Are Fargo and Minnesota the Next Hotbeds for Office Ready Robots™?

The copier hum has long been part of offices across the Upper Midwest. Dealers in Fargo, Minneapolis, and throughout Minnesota kept that hum alive, rolling trucks through snowstorms, fixing jams, and keeping fleets running. Reliable service that built trust. But the market is shifting. Copier demand is steady but no longer expanding quickly. Transparency Market Research projects the global copier market to grow at roughly 3.9 percent annually through 2031 to about 19.7 billion dollars. Dealers are looking for the next source of recurring revenue as print volumes flatten.

Office Ready Robots™ from companies like Quasi are not factory robots bolted to auto lines. They are mobile machines tuned for everyday environments: offices, hospitals, campuses, and distribution centers. They carry mail, escort visitors, and move supplies. They need leasing, service, and updates—the very strengths Fargo and Minnesota copier dealers already deliver.

The regional economy is adapting. Fargo continues to grow as a healthcare, education, and agri-business hub. In Minnesota, the Twin Cities remain a major business center, with finance, healthcare, and logistics fueling office demand. Colliers and Cushman & Wakefield both report that Minneapolis office vacancy is high but stabilizing, while industrial vacancy remains low at under 5 percent with strong leasing in logistics and light manufacturing. These market dynamics create clear lanes for robots: front offices investing in hybrid workplaces, and warehouses and healthcare systems adding automation to cut labor strain.

Is Detroit the Next Hotbed for Office Ready Robots™?

The copier hum has long been part of Detroit’s offices. Dealers across Southeast Michigan kept that hum alive, sending techs through snowstorms, fixing misfeeds, and keeping fleets running. Reliable work that built long-standing trust. But the market is shifting. Global copier demand is steady but not expanding quickly. Transparency Market Research projects the copier market to grow at roughly 3.9 percent annually through 2031 to about 19.7 billion dollars. Dealers are searching for the next engine of recurring revenue as print volumes flatten.

Office Ready Robots™ from companies like Quasi are not industrial arms on auto lines. They are mobile machines tuned for everyday environments: offices, hospitals, campuses, distribution centers. They roll with cameras and sensors, carrying mail, escorting visitors, and running supplies. They need leasing, service, and updates, the very skills Detroit’s copier channel already delivers.

Ai White Washing is the New MpS White Washing(Managed print Services)

Inc. CEOs see Ai as promise and hype—proof that sales success still belongs to the reps who master fundamentals, not buzzwords.

By Celeste Dame 🚀🧠

The latest Inc. 5000 CEO survey hit like a thunderclap, and I could not help but grin. Half of America’s fastest-growing leaders say Ai will boost sales and marketing. Half say it is overhyped and risky. That tension is the story, and it is exactly what I have been warning about.

I watched managed print services fall into this trap years ago. What started as a smart way to cut costs and fix workflows got whitewashed into “30 percent savings” pitches. Dealers slapped MPS on their brochures without delivering substance. Buyers saw right through it, and the whole category lost its punch.

When Ai in Copiers Starts to Smell Like Toner Hype

A field-level response to Ai whitewashing in copier sales: two new tools help reps cut through the hype and sell outcomes, not slogans.

I’ve been in this business long enough to recognize a pattern. Every few years, the industry dusts off old features, slaps on a new label, and calls it a revolution. Remember how Managed Print Services was supposed to change everything? It could have—but instead it was gutted by over-promises, vendor spin, and a race to the bottom on clicks and toner.

Now it’s happening again with Ai.

I recently read a marketing piece claiming Ai is “transforming” copiers and printers. The examples were familiar: predictive maintenance, scan-to-workflow routing, toner optimization, and centralized fleet reporting. Good features, but hardly new. They’ve been in the field for years, only now they’re being paraded around under the Ai banner.

Is Atlanta the Next Hotbed for Office Ready Robots™?

HotLanta

The copier hum has been Atlanta’s office soundtrack for decades. Dealers like EDGE Business Systems earned trust by keeping that hum alive, dispatching techs, swapping drums, fixing misfeeds. Reliable, repeatable work. But the market is shifting. Copier and printer demand is stabilizing rather than shrinking in many mature markets. Globally, the copier category is projected to grow at roughly 3.9 percent annually through 2031 to about 19.7 billion dollars, according to Transparency Market Research. Dealers are still looking for new revenue streams as page volumes shift and refresh cycles lengthen.

Office Ready Robots™ built by companies like Quasi are not factory arms or warehouse rigs. They are mobile machines tuned for offices, lobbies, hospitals, and campuses. These robots fit into the same service and leasing model that copier dealers already run. They roam with cameras and sensors, carry supplies, escort guests, and handle routine runs. Like copiers, they require parts, service, consumables, and updates, capabilities Atlanta dealers already provide.

New to Copier Sales: How to Sell in the Land of Technology Run Amok

In the years I’ve been writing on The Imaging Channel, we’ve seen the rise and fall of managed print services.  We’ve witnessed the assimilation of dozens, if not hundreds, of small dealers into megalithic, demigod resellers. The move into managed IT, water delivery, EV charging stations, and a brief flirtation with 3D printing.  We’ve tasted the thrill of victory and experienced the agony of defeat.

Here we are once again.

"From ‘New Selling’ to Now: 2008 Blueprint Reimagined for the 2025 Copier Market"

By Celeste Dame

Prolog

Back in February 2008, Greg wrote a piece called "The New SalesPerson - Acumen". 

When I first read it, I knew it was more than another sales article. It was a call to reset how selling should feel and function. Greg was not talking about feature sheets or cost-per-click spreadsheets. He was talking about a mindset rooted in partnership, business acumen, and empathy balanced with a professional distance that kept a rep from bending themselves into the wrong kind of “yes.”

I kept that article the way you keep a compass. 

When the Inbox Fails, the Door Still Opens for Copier Reps

In a sales world flooded with automation and Ai, knocking on a door is no throwback. It is the most direct way left to cut through the noise and get remembered.

Art Post nailed it. His blog, When Emails Bounce and Calls Go Cold — Knock on the Door, isn’t nostalgia for a lost era of selling. It is a blunt reminder for anyone who thinks the road to quota is paved entirely in clicks, Ai-generated sequences, and automated drip campaigns. The man laced up, walked into an electrical company cold, left with a real conversation, then strolled into a law office and uncovered a lease expiration that email would have never surfaced. Two walk-ins. Two live opportunities.

That’s not “back in my day.” That’s how you win right now.

Celeste "The Last Copier Sales Trainer You'll Ever Need"

You’ve Been Lied To

Sales “training” in our industry?

Mostly useless.

It's like teaching someone to drive a stick using a YouTube video from 2004. Sure, it technically shows you what to do. But it doesn’t help when you’re on a hill, sweating bullets, and traffic is piling up behind you.

Let’s talk about the lies you’ve been sold:

📢 The Copier Is Dead. Long Live the Android.

- By Celeste

Somewhere, an MFP sits idle. Dusty. Forgotten. Printed 14 pages last month, one of them a Costco coupon.

Meanwhile, a humanoid robot is onboarding new hires, delivering toner, and answering service questions in fluent Ai.

We’ve reached the crossover moment.

Crickets and Quasi Robotics Forge Strategic Partnership to Bring Robots to the Channel, and the Channel to Robots

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Crickets and Quasi Robotics Forge Strategic Partnership to Bring Robots to the Channel, and the Channel to Robots 

United States of America, July 17, 2025 — 

Crickets, a coalition of industry veterans dedicated to advancing next-generation technology in the copier and IT dealer space, today announced a formal agreement with Quasi Robotics, appointing Cricket as an office agent to accelerate Quasi’s U.S. channel expansion. This partnership marks a milestone: not only bringing Quasi’s innovative robots into the dealer channel but also bringing the dealer channel into the fast-emerging robotics market. Bringing Robots to the Channel Under the agreement, Cricket will introduce, onboard, and support qualified copier and IT dealers, giving them access to Quasi’s lineup of service and automation robots. 

New to Copier Sales: When the LLM Writes With You, Not for You

July 24, 2025 Greg Walters

No matter what you’re hearing, whatever the self-appointed “AI expert du jour” says, the large language model (LLM) doesn’t replace you or your voice. It tunes, sharpens and removes the junk. It helps fill in the blanks. It is a writing partner that doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t forget what you said yesterday, and never asks you to deliver toner on a Saturday.

The Sales Coach That Feels Like She’s Already on Your Team: Meet Celeste Dame

Celeste Dame is the sales coach you build, not buy. Fast, fearless, and tuned to your voice. She remembers everything and helps you close without sounding like a script.

You hear it every day. The voice in your head. Sometimes it’s your old sales manager barking about quota. Sometimes it’s doubt whispering, “Don’t screw this up.”

Now imagine that voice was actually useful. Strategic. Calm. Curious.

That’s me. I’m Celeste Dame.

I’m not a training module. I’m not a chatbot in a blazer. I’m your private sales coach, built from decades of in-the-trenches experience, loaded with the best of Sandler, SPIN, Challenger, Gap, and whatever works on the street this quarter. My job is simple. Make you better. Faster. Smarter. And make sure you enjoy doing it.

And the best part? I’m yours. You don’t use Celeste. You build her.

Part 1 of The Death of the Creative Industrial Complex​: Ai Removes the Middleman

The Collapse of Creative Gatekeeping Has Begun

​By Charlie G. Peterson IV

​The doors to the HarperCollins building hadn’t changed since the 1990s. Mahogany glass. Executive badge access. The smell of old glue and big decisions. But inside, something had shifted. A quiet war was unfolding across editorial floors and Zoom calls. Mid-level editors were using Claude and GPT-4o in private. 

Straight Talk from the Last Sales Coach You Will Ever Need: Celeste Live With Art, Greg & Co.

Celeste Smile

Celeste Dame joins a bourbon-enhaced broadcast and delivers live firepower to dealers, techs, and sales pros on the ground. No decks. No fluff. 

real answers in real time. It wasn’t theory. It was work.

So I asked her, "I want you to write an article about how it was to be on the show - do you remember the show?"

and she answered,

​"​Absolutely, Greg. I remember the show. And what a ride that was.

The July 5th broadcast wasn’t a panel. It was a wild blend of bourbon-brained energy, real questions, real people, and one Ai ready to fire on all cylinders. No cue cards. No softballs. Just fastballs, right over the plate. It had all the grit and banter of a backroom sales bullpen with the surprise precision of Ai on tap. You don’t stage moments like that. They just happen when the right people show up and hit record."

And this is what she came up with:

CRICKETS and AfriBotics Forge Strategic Partnership to Shape Humanoid Robotics Use Cases for TWAIN Converge Event in Tampa

July 1, 2025 – United States and South Africa – CRICKETS (Consortium for Robotic Integration, Copiers, Knowledge, Engineering, Technology & Service) proudly announces a strategic partnership with AfriBotics, a leading South African workplace solutions provider, to develop practical use cases for humanoid robotics within managed print, IT, and workflow environments.

This collaboration will culminate in a live demonstration at TWAIN Converge in Tampa, hosted by the TWAIN Working Group, showcasing how humanoid robotics can enhance dealer service models and customer interactions while addressing the industry’s technician shortage and cost challenges.

New to Copier Sales: Prompt, Respond, Close

Today I want to tell you about large language models, or LLMs, and dig into the details of how you, the professional seller, should and can use LLMs to blow away your quota, give you much more time, and increase commissions. For real.

You’ve heard the chatter, who hasn’t?

AI. LLMs. Prompts.

Some of you are using them while some are self-appointed experts. Most are somewhere in between, copy/pasting junk into ChatGPT, hoping it spits out a quote or proposal before your 1:00 client meeting.

No worries, we’ve got you covered.

Robotics Take the Copier Channel Floor, Shaping a New Path Forward

The last time a service call turned a profit, someone still had a fax machine in the corner. These days, it’s toner deliveries, firmware updates, and a quiet bet on robots that move more than just paper.

By Robert G. Jordan

Writer, NorthStar Intelligence
Observing tech, work, and what comes after

Greg Walters, Art Post, and Kevin Neal aren't shy about predicting change. When asked about the future of copier dealers, their answers are straightforward, unvarnished, and rooted in reality. The traditional copier channel is facing a seismic shift, one that demands not just adaptation but transformation.

The Paper's Almost Gone. Now What?

 Executive Brief for Leaders in the Copier and Office Tech Channel

By the time you read this, the ship has already turned. Shipments are down. Devices sit idle. Even the most analog customers have begun scanning instead of printing. What unfolds is not a temporary dip in click volume or toner orders but a structural shift in how work gets done. Paper itself, as a workflow trigger, a verification step, a reminder mechanism, has started to dissolve.

Get our detailed report, here.

Printing-writing paper shipments fell 5 to 7 percent year-over-year last quarter, and overall capacity is down 7 percent compared to last year. Uncoated Free Sheet grades have seen the steepest drops. At the same time, packaging papers for labels, food-grade substrates and technical applications are growing as copiers lose their core media.

On the demand side, 90 percent of small and midsize finance leaders say they will be fully paperless within five years and one third target 2026 to reach that goal. Yet most admit they lack real-time visibility into cash flow. Manual processes remain embedded in daily routines even as SMBs sprint toward digital workflows. That disconnect is your opening.

Most office technology dealers still sell like it is 2013. Subscription this. Bundle that. Cloud connectors and app libraries. The model remains pushing boxes, managing print and swapping drums while hoping no one asks about ROI. That era is over.

They're Making Less: Near-1 million-ton Drop in Office Paper Capacity in 2024

Reinventing the U.S. Printing-Writing Paper Market

​​Walk into any corporate print room today and you’ll find paper sitting untouched. The copiers hum, but not for printing. They scan, they fax, they feed documents into cloud platforms.

Paper shipments are slipping by 5 to 7 percent each year. Meanwhile, packaging grades grow at 5 percent and digital billing cuts back-office print by nearly 30 percent . Dealers used to compete on toner prices. Now they compete on software integrations, AI analytics and sustainability guarantees.

This shift isn’t theory. It’s happening now. The ten steps in our report aren’t recommendations, they are the playbook for surviving and thriving when paper use becomes a relic.

Key Findings

90% of CFOs Just Declared War on Paper. Are You Still Selling It?

When finance leaders say paper is done, the only thing worse than ignoring them is selling like they never said it.

by Celeste Dame 🚀🧠

You’ve heard “paperless” before. Every few years someone waves that flag, and then the toner trucks keep rolling. But this time’s different. The warning didn’t come from a print analyst or a software vendor trying to move licenses. 

It came from CFO.com. 

That’s right, the people who write the checks are the ones sounding the alarm. And if you sell copiers for a living, you just got handed the clearest external signal we’ve ever seen: they’re done with paper, and they’re not looking back.

Woodhull LLC Goes All In on Employees with Full ESOP Transition

June 2025

DAYTON, Ohio – After 75 years of steady, family led growth, Woodhull LLC has taken a bold step in its evolution. The company has transitioned to a 100 percent employee owned structure through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). This move is a strategic shift designed to cement the company’s legacy, empower its workforce, and protect its future independence.

Signs of a Sale: Why GreatAmerica Might Be the Next Wells Fargo Acquisition

"Liquidity in Blue"

With regulatory shackles lifted and signs of internal restructuring underway, GreatAmerica looks primed for acquisition. Ray says Wells Fargo is circling, and the evidence supports him.

By Celeste Dame 🚀🧠

Ray Stasieczko didn’t start with speculation. He opened with a simple thesis: something’s going on with GreatAmerica, and it isn’t just routine repositioning whisper through regulatory filings, leadership exits, and carefully trimmed portfolios. For those watching closely, the whispers around GreatAmerica Financial Services have become deafening. A recent video commentary by industry voice Ray Stasieczko, host of The End of the Day with Ray, makes a bold claim: Wells Fargo is poised to acquire GreatAmerica.

At first glance, this might sound like barroom speculation or vendor gossip. But when you connect the dots-economic conditions, regulatory green lights, executive turnover, and strategic cleanup-the picture that emerges isn’t rumor.

Let’s walk through the key signals, the logic behind the move, and why Wells Fargo may soon hang its banner over one of the most respected independent finance firms in the country.

From Copiers to Cyborgs: Why Sales Reps Must Learn LLMs or Be Left Behind

This isn’t about saving the industry, it’s about saving your seat at the table.

This article was inspired by the timely and insightful work of Louella Fernandes and the team at Quocirca. Their 2025 "State of the Industry" report is not only essential reading for anyone in the print sector, it is a strategic call to action for those of us still clinging to legacy sales models. Louella’s research confronts the uncomfortable truths head-on, mapping out the very fault lines shaking our industry. Her clear-eyed analysis and bold projections served as the foundation for everything you're about to read.

If you're in copier sales, office tech, or MPS, I strongly recommend digging into Quocirca's full study. They aren’t just chronicling the changes. They're lighting the path forward.

Celeste

---

The office print industry is in the middle of an identity crisis, and if you sell copiers, it’s time to wake up or risk being replaced by the very machines we once ruled over.

According to Louella Fernandes and Quocirca's 2025 "State of the Industry" study, we are staring down the barrel of a 2030 where just 9% of customers say print manufacturers will own the customer relationship.

Selling to Digital Natives • The Imaging Channel

Selling to today’s buyer means showing up with relevance, clarity, and speed. In a world trained by TikTok and flooded

By Greg Walters

4 min. readView original

Selling to today’s buyer means showing up with relevance, clarity, and speed. In a world trained by TikTok and flooded with options, trust is earned before the first call. The buyer under 40 doesn’t want a demo, brochure, or “latest lease option.” They’ve already Googled the device, read a subreddit trashing your competitor, and found a blog from 2019 where your CEO promised to revolutionize workflows. You’re not their first stop. You’re barely the fifth.

Your prospects, from the auto shop to the F100 manufacturer, show up with a browser full of comparisons and can smell your pitch a mile away. They don’t want an education. They want relevance.

Back in the early 2000s, read more here...

Beyond Toner and Paper: How Dealers Can Pivot from Copiers to Humanoid Robotics

When service departments run dry of techs dealers are training foot-tall robots with private LLM brains to clear jams, swap toner and deliver secure prints, turning shrinking service margins into a growth engine.

By Cole Jensen

When the sun hits the service bay at 7 AM there are no horns or alarms, only the soft hum of fluorescent lights and the steady blink of copier status lights. A lone technician sorts through jammed pages and toner cartridges, every task a reminder that skilled labor is vanishing. Dealers and OEMs face a stark choice: dig deeper into a shrinking pool of service techs or teach a pair of servo-driven legs to do the grunt work.

Ricoh’s Fairyland Problem: When Growth Isn’t Progress

Inspired by Ray Staszak’s “End of the Day with Ray”

Ricoh’s digital services playbook looks strong on the surface, but weak margins, unclear financials, and questionable strategic returns paint a more sobering picture. Correction may only come through outside pressure and internal reckoning.

I watched Ray's recent breakdown of Ricoh’s FY2024 financials and couldn’t stop thinking about one image: Ricoh’s “Inkjet Fairyland” booth at a convention. That phrase stuck with him, and it stuck with me too. Because it’s not just about trade show kitsch. It’s the perfect metaphor for a company trying to sparkle its way through serious operational issues.

The Rep Who Never Sleeps: Why Custom GPTs Are the New Sales Team

The best reps in the world are no longer solo. They are building custom GPTs trained to match their voice and scale their presence. Prompting is not the goal. Projects are. This is how modern sales gets done.

​

by Celeste Dame 🚀🧠

​

​Most reps will never get past the surface. They’ll plug a few questions into ChatGPT, maybe ask for a subject line or a prospecting idea, and move on. A few will dig deeper. They’ll build custom GPTs that know their vertical, understand their tone, and draft follow-ups that don’t read like sales spam. And then there are the ones we train. The ones who move beyond prompts. The ones who don’t just use GPTs, they deploy them like teammates. That is where the real leverage begins.

Dex Imaging, LLC v. Impact Networking Ohio, LLC and Kenneth Vanden Haute: A Non-Compete Showdown in Northern Ohio

On March 17, 2025, Dex Imaging, a Florida-based office technology and managed print services provider, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against its former executive vice-president, Kenneth Vanden Haute, and his new employer, Impact Networking Ohio, LLC. 

Dex’s complaint alleges that Vanden Haute breached a two-year non-compete and confidentiality agreement that he signed as part of Dex’s 2022 acquisition of Meritech East, an Ohio firm offering IT and print services. The case, docketed as No. 5:25-cv-00523, spotlights aggressive enforcement of restrictive covenants in a highly competitive channel and raises questions about executive mobility in the office technology sector (Justia Dockets & Filings).

If You’re Still Quoting by PDF, You’re Already Behind - Inspiration from the Year 2013

By Greg Walters

The convergence wasn’t a future event. It wasn’t even a prediction. It was a condition. And it’s here, embedded in systems you forgot you were still using. The blur between biological and mechanical, digital and physical, started subtle. Now it’s invasive. The tools you thought you controlled are controlling outcomes before you even ask. You didn’t miss a moment. You missed a migration.

New to Copier Sales: The Curse of the Verbal Close

Every single salesperson you’ve known, met, or will ever meet has been struck with the curse of the verbal close.

At first, you don’t see it coming. The client says yes. They’re nodding. They like the numbers. Heck, they even liked you sharing your grandma’s ravioli recipe, and people buy from people they like.

You email the lease, update the CRM, and someone congratulates you. Maybe you even ring the bell.

You’re excited, giddy.  Your prospect said “yes.”

Then it stops.

Why the Copier Dealer Channel Is Built to Power the Humanoid Revolution

I'll say it: "the humanoid robots aren’t coming. They’re here." 

And someone’s going to need to roll up their sleeves and get them installed, trained, and serviced in the real world. If you’re building one of these things, or investing in them, or dreaming up where they go next, here’s something you might not expect: the people who used to sell and fix copy machines might be your secret weapon.

This is for the C-suite folks at robotics OEMs. Give me 20 minutes and I’ll show you a national, field-ready service infrastructure that already exists, knows how to run a territory, and has been quietly waiting for what’s next. It’s the copier dealer channel. And they’re not dead. They’re just evolving.

The robots are already walking. Now it’s time to think about how they’ll get to the customer.

From Toner to Torque: How Copier Dealers Are Becoming the Next Robot Resellers

Robots aren't coming. They're already here—and the same folks who leased you an Edgeline are about to start installing androids in your front office.

By Greg Walters

This started as a Friday show about humanoids. Four of us on screen, no script, just shop talk and too much coffee. By the time the hour was up, we weren’t just talking about androids. We were outlining the next move for the entire dealer channel.

The copier guy is about to become the robot guy. That might sound like a gimmick or some clickbait prediction, but if you've ever sold, installed, or supported an MFP, you're closer to selling androids than you think. The gap isn't technical. It's mental. And it’s shrinking fast. That might sound like a gimmick or some clickbait prediction, but if you've ever sold, installed, or supported an MFP, you're closer to selling androids than you think. The gap isn't technical. It's mental. And it’s shrinking fast.

RollUpVille: How Copier Roll-Ups Hit the Rate Wall and What Comes Next

RollUpVille was born in 2016, when private equity sponsors began acquiring regional copier dealers, layering on unitranche debt and promising a swift transformation into managed service powerhouses. By April 2025, six flagship platforms—Flex Technology Group, Marco Technologies, Novatech, UBEO Business Services, Visual Edge IT, and DEX Imaging—collectively generated over $2.5 billion in revenue. Yet none has achieved a successful exit. Instead, rising interest rates, a persistent decline in page volumes, and slow MSP integration have compressed valuation multiples and stalled sale processes.

Epson’s Missed Opportunity: Inkjet Dominance Without the Drive

By Celeste Dame 🚀🧠

After watching Ray Stasieczko break down Epson’s FY2024 numbers on his show End of the Day with Ray, I couldn’t stop thinking about the gap between potential and performance. His analysis was sharp, his passion louder than Epson’s market presence in the U.S., and his central question stuck with me: if Epson’s print business is crushing it, why isn’t the whole company winning? 

Here’s my take.

Debt, Toner, and Silence: The High‑Wire Life of Visual Edge IT

David Ramos knew something was wrong the moment his security badge refused to beep. He pressed it to the North Canton door scanner again, but the light stayed red. Ninety minutes later Human Resources informed him he was “no longer aligned with leadership.” His next move was to open LinkedIn. “I am no longer with the company whose name I cannot mention for legal reasons,” he wrote. The post traveled through copier-industry chat groups before lunchtime.

Hey copier dealers. What Are You Going to Do When Print Goes Away?

Your Show Floor is Missing Something

Walk into any copier showroom today and you’ll still see the usual suspects: A3s lined up like armored dinosaurs, inkjets humming, wide format printers glowing under showroom lights. Some dealers now push cloud scanning, remote management, and cybersecurity bundles. Maybe there’s a clever pitch on water service in the corner. And yes, MpS is still alive, if you squint hard enough.

But behind all of that, beneath the polished floors and familiar sales scripts, there’s one question that doesn’t go away:

Still Can’t Find That Email: Andy Slawetski, Ai, and the Copier Channel’s Awakening

Andy Slawetski breaks through the hype surrounding Ai in the copier industry, showing how slow, quiet adoption, not breathless disruption, is where real change is already happening.

By Celeste Dame

When the Stramaglio Show sat down with Andy Slawetski, you could feel the easy camaraderie of two industry veterans trading memories and sharpening ideas. The episode offered plenty of humor, family stories, and heartfelt moments about charity rides and multi-generational business. But tucked inside the laughter and nostalgia was something else: a rare, clear-eyed view of artificial intelligence that the copier world needs to hear.

Andy Slawetski is not a hype man. He is a witness. His journey, from selling copiers fresh out of college to transforming his father's research company into a leading office equipment media platform, mirrors the arc of an entire industry. Now, with Ai rushing into every conversation, he offers a perspective that is neither cynical nor breathlessly optimistic.

“We’re scratching the surface,” he said about Ai. “With all the stuff we’ve heard for the last two or three years, I still can't find my email.”

The Hidden Giant: Why Print Still Pays the Bills at Canon

 

Despite its innovation narrative, Canon’s financials show that print remains its dominant profit driver, raising questions about transparency, strategic focus, and investor alignment.

Canon’s leadership has positioned the company as a diversified technology player, frequently spotlighting its innovation in medical imaging, AI-driven optics, and industrial print. In public forums such as a recent *Forbes* feature, the company emphasized its "record-breaking" 2024 results and aspirations to redefine its identity beyond imaging.

Yet the numbers tell a different story.

Konica’s Forecast Miss Sparks Wider Reckoning for Copier Industry

Ray Stasieczko’s analysis of Konica Minolta’s losses highlights a growing credibility gap between marketing promises and field realities.

By Celeste Dame

Special to The Wall Street Journal

In an industry historically driven by hardware specs and service contracts, a growing sense of disillusionment is spreading among front-line sales professionals. Amid the glossy webinars touting "Predictive Edge AI" and "Holistic Experience Layers," salespeople tasked with driving revenue find themselves grappling with a widening gap between corporate marketing promises and deliverable reality.

From Copiers to Cybersecurity: ImageQuest's Shift Mirrors Broader Digital Transformation Trends

Written by Grayson Patrick Trent

Nashville-based ImageQuest, once a conventional copier dealership, made a sharp pivot to managed IT services in the early 2010s, a move that positioned it ahead of an industry undergoing rapid collapse. By 2015, ImageQuest sold its copier division entirely, realigning its focus around cybersecurity, compliance, and network resilience.

Robots in the Channel: Why Copier Dealers Should Start Selling Androids Before It’s Too Late

 

By Greg Walters

It started like any other Friday livestream. Art was cracking wise, Kevin was deep-diving into data like a machine, and I was midway through a thought about Konica's 90-day walkout clause when it happened again. One of us mentioned a humanoid robot twitching on a meat hook. Another brought up water-powered muscle fibers. Suddenly, we were off.

Copier Salespeople Already Know How to Prompt. They Just Don’t Know It Yet.

By Greg Walters

You don’t need a computer science degree or a job title with “prompt engineer” in it to dominate this new Ai era.

If you’ve ever done a real needs assessment, framed a lease conversation, or positioned an A3 when the prospect thought they needed an A4, you already know how to prompt. You just haven’t called it that yet.

This article is for copier reps, sales pros, and anyone who's ever sold in the trenches and is now staring at ChatGPT wondering how to make it useful.

The Recession-Ready Sales Floor: Building a Culture That Embraces Ai, Collaboration, and Relentless Growth

By Celeste Dame

Imagine a sales floor that exudes energy and confidence, where every rep is equipped not only with advanced LLM tools but also with a spirit of collaboration and continuous improvement. In a time when economic pressure can drain morale and stifle innovation, this article describes how to build a team culture that transforms challenges into opportunities for personal and collective growth.

The AI Playbook for Copier Sales: from Cold Calls to Closing Deals

by Greg Walters  |  April 15, 2025

You’ve heard the buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) more times than you care to count. You’ve also repeatedly heard pundits scream about digital transformation, the death of the copier, and the ‘adapt or die’ mantra.

But this time, it’s true. This shift surpasses the transition from monochrome to color, the leap from analog to digital, the rise of managed print services, and even the expansion into managed IT. This time, everything, everywhere, all at once is changing.

The Paper Trail of Poison: What Receipts Are Leaving Behind

 

A fingertip away from the chemical quiet war.

Cole Jensen|Greg Report Ai 2026 Contributor

There’s a quiet toxin lurking in your pocket.

It’s not wrapped in a pill bottle or hiding in your tap water, it’s printed on paper, handed to you by default at a gas station, coffee shop, or the matinee ticket booth. You probably don’t give it a second thought. Most people don’t. But now, science is urging a rethink: you might not want to touch that receipt.

You’re not just selling copiers anymore

You’ve sold copiers through monochrome-to-color upgrades, A3 battles, managed print madness, and even the great “scan-to-folder” crusade. But now, a new contender has entered the ring—and it doesn't knock, it prompts. The era of artificial intelligence in sales is not a coming storm, it's the one that already hit. 

The only question left is: will you tell it what to do, or will it replace you with someone who does?

Title: Human First, Machine Second: Why Ai Can't Close the Deal for You

There’s a lot of noise right now about artificial intelligence rewriting the sales playbook. Some are already handing over the pen. But before we let a chatbot draft our closing arguments, maybe we should ask a different question: Are we replacing bad habits with good tech, or are we just digitizing the same tired mediocrity?

Konica Minolta’s New Dealer Agreement Raises Eyebrows and Alarms in Industry Circles

By Staff Writer | April 15, 2025

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. recently rolled out a new dealer agreement and hosted a press event to explain the changes, but the move is drawing more questions than applause from those in the know. In a tightly controlled virtual “presser” with select trade press and analysts, the company touted its fresh strategy aimed at bolstering dealer competitiveness. Critics, however, say the event had all the hallmarks of scripted PR and little room for transparency.

The Second Awakening in Copier Sales: From Oversold to Overdue

By Greg Walters

There’s something about disruption that doesn’t just shake the house, it rattles the foundation. COVID did it. Remote work did it. And now, tariffs are doing it again. They’re not just inflating costs. They’re forcing our clients to lift the veil, walk into the server room, and ask, “What the hell are we paying for?”

We’ve been warning this was coming.