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inestar-Japan and Epson settled patent infringement case on 8 April 2011. and Ninestar-Japan has agreed to stop importing and selling the affected cartridges. Canon U.S.A., Inc. announced on April 18 that it terminated proceedings against 20 Respondents, including Ninestar Image and Zhuhai Seine Technology, concerning certain toner cartridges and their photosensitive drums sold for use in Canon or HP laser printers. The respondents have agreed not to import or sell the accused products or other toner cartridges or drums with a projection similar to that in the accused products into the United States products without Canon’s consent. Will Canon take on other non-OEM supplies vendors by filing similar lawsuits against them, alleging infringement of the same patents? Will other OEMs follow suit? What should the aftermarket industry do? Should we be creative and register our own patents? Epson's filing of an invalidation application against one of Print-Rite's CISS patents answers the question. This invalidation application against Print-Rite's patent for “Connected Device in Continuous Ink Supply System” (CISS) will come in front of the Re-examination Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office of China It is the first time ever that a printer OEM has filed a patent invalidation application against an aftermarket printer consumable manufacturer in China. This is a milestone for the aftermarket industry, regardless of the result. For me, I think it says the following two points: First, the aftermarket also has an opportunity to protect its patents. CISS is a product we built according to the market demand and printers’ design. Other Chinese market players have made similar innovations and patents happen. These efforts will be rewarded one day. Second, the aftermarket will have more and more patents in its pocket if every one starts to innovate. In the past ten years, the Chinese aftermarket has applied for more than 4,000 patents. I expect this number to reach 10, 000 in ten years. I think the aftermarket will be able to talk with the OEMs about licensing patents off each other. Let’s go!

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May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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All rights reserved. © 2011 by Recycling Times Media Corporation. The contents are not be to copied or republished without official written consent. The editorial content does not represent official positions of Recycling Times Media Corporation.

Recycling Times Magazine

contents contents

Memjet partners with Lomond to introduce office color printer to Russia

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

The first printer to be introduced from the new Lomond product line is the EvoJet Office. The printer was on display at the Consumer Electronics & Photo Expo.

Just a Minute with David Gibbons

Epson files patent invalidation application for Print-Rite's CISS patents

Keeping informed

To enter the CISS market in China, the biggest challenge Epson facings lies in tackling the relevant patents owned by Print-Rite. This is likely to be the reason behind Epson’s intention to apply for the invalidation of the CISS patents.

Industry Updates

Canon settles with Ninestar over toner patent

Ink-Tank has think-tank ——Interviewing Jiong Zhao at Huebon (Ink-tank)

Epson sues DCI for ink patent MSE awarded its 16th patent for color laser sealing technology

Her ideas about the aftermarket are simple but profound. She is thoughtful in management and smart in keeping a balance between family and career. All of these make her outstanding and able to succeed more easily than other women.

Memjet partners with Lomond to introduce office color printer to Russia Print-Rite wins Hong Kong Environmental Excellence Award UniNet expansion moves forward

Pelikan invests in cloud solution for faster delivery International Paper to buy major shares of Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills

Cartridge World completes recapitalization

Product Release

Print-Rite releases toner cartridge for Samsung ML-1666

OEM News

Features

16 20

China goes wide

"Win the market fair and square —Toshiba cartridge storm in China"

New toner from Jadi Faroudja releases toner for the Xerox 700

Seiko releases wide-format LED Teriostar LP-1030 printer

14 15

HP introduces new business inkjet printers Ricoh Australia acquires local print solutions supplier Brother launches HL series monochrome laser printers

Anderson & Vreeland will distribute OKI digital color printers

—Interviewing Jiong Zhao at Huebon (Ink-tank)"

Compensation and benefits review (part two)

Legal Issues

China’s new patent law – influence and interpretation

Tech Zone

PrintFleet Inc. partners with OKI Data to strengthen MPS Konica Minolta acquires Koneo AB in Sweden

"Ink-Tank has think-tank

Sales & Management

OEM News

Examining aqueous inkjet wide format printing: trends & developments

Profiles

MSE offers toner cartridges for the P1005/P1505 printer

Epson files patent invalidation application for Print-Rite's CISS patents

Market Data

New Pelikan color laser cartridges for Brother TN-135 series West Point launches toner cartridges for the HP CE278A and HP CE285A

Kyocera partners with Danwood for eco-printer Ricoh announces realignment of production print business

Remanufacturing the Dell 2335dn toner cartridge

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

Just a Minute with David Gibbons

Keeping informed I bet you don’t turn off your smart phone when you go into meetings any more. Yes, you may put it into silent mode, but you don’t turn it off. What do you expect will happen in the world during that 45 minute meeting that you MUST know about that could not wait? We all like to know what’s going on. We like to receive emails, twitter memos, FaceBook notifications while we are on the run. So we carry our smart phones with us wherever we go. There has never been a time in history when information is more available. But are you keeping informed about one of the most important parts of your life—your business? If you were to put the same effort into keeping informed about trends and news in remanufacturing as you do socially would it make a positive impact upon your business? Yes, you need to be networking to ensure your business’ health is maintained too. And a good way to do that is to strategically get yourself along to some conferences during the year.

Firstly, you will find out news and trends information that will positively impact upon your business for the next 12 months. But you will also meet people. People who know things you don’t know. I remember— as a remanufacturer myself—conferences were the best place to meet presenters and other remanufacturers who positively changed the face of my business forever. Recycling Times runs a series of one day conferences called CIFEX. The next one will be held in June on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia. The best lawyer in the aftermarket supplies industry, Ed O’Connor has agreed to attend and brief delegates on the latest intellectual property information. Charles Brewer will also travel from the USA to unpack trends in ink and toner from an OEM perspective as well as the aftermarket supplies industry. Keep informed. Your business depends upon it.

David Gibbons is Director of Recycling Times. He has been a school principal, marketer, businessman, remanufacturer and Executive Director of the Australasian Cartridge Remanufacturers Association until 2005. He is currently the director of communication of a large South Pacific organization.

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

Canon settles with Ninestar over toner patent

n April 6, Canon and Ninestar, along with Ninestar affiliates and distributors, filed a joint motion to terminate the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation number 337-TA-731, regarding certain toner cartridges and components thereof, based upon a consent order. They have reached a settlement. Canon U.S.A., Inc., says it is pleased and satisfied with the agreed upon consent order that will terminate its ITC proceeding against 20 respondents, including Ninestar Image Int’l Ltd. and Zhuhai Seine Technology Co., Ltd. concerning certain toner cartridges and their photosensitive drums sold for use in Canon or HP laser beam printers. According to the agreement, Canon and respondents respectfully requested that the Administrative Law Judge issue an Initial Determination terminating this investigation in its entirety. Under the deal, the ITC would hit respondents who violate the agreement with a civil penalty of $100,000 or twice the domestic

value of each product – whichever is greater – per day. That consent order, which was approved by the Administrative Law Judge in charge of the proceedings on April 8, 2011, is expected to be entered by the ITC about thirty days thereafter. It acknowledges the validity of the involved patent claims, and acknowledges that the respondents may not import into or sell in the U.S. the accused toner cartridges and their photosensitive drums without a license or consent from Canon. Canon has no present intention to grant a license to Ninestar or the other respondents. Canon simply initiated its proceedings to obtain an order from the ITC prohibiting Ninestar and the other respondents from importing into the U.S. and selling in the U.S. The respondents say that within three months after the consent order is issued, they will verify under oath that they have removed the accused products from their U.S. inventories.

Respondents will not seek to challenge the validity or enforceability of the asserted patents in any administrative or judicial proceeding to enforce the consent order. Canon launched its patent-infringement complaint against about 20 companies including Ninestar last summer and claimed they breached the number 337TA-731. Canon believed that its patents are infringed including toner cartridge and OPC drum which compatible with two categories of laser printers from Canon, and the patents-in-suit are U.S. patent numbers 5,903,803 and 6,128,454.

Epson sues DCI for ink patent

eiko Epson Corporation has commenced High Court proceedings against Dynamic Cassette International Limited (DCI) for infringement of several of its patents related to printer ink cartridge technology. DCI manufactures own-brand ink cartridges in the UK for a wide range of high street retailers and also sells under its own "Jet Tec" brand. Its infringing cartridges are sold in the UK and in many other countries. The brand cartridges are alleged to infringe on the vendor's patents

Epson says it takes a proactive stance against infringements of this nature in order to protect its brand and technologies, and to support its channel partners and customers. Robert Clark, Executive Director of Epson Europe, said: "We invest heavily in research and development to ensure that our customers receive the best possible imaging results from our products. Attempts to copy our technologies impact both on us as a brand and on our customers' experiences. As a business we are committed to protecting

our investments, and our resulting products and technologies, the world over." Jet Tec is DCI's house brand and is established across Europe. DCI was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Boston, UK. It has a capacity to produce over two million compatible cartridges, a million remanufactured cartridges and 500,000 refill kits per month. The company also has sales offices and collection centers in the UK and Germany. For more information, please go to www.dci. co.uk.

MSE awarded its 16th patent for color laser sealing technology

icro Solutions Enterprises (MSE), continues with market innovations as part of their “Absolute Color Technologies” platform all with the goal of providing the market’s first true alternative to OEM color cartridges. The latest of these patented technologies are companion patents #7693448 and #7903996 which are for designing an angled seal for MSE’S Intelligently Re-Engineered HP compatible color

cartridges. The angled seal eliminates the industry issue of seals becoming stuck when toner builds up in the seal channel; which is more endemic in nonmagnetic, color cartridges. Luke Goldberg, SVP MSE Global says of the patents, “Our engineering team has been continually striving to eliminate many of the technological hindrances that have stood in the way of aftermarket success with color laser and

this is just one example of that. This technology coupled with our SCS Secondary Cleaning System, welding, cartridge separation, and gasket sealing all equate to consistency and reliability which has been conspicuously absent from many aftermarket products that are out there today. These patents give our dealers tangible features to convince skeptical end users that finally, there is a viable choice.” www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

Memjet partners with Lomond to introduce office color printer to Russia

emjet, a provider of color printing technologies and office and large-format digital printing, announced a partnership to deliver Memjetpowered printers to the Russian market. The first printer to be introduced from the new Lomond product line is the EvoJet Office. The printer was on display at the Consumer Electronics & Photo Expo. Lomond is a digital paper converter and cartridge manufacturer. With a significant share of the desktop inkjet media market in Russia, the company is focused on producing OEMcompatible media, including cartridges and

toners, inkjet and laser printing papers and software applications compatible with most digital imaging devices for office, home and commercial use. Memjet-powered office printers can provide a combination of color and speed: 1600 x 800 dpi resolution at 60 pages per minute. Memjet does this by putting more than 70,000 ink nozzles on a single printhead 17 times that of traditional printheads. Memjet’s printhead is 222.8mm (8.77 inches) and spans the width of a page. This waterfall printhead design allows Memjet-powered printers to deliver more than 700 million drops of ink per second on a page.

Memjet provides the core technology that allows innovative OEM partners, like Lomond, to deliver new value to their target markets with fast and affordable color printers. Len Lauer, president and CEO of Memjet claims that this partnership is a great opportunity to deliver fast, affordable color printing technology to customers in Russia and neighboring countries. Memjet has several partnerships, including Lenovo in China, Medion in Germany, Kpowerscience Co., Ltd. in Taiwan, and WeP in India to bring its high-speed color printing technology to customers around the globe.

Print-Rite wins Hong Kong Environmental Excellence Award

rint-Rite announced that it has been given the Bronze Sectoral Award in the manufacturing sector of the 2010 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence. This is the second consecutive year that Print-Rite has won Bronze Award. The award ceremony was held in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 8, 2011. Since 2008 the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) have been recognized by the community as one of the most reputable award schemes in Hong Kong. The

HKAEE comprises the "Environmental Labels", "Carbon 'Less' Certificates" and "Sectoral Awards." The Sectoral Awards scheme grants awards to organizations in designated sectors that have an overall outstanding environmental performance. The HKAEE aims to encourage businesses and organizations to adopt green management and presents them with an opportunity to benchmark their commitment towards environmental excellence. Print-Rite was the only printer consumable manufacturer who received this award in the

manufacturing sector, which indicates the long-term commitment to adopting green management and highlighted Print-Rite’s achievements in environmental excellence according to Arnald Ho, Chairman and founder of Print-Rite.

UniNet expansion moves forward

niNet East Coast has expanded its East Coast capabilities with the relocation of its sales and distribution in March. The new address is UniNet East Coast 723 Broadway Ave. Holbrook, NY 11741. All email addresses, phone and fax numbers stay the same. In April, UniNet announced the opening of a new distribution center office in the Philippines to further expand its capabilities and market reach in the South East Asian region. The new sales facility is conveniently located in Manila and will carry UniNet’s complete 15,000-product line. It comprises

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

sales and warehouse space and broadens UniNet’s means in offering local sales, distribution and support services, and to meet the growing demand for UniNet product solutions in the Philippines and neighboring countries. UniNet has appointed Kam Woon as National Director to manage operations and sales at the new location. “UniNet expansion in the Philippines intends to further strengthen our product support capabilities to Philippine clients and prospects while reducing logistics cost and inventory. We are also very proud to welcome such an experienced sales team to the

▲ UniNet in Philippines

UniNet family who will support remanufacturers and service the growing demand for UniNet solutions in the region,” said Nestor Saporiti, CEO.

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

Pelikan invests in cloud solution for faster delivery

elikan International has accelerated the delivery of new stationery products to market by improving the real-time collaboration between its German and Swiss sales and R&D sites. By placing its ICT infrastructure and hosting services in Interoute’s pan-European private cloud, employees can now share access to essential applications and critical information in real-time – speeding ithe company’s reaction to market changes and evolving business needs. Previously, Pelikan operated a number of disparate IT systems which were expensive and did not provide the agility the company needed to respond to market changes. By building a dedicated network between its crucial sales and R&D sites, Pelikan has reduced costs

and now has the flexibility to connect new offices to its centralized network, and facilitate regional product development. “Our business is continuously evolving and we need more flexibility as we grow. We wanted an easy-to-implement solution that provides us with outstanding reply times,” said Arturo Ianniciello, Head of Infrastructure at ISD Production and R&D at Pelikan Hardcopy Production AG. “With Interoute’s flexible infrastructure, we have the opportunity to use dynamic technologies that enable us to respond to market changes or easily move an office or department. We have already realized savings in several countries and expect to obtain a further 30% overall saving in the coming year.”

“Pelikan operates in a competitive international consumer market where speed to market on new product lines is essential,” said Jan Louwes, Executive Vice President – Sales & Marketing at Interoute. “Operating multiple sites and product lines across multiple regions, Pelikan needs to know exactly what is happening on its network in real-time. With a centralized ICT infrastructure, it has this insight and is able to quickly and efficiently react to market changes, develop and launch innovative product lines and enter new regions – and take the competitive edge.” Within its pan-European cloud, Interoute is deploying an IPVPN network over MPLS for Pelikan, which includes Internet access with firewall, remote access for mobile users and a web filter.

International Paper to buy major shares of Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills

ternational Paper announced plans to establish a presence in India by acquiring up to 75% of leading Indian paper company Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited. Once completed, the transaction will position International Paper as the first global paper and packaging company with a significant position in India’s growing paper and packaging industries. “APPM is an established and highly respected company in India, and is an excellent platform for International Paper to grow with the Indian paper and packaging markets,” said John Faraci, chairman and chief executive officer of International Paper. “Both APPM and the Indian paper and packaging industry are growing at substantial rates, and we believe that IP’s global operations and technical expertise can accelerate that growth and create value for customers as well as IP and APPM shareholders.” LN Bangur, executive chairman, Bangur Group, said, “We have built a strong business in India, and the next phase of growth requires a different set of resources and capabilities. International Paper is the right company to take the business forward and deepen maturity of the sector in India.” “International Paper has a proven track record of bringing global best practices in operational excellence, industrial safety as well

as social responsibility into our emerging market investments, and we intend to do the same in India with APPM,” said Tom Kadien, senior vice president of IP’s Consumer Packaging and IP Asia businesses. “This investment will be positive for employees and their communities, customers, shareholders and the state of Andhra Pradesh.” APPM is one of the leading integrated paper manufacturers in India, with two mills with combined capacity of about 250,000 tonnes of uncoated freesheet papers annually. The existing and capable management team and 2,500 employees of APPM will continue to operate the business, supplemented by additional IP leadership and technical resources. In connection with this acquisition, the company is also establishing IP India, a new division of the company that will manage our stake in APPM, reporting to Tom Kadien. In the coming weeks and months, Tom will be announcing key leaders of the IP India and APPM integration and management teams. International Paper has entered into agreements with Mr. L.N. Bangur and related family members and affiliates to purchase approximately 53.5% of the outstanding shares of Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited for approximately US$257 million in cash. In addition, IP has agreed to a US$62 million

non-compete payment. Pursuant to Indian securities law, International Paper will also launch a mandatory public tender offer to acquire up to an additional 21.5% of the outstanding shares of APPM for approximately US$104 million in cash. International Paper anticipates acquiring up to 75% of APPM’s outstanding shares through these two transactions, with the remaining 25% of shares publicly held. The share purchase and public tender are expected to be completed as early as the third quarter of 2011, subject to regulatory and other approvals, including the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and, if applicable, the Competition Commission of India (CCI). www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

Cartridge World completes recapitalization

a r t r i d g e Wo r l d a n n o u n c e d the successful completion of recapitalization in early April. The new capital allows the company to focus re-investment on new technologies and strategic growth. The multi-million dollar recapitalization, facilitated by Australiabased Wolseley Private Equity, includes d e b t b u y- b a c k a n d e q u i t y i n v e s t m e n t p r o v i d e d b y B a b s o n C a p i t a l Au s t r a l i a Pty Limited. Additional investment was provided by Har r y Nicodem, the U.S.based founder and CEO of Nicodem Enterprises Inc., a multi-company entity with 20-year-old roots in laser printer cartridge remanufacturing. “This is a great outcome for our franchisees and our investors,” says To m Fr i c k e , C a r t r i d g e Wo r l d ’ s c h i e f executive officer. “Cartridge World and our financial partners are committed to increasing our investment in technology

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

and to expanding our franchise network. This capital investment allows us to facilitate that growth. Our organization is free to focus on what we’re tr uly committed to – creating great business opportunities for our franchisees within a dynamic marketplace.” M r. N i c o d e m w i l l occupy a seat on the Cartridge World board of directors. T h r o u g h h i s c o m p a n y , To n e r h e a d , Nicodem has been a leading innovator in electronic testers for cartridge remanufacturing. The partnership will create considerable opportunities for Cartridge World. “ We v i e w o u r p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h M r.

Nicodem and Tonerhead as one of the great opportunities in the industr y in terms of consolidation of technology and global strength,” says Fricke. “This relationship will help us truly transform the backroom of our business. We can now focus on the business, on growth, and on increasing service to our business partners and customers.”

Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

Print-Rite releases toner cartridge for Samsung ML-1666

rint-Rite has recently introduced a compatible toner cartridge for the Samsung ML1666. The Samsung ML-1666 is a convenient small laser printer. Clever built-in features like one touch printing make the ML-1666 smart, as well as easy to look at. The ML-1666’s low noise level, rapid print speed, and easy power button assure maximum convenience, which is suited to small office home office (SOHO) users and individuals. This new compatible toner cartridge offers a print yield of 5,000 pages, while the price is only 60% of the OEM equivalent.

New Pelikan color laser cartridges for Brother TN-135 series

elikan has released new color laser cartridges that are compatible with the Brother TN-135 series. The company has expanded its product range with new color laser cartridges that replace Brother’s TN-135 series. The cartridges are meant for use in following laser printers:

• Brother HL-4040CN • 4050CDN • 4050CDNLT • 4070CDW • DCP-9040CN • 9042CDN • 9045CDN • MFC-9440CN • 9450CDN • 9840CDW The MFC-9840CDW is a color laser multi-function center that offers superior quality color laser printing, faxing, copying and scanning with built-in network connectivity. Delivering the same print speed, copy speed and output quality as the MFC-9440CN, the MFC-9840CDW adds automatic duplex (2-sided input/output) for printing, copying, faxing and scanning, a legal-size document glass, up to 50-sheet auto document feeder, as well as an integrated 802.11b/g wireless interface. The new Pelikan toners will be available in black, cyan, magenta and yellow. In addition, Pelikan offers a full three year warranty on all toner modules – a considerable plus, offering reliability for the consumer.

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

West Point launches toner cartridges for the HP CE278A and HP CE285A

est Point Products, a provider of premium replacement imaging supplies and related products and services based in Washington, PA, has announced the release of premium replacement toner cartridges for the HP CE278A and HP CE285A. With each of these products designed to fit several popular printers by HP, demand for both of these cartridges through West Point Products’ resellers is expected to be strong. Tom Day, CEO, states that the installed base of the printers that these cartridges are designed for is already strong in the small business market, and is expected to grow in 2011. West Point Products’ premium replacement CE278A cartridge is intended for use in the HP LaserJet Pro M1536dnf, P1566, and P1606DN series of monochrome laser printers, while the premium replacement CE285A cartridge will fit the HP LaserJet Pro P1102, M1210, M1130, M1212, and M1213 series. These cartridges are manufactured in North American ISO 9001 certified facilities, and are tested in accordance with STMC standards. All of West Point Products’ imaging supplies are designed, engineered, and manufactured to meet or exceed OEM performance.

Contact West Point Products Phone: +1 (800) 338-2274 ext. 294 Email: smackenzie@westpointproducts.com

MSE offers toner cartridges for the P1005/P1505 printer

icro Solutions Enterprises (MSE) has announced the release of its “Intelligently Re-Engineered” toner cartridges for the P1005/P1505 printer families. MSE’s exhaustive testing methodologies were critical with these models in maintaining densities across the entire cycle life while not overfilling the waste toner hopper which is common in these applications. Luke Goldberg, SVP MSE Global comments that of MSE’s new release of these cartridges, these extended life cartridges widen the value/ price delta between the aftermarket and OEM in what is a low price, commoditized cartridge and offer MPS dealers much lower CPPs than standard yield and make these high operating cost desktop models much more profitable. MSE says that these are the first in a large jumbo product launch in the coming weeks that will include many other high velocity movers.

Contact MSE Tel: +1 800-673-4968 Website: www.mse.com

Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

New toner from Jadi

adi Imaging Technologies Sdn Bhd has announced the launch of its newly revised JC-8500 toner recommended for use in the Canon Image Runner 60, 85, 105, 550, 600, 7200, 8070, 8500, 9070 and GP605. The Canon Image Runner 8500 is built for a fast-paced, high volume copying, printing and scanning environment. With speeds of up to 85 ppm, the IR8500 has a monthly duty cycle of 400,000 copies and a print resolution of 2400 x 600dpi, producing the first copy at a mere 2.9 seconds. A positive charged toner, the improved JC-8500 delivers consistent image density and durable performance from start to finish. In addition to its fusing quality, the toner has excellent offset characteristics, which are only achievable through a balance of thermal properties. Compatible with OEM toner, the JC-8500 can be used readily without any mixing issues. Jadi has also announced the launch of its new JKM-5035 toner recommended for use in the Kyocera Mita KM-2530, 2531, 3035, 3530, 3531, 4030, 4031, 4035 and 5035. A positive charged toner, the JKM-5035 is formulated to deliver consistently high image density throughout the whole printing life cycle. It is also designed with increased durability to withstand copying volumes of up to 34,000 copies and print speeds of 50 ppm. Guaranteed to be compatible with OEM toner, the JKM-5035 toner is a convenient solution for all copier remanufacturers. Jadi has also released the newly revised JLT-011 toner recommended for use in Kyocera Mita FS-1000, 1010, 1018, 1020D, 1050, KM-1500, 1815 and 1820 and Copystar CS-1500, 1815 and 1820.

The Kyocera Mita FS-1000 series printers and KM-1500/1800 series multifunctions are suitable for personal use or shared printing. With print speeds of up to 18 pages per minute for the KM-1820, it is able to support print resolutions of 600dpi or 1200dpi. The revised JLT-011 toner is characterized by •better compatibility with OEM toner •improved background control •comparable yield to OEM •consistently higher image density. Another toner from Jadi Imaging Technologies is its new JKM-TA180 toner recommended for use in the Kyocera Mita TASKalfa 180, 181, 220 and 221. The Kyocera Mita TASKalfa 180/220 series multifunctions have been designed to be compact yet user-friendly and deliver professional print quality for business. Capable of duplex printing at a low cost per page, the multifunctions can also achieve printing speeds of up to 18ppm for A4 and 8 ppm for A3, with a time to first copy of 5.7 seconds and below. In view of the stringent requirements of these multifunction series’, Jadi has developed a toner with optimum thermal properties to achieve fusing right from the first copy as well as good offset characteristics for duplexing performance. The JKM-TA180 toner will also deliver consistent image density and durability to last 15,000 copies with the multifunction’s long-life components.

Contact Jadi Website: www.jadi.com

Faroudja releases toner for the Xerox 700

aroudja Toner has unveiled color toner for the Xerox 700 digital color press. It will sell black, cyan, yellow and magenta in bottles (375 grams for the black and 395 grams for the colors) as well as in bulk bags of 10 kilograms (22 pounds).. The OEM cartridges are very expensive. Faroudja offers the Xerox 700 toner in bottles but also in bulk so the customers can maximize their profit. Productivity/Print Speeds of Xerox 700: • Duty Cycle: 300,000 • A4 / 8.5 x 11 –70 ppm (64--176 gsm uncoated) –51 ppm (177--256 gsm uncoated) (106--176 gsm coated) – 35 ppm (257--300 gsm uncoated) (177--300 gsm coated) • A3 / 11 x 17 –35 ppm (64--176 gsm uncoated)

–25 ppm (177--256 gsm uncoated) (106--176 gsm coated) –17 ppm (257--300 gsm uncoated) (177--300 gsm coated) • SRA3 / 12 x 18 –31 ppm (64--176 gsm uncoated) –22 ppm (177--256 gsm uncoated) (106--176 gsm coated) –15 ppm (257--300 gsm uncoated) (177--300 gsm coated) Faroudja Toner additionally stocks color toner for Hewlett-Packard, Okidata, Lexmark and supplies a wide range of parts and recharging tools

Contact Faroudja Tel: 650-593-3862 Website: www.faroudjatoner.com. www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

OEM News

Seiko releases wide-format LED Teriostar LP-1030 printer

eiko I Infotech Inc. (SIIT) has released the Teriostar LP-1030 series, a value-class wide-format multifunction printer with high performance and compact design. The Teriostar LP-1030 series offers two models: the LP-1030MF, a multifunction model integrating copy, scan, and print functions, and the LP-1030, a printer model. Shipments will begin in May, 2011. SIIT has recently developed a print engine and scanner allowing the LP-1030 series to achieve print speeds of 6.2 A1size prints and 7.5 D-size prints per minute and scanning speeds of up to 240 mm/9.4" per second. Combining these two features, the LP-1030 series will improve workplace productivity and running costs, which are increasingly needed in today's competitive market. The new print engine achieves print speeds of 6.2 A1-size prints and 7.5 D-size prints per minute. Moreover, the LP1030 automatically delivers small prints to the upper catch tray and large prints to the lower catch basket. This saves time for sorting prints and improves workflow efficiency. The integrated scanner scans at speeds of up to 240 mm/9.4" per second (black and white: 300 dpi, Color: 150 dpi). The LP-1030 offers a very small footprint (1200 by 605 mm). All paper operations are from the front, so the LP-1030 can be pushed right up against a wall. This saves space and provides easy printer positioning in small workspaces. SIIT has put the photosensitive drum into a user-replaceable cartridge. This unique user-replaceable process cartridge and charge wire configuration allows anyone to replace them when needed. This eliminates service calls, and reduces downtime significantly.

HP introduces new business inkjet printers

P has released new business inkjet solutions designed to help business customers of all sizes maximize productivity as telecommuting, branch offices and mobile workforces ▲ HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printe proliferate. With 85% of the global enterprise workforce expected to be mobile by 2015, the HP Officejet Pro 8000 Enterprise Printer and HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer allow business customers and mobile professionals to produce professional-quality documents in the office and on the go. The HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer offers: A durable lithium ion battery and the possibility of printing up to 500 pages when the battery is fully charged and the included 65-watt AC power adapter is compatible with selected HP Notebooks. Built-in Bluetooth wireless technology which allows users to print highquality documents on the go from selected mobile devices including notebooks, netbooks and Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, HP webOS and Nokia Symbian smartphones. A 50-sheet paper tray and the ability to print at up to 22 ppm black/18 ppm color and ISO print speeds up to 5 ppm black/3.5 ppm color. Ability to connect to a PictBridge compatible device and print lab-quality, borderless 10 x 15cm (4 x 6-inch) photos on the go. The HP Officejet Pro 8000 Enterprise Printer can use up to 50% less paper with automatic two-sided printing, and up to 80% less supplies and packaging by weight compared with color laser printers. Enhanced efficiency of business processes with features including: ISO print speeds of up to 13ppm black and 8.5ppm color; automatic two-sided printing; a 15,000-page monthly duty cycle; a 250-sheet paper tray expandable up to 500 sheets, standard networking with built-in Ethernet and Hi-speed USB 2.0, and commercial support.

Ricoh Australia acquires local print solutions supplier

icoh Australia has announced the acquisition of local print s o l u t i o n s p r o v i d e r, P r i n t Solutions Group (PSG) with the intention of strengthening its position in the Australian office printing market. PSG has been one of Ricoh’s important dealers since 1982. With sales offices in

Melbourne, Geelong and Perth, PSG has been providing organizations with end-toend print solutions throughout this time. Ricoh Australia’s Managing Director, Les Richardson commented that as a longstanding Ricoh dealer, PSG’s approach to business and customer service has been ver y closely aligned that of with Ricoh

Australia; this will make the integration much simpler and seamless for PS G’s customers. Ricoh Australia is ver y delighted to have the PSG team within its business operations. Print Solutions Group customers will continue to receive the same customer service that they have always received.

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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Brother launches HL series monochrome laser printers

rother International has launched a wide range of compact and environmentally-friendly monochrome laser printers, MFCs and DCPs, for small to medium businesses, home offices and homes at the Address-Dubai mall. The efficient monochrome laser printers include the HL-2270DW, HL-2240D and HL-2130 that come loaded with a host of easy-to-use print features. The HL-2270DW is the same small size as the HL-2240, with the same 250-sheet input tray and one-sheet manual bypass tray with no paper handling options. They have an Automatic Duplex Print option that enables double-sided printing and eliminates the need to feed papers manually. The Energy Star certified printers reduce paper usage by 50% and as a result lower power consumption and save on energy bills. Additional printer models from Brother International include the MFC-7470D, MFC-7360 and MFC-7860DW that offer improved print speeds at the rate of 24 to 26 pages per minute and an optimized print resolution of 2,400 x 600 dpi. These versatile laser printers incorporate optional copying, faxing, and scanning capabilities with wireless and wired networking access. The cost per page of printing is low as these monochrome laser printers come built with a 1,200-page standard toner ▲ Brother HL 2270DW cartridge.

PrintFleet Inc. partners with OKI Data to strengthen MPS

rintFleet Inc. (which specializes in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of business printing solutions) and OKI Data Corporation, a unique and award-winning printing solutions p r o v i d e r, h a v e announced a global agreement in the area of managed print services. OKI Data chose PrintFleet Inc. as the global software platform to power its Total Managed Print, which is a smart and comprehensive MPS offering. This contact enables both PrintFleet and OKI Data to strengthen their presence and global reach into the MPS market. Chris McFarlane, President and COO, PrintFleet Inc. says it is delighted to sign the global contact to stimulate OKI Data's MPS offering. Through entering into this global relationship, PrintFleet will extend its reach into OKI Data's development cycles and further fortify its leadership and ability to support customers, with access to the most relevant, accurate device data. OKI’s managed print service programs allow the channel partners to reduce the costs related to print customers and at the same time produce predictable revenue streams. OKI Data attaches much importance to strengthening MPS offerings and believes that partnership with PrintFleet can make this come true, according to Harushige Sugimoto, President of OKI Data Corporation.

Konica Minolta acquires Koneo AB in Sweden

onica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. has acquired Koneo AB (Koneo) through Konica Minolta Business Solutions Sweden AB (KMBSW ), an operating subsidiary based in Stockholm, Sweden. Koneo AB is an office and information technology services company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Koneo, whose businesses focus on sales and maintenance services for IT and office printing equipment, IT consulting, and information network management support services, has a significant competitive edge in providing services to the small-

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and medium-sized businesses. In addition, as the most important channel partner of KMBSW for the sales of its multi-functional peripherals, Koneo delivers unique services that fuse the fields of IT services and document services. This acquisition targets on further strengthening KMBSW’s position in Sweden, the largest market in Northern Europe. In order to achieve this, KMBSW will make use of Koneo’s talented team and advanced know-how in IT services and its vast sales network across the country, as well as expand and distribute the variety of MFPs, other office print equipment and the menu of related IT services.

In response to the growing needs of customers for more efficient and effective solutions, Konica Minolta has enhanced its efforts to deliver a broader range of services that fuse IT with document management, including Optimized Print Services which help customers reduce overall cost and maximize the productivity of office workflow by managing the output and document imaging environments. Konica Minolta will continue to build on its capabilities to deliver sophisticated solutions and services that meet the needs of customers' office work styles.

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Anderson & Vreeland will distribute OKI digital color printers

KI Data Americas has chosen Anderson & Vreeland, Inc. as one of its product distributors in the United States effective immediately This distribution deal will include the OKI proColor Series Based on parent company OKI Data Corporation’s history of leadership and innovation in color printing, the OKI proColor Series is designed for color-critical applications in graphic arts and production environments, The OKI proColor Series uses Single Pass Color and award-winning LED technology widely recognized for its reliability as it requires fewer moving parts. The OKI proColor Series allows users to produce short-run jobs faster and with unprecedented media flexibility at its low price point, according to Randy Rickert, Director, Graphic Arts & Production, OKI Data Americas. He adds that they are pleased to start partnership with Anderson & Vreeland because it will bring a broader customer base to the products’ capabilities. Ideal for color-accurate proofs, short-run color jobs that include variable data, and cost-efficient web printing, the OKI proColor Series delivers to the industry’s most exacting color standards, with low investment/ operating costs. Anderson & Vreeland will sell the OKI proColor Series and provide technical support using a nationwide staff of technical sales representatives.

Kyocera partners with Danwood for eco-printer

nk and toner cartridge manufacturer Kyocera Mita has announced a partnership with the Danwood Group. According to the new deal, Danwood Group will distribute a range of Kyocera products under its new Print Ecology brand. This will include a range of Kyocera's low waste, economical printers while combining services with the image document provider's expertise. Graham Cox, sales and marketing director at Kyocera Mita UK, comments that Kyocera Mita UK has just celebrated its third successive year of record sales, which is due to the increasing awareness of the benefits of technologies that are designed for both environmental and economic sustainability. He added the new partnership will allow the company to expand in the UK. Recently, the ink and toner cartridge maker released four new mid-speed printers, which it claims offers consumers and organizations economical services and easy installation. Furthermore, the ECOSYS range has been designed to fit in any office or home space with its compact size.

Ricoh announces realignment of production print business

icoh Company, Ltd. announced on April 4, 2011 the realignment of its production print resources with the formation of Ricoh Production Print Solutions (RPPS), incorporating InfoPrint Solutions and the Ricoh Production Printing Business Group's marketing and planning resources from Japan. The organization will provide a more effective and efficient approach to this highly competitive marketplace. These changes demonstrate the importance of the high-end print market and are made for streamlining the processes, operations and organizations within the Ricoh Family of Companies, including InfoPrint Solutions which will come under RPPS. By bringing together Ricoh resources to develop market, this new model will deliver greater customer value and support industry leading end-toend solutions for production customers. RPPS will be headquartered in the United States – the world's largest production print marketplace and co-located in West Caldwell, New Jersey, with Ricoh Americas Corporation. The decision indicates that how important this market is for future success, according to Shiro Kondo, President and CEO, Ricoh Company, Ltd. Ricoh fully expects to see the positive results of this in the coming months and years. A key component of RPPS will be its business line management function which will provide customers with faster marketplace response times, longer-term portfolio management, education and marketing support globally and tighter communications between geographical sales requirements and product and solutions development. Besides, Ricoh will be able to achieve broader and more seamless sales coverage and maintenance support for existing and prospective customers around the world through the newly combined and streamlined organization. RPPS will report to Ricoh’s Production Printing Business Group (PPBG), Tokyo, Japan. Shiro (Simon) Sasaki, former Chairman and CEO, Ricoh Europe Plc, declares that one of the most important initiatives in short and long term business plans is to grow the production print business in a meaningful and valuable way across the globe. The realignment of production print assets around the world means that Ricoh now has – working together in a seamless way – a powerful collection of people, production solutions and geographic sales and support coverage in the industry. Daisuke Segawa has been nominated President and Chief Operating Officer, RPPS, and Corporate Vice President, Deputy General Manager, PPBG. www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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China goes wide Wide format inkjet printers have increased in popularity in many fields thanks to their high quality graphics, short turnaround and unlimited media. According to IDC, the Chinese wide format printer market will enjoy a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.4% between 2010 and 2015. Sales revenues for wide format printers will reach USD 29.2 million. This is a market with tremendous potential for the third-party printer supplies industry, which could tap into the lucrative wide format consumables market. 1.Huge potential We don’t see wide format printers often as desktop printers since they are more often used for commercial production than sold to consumers. Wide format printer manufacturers have a different focus from the conventional printer market. The market is occupied by many different brands and fierce competition exists. The major suppliers for professional wide and grand format printers include: Agfa Graphics, DGI, Durst, Grapo, Inca, Leggett and Platt, LexJet, Lüscher, MacDermid ColorSpan (now part of HP), Mimaki, Mutoh, NUR (now part of HP), Océ, Raster Printers, Roland DG, Scitex Vision (now part of HP), Seiko I Infotech, VUTEk anf Zünd. This article discusses mainly the market for inkjet wide format printers over 17”. In 2009, one of the most difficult years in recent history, Wide-Format Imaging interviewed print shops in the US and found that on average, 51.98% of their output was wide format (36-96 inches in width) up from 49.40% in 2008. Grand-format (96-inches plus) grabs the next largest share with 22.30%, down from 23.36% the previous year. Medium-format (24-35 inches) runs closely behind with 17.38%, up from 16.44%. The remaining 8.35% is in small-format (14-inches and smaller) up from 7.8%. Wide-Format Imaging, together with InfoTrends, did another survey of more than 300 professional wide format print buyers in 2010. The study found that the weak US economy has impacted many sectors of the market, including wide format. The most positive sign was that 80% of professional print buyers expected to spend more on wide format graphics in 2011 than they did in 2010. IDC also released its wide format printer tracker for 2010 in April. CAD printer market shipments reached 20,730 units, a 32.6% increase over 2009. Graphics also increased 18.6%. It is projected that overall the wide format printer market will grow at a CAGR of 5.4% between 2010 and 2015. The sales revenue for wide format printers will reach USD 29.2 million. 2.Technologies (1) Thermal bubble Thermal inkjet technology uses print cartridges with a series of tiny chambers each containing a heater. To eject a droplet from each chamber, a pulse of current is passed through the heating element

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causing a rapid vaporisation of the ink in the chamber to form a bubble, which causes a large pressure increase, propelling a droplet of ink onto the paper. Several manufacturers have refined this principle to develop new technologies. HP: SPT HP’s Scalable Printing Technology (SPT) puts all of the printhead technologies onto the printhead itself. There are 3,900 nozzles on the printhead, offering speed and quality. This technology is about four times faster than HP's previous technology, allowing customers to print a 4 x 6 photo in about 14 seconds. HP: Edgeline Edgeline printing is on inkjet printing. Traditionally, inkjet printers have a tiny matchbox size printhead moving back and forth. This causes delays and requires two dimensional movements: movement of the printhead and movement of paper. This is one of the reasons for the time lag in the printing. Edgeline printing technology uses a printhead wide enough to cover the size of the printing paper supported in the printer. The printhead has inkjet nozzles along the full length of the printhead. This means the printhead stays still and only the paper moves. Canon: FINE FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) has been developed by Canon. The ejection mechanism realizes accurate placement of microscopic ink droplets as small as 1 picoliter (one trillionth of 1 liter). By ejecting ink more efficiently, the ink droplet ejection speed is more than 1.5 times that of conventional systems, and this also reduces susceptibility to airflow disturbances to enable increased placement accuracy. (2) Piezoelectric Piezoelectric (Piezo) permits a wider variety of inks than thermal inkjet as there is no requirement for a volatile component and no issue with kogation (buildup of ink residue), but the printheads are more expensive to manufacture. Epson, Mimaki, Mutoh and Roland all apply Piezo technology. Piezo technology has four models of the piezoelectric inkjet printheads in terms of the mechanism of the piezo transducer (actuator): MLChips MACH (1995), MLP type MACH (Multi-layer

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ACtuator Head) (1992), Thin-Ffilm Piezo Print Head (2007) and variable sized droplet based on multi-pulse technology (developed by Xaar and Spectra). 3.Application (1)CAD/GIS In China, the CAD (computer-aided design) market is the major driving force for the wide format printer market. Second quarter CAD market shipments last year increased 46.8% year on year. North China saw significant CAD procurement from government offices and enterprises due to railway construction programs and other infrastructure projects. The CAD sector requires high precision, speed and network functions from its wide format printers. According to IDC’s tracker, the Chinese wide format printer market shows marked regional variations across China’s vast territory. North China (with Beijing as the economic centre) and East China have the highest unit shipments for CAD printers. In the second quarter of 2010, North China witnessed 25.4% growth over the previous quarter, taking up 28.0% of the total Chinese shipments. East China showed growth of 18.4%, occupying 24.5% of the total shipments. Canon set up its wide format printer manufacturing base in Shenzhen, which drives the shipment in South China. As investment in infrastructure develops in Western China, the demand for CAD wide format is also strengthening. Central China and the Southwest region saw steady growth while Northeast China witnessed varying demand for different quarters. At the end of each year, government purchasing will buoy up the shipment of CAD wide format printers. GIS is used to manage resources in industries such as transportation, environment, electric power, water conservancy and land and resource exploration. Data analysis is an important link for GIS users. Precision and speed are the two most important factors. GIS and CAD have similar characteristics and use similar models of printers. (2)Graphics Graphics should be the most flourishing wide format market for. Traditional photo developing has been replaced by digital output. Wide format printers are appealing to photography studios thanks to the low total cost of ownership and ease of use. (3)Advertising and billboard Outdoor advertising has high requirements for light proofing, waterproofing and high speed. The width is also a must. Scitex and Vutek are specialized in super wide format printers. Encad and HP are providing very good wide format inkjet printers. Encad was also the first manufacturer to bring thermal inkjet technology into this area. (4)Printing and publishing Wide format printers are widely used in digital proofing due to their cost advantages over traditional lithographic printing. As technology evolves, printing speed and quality of output are also

triumphing against lithographic printing. 4. OEM trends in recent years HP takes up over 50% of the market share in the wide format printer market. Epson maintains a steady percentage of 30% while Canon has nearly 15%. In the CAD sector, HP and Canon have a major market share for thanks to the advantages they offer in line printing that others cannot surpass. In graphics, Epson’s expertise in photo output helps its market share. Roland, Mimaki and Mutoh divide the advertising and banner market while HP also takes up part of this market. These are evolving from CAS (computer-aided systems) to inkjet printer manufacturers. They may not acquire inkjet technology but they have the latest technology possible and may make better equipment than other vendors. Xerox, who recently announced exit from the North American wide format market and Scitex (acquired by HP in 2005) are also high end graphics output equipment manufacturers. The wide format OEMs have their own advantages and performance. HP The first ever monochrome wide format printer (DeskJet 525Q) was introduced by HP. HP is the undisputed leader, with the widest lines of models in wide format, especially in the CAD/GIS market. HP once took up over 90% of CAD market. CAD is still the largest market for HP’s wide format business. HP’s Designjet 100+, Designjet 430, Designjet 500, 1050c+/1055 cm+, Designjet 4000, Designjet 4500, Designjet 70, Designjet T2300 eMFP and Designjet T7100 are all very popular models. HP also seeks other breakthroughs outside of the CAD market. At the end of 2010, HP introduced Designjet T2300 eMFP, the first ever wide format printer that comes with web-ready printing system with MFP benefits. Epson Epson is consistent in improving technology and winning over

▲ HP Designjet T2300 eMFP

niche markets. Since 2005, Epson has launched the UltraGiclee Fine Art Printmaking Certification Workshop program. UltraGiclee certified fine art prints, can only be created on selected Epson professional printers using select professional media and EPSON www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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UltraChrome ink and are warranted to resist noticeable fading for 80 years from the original date of purchase when the print is printed, framed, handled and displayed according to warranty conditions. Epson’s hit printers are its eight and eleven color printers, with Epson Stylus Pro 7910 and Stylus Pro 9910 leading the performance. In March Epson (China) launched two printers – Stylus Photo R3000 and Discproducer PP-50. The 13-inch-wide desktop inkjet printers have steadily been improved, and have matured to the point in which print quality and longevity are on par with or exceed high quality traditional color and black and white photofinishing. The company's newest printer, the Epson Stylus Photo R3000, is targeted at professional photographers and other artists, as well as advanced amateur photographers. Both of the new printers have CD/DVD printing support. Canon Canon has been a respectful competitor by acquiring Oce and moved its wide format printer manufacturing base to Shenzhen, one of the four special economic zones in China. Canon has captured all of the attention since 2010. In April 2010, Canon announced that its wide format line was set up to be an independent department. Canon (China) released seven printers with five colors, eight colors and twelve colors. In November, Canon released two wide format printers. 2010 was a new beginning for Canon’s large format business in China. As the manufacturing base was moved to Shenzhen, four printers iPF650, iPF655, iPF750 and iPF755 were also made in Shenzhen. Canon (China) President Hideki Ozawa said the company aimed to post sales of 10 billion dollars in 2017 and 25% growth over 2010. Canon’s aggressive move into wide format also sped up other wide format market players’ development and new product releases. Agfa In Sign and Digital UK (Birmingham, UK, April 2011), ISA (Las Vegas, US) and FESPA (Hamburg, Germany), Agfa Graphics introduced the latest models Anapurna M1600 and Jeti series: This new UV-curable printer Anapurna M1600 delivers the productivity of the Anapurna M2050 engines in a 1.6 meter width at a maximum speed up to 46m²/h. The Jeti 5048 UV XL will be available in two models. Model one is designed to address high productivity applications such as building wraps and XXL billboards with throughput speeds close to 300m²/h, delivering one of the fastest industrial strength ultra-wide UV presses in the market. Model two is designed to offer higher quality output for both XXL and/or POS (Point Of Sale) applications. Both models of the 5048 UV XL support simultaneous printing of up to three rolls of the same media type. Roland As the world’s first UV inkjet printer/cutters, Roland’s VersaUV LEC series quickly revolutionized the packaging prototype and short-run label industries. For the first time, professionals could print CMYK plus white and clear inks for varnishing and embossing effects on

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almost any substrate and then crease, contour cut or perf-cut their designs, all on one device through one seamless workflow. VersaUV uses safe, low-heat LED lamps to print on materials ranging from metallic and synthetic papers and foils to BOPP, PE and PET film, even leather and fabrics. Also available in 54" and 30” models, VersaUV creates remarkably rich effects including matte and high-gloss finishes in your choice of textures and patterns. Screen Screen’s Truepress Jet 2500UV is a flatbed and roll-feed press that handles up to 2.5 meter wide media of any length and up to 50mm thick. At 1,500dpi maximum resolution and with Screen FM/ AM screening, it is the highest-resolution flatbed UV printer on the market. Available in four or six color configurations, plus white ink, the 2500UV can print up to five layers for true photographic quality demanded by the advertising industry. The Truepress Jet 1600 UV-f is a moving-head flatbed printer with roll feed option that uses LEDs to hard cure UV ink. Resolution is up to 1,200 dpi and max media width is 1.69 meters x 3.19 meters. Mimaki Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of wide format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, industrial and textile/apparel markets introducesd UJF-3042, a desktop UV LED printer for short run production and imprints of industrial products, novelties, cards and nameplates, electronics covers as well as label and packaging applications. This offers low investment costs, good value for money and print quality. The machine was available from February 1, 2010.

▲ Truepress Jet2500UV

Mimaki announced JFX-1631plus and JFX-1615plus UV LED curing large format printers last October. This series is 80% faster than its existing model JFX-1631 due to a newly implemented post-curing unit. In addition, the JFX plus series can be optionally equipped with a roll unit for uninterrupted web printing. Summary The market places high importance on quality, speed, cost and green features. These features will surely require more advanced technology from the manufacturers. For the aftermarket printer supplies industry, wide format printer supplies should be closely watched.

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Epson files patent invalidation application for Print-Rite's CISS patents Seiko Epson Corporation (Epson) filed an invalidation application against Print-Rite’s patent for a “Connected Device in Continuous Ink Supply System” (CISS) in front of the Reexamination Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China. It is believed that this is the first time ever in the printer consumables industry where an OEM is formally seeking to invalidate patents owned by an aftermarket printer consumables manufacturer in China. Recycling Times interviewed Arnald Ho, Chairman and founder of Print-Rite Holdings, Ltd., to find out more. of printhead or even cause damage to the printer. Both 1.Case review Epson filed two invalidation applications in early patents form an integral part of the CISS patent portfolio January this year for Print-Rite’s long-registered patents owned by Print-Rite in China. It is believed that Print-Rite for the CISS. The applications were approved for further has been spearheading an effort to build up this patent examination in late March. Print-Rite also received notice portfolio to safeguard its intellectual property rights in CISS product development for quite some time. about the application. External CISS was born in China and has now become The Re-examination Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC recently issued a notice that a an important printer consumables product type. It is formal invalidation application from Epson against Print- estimated that CISS-based equipment enjoys an annual sales revenue of 200 million Yuan (30.7 million US dollars) Rite's long-registered patents for the CISS. It takes at least half a year for the Re-examination in China. It appears that Epson is eyeing this large market Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office to segment in China. However, CISS technology has been examine a patent, make a decision and notify the party who under development for many years, with about 127 CISSmade the request and the patentee. If any party,(be they related registered patents and patent applications in China. invalidating or upholding the patent right for an invention) Of these patents, 32 are owned by Print-Rite, accounting disagrees with the board’s decision they may, within three for about 25% of all CISS patents registered; as of our last months after receiving notification of the decision, file search, Epson holds only five relevant patents. To enter the a suit in a people’s court. The decision of the Patent Re- CISS market in China, the biggest challenge Epson facings examination Board on a request EPSON to invalidate the patent right for Brand a utility model or design shall be Product L101 inkjet printer final. The final judgment should Resolution (max) 5760 x 1440dpi (Fast Ink Top-up (FIT) Technology) be reached within two years. 2. Patents review One of the patents for CISS was applied by Print-Rite in 2005 and granted in 2006. The purpose was to provide a connection device which prevents intervention between ink channels and ensures the smooth movement of the printhead carriage. The channels and the lines interference with each other will cause inferior printing quality, shorten the life

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Speed (B/W)

27ppm

Speed (color)

15ppm 70ml

Ink tanks

Black: T6721; Yield: 4,000 pages M/K/Y: T6722/T6723/T6724; Yield: 6,500 pages

Compatible system Windows XP/XP professional x64 edition/vista/7 Connectivity Size Weight

USB2.0 487 x 228 x 135mm (paper tray closed) 487 x 480 x 265mm (paper tray open) 2.8kg (ink tank and supply lead exclusive) ▲ Table 1 Printer specifications for the L101

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lies in tackling the relevant patents owned by Print-Rite. This is likely to be the reason, behind Epson’s intention to apply for the invalidation of Print-Rite’s CISS patents. 3. Printers to be launched However, it is still unclear why Epson is eyeing PrintRite’s CISS patents registered in China. According to some sources, Epson’s strategy is likely aimed at paving the launch of its new printer line and legitimizing its product debut and sales in China. It seems that following Epson’s November 2010 launch in Indonesia of its first-ever OEM inkjet printers with CISS technology (the L100 with printer functions and the L200 with printer and copier multiple functions), the company planned a similar launch for its printers using the ink tank system – the L101 inkjet printer and the all-in-one printer L102 – in China in March. However, as of the cut off time for this article, Epson has still not debuted these products, which may feature CISS systems similar to the Print-Rite’s CISS products. The L101 and L201 printers come with a set of ink that consists of one bottle of black ink of 70 ml for US$5.50 which can print 4,000 pages in black and white and three bottles of colored ink. Last November, Epson launched what it claimed to be “the world's first original Ink tank System” in the form of its L100 and L200 printers in Indonesia. The specifications are shown in table 2 and table 3. Brand Product Speed (B/W) Speed (color)

Ink tanks

Brand Product Speed (B/W) Speed (color) Copy speed

Ink tanks

According to the Epson Indonesia website, “No more frequent ink refills, clogged valves or wasted ink with Epson Fast Ink Top-up (FIT) Technology., No more frequent ink refills, clogged valves or wasted ink”. They offer one-year or up to 15,000 prints warranty coverage. The two printers can help achieve photo perfection with the following functions: Red Eye Correction, Epson PhotoEnhance and Epson Easy Photo Print. According to Husni, the printer for US $142 and US $186 respectively would be introduced into the market from early November 2010. “In sales, the printer is targeting SOHO and home by 40% as much as 60%,” M Husni Nurdin, Deputy Country Manager for PT Epson Indonesia indicated during an interview.

4. Background According to Epson’s annual report 2010, alternative products are sold for less than genuine Epson ink cartridges, while they have a relatively low market share in Japan and America, they have high market share in certain Asian countries. It said if Epson’s sales from consumable products for inkjet printers declined because future the market share of non-OEM ink cartridges increases further or Epson must reduce the prices of its brand products, this will have negative impact on Epson’s performance. Total worldwide unit shipments of inkjet printers (including consumables, as in all EPSON printer discussions below) increased L100 inkjet printer in 2010 compared to that of 2009, even though unit shipments of 27ppm consumer models declined in Europe 15ppm and Japan, second-half shipments accelerated in North America as 70ml $5.50 dollars each Comes with a CISS with a yield over 12,000 pages new products were launched, and unit sales remained steady in Asia (B/W) or 6,500 pages (color) and South America due to the rapid ▲ Table 2 L100 specifications economic recovery in these regions. For business models, meanwhile, EPSON we saw demand in some sectors L200 all-in-one inkjet printer head toward recovery, while average selling prices were buoyed up by 27ppm new models. Nevertheless, the 15ppm market was slow to rebound and unit shipments declined. 11ppm IDC’s worldwide hardcopy 70ml $5.50 dollars each peripheral tracker also indicates Comes with a CISS with a yield over 12,000 pages that the growth of Epson’s printer (B/W) or 6,500 pages (color) business is slowing. The L100 and L200 printers are ▲ Table 2 L100 specifications www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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very popular in Indonesia. From the specifications of the two, the L101/L201 printers proposed for Epson launch in China mirror the L100 and L200. The Q1 L101 and L201 are designed with an external CISS device. The connections between parts of the Q2 devices are similar to Print-Rite’s CISS products. Q3 Epson was going to release the two printers in the Chinese market. But the launch was postponed. Q4 According to related laws in China, if the invalidation application from Epson was rejected, Print-Rite is entitled to seek damages as of the first day of patent infringement. Did Epson postpone the release date of L101 and L201 in order not to infringe Print-Rite’s patent? Do the printers that are going to be launched have any connections with Print-Rite’s patent? Recycling Times interviewed Arnald Ho, Chairman and founder of Print-Rite Holdings, Ltd., to find out more. 5. Exclusive interview with Arnald Ho How did you feel the second you found out about Epson’s application for Print-Rite’s patents? I was excited. This is the first time the OEMs may find that, their products may also conflict with aftermarket patents. This is a milestone for the aftermarket printer supplies industr y. When we decided to innovate, I ▲ Arnald Ho dreamed this day would come. I didn’t expect it to come so soon though. What do you think is the real intention of Epson’s applications? I will not guess the OEMs’ strategy. However, it is worth noticing that applications of patent invalidation are normally filed when there is a case involved. Epson’s applications are not related to any patent infringement lawsuit. Why would Epson file invalidation of Print-Rite’s patents that were granted eight year ago? I heard about the L101 and L201 printers Epson planned to launch in China in March. It is said that the CISS of those two printers are similar to Print-Rite’s products in terms of connection devices and other parts. CISS was created by China. Now the OEMs release

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

2010 2009 Market Market shipments shipments Growth share share (unit) (unit) 4342813

15.1%

3920574

14.9%

10.8%

4083638

14%

3399607

14%

20.1%

4356449

14%

3908534

14%

11%

5535657

15.2%

5428887

16%

▲ Table 4 Epson printer shipments 2009 and 2010

printers with CISS. What do you think of this? This means CISS products are demanded by the market. They saw the potential of the product. I believe an invention is intentionally developed. They may realize that their products have conflicts with Print-Rite’s patent. Those conflicts, if they exist, are unintentional. No one would violate a patent intentionally, I think. We filed the patent because the patent is valuable, not because we want to set a trap for anyone. Do you think Epson will successfully invalidate PrintRite’s patent? No. I have confidence in our patents. If the patent was not worth protecting and had no value, we would not have applied and paid a protection fee for it. But it is up to the Reexamination Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office to decide whether the patent is valid or not. If Epson fails to invalidate Print-Rite’s patent, will PrintRite grant Epson the right to use the patent with licensing fees? The results are not clear yet. We have a different strategy for each of the different situations that might arise. However, it is too soon to say anything. I think the OEMs and the aftermarket are closely related and mutually dependent like the lips and teeth, as a Chinese saying would put it. We have to obey to the rules and respect intellectual property rights if we want to have a legitimate business. Print-Rite is always open to negotiations rather than wanting to fight against any party. You mentioned negotiation. Do you think Print-Rite will have more bargaining chips after Epson’s invalidation applications of Print-Rite’s patents? We focus on the novelty; the inventiveness and practical applicability of the patent. We didn’t apply for patents to trap anyone. Print-Rite pays lots of attention to remanufactured cartridges. Some may say Print-Rite is not innovative enough. What would you say to that? Firstly, I don’t think making brand-new products automatically means innovation is involved. Speaking of innovation, as of the end of March 2011, Print-Rite has 1,435

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patents, three times of that of the second largest patentee in the aftermarket printer supplies industry. Actually, the sales revenue from our brand-new, patent-safe printer supplies has overtaken remanufactured products. Print-Rite also focuses on remanufactured products because we take remanufacturing as more than a business. We think of the environment. We have that thinking since 1995 when we first started to make remanufactured products. How much does Print-Rite invest in patents every year? Every year, we apply for 200-300 patents. We have spent about 50 million Yuan on patent applications and maintenance fees in the past five years. Does the board have any doubts about the investment in patents? When we began the investment, the board had some doubts. The further we are on this road, the fewer doubts they have. Now we all think that the investment has been worthwhile. Do you think Epson’s application for invalidation is a kind of reward for the investment? It is more of a spiritual reward than an economic reward. We still have to wait and see what the results are. From a technological perspective, aftermarket print consumables manufacturers and OEMs both have their own strengths and competitive advantages. The key differentiation lies in their intellectual property strategy. If Print-Rite is able to protect its patent properties under this case, it will signify a key development for the aftermarket industry and will have a farreaching and positive impact going forward. Many in the aftermarket printer supplies industry would think that investing in patents will take them way over their budget and they get only a small amount of business. Therefore, they are reluctant to invest in innovation. What do you think? Actually, I think this is the most significant thing about Epson’s applications of invalidation for Print-Rite’s patents, it offers hope for the industry. This sends a clear message to the industry that through innovation, we can protect the technology that results. If Print-Rite can make it; all the other companies in the industry can also make it. The size of a business or a company doesn’t matter. To innovate, we need to look at confidence rather than the size of a business. Print-Rite is also a small company compared with large corporations. We started an innovation group in 1999 and invited consultants to train them. We applied for a dozen patents in the first year, then several dozens a year, now several hundreds a year. We have come a long way with small steps. If a company wants to innovate, maybe the company will become another Print-Rite in five or ten years. There is a chance the OEMs’ patents have conflicts with the

patents you obtain today. 6. Comment March 27, 2011 is a date that marked by history of aftermarket printer supplies industry. It is believed that this is the first time ever in the printer consumables industry where an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is formally seeking to invalidate patents owned by an aftermarket printer consumables manufacturer in China. The role reversal in this patent case clearly indicates that aftermarket manufacturers are growing stronger in terms of intellectual property and patent battles. It also says a lot about the increasing patent strength of the aftermarket printer supplies industry in China. From the very beginning of the industry in 1980s until now, more and more companies have realized that innovation is the only way out. Last year, patents applied in Zhuhai came from several major companies. The second company on the list is Print-Rite, taking up 232 patents, an increase of 329% over the previous year. In those 232 patents, 54 of them are patents for invention, an increase of 1,700% over 2009. Ninestar and related companies are on the third spot of the list. It applied 154 patents, up 73% over 2009. As of 31 March, 2011, Print-Rite has filed over 1,435 patents registration worldwide, constituting approximately half of the patents published in China relating to the aftermarket printer consumables sector. We have learned that Print-Rite spends about RMB 50 million annually on R&D and IP. Although we apply patents not with the purpose of setting up trap for anyone, but the protection and the advantages of patents have brought new hope for the industry. Many people presume that the OEMs are strong and the aftermarket is nothing compared with the OEMs.The aftermarket players have always been forced to file patent invalidations against OEM patents on the back of substantial pressure from the latter and applied for invalidation of OEM patents because there are infringement disputes. Now the OEM may also be hit by the aftermarket patents. Now, the roles are being reversed. Just as Arnald Ho said, the OEMs and the aftermarket are just like lips and teeth. If there are no OEMs, the aftermarket won’t have a business; while the aftermarket also helps increase printer sales. With such close interdependencies, the OEMs and the aftermarket can never stress fair and just competition enough. In order to win more market share during the competition with the OEMs, innovation is the only way out for the aftermarket. For Print-Rite’s ten years of innovation, we can draw to a conclusion that though it is a long way to go, it is the right way after all. If we persist in innovation, we will be rewarded, sooner or later. www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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Win the market fair and square —Toshiba cartridge storm in China Free competition in a market makes it possible for aftermarket printer supplies to compete with OEM printer supplies. Aftermarket printer supplies have been tested by the market and offer advantages in terms of accessibility, quality and (in the case of remanufactured cartridges) the environment. However, since the birth of aftermarket printer supplies, the OEMs have never let up in their efforts to limit the competition from third-party printer suppliers. When the Toshiba eStudio 200S printer supplies storm hit China market on March 21, the OEMs’ intention to take up the entire market share was again unveiled. It would show great vision to designing products to ensure compatibility between products of different manufacturers. Yet the OEMs take up the absolute market share of printers. In this sense, the OEMs should have the guts to compete with any player in the market, fair and square. If they don’t, the aftermarket must unite and face the OEMs’ suppression. Ms Xiong Xiaozhen has been the trigger of a storm. She has found many problems with the Toshiba eStudio 200S printer since last March 27, the day she bought it. Toshiba after-sales service staff visited to Ms Xiong’s office as many as 12 times in less than a year. The problem is a malfunction caused by the test board Ms Xiong found that there was something special about the design of Toshiba eStudio 200S printer, “Before you refill your cartridge, you have to lift the toner cartridge out of the printer and replace the chip. Here comes the problem: when you replace the chip or when the printer has a paper jam, the chip will be lower than its normal position and cannot be connected to the spring contact point on the test board. Further, the chip will scrape the contact and cause damage to the test board. If the test board fails, it cannot sense the cartridge. Then, the printer stops working.” How does Toshiba diagnose whether the damage is done by users who refill the cartridge or by the paper jam? One might ask. The point is, even Toshiba itself doesn’t know how to figure that out. On March 9, 2011, Ms Xiong made a complaint to the Consumer Association for flaw design. On March 21, this was brought up by a website and the fact that Toshiba limited the use of aftermarket printer supplies and gained maintenance fees was exposed to the public. About a dozen media, including Xinhuanet (one of the most influential sites in China and the world), eNet.com.cn and www. om90.com, reported and republished the news. Visitors, associations and officials commented. Behind the storm Ms Xiong asked for the printer to be returned to Toshiba at 1,000 Yuan (about 153 US dollars). But the proposal was rejected by aftersales service staff of Toshiba. Wang Zuhong, head of Toshiba’s aftersales service center in Jiangxi Province, said Toshiba would replace

▲ Toshiba eStudio 200S Source: www.jxinews.com

the test board and provide a brand new cartridge for Ms Xiong, but that taking back the printer was not an option. One test board is rated at 380 Yuan (about 58 US dollars), one cartridge is 680 Yuan (about 103 US dollars). The two added is over 1,000 Yuan – about 153 US dollars. Why wouldn’t Toshiba take back the printer even if it had to pay more to replace the test board and cartridge? The reason is not so easy to work out. Actually, the built-in test board doesn’t mean too much to the consumer. The test board will contact the chip counter through spring contact point and count how many sheets the printer has printed. When the number of sheets printed reaches a certain number (for example, 1,500 pages), the printer will send signals to the test board and stop working. .According to the listing price by Toshiba’s after-sales service center in Jiangxi Province, one toner cartridge for Toshiba eStudio 200S is rated for 680 Yuan (about 103 US dollars). If a company changes one toner cartridge every month, this makes the cost of toner a year over 8,000 Yuan (about 1,218 US dollars)! The cost per copy is about 0.6 Yuan (about 9 cents). If the company refills the toner cartridge, it will cost 30 Yuan to refilling toner once. This is 22.6 times less than OEM toner cartridge. www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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the consumers choose their own preferred products. If the OEMs continue to stifle the aftermarket, the consumers and the industry will not benefit. A market requires competition. As leaders in printer supplies industry, OEMs should have an open heart and accept the challenge from the aftermarket. Win the market fair and square. This may create a win-win situation for the OEMs and the aftermarket.

▲“must use OEM printer supplies”agreement Source: www.jxinews.com

22.6 times! This means the OEMs must be making a huge profit. If the twisted design of the test board can tie the consumers and limit other competitors, this is a very good idea! The OEMs are having too good a time. The market and wisdom of the consumers think of ways to combat expensive OEM printer supplies. A Toshiba permanent chip for use in the Toshiba eStudio 200S printer was invented and put on sale. Consumers can refill their Toshiba cartridges with the chip, without fuss. Win the market fair and square Toshiba uses this constant failure of the test board to detect whether a consumer is using OEM printer supplies and warns the users not to use non-OEM printer supplies with its products. This not only infringes the consumer’s right to know about the product but also breaks articles in Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and Circular Economy Promotion Law of China. It is also monopolistic conduct against fair market competition. However, Toshiba eStudio 200S printer supplies storm is not the only such case in China. Similar is Epson’s “remaining-inkgate (the printer shows “ink low” while half the ink is remaining in the cartridge)”. On January 13, 2007, Tian Yuanjiang sued Epson and distributor in Guangzhou at Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court. Chips and some other designs on OEM printers are not technologically necessary but they are used as means to tie-in consumers and bundle sales. The OEMs do feel the pressure from the aftermarket and the aftermarket industry continues to thrive. Encryption on the chips is also one of the ways to limit competition from the aftermarket vendors. OEMs also confuse consumers with all kinds of marketing tactics. These definitely lure some consumers to be loyal users of OEM printer supplies. However, unfair competition like this not only confuses the consumers, but also brings difficulties for the printer supplies market while damaging the environment. The compatibility of printer supplies reflects the vision of the manufacturer. The aftermarket is by no means a complete rival of the OEMs. Aftermarket printer supplies with a more accessible price will increase printer sales for the OEMs. Maybe it is time for the OEMs to stop attending to trifles yet neglect the essentials. They should really focus on customer demand and provide them the best quality and price product and let

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Aftermarket rolls on The industry should seize the opportunity to educate customers about aftermarket printer supplies, not only talk about the price and savings, but also to clear up the confusion set by the OEMs. The Toshiba printer supplies storm offers an opportune moment for us to act. If we keep silent, consumers might think if they buy printers, they have to use OEM printer supplies; otherwise, the printer will not work. If we fail to capitalize in this the Toshiba storm will have brought about nothing good for the development of the aftermarket. The fact that many OEMs were brought to court for unfair competition reveals that consumers have a deeper and deeper understanding with regard to their printers. The tricks employed by the OEMs have nowhere to hide. This is also a hint for us: the OEMs can ignore the aftermarket’s voice, but they have to listen to voices of consumers and their governments’ promotion of conservation and a green environment. Firstly, the aftermarket should unit and educate consumers. Change the image (created by the OEMs and fake products) of being low quality. Multi-media, including websites, newspapers and TV networks, should be used to promote aftermarket printer supplies. Tell the consumers to distinguish between fake products, aftermarket printer supplies and OEM supplies. Pass on the advantages of quality, environmental friendliness and better prices to the end users. This cannot be done by just one or two companies. The whole industry must work together and promote the profile of the industry. Second, enhance regulation of the aftermarket. The industry should be innovative and enhance strength on R&D. More patents should be granted; standard of quality and test should be set up; the quality and after-sales services are to be lifted: all should prove to the consumers that aftermarket products are trust-worthy and good for the environment. Third, promote government procurement of aftermarket printer supplies. Almost at the same time as the Toshiba storm roared, Epson filed an invalidation application against Print-Rite's long-registered patents for a Connected Device in Continuous Ink Supply System (for more information read the Print-Rite feature contained in this issue). This encourages the aftermarket and lifts the confidence of third-party printer supplies manufacturers. By being confident and united in facing up to the challenges coming from the OEMs we can win the market fair and square while also expanding our reach.

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Examining aqueous inkjet wide format printing: trends & developments Aqueous, or water-based inkjet printers are the most flexible wide format printing technology, which means that there is a very wide array of print media that has been coated for use on these printers. Leading suppliers of this technology including Canon, Epson and Hewlett-Packard have also driven down the initial investment price of this equipment even while steadily simplifying their use and adding features and technologies that improve print quality and speed. The total value of the wide format aqueous inkjet market – summing hardware, ink, media, and service was more than $4.6 billion in 2010 and the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4% from 2009-2014. This growth will be seen in all three segments of the market – creative, technical, and graphics. Technology advancements drive growth Wide format aqueous inkjet printers compete for print volume with other technologies and processes in every segment of the market. As such, there has been a steady enhancement to these printers that includes greater speeds, higher image quality, greater functionality, and overall better value compared to previous generations of comparable equipment. The continuous improvement of the printers and their features will drive market growth. To analyze the market accurately, we consider each segment of the wide format aqueous inkjet printer market - creative, technical, and graphics – separately.

＄6,000 ＄5,686 ＄5,385 ＄5,117 ＄5,000

＄4,864 ＄4,642 ＄4,363

＄4,000

＄3,000

＄2,000

＄1,000

＄0 2009

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

2011

2012

2013

2014

▲ Figure 1 Worldwide wide format aqueous inkjet printer & supplies revenue ($M)

Creative The wide format creative segment includes devices commonly used in the proofing, photography, and fine art printing markets. These are “low-end” devices in terms of the initial investment cost and print volumes, but the output is of the highest quality and requires outstanding color fidelity. The technology advancements that are driving market growth in the creative segment include the availability of white ink, the shift to digital proofing workflows, and faster cycle times for production. White ink is a new technology in the aqueous inkjet market, introduced by Epson in its latest generation of proofing systems, which allows print shops to print on media that is colored or clear, which enables proofing in the flexo market. At the same time, Canon and HP have both introduced

2010

products for this segment with dramatically improved color gamuts over previous generations. InfoTrends projects the creative segment to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% through 2014. Technical The technical wide format market is primarily comprised of architectural, engineering, and construction documents, such as engineering and building plans, renderings, and line drawings. These documents present technical information that has to be highly accurate, but is most frequently printed in monochrome onto uncoated bond paper. There is a trend in this segment towards higher levels of color use, which improves the communication of technical details or elements of a plan where changes have been made. The use of 3D and color-centric applications is also driving increased use of color in the technical segment. The greater use of color is very

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and media supplies as a source of profitability. In fact, wide format aqueous inkjet printing ＄5,000 supplies make up the majority of revenue for this market, representing $3.15 billion in sales ＄4,000 Graphics for 2009 compared to hardware revenues of Technical ＄3,000 $986 million. We expect supplies revenue to demonstrate strong growth rates through Creative ＄2,000 2014, further widening the gap between hardware and supplies revenue. ＄1,000 The growth will occur in several important ＄0 areas. First among these is the greater use 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 of color in the technical market. With nearly ▲ Figure 2 Worldwide wide format aqueous inkjet printer & supplies revenue ($M) 800,000 wide format technical printers important in this segment because it benefits the inkjet market installed, even a small increase in the overall percentage of so greatly. Previously, many users in technical environments did color printing would drive a lot of additional ink revenue. The not have access to a wide format color printer or they reserved addition of wide format durable aqueous inkjet is another its use only for documents they would present to customers. contributing factor to the supplies growth. By 2014, we expect The development of ever faster inkjet printers has helped wide format durable aqueous inkjet to be contributing as much overcome some of the reluctance to print in color due to speed as $545 million in supplies revenue when ink and media sales limitations. The market leaders in the technical inkjet market are combined. It is important to note that much of that aqueous have also introduced economy print modes, which lower the durable supplies revenue is reallocated from the conventional cost to print in color. This has further helped increase the use aqueous graphics supplies revenue. of color inkjet printers in technical environments. InfoTrends The wide format aqueous inkjet market has not seen the projects the wide format aqueous inkjet technical market to very aggressive aftermarket activity that has been at work in grow at a CAGR of 3.5% through 2014. the solvent and UV-curable markets, which is likely due to the Graphics fear of litigation from the three large companies that own 95% The wide format aqueous graphics market is undergoing of the aqueous inkjet market - Canon, Epson, and HP. The lack continuous change as alternative technologies are developed of presence from third-party ink suppliers has also enabled the that lower the cost to print outdoor as well as indoor graphics. price of aqueous ink to stay relatively high. We do expect this The most compelling addition to the graphics market has been condition to change slightly over the next five years based on the addition of HP’s Latex print technology, which enables two factors. First is the greater adoption in emerging markets, indoor quality and outdoor durability with lower cost to print which are less loyal to OEM ink brands. The second is the and diminished environmental considerations. Other vendors, development of alternative inks, such as the Sepiax ink. notably an Austrian company called Sepiax, have launched Media inks with similar properties to HP’s Latex ink. The Sepiax ink is The introduction of new media has enabled many new wide suitable for use in any device using an Epson print head, so the format digital graphics applications over the years, a trend that company has targeted the changeover from eco-solvent printers will now include the development of new media for the aqueous and packaged “green printing” solutions developed by systems durable technology. Many of the leading suppliers of media for integrators. The addition of these “durable-aqueous” inkjet conventional wide format aqueous inkjet have expanded their printers is expected to be the major driver of growth in the wide media portfolios, or are now trying to do so, so accommodate format aqueous graphics market. InfoTrends is projecting the HP’s Latex and other “durable aqueous” inkjet ink formulations. wide format aqueous inkjet graphics market to grow at a CAGR The creative market is mostly comprised of proofing, fine art, of 7.1% through 2014. and photo papers. The technical market includes products like ＄6,000

Supplies prove profitable Ink The wide format aqueous inkjet market relies heavily on ink

uncoated bond paper, clear films, and vellum that are often used in the technical environment. The graphics market includes the widest media range, from matte and glossy coated papers to vinyl and canvas products that have been top-coated for www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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Market Data

wide format aqueous inkjet printing. In terms of revenue, each segment will demonstrate growth over the next five years, with the graphics segment showing the strongest growth. From a print volume standpoint, the wide format technical segment is by far the largest segment of the print media market. In sheer volume terms, technical media made up 88% of the wide format media market in 2009 and is expected to maintain its dominance through 2014. From a value standpoint though, the graphics market is much bigger since the vast majority of media used in wide format technical document printing systems is uncoated bond papers. Recommendations Advancements and improvements in technology are driving

growth. Users of wide format aqueous inkjet should closely monitor the technological enhancements to the new generation of printers. Important product improvements can lower costs, improve cycle times, and directly address workflow efficiencies. Distributors in the wide format market should prepare messaging that addresses how technology improvements can meet market needs in terms of the range of applications that can be produced, and the costs that can be reduced through the use of the latest technologies and product features. Further detail on these and other insights related to the wide format printing market can be found in InfoTrendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; report Wide Format Aqueous Inkjet Market Forecast. To learn more about the report, please visit www.infotrends.com.

Tim Greene Tim Greene is the Director of InfoTrends' Wide Format Printing and Color Digital Labels & Packaging Consulting Services. He is responsible for covering all wide format printing technologies and specialty media for these services. As Director, Mr. Greene develops InfoTrendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; annual market forecasts and conducts primary research on these markets. Mr. Greene is often published in industry leading wide format publications and he has presented market trends and analysis at client and major industry events such as FESPA, SGIA, PMA and ON DEMAND.

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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Profiles

Ink-Tank has think-tank —Interviewing Jiong Zhao at Huebon (Ink-tank) At first glance, Jiong Zhao could be any ordinary woman. Wearing blue shirt and black skirt, the same as her employees’, she tells me that she was at a meeting earlier. However, delve a little further and you’ll find a person far more outstanding than the clothes would suggest. She’s honest, frank and modest, and comes across as both attractive and professional. Born in Chongqing, a place where women are known for their frankness and therefore considered suitable leadership candidates, Jiong Zhao has her own opinion about the phrase “strong women”..

Those females who aspire to success are often deemed by society to be workaholics that care only for their work. There is a stereotype that they are more of a man than a woman, being ambitious, aggressive and arrogant. What do you think of this? To be frank, I am strong but it does not mean I am arrogant. A manager is supposed to encourage the employees to work creatively instead of pushing them or demanding them to finish mission impossible unreasonably. Definitely, I do not personally like the stereotype in people’s minds.

There is no doubt that your success in the aftermarket printer supplies industry is admirable. Would you like to share the experience about how you came into this industry? I worked in a state-run company before coming to Zhuhai. Later, I went to the Shenzhen branch in 1988. My family was involved in selling computer accessories at that time and they considered that it would be much better if we had our own factory to manufacture the products by ourselves. Therefore, I resigned and started a factory to make computer parts and accessories. In 1994, I quit again and came to Zhuhai. It is quite accidental that I came into this industry. I heard about it through a chance conversation with friends and found this industry promising. I thought this could be my own career instead of my family’s business.

Over time Huebon Co., Limited (Ink-tank) has become experienced in product management. How has this come about? Our company is almost 15 years old now. Despite

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

▲ Zhao Jiong

stepping into this industry quite early, lack and neglect of technology resulted in a flat performance in the early years. We spent about a third of the time getting familiar with products, including technology, quality control and technological innovation. That was a very difficult process for us. Consequently, we realized that field control (including employees and process control) was where we were strong.This was especially true of the process control arena in terms of every step of the production, of each member of staff ’s daily routine, and of every order arrangement. As a leader, I am responsible for dealing with each bottleneck to keep the company run smoothly. Having identified production management as our competitive advantage we have focused on our strength in production. There are two basic points: one is to serve the customers instead of the other way around. The second is technological innovation. We plan to step into the field of core printer technology by active technology innovation and produce our own printers in the next five years. I believe this is the real way forward for our company.

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What characteristics in your personality prepare you for your job? Firstly, I focus a lot on my work. I am cautious and obsessed with ever y detail. When I was in a staterun company, I did every task carefully and I did many different jobs such as operator, warehouse keeper, planner, accountant, statistician, administrator and HR. I hope that in every task, I should be the one with the best performance, no matter how small the task is. Secondly, I prefer to make ever ything clear when assigning any task. I do not like people do things without clarity. I feel obligated to make sure that every employee understands the detail and systemize the process especially when tricky things occur. This requires a clear mind from the managers. It is impossible for me to know everyone, but a precise process is a must, no matter who you are. Different people have different ways of thinking and if every one does something in his/her own way, it may turn out to be a mess at the workplace. Process management is everything to me.

Do you think there are any special features that women in management can take advantage of? Sensitivity is the main business characteristic women can tap into and they are more likely to handle jobs such as the HR field which requires a sensitive heart. Besides, women are patient in general. As a result, women should take advantage of character traits in their management, for example, to show care for their subordinates.

Speaking of care for the staff, would you pay more attention to women staff than men at the workplace? Half of our management positions are filled by women, such as sales manager, manager of quality control

â&#x2013;˛ Ink-tank facility overview

department, and Human Resources Manager. Women and men are equal and regardless of gender everyone must be qualified for the job description. There is no excuse for anyone to make mistakes without punishment. I have to say, I treat everyone equally.

Many managers encounter some difficulties in dealing with young people especially those who were born after 1980. Can you share your experiences in communicating with young people in your company? Young people in modern times are knowledgeable, openminded and smart. We should encourage them to show themselves rather than suppress their individuality. We should let the right person do the right job; otherwise it will bring nothing good to the company. It is important for managers to know peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personalities. More than half of our employees are young and they were born in 1980s. It might not be very easy to know each of them very well, but I do hope we can create a good environment and policies that will help them to grow and develop their career. I attach importance to learning of new management concepts and take part in training as much as I can. Only in this way can I communicate and encourage them successfully. It is the same for anyone in management positions.

Recycling Times learns that your company takes in interns from the university and also recruits fresh graduates or people without rich experience at work. Can you explain the reasoning behind this? I emphasize human resources training in a big way. I want us to cultivate technical staff by ourselves. Every fresh graduate or person without rich experience will have training in many aspects in our company, including skills and processes which have been imbedded in the development of our company. Through talking with interns, I find that many undergraduates are striving to apply for jobs such as a public servant, choose further education or just go abroad. These are all very good opportunities for them. However, if these become their most popular options after undergraduate study, the schools and families should really sit down and think what the problem is. When I was a student, education focused more on skills and practices. But now, some students have an impetuous psychology: www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

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Profiles

when they learn that somebody else earns 200,000 or 300,000 Yuan every month, they focus not on the reasons and their own short-term aims but only on the number and they get restless. Young people are smart. However, if they don’t use their minds to really get down to working and getting value out of their position, they will not optimize opportunities for career advancement and development.

Can you make any suggestions on how to improve the insufficiency of education from your industry point of view? To develop the core technology is the best way for companies to become powerful and in the lead of the aftermarket printer supplies industry. The government can cooperate with companies and universities to research technology together. The problem is that some research programs in universities are irrelevant to the needs of companies. The communication between companies and universities is not fluent enough to make research results into industrial reality. The long-term development of the aftermarket printer supplies industry requires bridges to be built between governments, universities and companies. This is very challenging and a long-term project. We should take advantage of the resources the universities have and pay more attention to the R&D of printer technology. Local companies will benefit from those technologies and prosper.

We already know that you manage the company successfully, and we are wondering how you “manage” your family. Once a woman chooses to go into business, they should keep the following in mind when balancing family and career. Firstly, your husband doesn’t have to be more successful than you, especially in terms of career. However, this is the case with many Chinese women, especially strong women with a successful career. Secondly, learn to respect and be grateful. In order to support your career, your husband may even have to sacrifice a lot to support you. Be grateful for his sacrifice and respect him.

Do you have any advice for young women who want to start their own business? As long as the decision is made, do not give up halfway.

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

▲ Ink-tank's assembly line

▲ Ink-tank products

When problems occur, tr y to find out reasons and solutions. Only in this way can a person achieve success. Chinese female entrepreneurs should think about two important points. First, family. Sacrifice is unavoidable if you want to build a beautiful family. Family should be considered first and try to get consideration and understanding from relatives and your husband. A harmonious family can guarantee a successful career. The whole family is a team and they can be the best support you can ever expect in the whole world for any adventure. Secondly, be tolerant. No one is perfect and no one is capable of everything. Therefore, building up a team or think-tank is necessary and very important to guarantee that the decisions in a company are wise enough not destroy the business. This requires an open heart.

Summary I am impressed by Mrs. Zhao’s logical and well-organized words. Her ideas about the aftermarket are simple but profound. She is thoughtful in management and smart in keeping a balance between family and career. All of these make her outstanding and able to succeed more easily than other women.

Recycling Times Magazine

Sales & Management

Compensation and benefits review (part two) By Alfie Kohn 4. What does it all mean? To those looking for reassurance that reward systems make sense, Gupta and Shaw's article will no doubt be well-received. For those interested in a dispassionate analysis of rewards, it will raise more questions than it answers. The idea that reward systems don't work very well is not particularly controversial -- witness a cover article in Incentive magazine several years ago carrying the headline "Why No One Likes Your Incentive Program." And if you're not impressed by research, then just ask how long a typical reward program lasts before it's junked. Then ask: how many times does that have to happen before you finally realize that the problem isn't with the specifics of the program but with the psychological theory on which the whole idea of rewards is based? How many times do we earnestly attempt to carry out the advice of consultants, along the lines of the familiar suggestions offered at the end of Gupta and Shaw's article, before we realize that offering workers the equivalent of a doggie biscuit for doing what we demand is never going to be successful in any meaningful sense? That rewards can't get us what we want is a heretical idea, but it emerges ineluctably from a critical analysis of motivation and work. What distinguishes behaviorists (and pop-behaviorists, who identify themselves not as Skinnerians but as "performance management" experts and suchlike) is not a predilection for using rewards so much as a tendency to focus on behavior -- as though only that which can be seen and measured is real. The more reasonable view, I would argue, is that our behavior is just the outward manifestation of who we are: our thoughts and feelings, expectations and memories. Once you start thinking about people rather than behaviors, you begin to ask questions like "What do people need -- and what can we do to help meet those needs?" Psychologists tell us that people have a basic need for autonomy, so the challenge is to create a workplace that is democratic, where ever yone has

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

the opportunity to participate in making important decisions. Psychologists tell us that people have a basic need to feel related and to belong, so the challenge is to create a workplace that is collaborative and feels like a community. Psychologists tell us that people have a basic need to feel competent, so the challenge is not to induce people to do a fixed series of tasks but to re-examine the tasks themselves. (Frederick Herzberg put it best: "If you want people motivated to do a good job, give them a good job to do.") Now contrast such an organization, where the point of departure is asking what people need, with an organization whose fundamental question is, in effect, "How can we get the employees to do what we tell them?" The former sort of workplace is about working with; the latter sort is about doing to. Rewards, seen from this perspective, are just one more way of doing things to people. They are basically "control through seduction." To create a more democratic and collaborative workplace is not inconsistent with compensating people adequately for what they do. I am not arguing against money, which is necessary and even nice. I am arguing against (1) attributing more importance to money than it actually has, (2) pushing money into people's faces and making it more salient than it needs to be, and (3) confusing compensation with reward (the latter being unnecessary and counterproductive). The problem isn't

Recycling Times Magazine

Sales & Management

with the dollars themselves, but with using dollars to get people to jump through hoops. Thus, my formula for how to pay people distills the best theory, research, and practice with which I am familiar into three short sentences: * Pay people well. * Pay people fairly. * Then do ever ything possible to take money off people's minds. Notice that incentives, bonuses, pay-for-performance plans, and other reward systems violate the last principle by their very nature. Another prescription, even less likely to be popular among comp experts, follows close on the heels of that one: Work with everyone in an organization to decide on an equitable basis for paying people -- and then move on! Herzberg's career was devoted to proving the following revolutionary principle: just because paying people inadequately can be demotivating doesn't imply that paying people better (or more skillfully) will be motivating. The jazziest, most expensive and elaborate comp system ever devised can never do anything other than prevent some problems. It can take you only to the baseline, the zero point. And if you become preoccupied with the topic, it can distract you from attending to what can move an organization forward -- projects such as meeting people's needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. The engineers who maintain the heating and cooling systems in an office building perform an analogous function: if they do their job poorly, then the air is too hot or cold or dry and people can't do their best work. But no matter how well they do their job, the best that can be expected is that people forget about the climate altogether and think about how to get better at -- and really enjoy -- what they do. No one hires a heating specialist to "motivate" the employees; it is equally ludicrous to expect that of a compensation specialist. One of my favorite examples of a company that took this advice is Marshall Industries, a huge electronic components distributor based in southern California. Long locked into a pop-behaviorist sensibility, myopically concerning itself with the "dos and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ts of financial

incentives," they finally realized that none of this advice seemed to help and that the problem was with the premises on which the use of any financial incentive was based. It was the very existence of sales commissions and other rewards that was preventing the company from moving forward. Only when this light bulb clicked on did things begin to change. After a full year of listening, reflecting, and "losing sleep," CEO Rob Rodin and his associates first got rid of all contests and other practices that set employees against each other, then eliminated management incentives, and finally replaced sales commissions and everything else smacking of payfor-performance with a base salary. The result: turnover (one of the many hidden costs of reward systems) was reduced by 80%; morale soared; salespeople began coordinating their efforts more effectively; and sales, along with profitability, grew dramatically. About five years ago, when Marshall began its de-incentivizing process, its stock was about $8 and its annual sales were at $575 million; today, its stock trades in the $30-$40 range and annual sales have hit $1.3 billion.

We can all agree that this is an imperfect world. But the uncritical acceptance of traditional practices, particularly those based on an outdated and inaccurate view of human psychology, serves only to make our world that much more imperfect. The sociologist C. Wright Mills put it well: "Are not those who in the name of realism act like crackpots, are they not the utopians? Are we not now in a situation in which the only practical, realistic, downto-earth thinking and acting is just what these crackpot realists call 'utopian'?" Disclaimer: Copyright by Alfie Kohn. Reprinted with the author's permission. www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Trade Center “TISHINKA”, T-Modul • Moscow • Russia

Russia is a huge growing printing market:

In 2009 alone, over 6,000,000 compatible cartridges and over 34,000,000 remanufactured cartridges were sold in Russia. OEM companies managed to sell just 9,200,000 cartridges. The potential of Russia’s aftermarket of printing supplies is visible with an unarmed eye.

Is your company among the suppliers of spare parts for remanufactured cartridges or of compatible cartridges? Is your company in search of new markets? Is your company on the watch for opportunities?

Consider Russia - one of the fastest growing printing markets in the world! We can take you there:

RechargRussia Expo 2011 is your pathway to the Russia aftermarket of printing supplies! Special exhibitor’s packages: • special ad discounts in both of the RechargEast and RechargRussia Magazine; • monthly mail distribution to all our Russian database (3,000+ companies): the emails include exhibitors’ profiles and hot offers; • monthly bulletins to all exhibitors full with important information about the Russian Remanufacturing Industry as well as large local buyers of compatible finished ink and toner cartridges.

Contact our representatives for more details.

Mirena Polihronova

| support@rechargeast.com

Toby Tan

| Toby@abcolors.cn

Alisa Andreeva

| assistance@rechargrussia.com

www.rechargrussiaexpo.com

Recycling Times Magazine

Market Data

Welcome to RechargRussia Expo 2011, Your Pathway to the Russian Aftermarket of Printing Supplies! RechargRussia and RechargEast Magazines, well-reputed magazines specialized in the aftermarket of printing supplies in Russia and Eastern Europe, are happy to invite your company to take part in the VIIIth edition of RechargRussia Expo 2011, which will take place in Moscow, Russia, on May 18, 19, 20, 2011. The RechargRussia Expos are traditionally organized in Moscow, which hosts this exceptional and unique event for the printing industry every year. The exhibition attracts thousands of specialists from the aftermarket of imaging and printing supplies. Owner, managers, technical specialists and salesmen from Russia and CIS countries are the main visitors of the exhibition. RechargRussia Expo is the only professional event in the field of printing supplies organized in the Russian capital. Leading manufacturers and distributors of toner, inks, OPC drums, parts, remanufactured and compatibles cartridges all gather in Moscow each year to show their best products to the Russian aftermarket companies. Local distributors, resellers, rechargers come to the exhibition to get to know local and international exhibitors, get updates on market trends, start new and reinforce existing relationships and partnerships. Our experience in organizing 7 consecutive specialized exhibitions in Russia is extremely valuable and can be used by your company to its utmost profit.

Feedback from the 2010 exhibitors: Steven Yao, APEX, China: “The 2010 expo exceeded our expectations. We will surely take part in the show in 2011 and will probably choose to have a bigger booth to display all our products”. Angela Shekyls, SPEED INFOTECH

Be in Moscow on May 18 and 19, 2011, when you will have the opportunity to attend the presentations of the 20 biggest buyers of compatible and remanufactured cartridges in Russia and CIS! With the total annual purchasing power of over $250 million, these companies are the leaders in the market. Don’t miss the chance to meet them personally as they are always open to new mutually beneficial partnerships. Russian companies buy remanufactured and compatible cartridges for over $586 million* per year. (*Source: Business-Inform, Russia) Market share (%)

Holdings, Ltd., Russia/China: “The 2010 exhibition was good to our company. We met many visitors from the last year’s show. Although we didn’t get too many

Genuine supplies Compatible supplies Refills

new customers from the 2009 show, but in 2010 the prospects are looking good. This

Russia Market of Printing Supplies in 2004-2009

year there have been much fewer end users, but the number of distributors has grown. In addition, we’ve had many visitors from the far regions of Russia. We are definitely Year

interested very much in participating in the expo in 2011.” Ozlem Eris, IPM, Turkey: “In 2009 we established fruitful cooperation with

Qty, million units Qty, original cartridges Qty, non-original cartridges Qty, refills

Russia Market of Laser Printing in under 45 ppm Segment

some Russian companies. In 2010 we are expecting to make our position even stronger in this market. All this happened with the help of RechargRussia Expos. We are glad that we participated in RechargRussia Expo 2010 and we have already reserved our booth for 2011.”

Year

www.rechargrussiaexpo.com

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

Legal Issues

China’s new patent law – influence and interpretation By Kan Zu, Unitalen Attorneys at Law Declaratory judgment The first case of declaratory judgment in China occurred in 2001 in response to the request of the Jiangsu High Court in the case of Suzhou Long Bao Biotech Industrial Co., Ltd. vs. Suzhou LongLife Co., Ltd. After deliberate consideration the Supreme Court, confirmed that the court might accept the non infringement confirmation suit case. The Supreme Court held that Suzhou LongLife had sent warning letters alleging a patent infringement to the sellers of products made by Long Bao. This caused the sales of the Long Bao’s products to be stopped and damaged Long Bao’s interests. The Supreme Court further ruled that the court should accept the case in which the purpose of the litigation was merely to request the court to confirm that the plaintiff did not infringe the defendant’s patent as alleged in the warning letter. A very common situation in such instances was that a potential infringer would file a declaratory judgment before a court upon receiving a warning letter or cease and desist letter or any other similar information where the potential infringer may take advantage of communication with the judge to obtain a favorable non-infringement judgment or to transfer the patent infringement case filed by the patentee to the court which may in favor to the potential infringer. The infringement issue would yield completely different results from different judges due. In the years following the Supreme Court issuing an opinion on Long Bao’s case, many declaratory judgments were filed by potential infringers in bad faith before the patentee filing patent infringement litigations that in fact the declaratory judgment protected the infringers to some extent. In responding to jurisdiction issues requested by the Hebei High Court and Beijing High Court, the Supreme Court ruled that the jurisdiction of declaratory judgment should be based on the Article 29 or Civil Procedure to decide which court had jurisdiction. The declaratory judgment and the patent infringement litigation based on the same fact were independent litigation, and both parties filed different litigations of declaratory judgment and patent infringement litigation before different courts, the cases should be

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

heard by one court. Normally in practice, the court that accepted the case first would have jurisdiction. In September 2003, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. found from the advertising materials that the model “SRV” made by Double Circles Auto Co., Ltd. was extremely similar to its own the model “CR-V” and sent six warning letters to Double Circles. On Oct. 16, 2003 Double Circles filed a declaratory judgment with Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court requesting a non-infringement judgment. On Nov. 13, 2003 Honda sued Double Circles in the Beijing High Court alleging infringement of three of Honda’s Chinese design patents, No. 01319523.9 (the ‘523 design) related to the vehicle, No. 01302609.7 (the ‘609 design) and No. 01302610.0 (the ‘610 design), both designs concerned bumpers. In solving the conflict of jurisdictions, the Supreme Court found that the declaratory judgment filed by Double Circles in Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court was related to the ‘523 design, and the patent infringement litigation filed by Honda in Beijing High Court related to the ‘523 design, the ‘609 design and the ‘610 design, and the two courts accepted the cases in different dates. The declaratory judgment of ‘523 design was earlier than the infringement litigation but the declaratory judgments of the ‘609 design and the ‘610 design were later than the infringement litigations. Therefore, the Supreme Court concluded that Beijing High Court should transfer the infringement case of the ‘523 design to Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court and Shijiazhuang Intermediate Court should transfer the declaratory judgment cases of the ‘609 design and the ‘610 design to Beijing High Court vis-à-vis.

Recycling Times Magazine

Legal Issues

By filing a declaratory judgment first, Double Circles successfully selected the court and finally got a favorable judgment even though the “SRV” model was extremely similar to the ‘523 design. In awareness of the above default of declaratory judgment, in the Interpretation, the Supreme Court ruled that the accused infringer shall respond to the patentee upon receiving warning letter or cease and desist letter. If the patentee does not file a patent infringement lawsuit within one month of receiving the accused infringer’s response or within two months of accused infringer sending the response, the accused infringer may file a declaratory judgment. Remedies The remedies are one of the most important issues concerned by the patentees. The New Patent Law and the Interpretation do not provide any other further remedies than injunctions including preliminary injunction and permanent injunction, evidence perseverance, damages, etc. Low damages on patent infringement have been criticized and questioned that if the infringement cost is low no innovative nation would be created. Hence, the New Patent Law raises the cap of statutory damages on infringement from half a million RMB to one million RMB. In China, the damages can be calculated in three ways, loss of profit, defendant’s profit by infringement, or reasonable license fee. Nevertheless, the patentee may choose the statutory damages if the above ways are not available. Actually damage was not the low but the patentee normally could not provide correspondent evidence when he claimed big damages that most patentees chose the statutory damages instead of lost of profit or defendant’s profit. In some cases the patentees had successfully provided evidence for calculating damages and the court accepted the evidence and awarded several million US dollars as damages, such as in the case of Holley Comm Co., Ltd. vs. Samsung, where 50 million RMB in damages was awarded. In Neoplan Bus GmbH vs. Zhong

Wei Bus Co., Ltd., more than 20 million RMB in damages was awarded. By awarding damages of over three hundred million RMB toa patentee, CHINT Group, Wezhou Intermediate Court accepted the evidence that the profit made by defendant from the infringement products between August 2004 and July 2006. CHINT sued Schneider Electric (Tianjin) SA. on August 2, 2006 alleging Schneider infringed the Chinese utility model No. 97248479.5 (“the ‘479 patent”) owned by CHINT. The court assigned an auditor to audit the profit made by Schneider from the accused products, and based on the information of Schneider’s business registration the court calculated the profit from the accused products was over 300 million RMB and awarded the damages. However, the case brought into question the practice of calculating damages using the defendant’s profit. The defendant’s profit should be calculated as the whole profit generated by the accused products, net profit or the profit of added value by using the accused infringement technology. The ‘479 patent merely solved the problem of quick opening and closing of breaker so that the profit did not come entirely from the ‘479 patent, but also the quality, materials, design, manufacturing techniques, marketing efforts, management, etc. contributed the profit. In the Interpretation, the Supreme Court rules that when a court decides the defendant’s profit under Article 65 of the New Patent Law the profit shall be limited to profit is generated by the patented technology. When the infringing product is a part of another product, a court shall calculate the portion of profit generated by this part by counting the cost and value of the part to decide reasonable the damages. Conclusion Even though some issues have not been addressed, the New Patent Law and the Interpretation have clarified some issues that were previously completely up to the discretion of the judges, and, no doubt, Chinese courts have made impressive progress on patent litigations and will be better and more professionals especially in some cities where the economic situation is more developed. With GDP at number two in the world, China had and would have offered continual opportunities to develop business and generate profits for both domestic and foreign companies. China has been making a lot of efforts on patent protection and the protection is even closer to practice in the US and Europe. Having such patents in China and actively enforcing them will make Chinese business more successful. www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

Tech Zone

Remanufacturing the Dell 2335dn toner cartridge By Mike Josiah and the Technical Staff at Uninet Imaging First released in August 2008, the printers are based on a 35ppm, 1200dpi engine. The first page out is rated at under 8.5 seconds, and the monthly duty cycle is up to 35,000 pages. Both model printers are Print, copy, scan, and fax capable. The 2335 comes standard with 128Mb of memory which is upgradeable to 384Mb. It also comes with duplexing standard. These cartridges do not have a drum cover, and come new with a piece of heavy paper with

foam glued to it taped around the cartridge. There are both LY (3,000 pages) and HY (6,000 pages) cartridges available. Each version of cartridge has its own specific chip, but the cartridges themselves are identical. The chip covers are held in place by plastic rivets. To replace the chip, the rivets need to be cut off, holes carefully drilled, (not too deep or the cartridge will leak), and screws installed.

The LY and HY cartridges are listed below.

LYcartridge 330-2208 (3,000 pages)

HY cartridge 330-2209 (6,000 pages)

Required tools

Required supplies

• Toner approved vacuum.

• Dell 2335 toner (HY or LY )

• Replacement wiper blade

• A small common screw driver 3) A Phillips head screwdriver

• Replacement chip (HY or LY )

• Conductive grease

• Needle nose pliers

• Replacement drum

• Drum lubricating powder

Gently pry off plastic drum axle bushing. Keep this bushing with the appropriate end cap when removed. Each side is different.

On the top edge of the end cap, there is a plastic tab. Press in on the tab and remove the right end cap.

step >

Place the cartridge with the handle/ supply chamber facing you. Remove the 3 screws on the right end cap.

step >

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

step >

Tech Zone

Lift off the roller cover

step >

Carefully pry up the side plastic tab to release the waste chamber

step >

Remove the waste chamber

step >

Remove the developer roller drive gear; put a strip of tape across the remaining gears. They do not need to be removed the tape will help keep them in place

step >

On the opposite side of the cartridge, remove the three screws on the left end cap

step >

On the top edge of the end cap, there is a plastic tab. Press in on the tab and remove the left end cap

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

On the supply hopper, remove the fill plug and dump out any remaining toner

On the fill plug side, press in on the plastic tab and remove the spring/ plastic bushing assembly.

step >

G e nt l y p r y o f f p l a s t i c d r u m a x l e bushing. Keep this bushing with the appropriate end cap when removed.

Recycling Times Magazine

Clean and install the developer roller, long shaft side to gear side first.

step >

Fill the hopper with Dell 2335 toner. Check for leaks.

On the waste hopper, remove the E-ring from the drum axle.

Slide the drum axle out from the side opposite the E-ring (Large gear side).

step >

Snap the spring/plastic bushing assembly in place. Make sure the tail of the spring is set properly.

step >

Carefully pry up the doctor blade. This blade has a very tight fit, work it off carefully. Clean out any remaining toner from the hopper.

Clean the doctor blade and foam seals. It is too early to say exactly what chemical to use on the blade, but so far 99% isopropyl alcohol seems to work.

Install the drive gear on the developer roller.

step >

Replace the doctor blade and 2 screws.

step >

Remove the two screws on the doctor blade.

step >

Remove the developer roller.

step >

Tech Zone

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | May 2011

Recycling Times Magazine

Tech Zone

step >

Remove the OPC drum.

step >

Coat the new wiper blade with your preferred lubricant. Install the new wiper blade and two screws. The tail of the wiper blade should face up.

the waste hopper on to the supply 33 Install chamber. Make sure that the tabs lock

Install the drum axle small drum gear side first. Make sure that the E-ring groove ends up on the small drum gear side.

Install the E-ring.

into place on the side wall.

May 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Coat the OPC drum with your preferred lubricant and install the drum.

step >

Remove the two screws and the wiper blade. Clean out all the toner from the hopper. It is interesting to note that on new cartridges, some toner is in the waste hopper. Apparently these cartridges are being tested before they are shipped, or the drum was lubricated with toner.

step >

Install the PCR by sliding the long shaft side through the non-contact side. Bring it back to fit into the contact side.

step >

Slide the PCR to the non contact side. Remove the PCR.

step >

Clean the PCR with your preferred PCR cleaner. WARNING: Do not clean the OEM PCR with alcohol, as this will remove the conductive coating from the roller. If the PCR is an aftermarket, follow the cleaning methods recommended by the manufacturer. If the PCR is an OEM, we recommend it be cleaned with your standard PCR cleaner. Clean the old conductive grease off the PCR shaft and contact. Replace with new.

Install the roller cover assembly.

Recycling Times Magazine

Tech Zone

Remove the tape from the gears, and install the left side end cap and three screws. Make sure the top rear tab locks in place.

step >

Press the drum axle bushing in place. Set it so the small tab is at the end of the groove; make sure it is fully seated. The two small bushings are different. Make sure you have the correct bushing for this side.

The chip is held in place by plastic rivets. It must be replaced for the cartridge to work. It can be replaced by cutting the plastic rivets, drilling two holes, and setting two self tapping screws in place.

step >

Install the right side end cap and three screws. Make sure the top rear tab locks in place.

Printing test pages As these machines are copiers, the easiest way is to just make a copy of a suitable test page.

Repetitive defect chart Fuser pressure roller

101.3mm

Fuser heat roller

88.9 mm

OPC drum

75.5 mm

Supply roller

53.2 mm

Transfer roller

47.1mm

PCR

37.7mm

Developer roller

39.2mm

Mike Josiah Mike Josiah is the East Coast Technical Director at Uninet Imaging. A global distributor of toner, OPC drums, wiper blades and other supplies. An industry veteran since 1987, Mike is a member of ASTM committee F.05, the STMC Technician Certification Committee as well as an STMC trainer. He regularly contributes articles and teaches seminars at association meetings and trade shows.