Xerox to acquire Lexmark

[jasoneckert]

While many here will note the potential downsides for Lexmark here, the strategic fit statement of "Xerox and Lexmark have complementary sets of operations" likely means that Xerox will keep Lexmark operating as usual in the short term. And in the long term, there is a greater possibility of them growing the Lexmark side with their resources because Lexmark is an established brand, was already an existing partner/supplier for Xerox, as well as focused on certain growth areas (e.g., IoT, WFA) that Xerox did not.

Now, if Broadcom were to acquire Lexmark, they'd likely get rid of 70% of the people and focus on extracting more money from the top 10% of Lexmark users via a subscription model that would make HP look tame by comparison.

[dangoodmanUT]

> Lexmark creates cloud-enabled imaging and IoT technologies that help customers worldwide quickly realize business outcomes. Through a powerful combination of proven technologies and deep industry expertise, Lexmark accelerates business transformation, turning information into insights, data into decisions, and analytics into action

Great, so I have no idea what they do.

[ryandrake]

I'm convinced only CEOs know how to translate that into English.

Company descriptions like this ought to be written as if you're explaining what your company does to a 6 year old. Imagine explaining your job to a class of first graders and telling them "I accelerate business transformation!" Yea, they'll be as lost as the rest of us.

[layer8]

It seems that they can only turn stuff into other stuff if it starts with the same letter. That space is ripe for disruption!

[echelon]

> Lexmark creates cloud-enabled imaging and IoT technologies

We make printers

> that help customers worldwide quickly realize business outcomes.

To help you do business

> Through a powerful combination of proven technologies and deep industry expertise,

We've been doing this for a while

> Lexmark accelerates business transformation, turning information into insights, data into decisions, and analytics into action

We help your company get important work done

On this last point, a company is more than just its products, technology, and IP. It's people. People that are hopefully empowered and educated to make nimble decisions and rapidly respond to changing conditions.

But yeah, they sell printers.

[jjeaff]

I put that blurb into ChatGPT and asked it to translate the corporate speak into normal English:

Lexmark makes cloud-based printing and smart device technologies to help businesses achieve their goals faster. They use reliable technology and industry knowledge to help companies improve, turning information into useful insights, data into decisions, and analysis into action.

[gausswho]

Someone please turn that into a the backing vocals of a techno song.

[lifestyleguru]

They help realize business outcomes.

[chiph]

Lexmark was the supplier of Model M keyboards for a while, after IBM spun their printer & keyboard business off. Which they later spun off into Unicomp (pckeyboard.com) who still manufacture them in the town of Lexington.

If you've never used a Model M, they're beasts. Great mechanical feel (they have buckling spring technology). And they're heavy enough to not slide around on your desk.

[kstrauser]

I bought a Unicomp Type M once to replace my IBM because it had USB, more keys, etc. It was Model M “Lite”: same key feel, same delightful clicky, but much lighter and more flexible.

You could march into battle with an IBM Model M. I don’t think you could take on more than one local thug with the Unicomp version.

[nhecker]

Former Lexmarker here; I bought a Unicomp keyboard to compliment my beastly Model M that I've used on every single computer I've owned. The Unicomp is good but I keep coming back to the IBM M. It's fun to have something physical that ties my childhood, job, and employment together like that. I like the fact that I can use a piece of electronic equipment on a daily basis and it still hasn't died yet.

As another commenter said, there are more modern keyboards available but the feel (and yes the nostalgia) of the M is yet to be beat in my mind for daily use. Although a few of the current ones come close...

[3pm]

I’m hearing that Lexmark/Unicomp keyboards were/are a cost cutting project compared to original Model F. Interestingly there is a company that resurrected true, pre cost cutting, model F: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com

[acjohnson55]

I used to work at Lexmark in the same lab as the son of Neil Muyskens, who founded Unicomp.

[MisterTea]

My 1986 M is still going strong.

> If you've never used a Model M, they're beasts.

I jokingly call it the preppers keyboard as it can double as a clubbing weapon when SHTF.

[ryao]

My unicomp model m died after a few years. I never found time to return it to unicomp for repair and ended up discarding it to clear my long to do list. Reportedly, there were cost saving changes over the years that reduced weight and reliability. The weight reductions are definitely real. I might have just been unlucky with the keyboard failure, although I assume it involved the circuitry for making it work with USB, which the original model m keyboards did not have.

[philistine]

They're wonderful things, unfortunately Unicomp has not introduced the latest keyboard layouts that have been introduced since 1988. So I can't get my beloved CAN/CSA Z243.200 for a battle-capable keyboard.

[onre]

I have the 122-key version and a ton of Emacs bindings to make the most out of the 24 function keys and the 12-key panel on the left. It is simply the best.

[SoftTalker]

They're not so great if you have an open office. You can hear the person with the Model M clattering away from across the room.

[sunnytimes]

I used to fix Lexmark printers , they are "PC load letter" printers. not as bad as HP but lexmark printers stop working for various no reasons. Most of the time the trays would mess up due to a little dust or you would have to get the person to smack the drum over the phone and that would usually help. they never stop working but they will crumble 10 pages into a ball inside the machine ha..

side note . HP printers are the worst for PC load letter. I've fixed HP printers my whole life. I love reading the manuals and they use "might" or "maybe" to describe fixes or errors.

[rrr_oh_man]

PC Load Letter: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_LOAD_LETTER

[Shakahs]

Counterpoint: I also used to fix Lexmark printers as a field tech servicing pharmacies. It was routine to see Lexmark MS711dn printers with page counts in the millions. They did not need more than basic maintenance.

[nuancebydefault]

PC load A4 you mean?

[i80and]

I got a Lexmark for their driverless IPP Everywhere support and it's the best zero-fuss printer I've ever owned.

Xerox doesn't have any IPP Everywhere devices, so I hope this isn't Lexmark's death knell.

[tecleandor]

Spun off from IBM to end up at Xerox 30 years later.

I haven't followed Xerox in the last - 20? years, so I don't know how terrible could this be.

[sedatk]

I didn’t know these brands still existed. The title felt like “East India Company to acquire Silk Road”.

[TomMasz]

This is unfortunate for Lexmark employees.

[silisili]

Lexmark is unfortunate for Lexmark employees. Knew a guy who worked there - constant layoffs and train-your-replacement offshoring, nearly every year. It's a shell of what it was 20 years ago, but that's probably to be expected for a printer company.

[ks2048]

Is there any printer company that is not 30+ years old? What is stopping a start-up from making a printer people actually like?

[volkk]

this headline feels like i'm in 1996 again

[bentt]

Growing up in Rochester, NY, where Xerox was founded and has/had the most employees... I'm just glad to hear they have enough resources to acquire something. Been a rough couple decades.

[agmater]

Why would Ninestar sell off Lexmark, is it just that they got a good price? I thought the pantum and printer business was an interesting move, but maybe they just couldn't make it work.

[acjohnson55]

I spent some of the formative time in my career at Lexmark. They sponsored my GEM Fellowship for grad school, and I worked there for 4 internships in 4 years in the mid 2000s. It was an interesting window into the business world.

- Lexmark came into existence when IBM wanted to spin off their declining printer, keyboard, and typewriter businesses, which were headquartered in Lexington, KY, hence the name.

- According to some of my coworkers, IBM brought all the most dynamic leaders back to the mothership, so Lexmark was left with whoever stayed behind or was left behind. These folks weren't highly respected by the engineers I knew, but I can't really judge, personally.

- As many of you all know, some IBM/Lexmark manufacturing folks arranged a deal to take the keyboard business independent, as Unicomp.

- In a major settlement with HP over patents, the two companies had a full exchange of printing technology, resulting in Lexmark gaining cutting edge laser printing tech. According to people I know, this turned a moribund company into a player.

- Lexmark became most well known for bringing the "razor blade" business model to consumer inkjet printing. They would literally give printers away with a manufacturer's rebate, hoping to make the money back on supplies (e.g. ink cartridges). Unfortunately, there were so many printers floating around that many people would just throw out the old one when it was out of ink. It was a catastrophe.

- When I was working there, one of the major initiatives was to create the cheapest possible inkjet printer. On the other hand, there was still a lot of pretty cool R&D going on. Just nowhere near the level of investment HP was making.

- Lexmark became infamous for attempting to enforce DRM on its supplies to prevent people from refilling ink cartridges, forcing them to buy high margin supplies. While I was there, we were shipping cartridges with write-once memory for tracking usage.

- In parallel to consumer inkjet, Lexmark had an almost completely separate business unit doing business printers, based on laser printing technology. In this market, you sell full on documents capabilities and services, with the printer merely being the central piece of hardware.

- A few years after my last stint there, Lexmark exited the consumer inkjet business and became solely B2B. I didn't follow the company closely after this point.

Working at Lexmark was one of the things that convinced me to leave tech for education. I enjoyed my short stints there, but just found the environment completely uninspiring as a place to really establish my career. Being my main exposure to the tech career (along with previous internships at manufacturing companies), I assumed that this was what the whole industry was like. (I returned to tech a few years later, but that's a whole other story.)

[linotype]

Now I want to know why you left education for tech! :)

[onemoresoop]

I wasn’t even aware Xerox was still around..

[hipadev23]

Is this comparable to when two extremely old widowers decide be roommates and live out their remaining days?

[elorant]

Bought a Lexmark E232 laser printer back in 2006. 18 years and 110k pages later the damn thing still works flawlessly. I have nothing but admiration for their printers.

[rrr_oh_man]

How do you know it’s been 110k?

[casenmgreen]

Wonder why it happened? anyone know the back story?

[mritchie712]

Maybe the both had a similar AI strategy

[Narishma]

TIL both Xerox and Lexmark still exist. I haven't heard those names for a couple of decades.

[codegladiator]

> I would think that the market for printing is shrinking with more documents being sent via the Internet

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol-wwJBVncQ