Aug (08-04) - Ricoh makes an appearance

August 27, 2004 Editorial
It's nearing the end of the summer, as the late august vacation schedule winds down. School has started in many areas (why so early, I always ask. Childhood today is not as we remember it), and soon businesses will resume their growth after a much needed rest. With little to excite the business technology market lately, the mundane yet vital tasks of infrustructure replenishment and growth. The vast quantities of extra gear crowding storage rooms, closets and unused cubicles has been nearly exhausted, and there should be some increased demand for bread-and-butter products.

I just returned from the SHARE conference in New York. The mood was refreshingly upbeat and the course offerings were never better. The vendors represented were many of the same names as I had seen before at prior shows. According to the organizers of the show, attendance has been steady over the past few years. I was a guest in the IDG booth. Their 9074 attracted a lot of attention and beat the Visara and IBM offerings hands-down. With encrypted remote consoles, DVD LPAR support, etc., there is more to love. Even IBM Global Services is using the 9074 in lieu of it's own 2074.

IBM was surprised by a huge order that wiped out the supply of the Lexmark-made 1145 (4545), so now in addition to the 4247's and 1312's there is another dearth of gear.

You may be surprised, as I was, that Kodak bought the Heidelberg line of printers. We were big fans of the product, but in the hands of Kodak, who knows what will happen. Seems that Ricoh is now the flavor du jour for OEM at the midrange for IBM. Kinda like musical chairs with vendors, which is typical for IBM over the many years we have worked with them. They tend to chew them up and spit them out. Seen it several times.

For quite some time, there have been situations for which the move from coax to ethernet was made difficult by the distances and locations for new cabling. Stringing CAT5 or CAT6 wire in warehouse and other tough environments can be difficult, and unworkable. We have now solved that problem, and many others, that made the move away from 3174's difficult. Now, you can use your existing coax cables to run ethernet TCP/IP using simple baluns. Now, together with the CLI ET2000 ethernet terminal, our internal or external ACC printer conversion kits, and these simple baluns, the controllers can be out the door quickly and easily. Call for details.

While general market activity seems to have leveled off, down from highs earlier in the year, there are still bright spots in the market. A few large deals are taking place which will loosen supplies of demand-strained models. As I have said innumerable times, don't plan major moves without talking to your representative. There are wonderful bargains to be had if you give us a heads-up.

Looking for an alternative to IBM's InfoPrint 62 (4370)? Try Psi 4050 or 4060 - Maintained by IBM and NO CLICK CHARGES

Ok, so that having been said, here are the hots and the nots:
Sweet spots:
IBM 3151, 3472, 3482, 3486, 3487, 3488 terminals - and please check out the CLI et1500, et2000, et3000, and et5000 lines or the I/O TC4000. Also check out the BOS line
IBM 4000-id3/id4 Venerable printer with excellent Roll Systems attachments
IBM 4332-001, -004 32ppm and 40ppm workhorse beats all comers for least cost per page. NEW IN BOX and refurbished units available
Also have some MICR 4332-004's.
IBM 6400-008, -010, -012, -015, -i2s, -020 Units sitting with most features.
IBM 1352n and 1352 (4528-n01, 4528-001) over 250 pieces sitting NEW IN BOX below dealer cost.
IBM 4525 (1125n) -- less than 11 left
IBM 4530 (1130) -- less than 15 left
IBM 4322-001 Finally some breathing room on the IP21's
IBM 1354 (4921-001) - Color laser NEW in sealed box
Lexmark Optra E322, E322n, E323 printers - HUGE quantity coming soon.
Lexmark 2480 - fast and durable desktop narrow carriage impact printer
Lexmark Optra S1625 16ppm laser at a great value.
Lexmark Optra S2450 -- 24ppm laser, over 90 pieces sitting
Lexmark Optra T610n, T614, T616n, T620n,T632, T634 - We have some GREAT machines
Lexmark T612's -- large quantity in now. Ask about ethernet upgrades
Lexmark Optra W810 35ppm and 11x17 in one solid printer.
Printek 4503 Great metal printer with multi-tractors for multiple forms Also have the cutters)
Tally T6050 17 pieces 500LPM with internal ethernet... A home run.
MarkNet N2000 Internal 10/100 Ethernet Fits: Optra T520, T522, T610, T612, T614, T616, T620, T622, M410, M412
MarkNet S Internal 10/100 Ethernet Fits: Optra S1250, S1255, S1620, S1625, S1650, S1855, S2450, S2455, Se3455, SC1275
HP C4224A HP 1100 Laser Printer -- Little desktop 8ppm laser

Tighter:
Lexmark Optra S1855