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According to Information Week, various malware attacks are being sent in a way to make users think they are opening an e-mail attachment from a co-worker. They fool users into thinking the message was sent from an in-house copier or a similar device.
“Beware emails that arrive from an in-house corporate printer, scanner, or all-in-one device. They may in fact be social engineering attacks, using emails with fake header information to fool users into opening the accompanying executable files, which are really malware.”
The report mentions at least one such an attack taking place in a corporate setting within the past month.
The reason malware attacks may be rising in the workplace in such a fashion is due to many new scanners, printers, and all-in-one devices offering messaging and e-mail services.
PC World reports that Canon has recently decided to work together with Oracle in order to improve various software functionality on their copiers and printers.
The partnership will focus on document processing technology. The software will also link a variety of Canon devices through a database.
“As a first step in the partnership, Canon subsidiary IT Solutions will sell a new platform that easily links products like Canon’s imageRunner Advance copiers with Oracle’s database, WebLogic and other offerings, the two companies said Monday.”
The product-linking platform (from this partnership) will be available for purchase January in Japan and sometime during the first half of 2012 in the U.S. and Europe.
The report suggests that software related to database technology is becoming a huge part of the copying and printing landscape.
The Moderate Voice makes an good point regarding the usefulness of full-blown copy machines for the average person. It does this by comparing the capabilities of smartphones to functions that copy machines are designed for.
“With my phone in hand, I looked up at the young man helping me and said “can you make a photocopy of this page so I can take it home with me?” He looked straight at my phone and said ‘that has a camera in it, right?’
I felt silly and chuckled. My friends who were with me laughed at me and the irony of the situation. I snapped a picture of the sheet of paper… The phone worked perfectly for that situation. The young man was right. No need for an expensive photocopier… all of his customers are carrying smart phones.”
This point may ring true for many of us who own a smartphone yet don’t know how to use it to its full potential or forget what it can actually do. Yes, taking a photo of a document can be essentially similar to scanning it and copying a page.
Despite this, the comparison really aims at average users rather than businesses or enterprise sectors. It would be silly for enterprise users to be taking a bunch of iPhone photos of professional documents and presenting those images in important conferences.
A copy machine will present a good-quality copy that is also presentable while an iPhone or Android handset photo may not — especially if the lighting or crop is off. The landscape is changing though with more technologies merging or offering features that dedicated devices used to specialize in.
According to Market Watch, the paper-based printed page still has some life in it.
“The death of the printed page has been greatly exaggerated, and although print volume will remain relatively flat between 2010 and 2015 (0.1% CAGR), combined U.S. printer and multifunction peripheral (MFP) page volume will reach 1.2 trillion at the end of the forecast period.”
You may be familiar with why many analysts think the printed page will eventually fade into oblivion. A lot of productivity, reading materials, books, and note taking is becoming digitalized. Devices such as tablets and eBook readers have been replacing many of the tasks we used to rely on paper and pencil for.
However, the printed page still has a lot of uses that these devices cannot replicate, and holds a value that is hard to replace. Even magazines, books, and newspapers are still around although their readerships, as compared to digital e-reading, is falling.
Guilford College’s The Guilfordian reports that campuses, such as Guilford College, have to deal with reinstalling copiers and dealing with contract agreements.
“Following the summer’s end, the leases on the copy machines throughout campus were up for renewal, and the old copy machines had to be returned.”
One aspect of this renewal of copiers that some campus employees dislike is reinstalling the printing portion of the copiers, according to the report. New copiers and multifunction devices are making this process easier though.
“‘The printing portion of the copy machine installation has been frustrating, but is getting better by the day,’ said Vice President of Administration Jon Varnell.”
I ran into an interesting article from TechGadgetWeb that centers around printers, but can be applied to copiers as well. It lists the top three things to watch out for when purchasing a new device.
Here is what they are as the article describes them:
Affordable Use:
If the printer is for home use only, you want a machine which is easy to use and low cost to run, so that you can afford to print off school projects and web page information without it costing you a fortune. But before you make your purchase, consider these four factors: How much do cartridges cost? How much does the printer cost? Does it have good reviews? Is it reliable? By weighing up answers to these questions, you should be able to get the most from your money.
Multi-fuctions:
These days its cheap and easy to buy a multi-function device; ie, a machine that is a scanner, copier, fax machine, and printer all in one. These machines will print your documents from your PC, but will also allow you to scan documents into the computer and photocopy material too. All of the major manufacturers offer these types of machines, and prices are very competitive. What you need to check out is the cost of owning and using the machine.
Eco-friendly:
Do your bit for the environment by purchasing an environmentally friendly printer. There are several models available each featuring a range of functions to help you reduce your carbon footprint and save you money in the process. These features include, the ability to print on both sides of paper, lower energy usage and separate toner cartridges for each color so you only replace the color you need.
Now with so many top-quality multifunction devices coming out, it seems difficult to find one device without referring to both. Copiers and printers work hand-in-hand and so do scanners. These multifunction devices come in a single form factor. This is great for those of us who want to save money and space by having one device instead of many lying around the house or office.
An article was posted by Copiers Refurbished that shows five different ways the copier industry wastes consumer money and gives possible ways to prevent it.
Some of these things to look out for seem obvious because of how in-grained they are into consumers’ minds. Here are the five ways in which manufacturers, or the industry as a whole, can waste your bottom money as a customer:
“First, manufacturers fail to inform their customers that while manufacturers are able to reap profits on new copiers, used copiers do not provide additional profit to copier manufacturers.”
This means that manufacturers can make money on peripherals, but not the actual hardware of copiers — so they will want to sell brand new ones constantly.
“Second, new copiers are not any better than used copiers.”
This means you, as the consumer, would be smart to get a cheaper — but in working shape — copier, rather than pay premium for a new copier.
“Third, copier supplies usually end up costing more than a brand new copier”
The industry is designed to make you keep spending on supplies. Maybe purchasing supplies in bulk, at a bargain, can alleviate some of this spending.
“Fourth, the true cost of a copier should involve factoring in maintenance.”
This means you should factor in maintenance as part of actual costs.
“Fifth, new Copiers Lose Value the Moment they’re Purchased”
Be aware of the premiums and dollar waste that occurs as a result of purchasing a new copier over a used one.
ChannelNewsAsia reports that Fuji Xerox is expanding a print or document outsourcing service — and moving away from being just a hardware-selling manufacturer of copiers and printers.
“It [Fuji Xerox] it will focus on becoming a printing service provider rather than a device seller as the market for office equipment becomes saturated.”
Fuji Xerox hopes the document (or print) outsource business will result in double their revenue by March 2014. This outsource program helps other companies cut printing costs.
“The group is weaning away from its reliance on sales of printers and copiers to drive revenues.”
According to a press release, Ameritech Graphics, a New Jersey Kyocera copier dealer, will be donating a portion of proceeds from sales of all Kyocera copiers and printers towards Freddie’s “Ride for Hope.”
Ride for Hope will be a bicycle event, started by cyclist Freddie Hoffman, with the aim to raise money for leukemia and Alzheimer’s research.
Ameritech Graphics will be taking a part of this year’s event in a bigger way than usual. They will not just donate some proceeds to the event from copier sales, but also “match each portion to double the contribution dollars.”
The Commercial Appeal reports that Memphis City Schools will not be renewing a contract with copier distributors.
“Because the school board could not make sense of an amorphous proposal that essentially would let one vendor prescribe what the contract should be.”
Superintendent Kriner Cash was the man who pulled the proposal from the proposal drawing board due to disagreements with other members and vendors.
“Cash recommended the board give IKON/Ricoh a print management contract to assess the district copier fleet and streamline its efficiency. He also recommended that IKON get a separate contract of indeterminate amount as the district’s sole contractor for copier equipment, ending a hodgepodge of supply costs and maintenance contracts for a multitude of copiers principals have leased on their own.”
He wanted to give too much power to IKON, according to arguments from the other side.
“Vendors and board members told Cash they could not see giving IKON an inside view of the district’s need and then letting it lease it the goods.”
What does this leave contracts in school districts? It appears that competitors are more forward in securing their place in the copier industry and board members, at least in certain districts, do not want a single vendor to have a monopoly in academia.
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