Inkjet Wholesale News aims to provide updates on the latest significant occurrences in the field of printing. Whether it’s the launch of a new technology or volatility of market prices, we’ll be here to give you the lowdown on what happened, when it happened, and what it means!
HP Inc. Disrupts Printing Industry by Acquiring Samsung Printer Business
As HP Inc. has gotten more and more settled in its independent avatar, it has continued to solidify its position in the printer industry. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) has progressively improved and strengthened its position in the industry with a number of positive moves. For instance, the company launched the world’s smallest “all-in-one” printer in the form of HP DeskJet 3700 in July 2016. This was followed by a cease-fire between Memjet and HP in August and then the launch of HP DesignJet Z-series of printers with chromatic red ink earlier this month.
Now, HP Inc. has decided to drop a bomb of a news on us all by announcing its acquisition of the Samsung printer business. The definitive between the two OEM was announced earlier this month for the massive sum of $1.05 billion. This news is big enough to shake up the existing terrain and trenches of the printing industry. In fact, HP’s announcement itself said that this agreement will allow “HP to disrupt and reinvent the $55 billion copier industry”.
HP Inc.’s agenda with this acquisition is to replace copiers in the market with superior multifunction printer (MFP) technology. The reasons cited by the company for this objective is the outdated nature of copiers. The OEM believes that copiers are not only outdated but also complicated and high-maintenance machines that are screaming out for some kind of innovation.
With the acquisition of the Samsung printer business, HP Inc. will be gaining access to its portfolio of A3 multifunction printers. These MFPs perform functions similar to copiers without the hassle that those machines typify. Samsung’s A3 MFPs tend to deliver more performance than copiers by the virtue of offering more power in a simplistic manner at lower maintenance costs. This is typified by the fact that some of these machines have as low as only seven components that need to be replaced. One of the problems that users of conventional copiers face is the constant need to get spares because their machines have too many replaceable components.
A characteristic of this deal is that it is, by far, the biggest print acquisition in the history of HP. The acquisition is expected to not only strengthen HP Inc.’s operational capabilities but also improve its reach in existing markets and accessibility in new markets. In addition to the A3 MFP portfolio, Samsung printer business will also include a diverse and detailed intellectual property portfolio. This portfolio consists of no less than 6,000 printing patents. With respect to manpower, HP Inc. will be gaining an exhaustive Research & Development (R&D) department consisting of almost 1,300 engineers and researchers. This team of engineers and researchers possesses advanced skills in the fields of printer supplies and accessories, imaging electronics, and laser printer technology.
While the definitive acquisition of Samsung printer business has been agreed, the actual transition of business assets will be accretive in nature i.e. it will be handled in a gradual manner. This accretive acquisition model has been adopted for the sake of financial benefits. Once the acquisition is complete, the agreement also defines that Samsung will invest in HP in the form of equity. The equity investment is expected to be between $100 million and $300 million through purchases in the open market.
The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HP Inc., Dion Weisler, talked about the deal while referring to the HP split that took place around 10 months ago. He stated that the split allowed the company to be nimble on its feet while being able to focus on growth and innovation. According to him, HP Inc. is “doing this with 3D printing and the disruption of the $12 trillion traditional manufacturing industry.”
Fujifilm Introduces Acuity Select 30 HS Series as an Upgrade for Select 20 Series
Fujifilm has upgraded on the Acuity Select 20 series of printers. The Acuity Select 20 series was launched earlier in the year at FESPA and reported by us on April 06, 2016. The new series, dubbed Acuity Select 30 HS series, is different from the previous series by the virtue of being twice as fast and having numerous extra features. The Acuity Select 30 HS series comes in either six or eight channel configuration with each channel boasting of an extra print head when compared to the two printers in the Acuity Select 20 series. The two printers in the 20 series are ‘standard’ and ‘X2’. The channels consist of the standard CMYK in addition to white, clear, light cyan, and light magenta.
The addition of the extra print head per channel is what makes the Acuity Select 30 HS series twice as fast as the Acuity Select 20 series. As a result of these extra print heads, the standard printer in the Acuity Select 30 HS series can print at a maximum speed of 57 square metres per hour while the X2’s maximum speed goes up to 64 square metres per hour. The size of the print beds between the two printers is also different with the standard’s measuring 2.5m x 1.25m and the X2’s spanning 2.5m x 3.1m. It is also worth noting that both these printers can handle a wide variety of substrates with a maximum thickness of 51mm. The substrate itself is held flat in place with the use of a high-pressure vacuum system.
Apart from individual print heads for each channel, the Acuity Select 30 HS series printers are also better than the 20 series on the basis of other features. For instance, the automated cleaning system is an inbuilt component of the Acuity Select 30 HS series as opposed to the Acuity Select 20 series where it was only available as an optional feature. Similarly, estimates suggest that printers in the Acuity Select 30 HS series generate about 15 percent less heat than the printers in the Acuity Select 20 series because they contain a new ultraviolet lamp.
As per Steve Cookman, the wide format product solutions manager for Fujifilm, the Acuity Select 30 HS series naturally represents the “next iteration of the Acuity flatbed products”. He specifically mentioned the 2504 machine that Fujifilm has been working on with Océ since 2007 as the root of the entire Acuity Select 30 HS series. Cookman also displayed his bullishness about the new series despite calling the market “competitive”.
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