Toshiba- E-Bridge Fleet Management System

It's all about the M.I.B. No, not Men In Black

Toshiba announced the availability of their new fleet management tool, EBFMS, yesterday.

At first glance, the reports about the system are favorable, but it seems detailed information regarding toner, service etc. are currently reserved for Toshiba gear - with some limited visibility into non-Toshiba units.

I "lifted" this off the Office Product News site which is a post by Corey Smith, from a BLI report at the 2008 Toshiba dealer show, back in March-

"...for larger settings, Toshiba will soon offer its e-BRIDGE Fleet Management System (eFMS), giving administrators the power of centralized monitoring while users benefit from improved availability of devices.

Key operators receive automatic first-tier alerting, while second-tier alerting is available to service organizations. Anybody with administrative access to the utility can clone settings and view meter reads. Via eFMS, administrators can assign costs to specific departments, as well as review device usage and consumables status. Dealers can use the utility to create cost and device streamlining proposals. eFMS can manage other brands’ devices, but only in a limited fashion.

This solution is still under development but should be available in late summer..."


In the beginning there was only WebJet Admin, then a slew of "newcomers" - @Remote,PrintAudit, PrintSolv, PrinteRx, rXpress, etc. and now EBFMS.


In the end, all these tools are beneficial in promoting control of the fleet and transparency of the real costs of printing - knowing how bad it is more than half the battle.

"Managed Print" from Kyocera - Free Prints - In the UK

Kyocera is bundling toner and service into a "package"

Print and Copy for Free with Kyocera, from the Computer Weekly, here.





18 November 2008

Free KYOprint packs available with new managed print service -

Leading document imaging specialist Kyocera is offering free KYOprint packs for a limited time only to customers of its new managed print service. The first KYOprint pack is free when you purchase a Kyocera printer or multifunctional product within the managed service range, which could mean up to 100,000 free prints on both mono and colour packs, depending on the machine purchased.

KYOprint Packs are a new way to buy both your copying and printing facilities from the same reseller. Instead of buying the machine and warranty cover separately and then buying consumables as and when you need them, a KYOprint Pack wraps everything up in a single, simple support guarantee including onsite maintenance and consumables.

Uniquely, there is no minimum volume agreement so users aren’t charged for pages that they don’t print. Each KYOprint Pack includes enough consumables to print a specified number of pages. If you print less than expected, your KYOprint Pack will simply last longer than expected. If you print more than expected, you won’t receive any “excess page” invoices at premium prices, you’ll just need to buy a new KYOprint Pack a little sooner. Because there is no minimum volume restriction, a KYOprint Pack gives you an incentive to reduce print volumes and minimise your environmental impact: the less you print, the longer your KYOprint Pack lasts.

KYOprint packs are available for all Kyocera printers and MFPs, personal to departmental, mono and colour and will suit small or large organisations, especially those that want all printing and copying facilities provided by a single supplier. And the managed print service includes installation and configuration, so there’s minimal impact on your IT department when a new machine is installed.

These free KYOprint packs are available until the end of December 2008 only and more information can be by calling a Kyocera specialist today on 08457 103 104 or visiting http://www.kyoceramita.co.uk/mps

Xerox Set to Release Solid Ink MFP -2009

11x17, from BLI...

Xerox is releasing a new MFP based on the solid-ink technology it purchased along with Tektronix in 2000.

From the BLI report,

"...Xerox is readying an A3-class color MFP based on its solid-ink technology as a competitor to 11" x 17" color laser engines and HP’s Edgeline inkjet-based offerings. Pioneered by Oregon State University researchers in the 1980s and commercialized by printer maker Tektronix (Xerox acquired the color printing and imaging division of Tektronix in 2000), solid-ink engines are currently used by Xerox in some A4-class printers and MFPs such as the Phaser 8860 family (which includes the 8860 and the 8860MFP). The technology uses melted ink sticks, as opposed to toner particles or liquid ink, to render an image..."


The technology is good- ease of use in terms of adding "toner", and the Green value with no empty bottles or cartridges.

I wonder if Xerox has figured a way to prevent the color pie chart from melting off your proposal while it sits in the car on a hot summer's day...