Fear & Uncertainty Are Food For Those Greedy For Boldness!
Warren Buffett said, Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."
This became Warren's calling cards of sorts. Buffett has a great track record of seizing on the moment of panic.
I think, "The power of taking decisive action will always win against the fear and uncertainty of the weak procrastinator."
As the print industry continues to compress, its actors are definitely at a crossroads where bold advantage and fearful procrastination compete as directional markers for the industry’s reinvention journey.
Most would agree that procrastination and fearful uncertainty are the dominant mindsets among many in the industry. The much-needed consolidation and changes at the OEM level are still being procrastinated.
The consolidation of distribution to end users through (Rolled up Mega Dealers) has stalled due to valuations that are too low to sell. Most are carrying more debt than the value they could be sold for.
So, as the mega dealers find themselves in status quo relationships with their private equity backers, to increase profitability, we may see some mega dealers buy up smaller, underfunded dealers or those without the stomach for the extremely hard-to-swallow innovation needed. We may also see some well diversified dealers divest of their print business to focus on expanding that diversification.
What both OEMs and dealers must focus on is the end user’s declining appetite for the very products they manufacture and sell, service, and supply.
Even those stuck in fearful procrastination must awaken to the realities that the industry has funded its profitability through product usage far exceeding the product itself. The industry has always been about sacrificing hardware profitability for the annuities from supplies and servicing.
So, in a declining deliverable where the most valuable component is no longer near the value it once was. The industry’s actors must approach the marketplace with an innovative shift that eliminates costs as output volumes continue to decrease. It will be those who consolidate with purpose to build something new as they capitalize on what remains temporary who win.
Most understand that a business's innovation is not a product, but a change in processes. The two questions that need to be answered are. Why is innovation needed? That should be obvious. The second question. How can innovation not only disrupt but also allow for increased profitability through a continued decline? The answer to that question will also define a strategy of bringing the industry’s near future to its present.
Those who watch my YouTube series, The End Of The Day With Ray, will know my belief that Inkjet technology is that innovation process change.
Inkjet delivers the changes needed, given the realities of service-intensive laser equipment. As I described many times, the technician retirement apocalypse is quickly approaching. The industry has to replace the liabilities involved with servicing laser-based technology. I have dubbed this innovation the Inkjet Revolution. In my 2026 season, this Inkjet Revolution will be elaborated on much more. So, stay tuned.
Some will suggest that the consolidation of manufacturing is underway since the announcement of ETRIA, the entity founded by Ricoh and Toshiba, with Ricoh owning the majority. ETRIA also announced the addition of OKI. In my view, Ricoh has been manufacturing equipment for other OEMs for decades. This new ETRIA concept will only be game-changing if another major OEM, such as Canon, Sharp, Fujifilm, or the financially struggling Konica Minolta, shuts down its manufacturing and becomes part of the entity.
However, the consolidation of laser-based manufacturing will simply be a reduction of the status quo; it wouldn’t be a disruption to the status quo. This explains why I believe Inkjet has the advantage in innovation over the outdated laser based business processes in the delivery, supplying, and servicing of print and copy equipment to business around the world.
It will be in the conflict between laser and inkjet that innovation will emerge. However, Inkjet will only become a dominant winner in the industry's innovation if a laser-based OEM decides to put aside its past and bring its future to the marketplace today.
I believe that the laser-based OEM positioned to accomplish this is Kyocera. When Kyocera entered the production print space, they brought the future of production print to production prints present with the introduction of the Kyocera TASKalfa 1500c.
Kyocera’s decision to do this opened my mind to the possibility that Kyocera is not just interested in production and that it will, in fact, bring Inkjet to its entire MFP line. Keep in mind that Kyocera is one of the few laser-based OEMs with billions in liquidity through its KDDI stock, which could amplify the speed and ease with which Kyocera could accomplish this.
Will one day Kyocera become the major manufacturer in the business print industry? Will Kyocera push to disrupt the laser world with Inkjet? Will Kyocera see tremendous value in forging a deeper relationship with Xerox? Will Kyocera raise end-user awareness of the benefits of Inkjet and completely disrupt what I see as EPSON's failed attempts? Kyocera must prepare to answer yes to these questions or risk another OEM answering yes before them.
The industry’s OEMs have to push aside their constrained viewpoints and do something dramatic. The industry’s innovation at the end user’s level will take an OEM to bring to market that which will feed its dealer footprint to change the game in a quickly changing industry needing reinvention.
This inkjet technology works extremely well in the production and industrial space. RISO has found a niche in production print, which has proven to be well accepted and profitable. RISO just needs to expand its marketplace, something it would benefit from as Inkjet becomes more mainstream.
Unfortunately, the industry is still fearful, and it will take boldness to be the greedy one.
This boldness is currently being witnessed as Xerox continues to push through its reinvention. Something that Xerox admits publicly is needed. I would add that Xerox is the only major player in the industry to have publicly admitted that the industry needs reinvention. We still have folks who believe nothing needs to change, and somehow the status quo will continue to allow prosperity.
Xerox will definitely continue to face its critics as it continues to reinvent a 100-year-old business whose core deliverable, in the eyes of Wall Street, is business printing.
Xerox has the keys to the largest footprint of business print equipment in offices globally. This footprint is the greatest asset of Xerox, and it will be what and how Xerox brings the future to the present, which will determine the success of its reinvention.
For those who remain, stewards, to continue delivering the past to the future, I say, good luck, as that strategy never works. Once disruption in any industry begins, there’s no hope for the past to enter the quickly approaching future.
In closing, the industry’s reinvention is not for those stuck in saving the past; it will be accomplished by those bold enough to hold nothing of the past so sacred that it can’t be eliminated along the reinvention’s journey.
I am looking forward to 2026, and all that challenges the status quo. As my audience knows,
“Status quo is the killer of all that will be invented.”
Ray Stasieczko, Host of YouTube Series, The End Of The Day With Ray!
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