From: TomCrouser@aol.com
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 14:20:38 -0400
Subject: Electronic File Transfers
Content-Length: 17652
X-UIDL: 838328891.000

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ELECTRONIC FILE TRANSFERS
Transmitted from Trenton, New Jersey

Index: This week our letters are about: More About Electronic FILE Transfer;
and a response to LEASING equipment from ourselves.
*****
More About Electronic FILE Transfer Software

Last week we discussed transferring files from the customer to the printer to
the vendor and gave a couple of thoughts. I said:

1. Install file transfer software (ASAP, Launch) at your site and get your
vendor to install it also (or deal with those who have installed it or a
similar product). Then you would only be going one way.

2. Deal with vendors who maintain a bulletin boards (similar to file transfer
software only more complex for you to use, although it can be done).

3. Transfer files to vendors via internet using appropriate FTP s.
*****
We heard from Steve at PagePath Technologies with his thoughts on the
subject:

From:	stevec@pagepath.com (Steve Ciesmier)
To:	TomCrouser@aol.com

Tom, I believe you qualify for guru status. Your answers to Brad s file
transfer question are right on point. What Brad seems to be describing is
similar to passing the Olympic torch. (how s that for a timely example?) The
end customer hands off the job files to his broker (Brad) who then hands the
files off to his vendor. This is actually a relay rather than 

two way


communication. 

We have quite a number of print centers and brokers handling this sort of
relay situation now. As an example, Dave Wensler is the owner of FRI
Resources in St. Louis. FRI is a broker and has been extremely successful
using LAUNCH! to grow its business and effectively compete for market share. 

Job file relay is typically implemented in two ways: 1) the One Step Relay -
where the end customer sends directly to the print center, or 2) the Two Step
Relay - where the end customer sends to broker who in turn sends to the print
center.  About 45% use #1, 55% #2.

In the One Step Relay (sounds like a new square dance doesn t it?) the print
center provides its broker with LAUNCH! Sender software that has been
customized with the brokers logo rather than the print center s. This way the
end customer still believes they are dealing with the broker and the print
center identity remains hidden. The disadvantages are that the broker does
not actually 

handle

 or control the files. The advantages are low cost and
speed. Plus, the broker does not have to be tied to the office to re-transmit
the job files to the print center. This plan presupposes a good working
relationship between broker and print center. 

In the Two Step Relay, the broker provides the end customer with its own
Sender software. For step one, the end customer uses this to transmit job
files the broker. For step two the broker uses  the print vendors software to
re-transmit  job files that the broker has received from the end customer.
The advantages here are that the broker maintains absolute control of all
jobs. The disadvantages are that the broker potentially becomes a bottleneck
in the transfer process and both the broker and the print center need their
own version of the software. 

LAUNCH! now works over standard phone lines, ISDN phone lines, the Internet
FTP, and over LAN/WAN s. Users do not have to know how these work, they
simply click the LAUNCH button and the software does the rest. By the way,
one of the reasons LAUNCH! works in one direction is for security. Much like
handing a package through the bars of a gate, LAUNCH! can only receive jobs.
It does not allow outsiders to enter your system and play mischief with your
records. 

Steve Ciesmier
PagePath Technologies
E-mail: sciesmier@pagepath.com
Phone: 708-616-0131, Fax: 708-616-0440
Web: http://www.pagepath.com
*****
Thanks, Steve. Now, a couple of folks revisited the question of having such a
system as ASAP or Launch in the first place. After, all can t the same thing
be done without the commercial software?
*****
Subj:	Electronic file transfer
From:	smc@sorrentomesa.com (Scott Cappel)
To:	      tomcrouser@aol.com

Tom, a couple of thoughts...The issue of electronic file transfer is a
reality that printers must not only deal with, but become comfortable with.
Without this capability:

1. Clients who actually request the capability will look elsewhere.

2. Clients who are not aware of the capability soon become very interested
when educated about how it can benefit them (I call it the gee-whiz factor).

Case in point, yesterday a biotech client here in San Diego requested a copy
of their logo on disk so they could send it to the UK for a publication that
is being printed there. They were in a panic because someone had dropped the
ball on their side and they were counting on Fed-Ex to get it there in time.
The tone of the conversation suddenly became very calm after I explained that
I could get the file there in about 10 minutes if they had an E-mail address
I could send it to. I could feel the tension drain out of her voice when she
asked 

Can you really do that?

  This kind of client support can not only
bond an account, but next time someone raises the  ol price objection, you
can gently remind them of the benefits having a resource that can solve
problems when they arise.

I think the more ways you can send and receive electronic files or documents,
the easier you will be able to do business with. I think at a minimum you
must have both an AOL account and a CompuServe account. If you retain them
only for file transfer, it will cost you about $20/month. Pretty cheap if you
consider most people have one or the other and they are both excellent ways
to send files without dealing with the issues of compacting and encoding.

For the more sophisticated users we have an FTP dropbox and clients can also
send files by using an E-Mail program like Eudora after they compact and
encode. I have found that it isn t difficult to teach clients how to compact
and encode. Many of our clients have direct Internet access either through a
Internet Service Provider or some even have T1 lines direct. There is a
hunger out there about how to do this.
It s a great way to sit in your clients office and 

teach them about the
Internet

. If you can get your clients to feel more comfortable about how to
actually use the Internet to their advantage, you go a long way to being more
than 

just another printer

.

All the programs needed for this are free on the Internet for downloading
which brings me to ASAP and Launch. I have nothing against either of these
products but I find them very expensive considering what they do. Granted,
they do make it very easy to do file transfer for users that don t want to
deal with the issues mentioned above, but that will probably change as more
and more people 

get into the Internet

. Those programs also have the
advantage of 

locking in the client

 since they are configured to dial up
only the printer who gave them the software. This is probably a short term
advantage. In the long term, as file transfer becomes commonplace, this
advantage will disappear. People won t want 4 Launch or ASAP icons on their
desktop, they will just want to know how to 

do it

 and then send it to who
they choose (provided who they choose knows how to receive it). I freely
admit that my comments and opinions are based on what I see happening in the
marketplace, and my own personal biases.
*****
Hey, Scott. You make some very good points, especially when you said, 

I
think the more ways you can send and receive electronic files or documents,
the easier you will be able to do business with.

 I couldn t agree with this
more.  With our clients, we REQUIRE an internet address in order to be able
to service them on a long term basis. One reason for this is so they will
become use to basic file transfers which can easily be done over AOL or
CompuServe. And, I also agree for your more sophisticated customers, FTP s
can be used.

However, I feel Launch and ASAP provide a very necessary 

gap plugger.

 The
gap is the customer who has a computer and perhaps a modem, but who has not
yet been wired, or even the user who is conversant with AOL, etc., but isn t
comfortable enough to move onto a local service provider or use File Transfer
Protocols. And, I know this isn t like a really big STEP between the two. . .
.but I think it is a really big GAP between the two. I see the great bulk of
our customers today as not as sophisticated as many of us would like to
believe. In fact, many of us are not as sophisticated as we would like to
believe, but that s another story.

So, I see many customers out there (I ve made about forty sales calls on
printing customers with clients during the past month), where the Launch and
ASAP approach would be VERY useful (especially big files and a local
telephone call).  So, to go after the GAP customers who haven t taken the big
STEP yet (and who never might), Electronic File Transfer software is the way
to go. As we agreed, 

I think the more ways you can send and receive
electronic files or documents, the easier you will be able to do business
with.

 Amen. In my sales took kit, I would include Electronic File Transfer
software as one of those ways, especially until the customer s sophistication
no longer requires it. (Read: long time from now.)
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Now, with that said, let s hear from David who has a slightly different take
on the same question.
*****
Subj:	Why Launch?
From:	proprinters@taconic.net (David Scott)
To:        tomcrouser@aol.com

Received phone call from Launch Software salesperson last week. When I asked
them this simple question I received an unsatisfactory answer...then they
said they didn t think they could help me.  What do you think?

Question: Why do I need launch when digital files can be sent easily and
freely via the internet? We just zip  em and send them without complications.
Their Answer: Because Launch makes sure that these files are only sent to
you. Come on...Do you really think that a dissatisfied customer is going to
continue sending their work to you just because of Launch?  They are going to
get on the phone to the next printer who will meet their needs.

I just go to my customers office, give them a step by step list of how to
send their file to me and show them on their computer.  Why spend the extra
$$$$ ? Their Answer: Because Launch is easier.

Really?  How much easier could it be then about 5 simple steps it takes to do
it on the net? Then, if you really want to make it easy...why not send it via
modem via PC Anywhere software? It cost the amount of the phone call but it
is equally simple.

David L. Scott, Pro Printers, Hudson, New York
*****
Well, David. You ask what I think. Here goes. Why do I need launch when
digital files can be sent easily and freely via the internet? We just zip  em
and send them without complications. Answer: You don t, but your customer
does. I was with a client in Miami this last month who was doing tech support
for WinFax Lite for gosh sakes. He was just trying to get the customer to fax
him something. So, if you are dealing with a sophisticated customer, you
would probably be right. . . .but, in my opinion, the broad base of customers
aren t sophisticated. (Many computer and modem owners have never used zipped
or unzipped a file. It s not hard, but the point is they don t know how to do
it.)

Come on...Do you really think that a dissatisfied customer is going to
continue sending their work to you just because of Launch?  They are going to
get on the phone to the next printer who will meet their needs. Nope, but
my understanding is they won t do it with that particular software. Both
Launch and ASAP, to my limited understanding, will enable you to lock your
number into the system. So, the software won t keep them coming to you if you
torque them off, but it will prevent them from using your software to send
jobs to other printers.

How much easier could it be then about 5 simple steps it takes to do it on
the net? We assume here the customer has access to the internet. Yes, it is
growing by leaps and bounds, but not everyone does at this time. As for the
five simple steps. . . .well, I develop software and my experience is to
eliminate the word 

simple.

 It can be done. But, I don t know about simple.
I do think the commercial software makes it simplier for the GAP customer
discussed previously.

Why not send it via modem via PC Anywhere software? It cost the amount of
the phone call but it is equally simple.  Right. But many people object to
having others get into their computer and do anything with it you can do at
your keyboard which is what PC Anywhere is designed to do. Again, the
operative word is again simple. If you are dealing with sophisticated users,
your points are very valid. But, I don t think the broad printing customer
market is sophisticated. Maybe one day it will be. But, again, in my sales
tool box, I d like to have some power.
*****
Tom Crouser s Endorsement
Our friends and clients will tell you I don t endorse buying something
freely. I spend most of my time talking people out of rather than into stuff.
That s because I think there should be reasons for making investments in
equipment and I think you ought to have the money to invest in the first
place. So, if you have the bucks, then put Electronic File Transfer programs
high on your list of things to evaluate. The reasons, in my opinion, are
here.
*****
Another Word on LEASING Yourself Equipment

AlwaysAtRisk comes through with an enlightened response to NoAssets position
of leasing everything to his company to avoid possible litigation losses.
Here s the reply.
*****
Subj:     Leasing & Lawsuits
From:   AlwaysAtRisk
To:       TomCrouser



NoAssets

 presented the hypothetical scenario of a customer being injured in
his company s parking lot and subsequently suing the printing corporation.
Wouldn t any competent personal injury lawyer ALSO sue the property owner (in
this case 

NoAssets

 and his wife)? IMHO, establishing separate entities for
business, equipment and real property ownership is not a particularly
effective lawsuit avoidance tactic.

As a judgment limiting strategy, compartmentalization of assets might be
helpful, but as you suggest, Tom, it seems overly prudent, with the desired
results in no way guaranteed.  Consider...

1. The plaintiff s attorney will probably attempt to show that both the
corporation and the property owner share responsibility for the injury. 

2. Even if the lawsuit against the property owner as co-defendant is thrown
out of court, an attempt to penetrate the corporate veil may be made come
judgment time should the plaintiff prevail. The defendants are likely to be
portrayed to the jury as crafty, evil folks who purposely set up a shell
corporation with minimal assets just to avoid paying their due to the


injured

 party. The fact that the 

real

 assets of the printing corporation
are owned by the same two people gives the opposing attorney a good
opportunity to persuade a sympathetic jury to pierce that corporate shell
when making a monetary award. Might be overturned on appeal, but...

Aaarghhh! Looks like we ll have to keep on cutting those business insurance
premium checks for the foreseeable future. 
*****
Thank you,  AlwaysAtRisk, for the very thoughtful message. I m glad someone
could say what I was feelings in a better form. Good job. Tom
*****
As a final note, being from West Virginia, I assume we are backwoodsy and
don t know everything. For instance, in New Jersey, they have found out that
pumping your own gasoline is so dangerous it requires a skilled worker. There
is no self-service. So, even though I had to wait in the long line as the
attendant tried to keep up with the crowd, I knew I was much safer. The thing
that confuses me is that I paid $1.16 a gallon in New Jersey and $1.32 a
gallon back home and we pump it ourselves. I know those city boys are gettin 
me. . .I just haven t figured out how yet.

Happy Trails. . . .Tom and Pamela
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