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.