Managed print services provider Balreed is the Official Print Partner
of the Virgin Money London Marathon taking place on Sunday,
April 26. Balreed will provide a fully managed fleet of print devices
spread across multiple London locations in the build-up to the
race, supported by Balreed engineers at every site. After the race,
it will produce the official race results for distribution to the world’s
media. Balreed group marketing director Gary Downey said: “We
have worked with the marathon organisers before, providing the
technology for the Prudential RideLondon and I’m delighted that
the quality of support we provided has been recognised.”
Toshiba to sponsor Rugby World Cup 2015
Toshiba has been appointed an Official Sponsor of the Rugby
World Cup 2015, being held in England and Wales from
September 18 to October 31. This is the third consecutive
Rugby World Cup that Toshiba has sponsored.
As part of the sponsorship agreement, Toshiba will provide
a range of products to help with the running of the event. In
return, it will have advertising on perimeter boards at each of the
tournament’s 48 matches.
Noriaki Hashimoto, Corporate Vice President, Corporate
Representative EMEA, Toshiba Corporation, said: “Toshiba is
delighted to be continuing its successful partnership with the
Rugby World Cup. The tournament is one of the world’s greatest
sporting events and we’re looking forward to playing our part
in bringing the power and the passion of the games to a bigger
audience than ever before.”
Toshiba has a long history of supporting rugby. It is the Official
Sponsor of the Japanese Men’s team, also taking part in the
Rugby World Cup 2015, and has its own team, Brave Lupus,
which competes in Japan’s Rugby Top League.
SMEs are becoming more
successful at securing external
finance for investment, but
their appetite for it remains
limited as they focus on paying
down debts rather than taking
on more borrowing.
BDRC Continental’s 15th
quarterly
SME Finance Monitor
shows that the proportion of
SMEs using external finance fell
to 37% in 2014, down from 46%
in 2011. More than seven out
of 10 (71%) aim to remain debt-
free once they have paid off an
existing debt.
Meanwhile, access to external
finance has improved, with just
6% rating it as a major obstacle,
down from 12% in Q1 2013. In
the last 18 months, more than
three quarters (76%) of all loan
and overdraft applications have
been fully or partially successful,
up from 67% in the 18 months
to Q4 2013.
However, success rates are
lower for first time borrowers.
Almost all (99%) loan and
overdraft renewals are now
successful, compared to 62%
of applications for new money.
In addition, first time applicants
for new money remain less likely
to be successful (57% in 2014
to date) than those who have
borrowed before (73%).
sme-finance-monitor.co.uk
SMEs resist temptation to take on more debt
Printing can be good for you
Amid growing concern about office workers’ sedentary lifestyles,
Guy Osmond, a vendor of sit-stand desks and other ergonomic
products, is urging businesses to place printers further away
from users to encourage employees to move around more.
In his blog, the managing director of Osmond Ergonomics writes:
“More walking meetings, taking and making telephone calls on
the move, locating printers and water coolers away from desks,
drinking lots of water (to create natural breaks) and many other
simple, effective (and often free) techniques can be applied to the
workplace to increase movement and reduce cardiovascular risks.”
Epson RIPS network announced
Epson has announced the first 26 managed print service
(MPS) providers to stock its revolutionary Workforce Pro
RIPS (Replaceable Ink Pack System) range of business inkjet
printers.
Launched last year, RIPS devices come with extra large ink sacks
containing enough ink for 75,000 pages – or three years’ worth
of printing for the average business, according to Epson – and
consume up to 80% less energy than comparable laser devices.
RIPS workgroup printers/MFPs are particularly suitable for MPS
suppliers as the large ink supply and small number of parts keeps
costs and maintenance requirements to a minimum.
Epson’s network of RIPS providers extends nationwide and includes
ASL, Bytek Ltd, Contrac, Sapphire Print Solutions and Scan DB.
BULLETIN
PRINT.IT
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bulletin
Getting up to
retrieve prints
could have
health benefits
(photo courtesy
of Kyocera).
