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.