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.
You’ve already proven you can run the most complex support model in office tech history. Now do it for something that talks back.
Picture this. Suburban Detroit. Or Des Moines. A mid-sized office. A half-lit break room smell of burned coffee. Reception’s empty. A Ricoh's blinking red again. Legal-size job fed through the 11x17 tray. You’re there to swap toner, clear the jam, recalibrate a touchscreen that’s got a mind of its own. You’ve got a trunk full of parts, a dispatch app, a tech schedule, and the lease on that machine runs through GreatAmerica.
Now switch one thing. The copier walks up to you. Not literally, not yet. But close. An android named Cricket saw the paper run out, refilled the tray, cleared the waste bin, and flagged the touchscreen for calibration. Then it turned, looked at you, and said, “Should I recalibrate now or wait until after their team meeting?”
Not science fiction. Just a 36-month lease away.
A new kind of service call is coming. Machines that walk and talk. Not just alerting errors, but explaining the problem. Not just assisting with tasks, but learning the why behind them.
Humanoids, powered by large language models, are coming through the front door. They’re not here to take every job. Just the ones we can’t hire for. The ones nobody wants. And when they arrive, the people who know service infrastructure best, copier dealers, will be the ones best positioned to install, finance, maintain, and monetize them.
Here's the deal. Everything you already do, needs assessments, dispatch, tech training, inventory, field service, financing, it all maps onto robotics like it was built for it.
Assessment? Replace print volume with task mapping.
Leasing? Same structure. Robot-as-a-service copies the copier model almost word for word.
Dispatch? Your system's ready. Field support? You're already there. Service? Not easier, not harder, just different. More sensors, less toner. More software, fewer plastic gears.
If you can train a tech to handle an error code and a firmware push, you can get them up to speed on Android diagnostics. And you won’t have to do it alone. The OEMs need you more than you need them. They just don’t know it yet.
Right now, Androids are entering warehouses. One step at a time. Agility Robotics ships a few a month. Formic rents them out like forklifts. Ricoh inked a deal to service them nationally. Why? Because they already have the boots on the ground.
The copier channel is the last one left that still shows up. You already understand how to get machines into the wild, keep them running, and make money doing it.
That infrastructure is gold.
Let’s talk numbers. The humanoid market’s projected to hit $3.8 billion by 2029. Up from $1.7 billion today. That’s double inside of four years. Less time than a standard lease.
Right now, an android that can walk, carry, and speak runs about $85,000. The goal is to push that down to $15,000. Even today, that’s less than what it cost to lease an HP Edgeline when it first launched. And unlike that beast, the android works weekends without jamming on coated stock.
These aren’t just job replacements. They’re capability multipliers. They don’t get tired. They don’t quit. They don’t ghost an install call because their cousin’s moving apartments. They update overnight. You push firmware, and the next morning, every machine on your contract can perform a new function. That’s not evolution. That’s a category break.
What do you start with? Don’t sell Iron Man. Start narrow.
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Paper loading robots
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Waste toner disposal
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First-response diagnostic androids for enterprise fleets
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Mobile touchscreen tutors in large campuses
None of this requires belief. It requires planning.
The psychology will be the biggest hurdle. Most dealers won’t move. They’ll wait. For a promo. A bundle. An OEM to hold their hand.
Same as it ever was. They waited on MPS. Waited on managed IT. Waited on digital workflow. And by the time they stepped in, someone else owned the high ground.
This time, the window is smaller. This time, you miss it, you’re out.
We’ve seen this story. Smart people, dumb timing. Dealers who thought cloud scanning was a phase. Or color was a fad. Or fax would last forever.
The robotics OEMs aren’t ready to sell. They’re building, engineering, chasing VC. They’re still in the "make it walk" phase. They haven’t even started on "make it sellable."
You already have what they need: customer maps, install teams, service logs, lease partners, billing infrastructure. You know what works. You know what breaks. You know who pays.
That's why we launched the Consortium.
It's not a club. It's a working group. Copier dealers, robotics OEMs, field techs, software folks, integrators, all focused on one thing: building the new channel.
Three OEMs engaged in a week. One signed. These aren’t press releases. These are real devices, real timelines, real meetings.
You want to be part of it? You’re in. But not to sit and wait. To define what’s next.
Here’s the thing most folks miss. The end of print is not a cliff. It’s a long slope. But it’s happening. Ask any dealer with a five-year plan what they’re leaving their kids. If it starts with toner, it ends in dust.
The better answer is to leave something forward-facing. Something sustainable. Something 20 years out, not 20 months.
You don’t need to build the robot. Just define the job. The OEMs will meet you halfway. The robots will learn the rest.
Route dispatch. Identify the dumbest service calls you take. Talk to your best clients about the repetitive junk they wish someone else could do.
That’s your wedge. That’s your prototype.
You’ve already proven you can run the most complex support model in office tech history. Copiers are crazy. Toner, drum, waste, firmware, security patches, lease terms, paper specs. You’ve managed all of it.
Now do it for something that talks back.
The android wave isn’t something you watch. It’s something you join.
You’ve survived paper cuts and pivot tables. Now it’s time to step into torque.
Not as a tourist. As the channel.
grw
You’re Invited: Launching a MFP Robotics Service Consortium — A New Era for MFP Support
Co-hosted by Print4Pay Hotel and TWAIN Working Group
Art Post, Greg Walters and Kevin Neal
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
Register Here: Zoom Registration Link
Why we're building a MFP Robotics Service Consortium
We're assembling a channel partner ecosystem—dealers, OEMs, and industry pros—ready to deploy, support, and maintain humanoid robotics in the MFP (Multi-Function Printer) space.
Our first initiative, Project Cricket, will develop the “brain” of a robot using AI and Large Language Models to simulate MFP repair and resupply tasks.
This isn’t just theory—it’s a hands-on, IP-building opportunity:
· Own the prototype robot used in the project
· Own the LLM-powered GPU mini-server that becomes the robot’s “brain”
· Create your own IP from training and deployment of intelligence for the robotics
· Be featured in a case study at TWAIN Converge on Nov. 13, 2025 in Safety Harbor, Florida
We’re looking for innovators
Dealers, OEMs, and forward-looking professionals who see what’s next and want in early to co-develop this proof of concept.
Have questions? Email support@twain.org ahead of time so we can cover them live.
Control your destiny with a simple, practical, yet expandable AI & Robotics project—and be featured with a Case Study and Demo Showcase at the TWAIN Converge Conference on November 13th in Safety Harbor, Florida!
Be part of something groundbreaking. Join us
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