For more information
A technology blog by experts in office technology geared to inform you and assist you in making educated decisions to increase productivity
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
The Xerox® Versant™ 2100
We are excited to announce the new
Xerox® Versant™ 2100!
The Xerox® Versant™ 2100 is a revolutionary new product that gives you the amazing color control and automation tools found on the Xerox 800 and 1000 but with a modular design that allows a much smaller footprint.
The Xerox® Versant™ 2100 Press can help streamline your operation and make you more competitive and indispensable in a number of ways:
- Less waste—print in exact quantities
- Less downtime—Xerox® Connect Advantage means more press availability
- Improved efficiency—fewer steps and less operator intervention
- Reduced turnaround times—less trial and error means jobs are produced and in your customers’ hands more quickly
- Automated workflow—reduced labor costs and more accurate output
Automation is key!

The Xerox® Versant™ 2100 Press brings together automation from beginning to end to make it possible—and productive—to produce the greater number of smaller jobs that now characterize the print marketplace.
- Automation that makes job setup faster
- Automation that makes it easier to get outstanding, consistent color
- Automation that opens up new areas of finishing versatility
Labels:
automation,
Color Management,
Copytronix,
CTX,
CTX-xerox,
digital,
oregon,
Portland,
print shops,
printing,
production,
QBSI,
QBSI-Xerox,
Seattle,
Versant 2100,
washington,
xerox
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
How Non-Profits and Corporations Collaborate to Do Good By Sachin Shenolikar
"Once upon a time, it was common for non-profit organizations to be
run by a couple of people with an extreme passion for a cause. They
would be grassroots efforts — family and friends were often recruited to
help out. Corporations would be approached for financial support but
not much else. While the mission had a lot of heart, there often wasn’t a
strong game plan in place that could lead to massive success.
Things are vastly different today. As the nature of business has transformed over the past decade, it has impacted the way non-profits are run. Many — even small ones — are complex, structured, and hyper-organized. The mentality of for-profit corporations has shifted as well. They have realized that social responsibility is not just about throwing money at causes. Being engaged in those causes is an important factor in the success of their business.
Simply put, non-profits and corporations have become intertwined in the ways they operate. Real Business spoke with leaders from both sides to learn more about how they work together."
Read More about the collaboration between Non-Profits and Corporations:
http://simplifywork.blogs.xerox.com/2014/06/24/how-non-profits-and-corporations-collaborate-to-do-good/
Things are vastly different today. As the nature of business has transformed over the past decade, it has impacted the way non-profits are run. Many — even small ones — are complex, structured, and hyper-organized. The mentality of for-profit corporations has shifted as well. They have realized that social responsibility is not just about throwing money at causes. Being engaged in those causes is an important factor in the success of their business.
Simply put, non-profits and corporations have become intertwined in the ways they operate. Real Business spoke with leaders from both sides to learn more about how they work together."
Read More about the collaboration between Non-Profits and Corporations:
http://simplifywork.blogs.xerox.com/2014/06/24/how-non-profits-and-corporations-collaborate-to-do-good/
Labels:
blog,
Copytronix,
corporations,
CTX,
Customer Service,
multifunctional,
non-profits,
QBSI,
simplifywork,
technology,
xerox
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
From The New Hire Perspective
“I had an amazing opportunity in getting this job right
after college, and I think that speaks a lot about the company in general. Within these doors, there’s such a unique
environment, a mix of tenured folks, who really bring so much knowledge and
experience to the table, and the fresh faces, eager to start and flourish in
their professional lives. Instead of
there being any sort of hierarchy or selfishness, what really stood out to me
the most was how much these experienced reps wanted to help out. The biggest emphasis in their advice was the
importance of relationships and that people buy from people. After being here for a
year and a half, that’s exactly how I look at it.
If the bottom line for any sales position isn’t to help
people out, you won’t be successful. As most would agree, I think the world of
“sales” comes with a certain stigma and that’s something that can’t really be
avoided. But what I have noticed is the
people that are the most successful and tenured became that way because they
were able to create those relationships and trust with these companies. If I ever lost my vision in that, I’d walk
away. What I enjoy the most about being
a part of CTX and the entire Northwest Group is that they created an environment
where I felt that anything less was unacceptable.”
We are always looking for energetic, positive and outstanding individuals to join our team!
Labels:
Career,
Copytronix,
Corvallis,
Document Management,
hiring,
Kennewick,
Managed Print Services,
Northwest group,
northwestgroup,
NWG,
Portland,
QBSI,
QBSI-Xerox,
Redmond,
Seattle,
xerox
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Introducing Technology Change

Sadly, users often greet new technology with dismay instead
of joy. Faced with an abrupt change and
the need to learn a new process, people can panic and resist. To decrease panic and increase satisfaction,
you need a training plan. QBSI has
helped organizations of all sizes deal with everything from minor adjustments
to sweeping business process change. Here’s
what we’ve found works.
1.
Introduce the change. Tell your team that new technology is coming,
when it will arrive, and why the decision was made. In my role as trainer for QBSI, I’ve heard a
lot of variations of “It just showed up one day” and “why do we have to do
this?” We don’t want the users to
perceive the new technology as an alien invasion – violent and disruptive. We want it to be more like a cool new
coworker that everyone is looking forward to meeting.
2.
Explain when training will be scheduled. If training isn’t possible right away, most
people will muddle through their basic tasks if they know more instruction is
coming. We’ve found it very helpful to
post a “Questions?” sheet in a public place. Ask users to think about their typical work
and what they know they will need the new system to do.
3.
Put resources somewhere accessible. Many products have electronic documentation
and help databases. Place links to those
on a website or in a shared folder, and send an email to tell users where to
find them. Physical manuals or “how to” posters can be placed with new
hardware.
4.
Identify key users. Most organizations have either official
support staff, or an unofficial technology guru. Plan additional training for those key users,
with the goal that they will be a resource for their coworkers.
5.
Train on the basics, plus a little bit. An initial training can introduce the main
features and tools. Ideally, aim to cover the basics that all users need, plus
a couple of cool and helpful additional features to add excitement about your
new technology and keep your more confident users interested. Don’t try to cover everything.
6.
Plan follow up training for complex projects and
needs. These should be smaller sessions that address specific users. For
example, for a document management system, some users will need to know how to
manage import or archiving. For document
production and printing, identify complex packets or materials.
The goal of this introduction process is for your users to
become confident about exploring the capabilities and benefits of their new
technology. Help it be a friend, not an
invader.
By Melinda Morrow
Product Support Specialist
Labels:
Change Management,
CTX,
implementation,
northwestgroup,
QBSI,
QBSI-Xerox,
Redmond,
training,
Welcome to NWG,
xerox
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Stories from the Field
“Great customer service.” What does that phrase mean to you?
I hear it nearly every day, and yet I wonder how different people interpret
this concept. A wholly intangible idea, this can be difficult to define.
For our customers, the experience begins as soon as they pick
up the phone to contact us. While our Field Service Technicians are the face of
a customer’s experience with the Northwest Group (CTX and QBSI), our Dispatchers in the Customer Care Center
are the voice. If a customer experiences long hold times, unclear
communication, or the feeling their concerns are not being addressed, then an
opportunity to provide great customer service has already been missed. However,
if a customer has a prompt, concise and attentive conversation when calling the Northwest Group, the tone has been set for a great overall experience. But great customer
service doesn’t end there.
As important as effective communication is to our Customer
Call Center, it is equally imperative to our Service Department. At the Northwest Group, we ask
that all of our technicians contact our customers within one hour of receiving
their service call to provide an estimated time of arrival. This allows a
customer to understand where they fall in our technician’s schedule. Since not
all copier repairs go as expected, not every ETA can be achieved, which is why
follow-up communication is absolutely critical. If a technician knows they
cannot meet an ETA, it is of the utmost importance that they communicate with
their customer to update them as soon as possible. Additionally, if a machine
is in need of parts that must be ordered from our manufacturers, and the part
arrival is delayed, step one is to contact our customer to update them of the
situation, and offer alternative solutions, if possible.
What does this all
mean? Communication is the key!
So, what does great customer service mean to me? That our
customers immediately know the expectations, are communicated with if there is
any delay, and what the plan is if there are any hurdles that our Service
Department needs to overcome. Now that’s great customer service.
Jim Wadsworth
Field Service Manager
Labels:
Copytronix,
Corvallis,
CTX,
Customer Service,
Eugene,
Kennewick,
Northwest group,
NWG,
Pinnell,
Portland,
QBSI,
Quality Business Systems,
Redmond,
Seattle,
Vancouver,
xerox
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Knowing is Half the Battle
I’m a kid of
the ‘80s.
I left my
Flock of Seagulls hair in 1984. I left my mullet in 1985. I then left my Bon
Jovi locks behind in 1986. Don’t ask me about my Living Color shaved
head/dreadlocks from 1988 to 1990. I have successfully “misplaced” the
remaining pictures/evidence of that fiasco. When it comes to hair, I learned
what not to do in the ‘80s.
However, one
thing that I still haven’t moved on from is G.I. Joe. No, I don’t have action
figures throughout my office (nor at home). I still subscribe to their tagline,
“Knowing is half the battle.” I am a firm believer of “I don’t know what I
don’t know”, so when something comes along that causes me to shift my thinking
– a paradigm shift – I am open to it. I don’t assume I know everything about
even the very industry I specialize in – Managed Print Services.
This open
thinking has allowed us at CTX to move into areas we previously have not
offered service. At first, we only serviced HP, Xerox, and Kyocera printers but
over time, we created a business model that allowed us to take on virtually
every make and every model of desktop laser printers. This has opened up so
many doors for us. We found a way to meet a need in the market – manage any
laser printer out there because our potential customers may have ANY laser
printer out there. And we haven’t stopped adjusting our business model as
needed.
Now let me
turn this back on you and your organization. How much do you know about your
energy cost in kilowatt hours? Maybe you don’t know personally, but I am
positive you or someone in your organization can look that up easily or call
someone at PGE (or some other provider) and find out. Knowing this number gives
you opportunities to make smart business decisions around that number.
Can you
negotiate it down with your current vendor? Are there better opportunities
through other service providers to negotiate that number down? Are there new or
emerging competitors that offer different services that can provide the same
end result (or better)?
Can you
communicate the need to reduce energy consumption to your employees? If you
were to create an incentive to do so, how much money could you budget to award
employees while still maintaining a net reduction in expenses?
Are you able
to pinpoint where your energy goes? If so, can you isolate the “worst
offenders” and change business practices and habits so that these offenders use
less energy? Are there other assets that could replace these “energy hogs” that
will create an attractive ROI?
OK, maybe
knowing in this case isn’t “half” the battle – it’s more like 10%. As you can
see, there is more work to be done after you are in the know. I gave you an
easy example. Oregon (and nearly every other state) has initiatives and
incentives revolving around energy. There are rebate programs for putting your
company’s personal computers on a power management program (please see me if
you have any questions – we have a great solution around this). Let’s move on
to one area I’m positive into which you have little visibility – printing.
How much do
you spend on generating a single page document?
Don’t know?
Well, you really should. I can say that because I have seen through my work
that knowing this number has allowed companies large and small to reduce their
real expenses around printing in a manner similar to reducing their expenses
around energy.
Maybe you
think that you could do some simple math to determine your cost per print. You
know that Staples charges $149.99 per toner and the manufacturer boasts an
output of 6,000 pages for that toner. That seems to work out to $0.025
(rounded) per page. Now, as you walk through the office and you see a stack of
papers go uncollected on the printer, you know that is approximately $1.45 (for
example) wasted. Multiply that out for a year and that number grows. Are you
beginning to see the direction I’m going here? This is a great place to START,
but don’t stop there.
How much did
the printer cost? How old is it? How much……wait.
I’ll save
you the many more questions you should be asking. $0.025 is only the tip of the
iceberg for calculating your cost per print.
I highly
encourage you to request an assessment from CTX (Oregon and SW Washington) or
QBSI (Washington). We specialize in working with your administration and IT
staff to determine your true cost per print. Once you know that….well, that’s
half the battle. What you do with it at that point is up to you. You can
continue to watch money sit wasted on the printer or you can take the next
step.
What is that
step? Well, we can help with that too. Give us a call today.
Daniel
Alexander has been the Director of Managed Print Services for CTX since 2010. He
has personally helped hundreds of businesses get their arms around what is
known in the industry as one of the last unaudited expenses – print management.
He can be reached directly at 503-968-0365.
Labels:
CMYK,
Copytronix,
Corvallis,
CTX,
Eugene,
Managed Print Services,
MPS,
northwestgroup,
NWG,
paper,
Portland,
print shops,
printer,
printing,
QBSI,
QBSI-Xerox,
Quality Business Systems,
Redmond,
xerox
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)