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Elk Grove firm stays flexible to changing mobile technology

Remember the Palm Pilot, that handy little handheld device that allowed you to organize and sync your world with your computer?

Andrew Graham certainly remembers. That device became a turning point in the '90s for his printer company. Seeing a need among his business customers for a handheld device that could print receipts, Graham's company, Elk Grove Village-based Infinite Peripherals, developed a portable printer that connected to the Palm, allowing people to use their personal digital assistant as a point-of-sale or delivery receipt device.

Today, the 80-employee company develops and sells printers, bar code and credit card scanners, and other devices that connect to Apple iPhones, iPads, iPods and other mobile devices for the retail, logistics, delivery and medical industries, as well as small businesses. IPC's portfolio accounts for more than $50 million in annual sales, according to Graham, IPC's founder and president.

While there are other, much bigger companies that sell mobile point-of-sale devices, printers, inventory scanners and other peripherals, IPC's products are built to connect and adapt to consumer devices like the iPhone, which Graham says makes them a more cost-effective alternative to a business owner.

“We're adapting Apple for enterprise use,” he said. “If you can adapt a consumer Apple device to an enterprise, then the enterprise gets the advantage of the constantly changing technology, and they are already used to the interface.

“There's no technology learning curve for employees,” he added. “It's likely the same device they use at home.”

And adaptability is critical when working with a technology that is constantly in flux. The mobile industry has changed exponentially from the days of the Palm. Graham said the company has developed a wealth of knowledge over the 16-plus years creating products for devices ranging from the Palm, to Windows Mobile and Blackberry, to the current Apple iOS and Android mobile platforms.

When Apple unveiled the iPod — and later the iPhone — things really turned for IPC, Graham noted.

“The iPhone is a computer shoved into a phone,” he said. “That opened the door for us. We took our expertise in connecting into other PDAs and moved it into the iPod universe, and all of a sudden, with the affordability of iPods and iPhones, got a lot of big enterprise interest.”

Graham notes that while they do provide printers and scanners that work with Android and Windows devices, their focus has been on adapting to Apple's mobile portfolio. The affordable price of iPods, iPhones and iPad tablets, coupled with IPC's peripherals, has made the devices a more cost-effective alternative to the larger companies' offerings, especially for small businesses, he said.

IPC's portfolio still includes stand-alone and in-device printers, point-of-sale and scanning devices and accessories. It's newest product, the DPP-255 mobile printer, is a high-speed receipt printer that will work with any mobile device. Graham notes the new printer is faster than previous versions and, with a 2-inch width, can also print labels.

With it's hardware product line firmed up, Graham said the company is beginning to step into the software market, which will make IPC a full-service solutions provider.

“We have a lot of accumulated knowledge over the past 16 years about what software implementations work and what don't,” he said. “It's a complete solution where we can come in and say ‘Let us take a crack at helping you design your software, or let us design it or be consultants on what's the best practice.'”

More information is at https://ipcmobile.com.

Infinite Peripherals' product line includes inventory scanners that attach to an iPhone or iPad.

News Bytes

• Northbrook-based Digital Check Corp., a developer of digital payment and image processing solutions, is adding to its management to help the company explore and develop opportunities in the industry.

The company said Executive Vice President John Gainer will take the new role of Director of Corporate Strategy. He will provide guidance to the organization on diversification and planning for the company. Gainer will report directly to Digital Check President & CEO Thomas P. Anderson.

Jeff Hempker, formerly senior vice president for North America sales and marketing, will replace Gainer as executive vice president.

Anderson said the changes will play an important part in the company's ongoing evolution into the digital payments age.

“As we continue the progression from a hardware manufacturer, into an integrated provider of hardware and software image processing tools, our new leadership structure will help guide Digital Check forward,” Anderson said. Other positions and titles will be announced soon. • Champion Medical Technologies in Lake Zurich has renamed itself Champion Healthcare Technologies to more accurately reflect its corporate as a provider of systems that help hospitals better manage implantable devices and tissue.

The company also debuted a new website, logo and motto, “Freedom to do more good.”

Champion is an innovator in the unique device identifier market, mandated for device makers by the Food and Drug Administration.

“We have long thought that Champion Medical sounds more like a product company; it has a clinical tone that doesn't really represent what we're about,” said Peter I. Casady, the company's co-founder and CEO. “We think of Champion as solving a broader challenge, one that spans health care, in reducing costs and increasing patient safety.”

The new website more clearly focuses on UDITracker and on the issue of UDIs in health care.

• Magenium Solutions in Glen Ellyn has achieved Select Certification from Cisco.

The Select Certification recognizes Cisco resale partners that focus on meeting the technology and services needs of small businesses. Magenium earned the certification by meeting the training and exam requirements for the Cisco Small Business Specialization. Magenium also met the personnel, training and post sales support requirements set forth by Cisco.

“Working with Cisco enables Magenium to deliver the products and services necessary to enable a new generation of enterprise IT services without compromising security or function.” said Tom Egan, vice president of products and services.

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