S & P Brokerage - November 2003 MediaGram

Flatbeds at SGIA

Many at SGIA said this would be the "year of the flatbed inkjet." This author witnessed eight demos, though many of the sub-$250,000 class were surrounded by busy technicians.

The promise of an affordable, versatile flatbed was squarely addressed by the CreonJet 8250. It's tuff-shed enclosure houses a four by eight flatbed with six CMYK, and two white heads for printing on dark surfaces. Open the front and back, and you can pass long dimension (8 feet) roll material through...perhaps the most novel printer at the show!

For a summary of < $500,000 flatbeds, please click here.

A Credit Manager's View
By Pat McCann

Credit people, since time began, have looked at the five Cs: character, competency, capacity, collateral, and cash flow. And since a credit officer works in a room without windows, he sees only the statements before him.

The first consideration is always time in business, and less than two years means risk. The best rates apply to those concerns with five or more years under their belts.

Bank balances are examined next, and NSFs are death. Acceptable levels begin at low four figures, and common comfort zones begin in the low five figures (eg. $34,000 average balance).

Next comes trade references, and an average manager expects three good ones with no over-thirty-day payment remarks. For larger transactions, he will look for a similar size debt that has been repaid according to established terms. This is called a "comparable debt reference."

They say that in small business, cash is king. In lending, this aphorism holds equally true. A credit manager must always ensure a business has sufficient cash flow to service the existing, and new debt without speculating about the impact of the current investment.

Personal credit is almost always evaluated in a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, and S-Corporation. Since these organizations typically pass most all earnings to the owners, much of their net worth is held outside the company.

The Fair Issac score, an industry predictive model generating twenty-five billion decisions per year, is used to judge probable future credit-worthiness. A score above 680 is good for most transactions.

Financial statements tell a company's story, and are typically necessary for transactions over $75,000. A thorough manager will ask for two full years, and for larger transactions, a third year is often required.

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Equipment We're Seeking to Buy

VUTEk 2360sc, VUTEk 3360