Lexmark International Tuesday reported that fourth-quarter profit plummeted 82 percent to $18.1 million from $99 million in the same period a year ago, blaming lower laser and inkjet hardware sales and shifting currency rates.

Revenue in the quarter declined 17 percent to $1.08 billion from $1.31 billion a year ago. For the year, Lexmark reported that net income fell 20 percent to $240.2 million from $300.8 million. Revenue fell 9 percent to $4.53 billion from $4.97 billion a year ago.

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TallyGenicom, a leading global provider of quality printing solutions, announced today that it has filed a voluntary petition for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Company’s filing was instituted in order to effectuate the sale of certain U.S.-based assets of TallyGenicom. As part of its filing, TallyGenicom will be seeking Court approval to name Printronix Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and provider of industrial and back-office printing solutions as the lead bidder in the auction process.

“The economic recession in the U.S. and global downturn along with tight credit markets worldwide has had a serious impact on TallyGenicom and on many of our customers which in turn affects their purchase of equipment such as ours,” said Dan Adragna, Chief Executive Officer. “After working with our advisors, investors and lenders to explore a number of alternatives, we have made the strategic decision to pursue a Chapter 11 filing in order to effectuate a sale of certain of the Company’s U.S.-based assets.”

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Irvine-based Printronix, a developer of printing and RFID technology, said Tuesday morning that it is looking to acquire the assets of TallyGenicom LP, a developer of line matrix and serial matrix printers. The firm said it is seeking the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to be named the lead bidder on TalliGenicom, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Printronix is owned by private equity firm Vector Capital, which took the firm private last year. Financial details of the acquisition effort were not disclosed.

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On Feb. 1, Staples, Inc. will become the first national retailer to offer a comprehensive ink and toner recycling program that rewards customers for recycling any brand or type of cartridge, regardless of manufacturer. As a part of their EcoEasy suite of green initiatives, Staples now provides an opportunity for customers to earn $3 back in Staples Rewards on any brand or type of ink or toner, just for choosing to recycle them instead of throwing them away.

“The emergence of user-friendly ink and toner recycling programs like the one Staples is offering is an important step in helping Americans make more environmentally-friendly choices in their daily lives by keeping valuable products and materials out of the waste stream,” said Matt Hale, drector of the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery for the U.S. EPA

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Lexmark International will cut or transfer nearly 160 jobs at its Lexington headquarters as part of its fifth restructuring or work-force reduction in five years.

The printer maker's executives confirmed the number to the Herald-Leader on Tuesday as they discussed fourth-quarter earnings. If not for a one-time tax benefit, the company would have had a loss for the quarter because of the restructuring.

"Clearly this was a challenging year for Lexmark," chief executive Paul Curlander told analysts during a morning conference call.

Executives blamed the global economic slowdown for the worse-than-expected fourth quarter results but acknowledged that they come on top of Lexmark's attempts to turn around its ailing inkjet business, which has been suffering since 2005.

"The issue for Lexmark is they've had repeated restructuring, and I don't think you can make the argument that if the economy had not tanked that Lexmark's results would be significantly better than a couple of years ago," said Tom Carpenter, vice president and senior equity analyst at Hilliard Lyons in Louisville.

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One-time charges caused Xerox Corp. to post fourth-quarter earnings way short of analysts’ expectations.

The printer and imaging company essentially broke even in the quarter ended Dec. 31, announcing Friday a profit of $1 million, down from $382 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

That translates to earnings of zero cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 41 cents per share in the year-earlier period.

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On Sunday, the office products chain will begin rewarding customers $3 in Staples Rewards on any recycled brand or type of ink or toner cartridge. Previously, the offer was limited to certain brands.

In 2008, the company recycled more than 22 million ink and toner cartridges. With this program expansion, Staples expects to recycle more than 30 million cartridges in 2009 and become the world's largest ink and toner recycler.

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Lexmark International Inc warned that its fourth quarter results would be lower than expected, due to weak computer printer sales and increased restructuring costs.

It also set a new 2009 restructuring plan that will result in charges of $45 million and affect 375 jobs.

The company expects its fourth quarter revenue to decline about 17 percent. It had previously forecast a fourth quarter drop in the low to mid-teens range.

It said revenue had been hurt by lower laser and inkjet hardware unit sales and currency rate shifts during the quarter.

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Printer.com, the largest proprietary database of printer ink and toner prices, announced their price indices show most major manufacturers are increasing their retail pricing anywhere from 3% to 6%.

This affects not just one or two manufacturers, but appears to affect all manufacturers. As of September 2008, HP increased the list prices on all Mono and Color LaserJet Print Cartridges by 5%, as well as approximately 5-6% on Inkjet Cartridges. Lexmark and Xerox also raised their pricing on printer supplies in November 2008 with 5% across the board for Lexmark and 3% to 6% for Xerox. Brother, Canon and Oki soon followed suit.

Printer.com's Director of U.S. Operations Bob Crum, says, "Expect the ink and toner cartridge price increases to remain until several months after the recession has been put to bed. No one likes increasing prices, but ink and toner are often very profitable revenue streams for printer manufacturers, and incremental price increases just make business sense for a lot of organizations looking to increase profit margins in tougher financial conditions."

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Eco-printed products company, Pixxlz is thinking of changing their tag line from "We Print Green" to "Our Product Is Crap." After much research and testing on their various eco-friendly printing presses, Pixxlz has found a paper that is not comprised of one single tree; it's made from elephant dung. "Not only is it fun to talk about," says Pixxlz President, Lindsey Burkhardt, "but it looks great too."

Aside from the paper's esthetic draw, the purchase of the Sri Lankan-based Mr. Ellie Pooh paper will prove to have a significantly lower carbon footprint than conventional paper, help a decades long conflict between farmers and elephants as well as boost the Sri Lankan economy and of course, save trees.

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