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Recycling Times Magazine

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Publisher & Managing Director Tony Lee +86 (0)756 3919260 Directors David Gibbons +86 (0)756 3919261 Sabrina Lo +86 (0)756 3919266 Editorial Consulting Editor Art Diamond Editors Johanna Breen Lu Di +86 (0)756 3919268 translator@therecycler.com.cn Tina Chou +86 (0)756 3959286 editor03@therecycler.com.cn Sophia Jiang editor@therecycler.com.cn Jane Yu magazine03@therecycler.com.cn Jeven Zhang research@therecycler.com.cn Designer Miracle Wei design@therecycler.com.cn Sales Sales Manager Anna Leung +86 (0)756 3919266 Account Manager Kevin Zhu +86 (0)756 3919265 Sales Executives Sally He +86 (0)756 3919263 Tobee Deng +86 (0)756 3919282 Susi Guo +86 (0)756 3959299 Operation and Marketing Operation Manager Charles Lee +86 (0)756 3919267 Frank Yang +86 (0)756 3959280 Operations Assistant Sunny Zhang +86 (0)756 3959282 Accounting Betty Li +86 (0)756 3919269 Joy He +86 (0)756 3919262 Marketing Supervisor Jessica Yin magazine@therecycler.com.cn +86 (0) 756 3919264 Tracy Zhang +86 (0)756 3959283 Published by Recycling Times Media Corporation

elcome to our last issue for 2011. Looking back at the keywords of the year, we meet old friends – patent litigations, chips, chemical toner and biotoner, and Pantum printer. There are also new ones like Cloud printing. I would like to share with you FOUR issues I believe will have significant influence on our industry: 1. Epson failed (at least now) to invalidate the CISS patents held by Print-Rite in China — the first ever case where an OEM tried to invalidate patents held by an aftermarket company. The case sent a positive message throughout our industry. Before 2007, the industry in China showed no interest in getting any patents for printer supplies, since they all believed patents were matters for international or top domestic enterprises. However, the ink cartridge 337 investigation in 2007 sounded an alarm and wakened the Chinese aftermarket players. Since then, our industry has invested huge effort in patent applications, and by November this year, has submitted nearly 4,000 applications, with over 2,000 of them being granted. We believe this milestone event will encourage the whole industry to take an even more active role in patent application. 2. It is Epson again. I mention it again for launching an extremely low priced mono cartridge at RMB 29 in China. Printer OEMs have been using the trick of “giving away the razor, and selling the blades” to profit. Kodak has made a “brave” attempt to breakthrough this business model with $9.99 ink cartridge, but failed at the end of the day. However, Epson, an OEM which carries a much heavier weight on the market than Kodak, attempted to breakthrough with its RMB 29 cartridge. So we can be sure this move will be more influential. Facing the low price strategy of OEMs, how can our industry keep a reasonable price for our products while maintaining a good product quality? How can we breakthrough price competition with the help of new product and technological innovations? These issues have been put in front of us to think about and handle. If we let price competition plague the market, we can expect an incident similar to the notorious Melamine case to occur in our industry. 3. When SCC announced the cracking of HP 364/564 chips, our industry all jumped with joy. We know the importance of chip technology in our industry where OEMs keep strengthening chip encryption to secure their market share and outrageous profits. Recently, word got out that the largest cable TV chip manufacturer, Crypotography Research, will cooperate with two printer OEMs to produce chips. This is worrying because Crypotography Research is well known for its encryption technology used in millions of cable TV chips with a stunning record of anti-cracking. 4. LED color printer from Aetas Technology will soon see mass production. It is said that the company has invested over $100 million for the R&D of the printer. The first generation business class printer, the Samantha, commenced trial production in Guangzhou in 2010, and was granted CCC, FCC and UL certifications, etc. Aetas Tech. (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd has become the only non-American, non-Japanese and non-Korean company to enjoy full intellectual property ownership, and the ability to independently conduct R&D and manufacture of the LED color printer. What do you think of 2011? The year will pass soon, and 2012 will soon be upon us. We will be glad to review, explore and share it all with you.

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RecyclingTimes

Tony Lee Publisher & Managing Director

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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

Should we be nervous again? The draft for comment from the Beijing Higher People’s Court in China has shocked the Chinese and even the world remanufacturing industry when it was misinterpreted by overseas media. However, should we be nervous again?

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2011: The year in review 2011 is about to end and it is time for reviewing. Let us join Art Diamond to review some of the highlights of our passing year from general issues, sales & marketing, patent & legal, technical, color as well as biotoner & bioplastics.

Just a Minute with David Gibbons

Should we be nervous again?

Printer OEMs: A tough quarter

Money From Home

Undoubtedly, the major OEMs had a tough quarter. Natural disasters may have played a part, but economic uncertainty has cast the biggest shadow over their businesses. These could have sent mixed messages to the aftermarket

You have a CHOICE

Industry Updates

Economic recession impacts printer shipments Expanded environmental standard for printing cartridges Toner cartridge sales to reach 449 million by 2015

Static Control reopens global distribution center Japanese aftermarket suppliers sues Canon Van CCC nominated for the Zero Waste Award

OEM News Epson releases world’s smallest inkjet printer

15 Samsung launches Green printer for small business Ricoh India aims $200 million by 2014

16 Lexmark moving towards software

MPS market continues to grow

New Kyocera mono MFPs for small workgroups

Memjet receives Popular Science magazine award

Features Product Release

Print-Rite gets the “Jump” on Canon Refilling units from CBR

10 MMC releases new printing supplies New compatible chips for OEMs 12 CET releases compatible consumables New DIY inkjet photo product

18 2011: The year in review 25 Printer OEMs: A tough quarter Profiles

Interviewing Integral

ink solution for Epson R3000 13 Cost-saving Katun releases compatible color toner

Market Data

Alternative toners for OEMs

Color print profits more – OEMs take action

OEM News HP's flood relief policy for printer customers in Thailand

Tech Zone

14 Canon rolls out three AIO photo printers

MPS training program for channel partners

Remanufacturing the Lexmark X560 Toner Cartridges

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Just a Minute with David Gibbons

Should we be nervous again? The remanufacturing industry is very nervous and ‘twitchy’. It always has been. And it needs to grow up. Word got out a few weeks ago that the Beijing Higher People’s Court in China wants to examine intellectual property laws. It plans to know more about industries that manufacture products, collect used products, remanufacture used products and/or resell remanufactured products. This could be true for motor vehicles, cameras, refrigerators, and yes, printer cartridges. But our industry displayed all the inferiority complex characteristics it has shown over many decades. Characteristics which, quite frankly, make the industry appear illegitimate or immature. Which it is not! The motor vehicle industry is not going into melt down. Neither are any of the other industries which repair, rebuild and resell used

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products. At this stage, the Beijing court—which apparently only has local jurisdiction, not national—has not made its ‘draft for comment’ publicly available. Neither has there been a date set for the wide variety of industries to file their presentations. Yes, the remanufacturing industry should make an appropriate presentation. But let’s do it in a calm, legal and professional manner, when we know what is required, and when the courts need it. Remanufacturing of printer cartridge is a legitimate industry. Yes, there are counterfeiters and compatible builders out there who infringe the legitimate patents and trademarks of the OEMs. They should be very worried. However, the rest of us should continue to work professionally and competently, as we always have done.

David Gibbons is a director of Recycling Times. He has been a school principal, businessman, marketer, communicator, TV presenter/host and a remanufacturer. For many years he was the executive officer of the Australasian Cartridge Remanufacturers' Association (ACRA).

Recycling Times Magazine

Money From Home

You have a CHOICE CHOICE is one of the most power ful words in the rechargers’ lexicon. It is the best argument for switching to other sources for imaging consumables. It is what we offer to our customers as an alternative to paying top dollar for OEM supplies. The only option the OEMs offer in replenishing toner and ink is known as a Hobson’s Choice, that is, “take it or leave it.” In other words, no choice at all! Cartridge remanufacturing is supported by the outstanding success in other unrelated fields. Automobile engines and transmissions are being repaired and rebuilt as are aircraft, rotating electrics, railroad cars, locomotives, cruise ships, military weapons and ammunition and other industries that depend heavily upon refurbishing and reusing engines, items of equipment and their components. The development of these refurbishing and repairing techniques has improved the cartridge remanufacturing techniques as well. A remanufactured cartridge, refilled and repaired (if necessary) is the low cost option to buying a new one. The advantages this option offers the consumer are savings in cost, in energy and labor, plus a wide choice of suppliers. In addition, buying remanufactured products helps to sustain our natural resources while supporting thousands of businesses, large and small, around the world and the jobs they provide. OEMs strongly promote new cartridges to replace toner and ink consumed in their

printers. In doing so, they keep customers clueless regarding alternative options. In the USA, England, Europe, India, China and elsewhere, I-ITC, UKCRA, ETIRA, ICRRA, CCIA and other trade associations, are educating computer printer users that they do have a choice and urge them to compare reman cartridges refurbished, repaired and refilled by reputable suppliers. According to strategic marketing consultant Ms. Sharon Williams, CEO and Founder of Taurus Marketing (www.taurusmarketing. com), a recognized expert on branding, rechargers are at risk of losing market share unless they begin to connect better with consumers. “From my perspective” Williams said at GRIGA 2011, “the OEMs are wiping the floor with us.” She noted that our message is not getting through to the consumer and advised us to push back against the myths and false claims being made by the OEMs against remanufactured cartridges. The solution is an aggressive consumer education program which Ms. Williams summed up by emphasizing “Education is Key!” During the opening ceremony at CIFEX 2011 October 13, organizer Recycling Times Corporation launched inTouch, the first weekly TV news service aimed specifically at the imaging industry. The show’s 6-minute weekly broadcasts, hosted by Mr. David Gibbons, are educating and updating consumers about events in the computer printing

industry, thereby keeping them in touch with developments that are important to their business and personal activities. One of the most important messages that is being delivered to consumers worldwide is “If you use reman cartridges, you have a choice. You can choose from among hundreds of high quality, dependable sources.” If you continue to buy the OEM cartridge, you are subject to that firm’s pricing whims and marketing strategies. It is of vital interest to rechargers worldwide to get that message across to their current and prospective customers. Let them know and understand the meaning of the word choice and how it opens the door to fair and robust competition for the best deal on cartridge price and quality. One of the primar y missions GRIGA is tackling is the education of end-users, rechargers and distributors alike, that remanufacturing gives them a choice. Born of a society, known for its free and fair competition and nourished by American ingenuity and resourcefulness, coupled with a belief in conservation and a disdain for products designed for one-time use and disposal, remanufacturing has grown and prospered over the past 25 years. Under the banner of CHOICE this growth will likely continue far into the future!

Arthur S. Diamond Art Diamond is a 56-year veteran of the imaging industry. He is President of Diamond Research Corporation, a high technology research and consulting firm he formed in 1968 after research assignments with Eastman Kodak, Times Facsimile, Addressograph-Multigraph and Telautograph Corporation. DRC serves clients through product formulation and development, private studies, strategic market planning, and expert witness testimony. Diamond is known internationally as an expert on dry toners and imaging media with 15 issued U.S. patents.

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

Economic recession impacts printer shipments

rinter shipments for the third quarter (Q3) of 2011 in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) companies declined 0.6% compared to last year. IT researchers at Context attribute the decline to Europe’s economic slowdown, which has impacted both business and consumer demands. Printer sales in Western Europe decreased 1% in Q3 2011 when compared to 2010. Central and Eastern Europe have seen a 7.4% drop. However, printer sales in Africa grew 21.7% in Q3 2011, with all-in-one (AIO) inkjets increasing

34.4% and AIO lasers 71.4%. Central Asian sales rose 20.2% while AIO laser printers grew 57.2%. Printer shipments in the Middle East grew only 4.2%. AIO inkjet printers have a 68.1% share in EMEA, with a 2.1% decrease in Q3. In the same period, AIO lasers increased 22.7% and copierbased multifunctional printers (MFPs) grew 19.5%. In terms of vendors, HP remained the largest printer supplier in EMEA with a 44.4% market share. Canon is the second largest vendor, with

a 21.4% market share. Epson is in third position with 14.6% share, followed by Brother (6%), Samsung (5.6%) and Lexmark (2.5%). Jeremy Davies, co-founder and CEO at Context says economic slowdown has influenced the printer business, especially in Greece. Printer sales in Greece fell 35.1% in Q3 2011. In France, sales were flat with a year-over-year growth for Q3 2011 of 0.2%. However, Germany sold more printers in Q3 2011, with a 1.0% increase over the same quarter last year. The UK saw printer sales growing 6.0% year-over-year in Q3 2011.

Expanded environmental standard for printing cartridges

newly revised standard governing the environmental sustainability of printer cartridges has been released. Developed by EcoLogo and republished and certified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), it was issued as a UL Environment Standard for Sustainability in the U.S. according to a report by Actionable-Intelligence. Both EcoLogo and UL claim it is the first standard that can be applied to both OEM and compatible aftermarket cartridges. It was developed using a multi-parameter approach that identifies the most important environmental indicators from all stages of the product’s lifecycle.

The revised standard includes criteria for socially and environmentally responsible manufacturing. The criteria aim at reducing waste sent to landfills, conserving resources and reducing the impact on both humans and their environment. Other additions to the improved standard include: • Restrictions on heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, or chromium [VI]) and hazardous substances in toner that may pose human health risks; • Strict limits on volatile organic compound ( VOC) emissions and carbonyl compounds, such as formaldehyde, to help improve indoor air quality;

• Strict limits on ozone and dust generation to help improve indoor air quality; • Criteria for packaging that require postconsumer recycled content or nearly complete recyclability or compostability. Steve Wenc, president of UL Environment says: “Expanding the standard from only remanufactured cartridges to include original equipment manufacturers toner cartridges is a major step forward in helping to acknowledge advancements made by manufacturers of environmentally preferable products.” For more information about the Standard for Sustainability for Printing Cartridges, please visit www.ulenvironment.com or www. ecologo.org.

Toner cartridge sales to reach 449 million by 2015

yra Research estimates toner cartridge sales will grow from 379 million units in 2010 to 449 million units in 2015. Lyra released its latest report Worldwide Laser Toner Cartridge Forecast, 2008-2015. The new study shows shipments will shift to color cartridges, although monochrome cartridges will still represent the majority. The shift to color devices—which use four separate color cartridge—and to midrange

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monochrome MFPs, are two of the reasons supporting this forecast. Businesses using shortrun, in-house printing, for high-volume print jobs previously handled by commercial printers, also are creating additional office page volume. Worldwide Laser Toner Cartridge Forecast, 2008-2015 is presented in PowerPoint format and is delivered as a PDF. The toner cartridge market is broken down into the following segments: monochrome MFPs, monochrome printers, color MFPs, and color laser printers.

Regions included are North America; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); Asia Pacific; and Latin America.

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

Static Control reopens global distribution center

US supplier of imaging consumables will reopen its global distribution center after damage from a powerful hurricane. Static Control will reopen its 174,000 square foot structure, which was built on the site of the former distribution center. The former center was destroyed by a Category 4 hurricane that swept through central North Carolina on April 16 of this year. No Static Control employees were injured, and no

manufacturing plants were damaged. “This new distribution centre will help us better serve our customers because we designed it for even greater efficiency and capacity,” said Ed Swartz, CEO and founder of Static Control. The company says the new building has 55% more storage space, designed with features that increase operational efficiencies, including higher ceilings for more vertical storage. Construction started on April 18, just two

days after the hurricane. On September 6, all distribution operations were gathered into the new center. During this time, Static Control was fully operational with no delays or interruption in shipping or sales. Construction is still under way to replace the company’s global headquarters also destroyed by the hurricane. The new Global Distribution Centre holds more than 17,000 different products, according to Static Control.

Japanese aftermarket suppliers sues Canon

wo Japanese printer aftermarket supplies companies have sued Canon for breach of Japanese Antimonopoly Act regulations. Plaisir Corporation, a seller of compatible ink cartridges based in Naniwa-ku, Osaka and Sanyo Co., Ltd., the manufacturer of the cartridges based in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, filed litigation in the Osaka District Court against Canon. Canon uses IC chips and visible-light LEDs that emit light rays in their cartridges. Canon’s inkjet printers have receptors to detect the light emitted by these visible light LEDs in genuine,

Canon ink cartridges. Plaisir and S.T. Sanyo manufactured and sold compatible ink cartridges for Canon’s 7e and 321 cartridge lines. The compatible cartridges feature infrared LEDs which emit infrared rays. However, Canon has installed infrared filters on the receptors in its 326 cartridge line, which replaced the 321 cartridge line. The infrared filters impede the detection of infrared rays, which prevents Plaisir and S.T. Sanyo from selling their infrared ink cartridges. Plaintiffs claim Canon’s act of installing infrared filters has no justifiable reason, such as

technical necessity, and therefore breaches the provisions of Article 19 of the Antimonopoly Act. See Item 10 (governing tie-in purchases, etc.), or Item 14 (obstruction of trade with competitors) of the Designation of Unfair Trade Practices. By ensuring that competitors cannot manufacture and sell replacement items in the market for ink cartridges for Canon printers, Canon has significantly diminished free competition. Therefore, Plaisir and S.T. Sanyo are demanding that Canon cease the installation of infrared blocking filters in its inkjet printers.

Van CCC nominated for the Zero Waste Award

Netherlands firm has been nominated to receive the 2011 Waste Free Award. Van Klaveren CCC ( Van CCC) of Deventer is the nominee for its efforts in stimulating people to prevent waste. Van CCC has collected empty cartridges and used mobile phones worldwide for over 18 years. The company collects products at private ( primary) schools, businesses, organizations and other institutions. About 30,000 collection sites actively participate in the collection program. More than 3.2 million cartridges and mobile

phones were collected by Van CCC in 2010, saving over 600 containers from landfill disposal. Van CCC says 94% of the collected cartridges and mobile phones can be reused directly. The remaining 6% goes to recycling and remanufacturing companies. Managing director Gerhard van Klaveren says materials like gold and silver will be separated as will paper, cardboard and plastics. More than 170.000 kilograms of paper and cardboard were distributed by Van CCC last year. Van Klaveren has registered European

trademarks Eeko and Total-Collect and partnered with 14 charities including the World Wildlife Fund to promote environmentally friendly practices.

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Industry Updates

MPS market continues to grow

espite the tough economic conditions, Photizo Group expects the managed print services (MPS) market to reach US$78 billion in 2015. Photizo released its market research report titled: 2011 MPS Market Size, Share and Forecast Study. The report shows MPS market will continue to grow despite the tough economy. Photizo says Latin America and Asia Pacific are the fastest growing regions. The fastest growing countries are India, Brazil, China, South Korea and Mexico.

The report shows Xerox/ Fuji Xerox has the largest MPS market share worldwide. HP is the second largest supplier, with only 1% market share less than Xerox. Followed by HP are Ricoh, Canon and Lexmark. Xerox/Fuji Xerox led market share in Asia Pacific and L atin America, while HP lead market share in North America. MPS demand in the small middle businesses continues to grow with OEM growth

in Asia Pacific and Latin America, according to Photizo Group. There is a shift from hardware to services and solutions worldwide, and revenue from services ,supplies and solutions will grow steadily, according Keng Keng Tan, vice president of research, consulting and info services for Photizo Group Photizo expects nearly half of printing revenue to be under MPS contract by 2014. For more information, contact Hannah Smith, at hsmith@photizogroup.com.

Memjet receives Popular Science magazine award

emjet is the 2011 recipient of Popular Science magazine’s Best of What’s New award for its innovative ink jet color printing technologies. The revolutionary, fast, color print technology was selected among other entries in the computer category by the highly regarded, 139 year old magazine. Popular Science says the Memjet color office printer enables fast color productivity, cost efficiency and high impact documents for less money. Memjet-powered printers can print one photo-quality page per second, which is four times faster than typical desktop laser printers. Memjet says the paper passes through the

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printer under 70,400 nozzles which deposit 774 million dots of ink every second. This is 17 times more than a conventional inkjet printer. Besides the Memjet-powered printer, Memjet provides technologies and components to OEMs and partners in the labeling, wide-format and photo markets. The company’s technologies are protected by more than 3,000 global patents, with another 2,000 applications pending. Len Lauer, president and CEO of Memjet says the firm will continue to offer new technologies while developing new, highspeed, affordable color printer. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 11

categories: Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Security, Home Tech, Health and Recreation.

Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

Print-Rite gets the “Jump” on Canon

rint-Rite has made toner cartridges using a patented technology that allows printing more pages than the OEM equivalent. As one of the leaders in the aftermarket printer consumables industry, Print-Rite has announced a new technological innovation in printer cartridges. Called, "Smart Jump VP", it enables printers to print more pages, with better fusing, very low toner waste and no background toning, even under extreme weather conditions. “Jump” and “Contact” are two different development processes in laser printers. Contact has been developed for many years, and is no longer protected by any patents. Canon, the patentee of jumping toner technology, only authorizes HP to use it. The two OEMs have a more than 50% share in the printer market. It is difficult for manufacturers to make compatible cartridges for these laser

printers. "Smart Jump VP" uses Print-Rite's own patented switching system to enable contact development process cartridges to work in the jumping toner environment. Thus, PrintRite can produce compatible cartridges for Canon and HP jump-patented printers without infringing the patent claims. This unique technology has been researched and protected by worldwide patent registration. Print-Rite claims it will use its patented technology to develop a series of environmentally friendly printer cartridges. The new printer will help reduce greenhouse gas effects through lower CO2 emission from incinerated waste toner. Print-Rite says the new technology also features a toner reuse system and higher transfer efficiency. Therefore, it can print twice as many pages as the OEM with the same toner load as OEM printer cartridges.

Print-Rite will make the first series of printer cartridges developed using "Smart Jump VP" available by the end of 2011. About Print-Rite Print-Rite's subsidiaries provide more than 4,000 products, including ribbons, inks, inkjet printer cartridges, laser printer cartridges, toners, OPC, rollers, and chips. The aftermarket laser printer consumable products are provided by Print-Rite's subsidiaries within an extensive supply chain network unique in this sector. From components to finished products, they all are produced in modernized and wellequipped plants accredited with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and IECQ HSPM QC 080000 standards. Print-Rite also takes pride in the registration of over 1,400 patents worldwide by its six subsidiary companies, made possible via their substantial investment in R&D.

Refilling units from CBR

company, CBR Engineering (CBR) has designed two refilling machines —an automatic refill device and a multiple function vacuum filling unit. CBR, a company that has been remanufacturing used ink jet cartridges for 20 years, has now built two new products for both OEM and aftermarket applications. Firstly is the Autofillomat, an automatic refill device. In this equipment, ink is automatically provided from the container and transported to the cartridge. CBR says the Autofillomat can refill 55 different single Canon and HP inkjet cartridges, as listed below: Canon: • Europe East BCI3/BCI6/PGI5/CLI8/ PGI520/CLI521/PGI525/CLI526 • Africa BCI3/ BCI6/PGI5/CLI8/PGI520/ CLI521/PGI525/CLI526

• North/South America BCI3/ BCI6/PGI5/ CLI8/PGI220/CLI221/PGI225/CLI226 • Middle East BCI3/ BCI6/PGI5/CLI8/ PGI520/CLI521/PGI425/CLI426 • Asia BCI3/ BCI6/PGI5/CLI8/PGI820/ CLI821/PGI725/CLI726 • Oceania BCI3/ BCI6/PGI5/CLI8/PGI520/ CLI521/PGI525/CLI526

CBR says the ShopFill 55 is the smallest and most reliable vacuum filling unit on the market. It has four additional functions: vacuum filling, priming, flushing and boiling. The ShopFill 55 can fill 30 cartridges every cartridges very hour.

HP: • 564/920 (USA), 364/920 (Europe), 178/920 (Asia) and 862/920 (China & India) CBR will offer additional exchangeable filling heads. This allows consumers to change color quickly without cleaning the single head of theAutofillomat. Second, is a multiple function vacuum filling unit—ShopFill 55—for all shop applications.

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

MMC releases new printing supplies

ompatible ink cartridges are now available for Epsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new WorkForce K101 printer in South America. Much More Color (MMC) has released the ink cartridges which yield 2,000 pages and also work in the Epson K100, K200 and K300 range of printers. The Epson WorkForce K101 features automatic two-sided printing and can save up to 70% more energy than a laser printer, according to Epson. Details of these new ink cartridges are in the following table. See Table 1. The company has also released its new laser imaging supplies for Brother, Lexmark, Epson, Xerox and Lenovo. MMC says the products include a drum unit and monochrome toner cartridges. The new

products provide high quality which matches that of the OEM equivalents. See Table 2.

For more information, please email mmc@ mmcinkjet.com or call at 0086 756 8861233.

Table 1 No.

OEM

Capacity (ml)

Compatibility

Sales region North America

GM-ET1271BK

Epson T1271

Epson Stylus NX625 Epson WorkForce 630/633/635

GM-ET1301BK

Epson T1301

Epson Stylus SX525WD/SX620FW Epson Stylus Office BX525WD/BX625FWD

Europe

GM-ET1361BK

Epson T1361

Epson WorkForce K101/K301

South America

GM-ET1371BK

Epson T1371

Epson K100/K200/K300

Asia

GM-ET1401BK

Epson T1401

Epson Stylus TX560WD Epson Stylus Office TX620FWD Epson WorkForce 625/630/633

South America

GM-ET1431BK

Epson T1431

Epson ME Office 900WD/960FWD

Asia

Table 2 No.

OEM

Product

GT-B450DR

Brother DR2250/DR420/DR450 Drum unit Lenovo LD2441

Yield Compatibility Brother HL-2210/2220/2230/2240/2240D/2250/2270DW/2280DW Brother MFC-7360/7460DN/7860DW 12000 Brother DCP-7060D/7065DN Lenovo LJ2400

GT-X203S

Lexmark X203A11G

Mono toner cartridge 2500

Lexmark X203/204N

GT-E1200

Epson C13S050523

Mono toner cartridge 3200

Epson AcuLaser M1200

Xerox 106R01485

Mono toner cartridge 2000

GT-X3210D2 Xerox 106R01499

Mono toner cartridge 2000

Xerox CWAA0775-LY

Mono toner cartridge 2000

Xerox 106R01486

Mono toner cartridge 4100

Xerox 106R01487

Mono toner cartridge 4100

Xerox 106R01500

Mono toner cartridge 5000

Xerox CWAA0775-HY

Mono toner cartridge 5000

GT-X3210D4

GT-X3210D5

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Xerox 3210/3220

Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

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Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

New compatible chips for OEMs

u n k i n g Te c h n o l o g y I n c . (Shenzhen, China), has made a first-to-market, compatible chip for Panasonicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MB-1508/1528 All-InOne printer. The company says it also has available EPSON 9-pin ASIC inkjet chips for Epson T0681/ T0691/ T0911/ T0771/ T0791/ T0801/ T0731N/ T0711 and other printers, which are cheaper than the OEM but with high quality. Additionally, Sunking has developed an HP

laser chip testing machine, which is designed to guarantee the performance of compatible chips. The machine can be used to test Q2613/ 5942/ 5945/ 5949/ 2610/ 1338/ 1339/ 6511/ 7553/ 7551, and similar chips. For more information, please contact sales@sunkingtech.com. About Sunking Technology Inc. Established in Oct. 2003, SUNKING Te c h n o l o g y I n c . , S h e n z h e n ( S u n k i n g ) International Group Hong Kong Limited)

is a toner chip solution company with professional designing, producing and selling teams. The company has 8 years of experience in the chip aftermarket. Now the sales network includes European, American, Asia Pacific, and African markets. Sunkingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product line includes HP, Xerox, Samsung, Epson, Lexmark, OKI, Kyocera and other brands, featuring more than 1000 different chips.

CET releases compatible consumables

everal compatible printer supplies for OEM are available in China, including a drum unit which can print up to 250,000 pages. China Eternal Copiers Technology Co., Ltd. (CET) has released a compatible chip for HP, Canon, Sangsung, Lexmark, Fuji Xerox, etc. The company has made consumables for the Canon iR2520, iR2525, iR2530, iR2535 and iR2545. These consumables include including fuser fixing film, a lower sleeved roller, a long-

life OPC drum, a paper pickup roller and a toner cartridge. Toner cartridges for these models adopt Japanese toner. CET says that it has successfully applied for patents for these toner cartridges. Meanwhile, CET also released spare parts and consumables for the Kyocera TASKalfa 180, 181, 220 and 221, including an upper fuser roller, lower sleeved roller, transfer roller, paper pickup roller, bushings and a toner cartridge. This toner cartridge also uses

Japanese toner, according to CET. Also available are compatible toner cartridges for the Kyocera KM-1648 and TASKalfa 420i and 520i. CET says these cartridges are available in standard and high volume with Japanese toner. Besides this, CET has introduced alternative drum unit for the Ricoh MP4000 and MP5000, which uses an OEM PCR and OEM OPC, and spare parts and consumables for Ricoh Aficio MP9000, 1100 and 1350 and Sharp AL2030.

New DIY inkjet photo product

Chinese inkjet photo paper manufacturer has made new photo products including DIY photo book, album and calendars. Misiland introduced 4 DIY photo books, 2 DIY calendars, 1 DIY inkjet cotton canvas frame, and a Mini Album with different color covers. With DIY photo book, customers can print any photo and make a fashion photo album using free software. Without any binding

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | December 2011

machine, an inkjet printer and Mini Color DIY photo book allows customers to make a beautiful photo book. 4:3 size Mini Color inkjet DIY photo book fits into a pocket, hence is easy to carry. Mini Color Inkjet DIY Photo book 8:5 size includes 24 pages and 5 gloss-finished metal rings. More modules are available in the software for this book. With Mini Color Inkjet DIY Calendars,

customers can put any photo they want on the pages of each month. Mini Album is still a conceptual inkjet printing product. The company says the album can be put on the phone, on bags and camera. For more information, please visit: www.misiland.com www.misiland.com.cn www.ezbook.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Product Release

Cost-saving ink solution for Epson R3000

UK manufacturer has created a new ink solution for Epson printers, which is claimed to save 85% on ink costs. Fotospeed (Corsham, England) unveiled a new Tubless Inkflow system for the Epson R3000 printer. The company says its new system can

prevent air from coming into the cartridge without additional tubing or tube clamps. With the filling kit supplied, users can refill cartridges and plug the cartridges into the printer. Fotospeed claims the Epson R3000 contain 2.27x more ink than the R2880.

Fotospeed was established in 1989 with the objective of manufacturing and distributing the highest quality darkroom photo chemistry and paper with customer service second to none. 22 years later Fotospeed still leads the market in darkroom and has added the very best in digital paper, inks, software and hardware.

Katun releases compatible color toner

atun Corporation (Katun) has released compatible color toner for Sharp MX 2300N/ 2700N & 3501N/ 4501N-series printers. The US aftermarket company has made its Katun Business color toner for Sharp printers for the first time. In the past, Katun has supplied toners for Canon, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Toshiba printers.

The company claims these toners for Sharp printers offer OEM-equivalent print quality, yields and overall performance. These new toners have been tested and approved for forward and reverse compatibility with OEM toners, according to Katun. Joseph C. Wagner, Katunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vice president of marketing says over 10 billion pages have already been produced using Katun color toners.

About Katun Corporation Headquartered in Minneapolis, K atun Corporation is the supplier of OEM-compatible imaging supplies, photoreceptors, fuser rollers, parts and other select products and services for the office equipment industry. With more than 30 years of expertise, Katun now serves more than 16,000 customers in more than 135 countries.

Alternative toners for OEMs

erman aftermarket company, KMP has released new toner cartridges for OEM printers targeting at year-end businesses. The new toner cartridge products introduced are compatible for HP, Brother,

Lexmark and Kyocera. About KMP KMP develops, produces and sells compatible, text-producing printer accessories â&#x20AC;&#x201C; printer cartridges, toner cartridges, color ribbons and thermo transfer

ribbons. Since 1990, KMP has been internationally oriented and has been founding foreign subsidiaries in seven countries: Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Italy and South Africa.

Products code

Descriptions

OEMs

1219,HC00 H-T126

CE250X black, 10,500 pages at 5 % page coverage

1219,0003 H-T127

CE251A cyan, 7,000 pages at 5 % page coverage

1219,0006 H-T128

CE253A magenta, 7,000 pages at 5 % coverage

1219,0009 H-T129

CE252A yellow, 7,000 pages at 5 % page coverage

1242,0000 B-T32

TN-230BK black, 2,200 pages at 5 % page coverage

1242,0003 B-T33

TN-230C cyan, 1,400 pages at 5 % page coverage

1242,0006 B-T34

TN-230M magenta, 1,400 pages at 5 % coverage

1242,0009 B-T35

TN-230Y yellow, 1,400 pages at 5 % page coverage

1254,5000 B-T37

TN-2005 black, 5,000 Seiten pages at 5 %

Brother HL-2035

1309,0000 K-T25

TK-330 toner kit black, 20,000 pages at 5 % coverage

Kyocera FS-4000DN

1381,0000 L-T30

E260H11E black, 3,500 pages at 5 % page coverage

1381,HC00 L-T31

E360H11E black, 9,000 pages at 5 % page coverage

1382,0000 L-T32

T650H21E black, 25,000 pages at 5 % page coverage

Lexmark T650

2887,0000 K-T30

TK-160 tonerkit black, 2,500 pages at 5 % coverage

Kyocera FS-1120D/DN

HP LaserJet CP3525

Brother HL-3040

Lexmark E260/E360/E460

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

OEM News

HP's flood relief policy for printer customers in Thailand

P has implemented a flood relief policy by opening printer service centers in Thailand for its customers. An HP Flood Hotline, Telephone: +66-0-2637-5899, has been set up to provide troubleshooting support to its customers. HP says customers include consumers, commercial and enterprise groups, according to a report in The Nation (New York, NY ), the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in US. HP will focus on providing services to commercial customers in 7 industrial estates hit by the flood crisis. It will then open on-

site service centers after floodwaters recede. The free services include free checkups and maintenance, as well as up to 35% discount on spare parts, if replacements are required. Consumer group customers in flood-damaged areas can bring their printers to convenient HP distribution centers. Customers can call the HP Hotline to check nearby locations that are available for such service. If a printer is found flood-damaged, customers can buy a new one with a special discount offered that ranges up to 12,000 baht (for some specific models). These offers are available now until Dec 15, 2011.

HP enterprise customers can call the HP Flood Hotline to discuss their issues. They can also bring printers to service centers directly, or request that HP support staff provide on-site services. In addition, HP customers affected by flooding in the greater Bangkok area can contact the HP Flood Hotline for troubleshooting and service consultation. Vatsun Thirapatarapong, General Manager of Imaging and Printing Group, HP (Thailand) says they hope these efforts can reduce the trouble associated with printer repairs and maintenance during the flood crisis.

Canon rolls out three AIO photo printers

anon has made three new photo printers available which allow users to print high quality images. These three new PIXMA printers are the MG4120 Wireless Photo All-In-One, MG3120 Wireless Photo All-In-One and the MG2120 Photo All-In-One (AIO) printers. Canon claims all three printers deliver a maximum color resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi. The PIXMA MG4120 printer can output at nearly 9.9 inches per minute (ipm) for blackand-white (B&W ) documents and 5.7 ipm for color. The PIXMA MG3120 printer delivers

output at approximately 9.2 ipm for B&W documents and 5.0 ipm for color. The PIXMA MG2120 printer provides output at 8.4 ipm for B&W documents and about 4.8 ipm for color. All three printers can produce a 4" x 6" borderless photo in 44 seconds. C a n o n s a y s w i t h i t s n e w Fa s t Fr o n t system, both ink storage and paper tray are conveniently located in the front of machine. This makes it easy to load ink or paper. All three printers have a two-cartridge system, one black and one color. Users can print through compatible Android

and Apple smart phones and tablets to the Wireless Photo printers. Users can now scan documents on the printer to be sent directly to a compatible mobile device.

MPS training program for channel partners

uji Xerox has launched the first MPS training program for its channel partners in the Asia Pacific region. The company claims its Streamline training course will assist partners profit more from the growing MPS market. It also makes the sales cycle for MPS more efficient and more effective. Streamline will be rolled out all through the Asia Pacific region, starting first with Australia in early 2012, the company said. According to research and consulting firm Photizo Group (Midway, KY ), the Asia Pacific MPS market will grow by 64% through 2013.

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | December 2011

This is faster than any other region in the world. A key component of Streamline will be the Asset DB software suite, made possible through a new strategic reseller agreement with NewField IT. This agreement expands upon the successful Xerox partnership with Newfield IT in Europe and the US. Asset DB can create visual maps of a floor plan to show how printers and copiers are used throughout an office. By combining this visual mapping with a database that tracks usage patterns of document devices, Asset DB allows Fuji Xerox channel partners to monitor and

assess a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workplace environment. This means it will be easier for channels to advise their customers on the most efficient way to manage devices and overall print-related costs.

Recycling Times Magazine

OEM News

Epson releases world’s smallest inkjet printer

pson has launched the world’s smallest high performance, low cost, All-In-One inkjet printer. According to Epson the new printer, ME Office 535, has been specifically designed for companies that lack sufficient space for conventional desktop models. It should be welcomed by most SOHO users. In terms of performance, the ME Office 535 delivers optimum quality prints using ME 141

inks at a low running cost of only 5 cents per page for monochrome printing. Epson says the printer can print 30 ppm in black-and-white and 15 ppm in color with a resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi. All new printers from Epson consume up to 70% less power than conventional laser printers and are Energy Star certified, the company claims. This means that consumers not only save money on consumables, but

can also do their part for the environment by choosing a product that results in a lower carbon footprint.

Samsung launches Green printer for small business

amsung has launched a Green laser printer which provides an efficient, environmentally friendly printing solution for small business. Samsung claims its new mono-laser printer,

ML-2955DL, will reduce energy consumption and save time and money. Time for the first page out is less than 8.5 seconds with A4 print speeds up to 28 pages per minute (ppm) 28ppm (A4). Dion Smith, General Manager, Samsung

UKI Print Division, says: “The ML-2955DW printer delivers high levels of performance and functionality. Its low printing noise and reduced power consumption levels means they can easily be incorporated into any working environment.”

Specifications of ML-2955DW Speed

UP to 28ppm in A4 (29ppm in Letter)

First print out time from ready

Less than 8.5 seconds

First print out time from sleep

Less than 14 seconds

Resolution

UP to 1200 x 1200dpi effective output

Duplex

Built in

Emulation

PCL6 / 5e, SPL

Input capacity and types

250-sheet Cassette @ 80g/m2

Output capacity and types

150 sheets @ 80g/m2

Media size

A4, A5, ISO B5, JIS B5, Executive, Letter, Oficio, Folio, Legal

Media type

Plain, Thin, Recycled, Thick, Archive

Processor

533MHz ARM11

Memory

64MB

OS compatibility

Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 / 2003 Server / 2008 Server

Paper Handling

Mac OS X 10.4 ~ 10.6, Various Linux OS General

Connectivity

High speed USB 2.0, Ethernet 10 / 100 Base TX (Internal) Wireless 802.11 b/g/n

Noise level

Less than 50dB (Printing), Less than 26dB (Standby)

Duty cycle

12000 pages

Dimension

348 x 338 x 197mm (13.7" x 13.3" x 7.7")

Weight

8.63kg

Standard yield

Average Cartridge Yield 1500 stansard pages (Ships with 1000 pages Starter Toner Cartridge). Declared cartridge yield in accordance with ISO / IEC 19752

High yield

Average Cartridge Yield 2500 standard pages. Declared cartridge yield in accordance with ISO / IEC 19752

Supplies

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

OEM News

Ricoh India aims $200 million by 2014

apan-based printer OEM, Ricoh, plans to increase its revenue three times to Rs 1,000 crore (about $200 million USD) by 2014, according to Times of India. Ricoh India has a 50% share of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production printer market and 20% of the multifunctional printers installed. About 75% of the sales are through channel partners, according to Ricoh.

Manoj Kumar, chief financial officer of Ricoh India, says their turnover for the year ending on March 31, 2011 was Rs.300 crore. They plans to more than triple that number in the next three years, bringing it close to Rs 1,000 crore. Earlier this year, Ricoh India acquired Noidabased Momentum Infocare Pvt Ltd, marking its foray into the IT sector. The company said that all Ricoh subsidiaries

in Asia Pacific will now carry the full portfolio of Ricoh production innovations.

Lexmark moving towards software

t seems that Lexmark is putting more focus on computer software and services. The acquisition of a managed print services firm and developing of print solutions are just two factors pointing towards this. In October, Lexmark acquired Netherlandsbased Pallas Athena (PA) with $50.2 million to strengthen its managed print services internationally. PA is a provider of business process management (BMP), document output management (DOM) and process mining software. The company has rich industry experience

in the insurance, government and life science segments and becomes a part of Perceptive Software, a stand-alone business unit within Lexmark. Lexmark says this acquisition will enable Perceptive Software to expand its presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Along with its Apeldoorn, Netherlands, location, Pallas Athena has regional offices in the US, the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Caribbean. Lexmark also announced its enterprise-class Print Release solution, which can allow mobile printing from anywhere. This solution can be used in the cloud via a

Software as a Service (SaaS) model. It allows IT administrators to scale their Lexmark Print Release solution quickly without the need to invest in new IT infrastructure. With the Lexmark Mobile Printing APP, users can submit print jobs directly to the print queue and release them to any output devices. Lexmark says the solutions can also enable enterprises to track and manage print jobs submitted from a computer. Large organizations can analyze, adapt and drive improved printing habits among employees and more efficiently manage their printing and imaging assets, cutting costs and saving resources.

New Kyocera mono MFPs for small workgroups

yocera Mita has released five new A4 monochrome multifunctional printers in Europe. The five new printers are the FS-1135MFP, FS1035MFP/DP, FS-1130MFP, FS-1030MFP/DP and FS-1030MFP. The first two printers can print 35 pages per minute and also include a fax function. The other three printers are business entry models with a print speed of 30ppm. Kyocera says these five new printers are made to meet the needs of small workgroups from small offices to large businesses. All of them offer standard duplex printing, copy and color scan functionality.

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | December 2011

Consumers can set up a pin code system to secure confidential documents and the new printers also support a half speed print mode which can lower the noise level to 49 dB(A). Also available are two new black and white multifunctional printers (MFPs), which contain a 100,000-page drum. The ECOSYS FS-1135MFP and FS-1035MFP/ DP are suited to small and medium businesses. Kyocera says printers use long-life consumables, reducing cost per page and minimizing impact on the environment. They include a 250 sheet paper drawer and a 50 sheet multi-purpose tray and offer two optional 250-sheet drawers for an 800-page

maximum paper capacity. Kyocera claims these printers support a variety of network and device management tools including PDF Direct Print capability.

Recycling Times Magazine

Features

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Features

2011: The year in review by Art Diamond Summary As severe financial issues continue to plague Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and other European nations, they cast a shadow on the world’s economic recovery process. Nevertheless, there are some bright spots for rechargers. In the US, unemployment fell from 9.1% to 9.0% in October, a miniscule change perhaps but one that added a glimmer of hope to Wall Street observers. The “lingering economic malaise,” as MSE’s Luke Goldberg puts it, “continues to bode well for the imaging consumables aftermarket” because it favors cost savings and accelerates the aging of existing printer placements because it curbs the purchase of new imaging devices. Japan’s earthquakes in March and July delivered a 1-2 punch to the imaging industry as they caused a great number of human casualties and severely impeded the flow of supplies and machine components to world markets. Another shock to the reman industry came from China in late October. A draft for comment from the Beijing Higher People’s Court contained provisions that contradict patent exhaustion doctrine in the ruling of patent infringement cases in its jurisdiction. Overseas media somehow misinterpreted this as a fundamental change in Chinese patent law with the potential of shutting down China’s entire printer cartridge reman industry. Reaction was swift and severe until it was explained that the proposed change was just a test, meant for exploratory purposes only. Seine Technology took pride in announcing China’s first digital laser printer, entering the world stage alongside HP, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung, Brother, and other OEMs. Seine’s “Pantum” printer offers some intriguing features, including a metal frame construction that enables it to outlive conventional plastic-based printers currently on the market. This longevity directly affects the bottom line: lower cost per page. MPS contracts and contract providers continue to proliferate as they give the contractee better control of its printing and copying operations, the volume of toner, paper and ink being consumed, and the costs thereof. America revamped its aging patent filing rules and

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | December 2011

regulations in order to comply with those in effect at the majority of other nations and to simplify and strengthen the determination of priority in every patent application filed. Signed into law by President Obama on September 16, the new rules grant priority to the first-to-file, rather than the firstto-invent on any application for a U.S. patent. Finally, biotoners crept slowly into world markets this year with a very warm reception in Europe, a neutral reception in North America, and a fairly cool reception among Asia Pacific countries. More progress is predicted in 2012 as formulas are refined, more consumers are educated, and a possible adjustment in pricing is seen.

General Japan’s earthquakes rock printer supply chain On July 9, Japan was hit by a major earthquake registering 7.1 on the Richter scale. The shock generated a devastating tsunami and nuclear crisis that adds more damage to the already impaired Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. That nuclear facility was crippled following the 9.1 Tohoku quake that struck Eastern Japan on March 11, 2011. It left more than 20,000 dead and missing. The net result has been devastating to many printer and copier firms as it impeded the supply chain feeding OEM and aftermarket players alike. Recycling Times launches inTouch, a weekly internet news broadcast During the opening ceremony at CIFEX, organizer Recycling

Recycling Times Magazine

Features Times Corporation launched inTouch, the first weekly TV news service aimed specifically at the imaging industry. The 6-minute weekly broadcasts, hosted by Mr. David Gibbons, are educating and updating consumers about events in the computer printing industry, thereby keeping them in touch with developments that are important to their business and personal operations. Clover Technologies Group is on an acquisition roll Adding to it’s previous acquisitions, including NER Data Products’, Imaging Supplies Divisions and its whollyowned subsidiary, Image1 (December 2009);Environmental Reclamation Services (November 2010); and, Depot America (December 2010); Clover Technologies this year securedPinpoint LLC ( January 4); ReClaim-It ( January 26); The Wireless Source (March 28); Office Products Recycling Association, or OPRA (May 20);TRS Group (August 15); and, Full Circle Wireless (October 11). On January 18, Clover announced the opening of its newest subsidiary, Clover Technologies Group Australia Pty., Limited in Melbourne. In March, Clover declared that it will combine Image1 and Depot America into “the fastest growing supplier of laser printer parts and certified pre-owned printers in the world.” Clover indicates its strategy is to evolve into a vertically integrated solutions provider Clover Technologies Group is the global leader in providing vertically integrated, closed-loop environmental solutions, including the recycling and remanufacturing of imaging supplies. Founded in 1996 and with an annual revenue of over $400 million, Clover is one of the fastest growing, privately held companies in the United States.

Sales & marketing Seine launches Pantum printer line Seine Technology’s CEO, Mr. Jackson Wang, made the announcement at CIFEX 2011. It grabbed the attention

of all CIFEX delegates. Seine Technology has completed development of China’s first laser printer, a unique product designed to compete on the world stage with Lexmark, Samsung, Brother, Hewlett-Packard and other popular printers. Branded “Pantum” the Seine product enters as a direct challenge to existing printers in both performance and price. Most importantly: It certifies China and Chinese technology as a key Player in world imaging markets, just as China has established its position in space travel, medicine, aeronautics, battery technology and other disciplines at the leading edge of science. The word “Pantum” cannot be found in an English dictionary because it is a transliteration based on two Chinese characters. The first Chinese character refers to a verb meaning to run and move very fast, something that persistently moves forward overcoming all obstacles. The second character refers to a bright future or prospect. Putting the two together Pantum is a brand that is persistently and rapidly moving forward overcoming all obstacles with a very bright future. Four new printer models were introduced—the P1000, P1050, P2000 and P2050. Their metal frame construction is built to last and is more durable than most desktop office printers. Engine life is estimated to run up to four times as long as competitive plastic frame machines, thereby reducing printing costs by as much as 30%. Now, Seine is going global with the Pantum printer line by setting up dealer and distributor arrangements in many countries around the world. Pantum’s Kennard S. Cloud, Worldwide Product Manager and U.S. General Manager, said that each Pantum printer cartridge contains a smart chip with sophisticated encryption firmware that chip makers will find extremely difficult to emulate. Economic malaise lingers In the words of Luke Goldberg, Senior Vice President at MSE ( Van Nuys, California), “The biggest sales/marketing event of 2011 was to me the lingering economic malaise that is affecting global print volumes and hardware sales and what it means for the imaging aftermarket. Industry observers expected 2011 to be a rebound year for printer OEMs following the European Union’s debt crises and continued joblessness in America. But, due to other macro trends and events, including Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, which caused supply-chain problems, this failed to happen. As a result, printer placements were hampered and continued to cause paper usage to decline. “The persistence of these recessionary trends continues December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Features

to bode well for the imaging consumables aftermarket for at least two reasons: First, cost savings are a primary concern for businesses of any size. This incentive also drives MPS adoption. MPS is a cost control method that is good for the aftermarket as the MPS provider can make the choice to replace aftermarket consumables with remans, unilaterally. “Second, a persistent decline in printer placements means that the installed base continues to age. That process is exacerbated by MPS and refurbished printer installs. This equates to higher aftermarket share for the rechargers and higher core availability. In short, economic volatility did not abate in 2011 causing most printer OEMs to miss their growth targets. This amounted to an increase in the reman value proposition, a positive factor that resonated throughout our industry in 2011.” Printed page volume continues to fall According to Actionable Intelligence (August 8, 2011), “Papermakers have reported declines in U.S. sales of office papers since 1999.” Indeed, the total number of printed 8.5 x 11-inch sheets, reports AI, “fell from 1.5 trillion in 1999 to 1.0 trillion in 2010.” This decline in consumption continued in 2011, with the second quarter of 2011 marking the 10th consecutive quarter in which Xerox reported a decline of 4 to 5 percent annual shrinkage, following zero growth in 2002 and 2008. The rise and popularity of tablet PC could be a new factor that facilitates Brewer’s prediction of a continued fall in hardcopy volume. MPS continues to gain strength Driven by a faltering economy, a growing number of small, medium and large businesses are entering into Managed Print Service contracts. Thus 2011 was a good year for MPS providers. These agreements involve the selection, care and feeding of hardcopy machine fleets including printers, multifunction

www.recyclingtimes.com.cn | December 2011

devices, copiers, fax machines and scanners. By outsourcing these functions to an MPS provider, an organization typically gains better control of the cost of hardcopy generation, the volume of prints and copies produced, and the maintenance of its fleet of machines. To the recharging community, however, MPS has been a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it has brought new business to the non-OEM aftermarket players because it favors lower cost consumables. On the other hand, smaller rechargers are often ill equipped to supply a broad spectrum of cartridges for a diversified fleet of printers and copiers, nor can they provide the fast and reliable surface often required under the terms of an MPS contract. Memjet goes global On January 6, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Memjet announced a series of partnerships it will use to commercialize its high-speed, page-wide array office printing technology. Memjet is collaborating with several OEMs in different regions of the world as it jockeys for market position. For more than three years, Memjet has been working on its high-speed, inkjet printing solution, based upon technology developed at Silverbrook Research in Sydney, Australia. The Memjet solution affords: • A4 single-pass, page-wide array inkjet print head with 70,400 nozzles • 1,600 by 1,600 dpi resolution • 60 pages per minute, color and monochrome • A unit cost estimated at between $500 and $600 depending on brand, partner and market • Printing costs of five to six cents per color page and one to three cents per monochrome page • An embedded Web server for remote monitoring One week later, Memjet revealed that deployment will be limited initially to China, India and Chinese Taiwan. Memjet’s decision to launch in the Asia Pacific region is based upon robust market growth in that area. Its Chinese partner is Lenovo. Its other partners include WeP Peripherals in India, and Kpowerscience in Chinese Taiwan. The company has also stated that it expects partners to roll out the technology in Europe and North America by the end of 2011. With Memjet’s new CEO Len J. Lauer at the helm and additional partners joining the global distribution network in 2011 (Lomond in Russia, Delphax Technologies in Canada, LG Electronics in South Korea, Neopost and Hasler in the U.S.) Memjet is now poised to capture market share from HP, Canon, Epson and other OEMs.

Recycling Times Magazine

Features Will low-priced cartridge strategies become a trend-setter in China? Especially during the summer sales period we noted the launch of several extremely low-priced, OEM ink jet cartridges in China. Is this a new strategy to combat reman consumables in the aftermarket? And, if so, will it become a trend-setter?

are received and reviewed, just as happened several years ago when the Chinese government first sought to forbid the import of spent cartridges which it perceived to be trash. Fear of this legislation taking effect prompted Nukote to shutter its booming reman facility in Zhuhai and move the operation to Mexico. That move left some 800 workers unemployed and played a role in the company’s demise, when Nukote filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009. Permissible repair doctrine in the USA The right of permissible repair was established initially in the automotive repair industry after a hard won battle over the right of a car owner to repair or replace a worn fabric convertible top. The landmark case was Aro Mfg. Co. v. Convertible Top Co. (1961) when it was found that a car owner could repair his or her convertible by replacing the

Patent & legal Patent exhaustion doctrine denied in China? In October, a draft for comment on several issues concerning the determination of patent infringement was issued by the Beijing Higher People’s Court (documentation is not publicly available now). Although meant only for due consideration, the message was misinterpreted by foreign media causing a shock to China’s domestic reman industry and repercussions among industry experts worldwide. The draft contained provisions contradicting patent exhaustion doctrine. If the doctrine is denied, toner and ink jet cartridge remanufacturing would become illegal, in the Court’s jurisdiction, regardless of the origin of the product. In my opinion, however, it is difficult to believe that such a revision will become effective for three main reasons: First, it will affect an entire industry that brings in revenue from a significant volume of exported goods Second, low carbon emission and environmental friendly industries have been valued highly by the Chinese government in recent years, enjoying favorable policies. The reman industry no doubt could serve as the best embodiment of such initiatives. Third, other reman industries might be affected, including the renovation and refurbishing of automobile engines, transmissions, rotating electrics and other components, aircraft, railroad engines, refrigeration systems, plant equipment and dozens of other enterprises. Hopefully, the change of the patent exhaustion doctrine will not become effective after all comments and reactions

worn fabric top with one fashioned by a source other than the automobile’s OEM. That right was later confirmed in HewlettPackard Co., v. Repeat-O-Type Stencil Mfg., Corp. (Fed. Cir. 1997 & 1998) when it was ruled, “When a patentee sells a device without condition, it parts with the right to enforce any patent that the parties might reasonably have contemplated would interfere with the use of the purchased device.” In Jazz Photo Corp. v. United States International Trade Commission (August 21, 2001), the Federal Circuit Court confirmed that the U.S. follows a “territorial exhaustion doctrine” which provides that the rights of a U.S. patent owner are only exhausted by a first sale made in the United States. For OEM-built cartridges first sold abroad, there is no exhaustion of the U.S. patent and sale of the reman cartridge in the United States amounts to infringement. Some argue that collecting royalties on downstream products or processes, after having already received royalties on an initial sale, constitutes double recovery and might be restricted, unless provided for in the details of the original patent licensing contract. Patent exhaustion is intended, among other things, to prevent double recovery by limiting a patent holder’s ability to collect more than a single compensation from a patented product or process. As of this writing, however, the U.S. courts have left open a number of important issues relating to patent exhaustion, including the question of whether foreign sales exhaust patent rights. U.S. patent law reform: America Invents Act On September 16, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the America Invents Act, thereby reforming the U.S. patent system to bring it into closer compliance with the December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

Recycling Times Magazine

Features patent rules and regulations of many foreign governments. Outstanding among these changes is the conversion of America’s ruling on awarding invention ownership priorities from first to invent to first to file. The rationale supporting this reform is the fact that in a conflict of applications describing the same invention, determining who was the first to file is a much simpler and easier task than proving who was the first to invent. The new legislation will likely reduce significantly the number of legal battles in the U.S. that are focused on determining priority through files, records, laboratory notebooks, letters, etc. In addition to the priority conversion, the America Invents Act contains a host of other provisions dealing with such issues as submissions by third parties prior to the issue of a patent; authority of the USPTO to set fees; matters of patent reissue; etc. Decision pending on Ninestar’s appeal of ITC ruling “On February 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in Ninestar Technology’s appeal of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) $11 million-plus fine” (Actionable Intelligence Newsletter, February 14, 2011). The fine was levied when it became known that Ninestar and its U.S. distributor Town Sky had not complied with certain ITC orders. In the appeal, Ninestar questions the commission’s legal authority to impose a punitive fine. As reported by AI, Ninestar’s attorney, Edward F. O’Connor of the Eclipse Group (Irvine, California), told Judges Richard Linn, Pauline Newman, and Alvin Schall of the U.S. Court of Appeals that it was “improper” for the ITC to levy fines. While it is within the purview of the commission to issue orders and seize items barred from importation, Mr. O’Connor insisted the commission must rely on the federal courts to conduct a trial if it seeks punitive actions and fines. He went on to say that if the Ninestar case was held in federal court, the size of the fine involved would require a jury trial. An attorney for the ITC dismissed Mr. O’Connor’s argument that the commission cannot assess civil penalties. While some agencies must go to federal court, the ITC asserted it is well established that the commission does have the right to impose fines. The ITC, its lawyer said, did everything properly and used the appropriate criteria to assess the fines fairly. Epson’s attorney Harold Barza suggested the large fine was warranted by Ninestar’s action after the ITC ordered the company to stop importing Epson compatibles. Mr. Barza detailed for the three judges how Ninestar was seen to repeatedly ignore or circumvent the ITC‘s orders, which ultimately led the

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commission to impose an unusually steep fine. The matter is now before the appellate court. According to data provided by the court, the median disposition time in such cases is about 9.5 months. Thus, a decision might come in December of 2011. Epson’s ink tank printer hampered by Print-Rite’s CISS patents In China, an interesting “man bites dog” scenario is playing out. It’s the first ever case of an OEM being restrained by patents from a reman company in China! Although the case is not settled yet, if plaintiff Print-Rite wins, they may gain some important traction against Epson. This could be a game changer. USITC grants Lexmark and HP General Exclusion Orders Back in the USA, International Trade Commission actions on the import front this year seem to favor Lexmark and HewlettPackard. If aftermarket players are triggered into launching more patent validity lawsuits, however, the landscape of the US aftermarket could be reshaped.

Technical Cloud printing gets hot in the IT world Although it may turnout to be more about the Cloud than the printing, it is worth noting that the Cloud became one of the hottest topics for the IT world this year. Printer OEMs including Brother, Dell, Kodak, Lexmark, Oki Data, Sharp, and Toshiba have joined the Cortado Cloud Printing Alliance. Their mission is to work together to make on-demand printing easier, for any image, with any device, at any location. Taiwan’s ITRI develops erasable electronic paper On August 8, Reuters reported that Taiwan’s Industrial Research Technology Institute (ITRI) has developed an erasable electronic paper. Called “i2R e-Paper”, the product is not paper as we know it. It is first imaged using a thermal

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Features printer, such as those used in thermal fax printer. When the message is no longer needed, the paper can be erased with the flip of a switch. This print/erase cycle can be repeated up to 260 times. ITRI researchers suggest the ideal application is the replacement of paper signs, displays and posters that are now produced by the millions around the world. The i2R e-Paper is based upon a plastic film covered with cholesteric liquid crystals. Examples of compounds known to form cholesteric phases are hydroxypropylcellulose and cholesteryl benzoate. Among its attractive features: It does not require a backlight to view; it can produce different colors; An A4-sized sheet of the e-paper, which is already in production, costs roughly $60 Taiwan dollars, or about $2.

Color Available color toners + technical support = aftermarket growth In 2011, end users became more familiar, with and more confident in, the use of aftermarket color toners. One of the factors that seems instrumental in convincing them to make the switch is learning that they can buy color toner from a reliable aftermarket source, such as, Future Graphics, IMEX, NAND ipl, Static Control Components, and others. Another factor is the ready availability of technical support, detailed instructions, and tutorial information via webinars, published literature, etc.

The net result is continued growth in this sector of toner cartridge remanufacturing. Biotoner& bioplastics Demand for biotoner: strong in Europe, weak in Asia Biotoners are encountering a mixed reception as they become available across world markets. Industry observers report a warm reception in Europe and the UK, compared to a relatively cool response from end-users in China and the Asia Pacific region. Perhaps pricing is a factor in the somewhat disappointing demand in Asia. When a biotoner cartridge is priced higher than a conventional reman cartridge it is more likely to sell in Europe than in Asia. Europeans are demonstrating their willingness to support the ecological and environmental benefits of biotoner. Asian buyers appear to be more focused on price. Oki goes bio in printers & MFPs As of March 2011, OKI Data announced that at least 25% by weight of plant-based bioplastics will be used in all of its printers and MFPs. Because the announcement made no mention of a biotoner, it is assumed that the bioplastics would be used primarily in cartridge shells and perhaps other machine components.OKI Data is currently active in 120 countries, selling approximately 1.1 million printers and MFPs annually. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s introduction of bioplastic is expected to reduce its annual CO2 emissions by three metric tons. Jadi is awarded U.S. patent for its biotoner resins Malaysia-based Jadi Imaging Technologies Sdn. Bhd. obtained U.S. Patent No. 7,968,647 B2 for technology used to make eco-friendly toner resin from bio sources such as, palm oil, coconut oil, linseed oil, castor oil, soy oil and rapeseed oil, among others. The technology was developed by Jadiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s R&D team in collaboration with the University of Malaya.

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Printer OEMs: A tough quarter

Hewlett-Packard: fourth quarter and full year financial results (4Q ended by Oct 31, and announced on Nov 21, 2011) After much of the drama triggered by Hewlett-Packard’s third quarter financial reports and the heavy-weight strategic changes announced, let us take a look at the leading printer OEM, and its performance at the end of its financial year 2011, led by its new CEO Ms Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay. General • Fiscal 2011 non-GAAP net revenue of $127.4 billion, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88 and free cash flow of $9.1 billion grew 1%, 7% and 8%, respectively, over the prior year • Fiscal 2011 GAAP net revenue of $127.2 billion, GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.32 and cash flow from operations of $12.6 billion • Fourth quarter non-GAAP net revenue of $32.3 billion, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $1.17 and free cash flow of $1.2 billion were down 3%, 12% and 43%, respectively, from the prior-year quarter • Fourth quarter GAAP net revenue of $32.1 billion, GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.12 and cash flow from operations of $2.4 billion These are the highlights provided by HP’s press release on its results, but of course the most astonishing “highlights” were missing – its GAAP net earnings in the 4Q was down 91% year-on-year ( YoY ) from $2.5 billion to $0.2 billion, and its GAAP diluted EPS was down 86% YoY from $1.10 to $0.12. The results also included $2.1 billion in after-tax costs for closing its Web OS device business. Overall, HP’s quarterly performance experienced a sharp decline over the same period last year, but even this performance was better than the expectations of Wall Street analysts. “HP has a great opportunity to build on our strong

hardware, software, and services franchises with leading market positions, customer relationships, and intellectual property," said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. "We need to get back to the business fundamentals in fiscal 2012, including making prudent investments in the business and driving more consistent execution.” “While FY11 proved to be a challenging year, we grew nonGAAP EPS 7% and generated $12.6 billion in cash flow from operations,” said Cathie Lesjak, HP executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We’re remaining cautious heading into FY12 but are focused on delivering our earnings outlook and driving shareholder value.” Segment In the Americas, fourth quarter GAAP net revenue was $14.5 billion, down 4% year over year and down 5% when adjusted for the effects of currency. Non-GAAP net revenue in the Americas was $14.6 billion, down 3% year over year and down 4% when adjusted for the effects of currency. Europe, the Middle East and Africa GAAP revenue of $11.7 billion was down 6% year over year and down 10% when adjusted for the effects of currency. GAAP revenue in Asia Pacific was $6.0 billion, representing a 3% increase year over year, and down 4% when adjusted for the effects of currency. GAAP revenue from outside of the United States in the fourth quarter accounted for 65% of total HP revenue. BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) generated revenue of $3.8 billion, up 9% over the year-ago period, for 12% of total HP revenue. Revenue in HP's commercial businesses declined 2% year

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Features over year. Revenue in HP's consumer businesses, within PSG and IPG, was collectively down 9% year over year. Fourth fiscal quarter 2011 business group results: • Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) revenue declined 10% year over year with a 12.8% operating margin. Commercial revenue was up 4% year over year with commercial printer hardware units up 5%. Consumer printer hardware revenue was down 8% year over year with an 8% decline in units. According to New York Times, CEO Whitman defined the IPG results as “painful”, but claimed they were “tied to poor management and a weak economy, and not a shift away from printing or HP’s products”. For IPG’s fourth quarter and full year performance, please see Table 1 and 2 for more details. • Personal Systems Group (PSG) revenue declined 2% year over year with a 5.7% operating margin. Commercial client revenue grew 5%, and Consumer client revenue declined 9%. Total units were up 2% with 5% growth in desktop units and 1% growth in notebook units. • Services revenue of $9.3 billion grew 2% year over year with a 12.8% operating margin. Technology Services and Application Services revenue grew 3% and 2%, respectively, while IT Outsourcing revenue grew 1% and Business Process Outsourcing revenue declined 2%. • Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking (ESSN) revenue declined 4% year over year with a 13.0% operating margin. Networking revenue was up 5%, Industry Standard Servers revenue was down 4%, Table 1 for HP’s IPG performance in 4Q11 in million USD

4Q11

3Q11

4Q10

Q/Q

Y/Y

Supplies

4,041

4,143

4,707

-2%

-14%

Commercial Hardware

1,596

1,292

1,541

+24%

+4%

Consumer Hardware

684

652

747

+5%

-8%

Total

6,321

6,087

6,995

+4%

-10%

Table 2 for HP’s IPG performance in FY11 in million USD

2011

2010

Y/Y

Supplies

17,154

17,249

-0.6%

Commercial Hardware

5,790

5,569

+4.0%

Consumer Hardware

2,839

2,946

-3.6%

Total

25,783

25,764

▲ HP‘s new CEO Meg Whitman

Business Critical Systems revenue was down 23%, and Storage revenue was up 4%. • HP Software revenue grew 28% year over year with a 27.7% operating margin. HP Software revenue was driven by revenue growth in licenses and services of 33% and 36%, respectively. • Financial Services revenue grew 18% year over year driven by double-digit growth in both lease volume and portfolio assets. The business delivered a 10.3% operating margin. See table 1 and table 2. Asset management HP generated $2.4 billion in cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter. Inventory ended the quarter at $7.5 billion, with days of inventory up 4 days year over year to 27 days. Accounts receivable of $18.2 billion was up 1 day year over year to 51 days. Accounts payable ended the quarter at $14.8 billion, flat from the prior-year period at 52 days. HP’s dividend payment of $0.12 per share in the fourth quarter resulted in cash usage of $239 million. HP also utilized $500 million of cash during the quarter to repurchase approximately 17 million shares of common stock in the open market. HP exited the quarter with $8.1 billion in gross cash. Outlook Outlook For the first quarter of fiscal 2012, HP estimates non-GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.83 to $0.86, and GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.61 to $0.64. HP expects full year fiscal 2012 non-GAAP diluted EPS of at least $4.00 and GAAP diluted EPS of approximately $3.20. In order to more effectively manage HP as one company and align its guidance policy with its long-term objective of delivering profitable growth, HP will only be providing a quarterly and annual earnings per share outlook. The company believes that earnings per share is a better indicator of successful execution across its various business levers. Related: HP’s 3Q11 financial report

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Features Due to the different setting of fiscal year, HP announced its 3Q11 reports on Aug 18, which was much earlier than other major OEMs. For the third quarter of FY11 ended by Jul 31, HP’s revenue was recorded as $31.2 billion, up 1% YoY but down 2% when adjusted for the effects of currency. The major challenge of HP during 3Q11 was the sluggish PC business, and in the hope of dealing with all the challenges HP has initiated three heavy-weight strategic changes, which included the consideration of a PC business spinoff, the closing of its webOS device business and an acquisition of British software company Autonomy. The three strategic changes shocked the whole IT world and since then we witnessed a “drama on stage” until the departure of Léo Apotheker and the arrival of Meg Whitman as HP’s new CEO.

Canon Third Quarter Financial Results (3Q ended by Sep 30, and reported on Oct 25, 2011) Canon, as one of the leading OEMs, described the general economic conditions faced by most OEMs (especially Japanbased OEMs) in its third quarter financial report. It said: Looking back at the global economy in the third quarter of 2011, the pace of economic recovery further decelerated due to downward pressure on the economies of Europe and the United States. In the United States, a lack of progress in alleviating the high unemployment rate and housing problems led to a decline in the growth rate, while in Europe, as the peripheral countries confront the debt crisis, the major economies of the region also slowed down. In contrast, emerging Asian countries, such as China and India, continued to achieve solid economic growth fueled by stable domestic demand. In Japan, although the economy continued to face severe challenges, progress was made in restoring the supply chain and indications pointed to a recovery in production in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

With regard to the consumer products market, demand for digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras maintained significant growth in all regions, while the market for compact digital cameras grew steadily in emerging markets. Demand for inkjet printers achieved healthy growth in emerging markets and a recovery of demand was also felt in Japan, resulting in stable growth overall. In the industry and others sector, investment in semiconductor lithography equipment used to manufacture DRAM memory devices was partially restrained due to a slowdown in the PC market. Despite solid growth in liquid crystal display (LCD) lithography equipment for the manufacture of mid- and small-size LCD panels used in smartphones, demand for equipment used to manufacture large LCD panels has remained sluggish since the beginning of the year. Overall, Canon has reported a net sales of ¥916.9 billion (about U.S.$11908 million) in the third quarter, a growth of 0.4% year-on-year. Segment Looking at Canon’s quarterly performance within the Office Business Unit, amid stable demand for color network digital MFDs, particularly the imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5000/C2000series, efforts to restore production following the earthquake led to a year-on-year increase in overall sales volumes. In addition, sales of imagePRESS C7010VPS/C6010VPS/C6010Sseries color MFDs for production printing, which were launched in March this year and are the first products to be jointly developed by Canon and Océ, gained momentum and contributed to increased unit sales of digital commercial printing and production printing devices for corporate clients. As for laser printers, hearty demand centered on emerging countries boosted unit sales volume, mainly for monochrome models, resulting in nearly double-digit growth compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. These

General As for the markets in which Canon operates amid these conditions, the demand for network digital multifunction devices (MFDs) continued to recover moderately within the office equipment market. The laser printer market continued to display solid growth boosted by emerging economies.

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Features performances, however, were affected by the appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar along with a shift in demand to lower-priced products. As a result, third-quarter sales for the segment dropped 6.7% year on year to ¥472.9 billion (U.S.$6,142 million), while operating profit for the quarter decreased 11.2% to ¥67.8 billion (U.S.$880 million) due to the appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar along with the decline in gross profit accompanying reduced sales. Sales for the first nine months of the year totaled ¥1,419.6 billion (U.S.$18,436 million), slipping 1.3% year on year, while operating profit decreased by 17.9% to ¥190.7 billion (U.S.$2,476 million). With regard to inkjet printers, despite the impact of severe price competition among market players in Europe and elsewhere, unit sales increased year on year, fueled by sales growth for the mid- to high-end PIXMA MG6220/6120/5120, mainly in Japan, and for the entry-level PIXMA MP280, mainly in emerging markets. Outlook The global economy is expected to realize low growth and also faces increasing downward risks due to public finance and financial market problems. Amid lingering concerns over high unemployment and housing issues in the United States, coupled with the debt crisis in Europe, the pace of recovery in these economies is expected to be weak. As for emerging economies such as China and India, which are expected to continue enjoying robust growth, there is concern over weakening export growth to Europe and the United States and the economic impact of tighter financial measures. Despite signs of recovery in Japan following the earthquake, the negative effects of the current historically strong yen on exports and the impact on production activities are expected to continue to have a negative influence on the Japanese economy.

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In the businesses in which Canon is involved, within the office equipment market, demand for such products as network digital MFDs is anticipated to recover modestly. Although the slowdown in European economies and the United States is cause for concern, overall demand for laser printers is growing steadily. Despite the fierce price competition within the inkjet printer segment, which is expected to continue, demand is projected to grow steadily. However, due to the floods in Thailand in this month, the company anticipates delays in production for select inkjet printer and digital camera products. Canon has lowered its annual sales forecast in 2011 to ¥3650 billion (U.S.$47403 million).

Seiko Epson Second Quarter Financial Results (2Q ended by Sep 30, and reported on Oct 28, 2011) General The highlights of Seiko Epson during its second quarter ended September 30, 2011: • Net sales were ¥425,518 million ($5,551,441 thousand), down 11.2% year over year. • Operating income was ¥6,774 million ($88,375 thousand), down 53.8% year over year. • Ordinary income was ¥6,146 million ($80,182 thousand), down 58.6% year over year. • Net loss was ¥4,370 million ($57,012 thousand) compared to net income of ¥7,458 million in the same period last year. The situation in the main markets of the Epson Group (Epson) was as follows. Demand for consumer inkjet printers was steady overall, though there was some regional variation. Business inkjet printer demand was weakened by corporate belt-tightening in the printing industry and other sectors in the face of concern over economic uncertainty in Europe and America. In the expanding economies of China and other parts of Asia, however, business inkjet demand steadily climbed. While the serial dot-matrix printer (SIDM) market is contracting in America, Europe, and Japan, demand remained firm in some

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regions, including China, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. In POS systems retailer capital investment showed signs of a recovery and Chinese demand is high, but U.S. retailers remain reluctant to invest. The projector growth trend weakened compared to the strong second quarter of last year. Demand for the main electronic device applications generally remained steady across the period. New mobile phone demand, underpinned by steady increases in unit volume in India and China, was firm across the quarter, though deceleration was seen in some regions. Smartphones drove the overall mobile phone market, with one new model after another launched as transmission speeds grew faster. The digital camera market remained steady, with sales of SLR models particularly firm. The tablet PC market also expanded. On the other hand, television and PC orders were generally weak, especially in the advanced economies, while the portable media player (PMP) market trended downward as the first round of demand wound down and as media player features become more common on mobile phone handsets. In watches, signs of a rebound in demand were seen in the U.S., Asia, and Japan, but European demand weakened with the unemployment high. Robot demand also increased in tandem with the rise in demand for automobiles in overseas markets. Segment For Seiko Epson’s Information-related equipment business, its printer business reported a decline in net sales (including both printer units and consumables). Consumer inkjet unit shipments declined due to the effects of the earthquake disaster and aggressive pricing by competitors. Unit shipments of large-format printers for enterprise grew despite the effects of the earthquake, largely owing to steady general demand from the signage market and launches of new products in Europe and the U.S. Meanwhile,

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sales of consumables declined as printer use slumped due to the effects of the earthquake and a slowing of economic growth. On the other hand, changes in the model mix brought about an increase in average selling prices. SIDM printer unit shipments increased due to demand associated with China’s tax collection system. Sales of page printer consumables declined in part because of a decline in the install base but also because the earthquake resulted in lower printer use. Factors resulting in increased printer revenue were largely canceled out by gains in the yen. The visual instruments business also reported lower net sales. Although there were signs of a drop in demand for education projectors in the U.S., business 3LCD projector net sales benefitted from steady growth in unit shipments in Asia and an increase in average unit prices along with growth in sales of higher-end units such as short-throw lens models. Increased demand for full-HD home-theater projectors in the U.S. also contributed to higher net sales. Overall, net sales were canceled out by the effects of yen appreciation. Segment income in the information-related equipment segment declined. It was hurt by yen appreciation and the effects of lower revenue resulting from decreased volume. As a result of the foregoing factors, net sales in the imaging products segment were ¥316,636 million ($4,130,946 thousand), down 6.2% year over year, while segment income was ¥26,308 million ($343,235 thousand), down 16.0% year over year. Outlook Epson’s full-year outlook of net sales was decreased from the previous figure of ¥970 billion to ¥910 billion, down 6.2%, while the outlook of net income was downed from ¥17 billion to ¥10 billion, down 41.2%. On Nov 14, Seiko Epson has announced a notice regarding impact of Thailand flooding and revised financial results

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Features outlook. Epson reported no harm to its employees and no direct damage to its facilities as a result of the flooding in its two local companies. However, after carefully analyzing the situation regarding components procurement, the impact on manufacturing and sales, and the various countermeasures it has implemented, the company has decided to revise its outlook – its net sales was downed 0.3% from ¥910 billion to ¥907 billion, its operating income was downed 6.1% from ¥33 billion to ¥31 billion and its net income was downed 20% from ¥10 billion to ¥8 billion.

Brother Second Quarter Financial Results (2Q ended by Sep 30, and reported on Nov 1, 2011) General Brother has reported stable net sales in the first half of financial year 2011. The actual net sales were ¥246.6 billion, up 0.2% year-on-year but also 0.2% less than expected. Brother claimed sales increased mainly due to the steady growth in sales from the machine tools, despite a negative impact from Forex. Operating income was ¥26 billion, up 20.8% YoY and 13.1% over previous forecast, which generated by the higher profits led by the machinery and solution business despite a negative impact from increased SG&A and raw material costs. However, its actual net income was ¥13.6 billion, down 5.1% YoY. Brother said its “business strategy for growth remains the same although the global economy is unclear” and it will “establish a strong position in SOHO/SMB market by promoting a global growth strategy” for its printing business. Brother’s highlights in its printing business are as follow: • Maintain and grow share in SOHO/SMB whilst enhancing position in the business segment • Expand sales of Black and White Laser Printer in emerging countries • Enhance our sales force and develop/provide products which satisfy local needs. Recovered from the supply chain problems generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, Brother has conducted sales promotion in all global markets in the second quarter, and launched new products for home office users, such as

the DCP-J925N featuring up to 3 times faster printing speed than previous model, as well as new high speed A3 format inkjet All-in-One printers, such as MFC-J5910CDW and MFCJ6710CDW. Other progresses included the enhanced mobile solution by expanding products lineups, for instance the PJ663, a portable mobile printer. Meanwhile, Brother has enhanced its R&D function of its printing and solution business in China. Outlook In terms of the forecast for FY2011, Brother expected a decrease of sales from the previous forecast of ¥520 billion to ¥500 billion (down 3.8%) due to a negative impact from Forex, while the sales forecast of communication & printing equipment and machine tool are expected to decrease due to economic slowdown. The forecast for operating income is expected to down 5.6% from ¥35.5 billion to ¥33.5 billion, although the operating income of printing and solution business may have a positive influence generated by improved sales composition.

Samsung Electronics Third Quarter Financial Results (3Q ended by Sep 30, and reported on Oct 28, 2011) The financial report from Samsung Electronics was mainly about its overall performance, and concentrated on the results of some of its key businesses. Although Samsung highlighted its printing business as one of its five key growth propositions December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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in 2010, no detail about its printer and printer supplies business was released from the report. But we can still grab a general idea of Samsung’s printing business with its 3Q11 performance. General Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced revenues of 41.27 trillion Korean won on a consolidated basis for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011, a three-percent increase year-on-year. For the quarter, the company posted consolidated net income of 3.44 trillion won, representing a 23-percent decrease year-on-year. Consolidated operating profit for the quarter was 4.25 trillion won. “Despite the difficult business environment due to the economic slowdown in developed markets, Samsung achieved a solid performance and recovered its double-digit operating profit margin in the quarter, driven by strong sales of our smartphones,” said Robert Yi, Vice President and Head of Investor Relations. Looking ahead into the fourth quarter – when industry demand is traditionally at its peak – Samsung expects sales of mobile devices to remain strong and flat panel TV shipments to increase. However, Yi cautioned that due to lingering global economic uncertainties, “We cannot rule out the possibility of demand growth slowing compared to previous years.” On the non-operating side, the rapid depreciation of the Korean won against the US dollar in September resulted in foreign exchange-related losses of around 420 billion won due to translation of foreign currency- denominated assets and liabilities. However, Samsung expects to recover the translation loss in the fourth quarter, considering the current strengthening of the won against the greenback. Segment Highlighting the quarterly performance, the Telecommunications businesses recorded all-time high

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quarterly sales of 14.90 trillion won, up 37 percent from the previous year, with growth mainly driven by strong sales of Samsung’s GALAXY smartphones. Operating profit for the businesses also hit a record 2.52 trillion won. The Digital Media & Appliances businesses – including Visual Display, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging and Digital Appliances – posted revenues of 14.36 trillion won for the third quarter. Samsung’s shipments of flat panel TVs outstripped market growth of more than 10 percent onquarter, which was led by demand in emerging markets. Profitability also improved quarter-on-quarter as LED TV sales passed 50 percent of all Samsung LCD TVs sold for the quarter, reflecting the growing acceptance of the new technology. With peak season demand in the fourth quarter expected to increase 30 percent on-quarter, Samsung aims to outperform the market and enhance profitability through marketing and sales expansion of premium products such as LED TVs and Smart TVs supported by customized TV applications. For the Digital Appliances Business, the economic slowdown in developed markets resulted in weakening revenue and profitability, though sales grew in some emerging markets including the CIS and Africa. In the fourth quarter, the challenging global economy will continue to limit demand in developed markets although Samsung will look to target premium products for growth. Additionally, Samsung expects to capitalize on a slight increase in demand in emerging markets by expanding sales of its localized models.

Lexmark Third Quarter Financial Results (3Q ended by Sep 30, and reported on Oct 25, 2011) General As for Lexmark, its financial reports also come first with highlights. In the 3Q11 report: • Revenue growth stronger than expected • EPS unfavorably impacted by discrete tax items of $0.06 per share • Repurchased $125 million of LXK shares in 3Q, anticipate another $125 million in 4Q • Announced acquisition of Netherlands-based Pallas Athena, a leading provider of business process management (BPM), document output management (DOM) and process mining software

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Features “Our revenue growth for the quarter was once again stronger than expected, highlighted by core growth of 10 percent year on year driven by a double digit increase in high end hardware, supplies and managed print services,” said Paul Rooke, Lexmark chairman and chief executive officer. “Lexmark remains committed to driving value for our shareholders, demonstrated by our recent actions including the repurchase of $125 million of Lexmark stock in the third quarter and the planned repurchase of another $125 million in fourth quarter; the acquisition of Pallas Athena; and the introduction of our enterprise-focused, cloud-based, mobile Print Release solution. "Our acquisition of Pallas Athena and investment in the BPM market demonstrates Lexmark's continued focus on strategic acquisitions of technologies that strengthen our unique portfolio of leading end-to-end fleet management and business process solutions," added Rooke. "We expect this to be attractive to our global enterprise customers and help expand both our managed print services and Perceptive Software offerings." • Revenue was $1.035 billion compared to $1.020 billion last year. • Gross profit margin was 36.9 percent versus 35.4 percent in 2010. • Operating expense was $283 million compared to $268 million last year. • Operating income margin of 9.6 percent includes $9

• Net earnings for the quarter were $67 million compared to third quarter 2010 net earnings of $72 million. For the third quarter of 2011, revenue of $1.035 billion grew 1 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Third quarter 2011 earnings per share were unfavorably impacted by discrete tax items of $0.06 per share. Third quarter 2010 earnings per share were favorably impacted by discrete tax items of $0.04 per share. In the third quarter, Hardware revenue grew 2 percent, Supplies revenue was about flat, and Software and Other revenue grew 15 percent, or 5 percent excluding acquisitionrelated adjustments. Imaging Solutions and Services (ISS) revenue of $1.012 billion grew 1 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. Perceptive Software revenue in the

million pretax for restructuring-related and acquisitionrelated adjustments. Operating income margin in 2010 of 9.1 percent included $19 million for pretax restructuringrelated and acquisition-related adjustments.

expects revenue to decline in the mid-single digit range year on year. GAAP earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2011 are expected to be around $1.02 to $1.12, or $1.15 to $1.25 excluding $0.13 per share for restructuring-related and acquisition-related adjustments. GAAP earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2010 were $1.10, or $1.29 excluding $0.19 per share for restructuring-related and acquisition-related adjustments. The company continues to expect its effective tax rate for 2011 will be 23 percent.

third quarter of $23 million grew 57 percent, or 15 percent excluding acquisition-related adjustments. Lexmark announced its enterprise-class, cloud-based Print Release solution with the Lexmark Mobile Printing App, which is designed for Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. The Lexmark Print Release solution can also be configured to allow employees to print from any emailenabled mobile device, including a BlackBerry, by simply attaching the document to an email and sending it to their corporate Print Release email account. Outlook In the fourth quarter of 2011, the company currently

Closing remarks Undoubtedly, the major OEMs had a tough quarter. Natural disasters may have played a part, but economic uncertainty has cast the biggest shadow over their businesses. These could have sent mixed messages to the aftermarket—the overall demand for hardcopies facing a decline against such an economic backdrop, while a larger proportion of the remaining rigid demand could be driven to the aftermarket if our industry actively and appropriately seize this opportunity.

December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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Profiles

Interviewing Integral On the toner manufacturer’s 45th anniversary Another challenge that every toner manufacturer faces, is the increasing share of color toners and the catching up of such an increase with corresponding products in a short time after the launch of these color devices. More complex cartridge chips will definitely be another challenge for the remanufacturing industry in the future.

What do you think of some forecasts that predict the demise of hardcopy? Integral entered the toner business in the early 1970s. Back in 1973, Integral developed and manufactured its first commercial toner. Integral´s activity in the paper business was prior to this date, which means it was quite a long time ago. We do not actually see a demise of hardcopy. MPS might have a certain impact on the overall print and copy volume, but we constantly see our production and sales volume growing. Possibly this is because of market share switching from OEM products to quality aftermarket ones. On the other hand, the more electronic devices users, the bigger the potential of hardcopies being made by them, especially with the increasing use of the Internet. Tablet PCs and smartphones are good examples since their users might be more likely to print out digital content.

What does Integral believe will be the challenges in the future? Challenges tend to be more like a continuous process. Of course, when looking at recent times, the changes of models by the OEMs become ever more frequent and we have to bring out new products even more quickly to meet this challenge.

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The supply industry is an ever-changing industry. How do you keep technology updated? Integral Group has years of toner manufacturing experience, and it is easier for us to develop new products for the market quickly, when compared with a less experienced competitor who has not built up the same level of technology and know-how. Integral and our affiliated company Elfotec have developed a vast range of toner formulations which are extremely helpful in scaling up our products to new applications.

Integral has acquired several production plants and companies, like NTT and the Elfotec toner plant. What factors does Integral take into consideration when conducting acquisitions? Initially NTT was set up by the German glass manufacturer Schott to develop ceramic toners for printing on glass applications, so their main focus had been on color applications. The acquisition of NTT gave us significant knowledge and experience in the area of color toners, in addition to the preceding know-how in the area of monochrome toners. The acquisition of Elfotec was based on two value propositions. Elfotec had been the leading company in the design of toner manufacturing plants and has sold quite a number toner manufacturing facilities to OEMs and aftermarket toner manufacturers alike. As a matter of fact, Elfotec is the company that taught many present aftermarket toner manufacturers how to make toner. The combination of Integral´s and Elfotec´s know-how in toner manufacturing had been very useful since it broadened the range of products made by both companies. Together we have developed over 60 monochrome toner formulations,

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Profiles all of which are used regularly in production. Consequently, we enjoy one of the largest product portfolios in the industry and our toners receive a lot of positive feedback from our customers.

What is Integral doing currently: domestically and overseas? What do you think of the market you have entered? And have you consider building more production facilities? With a plan to explore the Latin American market, Integral established a sales entity in Florida in 2005. Currently, we have manufacturing facilities in Germany, Ireland and France. Most of our sales are handled by the German headquarters. We sell products in over 80 countries to customers who are looking for products with OEM equivalent performance at significant cost savings. We believe each market is unique and requires special attention in terms of products and sales strategies. We have the confidence that our present production facilities have positioned us well to serve the market. However, we are still expanding the capacity of our existing facilities. Regarding whether or not to build facilities in additional locations – we have no plans at present, but we will consider such needs as we deal with each new situation.

How many employees work for Integral at the moment? Can you also comment on the overall corporate structure? Currently, we have about 100 people working for Integral altogether. As a matter of fact, a lot of investment has been made to enhance our technology and to build automation into our production facilities, which consequently offset the higher labor cost at those locations where we manufacture our toners. This is one of the reasons why we have a lot of sophisticated machinery but fewer people in our factories. We believe this brings us competitiveness in the international markets as well.

What makes Integral outstanding in the Industry? To d a y o u r c o m p a n y g r o u p i s t h e l a rg e s t independent toner manufacturer in Europe and among the top toner manufacturers in the world. Integral has built up a reputation on quality and reliability. It is the focus on doing what we know how to do best – the

What are the major target markets for Integral? What do you think of the emerging markets like Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa? Considering Integral sells to over 80 countries, we obviously have many target markets. Traditionally, Integral has been strong across Europe. In addition, Integral also has a strong presence in many other parts of the world, like The Middle East, Africa and Latin America, for example. South Africa had been a strong market for Integral for the past 20 years. Russia has been an important market since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Currently, Integral is in the process of establishing itself in the market in Brazil. In fact, this market appears like a strong growth market for Integral. As far as India is concerned, there is an opportunity, but at this time, many of the importers seem to prefer the lowest price over the lowest cost of usage. In our opinion, this will change in the years to come.

▲ Mr. Jan H. Hagemann at Integral’s booth

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Profiles manufactures today is monochrome toner and we are operating large toner production lines that were not originally designed for easy cleaning between colors. It takes smaller, dedicated equipment for the manufacturing of color toners. So we are in the process of implementing such equipment, in order to meet the growing demand for color toners in the future, and to produce larger quantities of the color toners developed by our R&D team. ▲ Interviewing Mr. Jan H. Hagemann

development, production and marketing of premium quality printer and copier toners. We have been working hard to build the customer´s confidence over the years by providing toners that are recognized by their consistent quality and excellent value.

How about Integral’s two well-known practices of comprehensive quality control systems and personalized points of contact? Strict quality control is built into all of our toner manufacturing processes. Quality control starts with the raw materials. Integral uses exclusively high quality, specialty, raw materials which are carefully tested in the QC lab prior to their actual use. During the manufacturing process of the toner, all physio-chemical properties are checked to ensure that all manufactured toner is within specification. In addition, Integral conducts extensive printing and copying tests of every produced lot. For all of these strict QC processes, Integral operates an extensive QC lab with all the relevant measuring and testing equipment, as well as over 200 printing and copying systems. Every Integral customer has a dedicated contact person. It is very important for Integral to treat every customer as an individual. Providing value to the customer is beyond just supplying a good product. It involves a lot of customer service at the same time.

Currently, Integral produces less color toners than monochrome toners. Have you considered expanding the production of color toners? Color toner is definitely a promising market, but so far the share of the aftermarket in the color toner market is comparatively small. Most of the toner that Integral

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Are Integral’s color toners produced by chemical processes or by mechanical ones? Color toners made by Integral are produced by mechanical processes. On a number of applications, we have seen equally good results from products made by the mechanical and the chemical process. It will be interesting to see which of the two will become the predominant technology for color toner manufacturing in the future, but at this point, it is still quite open. We do see major OEMs going back to mechanical process to produce color toners, for instance Canon has switched back to mechanical color toners for their multifunctional copiers. There are pros and cons for both technologies. We believe there will be a co-existence of both technologies in the future.

What’s your opinion about biotoner? Does Integral plan to step into this new sector? Integral is keeping an open mind at this stage on the matter of biotoners. Whether we will offer biotoners depends on the development of the market demand. From a technical point of view, the production of biotoner is not such a big challenge. The real problem is that the so-called biotoners currently available in the market seem to have disappointing print quality compared to conventional toners. Like all environmental issues, biologically oriented products attract a lot of attention around the globe. When look at what is offered by the so-called biotoners today, it cannot be ignored that only a very small percentage of the material contained in these toners is made from bio mass products. On a typical mono-component toner, the bio mass resin content in the product would probably be only about 20% of the total raw materials contained. There are even studies showing that the carbon foot print of making the so-called biotoner is

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Profiles worse than that of a conventional one, so the environmental advantage of such bio toners are very little and it could be kind of misleading to call this a product with an environmental advantage. They are not bio degradable either, as the bio mass content is encapsulated in regular resin. In addition, there is the discussion whether agricultural land should be used for the production of food instead of growing crops that go into the manufacturing of products. It probably would make a lot more sense to produce the toner cartridge shell from bio mass material rather than the toner contained in it.

What is Integral´s environmental policy? What measures does Integral take to protect the environment? At Integral, environmental protection and sustainability have always been of importance. This policy had been implemented for a long time, even before it became a must for every good corporate citizen. Integral´s manufacturing processes are organized in an environmentally conscious manner. Our environmental policy encourages the recycling of products whenever possible. Integral recommends the recycling of laser printer cartridges. This goal is supported by a wide range of products for laser printer cartridge recycling available from Integral. Two years ago, a new chemical law was introduced in Europe, called REACH. The purpose of this law is to protect the consumer from being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Toner is not such a chemical, but rather a preparation of chemicals. In order for a toner to be sold legally within the countries of the European Union, it needs to be in compliance with REACH. Integral spent significant amounts of money to REACH to register 22 different chemical substances used for the manufacturing of the toner. This is for the benefit of our toner customers. Remanufacturers sourcing their toner from Integral are making sure to have a product available being in full compliance with REACH.

real manufacturer, and who is a trading company. Currently, we sell our toners to a number of well-known companies in China. Chinese remanufacturers who sell to the international market require quality toners. Regarding our plans for the Chinese market, we will try to increase the portion of customers who sell our products within China, besides those who purchase and use our products for exportoriented cartridges.

European countries are now experiencing an economic crisis. What is your view on the current situation, as well as the future development of the printer consumables industry? In general, weaker economic periods or a recession do tend to have a positive impact on the aftermarket in mature economies, with a large share of the market moving away from expensive OEM products to more cost effective aftermarket products. So in this respect, a recession can even be an opportunity to grow the aftermarket. We do see a further increase in the share of the aftermarket in the toner market. At the same time, toners are becoming more complex and sophisticated. There will be a bright future for those companies who are able to stay on top of toner technological development, and those who are able to come up with the right products at an early stage after the launch of the corresponding printers. It is important to make a difference in the market in order to generate the margins necessary to continuously develop new products. We believe that those who only sell on price and without the ability to explain the advantages of their products, might succeed in the short term but probably will not stay around for a long time.

What do you think of consumables market in China? Does Integral have any specific plans for the Chinese market? There are a large number of consumables manufacturers in China, but sometimes it is not obvious as to who is a

▲ Integral’s booth at CIFEX|RemaxAsia December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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Market Data

Color print profits more – OEMs take action By International Data Corporation (IDC) Research shows color print can bring more profits to imaging vendors than monochrome print. IDC has released its latest report Hardcopy Device Usage – Color Usage Trends. The report reveals that users of color devices reported 47% of their weekly print volume is in color. Jonathan Bees, research director, Hardcopy Device Usage says it is increasingly difficult for the printer industry to profit and so it must be on the lookout for new opportunities. Documents like medical claim forms that were once printed in black and white could instead be printed in color to improve overall effectiveness and profits. The research reveals that managed print environments result in higher color use. This is because color pages from other print service providers or parts of the company are brought under contract as part of a cost reduction strategy. Other findings from IDC’s survey include the following: • color usage is directly correlated to company size; the larger the company, the higher the color usage

• color usage is directly linked to the size of the workgroup using the device; the larger the workgroup, the higher the color usage • manufacturing topped the list of industry verticals for overall color usage • marketing was the top department for overall color usage • the top brands for color usage were Epson, Brother, Xerox, and Konica Minolta. The IDC study is based on a survey of 1,480 end users in the US and was conducted by IDC’s Hardcopy Device Usage research practice. The survey covers end user behavior around printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. IDC also researched the market share of OEMs and aftermarket companies concluded that OEMs are now challenging aftermarket players on printing cost per page (CPP) to increase their market share. According to IDC, the aftermarket printing industry is going to be more volatile in the coming quarters as the big

▲ Figure1

Source: IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly Printer Consumables Tracker, Q2 2011

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Market Data market players acquire other players to gain a larger slice of the market pie. For instance, Zemasch Corporation in Thailand has acquired the local operating unit of Taiwan-based Full Color International to increase its market share in printer ink business. Another example is Clover. The company has acquired TRS Group, a European manufacturer. The acquisition gave Clover access to manufacturing facilities of Sakaar Printing Design and Engineering located in India. IDC finds that the printer consumable market in the Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region grew 0.29% sequentially and 8.65% yearon-year to reach US$1,593.01 million in Q2 2011. Slow purchasing by governments in high growth economies like India had an impact on the growth of the overall printer consumables market. Out of the total consumables market, compatible brands contribute nearly US$300 million, which is approximately 20% of the total value. In some emerging economies like India and the PRC, compatible or aftermarket brands contribute approximately 30% of the total consumable market in terms of value. However, in unit terms, the share of compatible players is much higher, contributing approximately 40% of the total units shipped. In some places, such as India, Indonesia and Thailand, this figure is as high as 50% or more. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;OEMs are now challenging after-market players on printing cost per page (CPP) to improve their connect ratio on machines in field. OEMs have launched printers with ink tank systems as well as economic consumables, which has reduced the CPP and initiated a war over market share particularly in inkjet businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, says Pankaj Chawla, Senior Market Analyst for Peripherals Research at IDC Asia Pacific. IDC says most of the countries in APEJ region are importing remanufactured cartridges, parts and toner powder from China. China also leads in technological innovations. For example, Seine Technology Company has launched its own laser printers based on indigenous technology and proprietary intellectual properties. Seine is now partnering with aftermarket players in other countries in the region to market its laser printers in these countries. See Figure 1. About IDC International Data Corporation (IDC) is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global regional and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 47 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help its clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com. December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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Tech Zone

Remanufacturing the Lexmark X560 Toner Cartridges By Mike Josiah and the Technical Staff at Uninet Imaging The Lexmark X560 Engine is a multifunction 31 ppm black and 20 ppm color engine that runs at 600 dpi (2400dpi image quality). The first page out is stated to be under 11 seconds and the printer runs off a 400 MHz processor. The memory comes standard at 384MB and is expandable to 1.4GB. These machines can print, scan, fax, copy and duplex. The chips on these cartridges need to be replaced each cycle. There are LY (Starter) cartridges and HY cartridges available. A LY cartridge cannot be made into a HY version as there are a set of gears in HY cartridges not present in Ly cartridge. HY cartridges use a second toner hopper based in the drum half of the cartridge. This hopper is present in the LY versions, but the necessary gears to move the toner are not. These cartridges have a chip that must be replaced each cycle. In addition, they also have gears on the supply hopper(s) that must be set correctly for the cartridge to work. The printers ship with a set of starter cartridges. Both the colors and the black are all rated for 4,000 pages. Current Machines based on the X560 engine are: Lexmark X560n and Lexmark X560dn The cartridges used in these machines are as follows: • 0X560A2KG Black LY Cartridge (4000 pages) • 0X560A2CG Cyan LY Cartridge (4000 pages) • 0X560A2MG Magenta LY Cartridge (4000 pages) • 0X560A2YG Yellow LY Cartridge (4000 pages) • 0X560H2CG Cyan HY Cartridge (10,000 pages, $412.65 List) • 0X560H2MG Magenta HY Cartridge (10,000 pages, $412.65 List) • 0X560H2YG Yellow HY Cartridge (10,000 pages, $412.65 List) • 0X560H2KG Black HY Cartridge (10,000 pages, $278.25 List) As you can see, these are extremely profitable cartridges to do. These cartridges use both toner and developer in the cartridges. This system is a little different so we are including the cartridge/printer theory here. Figure #1 shows the basic layout of the cartridges as they relate to the printer and also list the steps used in the printing process. These steps are covered in more detail below. In the first stage, the Primary Charge Roller places a uniform negative DC voltage on the OPC drum surface. The amount of the negative DC voltage placed on the drum is controlled by the printer’s intensity setting. The PCR cleaning roller removes any toner or paper dust from the PCR. See Figure 2.

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▲ Figure1

▲ Figure2

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Tech Zone In the second stage, each color’s laser beam is fired onto a set of fixed mirrors and then to the rotating mirror (called the scanner). As the mirror rotates, the beams are reflected into a set of focusing lenses. The beams then strike the drums surface, reducing the negative charge and leaving a latent electrostatic image on the drum. The areas where the lasers did not strike the drum will retain the higher negative charge. See Figures 3 & 4. The third or developing stage is where the toner is developed on the drum by the developing section (or supply chamber), which contains the toner and developer particles. The toner is moved from the hoppers by a series of agitators into the developer section where the augers and magnetic roller are located. The toner is brought out to the drum by the magnetic roller. The toner is also held onto and attracted to the

▲ Figure5

▲ Figure3

▲ Figure6

magnetic roller by a negative DC bias voltage. This voltage is controlled by the printer’s intensity setting and causes either more or less toner to be attracted by the developer roller. This in turn will either increase or decrease the print density. The amount of toner on the magnetic roller is controlled by the doctor blade, which uses pressure to keep the amount of toner on the roller constant. See Figure 5. As the laser exposed areas of the OPC Drum approach the developer roller, the toner particles are attracted to the drum’s surface due to the opposite voltage potentials of the toner, and laser exposed areas of the OPC drum. See Figure 6 . ▲ Figure4 December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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Tech Zone The fourth stage is the transfer stage. This is where there are some large differences from monochrome printers and also from other color lasers. In the Primary transfer stage the transfer rollers which are located directly opposite each OPC drum, places a positive DC bias charge on the back of the Transfer Belt. Each toner cartridge has a separate transfer charge roller. As the paper moves through the machine, the image is transferred from the drum directly to the paper. This process is repeated for each color

▲ Figure9

▲ Figure10 ▲ Figure7

▲ Figure8

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cartridge in the following order: Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, and Black. See Figure 7. The paper separates from the transfer belt as the belt turns back down to start the process again. The static charge on the back of the paper is decreased with static charge eliminator. This helps stabilize the paper feed, and also prevents toner flares (spots) under low temperature and low humidity conditions. See Figure 8. In the fifth stage, the image is then fused onto the paper by the fuser assembly. The fuser assembly is comprised of the upper heating assembly and lower pressure roller. The lower pressure roller presses the page up into the upper heating assembly which then melts the toner into the paper. This heating assembly is based on older technology. It uses a heat lamp and a pressure roller assembly and not the ceramic heaters that many machines now use. See Figure 9. The drum is cleaned after the image is transferred to the paper by the wiper blade. This part is fairly standard; the wiper blade scrapes the toner off the drum, and the recovery blade guides it into the waste chamber. These machines also have an erase lamp to remove any residual charges from the drum and allow the wiper blade to clean better. See Figure 10. Cartridge troubleshooting will be covered at the end of this article.

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Tech Zone

step >

Supplies required: • Dedicated Lexmark X560 color toner (HY or LY ) • Dedicated Lexmark X560 color developer (HY or LY ) • Replacement chip (HY or LY ) • Dedicated OPC drum • Drum cover • Toner seal • Developer seal • Fill hole seal

Tools Required • Phillips head screwdriver • Small common screw driver • Jewelers screwdriver set • Spring Hook • Vacuum approved for toner

Remove the screw from the white end cap.

Remove the black and cap by prying up the tab to release it, press down on the lower contact plate and pry up around the bottom edges. The end cap will come free. It’s important to press the lower contact plate down so it does not become damaged. Two white gears will come off with the end cap. It is best to store them on their respective shafts as shown.

Remove the screw from the black end cap on the contact side.

step >

Remove the two springs from either side to the cartridge. The contact side is easier to remove if the cartridge is upside down.

Remove the white end cap by prying up on the tab as shown.

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Tech Zone

step >

Remove the Single gear with the black axle as shown. Do not remove the 3 remaining gears as they are attached inside the hopper.

Remove the large Mag. roller drive gear.

Remove the Mag. Roller support bearings from both sides.

Remove the front auger drive gear so the bearing can be removed.

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Remove the round bearings from both sides of the mag. roller.

Lift the mag. Roller out by lifting it up from the short shaft side.

Remove the Toner hopper sealing strip, and the developer chamber sealing strip. New seals are now available so there is no need to re-use them. step >

step >

On the toner hopper, remove the magnetic roller clip by lifting up the 2 small tabs from the plastic shaft. Turn the contact towards the flat side of the mag. roller shaft and remove.

Separate the two halves.

step >

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Tech Zone

Clean out all remaining toner and developer.

step >

Clean the edge of the developer chamber opening with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. Install the new seal.

Install the mag. Roller long shaft side first.

For low yield cartridges, fill the toner chamber now. Clean the edge of the chamber with alcohol and install the new seal. HY cartridges have two chambers so it is easier for them to be filled later. Both chambers should be filled at the same time in order to get the correct amount in each. (They will be filled at the end of these instructions in step 46) NOTE: Do NOT mix the developer with the toner. They must be separate inside the cartridge for the system to work correctly. Place the toner chamber aside. step >

step >

Install the front auger gear. Make sure it is installed correctly. It must mesh properly with the auger or print voids will occur.

step >

Install the mag. Roller contact. Set the fingers so they are contacting the flat side of the shaft and turn the whole assembly until it fits in place.

Place a piece of paper across the developer chamber opening so it blocks the mag. Roller. Fill the chamber with the dedicated developer. Remove the paper. The paper makes it simpler to fill the chamber by blocking off the mag. Roller.

Install the round bearings on both sides of the Mag. Roller.

step >

Install the support bearings on both sides of the cartridge. Make sure the tab on the bushing is set in its slot as shown.

On the drum chamber, remove the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eâ&#x20AC;? ring from the contact or hub side of

the drum. December 2011 | www.recyclingtimes.com.cn

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step >

Tech Zone

Install the cleaned PCR cleaning roller.

HY cartridges have a seal and set of gears for the additional augers. Remove the seal and clean out any remaining toner. step >

step >

Pull the axle out from the gear side of the drum so that the inner drum ground contacts are not damaged.

step > step >

Install the drum.

step >

Install the drum axle from the hub side.

Install the E ring.

Remove the drum. Remove the 2 screws and the wiper blade. Clean out any toner from the waste chamber. step >

step >

Install the cleaned PCR. Place a small amount of new conductive grease on the black holder side.

Remove the PCR and clean with a lint free cloth.

step >

Coat the wiper blade with your preferred lubricant and install. Install the two screws.

Remove the PCR cleaning roller, vacuum or blow any toner from the

roller.

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Remove the two PCR/PCR Cleaning roller holders, carefully pry them up from the sides. Clean them with a cotton swab and alcohol.

step >

Clean the PCR holders and PCR cleaning roller holders with a cotton swab and alcohol.

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Install the cleaned PCR/PCR Cleaning roller holders.

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Tech Zone

Install the white end cap and screw.

Install the developer roller drive gear.

Remove the old chip by prying out and lifting up on the black plastic holder. Remove the old chip from the holder and slide the new chip into the rails. Make sure it snaps into place.

Place the two halves together.

step >

step > step >

On the toner hopper, install the white auger gear as shown. At this point the remaining gears must also be set properly. If the cartridge is a HY the top 2 gears must point to the arrows on the cartridge as shown. For all cartridges on the lower half, the gears must be pointing to the arrow and gear as shown.

step >

If you have a HY cartridge, fill the upper (Drum Unit) and lower (Toner) hoppers now. We have found it best to fill the upper hopper with Âź of the bottle and the rest in the lower hopper.

Install the springs on both sides of the cartridge.

With the two gears placed on the black end cap. Install the end cap. Make sure the tab locks in place. Install the screw.

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Install the chip holder assembly onto the hopper.

step >

Tech Zone

Install the drum cover.

Repetitive Defect Chart OPC drum .............................................75.4mm PCR .......................................................28.3mm PCR cleaning roller ..............................25.1mm Black & color Mag. roller sleeve .........27.9mm 1st primary transfer roller ...................31.4mm Drive roller transfer unit .....................56.9mm Upper fuser roller ................................82.7mm Fuser drive belt ....................................94.2mm Pinch roller fuser assy. .........................18.8mm Exit roller fuser assy. .............................43.1mm Exit pinch roller fuser assy ...................31.4mm

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.