Printers Code of Ethics; an honorable business...

I was looking back at some old documents that I have collected over time and thought I would post the printers code of ethics. Here almost a 100 years later the same code is applicable today. I think that people's mindsets have changed but maybe not for the best.

Here is the code of ethics published by the Typothetae in the Typothetae Tickler of Kansas City Missouri - March 1915.



Declaration of Policy and Code of Ethics

Adopted 1914

Organized October 18th, 1887

The members of the Typothetae dedicate their best efforts to business uplift and social service, and to this end pledge to themselves.

1st. To give full value for every dollar received.

2nd. To charge fair prices, viz., known cost plus a reasonable profit.

3rd. To subscribe to and work for truth and honesty in business; to avoid substitution, broken promises, unbusinesslike methods.

4th. To co-operate in establishing and maintaining approved business ethics.

5th. To be original producers and creators not copyists.

6th. To be promotive, looking to the needs of the customer, analyzing his requirements and devising new and effective means for promoting and extending his business.

7th. To place emphasis upon quality rather than price, service to the customer being the first consideration.

8th. To merit the support of buyers of their product by living up to the spirit as well as the letter of these standards.

9th. To develop, by co-operation with other departments of the Association, an ever-strengthening bond of union to the end that the service rendered to advertising by the graphic arts may achieve its highest efficiency.

10th. To aid in securing just and harmonious relations between employer and employed by establishing honorable conditions of employment.

To learn more about the historic timeline of PINE and the PIA.

“The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, one sometimes forgets which” - James Matthew Barrie

So who do we blame for this?

After another tough week scrapping it out in the Dallas marketplace I thought to myself, "So who do I blame for this?" I find myself writing late and night and doing research at odd hours just to wake up at 6:00am to begin the war all over again. The battles rage on as the economy hits all time lows, and unemployment skyrockets. With the financial climate so hostile it is amazing that anyone is thinking about anything other than packing up and heading for the hills. Instead I look for the "new angle" on positioning people, processes and technology to help my prospects make more money! In the heat of the battle we cannot forget to continue to make and spend our money it is our duty. So who was it that stayed up long hours and late nights so that I could have something to write about?

Chester Carlson of course! Now you may be asking yourself who is Chester Carlson? Why he is the inventor of Xerography. If it weren't for his desire to copy patent papers quicker by having a piece of equipment that could make "instant copies" we would not have the luxury of selling imaging equipment. And what is interesting is how his patent ended up in the hands of a small company then known as Haloid. Haloid started in April of 1906 to manufacture and sell photographic paper. Now of course this small company is known as Xerox the grandfather of copiers.

So for those of you that didn't know or realize that you cared, In 1959 the Xerox 914 was introduced based on the innovations that were discovered by Chester. Fifty years later 2009, Pirate Mike tries to figure out how did I get here and whom can I blame for it? Well it is Chester's fault for sure. In a world that is accelerating and producing new ideas and technology faster than any other time in history I chose to get involved with the printing industry at the beginning of the personal computer boom. What is funny is that my grandmother felt so strongly about computers and my need to learn them that I can for as long as I can remember had a computer of my own. I have had every game console and personal computer as soon as they became available. From the Commodore 64 to the Coleco Adam computer I was prepared for the "Desktop Publishing Revolution" and the advent of digital printing technologies. So why you ask?

Why do I care? Well the interesting thing is that since I sell the big iron, I have always had a bit of disdain for Xerox, they after all were my primary competition and in fact many times the incumbent and the overall winner of many of the deals that I was in at the beginning of my career. I also was never really impressed with the docucolor 5000AP or its predecessor the docucolor 5000 they seemed clunky very inconsistent for color critical jobs and had an odd "image appearance" as Xerox calls it. I come from high end offset printing and no one wants the "greasy glossy" look or the "3d or layered look" and that is the sure signs you're looking at a CLC or docucolor print. The 5000, 7000 and 8000 do not seem to have much differences other than speed so if you are having issues with your 5000 at a particular volume then you don't have much choice but to look beyond the docucolor series and Xerox doesn't have a step between mid level production systems and their very high end the iGen.

I was just in a deal where the customer had a Xerox 5000 doing about 150k and were having lots of service issues, team Xerox rolled in and pitched an iGen. Now I'm sure the ones of you that know are laughing. You really cannot justify an iGen till you get over 250k and really it doesn't make good sense till 400k. Now this particular customer was a national account for both IKON and Xerox so we are obviously both supposed to be on our best behavior. So to be honest I was quite surprised that they went to the iGen at all. I think it was bad strategy as I of course came out with the Ricoh Pro C900 which can take them to 400k a month without any increase on capital investment. The 5000 maybe is 25 ppm on the thicker stocks and I am still at rated speed 90 ppm I can using 80# Cover settings duplex 100 and 110# Cover without loss of productivity in the turn like the Xerox. Plus really the docucolor is terrible both in color consistency, accuracy and in front to back registration. Those are not my issues at all. I do have a smaller color gamut, the C900 is almost exactly the same gamut as SWOP but if you're an offset house SWOP is good enough.

Also I had to fight the "image appearance" as my image is not the "greasy glossy" look but my sheet can be UV or Aqueous coated so you can still have the look and the abrasion resistance. So over the last couple years I got very comfortable beating Xerox with both the Konica Minolta in the light production (Although the doc 250 series is much tougher competition in my opinion) and then in the mid range beating Xerox with the imagePRESS and now the Ricoh Pro C900. So as I think about them I just don't get the feeling that I am dealing with a deadly foe. In fact if I didn't know the men that I compete against and have great respect for them I would really think they are clowns.

So where does that bring me? It brings me to the other day when I read about Xerox's 600 new patents (1000 in all if you add Fuji Xerox) and the feeling that they will not live long enough to see their new inventions come to fruition. And the thought that came to me about who is to blame for this. Then I start to do a deep dive into the history of my product and the legacy that Xerox has had over the last 50 years. Which in all honesty after learning about Xerox's past successes just makes me sad. How can a company with so much fail so miserably? Where do they go from here? All I can say is please do not unleash any of those new patents any time soon, as I am enjoying giving you the whooping that I am with my Ricoh Pro C900 and on the high end the Kodak NexPRESS. Please leave my real battles with HP's Indigo and beating the Kodak rep to the account first, that way I don't have to worry about what Xerox is going to do. Right now Konica Minolta cannot play in my realm and they are very late to market with their 90 ppm color system. By the time they bring theirs to market Ricoh will have released Version 2 of the C900 which will use a new toner system (Polymerized Toner) without fuser oil and will have the 120 ppm version using this new toner as well. (shhh its about a year away now)

In all seriousness, if you are reading this blog then you are "in the biz" and I hope that you take a moment whether you are brand new or a seasoned vet to look back and learn the history of our industry and how your company fits into it. We are all a part of making the digital printing revolution what it is and with all of its advances and trials we are in the midst of history in the making. I for one love it and hope that I can live long enough to see Xerox rise again and come to market with something that they can be proud of. Because I know they do not like losing to Canon and I KNOW they hate losing to me!

Happy Selling,

Pirate Mike…

Activity begets opportunity and opportunity begets success! Having a great product only makes it easier… - Pirate Mike…

Cain & Abel – A copier odyssey of biblical proportions…

Typically my stories are filled with the normal corporate piracy and plundering, in this saga what is interesting is that the piracy is between blood brothers. Truly what is funny is the older that I get and the longer that I am in this industry the more the truths of my parents and the stories that I grew up with have more meaning. It is never shocking how the stories that we grew up with becomes more clear and are eternally applicable in many circumstances in our daily lives. The sad thing is that many times I am living the stories out and wish that I could just be a casual observer instead of being cast into a lead role.

As you will remember from the story Cain and Abel was the first and second son of Adam and Eve. Their story is much like the deepening division and dangerously real world drama between Ricoh Business Solutions and IKON. Cain the first born, a farmer, commits the first murder by killing his brother Abel the second born and, a shepherd. I liken this to the ongoing and ever growing attack from RBS the first born son of our Father Ricoh known as a farmer in the world of document management solutions and equipment and IKON the second born son a shepherd of high volume production solutions and a hunter. After the merger we were told "we are part of the Ricoh family." During this time offerings came forth showering IKON show rooms and offices with upgrades and golden trinkets in the form of upgrade incentives and lease forgiveness. We all felt the love from our father as we were welcomed into the family fold.

Both brothers were given a gift of the Ricoh Pro C900 Digital Color Production System. Cain went out into the field and started plowing the fields and looking for seed. Abel left for the forest to find a good place to perch and scout new kills from. Cain set out to wait for the rain, while Abel looked for something new to kill and takedown. The twist is that the coat of many colors had been bestowed upon Abel for his hard work and diligence like the biblical story in which Abel was able to please God with his offering. IKON was acquired and given the coat of many colors due to its hard work hunting and able and willing desire to lead in the hard world of production print. IKON was groomed to be in a place of authority in the production realm. Cain had worked hard and had produced the PPBG a dedicated (Production Print Business Group) and although they tilled the land they were unable to produce a crop. (even with the NexPRESS and IBM Infoprint) IKON with no former knowledge of the Ricoh family story was able to hunt down new opportunities and develop relationship which would place him in favor with his father and sell the new production device the Ricoh Pro C900.

Cain furious with his father and in great despise of his brother went constantly out of his way to position his brother in poor light. Constantly hammering away to move Abel away from the production opportunities and him shamed in the father's eyes. I have always been raised in this business believing that there was honor among thieves. It is interesting to me how 2 brothers can fight so furiously about accounts that one has no knowledge or presence in. Why would you cry so hard over something that you cannot manage in the first place? They admittedly do not have years of production experience as they have never had a product to sell into that space. They do not have the proper infrastructure and service organization to service such accounts. Nor do they have the professional service and analysts that are needed to be successful in these environments. And why would they want them? They are low margin, high maintenance and very frustrating at times. To please their father? To secure their position as the head in the family? And why would they try to destroy what their father just purchased? Do they think if they can discredit the purchase that will make themselves more valuable? Do they not understand that both the farmer and the hunter are needed in the family?

If we are working for the good and betterment of our father would it not be considered selfish to take on tasks that can be better served by another? The inherent selfishness of Cain, his jealousy, rivalry, and aggression are central to this ever evolving story. I would get deep into the details but they are still unfolding and I don't want to ruin the ending for you when I myself do not know what lies ahead. What I can tell you is as we travel further down this high volume and production print road with nothing but the Ricoh bag of tricks I can promise you that you will hear many an IKON warrior say over and over, "He is not heavy, He is my brother!" If only they could see that now, the pain and damage they could save us all.

And the honor they would bring to their father, if they only knew.

"In the end all we are left with are the memories of those that loved us and the stories we told to them." ~ Pirate Mike

RiKON The Next Generation

It sounds a bit like an old Star Trek episode but really this is my life. With all of the instability in the world what could happen that would bring all the stars into alignment, fix the global economy and solve world hunger? How about Ricoh making a play for the largest independent distributor of office products and solutions maybe? Ok maybe not… So you think that you had it all figured out huh, Konica Minolta buys Danka, Xerox buys Global. And maybe since IKON was almost a billion dollars of Canon's yearly equipment revenue that they would forsake the path that they followed with Global Imaging and Danka; well you were wrong! I can remember it like it was yesterday, "No Canon will never cut IKON off, that is ludicrous." Much to IKON's and Ricoh's dismay, Canon did pull the plug and sent Ricoh (the father of a brand new baby) reeling looking for a new horse to ride for the high end color and black and white portion of IKON's production portfolio (a 25% share of IKON's revenue). Watching this unravel (from the inside) was enough to send you to the doctor looking for a well deserved prescription of Xanex. Well thank goodness for Ricoh's Kodak relationship now we can all rest easy right?


In a playing field that is less than well defined it is funny where new bed partners come from. Just picking up Kodak sounds good but is not that easy to implement especially over night. Kodak is a very high end and expensive digital press not just in up front acquisition costs but also in day to day operating costs not to mention that it requires a much more skilled operator to run and make repairs. IKON with all of its production experience isn't going to jump in and start doing service on the NexPRESS and service is where it is at in the business model of the office equipment world. So now what? Hmm, well maybe the new Hitachi technology that they have buried into their new flagship product the Ricoh Pro C900 (Digital Press, Production Copier – What do I call it?) will be enough to stave off the bitter reveling of Canon. Either way just putting the Kodak label on portfolio brochures is not going to stop the bleeding. Especially when you have cut a main artery like in the case of IKON and Canon. IKON sold about 60% Canon products in a very well defined market place where over the last years IKON went around buying up successful dealerships that were primarily Canon in nature.


So now the acquisition is over and we approach the first milestone. What is that you say? Well since you asked it is the beginning of Ricoh's new fiscal year of course. Here comes 2009 fast and furious. So what is in store for IKON in this broad new world of opportunity? Will they remain ran as an independent subsidiary? Will they get quickly absorbed into the belly of the beast? With the changing of the guard from a political standpoint and the evolution of our economy it is anyone's guess. As companies draw lines in the sand and build alliances with other competitors either by acquisition or by contract we start to see the battle grounds becoming more defined. Now that the great expansion is over and we see the number of competitors collapse into a 3 or 4 player race; we now are starting to see the mystery unfold.


The new mission of RiKON is to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations. In my humble opinion this new world of RiKON is very well positioned for the midterm play. Why midterm you ask? Because RiKON is a large organization and they really cannot move and adapt that quick. I watched the launch of the Canon imagePRESS both from the outside (small Canon dealer that was first to market with the imagePRESS in the country's 7^th largest print market and from the inside as a newly head hunted acquisition of IKON to their newly formed commercial print initiative (which was 6 months late to market) and watched IKON take quite a bit of time ramping the program up to the monster that it became. Between defining the goals of the organization and the tools to hand out along with push back from local operations and management it was amazing that the program lifted off at all. IKON has a way of taking strong salespeople and administrating them to death. I wonder daily how I ever find time for sales activities in the midst of my spreadsheets and conference calls. But they do have the momentum of figuring out how they want to position their "go to market strategy" though which still makes them very dangerous; much like a wounded water buffalo one must be ready to pull the trigger or get out of the way.


The imagePRESS's successor the Pro C900 is a Hitachi engine (obtained from the Ricoh purchase of Hitachi Printing Systems) with a Ricoh wrapper (fast plastic B2C look and feel). It has obvious Ricoh influences though, odd finishing configurations and odd substrate limitations that are very familiar with typical B2C products. Without time to finish the development Ricoh opted not to use a polymer toner but to use the old fashioned fuser oil process and the slow down the engines speed capability to build it to a price point. This fusing process is the one that we have over the years come to know and love. For the old timers this should bring back fond memories, as many have come to love the glossy, greasy get out your shammy cloth and buff the proof look. Outside of that, the engine has a very good color gamut (very similar to the imagePRESS) and has 8 bit color depth at the 600X600 dpi setting. (Unlike Canon's "multi bit" technology) The engine has remarkable front to back registration and clearly shows that Ricoh is "on to something." A very strong competitor to the Xerox Docucolor series it will challenge and even beat the imagePRESS where its few obvious weaknesses are not the main consideration. Upon a more detailed look the Hitachi influence is pretty obvious. The registration system is something that closer resembles something off of an offset press not a copier, and the systems that monitor quality are obvious improvements "not Ricoh." From beefed up rollers and mechanisims inside the outer wrapper is purely cosmetic. With expanded controller options in the near future and the ability to incorporate all of Ricoh's finishing options this will be a horse to ride in an economy where people want more for less and sellable is good enough.


With Ricoh moving into the production arena full steam, backing this movement not just with the acquisition but in a total refresh of IKON demo floors, infrastructure, finances and personnel. With strong incentives to stay and see the changes through RiKON is positioned themselves to make strong moves on Canon and Xerox as the new product takes hold in the market place. Also for those elite customers that need NexPRESS or Digimaster they will have that to choose from as well as the IBM infoprint roll to roll systems that at the moment is a joint venture soon to be another wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh are also on the menu. Now with their PPBG (Ricoh production print business group) and IKON (a real production print equipment and solutions distribution system) Ricoh for the first time has some products to sell and a way to market and support them on a global basis.


How long will this take? My guess after watching the launch of the imagePRESS and seeing the state of the C900 today I am thinking that things will be in place to move forward for a strong play by Q3 or Q4 of Ricoh's 2009 fiscal. Also watch for a faster and a slower C900 along with firmware coming shortly to integrate all options on their mid volume line to fit the C900. This will give the C900 a dominant opportunity in the in plant and crd space given its specs and price point.


Where will it all fit in commercial print? We will have to see how everyone perceives the C900. With open houses going on around the country, and very critical trials being pursued as we speak; some of the country's largest buyers of digital printing equipment are trying this new Hitachi technology out. Once they make their decision we will have a clear idea of how well we are going to fare this round. Ricoh with enough stamina and finances to get through several boxing rounds gives me the impression that they will get to see the fulfillment of their new objective. "Become a player in the print for pay and high volume market." With Konica Minolta running tight on Ricoh's heels and niche players poised to be gobbled up by someone for example like Oce it is still anyone's race. And what if Xerox decides to drop this AP platform that is just an extension of worn out technology the race could renew yet again. Although pay close attention though as IKON restructures it may take the focus off of those that understand the production world (those that sold and serviced the Canon's) and replace them with new inexperienced followers of the Ricoh line (mfp, fax and b2c color devices) as part of a realignment that might make sense to someone that has been staring at spreadsheets too long.


It is hard to say how long Ricoh will allow the rogue IKON to continue selling multi brands and non focus products but it clear that nothing drastic is going to change in the short term. Everyone is still trying to convince themselves that it is "business as usual." And in an economic and political time like this makes this whole discussion even more interesting. Canon is still dizzy from trying to figure out how they are going to replace 400 locations and how much they are willing to drain out of their large cash reserves to "buy back" customers that chose Canon products and specifically picked IKON as their service provider; they have a tough row to hoe. If one looks at other mergers to glimmer a bit of history one remembers that Global did not lose the farm but instead grew their market share and did quite well after the Xerox acquisition. RiKON could very well come out stronger than ever. Unlike the Danka purchase by Konica Minolta. (I would guess that the danka.konicaminolta.us will quickly change to kmbs.konicaminolta.us as they have no need for the extra dead weight and reputation that Danka has earned over the years.)


I was there for the Minolta and Konica merger and survived it (2 President's Club Trips and 1 Circle of Excellence Trip) so I know how step children are treated. They are managed to success or simply managed out. With mostly the "Minolta Management Style" left they are a very shrewd and focused group led by a Konica visionary (Jun H.) they will drive hard till they reach their business objective which is to become a "Tier 1 Player." Konica Minolta will press on till they move over one of the Gartner's "4 leaders" or knock one out of the game completely. That was their new mantra as I left to chase the Canon imagePRESS product which now has done a vanishing act from my portfolio.


Gartner has Konica Minolta as a challenger and that they truly are. With a very different "to market approach" they are not part of the "leaders" group of thinking (Canon/Xerox/Ricoh/HP). They are very much out of the box and are non traditionalists that could become a wild card in this program; they are not to be taken lightly. With their 90 ppm engine to be out soon the playing ground will level once again and they will be competing from a position of strength stepping up from their current production platform which has done very well in office, in plant and print for pay markets (both commercial print and franchise print).


As I look at my options which are still considerable (enough to keep me with a headache all the time) I am not sure that I see a clear leader to "jump" to. I suspect that as I look at the different organizations that no one has a truly superior program to the one that IKON has put together and the one that RiKON has adopted. What I have seen is a clear indication from Japan that they intend to move into this brave new world that their direct group was unable to accomplish. Now with IKON in hand they can boldly go where they have never gone before.


So what does the future look like?


Muddy and troubled for everyone in this industry. But for those that are brave enough to stick out this new world of RiKON they will be quick to learn the new vision; we are on a 5 year mission to travel out to distant zip codes, and to seek out new customers, and to boldly sell what no one has sold before. We tip our hats to you Mr. C900 may your silicone oil flow through our veins and your "green" pulverized toner sustain us, and your plethora of finishing options take us to the promised land.


Amen


Just another personal opinion from Pirate "Big Iron" Mike…


(May the rate factor be with you and your credit analyst be "on vacation")