Businesses are printing in color more
now than ever before, especially between the twenty-five to fifty
page-per-minute segments— the heart of networked copying and
printing. These networked machines, priced as low as $1500, use
"business color" toner products, meaning a separate black to bring
the black cost-per-page more in line with monochrome copiers and
printers. With the successful introduction by the OEMs of business
color, it is no surprise that the growth-rate of color toner sales
is the highest of all toner products. "The world is about to get
more colorful, and we are glad to be a part of it", said Dr.
Sue-Ling Wang, President and Chief Operating Officer of Color
Imaging.
Dealers, are your customers copying
or printing in color? Even those with low budgets could be.
Founded to develop color toners, with almost two decades of toner
research behind them, Color Imaging is also adapting to the digital
market effortlessly. Their product line is, well,... colorful!
Color Imaging's "business color"
offerings include toners for the Ricoh 3800C copier (and its Lanier,
Savin and Gestetner equivalents) and the Ricoh 7000 printer. Also,
look forward to the Canon C3200 copier, the Minolta 2002 copier and
the Kyocera/Mita 2002 toners currently under development.
After perfecting black text, color,
MICR, and specialty toners, Color Imaging’s focus is now on
additional aftermarket consumables: digital and analog copier drums,
fuser rollers, picker fingers, pick-up tires, exposure lamps and
other parts. They stock cost-effective alternatives, guaranteed to
perform with the quality of "OEM or better" according to Dr. Wang.
Color Imaging also has specialty
toners that vary from thermal toner, used to print on metal
trophies, to a ceramic tile color toner, and a toner that prints on
license plate tags. Recently, Color Imaging introduced a number of
100% new, all-in-one toner and drum cartridges for Hewlett Packard,
Canon and Brother office machines.
"For the products we carry, we set
out to research everything for the distributor, remanufacturer or
dealer, so they won't have to do it themselves. We manufacture,
outsource and match the products so that everything works well
together. With our testing regimens, we can say, 'If you use these
components, you will get these results'", said Victor Lei, Product
Development Manager and Outsourcing Director.
Great quality also means great
customer service to Color Imaging. Offering dealers the best toners
and cartridges is no challenge for this $21 million manufacturer.
Additionally, they offer private labeling, same-day shipping (with
distribution from Georgia and California), and technical customer
support.
EIGHTEEN YEARS OF TONER HOMEWORK
Color Imaging has been manufacturing
toner in Georgia since 1986. They started making toner for an OEM
and its Colorocs copier. This early color product was not
successful, so they began making specialty toners under the name
Color Image, Inc. for their focus on color toners.
The company was founded by Dr. Wang
and John Cooper, a well-known consultant in the 1980's. They formed
a research lab of five chemists, and began studying the properties
of color toners. When sufficiently knowledgeable, they entered into
the manufacturing realm. At that time, color printing for
businesses was not as affordable as it is today, but the extensive
research finally paid off for Color Imaging in the last few years.
"People have been promising us that color toner would become
popular, and now, it is actually happening", said Dr. Wang.
In 2000, Color Image, Inc. became
Color Imaging, Inc., a public company (CIMG.OB). Today, Color
Imaging has over 100 employees, manufacturer’s representatives, and
a wealth of toner expertise. Education and experience play
important roles for those at the helm of Color Imaging: Dr. Wang is
a chemical engineer, PHD; and Executive Vice-President and CFO,
Morris E. Van Asperen, has an MBA and was previously Executive
Vice-President and Chief Credit Officer of a national banking
association.
This depth of research, education and
experience is reflected in Color Imaging's extensive quality control
procedures. Within their 180,000 square foot facility, Color
Imaging maintains a research center where they formulate, produce,
and quality control (including climate chamber testing) each product
to deliver high performance imaging solutions for their customers'
changing needs.
The development research conducted at
Color Imaging for each new toner product is exhaustive. First, the
characteristics of the OEM toner are analyzed and a small batch of
Color Imaging toner is produced, then tested through the development
process. At this point, it is compared directly with the OEM in
every category and characteristic.
Print tests are made to ensure high
quality printing; three batches of this toner are then tested again,
extensively. At this stage, Color Imaging's sealed chamber is used,
conditioning the machine, toner and paper, to create a myriad of
climates that ensure the toner is top-notch in any environment.
When the product’s quality meets the
performance criteria, Dr. Gouhoa Qiang, director of toner
development, then sends the toner to full production under the
direction of Dr. Claude Aubert, Vice President of Technology, where
it is produced to precise specifications, each batch is tested by
quality assurance in the machine.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DIGITAL FUTURE
Digital color toners: three words
that have the toner consumables market poised for business.
Companies able to afford the efficiency of in-house printing will
surely search for consumables to meet their budget needs. The high
cost of OEM supplies will leave many end-users open to the idea of
aftermarket solutions.
"The market has rapidly shifted from
analog to digital and now to color. That's an advantage to us
because we are already producing digital toners", said Dr. Wang.
"And, now, it gives us more opportunities because we have always
developed color toner."
With awards from Inc 500 in 1995 and
1996, and being ranked as one of Georgia's top 100 public companies
in 2002, Color Imaging has high hopes for the digital and color
future. "We are impacted by digital and color printing and copying
in a very positive way", says Dr. Wang.
Dealers, make a business color or
digital alternative available to your customers, they will thank you
for it! If at first glance Color Imaging doesn't have what you
need, take them your customers' requests. That's how Color Imaging
evaluates new products for development, your suggestions on the
popularity/market acceptance of the machine. Color Imaging is
always eager to expand their product line to please customers. They
haven't stayed in business eighteen years any other way!
Contact Info:
T 800.783.1090
F 800.783.9810
www.colorimaging.com
Color Imaging, Inc
4350 Peachtree Ind. Blvd.
Suite 100
Norcross, GA 90620
