Sharp will be selling their own branded Irridesse / Revoira 1200

[SoggyWinter]

I did a double take seeing an "Irridesse" in Sharp's booth at PU 2023, but sure enough, they are leaping into production print with it. Here's the press release.

Sharp Launches New BP-1200S Color Press Series | DPS Magazine

I did not take the time to ask them what their value prop is versus Xerox and Fujifilm for what appears to be the same chassis.

 

[Mike the Print Man]

These things are starting to be like the Oki printers where like 50 different brands sell the same machine, lol.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

These things are starting to be like the Oki printers where like 50 different brands sell the same machine, lol.

I'm guessing there is some sort of reason why Fuji is not selling these in the US. Maybe an agreement for non-compete in certain markets?

 

[azehnali]

who says they are not selling in the US

 

[Mike the Print Man]

I'm guessing there is some sort of reason why Fuji is not selling these in the US. Maybe an agreement for non-compete in certain markets?

They had a booth at PU and are going to start selling all their overseas products here in the US as of the end of 2023. So you'll basically have three different distributors for the same press. Not sure what the advantage of one vs. the other will be.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

They had a booth at PU and are going to start selling all their overseas products here in the US as of the end of 2023. So you'll basically have three different distributors for the same press. Not sure what the advantage of one vs. the other will be.

The advantage is not being associated with a possible Xerox sinking ship.

And I was not aware of Fuji selling presses in the US. I thought it was Sharp doing that only. Does anyone have contacts for Fuji dealers?

 

[Mike the Print Man]

The advantage is not being associated with a possible Xerox sinking ship.

Lol, great point.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Lol, great point.

While we absolutely love our machine, it does feel like something behind the scenes is happening with Xerox, as in the org is decaying rapidly.

 

[SoggyWinter]

Fujifilm told me that they are building a tech support organization in the US. They also have their own RIP and workflow software to compete with Fiery, Ultimate Impostrip, etc. They are willing to sell direct without going through a dealer. I'm going to talk further about a Revoiria 1120 to get pricing and see if they'll have a customer self-maintenance option.

Also of note, the Revoiria 1120 has been updated to offer all air feed trays and they have a new static removal post-print accessory.

 

[jwheeler]

Fujifilm told me that they are building a tech support organization in the US. They also have their own RIP and workflow software to compete with Fiery, Ultimate Impostrip, etc. They are willing to sell direct without going through a dealer. I'm going to talk further about a Revoiria 1120 to get pricing and see if they'll have a customer self-maintenance option.

Plenty of job openings on their website for service techs and production sales reps. Definitely building up a network.

These things are starting to be like the Oki printers where like 50 different brands sell the same machine, lol.

I agree! However, it seems like every brand has done this at some point. Ricoh has sold their units under the Lanier, Savin, and Heidelberg labels. Konica Minolta used to sell under the Muratec label. I think the value prop always comes down to local service and parts/supplies availability. Do they have one tech who comes from 2 hours away servicing an entire geographic region, or 10 techs all within 30-60 minutes?