XEROX BUYS TONER SAVE TECHNOLOGY It’s no secret Xerox just completed their acquisition of the UK-based firm, Newfield IT. Newfield is a strategic win for Xerox as it not only provides the copier company with a significant print and document management outlet, but it effectively takes the wind out of the sails of a major competitor – Ricoh, who was relying on Newfield IT to support their customers in certain markets. Indeed, within hours of sitting through a Ricoh presentation on Newfield and how successful their model is, we found out about the impending announcement. An interesting aspect of the Xerox acquisition has less to do with product and services distribution than it does with what Xerox gains behind the scenes. I would assume that in purchasing Newfield IT, Xerox also acquires Newfield’s technology, which includes a little known product called TONERmiser. TONERmiser is a competitor to the solution we have been writing about for months. The technology effectively reduces the amount of toner used by the printer or MFP, often with little effect on image quality. This is not your typical toner save mode. Why is this important? Would Xerox really want to reduce the amount of toner they sell and manufacture? The short answer is, “no.” However, let’s consider MPS engagements. Cutting the amount of toner used for non-Xerox products they support as part of these contracts will directly impact their supply margins. With that improvement, Xerox could theoretically choose one of several paths. They could reduce the amount of toner being consumed and keep their pricing the same, thus increasing their profitability on each deal. They could also reduce the cost of the contract to the customer while retaining current margins. Or maybe they could blend these approaches. It’s no secret that tradi-tionally, Xerox products were priced comparatively higher than many, if not most com-petitors. That’s why Xerox always sold value over price. However, that left a lot of business on the table they had to walk away from over the years, particularly in the SMB market where cost per page contracts are king. Considering these contracts, I would think it would be better to reduce the amount of toner being used by the customer (while retaining margins) than to lose the account completely. With that, I could even see Xerox eventually using this technology in extremely competitive situations as a way to level the playing field. This is all hypothetical. We are not aware of any plans at the moment that suggest Xerox is going to do any of this but if you were them, wouldn’t you take a hard look at this technology and the inherent benefits it offers Xerox? Let’s assume Xerox does eventually integrate this technology into their copier and printer strategy to make them more cost competitive. We’ve mentioned in many articles a technology we evaluated that reduces toner consumption, often with no effect on print quality. Now, this solution has been bundled in as part of an MPS offering. I know what you’re thinking. “Yay, another MPS offering.” Here’s the deal with this solution; it all starts with gathering the data and the more information you have, the better. The developers provide you with tools that help you identify not only print volume on each machine on the network, but print volume for every device, whether they are on the network or not. They also take it a few steps further by giving you detailed information such as how many pages each user is printing from each application and even what the average page coverage is by application for every user. Not bad, right? Once you have a firm grasp on what the customer is printing, you can make your product recommendations and by using this toner reducing software, you can increase your margins on the deal. This is a no-brainer and every copier/printer dealer should be using this software. Email us at info@ industryanalysts.com and we will point you to the developer’s website where you can download a free trial. There are several pricing plans and all of them end with you making more money for something you’re already doing. Imagine going back to each of your customers and getting another 10% - 20% more on the supplies. Easy money.  Andy Slawetsky, President of Industry Analysts, Inc.