Recycling Times Magazine
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RecyclingTimes The magazine by the industry, for the industry.
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Publisher & Managing Director Tony Lee Directors David Gibbons Sabrina Lo Senior Consulting Editor Art Diamond Editorial Team Doris Huang Doris.Huang@iRecyclingTimes.com Sales Team Anna Liang anna.liang@iRecyclingTimes.com Marketing Team Jessica Yin jessica.yin@iRecyclingTimes.com Operations Team Charles Lee charles.lee@iRecyclingTimes.com Regional Offices 5F, Pacific Insurance Building, Jiuzhou Ave, Zhuhai 519000, China Tel: +86 (0)756 3220716 / 3919266 Fax: +86 (0)756 3220717 24 Ardley Ave Kellyville, NSW, Australia 530 West Ojai Ave., Suite 108 Ojai, CA 93023-2471, USA Email: info@iRecycingTimes.com Website: www.iRecycingTimes.com Published by Recycling Times Media Corporation Akara Bldg, 24 De Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1 Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Front covers Ed Swartz and Jan de Kesel are both taken by David Gibbons.
I
s the printer market dying? This month, I have read several articles on this topic. Some figures suggest the printer market is going downhill. Most articles said the reduced demand for print is caused by the unfavorable economic environment, the advent of mobile communication technology and the increasingly popular print service. Furthermore, I heard gloomy news from some of the printer manufacturers. Some major players have published less than satisfactory financial results in their quarterly reports. Several of them lowered their full year forecasts saying the unfavorable European market and foreign exchange rates are to blame. As a result their shares took a dive. Then there is a saying that the printer market is dying. But I think they jump to such a conclusion out of panic. Every industry has its ups and downs. I believe, to some extent, we are experiencing a “low” in printer and printer consumable industry. But it is also a turning point and an opportunity to rebound. Actually, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are adjusting their strategies to get through such turbulence, through restructure, cooperation, market expansion, price hike, product releases, new technology development and so on. Some succeed! Canon, Epson and Brother are seeing larger market share. Besides, I see some new wave printer manufacturers emerge in the printer market, which might challenge the dominance situation of some major players. Aetas has invented an epoch-making LED printer using advanced DC dumping technology, Memjet successfully cooperates with many OEMs and Seine Technology dedicates to making China’s first proprietary printer. They are seeking opportunities and creating a new era. On September 23, Conference@2012 will be held in Holiday Inn Zhuhai and discuss the topic "The Next Wave Printers, The Next Opportunity". Let's find out more from speakers from Xerox, Lexmark, Aetas, Pantum and etc. As for consumable industry, companies are adjusting their strategy to grab market share as well. Clover has acquired a Germany empty collection company, K+U Printware GmbH, to enlarge European market; Sun Chemical and its parent company, Dainippon Ink & Chemical (DIC), have completed the acquisition of an Austrian company to further develop its metallic effect sector; Steve Weedon has launched new distribution company to sell consumable parts. If the industry is dying, why would they risk taking such adventures? All these and other facts demonstrate that the printer and printer consumable market is changing, but it is not dying. We just need to find out opportunities during such a special period. CIFEX|RemaxAsia Expo will be held in September 24-26. Recycling Times will be there to welcome you and to help you find new partners or new business opportunities.
Column Writers
RecyclingTimes
David Gibbons
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Art Diamond
Steve Weedon
September 2012
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Tony Lee Publisher & Managing Director
All rights reserved. © 2012 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
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Just a Minute
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The Best Thing You Could Do This Year
Money From Home
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New Builds: OEMs & Aftermarket Players
Converting Leads Into Sales with MPS The important message is that MPS can be a most effective tool that will keep your customers loyal by getting them more involved in the management of their own printing operations.
Updates on Toner Resins, Pigments, Waxes & CCAs Despite a faltering economy in Europe, slow growth in the United States, and only modest growth in China, raw materials suppliers to the toner industry are moving forward with new products.
Explore Your Opportunities Here! It does not matter which country or region you come from, your business cannot afford to miss this event. You will learn and see things you would not want your competitor to know.
Keeping Up
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The Importance of Keeping Customers
Industry Updates
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Clover May Settle with Canon, but Remanufacturers Already Have a Solution OfficeMax Faces Class Action Suit on Cartridge Refilling 14 Remanufacturers Settle with Lexmark European Acquisition Expands Clover’s Size and Scope
14 Sun Chemical Acquires Austrian Manufacturer of Metallic 16 Effects Ark’s Collection Program Aims for 20 Million Empties 18 Planet Malaysian Government Maintains Investment in Paper & Printing
Product Release Static Control Releases a Series of New Products
35 Diamond Dispersion Releases New Filters and Housings Now Fields a New Series of Fusers & Maintenance Kits 36 Parts CET Offers Compatible Printer Supplies Metallic Ink Promises High Speed & Lower Cost 39 New New Aftermarket Wide Format Printer Inks Ink Cycle’s Remanufactured Toner Cartridge for HP Printers Toner Cartridges 41 Remanufactured Available for HP LaserJet Pro 400
OCP Engages Dr. Harald Waldeck, Expands R&D, Production Operations Says Market Will Bounce in 2013 21 EFI NubePrint Partners with Carolina Wholesale Group
OEM News Brother Fails to Escape Class Action
42 Ricoh Targets 22% Growth in South Africa Features Toner Resins, Pigments, Waxes and CCAs 22 On Market Pulse 2012: North America 27
OKI Adds a New Dealer in Australia
44 Worldwide Printer Shipments Down 8.4% in Q2 Minolta Opens Regional Headquarters in Singapore 47 Konica UK Printer Market Saw Big Decline Are Desktop Printers Becoming Extinct?
Profiles
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Ed Swartz: The Industry Champion
48 HP Printer in Hacking Danger
Mr. Qian Yue, President of HP China’s IPG, Leaves Office Kodak’s Red Fluorescent Toner Earns Industry Praise www.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Recycling Times Magazine
Just a Minute David Gibbons
The Best Thing You Could Do This Year One of the world’s largest remanufacturers reminded me: “The OEMs are not the enemy. The OEMs developed the printers which allow us to share the market place with them.” It’s true: we think this industry is full of enemies. The newest remanufacturer opening a shop in our town: is our enemy. The OEMs will fight us for every customer: they too are the enemy. It’s time to change our thinking and focus on the true culprits. The recent advent of “clones”—newly made cartridges which look and work the same as an OEM but hold no new patents of their own— is not fair play. Some companies are simply copying the OEM cartridge using inferior plastics and metals. They make these new builds
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cheaper than what it costs a remanufacturer to buy an empty cartridge. ETIRA—the European trade association for remanufacturers—has written an excellent white paper on the topic. Ask for a copy (info@etira. org). One thing is certain: clones demonstrate a blatant disrespect for the intellectual property of the OEMS—those companies with whom we “share the market”. The OEMs have invested squillions into making a better printer. Of course the cash cow is the consumables. And every OEM will fight to preserve its market. Consumers have the right to repair and refill a product they bought— so they can continue to use it. Whether it be a motor vehicle or a printer cartridge. This fundamental principle, or doctrine of
permissible repair, allows (repeat “allows”) the aftermarket to exist for the right of choice alone. Xerox is one OEM we should continue to watch. Xerox invented the photocopier in 1959 and the laser printer in 1969. They may not have had the marketing clout of an HP or a Canon. But they continue to invent. What is the new wave of printing going to look like? You can be sure Xerox knows. The best thing you could do this year, is to get to Conference@2012 in Zhuhai, China on September 23. This rare forum with OEM and aftermarket advocates sitting at the same table could effect change. The next wave of printing technology and an OEM view of clones. Come and listen to Xerox and Lexmark speak on what’s coming up next.
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Money From Home Art Diamond
New Builds: OEMs & Aftermarket Players Find Common Ground in Nice On June 28-29 ETIRA (European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturer’s Association) celebrated its 10th Anniversary at a conference in Nice, France. The meeting attracted a record attendance of 116 delegates at the Holiday Inn hotel on the French Riviera. Among the assembly both OEM and aftermarket companies were represented. Though arch competitors for replacement toner and inkjet cartridge sales, they found common ground in their mutual desire to rid the market of new build (clone, counterfeit, new mold) cartridges coming mainly from Southeast Asia. ETIRA has long implored OEMs to take legal action against importers and distributors of these counterfeit products as they are costing OEMs dearly in lost sales and bleeding rechargers with patent infringement lawsuits and steep fines. These products are difficult for the average technician to identify when compared with original OEM cartridges. As a result, they poison the spent cartridge pool. In addition, they are less robust than the OEM product and in many cases cannot be remanufactured. In short, they are an anathema to both sides of the aftermarket: OEMs and remanufacturers alike.
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For these rivals, to find common ground is good for the entire industry especially if new builds are driven from the market. By joining forces, OEM and aftermarket players should be most effective in a worldwide cleansing campaign. Indeed, the industry would be wellserved if a separate meeting was inaugurated to focus on this one subject. Delegates could define the objectives, set goals, establish priorities and launch a global effort to capture and dispose of these infectious cartridges and for OEMs to take legal action against those responsible for their manufacture, distribution, and sale. Perhaps an ad hoc committee can be formed at the upcoming CIFEX/ReMax Asia Conference in Zhuhai on Sunday, September 23 to deal with this issue? This event, called Conference@2012, features two OEM (Xerox and Lexmark) officials. Lexmark speaker, Andrew Gardner will discuss the problem of clones. His talk will be followed by a panel discussion accepting questions from the floor. An outcome of the panel could be the formation of an ad hoc committee to deal with this worsening problem. I will also be a panelist at Conference@2012. In the meantime, kudos to ETIRA for its watchdog service looking out for
Guide to Clones, released by ETIRA, about things to consider when trading non-OEM newbuilt cartridges in Europe.
misleading information, dispelling myths about remanufactured carts and fighting the importation of illegal, counterfeits that infringe OEM patents.
Recycling Times Magazine
Keeping Up Steve Weedon
The Importance of Keeping Customers It’s easy to lose customers and hard to keep them. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what direction our industry is taking and what technical challenges lay ahead. Nor is it important how big the market becomes. The fact is that if we continue losing our customers, nothing else matters! We live at a time when finding customers and keeping them has never been more important and has never been more difficult. It seems everyone has a choice for anything they wish to buy. The World is Flat, writes Thomas Friedman in his best selling book about globalization which bears that title. Friedman is right in the sense that it is a level playing field when it comes to the business world today. The Internet has received much of the blame for all that is bad: bomb-making instructions, porn and penis enlargement pop-up ads that target any one with a male sounding name. But the Internet enables everyone to choose from many good offerings as well, just by the click of a mouse. Given that, it never ceases to astound me why companies then choose not to look after their customers properly for the precious assets they represent. Customer Priorities Just consider the cost involved in finding a customer. It’s not a cheap process. How long does it take to win credibility with them? To open the door to sales opportunities? To win that important first order? To get it right the first time and satisfy the customer with his or her three basic needs: Price, Quality, and Service, in
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whatever order of the day he or she decides are the priorities? Price, Price, Price is the order for many customers who assume that if it's not high enough in quality you will go out of business anyway because who will come back for more when the product quality was unacceptable? What’s more, if you cannot deliver with a smile then why are you trying to be in business in the first place? Large organizations seem to do worse than
small companies at the customer service end of the business. Those at the top always understand that taking good care of the customer is important. Therefore, they tell everyone to make sure it happens by sending an edict from their marble floored office that reads, “From the Chief Executive’s Office: Customer service is important, so make sure we look after our customers.” But the message rarely translates into performance when it travels down from the top of the tree to the bottom, at ground level, where employees interface with customers. Owners of small companies understand it. To them, it’s Life or Death. The customer is always
right, even when they are wrong! Of course there are excellent customerorientated sales representatives out there who go the extra mile. They are genuinely committed to good customer service and do an outstanding job. Unfortunately, they are often let down by other associates who also interact with the same customer, but appear not to give a damn. Here’s an Example Let me give you an example. Flying with a major airline recently I stepped up to the checkin desk, as I have done hundreds of times before and handed the check-in lady my passport and boarding pass. Nothing at all unusual in that, except that day I was travelling economy and the boarding pass I used was for business class and first class passengers. Economy check-in had a line 50 feet long. Immediately the check-in “lady ” assumed an attitude, bordering on rude and started to be very off-hand, barking her questions at me as though there was a bad smell in the air. “How many bags?” and “Where did you pack your bag?” So I said in a polite voice, “Is there a problem”? “Next time,” she declared, “you MUST use the economy line for check in. You ARE flying economy, right?” “Yes,” I said “that is right” adding “I am also an Executive Platinum million miles member, and have been for many years, which features a benefit for me to check in here whether or not I am flying business class or first class”. ‘Oh is that so”, she snapped, “it’s not in my system, and you didn’t tell me beforehand!” On one hand the company tries hard to keep its customers and awards loyalty with an
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Keeping Up Executive Platinum million miles program. But in this case the check in “lady” thought she was clearly above serving economy passengers. Frankly, I was not particularly put out over the incident, but then I began to think about it, when a stewardess on board came all the way from the front of the plane to the back where I was sitting and knelt down next to my aisle seat and whispered, “Hello Mr. Weedon, how are you, we have a spare seat in business class today and you would be much more comfortable up there”. As she handed me a glass of champagne I said, “What made you offer the seat to me?” “I recognized you from other flights,” she said, “and checked your name in the system to see that you are an Executive Platinum member, its all in the system”. “Well I am grateful, thank you very much,” I offered as I made myself comfortable for the 8-hour flight. “It’s a pleasure. We always appreciate your business”, she said with a smile. Edicts may come down from the top and set the rules but it comes down to those individuals who interact with the customers to carry them out. How many CEOs or Managing Directors interact with customers? Not so many. They are more concerned with their P&L statements, but they did their bit by sending out that email concerning customer service. Sadly, some of the company associates get it and some just don’t. Customer Service Is a Culture Real customer service is a culture and gets driven from the top down. Sending edicts is not the answer. Leading by example is. Here’s another example. Whilst in the United Kingdom recently I arrived at my hotel late and headed to the restaurant. Now being British, I wasn’t expecting very much. Had I received the usual mediocre level of service I would not have complained. But I was in for a surprise; the Manager on Duty (MOD) showed me to my table, made chatty conversation and proceeded to make dinner recommendations. I ordered steak and
chips and despite a packed restaurant the meal was quickly delivered and the steak was perfect. There was always someone asking if everything was as expected while topping off my glass along the way. I put down my book and started watching the servers go about the tables. They seemed polite, efficient, talkative, informative, professional, smiling and happy. I could overhear other customers talking about the service too. This place has got it right, I thought to myself. When the same MOD brought me my bill, I said, “Being a Brit, I wasn’t expecting such highclass service. The UK is not exactly known for it, but you have got it right—the service was excellent.” “Thank you” he replied, “this business is so competitive we want our hotel guests to keep coming back so we train our servers and hotel staff regularly. We look for those staffers who really want to please our customers. It doesn’t cost any more to serve them better.” He was quite right, it doesn’t cost any more to serve them better, and I for one will return next time I’m in London. How many other hotel guests felt the same, I wonder. Worth thinking about, isn’t it?
perfect customer relationship. But how often is it that the customer has had a bad experience with the technical support department who cannot fix a problem or worse still, when they utter those fateful words ”You are the only customer in the world with this problem and we sell hundreds of thousands of these every month.” It doesn’t take much in these times to lose a customer, but it takes a real effort to keep the ones you have. So, don’t be an aspiring dinosaur. Make a genuine effort to keep your customers. If you don’t, you deserve to lose them and vanish from the landscape. If your customers are not telling you your service is great, it isn’t. Worse yet, if your customers are saying your after sales service is bad and you don’t listen, it was nice knowing you!
It’s the Customer’s Choice I don’t see our industry as anything different. Our customers have a choice. Price and quality are not enough. Customer service should not be given just lip service, it’s a culture. There’s no room for arrogance no matter how big a business might be. In the end, arrogance destroys companies large and small. Customers have a choice in almost everything they need. They are looking for the best in everything: price, quality and service. They will desert suppliers for a better experience in a heartbeat if they feel they are not being treated respectfully. Salespeople generally understand this and on the whole get it right. They are being paid the big bucks to get the orders and maintain the www.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Industry Updates
Clover May Settle with Canon, but Remanufacturers Already Have a Solution According to a recent Actionable Intelligence post (August 8, 2012), Clover is working on a settlement agreement with Canon on the complaint Canon filed earlier this year with the International Trade Commission (ITC). The complaint alleges that remanufacturers, including Clover, are guilty of patent infringement regarding the twisted prism gear technology used to rotate the imaging drum in many Canon- and HP-branded toner cartridges. Among the 34 respondents in Canon’s ITC complaint, many have agreed to consent judgments or injunctions in district court. Clover might be the next. On July 30, Canon, Clover respondents and Clover-customer respondents filed a joint motion asking for more time for Canon’s lawyers to respond to Clover’s subpoena of Canon inventors named on the two pertinent Canon patents: US 5,903,803 and 6,128,454. According to Actionable Intelligence, on
August 6, Canon and the Clover respondents and Clover-customer respondents asked for an extension of the deadline, from August 6 to August 30, to respond to Canon’s amended complaint. They hope to file a joint motion to terminate the investigation on or before August 30. With the retreat of Clover, the only hope of the remanufacturing industry appears to be fading away. The only active respondent left is Green Project. But it appears that Green Project and Canon are also engaged in ongoing discussions of some kind. Canon may turn out to be the absolute winner of this battle between an OEM and cartridge remanufacturers. But, fear not, the reman industry’s largest and most innovative suppliers, Static Control, Future Graphics, Print-Rite and Utec, have already circumvented this barrier with their own, patented versions of a non-twisted gear projection. Thus, as one hope fades away, another solution materializes.
OfficeMax Faces Class Action Suit on Cartridge Refilling In a July 12, 2012 post, Visions & Trends reports OfficeMax, a leading online and storefront office supplier, is now facing a class action lawsuit alleging they are refilling ink cartridges only half full of ink. A Mr. Richard Schaefer claims in St. Clair County Court, Illinois that he and other class members “each paid $10 to have defendants ‘refill’ their printer ink cartridges at an OfficeMax ‘refill’ station and were damaged when, in fact, only half of the ink cartridge was refilled by the defendants.”
Schaefer is seeking class damages for consumer fraud, deceptive trade and unjust enrichment, claiming “OfficeMax failed to disclose its common practice of half refilling printer ink cartridges with the intent that plaintiff and members of the proposed class would rely on this omission in paying for printer ink cartridge refills instead of purchasing a new printer ink cartridge.”
23 Remanufacturers Settle with Lexmark After Lexmark sued a host of cartridge remanufacturers in May, alleging infringement of its patents, 23 have agreed to its settlement terms. Toward the end of May, Lexmark’s lawyers sent out letters offering a “one-time settlement offer” to remanufacturers. The OEM alleged that those companies used empty Lexmark cartridge sourced from outside the United States from Greentec International. It claimed that importing empty cartridges first sold outside the United States and using these in remanufactured cartridges sold in the United States constitutes patent infringement. By August 15, 23 companies have agreed to Lexmark’s settlement terms and signed consent judgments and permanent injunctions. They admit that Lexmark’s patents in this case are valid and enforceable and they infringed Lexmark’s patent due to “importation, use, remanufacture, manufacture, offer to sell or sale” of toner cartridges that were originally sold outside the United States or toner cartridges in the United States under which Lexmark’s patent rights were not exhausted. The warning letter from Lexmark demanded a 20% royalty on Lexmark’s lost sales on accused cartridges for those settling within 30 days after receiving the warning letter, 30% for those settling between 30 and 60 days, 40 % between 60 to 90 days, and 100% thereafter. The royalty fees are seemingly based on retail sales prices of the OEM cartridges. www.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Industry Updates
European Acquisition Expands Clover’s Size and Scope Clover Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest cartridge remanufacturer, has acquired a large cartridge collection business in Germany: K+U Printware GmbH and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Collecture. The acquisition not only expands Clover’s toner and ink jet cartridge collection business, but also extends its operations further into used mobile phones and small electronic devices. K+U Printware GmbH was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Ettenheim, Germany. Along with Collecture, its business is focused on the collection and remanufacture of high quality toner cartridges in Europe. K+U’s expertise in the European corporate and public sector markets, working closely with distribution partners, will help Clover Europe expand its customer portfolio while enabling diversification into other channels. “K+U has been one of the leading European
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manufacturers of supplies over the last decade” said Mark Perry, Managing Director of Clover Technologies Group Europe. “Its addition to the Clover group is a further endorsement of Clover’s commitment to providing a sustainable and well-resourced sales and distribution
network to our Western and also Eastern European business activities.” Collecture was founded in the year 2000, as a subsidiary of K+U Printware, and is focused on the collection of printers, cartridges, mobile phones and small electronics. Collecture’s collection and processing activities are diverse
and a natural evolution of Clover’s global development of environmental solutions for its customers increasing range of valuable used assets. Perry explains, “This acquisition is an important element in our European collection platform as we continue to enforce and strengthen our ability to provide compliance in ever y aspect of waste management and used asset management.” Clover Technologies Group in Europe, K+U and Collecture will continue to operate independently in their respective markets but will work together to leverage potential synergies. The addition of K+U and Collecture to the Clover Holdings Group further strengthens the European business and extends Clover’s capability to service a wider range of customers and countries.
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Industry Updates
Sun Chemical Acquires Austrian Manufacturer of Metallic Effects Sun Chemical and its parent company, Dainippon Ink & Chemical (DIC), have completed the acquisition of an Austrian company to further develop its metallic effect sector. Sun Chemical and DIC signed a definitive agreement on June 1, 2012, to acquire BendaLutz, a leading manufacturer of metallic effect
products based in Austria. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sun Chemical and DIC can now purchase 100 percent of the shares, assets and business from Benda-Lutz, thereby expanding its product portfolio into metallic effects. The acquisition further adds to Sun Chemical manufacturing plants in Austria, Poland, Russia and the United States as well as an aluminum pigment manufacturing facility in China. Through this, Sun Chemical forms the basis of a new global Metallics Business Unit as part of its Performance Pigments Division. About Sun Chemical S u n C h e m i c a l i s t h e w o r l d ’ s l a rg e s t producer of printing inks and pigments and
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a leading provider of materials to packaging, publication, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and other industrial markets including electronic materials, functional and specialty coatings, brand protection and product authentication technologies.
Recycling Times Magazine
Industry Updates
Planet Ark’s Collection Program Aims for 20 Million Empties Cartridges 4 Planet Ark is an empty cartridge recycling program that has collected over 18 million cartridges and aims to reach 20 million by March 2013. It is a r e c y c l i n g program that provides Australians with a free, easy and environmentally-accredited way to recycle their used printer cartridges. It’s also a partnership program between The Good Guys in Rockhampton, Australia, an online sales platform, and Planet Ark, a non-profit environmental organization. According to a recent sample survey conducted by The Good Guys on social media, 77% of households buy new ink cartridges three times or more a year, adding up to a significant expense in the annual
family budget. Paul Archer, owner of The Good Guys, said spending lean and being green are big considerations for local households. Realizing this, the company has dropped the price of their cartridges by about 25%. He added, “Our partnership with Planet Ark has also ensured that people can responsibly recycle their old cartridges—it's a win-win situation really." According to Plant Ark’s Janet Sparrow, "Through our successful program we've recycled over 18 million printer cartridges in the last 10 years. We are encouraging Rockhampton locals to contribute to our campaign to reach 20 million by the end of March 2013."
Malaysian Government Maintains Investment in Paper & Printing According to an i-grafix report, the government of Malaysia is expected to maintain its investment in the paper and printing industries due to global economic challenges. Malaysia has already invested RM 264.9m (about $85 million USD) in the paper and printing industries from January to April this year. Datuk Azman Mahmud, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said: “More than half of the investments expected to come into the country for the remainder of the year for the paper and
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printing industries will be foreign direct investments.” The total investment for the paper and printing industries in 2011 was RM 533.6m ($171.1 million USD). According to Azman, about 74.2%, or RM 396.2m ($127.1 million USD), of the RM 533.6m last year was for paper products, and 17%, or RM 90.7m ($29 million USD), went into the pulp and paper business. The remainder of only 8.8%, or RM 46.7m ($15 million USD), was invested in the printing and publishing industries.
OCP Engages Dr. Harald Waldeck, Expands R&D, Production Operations On July 1, 2012, OCP GmbH announced that Dr. Harald Waldeck joined its research, development and production department in Lage/Lippe, Germany. After becoming familiar with OCP’s processes and quality control test procedures, Dr. Waldeck will replace Dr. Siegfried Koch by taking charge of the research and development of OCP DeskPrint line of ink jet inks for desktop printers. D r. Wa l d e c k h a s w o r ke d i n v a r i o u s international companies related to organic and inorganic chemistry for many years. His knowledge and experience will help OCP develop new inks and improve existing operations. Dr. Seigfried Koch, together with Horst-Gerh Edelmeier, one of the Founders of OCP, says: In the near future, Dr. Siegfried Koch will devote himself more to the development and expansion of OCP’s ComPrint digital printing inks. These inks have already been distributed for some time and show great growth potential. ComPrint will far surpass DeskPrint in just a few years, OCP expects D r. Wa l d e c k c a n b e c o n t a c t e d a t haraldwaldeck@ocp.de
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Industry Updates
EFI Says Market Will Bounce in 2013 Speaking on the firm’s 2Q2012 conference call, Electronics for Imaging CEO Guy Gecht said the first half of 2013 will witness the next big boom in digital print engine launches and the market will bounce. He claimed the 10% year-on-year fall in second quarter Fiery® revenues (including Fiery servers, software and solutions) was due to the business cycle. To be exact, Gecht explained, this is the “upgrade cycle to new machines at better quality, better prices and better speed.” This year’s Drupa saw few new production
engines, which shows the cycle is evolving slowly. Gecht expects the next major boom in digital press launches will arrive in 2013, with the first wave happening in the 4Q2012. “We expect to get something in the December quarter from new engines but the majority of that will be next year.” He pointed especially to the first half of the year—1Q and 2Q2013—which will be very busy with many new engines being introduced. Meanwhile, EFI is preparing a few product launches, starting in late 3Q2012. “Next quarter
we expect industrial inkjet revenue to increase roughly 25% year-on-year as we anticipate demand for these new products will help offset the softening economy.” Said Gecht.
NubePrint Partners with Carolina Wholesale Group NubePrint of Ann Arbor, Michigan will provide technological support for a new MPS dealer program, called “Ctrl-Prt,” to be launched by Carolina Wholesale Group in the Q4 of 2012. “We have invested significant time and resources looking for the right technology
partner for our MPS program and we have found it in NubePrint,” says Larry Huneycutt, President of Carolina Wholesale Group. “Both companies share the view that a program should be driven from the perspective of the Dealer. By ensuring success and profitability to the Dealers all parties
vested in the MPS program will benefit.” “We are excited by our partnership with CW because of our shared vision of the MPS business and the role that Wholesalers, Dealers and Technology providers should play in it.” said Antonio Sanchez, CEO of NubePrint.
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Features
Updates: On Toner Resins, Pigments, Waxes and CCAs by Velliyur Sankaran, Sankaran Consulting and Art Diamond Toner Manufacturing Despite a faltering economy in Europe, slow growth in the United States, and only modest growth in China, raw materials suppliers to the toner industry are moving forward with new products. Perhaps they are following the lead of optimistic toner producers that are expanding operations in China, the Netherlands, Japan, the Philippines and other world regions. Print-Rite: Perhaps the largest toner plant expansion took place in China last fall when Print-Rite started-up an advanced, fully-automated, production line which can achieve five times more of that company’s original plant capacity. It became the largest, robotic toner production site in Mainland China, if not worldwide. Océ: This spring, Océ’s new, 10 million euro toner plant went on stream at the company’s Netherlands headquarters in Venlo. The new continuous-flow unit was rebuilt from a batch production plant that has been transformed for greater efficiency and compliance with both safety and environmental protection guidelines.
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Ricoh: On April 17, 2012 Ricoh unveiled plans to add three chemical toner lines to its five line Tohoku toner plant in Miyagi prefecture. Construction began on May 1, 2012 for which an investment of 11 billion yen has been allocated. Ricoh’s unique PxP chemical toner process is based upon the Polymerization of Polyester (PxP) resins in order to achieve Quick Start-Up (QSU) of the fuser assembly in a multifunction printer. QSU is accomplished by formulating toners that fuse at a lower melt temperature. Such toners enable fuser rollers to rise from “sleep mode” to operating temperature faster, thus consuming less heat energy. According to India’s leading business newspaper, The Economic Times, Ricoh India Ltd, a subsidiar y of Ricoh Company Ltd. of Japan, announced aggressive expansion plans through its IT dealer/reseller channel into the fast emerging laser printer market in India (May 11, 2012). The company unveiled three new models of laser printers and A4 MFPs. Canon: John Cooper’s Toner & Jet Ink Chemical News (p. 2,
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Features April 2012) reported that Canon Virginia will expand its toner cartridge operation from a current 3 lines to 10 lines, with the addition of 400 to 500 new workers. Canon has a relatively small toner plant in Virginia but we have not heard of any plans to expand it. Anticipating a rise in the future demand for competitively priced laser printers, Canon, Inc. will invest more than 10 billion pesos in a manufacturing plant in Batangas, the Philippines. The new facility will employ about 5,000 workers. Construction began in April of 2012; business operations are expected to start in April of 2013. Toner Resins Styrene-Acrylates: Recent focus of these resins is on a bimodal (Hi/Lo) molecular weight) structure. The H/L ratio is adjusted to suit the printer. Some of these resins have a gel content which provides a better offset window while at the same time maximizing toner fusing quality. Dianal and Image Polymers offer resins with wax incorporated at levels ranging from 1 to 4% on the resin weight. Wax enhances melt flow properties. Kao has a hybrid resin containing a blend of polyester and styreneacrylate resins. This blend provides good fusing latitude and at the same time contributes the favorable processing characteristics of styrene based resins. Styrene based CPT is still used extensively in solution, emulsion polymerization and emulsion aggregation processes. Polyesters: The polyester (PE) resins are a natural fit for color toners as they demonstrate better fusing at lower temperatures. This class of resins typically uses a combination of low molecular weight and cross-linked polymers. We also note that blends of amorphous and crystalline polymers are being used as toner resins because they can be used in core/shell toners for lower temperature fusing. Much research is also being conducted to provide functionalized polyester emulsions that do not adversely affect toner charge. Wax incorporated polyester resins are available from Dianal. In issued patents, Xerox has disclosed PE resins based on isosorbides. Sanyo has number of low melting PE resins which find extensive applications for toner. SK Networks of South Korea has three PE resin factories in Korea and Indonesia, and three more are going into Eastern Europe, Mexico and China. They have listed a number of competitively priced PE resins for both monochrome and color toner applications.
Bioresins: EcoSynthetix Inc. (Ontario, Canada) is expanding development of its EcoMer line of bio-based monomers for applications in toner, inks, paints, coatings and adhesives. Funding for the expansion is being provided by Sustainable Technology Canada. The EcoSynthetix vision is, “to be the world’s leading market developer of biomaterial technologies providing our customers with economical solutions that reduce their reliance on petroleum-based products in a broad range of industries.” Pigments With the end of March 2012, Cabot Corporation completed a $10 million expansion of its Haverhill, MA Cab-O-Jet inkjet pigment manufacturing facility. Founded in 1882, Cabot operates 31 plants in 21 countries. The Haverhill operation, currently staffed by 80 workers, will add 25 new jobs to the company’s worldwide workforce of 4,100 employees Cabot also broke ground in Xingtai City, Hebei Province, China on April 17, 2012 for a joint venture, carbon black plant with Risun Chemicals. The two partners invested a total of $140 million on the project. When completed in mid-2013, the plant will have an annual capacity of 130,000 metric tons. Pigments for color toners are being offered in predispersed, custom masterbatch form, typically as a 40%/60% (pigment/PE) blend. The product is supplied as a powder formed by melt-mixing, extrusion and pulverizing. Also, Clariant and BASF provide pigment powders without resin for conventional mechanical and chemically-produced toner (CPT) systems. Rockwood Holdings Inc. (Princeton, NJ) announced plans for its Color Pigments and Services division to build a $115 million synthetic iron oxide pigment production facility in Augusta, GA. The first new iron oxide plant to be built in the USA in 35 years, its completion is planned for 2013 upon which the company’s existing St. Louis, MO unit will be closed. The new plant will create 80 to 100 manufacturing jobs for local workers. www.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Features Wax Additives In February 2012, S&S Chemical LLC (Durango, CO) announced plans to produce a new generation of polyethylene waxes. Called “ PrecisionMelt”, these polymers are linear, crystalline, synthetic waxes having sharp melting points, narrow molecular weight profiles and low melt viscosities. Sharp inventors Keiichi Kikawa and Katsuru Matsumoto were awarded US patent 8,163,458 for a method of achieving improved wax dispersion in a polyester toner formula. The novelty lies in first combining the wax with a thermoplastic resin in a meltmixing (kneading) operation, coarse grinding the extrudate, dispersing it in water and then ejecting it from high pressure nozzles to product a fine particle toner. We see increased activity lately with carnauba wax in toner. Known as” the Queen of waxes,” this bio-derived wax is obtained from the leaves of certain Brazilian palm trees. It’s high gloss, hypoallergenic, and emollient properties have found broad applications in automobile polishes, and numerous food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Apart from its excellent fusing properties, it offers biotoner formulators a means of boosting the biocontent of their products.
friendly version typically incorporating iron in a metal complex. The second, is aimed at a colorless/white additive comprised of inorganic compounds with substituted ions or novel organic chemicals. In the past, Japanese dye companies such as Orient Chemical, Hodogaya Chemical and Nippon Kayaku have been the leaders in this sector. However, Chinese chemical company Hubei Dinglong (and their U.S. distributor, Esprix Chemical) are quickly becoming a major factor in these specialties. Hubei has also filed a number of patent applications for new or novel CCAs. Finally, much of the toner raw material research has been focused on specialty surface additives used to modify toner properties. These include new hydrophobically treated oxides as well as complex metal oxides. Certain toners also use rare earth metal oxides or titanates (e.g., cerium and strontium) as surface additives. These have been in short supply for the past year. The authors are pleased to acknowledge the important contribution made to this article by John F. Cooper of Toner Research Services (Black Mountain, NC). Several of the news items cited were excerpted, with permission, from his monthly newsletter, Toner & Jet Ink Chemical News.
Charge Control Agents Inventors Masateru Yasumura, et al, have applied for U.S. patent coverage (20120141931) on a toner composition containing a cyclic phenol sulfide compound especially effective in color and polymerized toners. This highly negative charge control agent is colorless, metalfree, environmentally friendly and exhibits rapid chargeup capability. U.S. patent 8,182,974 was issued to Brother for a method of producing a negatively charged, polyester toner by first coating the dispersed particles with a positive charge control agent and then attracting negatively charged particles to the surface. Ricoh Company Ltd. researchers Yoshimichi Ishikawa, et al, were awarded U.S. patent 8,110,330 for a negative charging toner with an improved sphericity (average circularity of at least 0.970), based upon the incorporation of a zeolite (hydrated aluminum silicate). John Cooper identifies two major thrusts in CCA R&D: The first, is toward an environmentallywww.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Features
Market Pulse 2012: North America How Important are “Green” Initiatives? by John Shane, InfoTrends Inc. In late February 2012, InfoTrends conducted a web-based country to country. Data from our North American Market questionnaire of IT decision-makers in the U.S., Canada, and Pulse study shows that although there are similarities within Mexico. A total of 460 qualified responses were received—153 the region, each country has its own unique characteristics. from the U.S., 156 from Canada, and 151 from Mexico. Within each country, we strove to obtain a similar number of “Green” Initiatives responses from companies with under 10 employees, 10 to It appears that “green” initiatives have become more 49 employees, 50-500 employees, 501-1,000 employees, and important to Mexican and U.S. IT decision makers over the 1,000+ employees. In conducting this research, we sought last year. In 2011, 71% of Mexicans and 65% of Americans to understand IT decision-makers’ business sentiments and viewed them as “somewhat” or “extremely important,” while attitudes toward office document technology. those figures were reported as 86% and 71%, respectively, North America (which includes Canada, Mexico, and the this year (See Figure 1). In recent years, the U.S. market has United States for the purposes of this article) is generally become more well-informed about green or environmental viewed as a mature, technologically advanced market. With issues in their home and business practices. It is worth noting, economic policies like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) encouraging trade in the region, North America has been able to develop its economy and nurture many of its industries. Although the U.S. and Canada are more alike in terms of culture, the connection between these two countries and Mexico has created a porous market that enables ideas and goods to flow more easily from ▲ Figure 1: How important are “green”/environmentally responsible initiatives to your rganization?
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Features however, that the U.S. is behind this shift compared with other advanced markets, where green issues have been more relevant for a number of years. Vendors need to be aware of the shifting mood. InfoTrends has detected skepticism with a number of clients regarding the shift to a greener mindset in the United States. Nevertheless, we believe that the trend is real and supported by evidence. With this in ▲ Figure 2: What types of print-related environmental initiatives are important to your company? mind, it would be prudent for vendors to continue developing eco-friendly products, company evaluates the sustainability and environmental services, and programs, and communicating these efforts policies of the product(s) under consideration, the manufacturer/brand behind the product, the supplier of the effectively. Respondents were also asked to specify the print-related product or services, and the supplies and consumables for environmental initiatives that were important to their use with the product. In all cases, an overwhelming majority company, a question we only asked Canadian IT decision of respondents answered “yes,” with Mexican respondents makers in 2011. Canadians’ top choice shifted from using supplying the greatest percentage of affirmative responses, recycled or certified paper (71%) last year to returning used followed by Canadian respondents. Knowing this, vendors ink and toner cartridges (65%) this year. Using recycled or may benefit from ensuring they fully communicate their total certified paper, printing on both sides of the paper, and using sustainability value proposition across the supply chain. Energy Star hardware were also important to the majority of Canadian respondents. When compared with Mexican and U.S. responses, it appears that Canada is the most aware and involved in print-related environmental initiatives. (Figure 2) Regarding Mexico and the U.S., this year using recycled or certified paper was the top choice for Mexican respondents (64%), while U.S. (58%) respondents viewed returning used ink and toner cartridges as most important. With such a focus on returning used ink and toner cartridges and using recycled or certified paper, vendors should be sure they are marketing their cartridge recycling programs as well as their lines of recycled or certified paper. With the trend towards greener business practices, the relatively low interest in two-sided printing in the U.S., using remanufactured ink and toner cartridges in the U.S. and Canada, and using Energy Star hardware in Mexico appears to be an opportunity for vendors to promote a broader crosssection of the combined “green” value proposition to an increasingly receptive target audience. For the first time, we also asked respondents if their
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InfoTrends’ Market Pulse Reports The Market Pulse studies are a series of research deliverables that InfoTrends uses to monitor the global marketplace. As the name suggests, these documents are designed to take the “pulse” of selected regions, so that industry participants can obtain an overview of the office equipment and supplies markets at periodic intervals. Over time, this research will be repeated to provide readers with a better understanding of the market shifts and trends that are shaping the future. This article includes excerpts of our report that covers North America (comprising Canada, Mexico, and the United States). It considers the differences and similarities within these countries to create a market snapshot of the region. Subsequent Market Pulse reports will look at Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), and Western Europe. For more information about these reports, contact Scott Phinney at Scott_Phinney@infotrends.com.
Recycling Times Magazine
Profiles
Ed Swartz: The Industry Champion by Art Diamond, Senior Consulting Editor Having graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technolog y, Ed Swartz, CEO and Founder of Static Control Components, Inc. (SCC) lives up to the fight song of his alma mater: “I’m a rambling wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer. . .” Among his many outstanding achievements, Ed Swartz has dedicated his command of SCC to serve and protect the cartridge remanufacturing aftermarket. As a formidable opponent, backed by a team of world class scientists, engineers and attorneys, he has defeated every technical, legal, marketing and patent barrier the original equipment makers (OEMs) have contrived in their attempts to cripple aftermarket suppliers. The success of SCC is based upon the success of thousands of independent remanufacturers in the United States and abroad whom SCC supplies with the finest cartridge parts and consumables at the lowest available prices. These products are supported by SCCs webinars and road trip technical training sessions around the world. Swartz declares, “What it gets down to is who can make the best product for the least amount of money.” Stats on Static In 1986, SCC began as a manufacturer of static shielding bags that protected sensitive electronic components from harmful electrostatic buildup and discharge. The company evolved into focusing on designing and manufacturing high quality components for the toner cartridge remanufacturing industry. By 1992, the company’s payroll had grown to 200
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workers. Today, SCC is the world’s largest manufacturer and global distributor of parts and supplies supporting the ink jet and laser toner remanufacturing industry. Its catalog features more than 15,000 products—everything needed to professionally remanufacture laser toner cartridges. Headquartered in Sanford, North Carolina, Static Control operates 20 separate manufacturing plants that add up to more than 1.5 million square feet of floor space. SCC is the largest employer in the City of Sanford, North Carolina with a workforce in excess of 1,000 personnel. The company provides sales, technical support and product distribution in 154 countries around the globe through its numerous worldwide facilities. Taking the High Road Throughout his illustrious term at the helm of SCC, Swartz has frequently praised Hewlett-Packard (HP) and continues to urge genuine remanufacturers to “do everything in your power to help HP place as many new ink jet and laser printers as possible.” Why this support of HP? When Lexmark sued Static Control in 2002, HP declared that remanufactures had the right to exist and supported the rights for genuine remanufacturers, coming to the aid of the aftermarket industry. Swartz’s
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Profiles
SCC develops its own proprietry techniques and tools to manufacture thousands of component parts
endorsement is the gracious act of a gentleman paying due respect to HP® for an act of fair play. His taking the high road is a model for the aftermarket industry to follow. Matched Components Early on, Ed realized the importance of matching all toner and imaging components to ensure optimum performance. It’s not just the toner, OPC drum and chip that must be compatible; it’s the primary charge roller (PCR), developer roller, doctor blade, the wiper blade and other components as well. As Ed puts it, “There can be no solid guarantee of performance, unless a vendor delivers a matched set of these critical components and consumables that have been torturetested in unison for print quality, for operation in low and high ambient humidity and for life testing.” Each must be designed with physical and electrical characteristics that will work with each other in order to produce a consistently good print. “By designing, engineering and manufacturing components that are electrophotographically matched to work together as a system,” he continues, “we can ensure our components work together to provide a high quality print each time. It takes the guesswork out of cleaning and reusing used components.”
Automated Manufacturing Automated manufacturing is the other half of the solution to reducing unit manufacturing cost. It enables SCC to deliver precision parts that are compatible with today’s 1200 dpi printers with high resolution and microfine toners. It also guarantees a lower defect rate among remanufactured cartridges crafted and shipped by even the smallest shop. Training and Customer Support SCC has led the cartridge remanufacturing industry through its sophisticated View on Demand Training and Education Webinars. Plus, their trained technicians offer customer assistance and on-site training. Their support of the industry has helped remanufacturers around the world capture an estimated 30% of the monochrome market. Expanding aftermarket penetration of replacement color cartridge sales beyond an estimated 10% share is proving more difficult considering the complexity of color imaging. SCC has overcome these barriers with their comprehensive View on Demand Webinar training, coupled with their electrophotographically matched components that are designed, engineered and manufactured for optimum performance, enabling SCC customers to compete successfully in the color print market. Aggressive Legal & Patent Action The ultimate entrepreneur, Swartz fought every challenge, be it technical, patent, legal or marketing that our industry has faced since he founded SCC in 1986. He’s won every battle by marshaling the top scientists, engineers, attorneys and marketing experts. His never say die philosophy spelled defeat for Lexmark’s Prebate scheme to capture its own toner and inkjet cartridges in a sales agreement of questionable legality.
A new building housing SCC headquarters in Sanford, North Carolina, U.S.A. was opened in July.
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Profiles Static spent some $30 million to defeat Lexmark in those extended court battles. It’s important to note that while Static Control fought Lexmark in defense of all ink jet and toner remanufacturers worldwide, they received no outside support. Leading his team of in-house and outside attorneys is Mr. William (“Skip”) London, Esq. It was Skip London who engineered SCC’s offense that ultimately led to the collapse of Lexmark’s Prebate program and its digital millennium copyright act (DMCA) lawsuit. Down through the years, Swartz has fought bitterly against attempts by the OEMs to claw back market share lost to the remanufacturing community. In the latest battle against Canon’s twisted prism gear projection patents, SCC led the way with a zero twist, no slant coupling to the OPC drum drive motor. This innovative solution was patented by SCC and enables rechargers to avoid infringing Canon’s intellectual property. Additionally, they refuse to offer this product to the new build compatible cartridge market, stating that they will only sell to genuine cartridge remanufacturers. “We will not sell to new build compatible ink and laser cartridge manufacturers,” Swartz said. Performance Testing Any seasoned marketer of parts or supplies to the reman industry is aware of the damage a defective component or consumable can do to a company’s reputation. Customer confidence can be lost overnight and take months, if not years, to recapture. To guard against defective products reaching its customers, SCC has established a test facility and protocol that compares with any OEM manufacturer. One of the most formidable problems concerning mag rollers, PCRs, doctor blades, and other imaging systems in general is their performance under extreme environmental conditions. Static Control has designed several environmental chambers that address these problems. Their unique construction enables quick access to the printer running inside the chamber so that components can be switched and testing expedited. There may be other companies serving the remanufacturing industry that are capable of producing single components to the industry. However, SCC is the only fully integrated company capable of engineering, designing, manufacturing and testing all their components for the aftermarket industry, ensuring reliable and consistent products that deliver the highest quality to end users.
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SCC has invested millions in developing smarter chips for cartridges
Smart Chips When smart chips first appeared on cartridges—another attempt by the OEMs to lock out rechargers from the aftermarket business—Swartz recruited top scientists and mathematicians from Fortune 500 companies to develop the encryption technology necessary to reverse engineer and manufacture these new devices. Swartz’s team of reverse engineers are able to keep pace as the OEMs ramp up their encryption skills to the highest military levels. Here again, it was Skip London’s brilliant defense of SCC’s smart chip technology that defeated a Lexmark suit charging violation of the digital millennium copyright act. In 2004, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled against Lexmark. Planning Ahead Perhaps Static Control’s immediate solution to Canon’s twisted prism gear projection patents (5,903,803, 6,128,454 and 6,336,018 B1) is the best proof of its ability to track OEM innovations and prioritize its own R&D efforts accordingly. Static Control not only saw it coming more than two years before Canon sued Ninestar, but it already had a noninfringing solution for which they had filed, and were granted, patent coverage under US 7,813,676.B2 and 8,073,364 B2. Other US and international patents for Static Control’s gear designs are pending. That’s a combination of technical intelligence and innovative engineering, traits Static Control have demonstrated over and over again in their smart chip and patented ZeroTwist™ Gear Technology replacement gear products. With his long record of technical innovations, courtroom victories and industry leadership, Ed and his team at Static Control overcame past challenges and are already working on what is next… A true industry champion! Visitors can view many SCC's operations at Sanford plant. Recycling Times was pleased to be allowed a unique press and TV interview with Ed Swartz, and to publish images of their extensive operations.
Recycling Times Magazine
Product Release
Static Control Releases a Series of New Products Static Control Components (SCC) has released a series of new products, including universal waste bin, chips, components, doctor bar, etc. Universal waste bin to expand remanufacturers’ access to expensive and hard-to-find cores
This universal waste bin can convert HP CC364X empties into CE390X empties, and CE390X empties into CC364X empties. Static Control offers dedicated toner and chips for use in CE390A/X cartridges as well as an Odyssey OPC drum with SCC’s patented ZeroTwist gear technology. New chips and imaging components targeting small size, low-priced Samsung printers that use MLT-D104 and CLT-407 cartridges Chips used on these cartridges are specific to the regions in which they are sold. For the monochrome MLT-D104 cartridge used in multiple printer models worldwide, Static Control offers toner, OPC drum, wiper blade, shipping protector and dedicated chips for Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, China, India, Korea, Europe and North America. For the color CLT407 cartridge used in several printer models worldwide, SCC has toner, shipping protector and chips for Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific, Middle East, China, India, Korea, Europe and North America.
New doctor bar targeting Lexmark T650, E460/360 /260 toner cartridges It can now be used to remanufacture cartridges for more than 140 printer models. Printers include Lexmark, Dell, IBM, Okidata, SindoRicoh, Source Technologies, Toshiba and Unisys. The new Odyssey doctor bar avoids vertical streaks and mottling while delivering reliable performance. Static Control recommends users to replace the doctor bar after each remanufacturing cycle. This can help to ensure quality print performance throughout the cartridge life cycle. Static Control offers toner, OPC drums, doctor bars, blades, chips, shipping protectors, wraps and other products. They can work together as a system for optimum and consistent per for mance in these L exmark-based cartridges. A full color system to remanufacture the drum unit on popular, low-cost printers including HP LaserJet Pro CP1025, 100 M175 MFP, TopShot Color LaserJet Pro 200 M275 MFP and Canon’s LBP-7010/7016/7018
The components include a new Odyssey OPC drum with SCC’s patented ZeroTwist Gear Technology, drum unit chip, wiper blade and drum unit shipping protector. Static Control also offers a full system of components for the toner cartridges, which are remanufactured separately from the drum unit.
Diamond Dispersion Releases New Filters and Housings Diamond Dispersions (Sheffield, UK) has launched a range of tried and tested filter cartridges and housings to enable customers to create their own Diamond Standard inks. The company announced that its new ink filtration range is for the pursuit of ink perfection. Each filter in the range is supplied with a full validation guide enabling customers to make different ink under Diamond’s exacting standards. “Our focus has always been on enabling our customers to consistently achieve the very best results,” explains Peter Callahan, Director at Diamond Dispersions. “The launch of our own Diamond Filtration range of filter cartridges and housings is a natural progression for us and underlines our commitment to delivering excellence.” The company promises the products are reliable and have specifications to suit all requirements. Diamond Dispersions says each filter in the range is designed to be durable and low maintenance. The new filters and housings are available in a range of sizes: 1”, 10”, 20” and 30”. The company says the 100% polypropylene cartridge has maximum dirt hold capacity and low initial pressure losses. Callahan further claimed, “Creating the perfect ink requires attention to detail. Careful filtering is key to achieving a ‘Diamond Standard’ ink. Our new products are some of the most advanced currently available in the marketplace and will provide finished inks of an unrivalled quality.” www.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Product Release
Parts Now Fields a New Series of Fusers & Maintenance Kits A new select series of remanufactured fuser and maintenance kits from Parts Now (Middleton, WI) promises high volumes, multiple media applications and long print runs. Parts Now relied on new technology and new processes to create its “S” series of fusers and maintenance kits. “The S series is a super-performer, made specifically for tough printing environments,” said Matt McLeish, Parts Now Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “High volumes, multiple
media applications and long print runs are where the S series shines,” added McLeish.
This new line is expected to maintain great performance in heavy duty printer operations
using various media. Parts Now has invested heavily in research and development, testing and coordination with suppliers to create this advanced line. These products are now available for use in the HP 4250 and HP 9000 series printers. About Parts Now Parts Now is the industry leader in profitable solutions for companies that support imaging devices and is an authorized distributor for Lexmark, HP, Toshiba and OKI Data.
CET Offers Compatible Printer Supplies One of China’s leading imaging component vendors, China Eternal (CET ), now offers compatible printer supplies for OEMs, including toner cartridge and developer assembly. CET released its compatible color toner cartridge for use in Konica Minolta Bizhub C200/200E/C203/ C253/C353. These cartridges can print 34,000
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pages in black and 40,000 pages in color. The company has also adopted a polyimide coating process to produce fuser fixing films for Canon iR ADVANCE C5030/5035. With these films, the fuser lifetime is extended to 400,000 pages. Also available is the developer assembly with a
lifetime of 400,000 pages for Canon iR ADVANCE C5030/5035, iR ADVANCE C5045/5051. In addition, the company will introduce its foaming process roller for use in Ricoh Aficio MP4000/MP5000. For more information, please visit www.chinaeternal.com.
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Product Release
New Metallic Ink Promises High Speed and Lower Cost A new, metallic silver, eco-solvent ink promises great performance, high speed and low price for all printers. The EcoColor Metallix ink was launched by Graphics One, LLC (GO) of Burbank, California, a leading developer and international distributor of products for digital imaging professionals. The ink applies aluminum nano-pigment technology, which brings it high metallic imaging quality. By mixing CMYK, LC & LM (light cyan & light magenta), it can produce thousands of metallic colors including gold, silver, chrome and bronze.
According to Christian Sam of GO Marketing, because this ink enables users to print at full production speeds of 720x720 dpi, “the slow speeds of current OEM inks will become a thing of the past.” Further, it is available to any printer using existing OEM metallic ink on various media, including both coated and uncoated substrates. With low maintenance, this ink requires just a gentle back and forth cartridge shake once a week. Over 30% less expensive than other OEM metallic inks, it will soon start shipping this month.
New Aftermarket Wide Format Printer Inks A world leader in coated paper, film, and specialty substrates for digital imaging applications, has developed inks for Epson and Mutoh wide format printers. Massachusetts (USA) based InteliCoat Technologies has expanded its Magic brand with inks designed for the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 and Mutoh ValueJet printers. They say Magic inks work with all brands of coated and uncoated inkjet media. InteliCoat say they also have Magic inks available for Canon imagePROGRAF and Roland Eco-Solvent printers. InteliCoat told Recycling Times their Magic branded Inks will deliver a cost-effective
solution. How? They told us the accuracy of colors and the water resistant, longevity of the prints will save print providers time and money. “ We are extremely pleased with the overwhelming success that Magic Ink has achieved,” said Jennifer Chagnon, Senior Marketing Manager at InteliCoat Technologies. “The positive feedback we’ve received from our customers so far is a testament to the superior performance of the inks. We are excited to deliver cost-effective, high quality inks to our valued customers that create perfect color every time.”
Discover Imaging Products Releases Chip Series Discover Imaging Product Limited has released the HP 364,564,178,862,920 and 940 ink jet chip series. These products are exclusively available from Discover Imaging Products. The company says, “There are well over a hundred different ink jet printers using this range and we have had each one fully tested. Our chips are one single price no matter if standard or XL types.” Discover Imaging Products also releases the first Epson 7 pin chip for T128 and T129 series without a battery. Its Chip-on-board solution finally allows for a smaller chip without the battery pack and gives full functionality. No more battery issues without ink low. Discover Imaging Products Limited is a consortium of high quality product vendors, industry veterans and technical experts who have turned the traditional parts and supplies channel on its head. As Steve Weedon, CEO of Discover Imaging Product Limited , says, “Discover Imaging Products removes the unnecessary “empire costs’ to bring down prices without giving up quality to save money, but supplying the products you want at the prices you need." Contact information: dhruvm@discoverimaging.com, or zssyed@discoverimaging.com Internet: www.discoverimaging.com USA Tel: +1 919 379 1488 Europe Tel: +44 1342 841936 India And South East Asia Tel: +91 9873474349, or +44 118 956 1604 www.iRecyclingTimes.com
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Product Release
Remanufactured Toner Cartridges Available for HP LaserJet Pro 400 ColorTonerExpert, a specialist in the field of toner cartridge, now offers remanufactured HP305A Set for HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series Printers. Recently, HP released HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color Series. They feature high quality in color document printing, fast speed and high volume. Their printouts look clear and sharp thanks to the new toner cartridges, HP305A (HPCL411). ColorTonerExpert now offers HP305A (HP CE410A – Black, HP CE411A – Cyan, HP CE412A – Yellow, HP CE413A – Magenta). They are available for use in • LaserJet Pro 300 color MFP M375nw
• LaserJet Pro 400 color MFP M475dw • LaserJet Pro 400 color MFP M475dn • LaserJet Pro 400 color M451nw • LaserJet Pro 400 color M451dw • LaserJet Pro 400 color M451dn C o l o r To n e r E x p e r t c l a i m s t h a t i t s remanufactured HP305A black toner cartridge has a page yield of 2,200 pages while the color toner cartridges have printing page capacity of up to 2,600 pages.
ink cartridges that are compatible to known brands.
About ColorTonerExpert ColorTonerExpert is a remanufactured toner cartridges specialist. It offers a great selection of premium-quality toner cartridges and
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OEM News
Brother Fails to Escape Class Action Brother has had some legal complaints against them dismissed by a New Jersey judge. However, the Japanese based printer manufacturer must still face a suit over inaccurate cartridge replacement messages. The dismissed complaints were over a breach of express and implied warranty, a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and injunctive relief claims. However, a host of state consumer protection claims will be considered. Plaintiffs say Brother stated its color toner cartridges would need to be replaced only when the toner was depleted. But in fact, its printers are designed to stop printing when only one of the three color toner cartridges becomes
empty. Judge Wolfson agreed with Brother that text in the user guide and cartridge packaging are not a contract. But the judge added Brother had violated several state consumer protection laws, including New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and Florida consumer fraud legislation and California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Counsel for the plaintiffs said his clients are pleased their consumer fraud act claims survived, and that the judge found there were misrepresentations made and there was an ascertainable loss as well. Counsel for Brother has made no comment at this time.
Ricoh Targets 22% Growth in South Africa According to ITWeb, Ricoh Company Ltd. is increasing its investment in South Africa by targeting 22% sales growth in that region. In order to achieve this goal, Ricoh SA has launched three new initiatives to take advantage of growth opportunities in Africa: Ricoh Capital SA; an optimized supply chain process; and, infrastr ucture enhancements. The company will hire more staff to support two of the above initiatives. By November 2012, it will add about 90 more administrative employees to the current staff of 43. Ricoh SA plans to employ 50 more sales staff in this
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region requiring an increase in its technical team to maintain a ratio of one technician per 300 devices. South Africa is an important emerging market, according to Richard Pinker, Managing Director of Ricoh SA. He reveals the initial investment will start in its IT unit, where it put in a 60 Mb connection to the UK, which it will increasingly tap. Ricoh specializes in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. It operates in more than 200 countries and regions around the world.
OKI Adds a New Dealer in Australia Printer vendor OKI has added a new dealer in Australia to support its printer sales. OKI named Multimedia Technology (MT) of Melbourne as a new distribution partner. MT will focus on the small and medium size businesses (SMBs), including value-added services. OKI says MT will provide it with access to 6,000 dealers nationwide. OKI Data Australia has 120 approved channel partners in Australia including Alloys, Bluechip, InfoTech and XiT. "Multimedia Technology has a reputation for selling quality products and providing customer service excellence. We're very much looking to work with Multimedia Technology to build a quality channel of dealers to scale and service the growing market opportunity for OKI Data in Australia," said Greg Mikaelian, National Sales Manager, OKI Data Australia. Multimedia Technology is one of Australia's national IT distributors. Established in 1990, the company has experienced exceptional growth and is now a major player in the Australian IT industry. The company's head office is located in Melbourne, with regional offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. "The OKI product line and proven expertise in the SMB market fits perfectly into our portfolio of solutions and value-added services. It offers our dealer partners the opportunity to invest in building and supporting a growing market that provides a real and present need and offers a chance to enjoy sound margins." Says Graeme Reardon, National Sales Manager, Multimedia Technology.
Recycling Times Magazine
OEM News
Worldwide Printer Shipments Down 8.4% in Q2 IDC has reported an 8.4% worldwide printer shipment decrease in the second quarter to 26.5 million units. With close to 20 million units shipped, inkjet segment accounted for 60% share in the overall hardcopy peripherals market. Shipments declined 12.7% YoY, the steepest drop since 3Q09. In contrast, the wireless inkjet segment in both emerging and mature markets exhibited growth, a 3.5% YoY increase. Laser was the only segment to experience positive YoY growth in 2Q12. The segment grew 0.8% to 9.5 million units resulting in 36% share, up 4% from a year ago. Both emerging and mature markets experienced double-digit growth in the wireless segment, 15.0% and 24.0% YoY, respectively. Color laser finished the quarter with 16% market share in the total laser space, resulting in 3.5% year-over-year growth. Monochrome laser devices accounted for more than 7.9 million units and 84% share of the total laser space.
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Top Five Vendors HP, though remaining the largest OEM, encountered great challenge in this quarter, with shipment dropping 12.7%, led by loss in market share. Its market share now accounts for 39.6%. Canon continued as the number 2 ranked vendor in 2Q12 with 21.4% worldwide market share and 0.5% YoY shipment growth, being
one of the only two Top five vendors seeing shipment increase in the second quarter. Epson was still No. 3, with 1.3% decrease in shipment. Among the top five vendors, Samsung was most heavily hit, suffering 22% YoY decrease. As for Brother, with shipment increasing by 6.5%, climbed one spot up to become the top 4 ranked vendor in the total hardcopy market.
Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Market Share and Year-Over-Year Growth, Second Quarter 2012 Vendors
2Q12 Unit 2Q12 2Q11 Unit 2Q11 2Q12/2Q11 Shipments Market Share Shipments Market Share Growth
1. HP
10,500,055
39.60%
12,020,025
41.50%
-12.70%
2. Canon
5,667,915
21.40%
5,637,249
19%
0.50%
3. Epson
3,497,137
13.20%
3,541,286
12.20%
-1.30%
4. Brother
1,722,078
6.50%
1,617,180
6%
6.50%
5. Samsung 1,342,379
5.10%
1,720,311
6%
-22.00%
Others
3,786,797
14.30%
4,407,669
15%
-14.10%
Total
26,516,361
100.00%
28,943,720
100%
-8.40%
Recycling Times Magazine
OEM News
Konica Minolta Opens Regional Headquarters in Singapore Konica Minolta has opened its regional headquarters at Mapletree Business City, in Singapore, according to a news release by Wirth Consulting. The new facility was declared open by Mr. Jun Haraguchi, Executive Director of Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc., Japan. “Today epitomizes Konica Minolta’s goals to strengthen our foothold in Southeast Asia,” said Mr. Ryo Maruhashi, Managing Director, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia Pte Ltd. “The Business Development and Regional Operations teams are geared to help accelerate market penetration, and support our expansion in the Southeast Asia market.”
With the regional headquarters now in place, Konica Minolta is poised for strong growth, projected to double its revenue by 2016 across the Southeast Asia region for office and production printing markets. Mr. Terence Gan, Deputy Director, Electronics, Singapore Economic Development Board, added: “Konica Minolta and Singapore have a longstanding relationship and we warmly welcome the opening of its regional headquarters here. This decision will add vibrancy to Singapore’s printing and imaging industry and it strengthens Singapore’s role as a business hub for companies looking to grow in emerging Asia.”
UK Printer Market Saw Big Decline Overall printer shipment around Western Europe fell 14.1% to 5.27 million units but UK has outpaced the region, IDC reported. The country has seen total shipment fell 16.1 percent to 804 thousand units. The decline is mainly due to weak economic demand, but there were some bright spots among the grim. IDC says that the laser printer segment has contracted by almost a third, but the laser MFP shipments is up 6.8% and high-speed Inkjet printers even posted a 20% growth. The revenue of the quarter, as a result, fell just 4.2 per cent to $2.5billion (£1.6billion). IDC analyst, Arnaud Gagneux says:"It is
not all negative, and there are profitable opportunities, as demonstrated by the growth in A3 color devices and clear proof of the demand for managed services in both the enterprise and SMB segments. This is driving the transition from boxes to services, which are still a challenge for some vendors and their partners. Now is the time to invest and plan for the service-led next chapter of imaging". Germany saw its printer shipment volumes fall 10.5 %, while the French market endured an 18.2% drop. According to IDC, the western European market has contracted by 12.9 per cent.
Are Desktop Printers Becoming Extinct? According to a Computer World report, people normally print documents to share or store, but now new technologies are more convenient, such as social media, e-mail and mobile devices. Moreover, printing an image on paper consumes expensive ink, but displaying it on a website, phone, or tablet costs nothing and produces a better effect. Besides, print services are also grabbing the market from printer vendors. People now turn to personalized printing products, which they cannot produce with a home printer. Do-ityourself printouts such as mouse pads, fleece blankets, iPhone covers, and jigsaw puzzles are becoming increasingly popular. Computer World further reports that printer sales and demands are experiencing a downturn. According to analysts, from 2010 to 2011 North American sales of consumer-level multifunction inkjets dropped 12%. Total sales fell from 13.1 million to 11.56 million units. The number of pages printed in the home has declined 15% since 2009. In their newly-released 2Q financial reports, HP, Lexmark, Canon and other OEMs witnessed a decrease in desktop printer sales due to weaker consumer demand. Those who still buy printers want them to be wirelessly connected to cloud services, to a mobile device, or to a website, especially social media. OEMs like Canon are now launching printer models to meet such demands.
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OEM News
HP Printer in Hacking Danger Although cloud services bring printers a convenience, they also create a hacking danger. One of every four HP printers are reported vulnerable to hacking according to a study published in The Guardian conducted by Columbia University researchers Salvatore Stolfo and Ang Cui. Earlier this year, Stolfo and Cui discovered that they could hack into an HP laser printer, or even set it on fire, by using its remote firmware update! In response to such findings, HP issued 56 firmware updates to deal with this problem. But another report showed only 1-2% of HP printers
have been updated and 25% of them still use default password settings. According to Ari Takanen, Founder and Chief Technical Officer for security firm Codenomicon (Oulu, Finland), such danger stems from the printer’s ability to receive documents and emails from the cloud. “But few people realize a lot of devices they have in their home don’t have the firewalls and anti-viral software (required),” explained Takanen. It’s not just HP printers under such danger, claim Stolfo and Cui, some defects in a printer’s operating system make the entire market a potential target.
Mr. Qian Yue, President of HP China’s IPG, Leaves Office On July 17, 2012 HP announced that Mr. Qian Yue, former President of the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) in China has left his office. HP cited “personal reasons” for Mr. Yue’s departure. Until a successor is found, Yi
Xiauhu, President of HP Printers and Personal Systems (PPS) will take charge of Qian Yue’s responsibilities. HP’s PPS Group now combines IPG and the Personal Systems Group (PSG), previously two independent divisions. PSG includes personal consumption goods, such as personal computers (PCs). Earlier this spring, HP had announced an organizational realignment to improve performance and drive profitable growth across the entire HP portfolio.
Kodak’s Red Fluorescent Toner Earns Industry Praise Kodak’s red fluorescent dry ink (toner) got the printing industry’s highest praise for its innovative formulation skills. Printing Industries of America (PIA) presented Kodak with its 2012 InterTech Technology Award for its innovative NEXPRESS red fluorescing toner. This toner is invisible to the naked eye, but can be seen under ultraviolet light. As a result, it is regarded ideal for printing tickets, 2D and QR barcodes to increase security and prevent fraud. This marks the third PIA award Kodak has
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won for its Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions after its launch in 2005 and the joining of new Dimensional Printing Solution in 2009. “Security solutions can of ten be cost prohibitive, but with Kodak’s Red Fluorescing Dry Ink, printers have a real solution against counterfeiting that is both cost effective and easy to implement,” said Mark Bohen, Vice President of Technology and Research at PIA. Kodak believes the toner solution will lead to greater user satisfaction and business growth.
Converting Leads Into Sales with MPS Get the Customer Involved by Jan de Kesel, Managing Director, In-Map Ltd. The year was 2004 when I first became interested in managed print services (MPS). I had never heard the phrase before and discovered that nobody back then was able to give me a simple definition for it. Do you think this uncertainty has since been clarified? Not really. As a matter of fact, the number of definitions has only increased! Many people have an idea of what it should look like, but these notions vary depending on the enterprise, be it small, medium or large, or whether it is an end-user, copier dealer, OEM, consumable retailer, or other business operation. Adding to the confusion, some see MPS as a machine-only service; others believe it involves end-users and document flows; some even include IT infrastr ucture, software, etc. The net result is a blend of responsibilities merging the copier/ printer reseller’s duties with those of the consumables source and the managed print service provider. Whether this unfortunate fuzzy definition is good or bad, we are definitely on the road to change in the way document handling, storage, printing and distribution is being done. The important message is that MPS can be a most effective tool that will keep your customers loyal by getting them more involved in the management of their own printing operations.
Coming Full Circle I’d call MPS a “Full Circle” approach instead of the other previous “one shot” machine deals, with or without maintenance. What is Full Circle? Here is the story on how I was introduced to this so called MPS approach. On a summer evening in Germany, behind a beer (of course), I met with this business friend who sells consumables and service, together with some printers here and there. He asked me “Is there some effective tool to improve my approach to a prospective customer?” “What do you mean by approach?” I responded. “Well,” he countered, “I know my service is excellent. Within one hour, we can have our technicians on site to fix a problem with all the necessary tools, parts and machine components. Our consumables are excellent. We deliver jumbo cartridges that guarantee fewer interventions, thereby lowering the cost to the end user. And, when the customer needs a new printer, we can offer the option of two excellent brands. In short, we can satisfy virtually every request the customer might have.” “However,” he continued, “I have this one particular customer with a fleet of 200 printers, but I cannot convince him that we can do the right thing for his business
operation. He works with several other suppliers and I need a tool to show him that we can do a better job.” His question seemed logical to me. But the question is how can he prove his superior service to this customer in terms of cold, hard cash and trouble-free performance? “Well,” he sug gested, “if we could measure that company’s current direct printing costs and the labor involved in keeping its fleet up and running, if we could increase its uptime and display these figures in detail, then take over that management function and prove by maximizing uptime and minimizing cost per page (cpp) with the same system, I think we could get them to sign up for an MPS deal.” Of course, his next question was “Jan, do you think you can make that happen?” Well, this made a lot of sense, so I said, “Yes, but let me investigate first.” Figure 1 compares the before and after (now) approaches. Based before on machines and cartridges; based now on total cost of ownership (TCO).
Have What It Takes For those who don’t know what you need today to r un an MPS business successfully, here is an overview:
needs and want to work with spreadsheets, etc., it will eat all your profit. It’s nice to tell your customer, “let me do this for you” but there is a price to pay for human errors. For your own protection, automation is mandatory!
Full Circle
▲ Figure 1：The Before & After Approaches
• Calculating Current Cost. You must be able to see what the customer has now and calculate the current cost. Here, know-“how” and know-“what” are more important then ever. And, if you are good at MPS, you want to know the machines and the operators in order to have an idea about document flow, i.e., who prints what and where does it go? • Automating Meters & Alarms. You then must be able to automate meters and alarms. This is different from the transactional business which we are used to in everyday life. We buy and sell all day. Buy something, put a profit on it and sell it, into inventory and out of inventory. That’s it! In MPS, you buy printers, consumables, parts and hours etc. and convert them into pages (preferably with a profit). Where is my inventory? It’s not on my balance sheet, but at the customer’s premises! • Tracking Page Volume. To make the MPS system a bit more revealing, follow the pages, machines, parts, toners and inks in a contract management software program that tracks margins. • Technicians on Tap. Do you field 3, 4 or more technicians on the road, with spare parts and consumables on board? If so, it’s a good idea to keep track of their consumption of these assets using an Enterprise Resource Plan (ERP). This business system software eliminates data entry tasks and errors inherent in the manual B2B purchasing process.
everybody would be doing it for dirt cheap prices and there would be no margin left. Now, do all of the tools exist? Yes they do. But because MPS is a “Full Circle plan” you must integrate data from one tool into the other and automate wherever you can. Today, there are new tools which “combine it all” so you don’t have to wait 6 months to integrate all the data. The newest technologies also allow you to start small and grow—we call that automation (see Figure 2)! If you don’t have the tools that fit your
Consultative Selling
Automation Is Mandatory Let us not forget that problems are opportunities. And, if it was easy,
What does Full Circle mean? MPS is a “managed service”: Take over the customer’s problems, and manage them for him or her so they can concentrate on their core business. • Measure what is currently installed. • Know the type of printers and copiers in use and their cost. Compare the under-utilized machines, which are cheap in cpp, with the over-utilized ones, which are more expensive. • W hen you have completed this “current status”, put a Proposal next to it and compare the alternatives. It can mean that you are upgrading the fleet with newer machines, or that you are replacing OEM cartridges with remans. But it could also mean that you just swap some under-utilized with some over-utilized ones. There is a word for the above, it is called consultative selling. I’ll explain later. Let’s say that the customer accepts and signs your Proposal. Here is where your job continues. What you did before is what you have to continue doing. Measure and improve, measure and improve, constantly, in the years ahead. Avoid the bottlenecks for the customer. When you find that the customer is buying machines again and the cpp is rising, you must be the one to sound the alarm. After all, the management responsibility was delegated to you. If you do the job well, you cannot lose the customer because he/she has become a partner. Therefore, MPS is Full Circle, over and over again, if you are to keep the customer. The more you learn about more and better services, the better you can serve the customer’s needs. The more you can automate every step in your MPS, the more money you can save for the customer and earn for your own business.
▲ Figure 2
Consultative selling is all about the goal. Identify the problem. Analyze it and deliver a solution. Don’t sell as a salesman, but become a consultant instead and advise your customer as you would a client. Most important: Keep on consulting!
This dashboard can be used to entice customers to buy from you. Just send your customers a monthly overview of their costs and volumes and this will open a conversation. See next slide for the comparison of cost and volume.
▲ Figure 3
What does that mean, consulting instead of reactive selling? • Selling hardware (and some “extras” like equipment maintenance) is reactive selling. The customer asks for a new 30 ppm MFP black-and- white printer and you provide a quote, just like 3 other competitors. The only discussion is price (assuming you don’t play golf with the Director on a regular basis). • Consultative selling means that you go to the potential customer and try to identify the problem. When you find it, you can get the deal. It’s that simple; don’t sell gas to the guy with a camel in the desert. Sell him Water!
Identify the problem! Now how do you practically do this? Give the customer something. Offer her/him free reporting on what they have now. No strings attached. It’s that easy and it can be automated. What is the beauty behind it? Now, you, too, have the data; not just the customer. And you have more detailed data–you can approach the customer with some free consulting if he doesn’t call you after receiving your report. This could lead to a sale. All you need do is look for a system that allows you to go from pre-sales to customer management and billing. The billing that allows you to buy hardware, supplies, etc., and sell them as pages. It’s
A conversation starter: This comparison between cost and volume clearly shows a big change in October. Did the customer print more color? In any case, the customer will call you OR you have a reason to call them.
▲ Figure 4
that simple. Figures 3 and 4 are shown below for illustrative purposes only. Oh! And, don’t forg et—you must continue to learn about new technologies l i ke D o c u m e n t M a n a g e m e n t , U s e r Tracking, Rules-Based Printing, Secure Printing, etc. Your customer will thank you for it. In conclusion, Consulting is the key word and it breaks down into 6 tasks: • Identify the problem • Analyze it • Offer a solution • Save money for the customer • Keep the Customer • Keep on Consulting
Explore Your Opportunities Here! Others claim the title, but the world’s genuinely largest trade show for computer printing supplies, will be held in September 24-26 in Zhuhai, China. CIFEX|RemaxAsia is the largest in number of exhibits, floor space and visitors. Recycling Times, the organizer of the annual event, welcomes exhibitors, visitors, industry experts, trade associations and news media, home and abroad. CIFEX|RemaxAsia Expo is attractive to visitors around the world who are looking for a one-stop solution for their business in the imaging supplies industry. With manufacturers of various types of imaging products in or close to Zhuhai, visitors can meet potential suppliers or buyers at the show and then visit their factories. This unique and innovative exhibition model
of "booth in front and factory at back" increases the efficiency and opportunities for successful business partnerships. According to Recycling Times, the world-renowned expo continues its growing momentum year by year. Last year, 422 exhibitors and 9,893 visitors from more than 80 countries and regions par ticipated in the expo. T his year, organisers are expecting 440 exhibitors and 10,500 trade visitors to be part of the three-day event. Recycling Times reluctantly had to change its show dates but are pleased the change did not discouraged those planning to explore business opportunities here. In June, the organizer received an urgent notice from the Chinese government, informing them to change the show dates because of a time conflict in planning the
This year, organizers are expecting 440 exhibitors and 10,500 trade visitors to take part in CIFEX|RemaxAsia Expo.
only international aerospace trade show in China. Recycling Times staff made every effort to inform exhibitors and visitors and to apologize for the change. As a result, 99% of exhibitors said the new September dates were acceptable to them. Bob Schmidt, from Static Control commented, “The Zhuhai Show is very important to us and the visitors who will visit to see us. Of course we will make the necessary adjustments to exhibit in September.� Apart from the traditional, popular activities, such as new product releases, factory tours, and the Print-Rite Innovation Award Ceremony, the organisers plan to bring fresh elements during the show, such as Conference@2012 and iPrint Expo.
Conference@2012: The Next Wave Printers, The Next Opportunity There is no doubt the desktop printer market we see today is no longer the same as it was in its infancy 20 years ago. T he continued slug gish economy, the advent of mobile communication technology and the endless legal battles between OEMs and remanufactures have changed and will continue to change the shape of the traditional print and print consumables market. But opportunities always lay hidden in a changing environment. New printing technologies are springing up, the personalized print market is growing, and the next wave of printers are making their way into the markets. All these could cause a revolution in the print consumables industry.
Last year, the Global Remanufacturing Industry General Assembly was held one day before the CIFEX|RemaxAsia Expo, which attracted 211 industry leaders from 13 countries and world regions.
Under such a context, Recycling Times will host a one day conference. called simply Conference@2012, which will raise and discuss the hot issues facing the industry. What opportunities will the new wave of printers bring? Organisers say the answers will be given at the conference. Two hundred industry leaders from many countries and regions will participate in a heated discussion on September 23 at the Zhuhai Holiday Inn. Recycling Times has invited experts to deliver speeches during the conference— they are pioneers in certain areas: • Dr. Edul N. Dalal, Research Fellow, Xerox Corporation S u b j e c t : T h e G r ow t h o f C o l o r Printing Based on Digital Imaging Technology • Andrew Gardner, Worldwide Brand P r o t e c t i o n M a n a g e r, L e x m a r k International Subject: An OEM perspective on compatible clone cartridges • D r. X i a o y i n g Ro n g , A s s o c i a t e Professor, Graphic Communication Department, California Polytechnic State University Subject: The Transition from Analog to Digital Printing • Jan de Kesel, Managing Director, InMap Subject: Transform your leads into sales in an MPS approach: getting the customer involved and wanting more • Art Diamond, President, Diamond Research Corporation Subject: Cartridge Remanufacturing for the New Wave of Printers • Dr. Bobo Wang, President, Aetas Technology (ZhenJiang) Co., Ltd
Subject: The development trend of LED printers—the new printing technology • Kennard S. Cloud, Worldwide Product Manager of Pantum • Denny Henger, Vice President, IT System Industry Research Center of CCID Consulting Co., Ltd. Subject: The Chinese Dot Matrix Printer Market has a Future
Featuring OEM Speakers In what will be seen as a historic moment, the conference will hear from three OEMs. Dr. Edul N. Dalal, a research fellow from Xerox, will discuss the growth of color printing based on digital technology. Andrew Gardner, worldwide brand protection manager for Lexmark, will provide an OEM perspective on the recent advent of “cloned” or “new-plastic, new mould” cartridges. And Dr Wang Bobo, a former Chief Micro Processing expert with Xerox America and currently Founding President at Aetas Technology, will discuss how the new digital LED (Light Emitting Diodes) technology will pave the way for the next generation of printing.
Edul N. Dalal
There is a move from monochrome to color in modern society, but the growth of color is dependent on digital imaging technology. Digital imaging technology continues to impact the growth of color printing. Initially aimed at office applications, which continue to be a major component, recent growth has moved into numerous other markets. Production printing for the transactional and graphic communications markets, labels and packaging, signage, and 3-dimensional printing are using the new technologies. Conventional printing technologies which relied on high volumes, low running costs and good image quality have given way to personalized, shortrun, economical digital printing. And quality? Digital technology has made, and continues making significant advances in image quality. Further, unique integration with other media and innovative security applications allows digital imaging to seriously challenge conventional color printing technologies. Dr. Edul N. Dalal will keynote conference@2012 on the issue of the move by consumers from monochrome to color. The growth of color is dependent on digital imaging technology. Dr. Edul N. Dalal joined Xerox in 1983 and is a Research Fellow at the Xerox Research Center Webster near Rochester, New York, USA. His research interests include color science, image processing, surface science and polymer physics, and during his career at Xerox he has worked in the areas of image quality, color management, workflow, toner design and fusing. He holds 50 US patents and is the author of over 40 technical papers.
Andrew Gardner Original printer equipment manufacturers, known as OEMs, including Canon Inc. and Lexmark, have filed various complaints against remanufacturers in China, the USA and elsewhere over printer cartridges deemed to be unlawfully infringing their patents. Why are the OEMs aggressively chasing after remanufacturers? What do they think of the development of the supply of aftermarket cartridges? How can OEMs and remanufacturers coexist? Andrew Gardner manages the Lexmark corporate brand protection program to combat the counterfeiting, grey marketing and intellectual property issues that affect the company’s printer supplies. He will deliver an OEM’s perspective on compatible “clone” cartridges. He will clearly identify Lexmark’s view and discuss with remanufacturers how a coexistent relationship between OEMs and remanufacturers might work. “This is the first time an OEM has explained their views to remanufacturers in China. This will help remanufacturers to understand the position of OEMs. Further, OEMs will gain an insight of the aftermarket industry through this conference, laying a foundation to cooperate in the future. I believe this is a good opportunity for OEMs and remanufacturers to communicate,” says Tony Lee, managing director of Recycling Times Media Corporation.
Wang Bobo Xerox invented the photocopier in 1959 and went on to invent the laser printer in 1969. Fifty years later, new LED technology means printers can be smarter, faster smaller and cheaper. Under the leadership of Dr Wang Bobo, Aetas has invented the thinnest and smallest color printer in the world. Instead of using laser technology, it uses digital
LED (Light Emitting Diodes) which are tiny semiconductors that produce light. Just eight months ago, on December 28, 2011, Aetas Technology (ZhenJiang) Co., Ltd launched China’s first high definition color printer. It has 120 international patents (with 40 more pending) using what Dr Wang calls image-on-image and DC jumping technologies. These print technologies won the prestigious and coveted Gutenberg Award in 2009. Image on image (IOI) architecture means images only need to be transcribed once rather than 4 to 5 times as with competing technologies. Both Xerox iGen4 and HP Indigo use IOI architecture but cost about $400,000. The Aetas IOI printer is only $200. DC-Jumping imaging technology allows for a complete change of background and higher resolution more quickly than conventional printers. Three hundred million dollars and 17 years of research have gone into the printer technology and Aetas is the only company to fully own its intellectual property and capability to manufacture LED color printer outside of the USA, Japan and Korea.
iPrint (China) Expo 2012 iPrint Expo, China’s first digital press and commercial printing show will run September 24-26 in Zhuhai in the same venue as CIFEX|RemaxAsia. Statistics reveal there are more than 500,000 digital press print shops and kiosks in China. They provide some 700,000 jobs, and generate $7.91 billion USD revenue every year. Some 500 manufacturers produce hardware and supplies for digital press printing.
In 2011, more than 650,000 copiers/ multifunction devices, and 200,000 digital presses were sold in China. It’s estimated the digital press market in China is worth about $1.6 billion USD. Forecasters say this market will grow 14% annually in China, twice as fast as the 7% average growth in other Asian regions. “It’s essential to have a professional trade show for such a huge Chinese market,” says Tony Lee, managing director of Recycling Times Media Corporation. “That’s why we will run iPrint Expo in 2012. It will include pre-print, digital press and finishing equipment as well as supplies and consumables for printers and copiers.” Recycling Times expects 5,000 visitors to visit 120 iPrint exhibits from 10 different countries and regions. During the expo, the Top 100 Brands Recognition Ceremony will be held as well, which awards 100 most famous and competitive companies in quick print industry.
Conclusion Global visitors and exhibitors alike comment each year that everything you need to know, or any person you need to meet, is at the Zhuhai show. “It does not matter which country or region you come from, your business cannot afford to miss this event,” says Tony Lee. “You will learn and see things you would not want your competitor to know.”