page for the iPad, you will find this sentence: “printing directly from iPad is not currently available,” which basically gives the hint that they WILL be coming out with a printing feature in the future.”

Basically gives the hint? Apple could not be more obvious if Steve Jobs ran through the streets in nothing but a sandwich board that stated: ‘Direct iPad Printing Soon.’ (I lie. They could be more obvious – by staging a conference to make this announcement.) The point remains though: somewhere a faculty of Shakespearean scholars are deeply terrified they face sudden competition from the IT journalism crowd.

Fortunately perhaps, Apple have remained tight-lipped regarding what other announcements today’s conference may contain. Potential updates (according to Examiner.com’s Jeff Cormier) include: 1) enabling multiple apps to run on the iPhone simultaneously, 2) the ability to sync iPhone files with iTunes, 3) an updated iPhone user interface and, 4) iPhone and iPad inter-connectivity. Regardless, the merest appearance of Steve Jobs on stage is certain to further cement his Godlike status. Expect Apple staff members to be renamed Profits of the Church of Jobs any day now.

Sources

Anonymous, ‘New iPhone OS 4.0 Rumoured Will Support Direct Printing,’ Anakbawang.com, 8 April 2010.
Darren Murph, ‘Apple Sells 300,000 iPad Tablets On US Launch Day,’ EnGadget.com, 05 April 2010.
Jeff Cormier, ‘Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Revealed April 8,’ Examiner.com, 5 April 2010.
Mic Wright, ‘iPad iPhone OS 4.0 Update To Add Direct Support Printing?’ElectricPig.co.uk, 7 April 2010.
William Wallace, ‘iPhone 4.0 OS Update – iPad Can Print!’ HandHeldItems.com, 7 April 2010.

John Lewis Purchase 27 Xerox Digital Presses

By Peter Lavelle
Wednesday 07 April 18:46 GMT

Conventional wisdom has it that printed marketing is a dinosaur, woefully oblivious to the approaching meteor called ‘the internet.’ Even advocates of printed marketing make their defences in terms suggesting direct mail campaigns etc. are backed against the wall.

For example, last year Ottila Otlacan published an article with Ad Ops Online entitled: ‘Marketing ROI: In This Electronic Age, Print Articles and Print Advertsing Still Sell Cars.” Still? This on the one hand likens print marketing to an unexpectedly flavoursome piece of gum: it keeps dispensing pepperminty goodness long after you expect. Though on the other hand, this also likens print to an eighty-five year old heavyweight boxer: waiting to have his lights punched out permanently.

Therefore it’s encouraging when a respected retailer signals its support for printed marketing by announcing it has purchased several new presses. Case in point: John Lewis has (in the phrase of PrintWeek.com reported Tim Sheahan) “invested in a fleet of 27 Xerox DocoColor digital presses.” You might imagine these DocuColors arriving outside Xerox Headquarters in some kind of military formation: no other image quite befits the word ‘fleet.’

Their purpose anyway is to produce John Lewis point-in-sale printed marketing (posters and the like) in double-quick time: the retailer often requires marketing materials “at short notice,” according to Senior Analyst of Operational Systems Steven Masters. Fortunately the DocuColor 242 produces print more quickly than a cadre of Olympic sprinters escaping a burning building: colour pages materialise at forty per minute.

Sales and marketing analyst Heidi Tolliver Nigro commented three years ago through Expert Business Source that successful marketing sometimes depends on serendipity. Distributing flyers or exposing people to a poster is equivalent to throwing darts blindfolded. How often can you expect to hit the board, let alone bullseye? Indeed, marketers consider a 3% response rate to a direct mail campaign spectacular.

There is little doubt though that captivating print produced on quality equipment can increase the rate of success. Often the little things make the biggest difference. For example, John Lewis’s Stephen Masters notes the skin tones produced on the DocuColor 242 – “typically hard to translate into print” – are outstanding. Printed marketing has the potential to supply these little touches – touches that potential customers may not necessarily single out, yet contribute buckets to the overall impression. For this reason printed marketing remains vital.

Sources

Frank Washkuch, ‘Augmented Reality A Boon For Print And Web Marketing,’ DMNews.com, 05 April 2010.
Heidi Tolliver Nigro, ‘Analysing The Benefits Results Of Print Marketing,’ ExpertBusinessSource.com, 02 October 2007.
Ottila Otlocan, ‘Marketing ROI: In This Electronic Age, Print Articles and Print Advertising Still Sell Cars,’ AdOperationsOnline, 16 June 2009.
Tim Sheahan, ‘John Lewis Signs For 27 Xerox DocuColors,’ PrintWeek.com, 05 April 2010.

Hewlett Packard Settles Patent Infringement Suit

By Peter Lavelle
Tuesday 6 April 2010 11:23 GMT

Image: http://www.freewebs.com/thornthefirst/

Ink cartridge manufacturers have a relationship with their patents that resembles that between the dragon Smaug from The Hobbit and his treasure. Though not headquartered at the centre of the Lonely Mountain (the transport links are non-existent) the cartridge makers hoard their patents like gold pieces. One suspects too that these companies would cheerfully breathe fire on anyone making unlawful claim on these patents – if only incineration were legal.

The latest slumbering dragon to be awoken by the unsanctioned jangle of its treasure is Hewlett Packard. The gold piece threatened: the electronic chips contained in the brand’s ink cartridges. And the (not so) intrepid band of hobbits? Hong Kong-based ink cartridge remanufacturer Print-Rite Holdings.

Until recently Print-Rite retailed the ink cartridge range HP02 across Hong Kong and Australia. This particular line featured a chip component informing the printer that the ink cartridge was official Hewlett Packard branded. (Loading unofficial ink cartridges doesn’t usually sit well with Hewlett Packard printers. It turns them into expensive paperweights.) Of course, from Hewlett Packard’s perspective the Print-Rite ploy defeats the entire object of these chips.

Not long ago the HP lawyers therefore mounted their white steeds and filed an injunction against Print-Rite. They required that the HP02 range of cartridges be taken off the shelves. Print-Rite (under the auspices of the probably-not-as-amicable-as-it-sounds “mutual agreement”) soon agreed. HP thereby retain exclusive (and obviously legitimate) hold over their golden piece.

Of course, underlying this patent skirmish is the centuries-old conflict concerning ink cartridge revenues. Print-Rite makes money from taking the disregarded corpses of used ink cartridges and giving them new blood. These renewed cartridges are then retailed at a fraction of the original price. Hewlett Packard (among other manufacturers of these original cartridges) doesn’t take kindly to this practice. They can’t outright prevent Print-Rite practices though, and so make hay wherever possible. Hence the weary patent infringement waltz herein.

Sources

Anonymous, ‘HP Enters In Amicable Settlement With Print-Rite,’ ITVArNews.net, 5 April 2010.
Brett Winterford, ‘HP Strikes Back In Ink Cartridge Wars,’ CRN.com.au, 6 April 2010.
Zacks Equity Research, ‘HP Ends Patent Dispute With Chinese Co.,’ Zacks.com, 1 April 2010.

Dell To Challenge Xerox And HP In Managed Print Services Market

By Peter Lavelle
Thursday 1 April 11:23 GMT

Lately an increasing number of printer manufacturers have found hardware production inadequate. They have begun bundling printing regulation software with their machines, and promising customers they can reduce their printing expenditures.

Perhaps these printer manufacturers believe that market saturation has been reached. Perhaps they believe regulation packages the natural next step for their business. Perhaps one of these manufacturers spotted this gap, and everyone since is playing catch up.

Either way, this movement toward service-oriented business (managed print services) has fundamentally changed the nature of printer production. The revenues are apparently mouth-watering, and everyone wants their piece of the pie.

The latest printer manufacturer to dip their toes in the water is Dell. Known chiefly for their personal computers, the American company is a relative newcomer to printer production. They began manufacturing printers (to the consternation of Hewlett Packard, their chief rival in computers) only last decade.

Yet this isn’t preventing Dell from entering the lucrative managed print services market. Speaking recently, the senior product manager at Dell’s printing and imaging division Donald Heath said they will begin releasing printers oriented to service provision soon.

The goal is not to make managed print services an optional extra, but an integral part of Dell’s business model. Hence the November acquisition of business service provider Perot Systems for $3.9bn, lately renamed Dell Services.

For big cheeses in managed print services Xerox and HP, this news can only spell trouble.

Dell will begin their assault on the managed print services market later this year, when they incorporate OpenManage Printer Manager software into their product packages. Like most printer regulation software, OpenManage brings printer habits under surveillance – and hence theoretic control. Companies become not only aware of their printing habits but able to regulate them.

Secondly, Dell will incorporate Javascript into their printer software. This enables employers to make particular printers function-specific – giving managers greater control over printing habits. The objective is to reduce frivolous printing, and thereby save money.

The need to regulate printing has grown as PC networks have become more sophisticated. Ever great quantities of information are bouncing between computers, increasing the risk of document duplication. Of course, though networks have grown more intricate, the means of supervising them have not. Hence the expanding opportunities for service provision, and Dell’s planned entry.

To date Xerox and Hewlett Packard have been largely unchallenged in managed print services. Last year Xerox purchased service provider ACS (Affiliated Computer Services) to ensure their MPS clout. In 2008 Hewlett Packard bought business process outsourcing company EDS for the same reason. Dell’s intentions though suggest these manufacturers will have to compete more fiercely.

The managed print services market is expanding rapidly - suggesting room enough for these hardware giants. Equally though, their competition can only benefit companies hoping to shrink their bloated printing expenditures.

Sources

Agam Shah, ‘Dell To Enter Managed Print Services Market,’ BusinessWeek.com, 31 March 2010.
Kat Orphanides, ‘Dell Launches Low Cost Mono Laser Printers,’ ExpertReviews.co.uk, 31 March 2010.
Scott Ferguson, ‘Dell Releases Eight New Printers To Compete With HP, Xerox,’ eWeek.com, 30 March 2010.