Pacquiao vs Hatton - brought to you by Rentacolor ;)

Rentacolor was there.

Well, not really. We rented out 3 of our 32inch LCDTVs and installed it in a provincial sports arena (read sabungan) for the benefit of the townpeople in the area. A prominent political figure gifted his townmates with a live TV broadcast of the bout that established our very own Manny Pacquiao as one of the "greatest fighter who ever lived". While the jury is still out on that one, the demolition of Ricky Hatton in 2 rounds unites the nation once more. At least, for a little while.

Rentacolor - Your Virtual Audio Video Department

Tired of scrambling for a reliable audio video supplier for your business presentation? Did the other department beat you in reserving the projector, again? Do you want to jazz up your exhibit to impress your potential client?

For over 30 years, more than 2500 Philippine companies and countless individuals have tried Rentacolor service. From a noontime TV shows on remote broadcasts , multinational companies on tight schedules, birthday parties and house blessings and even funeral services.

We’re just one phone call away: 892-6772

Rentacolor has a wide range of equipment to serve your needs:
DLP projector

OHP projector
LCD monitor

DVD player
CRT television

VHS recorder

We even keep old equipments like a Beta player, Super 8mm for that rare occasion you might need one.

Call us for a quotation. You can rent as short as a day. We can also quote on a per project basis.

The Printer - A Case Study on Changes in Profitability Model

What is the REAL COST of owning a printer?

Excerpts lifted from http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/07/what-is-the-real-cost-of-owning-a-printer-2/. The American Consumer Institute Center For Citizen Research website. Click on the link for the whole article.


Printers are durable goods – that is, products that are not simply purchased and then immediately consumed, but instead used for several years. As such, it is important to know the full cost of ownership – both the upfront costs to buy the product and the annual or lifetime cost of operation. To make consumers aware of the full cost of ownership at the point of sale, new automobile price stickers provide estimated annual costs of fuel. Similarly, Energy Guide labels on new appliances, like refrigerators, show an estimated annual electricity cost to run the appliance. In both cases, the operating cost is much lower than the initial purchase price. In contrast, over the useful life of a printer, the cost of printing can overwhelm the cost of the printer itself. Simply put, consumers require better knowledge of the lifetime cost of ownership in order to make well-informed choices – not blind ones. <end quote, see above link for full article>


Cars follow the same line. Remember the time when you only have to replace the busted bulb, now you have to replace the whole assembly. Instead of just replacing the fan motor, now you have to replace the fan assembly, which includes parts which does not repair.

TV use, especially for commercial purposes, also follows the same line. There is a subtle shift in profitability model for these "durable goods" product. Spare parts, remote control costs, etc are increasing.

The Real Cost Of Buying

In a business class during my college days, our group was tasked to present a simple buy or lease problem. If I remember correctly, it was about electric golf carts. We were able to prove financially that one option was better than the other. We all thought that it was so simple that we had time to spruce up our presentation injecting humorous slides while the other groups had to scramble with pages upon pages of figures on plain manila paper to present their own problems. We ended up with the best presentation that semester.

Who would have thought that 20 or so years later, I would encounter this same problem over and over again. Now I know why we got the best presentation. It wasn't the content. It was the way it was presented. Given that it was a simple book problem, most of the intangible and hidden cost of buying was ignored leaving only a simple financial transaction.

In the real world, it is much the same. Decision makers trust numbers and if you can not quantify the intangibles, they do not put it in the decision process. For TVs, in particular, consider the cost of allocating resources to allow for regular wear and tear breakdowns - downtime, spare units, spare parts, storage space, additional personnel salaries and benefits, repair quotation processing, evaluating repair estimates, purchasing, inventory management, pilferage, overspending, and so on. These, in turn, creates over-inflated budgets with lots of room for manuevering.

Because reparing your own unit cost money and require time for the approval process (which in turn requires facetime with supervisors), most of the times, the people below tend to make quick and dirty solutions and would only approach management if the problem has worsen already. At this time, cost of repairs are also high already but, interestingly enough, easily justifiable to the higher up as the problem is big already. They could have avoided the major repairs had they been made aware and given much attention to the minor ones.

All these affects the most important aspect of them all. Customer satisfaction. Ever wonder why patients complain that they keep getting a hard time getting the remote control? Could it be your time consuming process of having it replaced once lost or damaged.

If I could go back in time to that college business class, I would have added most of these factors and gave a more balanced and realistic picture of a not-so-simple problem. It would have led to a more interesting discussion. We might not have ended up with the best presentation as there would have been more variables to consider and no time for a spruced up presentation. But, it would have been more satisfying.

Edgar Diaz is a graduate of B. S. Industrial Engineering from the University Of The Philippines Diliman.

Why Buy When You Can Rent?

Experience the Rentacolor Advantage(s) !

CONSERVE YOUR CAPITAL. You need not set aside funds for capital expenditure. Use your capital for revenue generating assets that will further strengthen your financial position.

For example, consider the income potential of an additional ultrasound machine as compared to the minimal cost of renting a TV set which is totally covered anyway by the room rates. At an average rate of P1000/use of this particular machine which may take up less than an hour per use, you can readily see that your capital can be better use in these type of acquisition rather than owning your on TV sets.

IMPROVE FINANCIAL CREDIT RATIOS. Preserve your precious bank credit lines for income generating expenditures. Improve your capital to debt ratios thus allowing for better financial rating.

FULLY TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Your monthly rentals are classified as operating expenses and are thereby fully tax-deductible.

SIMPLIFY YOUR BUDGET. Fixed monthly rentals results to better financial budgeting. You do not need to set aside money for repairs, parts, downtime, extra TV sets, service technicians, storage spaces and the like.

Speaking from experience working in big organizations, departments tend to spend their approved budget for fear of losing it for the succeeding year’s allocation. Your perceived savings is lost elsewhere. With Rentacolor, there are no hidden charges.

AVOID COSTLY AND TIME CONSUMING ADMINISTRATIVE HEADACHES. We offer you absolutely no service and parts bill…ever! We will take care of all necessary repairs and maintenance due to normal wear and tear. Time you spend on requiring and evaluating various quotations (service estimates, parts costs, etc) will be totally eliminated.

We even have service units available should service be required outside your premises. No dealer, nor manufacturer can give you that service. Not even if your units are under warranties.

TESTED AND KNOWN BRANDS. Since we value your reputation, we do not go for the lowest priced TV sets available in the market. We go for known and tested brands such as Panasonic or Sharp. Brands that have shown resiliency in any business environment in the Philippines, brands that have a solid reputation of support for their clients in terms of parts availability in the long run.

Why buy when you can rent?

Rentacolor Philippines Inc - An Introduction

We are in the business of television rentals. Rentacolor Philippines Inc. is a 35 year old company dedicated to providing companies in the service industry notably hotels, motels, hospitals, restaurants, resorts, schools, etc with their television sets.

Companies today more than ever need to focus on their core competency to remain competitive. Outsourcing key functions such as security, communications, laundry, janitorial, even payroll services, etc in order to stay focus on the more important aspect of their businesses.

Running a service company is a complex job. You have to be on your toes at all times seeing to it that the needs of your customers are met. Always. In every aspect. From the food that they eat to the toiletries in their bathrooms. Murphy's law is always at your shoulder waiting for you to be off guard. To top it all, you also have hundreds of employees to motivate, to share your enthusiasm and to impart the kind of service you envision. You find yourself asking "is there an easy way?" Frankly, the answer is NO. There is no easy way.

Rentacolor takes away your worries on handling your TV set requirements. That is our core competency. That is our reason for being.

Rentacolor Philippines Inc is located at Unit A, Visard Bldg., 19 Sen Gil J. Puyat Ave., Makati City, Philippines. You may reach us at Tel No. 8926772; Fax No. 8926732; and/or rentacolor@rentacolor.com