Imaging Supplies & COVID-19 A look at the current obstacles & opportunities

by: Tricia Judge, International Imaging Technology Council

The imaging supplies marketplace has always been fraught with problems. The OEMs and the aftermarket have a tradition of animosity. Some new “clone” cartridges made in China look attractive, but come with their own ocean of issues. Are they legal? Do they work as well? Are they a health hazard?

All of these issues were hard enough to address in the office environment. Now the pandemic has closed offices chocked full of high-end printing devices that sit dormant. Homebound employees are, quite literally, left to their own devices — devices that tend to be inkjet based and from big box stores.

“The situation is bad and it could get much worse,” said Charlie Brewer, president of Actionable Intelligence, in his webinar, “The U.S. Home and Office Printing Markets in the Age of COVID-19,” held May 21, 2020.

With the pandemic shutting down offices around the globe, it is no surprise he reported that the amount of printing had greatly declined (a drop of more than 20 percent is expected for this year). He outlined the financials that had been shared by the leading OEMs, and all reported drops in revenue. One had even suffered its worst sales in 16 years.

However, Brewer shared some interesting bright spots and potential opportunities. In particular, the SOHO market and inkjet have enjoyed a resurgence. The latter is the medium of the majority of the small household printers that had fallen out of favor, but were dusted off when the stay-home orders were issued.

SOHO machines — inkjet and laser — may end up doing double or triple duty, as they became the work printer for Mom or Dad, while they became the school or entertainment tool for the kids. Brewer sees a shift in favor of these desktop models, even after the parents return to work. As COVID-19 forces social distancing, the community copier will give way to individual desktop laser units.

Brewer said this is good news for those familiar with SOHO. The printers that line the shelves of the local Office Depot will find homes, and are most likely manufactured by HP, Epson or Brother.

“Everything old is new again,” he said, explaining that these machines had their heyday before MPS took over, back when printers and supplies were transactional sales. The aforementioned OEMs, he said, are “well situated in the marketplace, because they have been here before.”

The supplies sales for these printers is not such a sure bet. Brewer believes that consumers may think that cost per page is not as important as the price at checkout, so they’ll be attracted to the lowest priced SKUs. Corporate purchasing agents buying supplies for desktop units will also push for the low-cost supplies. Unless operating costs come down, everyone will soon learn (again) the very high price of inkjet. (I recall it was once found to be more expensive per picoliter than Dom Perignon champagne.) Employees will be turning in expense reports for these high-priced supplies, and business owners will pay them — for a while.

At some point, business owners might look elsewhere for ideas on managing their employees’ supplies costs. That’s when BTA members have an opportunity.

Be aware of HP and Lexmark Once the firmware threat is bypassed, firmware updates. Lexmark has been supply choices become plentiful and very

Modern chip technology is a miracle using its chips to inexpensive. Be careful, however, to avoid that allows consumers to enjoy a host of features from their machines. Manufacturers use it to monitor their products’ performance and make improvements in lock out competition for decades, and starting about two those cartridges made in China that are of poor quality with perilously low prices. Horror stories abound of the destruction such cartridges have caused. Look for subsequent generations. years ago, HP began sellers that are Int’l ITC members, are

However, chip technology can also serve following suit. STMC certified, or have other indicia of other purposes. Lexmark has been using its industry and product performance. chips to lock out competition for decades, Some internet cartridge choices and starting about two years ago, HP began following suit. from China, again, pose a health threat.

These chips are employed in a broad range of HP’s inkjet Once again, some new-build toner cartridges purchased machines. Customers are guided to install a firmware upgrade off the internet have been found to have serious health conand suddenly the machine stops working if a third-party carcerns. These cartridges have been manufactured with toner tridge is employed. HP was sued immediately in several class that emits unacceptable levels of benzene, cobalt and naphaction suits. thalene. Of the new-built cartridges tested, all of them failed.

The International Imaging Technology Council (Int’l ITC) Locally-remanufactured cartridges were also tested and all also filed a complaint against HP with the Green Electronics received passing grades. Council over HP’s new firmware. The Int’l ITC is challenging The study was undertaken by the European Toner and Inkthe company’s claims to meet environmental criteria set out jet Remanufacturers Association (ETIRA) and involved purby the federal EPEAT Registry, which requires allowing nonchases of new-built cartridges off Amazon. Last year, ETIRA OEM cartridges. Their firmware and chips do exactly the optested the plastic used in new-built cartridge shells and found posite and are creating the very waste the EPEAT program was high levels of the carcinogen DecaBDE. “It is important that designed to guard against. we keep monitoring these cartridges,” says ETIRA Secretary

At the end of last year and after several losses in court, General Vincent van Dijk. “People need to know what they HP “apologized” and said it would not continue the practice. are buying and the risks involved.” Instead, it created new firmware that allowed the machine to Benzene, detected at levels as high as 157% above acceptcomplete the cycle with the current cartridge. However, the able levels, enters the airways and may cause genetic defects, next third-party cartridge would be rejected. cancer or damage to organs over prolonged exposure. Cobalt

At a time when people are trying to stay alive physically may cause allergy and asthma symptoms or breathing diffiand commercially, HP continues to release new rounds of this culties, if inhaled. Naphthalene, detected in amounts as high firmware. This forces the isolated consumer to wait days for a as 650% above the LGA acceptable threshold, is suspected of replacement cartridge. causing cancer.

So how does a supplier help a stranded customer? The best In order for toner to reach its melting point, it is routinely way, said InkCycle’s Executive Vice President Brad Roderick, heated to up to 356 degrees to complete the printing process. is to stop the firmware before it lands on the printers. “It’s not Therefore, the contaminants in the toner are emitted in the complicated, just turn off the updates,” he says. electrophotographic process and out into the office or home

During the printer setup process, the printer will ask environment through the printer vents. the customer: “Do you want to receive automatic updates?” Often new-built cartridges are built as cheaply as possible At that point, Roderick explains, the customer should in order to be sold at such low prices, at fractions of the price indicate “no.” of new or locally remanufactured cartridges. However, as

What to do if the printer is already installed and the autoETIRA’s studies prove, they could be costing their users much, matic update feature has been selected? “Roll the firmware upmuch more in the way of exposure to health risks. In addition, dates back,” Broderick says. “There are plenty of links online on these cartridge manufacturers often cut corners on quality how to do that.” Just take a few minutes to free your printer of and legality, since they often infringe OEM patents. the firmware threat. Int’l ITC is working in North America to monitor these

Unfortunately, these selections don’t always “stick.” issues and work with government and consumer watchdog Broderick encourages customers to monitor their printer: groups, just as ETIRA does in Europe. With government “You have to be diligent about not automatically accepting now involved deeply in making our workplaces safe, this new updates.” issue needs more attention, too. Such products are bad for

public health, for commerce and for the Product safety needs to become more environment. “The results are... important than the price. Again, Int’l ITC

The study undertaken by ETIRA indisappointing...You buy members, and those that are STMC certivolved purchases of eight new-built cartridges off Amazon. “We purchased the first three cartridges that popped up on the first three products that pop up, they fail... fied, produce products that have no such health concerns. n Tricia Judge has served as the executive the site, and other members purchased These products have director of the International Imaging five more, and all were sent directly to been on the market a Technology Council (Int’l ITC) for the testing site,” says ETIRA’s van Dijk. long time now.” the past 17 years. She can be reached “Out of the eight we randomly selected, at tricia@i-itc.org. Visit www.i-itc.org. all eight failed to pass the test.” The test Actionable Intelligence is a veteranwas conducted by LGA/TÜV Rheinland, owned research firm covering the markets a global leader in independent inspection services, founded for home and office imaging hardware 145 years ago. and the supplies these devices employ.

“The results are very frustrating and disappointing,” van The company hosts the website Dijk says. “You buy the first three products that pop up, www.action-intell.com. they fail. It’s very telling. These products have been on the The full report from ETIRA market a long time now.” ETIRA and the Int’l ITC are callon toner safety is available at ing upon the authorities to address this problem. However, https://www.etira.org/posts/etirathe importers and sellers of these products need to be held cautions-that-recent-toner-emissionaccountable, too. tests-reveal-a-100-failure-rate/.