Recycling Times Magazine English Edition-Issue 37 (NEW LOOK) by Recycling Times Media Corporation

EDITORIAL

Tony Lee Last month, an organization in China, calling itself the “Print Consumables Industry Self-salvation Committee”, sent out a letter appealing for change in the industry. Change, they say, which will avert disaster. Some Chinese companies favor rapid growth so they can earn the quick dollar. To make more money, they push themselves, in an almost suicidal manner. They lower prices without thinking of the bottom line, or produce products with no consistent quality or standard. Internationally, such irresponsible behavior has already cast a shadow on the reputation of Chinese companies as a whole, creating an unhealthy and abnormal market environment. The PCISC letter says the industry is now at the tipping point. One wrong step could drive the whole industry into bottomless abyss. I’d like you to think through the following questions: Publisher & Managing Director Tony Lee

Directors David Gibbons Sabrina Lo

Senior Consulting Editor Art Diamond

Editorial Team Doris Huang Doris.Huang@iRecyclingTimes.com Jane Yu, Violien Wu, Virginia Ruan, Wendy Lee

Graphic Designers Miracle Wei, Kevin Deng

Sales Team Anna Liang Anna.Liang@iRecyclingTimes.com Kevin Zhu,Victoria Zhao, Tobee Deng

Marketing Team Jessica Yin Jessica.Yin@iRecyclingTimes.com Tracy Zhang

Operations Team Charles Lee Charles.Lee@iRecyclingTimes.com Betty Lee, Candy Chen, Joy He

Regional Offices 6B Xinhai Commercial Building, 104 Yuanlin Road, Jida, 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@iRecyclingTimes.com Website: www.iRecyclingTimes.com

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Are print consumables the major business for your company? Do you plan to engage in it for the longer term? If you answer ‘yes’, you have a responsibility to focus your efforts to improve the market environment wherever your company may be located, and whatever global or domestic markets you may be serving. Maintaining a positive industry will secure you a healthier market and long term profit. There is no doubt, the print consumable industry will exist for a long time. The question is whether you really want to stay in it for the long term, or not. Will you continue to invest in research and development, even if it means your profits are reduced? To guarantee survival, R&D must be taken seriously. It’s a key to gaining market share from the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that guard their patents fiercely in this intellectual property rights intense industry. What determines long term success? Quality or price? Lowering prices may give you a temporary edge, but your success won’t last. Those companies who value quality the most will overtake you. Their harvest might come later, but it will last longer. Finally, nine OEMs have started the process to register their imaging devices with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). This consumer tool ranks products as gold, silver or bronze, based on a set of at least 33 environmental performance criteria. HP, Canon, Epson, Samsung, Lexmark, Dell, Ricoh, Xerox, and Konica Minolta have signed up. Combined, they hold more than 85% of the global market for copiers, printers, scanners and multifunction devices. They are, in many people’s eyes, already successful companies, but still they strive to be better, by following strict standards. Shouldn’t we learn something from them? What’s the standard for a healthier print consumable industry?

CONTENTS

RECYCLING

TIMES No. 37 | 2013

05 | NEWS IN BRIEF

39 | REGIONAL NEWS

HP: No Plans to Cut Printing Sector 41 | DIGITAL PRINT NEWS 06 | WORLD NEWS Guiness Record: HP is the Fastest

46 | TECH ZONE

09 | LEGAL UPDATES

Dell 1250/1350/1355 Toner cartridge

LDProducts vs Hewlett Packard 47 | MONEY FROM HOME 11 | JUST A MINUTE

Fast Forward to Printing 2023

Are We All Getting Twisted? 49 | ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS 13 | NEW PRODUCTS

Up Close and Personal with Groundbreaking Business Inkjet Printers

Apex Releases Eco-solvent Inks 19 | AFTERMARKET NEWS Off to China

Scores of OEM and aftermarket leaders in Japan have their say during the InfoTrends Imaging Supplies Conference held in Tokyo (Photo taken by: David Gibbons)

23 | TRENDS Canon Dominates Philippines Inkjet Market 36 | OEM NEWS HP Releases Ink Advantage

FEATURES

51 | KEEPING UP Swings and Roundabouts 52 | THE LISTS

Six Key Trends Impacting Remanufacturers

Home users are relying less on printing to view, edit, and share documents and photos. InfoTrends expects the share of inkjet devices in the office to grow.

14 | FRONT COVER STORY

45 | PEOPLE Acquiring Their 2,000th Patent Arnald Ho: Print-Rite Founding Chairman

29 EPEAT: An Opportunity to Influence the OEMs?

At first, printer cartridges, and their whole of life looked like being excluded from the whole of life criteria of the imaging products. 42 Edible Ink Jet Inks: Growing, Promising and Rewarding

Wayne Fyvie, greenOffice Photo Credit: greenOffice

It is an opportunity for both ink makers and cartridge rechargers who seek something growing, promising and financially rewarding.

All rights reserved. ÂŠ 2013 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. www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

NEWS IN BRIEF

HP Has No Plans to Cut Printing Sector

Office Depot, OfficeMax to Merge

Xerox Raises Consumable Prices

Hewlett Packard’s CEO, Ms. Meg Whitman, denied speculation that HP was looking to cut its printing or services sectors in order to maximize shareholder value. Whitman told the media that the company’s turnaround is “on track”, and they are doing better than expected. The company showed some signs of improvement that she feels is a good reason to be encouraged. For HP's 1st fiscal quarter (ending January 31, 2013), revenues fell less than expected, giving CEO Whitman encouragement that the company is on track for its planned, 5-year turnaround.

Two major office superstores—Office Depot and OfficeMax—announced the signing of a merger agreement that will create an $18 billion combined company. Actionable Intelligence predicts this merger as bad news for printer suppliers as it will impact orders for OEM and aftermarket printer consumables if the combined company closes large numbers of stores. Besides, the narrowing of the office superstore channel will make it much easier for OEMs to impose pressure upon the channel regarding non-OEM (aftermarket) printer supplies.

Xerox is raising prices on about 80 consumables, including toner cartridges and solid ink sticks for Phaser printers and some WorkCentre branded products. The price increases vary from around 2.9% to 5.6 % and are more targeted than price hikes Xerox made in 2012. In 2012, almost every printer OEM raised supplies pricing. When HP and Lexmark said at the end of 2012 that they would raise the price on their consumables prices in 2013, speculators assumed that others would soon follow. Thus far this year, increases have been more selective.

Read more: http://bit.ly/XN2RfV

Print-Rite Named Green Medalist in Environmental Awards

12 Memjet Cuts 100 Jobs in Sydney According to industry sources, about 100 positions were sliced from Memjet’s Sydney, Australia research facility in February, one third of its 300 local workforce. Memjet’s US spokesman, Jeff Bean, said the job cuts aim to help better align the company’s R&D program with its commercial operations.This round of job cuts may indicate a shift in its R&D either to the United States or to its facility in Dublin, Ireland where the next generation of Memjet’s print technology is being developed. Read more: http://bit.ly/Xhxig3 www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

LLEGAL UPDATES Canon Settles Nukote Suit Read more: http://bit.ly/XCr8oV

Canon Wins Favorable Ruling Against Color Imaging & GPI Read more: http://bit.ly/14MBFNJ

Lexmark Subpoenas Cartridge World and Cardinal Read more: http://bit.ly/15Hiqrd

Canon claims it settled its lawsuit against Nukote, a bankrupt company, before obtaining a general exclusion order (GEO) from the International Trade Commission (ITC) Early in 2012, Canon dragged more than 30 aftermarket players into court, alleging those companies infringed its U.S. patents 5,903,803 and 6,128,454, which cover the OPC drum gear twisted prism coupling in various Canon and HP cartridges. Nukote was listed as one of the

aftermarket respondents, but its Mexican operation was dropped from both the ITC and district court complaints because no such entity currently exists.

Canon has won a favorable ruling in its ongoing lawsuit against Color Imaging and General Plastic Industrial Co. (GPI) regarding a patent used in toner containers. Color Imaging and GPI were charged with both direct and indirect infringement. The defendants attempted to dismiss Canon’s claims in a summary judgment plea, but a district court judge rejected the defendants’ request. According to Actionable Intelligence, “Canon claimed that Color Imaging, UniNet Imaging, and UI Supplies (the latter a UniNet subsidiary and distributor) infringed U.S. patent number 7,647,012

dated January 12, 2010. The accused products were Color Imaging’s and UniNet’s versions of toner containers used in various monochrome and color imageRUNNER and imageRUNNER ADVANCE copiers and multi-function printers (MFPs).”

Lexmark asked the courts to order Cartridge World North America and Cardinal Cartridge to comply with its subpoenas and turn over evidence for their John Doe case. Recently, Lexmark asked for more time to file against additional John Doe defendants—remanufacturers who allegedly used cores first sold outside the United States—yet refused to settle with Lexmark. Lexmark urged Cartridge World to comply with a subpoena that requires the company to provide documents to identify all of its franchisees. But Cartridge

World identified only one store in Ireland. It seems that Lexmark seeks to subpoena all individual franchisees regarding their acquisition and sale of Lexmark cartridges. It is not clear if Lexmark hopes to add Cartridge World North America itself to the complaint.

IN BRIEF FBA Holding Fights against Lexmark

Lexmark Seeks to Compel MSE to Comply with Subpoena

FBA Holding seeks a declaration of non-infringement for some U.S. patents that Lexmark is asserting in the Ohio suit. It accuses some companies for using Lexmark empty cartridges that were first sold outside the United States. According to United States law, an OEM’s patent rights on a cartridge are only exhausted if it is sold in the United States.

According to Actionable Intelligence, Lexmark seeks documents and a deposition from Micro Solutions Enterprises (MSE) regarding its purchase and sale of infringing Lexmark cartridges. MSE refused and asked the court to deny Lexmark’s motion and impose sanctions on Lexmark’s counsel. Read more on: www.action-intell.com

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LLEGAL UPDATES

JUST A MINUTE DAVID GIBBONS

Brother Files P-Touch Label Tape Cartridge Lawsuits Brother Industries recently filed a pair of patent-infringement lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The suits accuse several third-party supplies companies of violating Brother’s patents on label tape cartridges for P-Touch label printers. On February 26, Aster Graphics, LD Products, and the Supplies Guys were summoned into Court. Brother accused the three firms of selling the same infringing, compatible ribbon cassettes for use in Brother P-Touch printers. The suits are based upon a design patent and utility patents. On March 1, Brother also filed a suit against Sophia Global, My Supply Buy, and Nextag for selling the same

products online. In these two suits, Brother is asking the court to charge these companies with direct infringement and order them to pay damages. Read more: http://bit.ly/XegIIi

HP Accuses Reman LD Products of Using New Builds HP filed a complaint against online printer consumables reseller LD Products, alleging the Californiabased remanufacturer falsely advertised new built, third-party inkjet and toner cartridges as remanufactured OEMs. HP claims it sent LD Products a letter in February 2011 requesting the firm cease-and-desist mislabeling clones as remanufactured, but instead LD Products continued, and even accelerated these activities. Now HP is seeking an order declaring that LD’s marketing and advertising claims regarding HP remanufactured cartridges are false and misleading because the starting cartridges are newly-built clones. HP expects both

primary and permanent injunctions that ban LD Products from marketing, advertising and selling clones as being remanufactured. Read more: http://bit.ly/Y5hesk

LD Products Countersues Hewlett Packard LD Products (Long Beach, CA) responded to a lawsuit filed by HP which claimed that LD Products advertised and sold new-built cartridges as remanufactured ones in violation of the Lanham Act. HP also accused LD of violating California’s false advertising law, unfair competition law and common law. In its countersuit, LD claimed that HP discourages consumers from buying third-party cartridges and is the one liable for false advertising. As stated by LD, “Plaintiff’s (HP’s) claims are barred by the doctrine of unclean hands because Plaintiff has engaged in false, misleading, and/or deceptive advertising

regarding toner cartridges. Similarly, HP’s claims are barred because HP, as the party asking the aid of the Court, must stand in conscientious relation towards its opponent. Plaintiff does not stand in a conscientious relation toward Defendant LD Products.” Read more: http://bit.ly/YASpqw

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Are We All Getting Twisted? The issue over the use of aftermarket twisted gears in Canon and HP cartridges caught the industry off guard 16 months ago. It’s neither the first time— nor will it be the last—the industry has had to snap to attention to address the infringement of intellectual property held by the original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs. Squillions has been spent over the past 30 years devising workaround solutions. In my view, the aftermarket industry continues to be extremely respectful of the patents rightfully held by the OEMs. And millions have been spent to find a solution for this issue too— the unusually shaped, twisted gear coupling at the end of the Canon designed, OPC drums. Indeed, the twisted prism coupling patents, according to my sources, bring no new art to printer technology, nor save energy, nor increase the efficiency of the printer. So how were patents issued in the first place. We have “zero twist”, “non twist”, “no twist” gear couplings all promising a “stay out of court” solution for remanufacturers and distributors. Industry analysts tell me there can never be any “iron clad” guarantee the OEMs will not continue to pursue their rights. While visiting Europe in January, I found one company which has an effective, alternative remedy. They have designed, machined and now provide a tool which simply pops the original gear off the end of the used drum, ready for reuse. It’s simple, clean and, under the doctrine of permissible repair, quite legal. Another supplier, who also has a drum gear solution, claims very few companies are actually seeking a solution. They told me the industry has become “overly twisted” about the issue.

NEW PRODUCTS

Apex Releases Eco-solvent Inks APEX launched compatible ecosolvent inks for Epson s30680/50680 Series printers. They claim this ecofriendly ink has great substrate media compatibility and high definition output performance. In addition, its low odor

complies with EU’s REACH regulation. Among the applications are: outdoor advertising; interior decoration; vehicle advertising; wallpaper; industrial applications; non-coating printing, etc. Read more: http://bit.ly/XBNskv

SCC Releases Gapping Shims for Color Carts Static Control Components has released four new sets of shims that precisely position the doctor blade in remanufactured color cartridges used in dozens of HP and Canon printers. The shims, sold in 100-count packs, replace gapping tools that can be cumbersome to use and inconsistent. They often lead to print defects. SCC’s color doctor blade gapping shims attach to the cartridge so remanufacturers only have to screw the doctor blade in place for consistent positioning 100 percent of the time. The doctor blade in color cartridges is one of the most important components in the color imaging process, yet one that is most prone to failure. Setting the gap is critical to achieving the highest quality color prints. Read more: http://bit.ly/YcuOw9

Zhuhai Fanneng Releases Continous Toner Supply Cartridge Zhuhai Fanneng Consumables reports their innovative Continuous Toner Supply Cartridge (CTSC) is ready to enter the market place for HP 12A/88A/78A/36A/35A/85A printers. Equipped with a special leak-proof opening that mates with a supply bottle, these toner cartridges can be refilled with toner powder and reused many times. It uses high-quality, long-life components Fanneng says will ensure each cartridge can deliver a long service life capable of printing more than 12,000 pages. Read more: http://bit.ly/Zsl00D

DCI/Jet Tec Rolls Out Recycled Canon inkjet Carts

SCC Releases Supplies for Xerox and Dell Printers Static Control Components, Inc. (Sanford, NC) now offers toner and smart chips for cartridges used in Xerox Phaser 6500, Xerox Work Center 6505, and Dell 2150/2155 printers. These simple, easy-to-remanufacture toner cartridges are highly profitable and require only toner and the chip to return to service. Low yield cartridges can be remanufactured as high yield cartridges with no modification. All that is needed is a high yield chip and toner. Static Control says it offers toner fill weights specifically matched to the cartridge yield, because the mechanical, toner low/toner out sensing system does not recognize whether the cartridge is over-filled or under-filled. Read more: http://bit.ly/15HucSh

DCI/Jet Tec (Lincolnshire, UK) rolled out recycled options for Canon's PG-540 and CL-541 XL inkjet cartridges. The newly launched models are alternatives to the top-selling Canon cartridges and compatible with the latest series of Canon printers. As claimed by DCI, the cartridges are recycled in the UK and have a twoyear guarantee. DCI says that the new line consists of XL carts and these high quality, longlasting cartridges are guaranteed. DCI claims “these new additions are a costeffective, environmentally-friendly alternative to buying an OEM cartridge,” adding they offer “significant cost savings to the consumer” as well as “generous margins” to resellers. Read more: http://bit.ly/W0dQT8

UniNet Launches New Color Toners, Components UniNet (Hawthorne, CA) released five new products for its Absolute Color, X Generation and Absolute Black printer lines. • Absolute Color toner and components for Samsung’s CLP-415 and CLX-4195 printers • Absolute Color toner and components for Samsung’s CLP-365 and CLX-3305 wireless printers • Absolute Color toner and components for use in Xerox’s Phaser 6121 MFP • X Generation black toner and components for Dell’s B1160 monochrome laser printer • Absolute Black toner and components released for Ricoh’s Aficio SP 300 monochrome device Read more: http://bit.ly/ Y5nosk

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14 FRONT COVER STORY

Football Pro Wayne Fyvie Turns Remanufacturer But Still Carries the Ball for South Africa David Gibbons, Director of Recycling Times Media Corporation

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FRONT COVER STORY

A quick Google search reveals Wayne Fyvie is a legend. You can bid and buy collector rugby cards with his photo on them because he has worn his country’s colors—a South African Springbok— on the playing field. And sporting annals will remember him as the guy who “always gave everything out there” on the field. Doing Something Good His test days as a Springbok may be over, but his passion for sports, people and South Africa are still evident. Today, he runs greenOffice, a cartridge remanufacturer and print services provider based in Durban, the third largest city and the largest port in South Africa, situated on the east coast. Remanufacturing printer cartridges gives Fyvie the opportunity to employ disadvantaged people while doing something good for the country. “South Africa is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I want to keep supporting my country by doing something good for its people, as well as the environment,” he says. Fyvie still has great memories growing up on a farm, about 10km outside of a small town called Harrismith in the Free State. “We were particularly lucky,” he reminisces. “I enjoyed the safety, freedom and fun offered by the wide-open spaces.” At the age of nine he went off to boarding college and high school in Kwa-Zulu Natal. He is proud of his ties with South Africa, having spent his whole life there, except for one year when he played for the Welsh

rugby team, Cardiff Blues, in the UK. To play for his country in sport has been a huge honor. “Representing your country is a privilege, not a right,” he says, as a proud smile fills his face. “However, many greats before you have worn the shirt that you wear. And many will wear it after you’re gone. It’s really on loan, and your job is to do what many have done before you. Next you must pass it on, knowing you have done it proud.”

You have to show leadership and do your part, to make not only the country, but the planet a better place. He says it’s the same with business. If you really want to do something great for your country, then you need to leave a legacy behind. You have to show leadership and do your part, to make not only the country, but the planet a better place. Cartridge remanufacturing gives Fyvie the opportunity to do all of that. Still a Team Player It’s all about being on a team. “We played soccer most afternoons on the farm when I was little. I had three brothers and a sister, so I had to be a part of a team. I also played competitively for my province. And now with my staff at greenOFFICE, I am still playing on a team.” Fyvie says if you are going to be successful on the playing

field, or in business, or in life, for that matter, “being a team player is critical.” He says that sport has toughened him, shaped him and prepared him for life. He remembers all too well when he had a career threatening injury. He says he was hard to get along with. And he was plagued with so many questions. “Will I ever play again? What effect will it have on my style? Who really cares about me? If my career is over, what will I do?” He said he poured blood, sweat and tears to get his leg strong again. He realized that a single incident like this can impact you. South Africa has been in the eye of the storm over its many political tensions. But Fyvie sees the abolition of apartheid as an opportunity for the country to excel even further. “In spite of our country being small and facing many challenges, we have excelled on the sports field in most sports. There are very few sporting endeavors which are not represented by South Africans.” Then he predicts, “Watch out rest of the world! The demolishing of apartheid has only made us a stronger sporting nation!” Building a Better Business Fyvie knew playing rugby could not last forever. He knew he would have time on his hands at some stage. He would need something to keep him not only busy, but still supporting the South Africa he loved so much. “Flying back from a game against Western Province— also known as the Stormers—I was sitting next to legendry player Andre Joubert. We got to talking about life outside of the game.”

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FRONT COVER STORY

Sorting some of the 100,000 empty cartridges collected every month

greenABLE has given 20 physical disabled people a job

Captain Cartridge teaches kids about the four “R’s” for the environment

Joubert told Fyvie about a remanufacturing toner cartridge business he owned. Fyvie visited the small back office and realized very quickly, this was a product and service he could do successfully. It ticked all the boxes of saving money, creating local jobs and caring for the environment. “It was a win-win opportunity, so I bought in, moved in and the rest, as they say, is history.” In 1997, greenOFFICE was born. As he travelled the world to see how others were doing it, he noticed right from the beginning the “top” remanufacturers didn’t take short-cuts to build quality products. He also found them to be very supportive and willing to help. “This article gives me the opportunity to thank all those remanufacturers who helped me out back then, and continue to do so today.” Today, the company has moved on as well. Remanufacturing cartridges is still its core business, but Fyvie has added managed print services (MPS) to the business model. “We now work with office executives to supply the most comprehensive MPS solution in South Africa,” he says. greenOFFICE has offices in Durban, but also in Johannesburg and Cape Town. There are 130 employees including helpdesk staff and technicians. Captain Cartridge and the 4 Rs greenOFFICE holds various standards certifications including ISO 14001 giving evidence of their commitment to conserving natural resources, recycling waste and ensuring the efficient use of

energy. The collection of empty cartridges for recycling is a big part of this program. “We collect more than 100,000 empties every month from schools, charities, brokers as well as businesses,” Fyvie explains. “That’s a million cartridges a year that don’t end up in a landfill, so this is a good thing.” But there is more to this story.

“We grind the unusable plastics from the printer cartridges and send them to a company which recycles them into roof tiles and man-hole covers.” Firstly, there is the greenSCHOOL. “This is a lot of fun,” Fyvie explains. “Our very own Captain Cartridge superhero visits schools to teach the kids about the four “R’s” for the environment: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and Responsible. We teach them how much carbon footprint they can save by recycling just one empty cartridge.” And the schools are a great means of collecting empties, with cash going back to help the school with their own needs. Fyvie has worked hard to establish greenABLE which assists people with spinal cord injuries. They are trained to run a cartridge collection initiative from their

Unusable cartridges are ground up and recycled into roof tiles and man-hole covers

own home. “We look for people who are mostly house bound due to their mobility impairment, who have an entrepreneurial flair. These agents are located all over the country.” Since 2011, the greenABLE project has also given 20 physical disabled people— mostly women—a job. They strip, clean and sort printer cartridges for re-use, or for recycling. The plastic and scrap metals that cannot be re-used are sold to generate an income for the greenABLE project. “We grind the unusable plastics from the printer cartridges and send them to a company which recycles them into roof tiles and man-hole covers,” Fyvie adds. “So, Wayne,” I ask, “is what you’re doing now as important for South Africa, as was representing your country in sport?” “Absolutely!’ comes the quick response. “Sport has been a major contributor in bringing our nation together. You may remember the 1995 rugby World Cup in South Africa and what that did for our country.” He reminds me South Africa has many challenges, one of them being unemployment. But Fyvie knows he is doing something to help. “Our managed print services sustainability model helps too: with cost savings, protection of our environment, as well as creating employment. If greenOFFICE can be sustainable and continue to grow by contributing in these three ways—where our country needs the most help—we will help our country become a powerful nation. So, yes we are helping Big Time!” www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

AFTERMARKET NEWS Having a Yen for it Two thirds of consumers do not know the newer inkjet printers can print up to 100 pages per minute. And 80 percent of them are ready to buy one! InfoTrends have shared this information and other print consumables data with scores of OEM and aftermarket leaders on the Communication Supplies Japan Conference in Tokyo, Japan. In other news, InfoTrends’ John Shane (right) said most businesses hold onto their printer hardware during a recession, but as the tough times end, there will be a growth in sales again.

Off to China

Shane also predicts the industry should expect more lawsuits and trade actions to address the illegal manufacture of newly built compatible or cloned cartridges. Watch Andrew Carroll talk about why inkjet might gain market share in the office at http://bit.ly/15Ocwo6

Celebrating 20 years The world leader for supplying inks for the aftermarket industry, OCP GmbH, has just celebrated his 20th year. Horst-Gerh. Edelmeier, General Manager of OCP started off 20 years ago manufacturing

ribbons for typewriters, but within 2 years had started what has become the largest supplier of aftermarket inks. And now in his 20th year, Edelmeier has moved OCP Inks to its new facilities in Bochum, Germany.Edelmeier says the common ingredient in all inks is water. But beyond that, the science and technology required to make a good quality ink, is what separates him from his competitors.

The largest collector of empty printer cartridges in the Netherlands, and one of the largest in Europe is now shipping most of them to China. Consumers are encouraged to donate their empty cartridgesto one of sixteen charities that works with van Klaveren CCC. Lennart Zernitz told Recycling Times “We are collecting 150,000 toner cartridges every month and most of thm—about 80%—are going to China.”Van Klaveren now collects more than 3.3 million toner and ink cartridges every year, from France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden. You can watch what Lennart Zernitz has to say at bit.ly/Ytm4yE

Watch what Edelmeier says at bit.ly/ Wp2zLb

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AFTERMARKET NEWS Delacamp Locks In Environmentally Friendly Packaging Delacamp has developed shipping locks packaging, to be used with remanufactured cartridges, which are also good for the environment because they are reused. The new green locks are as sturdy as their orange counterparts, but they are made from paper pulp, so they can decompose quickly instead of taking hundreds of years. “We had these certified at 85% which is the highest grade classification you

can get for bio-based materials from the DIN, Delacamp’s Volker Kappius told Recycling Times. Watch what Volker Kappius says at bit. ly/13UygjJ

MSE Awarded Patent for Secondary Cleaning System Micro Solutions Enterprises (MSE) has been awarded a U.S. patent for its groundbreaking Secondary Cleaning System (SCS) technology. MSE introduced the revolutionary SCS in 2010 for use in HP 4600/5500/4700 “Intelligently Re-engineered” color toner cartridges. SCS immediately addresses many of the color quality issues that have plagued the industry, such as, streaking, backgrounding and overall dirty prints which result from

toner additive buildup (TAB) on the Primary Charge Roller (PCR). “This innovation was heralded as the very definition of Intelligent Re-Engineering, as it was—and still is—the only instance of an aftermarket toner manufacturer developing a new critical cartridge component that was not present in the original,” noted Luke Goldberg, MSE’s Senior Vice President.

New Age Toners Discover Imaging has just released four new polymerised toners for HP cartridges which they say are a cut above other aftermarket solutions. President of Discovery Imaging Steve Weedon told Recyling Times, “We called it new age toner because of the performance characteristics which have over come all the problems we have seen with existing aftermarket polymerized toners in the market.” He claims the new polymerised toners are closer to OEM quality, with improved transfer efficiency, color compatibility, backgrounding levels and perfect fusing. Watch what Weedon says at bit.ly/ Wp1PFH

Read more: http://bit.ly/15HsbFZ

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TRENDS

Canon Dominates Philippines Inkjet Market According to a report from IDC, Canon printers have been the Number One inkjet brand in the Philippines for the second consecutive year. The total inkjet market share owned by Canon in the region is 45%. Within this segment, Canon dominates the Single Function Printers (SFP) market with 52% share. In the

Multi-Function Printer (MFP) category, it possesses a 39% share. In 2012, Canon posted a significant growth of 30% in the SFP category while posting a 14% growth in the MFP sector. Both categories experienced a 13% decline compared with the same time last year. Read more: http://bit.ly/10u7U3F

Fuji Xerox Philippines: Business Printer Market is Booming Fuji Xerox Philippines and its channel partners, expect to surpass their 47% growth in 2012 with even better performance in the business printing segment in 2013.

Lee Cheung, Fuji Xerox Printer Channel General Manager, showed this ambitious outlook during a

recent new product launch. Cheung said the new FX pri printers will address an increasing dem demand from the smallto-mediu to-medium businesses (SM (SMBs) and small netw networked groups. Cus Customers in the region are sseeking superior print quality while savin money, energy saving t environment. The and the comp company is confident that it can exceed last year's g 47% growth performance. Fuji Xerox's plan is to t local market widen the reach of its trusted brand with efficient strate strategies and programs to maximize the pro product awareness of its clients. Read more: http://bit.ly/XCxwfE

IDC Reports Worldwide Printer Market Fell 11% in 4Q2012 According to IDCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worldwide market report, the total volume of printer shipments in the fourth quarter of 2012 fell 11.2% when compared with the same period in 2011. The weak global economy and changes in consumer printing habits are said to have caused the decline. IDC claims total shipments dropped to 31.1 million units.

Inkjet devices, despite enjoying 64% of the market, saw shipments fall 14% to 19.8 million units. Color laser printers decreased 11% with 1.7 million units shipped, among which color laser MFPs witnessed their first declining quarter. Despite the bleak market, IDC is optimistic about printer sales in 2013. Read more: http://bit.ly/ZeN6My www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

PROFILE 24 RESEARCH

Six Key Trends

Impacting

Remanufacturers It is important for remanufacturers of ink and toner cartridges to understand the trends that are shaping the office and home printing industries. By developing an understanding of the changing print landscape, they can better anticipate how the demand for different types of remanufactured cartridges will evolve. Christine Dunne, Research Analyst at InfoTrends, discusses several of the key trends taking place.

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RESEARCH

According to InfoTrends placements data, electrophotographic (laser, LED) devices continue to dominate office environments worldwide. In fact, InfoTrends estimates that approximately 72% of all office printers/multifunction peripherals (MFPs) are laser- or LEDbased, though this percentage varies by region. InfoTrends research indicates that business inkjet devices are most popular in the Americas— where the bias toward this type of technology is relatively low; they are least popular in Central & Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.

InfoTrends expects the share of inkjet devices in the office to grow. Nevertheless, as the capabilities of inkjet devices start to rival those of laser machines, and ink costs continue to fall, InfoTrends expects the share of inkjet devices in the office to grow. New pagewide technologies from vendors like Memjet, Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Brother can deliver print speeds of more than 50 pages per minute, potentially changing the way inkjet technology is perceived. Further, the larger-capacity ink tanks available for these devices are bringing down costs so they are in-line, or more affordable, than laser printing costs— particularly when it comes to color printing. Given the evolution of inkjet technology as well as changing attitudes toward the technology, we would encourage remanufacturers to pay particular attention to the cartridges used for these page-wide devices. In addition, there are a number of serial inkjet devices that are contributing to the shift toward inkjet technology in the office, including Officejet devices from HP, WorkForce machines from Epson, and GELJET devices from Ricoh.

Home Printing on the Decline As the adoption of mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) grows rapidly,

home users are relying less on printing to view, edit, and share documents and photos. Equipped with an Internetconnected device at all times, they can digitally access a particular document, photo, or website whenever and wherever they would like. The recession has contributed to the decline in home printing as well. By printing less and replacing printers less frequently, individuals have more disposable income for other purchases— many of which are considered more necessary. According to InfoTrends placements data, U.S. shipments of consumer inkjet devices declined 22% from 2008 to 2011; consumer inkjet shipments declined significantly in Western Europe as well. InfoTrends expects these declines to continue as more people purchase mobile devices, and move to business inkjet printers and MFPs. Remanufacturers cannot ignore the shift that is occurring in the consumer printing industry. With home users printing less frequently, the overall opportunity for selling these types of supplies diminishes. However, there are some bright spots within emerging markets. As a result of the changing landscape, many consumer inkjet remanufacturers have identified the devices that are the most popular in the regions they operate, as well as the regions with the most potential for consumer inkjet growth (e.g. certain emerging economies). In addition, many have expanded into the office or production print industries—two areas with more growth potential.

Devices Becoming Faster As device prices continue to drop, and performance capabilities continue to improve, it does not come as a surprise that many users are moving up speed segments (also known as “speed creep”). In Western Europe, for example, shipments of printers/MFPs in the combined 1-10 ppm and 11-20 ppm speed segments declined 7.6% from 2008 to 2011, while shipments of printers/MFPs in the combined 31-44 ppm and 45-69 ppm speed segments grew 21.1% during the same period. InfoTrends is forecasting the most growth in devices that can print 45 pages or more per minute. New high-speed business inkjet www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

26 RESEARCH

As the adoption of mobile devices grows rapidly, home users are relying less on printing to view, edit, and share documents and photos.

technology is contributing to the shift to higher speed segments. The Memjetpowered C6010 printer, for example, has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of just $1,299 but can print up to 60 pages per minute (in color and black & white). Similarly, HP’s new Officejet Pro X devices range in price from $449 to $799, which is significantly lower than MSRPs for laser devices in the same speed category (55-70 pages per minute in office mode, depending on the model)— prompting more customers to go upstream. A recent study conducted by InfoTrends (Is Inkjet Printing Technology Ready to Transform the Office Printing Environment?) provides more evidence that speed creep is occurring. According to that study, fast printing speed is a top factor influencing the purchase price of a new print device, especially among laser device users. With all of this in mind, remanufacturers must ensure that they are considering the move to faster devices when developing their business strategies. While making cartridges for these types of devices may be a more involved process, the potential payoff could be greater.

More Color Used in Office We are also seeing a shift to color printing in the office environment, particularly in emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China where the color printing share is low to begin with. InfoTrends’ recent Market Pulse surveys indicate that the average color printing share in each of these four countries Issue37|www.iRecyclingTimes.com

grew from 2011 to 2012. According to the survey responses, the average color printing share grew from 21% to 29% in Russia, and 35% to 39% in China. In addition, in all of these countries but Russia, the majority of survey respondents said their next office equipment purchase device would be a color device.

New high-speed business inkjet technology is contributing to the shift to higher speed segments. These results mirror findings in other countries (e.g., the Czech Republic, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey), suggesting there is a significant potential for color printing is in many regions of the world. There is also strong demand for color printing in developed economies like the United States and the United Kingdom where bias against color page prices is considered less of a barrier. The popularity of color has been fueled by a number of factors, including falling price points (in both acquisition cost and overall cost per page), businesses starting to understand the benefits of color, and speed creep. The good news for remanufacturers is that remanufactured ink and toner cartridges can result in more

profit compared to their monochrome counterparts.

Hindrances to Color Remanufacture Continue Nevertheless, while the opportunity for color printing is growing, remanufacturers continue to face challenges in the color segment. Not only are there intellectual property issues on new build ink and toner cartridges—including issues related to smart chips, but chemically produced technology (CPT) toner remains difficult for the aftermarket to emulate. Consequently, it is understandable that monochrome black segments continue to see better success in the aftermarket. Within the low-end A4 segment, for example, the overall share of monochrome black aftermarket supplies is between 30% and 40%. This contrasts with the low-end color A4 segment, where aftermarket share is in the single-digit or low teen percentage range. Regarding the challenge of emulating CPT supplies, it can be hard for remanufacturers to ensure batch-to-batch consistency of color toner. One batch might be good, but the next batch might have problems. This could have a serious impact on the uniformity of a company’s marketing materials, or quality within a production environment. Another challenge is that the channels still largely think that color aftermarket cartridges are much more likely to have defects than monochrome black cartridges. Some of this perception is surely based on experience; until they find remanufacturers

RESEARCH

While the opportunity for color printing is growing, remanufacturers continue to face challenges in the color segment.

with a consistent product they will continue to rely on OEM supplies. This is especially the case with traditional resellers like office Superstores, or contract stationers, that need a reliable product. Remanufacturers can work with their color toner suppliers to change attitudes by improving batch-to-batch consistency, though there is no guarantee the market will again take a chance on their product.

A number of OEMs regularly highlight cost per page information in their marketing communications. More Competitive Cost per Page The 2008 global recession as well as the growing popularity of managed print services (MPS) have prompted businesses to take a closer look at their costs, including their print-related expenses. Previously, many businesses did not know what they were spending on printed output until the end of the fiscal year, or they did not put a priority on carefully tracking print costs. Now that many organizations are facing tighter budgets, the focus has shifted to these types of expenses. MPS contracts have made it easier for organizations to oversee their print costs,

through setting cost per page amounts at the outset of the agreement, and providing detailed reports of who printed what when. This focus on running costs has bled over to the printer/MFP market; now a number of OEMs regularly highlight cost per page information in their marketing communications. For example, Epson and HP note that the cost per page of their newest business inkjet devices is up to 50% lower than that of comparable color laser devices, while Xerox lists the cost per page values for a variety of office printers on its website. This attention to cost has prompted a number of inkjet vendors to offer highercapacity supplies cartridges, driving down the cost per page. It is now possible to find relatively affordable inkjet models (e.g., less than $1,300 MSRP) that can deliver monochrome black at a cost per copy (CPC) of 1 to 3 cents and color at a CPC of 6 to 7 cents. With many OEM vendors shifting to higher-value consumables, the challenge for remanufacturers lies in providing an additional cost benefit to the customer.

What Next? InfoTrends will continue to track the trends impacting the office and consumer printing industries, especially as new mobile technologies influence the way people work, communicate, and interact with documents. By staying up to date on these shifts, remanufacturers are better positioned to adjust and fine-tune their business models.

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LIFTOUT DIRECTORY

PRIMARY CHARGE ROLLER PRODUCERS ASIA APEX ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. APEX is focused on research, development, manufacture and sale of aftermarket cartridge components, creative chipping system and complete chip resetting solutions. Products include inkjet/laser chips, inkjet inks, toners, OPC, DR, MR, SR, PCR and blades. APEX is dedicated to providing the finest, fastest and fullest component

solutions for the global aftermarket imaging industry. Mr. Jeffrey Zhou, Sales Manager 7/F, Unit 04, No.63 North Mingzhu Road, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China Tel: +86.756.3333 768 Ext. 135 Email:Jeffrey.zhou@apexmic.com Website: www.apexmic.com

ASCEND PRECISION ACCESSORIES LTD. Foshan Ascend Precision Accessories Co. is a seasoned manufacturer of printer and copier spare parts and consumables with more than 12 years’ experience. As a Hewlett Packard authorized supplier for fuser film sleeves in China and for Katun USA on web rollers, it promises its customers high product quality a low prices.

Mr. Cheng Liu, General Manager Room 601/602, Tian You Chuang Fu Building, Tian'an Digital Mall, Jian Ping No.1 Road, Guicheng,Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong, China Tel: +86.757.8636 6750 Email: sales@fsyibang.com Website: www.fsascend.com

BAIKSAN (HANP) This Korea-based company produces OPC drum, toner, chip, roller, blade, ink and supplies them to over 400 customers in the world through its own independent sales network. Baiksan has been recognized as a professional parts company for the digital output devices, such as laser printers, inkjet printers, copiers, fax machines and multi-function printers.

Mr. Hyeong-joo Jung, Sales Representative 45-10,Yongsomal-gil, Deoksan-myeon, Jincheon-Gun, Chungcheongbuk-Do, Korea Tel: +82.10.7466.2707 Email: jung@baiksanopc.com Website: www.baiksanopc.com

JAHWA ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. Jahwa Electronics is a leading manufacturer in the field of precision electronic parts. It invests 5% of total annual sales into pure research and development. As a result, it has achieved an annual growth rate of 30% to 40%. The primary charge roller (PCR) is one of its major products.

Mr. Jeong-hwan Jo, Team Leader 7-6, Hyeonam-ri, Buki-myeon Cheongwon-gun, Chungoheongbuk-do, 363-922, Korea Tel: +82.43.210.7114 Email: jhjo@jahwa.co.kr Website: www.jahwa.co.kr

Roderick Boone, Senior Research & Development Engineer, SCC

Primary charge rollers (PCRs) are critical toner cartridge components in the OEM electrophotographic system. Depending on the system, a PCR may be hard or soft, single or multi-layered, and designed for positive or negative charging. The mechanical roughness, hardness, compression set, shape, electrical resistance, capacitance and chemical stability are key elements in the design of the PCR that are determined by the properties of the other components in the cartridge and voltage inputs of the printer. The PCR outputs electrical energy to uniformly charge the OPC drum. Some PCRs also erase the latent image from the drum. It is in direct contact with the drum and the area between the two components is called the “nip”.The nip generates pressure against the drum that acts as a path for voltage transfer and creates friction between the two components that allows the PCR to rotate. As the PCR moves, it can experience some level of wear that increases moisture and chemical absorption. Also, humidity, toner additive build-up and surrounding components can affect the PCR, causing numerous print defects. During the initial OEM cycle, the PCR and other cartridge components are subjected to an unknown amount of wear and degradation. It is impossible to determine if this first cycle exposure has compromised the PCR properties to a point where it may not perform properly for the entire next cycle within the degraded imaging system. Therefore, it is best practice to replace the PCR each remanufacturing cycle. Low surface impedance, for example, may cause destructive arcing from roller to photoreceptor while high surface impedance may result in undercharging, or non-uniform charging of the OPC drum. Reusing or recycling a PCR is one of the primary causes of failure in remanufactured toner cartridges. Therefore, it is essential that proper cleaning and quality control test procedures be developed and applied to ensure proper performance of the remanufactured cartridge.

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LIFTOUT DIRECTORY

NAROLLER NaRoller was established in 2002 starting with commercial magnetic rollers and roller sleeves for the cartridge remanufacturing aftermarket. For prevalent printer technology, it launched developer rollers, an alternative for developing color images in the electrophotographic process.

Mr. Roger Lee, Deputy General Manager 7F, No.540, Sec.1, Minsheng N. Rd., Guishan Shiang, Taoyuan County, Taiwan Tel: +886.3.2228.880 Email: sales@naroller.com Website: www.naroller.com

PRINT-RITE HOLDINGS LTD. Print-Riteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PCR is manufactured by its flagship manufacturing plant Print-Rite Unicorn Image Products Co., Ltd. , yet solely distributed by its global master distributor Union Technology International (MCO) Co., Ltd. (UTec). UTec offers remanufactured and compatible laser cartridges and inkjet cartridges, compatible ribbons, CISS, wide format supplies, print media, inkjet and laser cartridge parts, bulk ink and toner.

Ms. Iris Ngo, General Manager 14H Nam Kwong Building, 223-225 Avenida Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues, Macau SAR Tel: +853.2871.5020 Email: sales8@utec.com.mo Website: www.union-tec.com

SHANGHAI XINZHAN RUBBER CO., LTD. Xinzhan is a globally famous manufacturer of professional high polymer chemical composite materials and products. It has been providing a support service for its high-tech semi-conductive rubber roller products. The company enjoys a reputation for excellence in the imaging industry for its high quality products and after sales service and support.

Ms. Alisa Pei, Overseas Sales Assistant No.3236 Wai Qing Song Rd, Qingpu District, Shanghai City, 201709, China Tel: +86.21.59740749 Email: Alisa.pppp@gmail.com Website: www.shinbiing.net

SHENZHEN ZHANXINLONG SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD. Shenzhen Zhanxinlong Science & Technology Co., is engaged in the production of laser printer and copier parts, including developer rollers, primary charge rollers, powder feeding rollers, wiper blades and control tabs. The company boasts powerful R&D capabilities, and 18 years of experience and skills in the production of laser printer and copier parts. Additionally, it has been engaged in the supply of OEMs for more than 10 years.

Mr. Xinchun Nie, General Manager Block B, No. 9 Xiawei Industrial Park, Zhangkengjing Village, Guanlan Sub-district, Baoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an District, Shenzhen, China Tel: +86.755.2803.7381 Email: zxl@szzxl.cn Website: www.szzxl.cn

TIANJIN AOGUANG TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD. Tianjin AoGuang Technology and Development Co., Ltd. is a professional manufactory for the rubber products for printer and Copier. It develops and manufactures many high quality rubber rollers, including transfer roller, primary charge roller, develop roller, supply roller, upper and pressure fuser roller, pick-up roller and many other rubber or plastic parts.

Ms. Sun Yongcun, Sales Representative Zhutang Industrial Park, Da Zhang Zhuang Town, Beichen District, Tianjin, 300402, China Tel: +86. 22.8697.7755 or +86.22.8697.7766 Email: sales@tjaog.com Website: www.tjaog.com

ZHUHAI ZHONGXINDA TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. Zhuhai Zhongxinda Technology was established in July 2004. With a highly trained, technical team and advanced quality control procedures, it has continuously developed new products with superior quality. Its primary products include PCR, DR, SR and TR for HP, Canon, Samsung, Brother, Lexmark, and other OEM imaging devices.

Mr. Jin Benyou, General Manager 2nd Building, NO. 2, Jinheng Road, Science and Technology Industry Park, Jinding, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China Tel: +86.756.3639108 Email: sd@zxd-tech.com Website: www.zxd-tech.com www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

LIFTOUT DIRECTORY

EUROPE DELACAMP Delacamp is a leading supplier of components to the remanufacturing industry. Although Delacamp is not a direct producer of PCRs, it is a co-developer of these high-tech rollers. It supplies components and spare parts for printers and copiers worldwide. Delacamp has also been one of the leading suppliers of uninked fabrics for the production of typewriter ribbons.

Mr. Volker O. Kappius, COO Bargkoppelweg 64, D - 22145 Hamburg, Germany Tel: +49.40.3258.28111 Email: vkappius@delacamp.com Website: www.delacamp.com

TEN CATE ENBI Ten Cate Enbi is a global manufacturer of paper transport, fusing and image transfer rollers, focusing primarily on the office equipment industry. It enjoys strong position in laser and inkjet printer market. In the laser segment, its PCR, image transfer rollers, fuser rollers, pressure rollers, paper transport rollers and foam products are used in almost all product ranges.

Postbus 154, 6440 AD Brunssum, The Netherlands Tel: +31. (0)546.544911 Email: sales@tencate-enbi.com Website: www.tencate-enbi.com

NORTH AMERICA FUTURE GRAPHICS Future Graphics is a global leader in aftermarket imaging supplies. While FG is not a direct producer of PCRs, it is a codeveloper of primary charge and developer rollers. The result is unmatched technical resources capable of delivering marketleading matched systems to the remanufacturing industry.

Mr. Thomas Spicker, Vice President International Sales Tel: +1.818.837.8100 Ext. 3925, 1175 Aviation Place, San Fernando, CA 91340 Email: thomass@fgimaging.com Website: fgimaging.com

STATIC CONTROL COMPONENTS Static Control Components, Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer and distributor of imaging components and supplies for the global laser and ink jet cartridge remanufacturing industry. Static Control excels in intellectual property , scientific research, system development, cartridge chip development, cartridge components engineering, production equipment engineering and fabrication, multiple manufacturing

processes, comprehensive quality assurance, automation design and manufacturing, and vertical integration. Mr. William Lau, General Sales Manager 22/F Tower II, Metroplaza,Kwai Fong, HONG KONG Tel: +852.2419.1110 Email: info@scchongkong.hk Website: www.scc-inc.cn

UNINET IMAGING INC. UniNet is a worldwide quality manufacturer and solutions provider to OEMs and remanufacturers, as well as a distributor of PCRs, printer toner, chips, laser, MFP, ink, copier and cartridge recycling components. Although UniNet is not a direct producer of PCRs, it is a co-developer of these high tech rollers.

Ms. Marcela Gasanz, Marketing Manager 3232 West El Segundo Blvd., Hawthorne, CA 90250 Tel: +1.424.675.3300 Email: marcelas@uninet.com Website: www.uninetimaging.com

We will publish the directory of Developer Materials manufacturers in next monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edition of Recycling Times. If you want to be on the list, please send your company profile details to Mr. Art Diamond at drc@west.net.

NEXT ISSUE

This Directory, compiled by the staff of Recycling Times magazine, represents the best information currently available to us regarding those primary charge roller (PCR) manufacturers serving cartridge remanufacturers worldwide. We plan to review and update this list on an annual basis. Your comments, additions, deletions and suggestions are most welcome. Please email changes to Mr. Art Diamond at drc@west.net

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ENVIRONMENT

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ENVIRONMENT Aren’t remanufacturers just a bunch of parasites living off the industry created and developed by the OEM’s? Not the sort of question I was expecting while enjoying a social drink with some fellow businessmen. Not an easy question to answer either. It is generally accepted that a parasite is an unwelcome guest at any table. And at first glance it seems to be true: remanufacturers don’t provide any benefit to the host OEM who has incurred huge research and development costs. However, there is a third and far more important partner in this relationship, the customer. In this relationship the customer can be regarded as the host, with two dependant parties living off it. Parasites? No, the OEM and the remanufacturer both have a symbiotic relationship with the host. All parties receive mutual benefit. The customer has a choice of consumables, the OEM and the remanufacturer sell their consumables at a sustainable price point. However, the OEM could survive and prosper without the remanufacturer, whereas the remanufacturer could not survive without the OEM. Remanufacturers Influence Environmental Standards With the increasing global awareness on sustainability and carbon reduction throughout all market sectors in the last 5 years, there has also come an increase in legislation and the setting of standards.

Remanufacturers have always taken the environmental high road when it comes to re-using used cartridges, so could this be the way to influence the future of the industry? It is unlikely any one remanufacturer would have had the clout or resources to influence legislation or industry

At first, printer cartridges, and their whole of life looked like being excluded from the whole of life criteria of the imaging products. standards. However, one bunch of vocal, remanufacturing industry leaders, through the very active United Kingdom Remanufacturers Association (UKCRA) had influence over the development of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. This reaped benefits for the industry in Europe. This was followed by the drafting of the Energy Using Products (EUP) Directive, again for Europe. It was seen as the way forward to countering the actions of the all-powerful OEM’s. Emphasis was shifting towards increasing environmental performance of manufactured products, with a distinct view to whole of life performance. This

was identified as a key factor in the imaging product sector, especially for the remanufacturing industry. If consumables could be included in the whole of life performance of the product, then the reusability of the consumables would have to be included in any future standards. At this point, neither I, nor anyone else in UKCRA, was familiar with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). And why should we? Surely this was an American standards agency, developing

Neil Coulton has been passionate for the environment since studying for a degree in Environmental Studies in the early 1980’s. With his wife Abbe, he runs Green Cartridges Limited, with a vision to be as green as possible in the remanufacturing industry and sees 2013 as a year of change and opportunity.

EPEAT Expands to Include Imaging Equipment An EPEAT rating gives all consumers the best opportunity to compare and purchase greener electronic equipment like PCs and monitors. On February 12, EPEAT—the global registry for greener electronics—announced it would expand its influence to include printers, copiers and other imaging equipment. The move was heralded by political leaders, government and environment groups, manufacturers and purchasers as well as at least nine printer manufacturers (OEMs). Seven of them—HP, Canon, Dell, Epson, Lexmark, Ricoh and Xerox—have already registered. Another two—Konica Minolta and Samsung— have begun the process of registering products with EPEAT.

EPEAT’s CEO, Robert Frisbee, says, “World markets will now be able to easily and reliably identify and purchase greener printers, copiers and scanners based on EPEAT ratings.” It took four years to develop the rating criteria, and involved hundreds of representatives from the environmental, research, governmental and manufacturing sectors. To be added to the EPEAT registry, is no mean feat. An imaging device must meet at least 33 required environmental performance criteria. And if an OEM wants to achieve higher ratings, 26 additional optional criteria can be applied to their products. EPEAT rates products on a lifecycle basis, addressing the elimination of toxic

substances, the use of recycled and recyclable materials, their design for recycling, product longevity, energy efficiency, corporate performance and packaging, among other criteria. So what does the EPEAT standard mean for those involved with inkjet and toner consumables? Sarah O’Brien— EPEAT’s Director of Outreach and Communications—says, “EPEAT is a lifecycle standard, so it addresses all environmental impacts of the product type. In the case of imaging equipment, consumables are significant so they’re addressed by the standard.”

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ENVIRONMENT

environmental standards intended for their “home” market. However, it became apparent, much of the future European environmental standards would be based heavily on the developments being worked on by EPEAT. This was now becoming important. Trying to relate the importance of this potential standard to interested parties was not always straight forward. Many asked “How will this increase my sales of cartridges?” This was bigger than individuals, and without action, remanufacturers would be further squeezed out. EPEAT had the potential to be a “game changing” step. The actual “nuts and bolts” of the EPEAT standard were being assembled by the Institute of Electrical and Electrical Engineers (IEEE)—the world’s largest technical professional association. This was IEEE 1680.2 Standard for Environmental Assessment of Imaging Equipment. The standard was aimed to provide a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of imaging equipment, and provide an opportunity to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of the products. The drafting of the standard was long and drawn out. Its importance was not overlooked by the OEM’s either. A growing presence OEM’s was emerging at discussions and working groups. UKCRA’s resources were being stretched, as all the working groups were U.S. based. The use of external consultants was putting a strain on finances. It was getting too big to handle on its own. The European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturing Association (ETIRA)

EPEAT defines three clear levels of compliance: gold, silver and bronze. and the International Imaging Technology Council (I-ITC) became involved and worked together. The process was gaining momentum. At first, printer cartridges, and their whole of life looked like being excluded from the whole of life criteria of the imaging products. This would have hugely favoured the protection of the OEM profit centre, namely cartridges. Reusability and recyclability needed to be raised as a primary consideration, as cartridges and other consumables form a significant part of the environmental impact of any imaging

The remanufacturing industry preferred “reuse and recycle” as it was inclusive of both streams, and would prohibit any manufacturing methods which could exclude “reuse”.

product over its lifecycle. Reusability also needed to be given precedent over recyclability to fulfil any obligation under the waste hierarchy. Herein lay a point of contention. The OEM’s favoured the use of the phrase “reuse or recycle”. The remanufacturing industry preferred “reuse and recycle” as it was inclusive of both streams, and hence could prohibit any manufacturing methods which could exclude “reuse”. This was a small, but vital aspect of this standard. Many hours were spent on such details as the process became drawn out. The resulting standard, now conveniently named EPEAT Imaging Equipment

Conformity Assessment Protocol had defined three clear levels of compliance, gold, silver, and bronze. Increasing levels of environmental criteria were required for the higher standards. “Reuse” was given precedence over “recycle” where workable. Would it Impact the Remanufacturing Industry? If the take up by the OEM’s with EPEAT is anything to go by, then this is an exceptionally influential standard. With the ever growing culture of Bid and Tender process globally, not only within the governments at all levels, but also the corporate, and small to medium enterprise sector, this standard has, and will, become the default measure of environmental performance for imaging products. To not achieve this standard is to exclude your product from most large tender processes. Initially the significance appeared to have been missed or misjudged by Apple. In July 2012 Apple announce its products would no longer be registered with EPEAT. The backlash from Green groups, and its own loyal customer base, fuelled by social media resulted in a change of mind only a few days later. As the OEM’s are seeing the importance of compliance with the standard for the future prosperity of their corporations, then the future consumables therein must embrace the ability to be reused. So if you can get your hands on a used cartridge, and do not infringe any patents applicable to that item, you should be able to remanufacture the product for the purpose of “reuse”. Should an OEM implement such steps as to impede or prohibit its “reuse”, this may affect the award of EPEAT standard on that product. Next time, if you see me enjoying a quiet drink with friends and associates, please feel free to buy me a drink and join in with the conversation. However, please be careful about the questions you choose to ask. It may turn into a long night. www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

36 OEM NEWS HP Reports Decline in Printing Business HP reported that it had exceeded its earnings target for the 1st quarter of 2013, but the revenue in the company’s printer business was down compared to the same period in 2012. Despite the optimistic assessments from HP’s CEO and CFO, the company’s printer business was down. The printer unit’s

total 1Q2013 revenue of $5.93 billion was off 5.3% compared to 1Q2012. Shipments of consumer hardware were down 13% and commercial hardware shipments dropped 6%. Compared to last year, total hardware shipments were down 11%, while sales of consumables slipped from about $4.1 billion to $3.9 billion, a decline of about 5 %. Read more: http://bit.ly/WDEUc0

Sharp Won't Sell Copier, Printer Business to Samsung Samsung and Sharp recently announced a US$111 million deal where Samsung will have a 3% stake in Sharp. But Samsung will not get its hands on any of Sharp’s

copier and printer business. Samsung tried to acquire Sharp’s printer and copier division. Though Sharp can obtain a substantial amount to repay its $2.1 billion convertible bond due in September, it declined to sell the division because the printer and copier division is one of its few promising businesses. Sharp has been losing cash, and its market share is on the decline. It would use the funds from Samsung to build its capital position. Read more: http://bit.ly/ZMamRZ

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Inkjet Printers Help Scientists Make Drugs HP may have spent the last 25 years in the business of helping consumers print out documents and photos, but it has spent the last few years working with pharmaceutical labs. According to popsci.com, the website for making science popular, HP’s research and development teams have been working on ways to transfer standard inkjet technology to helping scientists develop new drugs. As a result, companies such as Astra Zeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and SIGA Technologies are using HP’s new Direct Digital Dispenser (HP D300) to develop an experimental compound dubbed ST-246, which would be given to people who are diagnosed with smallpox too late for a vaccine to help. Read more: http://bit.ly/16u3eim

OEM NEWS HP Releases Ink Advantage HP has introduced a new feature for its inkjet printers. Called “Ink Advantage” it is said to offer an efficient and affordable printing system for home users and microbusiness customers, allowing them to print up to two times the amount of pages for the same cost. The new HP Ink Advantage series offers various functionalities. It makes versatility, creativity and remarkable savings possible. The series has the best page yield, reliability, print quality, speeds,

usage patterns, cost per cartridge or page, and better longevity than similar products in the market. According to RT’s source, “the ink capacity of the cartridges has increased which enables them to print up to two times the amount of pages for the same cost.” What this implies is that a larger ink tank in the cartridge extends the page yield. However, does it also assume the cost of the ink does not increase for a larger fill? Read more: http://bit.ly/13P2XqF

Lexmark Pays $31.5M for 2 More Acquisitions Lexmark has bought two companies, costing them US$31.5 million, to reverse a slump brought on by declining demand for computer printers and ink. The two new acquisitions are Twistage— a New York company which sells tools for

Workforce Redundancy at Ricoh China Recently, rumors about redundancies at Ricoh China have been spreading on China’s Twitterlike website, Sina Weibo. It’s being said that 200 employees will be sacked in the near term, accounting for more than 22% of Ricoh’s total workforce in China. The staff of Ricoh China would be reduced from 900 to 700 workers. This redundancy is related to the company’s restructuring strategy. Regional General Managers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the three largest cities in China, have resigned. At the same time, 100 employees have already been laid off. Read more: http://bit.ly/WKNWUL

managing video, photos and audio on the Internet and mobile devices— and AccessVia, a Seattle company that makes software used by retailers to place signs and labels in their stores. Read more: http://bit.ly/WL0onC

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REGIONAL NEWS

Africa With Bevlen Sudhu < Bevlen@ greenoffice.co.za> • Africa’s largest collector and reseller of empty printer cartridges is now employing people with physical disabilities to dismantle and sort the empties into their recyclable components. greenABLE is also recycling plastic parts which cannot be reused, into roof tiles for housing (picture attached). • Consumers in South Africa are being warned about fake cartridges and being given tips on how to identify them. Written by Tyrone Makan, the publication points out counterfeiting steals US$3 billon from the legitimate industry every year. And consumers end up with poor quality, low yield prints from what they thought was brand new.

United Kingdom

North America

• According to the Blackpool Gazette, internet based company The Ink Squid, which was founded three years ago will add more staff to meet the demands of increasing trade. Owner Adrian Meakin started out on his own with just £600 of stock, and selling it on Ebay. He has expanded to other platforms including Amazon—and says it’s really taking off. “We now send about 25,000 orders, or 300,000 cartridges, per year to over 200 countries.”

With Laura Kittner < lkittner@tangentmtw.com>

Australasia With Maurice Aiken <admin@copyex.com.au> • The number of Australians using a tablet computer is approaching 3 million. And it’s expected half of the country’s 23 million population will use one by 2016 attracting mobile printing. The key to purchasing such printing devices will be ease of operation, weight and footprint. Even though larger companies are opting for fewer

printing devices, they are demanding more output with staff needing to print documents anywhere, anytime. • Keytek is the first company to hold carbon neutral certification (NCOS) with the newly established Department of Climate Change for the Australian Government, for its extensive range of

• The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) announced the completion of its first white paper of 2013, “MPS Business Models & Components.” It identifies four managed print business models MPS providers can use to go to market, details the pros and cons associated with each and provides charts outlining additional components related to the delivery of managed print services. See more at www.yourmpsa.org

remanufactured toner cartridges. Keytek is now in the process of certifying its inkjet cartridge range which were originally certified under the government's "Greenhouse Friendly" programme. The "Greentec" labeled cartridges with the NCOS logo are distributed Australia-wide, through the Officeworks stationery superstores. See more at www.keytek.com.au

Europe With José Bustamante <redaccion@consumiblesEmagazine.com> • A Spanish customer contacted his Ricoh distributor to arrange the collection of his empty printer cartridges. To his surprise, he was offered the service at a "special price". Ignoring the WEEE directive—which obliges manufacturers and distributors of electronic equipment to take care of the waste produced free of charge—this Ricoh distributor tried to charge his customer. He should have been referred to Ricoh's website, which tells you how to return used cartridges free of charge. • The leading Spanish supplier of components for remanufacturing printer

cartridges, Ozotoner, have moved to bigger and better premises so they can provide their customers with an even better service. Luis Rodríguez invited me to see first hand the bigger and better staffed warehouse, the spacious and bright offices, and the isolation rooms for filling toner bottles and testing cartridges. See more at www. ozotoner.com

economy and the conservation of the environment, and making printing more affordable for the needy.

• Spain has an unemployment rate of over 25%. So, Merkecartuchos, a chain of remanufactured cartridges shops in Spain, offers a 15% discount for unemployed customers, thus contributing to the local www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

DIGITAL PRINT NEWS

Xerox Acquires French Inkjet Firm Xerox announced that it has acquired Impika, an Aubagne, France producer of inkjet printing solutions. The acquisition will expand Xerox's production inkjet capabilities, especially for industrial, commercial, security, label, and packaging applications. Mr. Jeff Jacobson, President of Xerox's Graphic Communications Operations, said that Xerox sees production inkjet as ''the next big technology,'' citing a prediction by IT Strategies of a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% in the production inkjet market through 2015. He explained that Impika will keep its name and brand and that Paul Morgavi, President and CEO of Impika, will continue to run the firm and report to Mr.

Jacobson as will his current staff of 55 employees. Despite plans for the two companies to work together and ''realize synergies'', Xerox will retain R&D activities on its solid ink production devices, while Impika will maintain R&D of its aqueous ink products. Mr. Morgavi described Impika as being ''on the threshold of something big'' and claimed it needs help to enter the next level. He asserted that, as part of Xerox, Impika will have the global coverage it requires. Mr. Jacobson expressed confidence and commented that Xerox can be the market leader in production printing. Read more: http://bit.ly/Yn9ssX

IDC: Production Printing Increased in 2012 According to International Data Corporation (IDC), the value of worldwide production printing shipments increased slightly to more than $2 billion in 2012. In the same period, the worldwide production printing environment recorded over 33,000 units (printers and MFPs) in operation. d packaging devices Label and ouble-digit growth in both witnessed double-digit hipment value for the full units and shipment year 2012. The segment grew 14% to over 2,000 units with an increase of 30% in shipment value to $73.9 million. n the mid-production and Devices in production categories increased 33% ear to approximately 8,000 year over year 2. Shipment value also grew units in 2012. 2 billion. 13% to $1.2 roduction printing is a Digital production arket. Unaffected growing market. nology by the technology pressures impacting office documents and transaction printing, thee digital

opportunity within Label and Packaging is even greater. According to IDC, 2013 will be a transformative year with product releases and vendor integration. IDC Production Print Tracker will have the timeliest reporting of new product shipments in 2013 with cut-sheet inkjet included. Read more: http://bit.ly/16yV08U

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FEATURE

MY VIEW

Source: www.epeat.net

Edible Inkjet Inks: Growing, Promisin

Judy Glazer Senior Director of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems Social and Environmental Responsibility Organization

Increasingly, people want to purchase products that have strong environmental attributes, and EPEAT does a nice job of summarizing those attributes in PCs, monitors, and now printers, copiers and scanners. We support EPEAT and look forward to continuing strong participation in the program.

Mario Rufino Manager of Environmental Management & Product Safety, Canon U.S.A., Inc.

We are proud to be among the first imaging equipment providers to participate in the expansion of the EPEAT registry. The new imaging equipment standard was developed to highlight leadership in sustainability. As Canon’s registered products are designed with this in mind, we welcome any effort that helps customers choose office technology solutions that help them reduce their own impact on the environment.

Colin Donahoe Director of Business Imaging for Epson America

Epson has been committed to the environment since 1988 when the company began pioneering the elimination of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in its manufacturing processes. Our corporate values and environmental performance are in line with EPEAT standards, and Epson is working to ensure that over 90 percent of our printer and scanner lines meet a minimum of EPEAT What Bronze level do OEMs certification. think about EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool)? Read more about EPEAT on P29 Issue37|www.iRecyclingTimes.com

While the market for inkjet inks has grown tremendously in the past decade, it has lost much of its raw innovation. What’s more, it is increasingly controlled by the OEMs and a few extremely large manufacturers. The market for the rest of the industry is either flat or shrinking as profit margins decline. Rechargers and third party ink makers must either innovate or diversify. Fortunately, there are some promising niche market opportunities. These include: MICR (magnetic ink character recognition), fragrant, fluorescent, conductive, dye sublimation, fine art, direct to garment, direct to substrate, textile and …edible.

sheets are being used as the transfer medium. Using different inks and heavily modified printers, chocolates and candies are usually printed directly onto the desired substrate. The most famous of these is the printing by Mars Candies on M&M’s and the direct printing on cookies by Mrs. Fields. While the smaller printers use the Epson, Canon and HP printers for localized printing, the larger manufacturers are using custom machines with mostly Dimatix heads to achieve high volume and high resolution printing. These heads require a different ink formulation than Epson head machines.

Growing Demand for Edible Inks Edible inks is not a market for everyone, but for those willing to meet the requirements and work by a different set of rules, it can be rewarding as it is definitely high margin! Edible inks are formulated and certified for human ingestion. The applications, so far, include ink for imprinting on food items such as, cakes, candies, chocolate, cupcakes, eggs, fruits and even potato chips. The more common market applications include corporate logos and birthday, graduation, and wedding decorations. Basically, any celebration or life event is a candidate for edible food items. Those companies offering promotional products and awards are just now learning to use edible foods as promotional items. Digital, edible ink cake printing today is where this industry began, that is with modified Encad NovaJets. These are 300 dpi images that were often birthday photographs scanned and printed on rice paper and placed on top of the cakes. Today the majority of cake printing is done with either Epson or Canon (and sometimes HP) printers. New frosting

Food Printing Services In the US, many of the cake printing services can be found in large grocery chains such as, Kroger and Wegmans, as well as ice cream chains such as, Baskin Robbins. Many local bakeries are now offering these custom cakes. The cakes, as well as candies and chocolates, tend to be locally produced due to shipping cost issues and turn-around time requirements. Almost all edible inks are aqueous (water based), but there is even one that is UV curable. This does not mean that they are all the same. Many different formulations need to be created. Cake icing requires a different ink formulation than cookies and chocolates. Hard, coated candies, such as M&Ms, require a much different formulation. There are also various geographic requirements. For example, food dyes, legal in one country, may not be approved in another. The US, EC and Japan have vastly different food laws. There are also requirements for different inks from many religions. Judaism’s Kosher requirements mandate that there be no insect dyes and the ink must be blessed by a Rabbi. Islam requires ingredients with no alcohol.

FEATURE

Marty Canning

ng and Rewarding Charles L. Sharp, President, Digital Image Technology

Marketing & Distribution Issues When you combine the multiple formulation requirements with strict packaging regulations and consider the geographic and religious components, edible inks require many SKUs and a high level of marketing and distribution skills to be successful. However, this seemingly high barrier to entry can be a good match for ink makers and cartridge rechargers who have been dealing with similar challenges for many years. Edible inks are often sold in printer cartridges for many models of Epson, Canon and HP desktop printers. These cartridges need to be sterilized after cleaning in the remanufacturing process. The refilling usually requires a near clean room environment. After filling, the cartridges must be sealed. FDA Compliance In addition to the integrated cartridges, larger merchants will use Continuous Ink Supply Systems (CISS). For cartridges, the ink maker and the cartridge recharger must certify their FDA (Food and Drug Administration) compliance and the safety of the ink for human consumption. Larger users prefer the ink to be in sealed bottles. For these, the packager usually warrants that the ink is in compliance with FDA regulations, until the bottle seal is broken. After that, there is no warranty or liability as the conditions of use are beyond their control When using a CISS system for food grade applications, the printing environment needs to meet “near clean room” conditions. In the US, the inks must be certified as food grade by the

FDA as is any processed food. In addition, most larger commercial production sites are also subject to FDA certification and inspections for cleanliness and processing. Cartridge remanufacturers also need to be FDA certified as the cartridge must meet food packaging safety requirements. Usually, ink manufactures must create a separate dedicated room for food grade ink production with HEPA filtered air and sanitary operating conditions. Clean room type clothing may also be required. Cartridge manufacturers do not need a separate room for the remanufacturing, but will need a separate area to sterilize the cartridges before use. While very large ink makers such as, Sensient and Toyo Ink, are producing edible inkjet inks, they are in no position to dominate the market. Most of the volume of ink in the US comes from a handful of ink makers that specialize in edible inks. Many are not publicly known but report high growth and high margins. This field is open to new players. It is an opportunity for both ink makers and cartridge rechargers who seek something growing, promising and financially rewarding. Editor’s note: Contact Chuck Sharp at clsharp100@aol.com

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Lexmark Executive Vice President and President of Imaging Solutions and Services

Lexmark strongly supports initiatives such as EPEAT that will help our customers make more informed choices about purchasing greener products, solutions and services. Sustainability is core to Lexmark’s vision of positively impacting the communities where we live and work. Since Lexmark’s inception and the formation of its vision and values, our company has assumed responsibility for its actions associated with ecological impacts and worked diligently to remain an exemplary environmental steward around the world.

Diane O’Connor Vice President, Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, Xerox.

At Xerox, sustainability is our way of doing business, so when given the opportunity to help customers make informed decisions on selecting environmentally preferable products, we were onboard. Our current EPEAT registered products include multifunction printers and stand-alone printers that help businesses simplify how work gets done while producing less waste and using less energy.

Jay Dizzine Vice President, Technology Marketing, Ricoh Americas Corporation

At Ricoh, we have focused on being a leader of environmental sustainability for the entire product life cycle, which is core to our global business operations. Furthermore, we strongly believe that the EPEAT Imaging Equipment Program is essential to helping purchasers make informed decisions. By engaging in EPEAT, Ricoh is further enhancing its complete portfolio of products and services to better manage and reduce environmental impact and cost, while improving productivity for our customers and What creating shared do OEMs value for our think about society. EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool)? Read more about EPEAT on P29

PEOPLE

5 QUESTIONS Print-Rite Acquires 2,000th Patent Congratulations on achieving your company’s 2,000th patent. What does this mean? It’s been a long and rough road. From 1996 to 2006, Print-Rite acquired 500 patents, but in the past seven years, we’ve harvested 1,500 more. It’s not about the big numbers for us: we value the quality of our patents, rather than the quantity. We put quality as a priority, and make sure we do not infringe other’s intellectual property rights, including those of the OEMs. In the past, most of our patents are for work around solutions, but now we are switching to innovations. In the first 10 years, we went through a long, learning process. After laying a solid foundation, Print-Rite now is at the stage of acquiring one patent every working day. What kind of patents are you developing, and are they for domestic or international markets? Most of our patents are about printing consumables. 70%-80% of are solutions to problems we are confronted with at the moment. And about 20% are forwardlooking. We have a product development roadmap, and we try to predict where products will develop in the future. We want to find solutions before our competitors do. For example, in 2007, long before the Canon drum gear lawsuit, we had already developed and patented a solution. The standards for patent inspection are similar both domestically and overseas. We lodge about 10% of our patent applications internationally. But most are applied for in China, as the costs are lower. If a patent is authorized domestically, it can easily be granted abroad. The difference is not so much technical but mainly in the cost.

Statistics reveal 70% of patents are inactive and not being used commercially. How have you commercially exploited your patents? Actually it’s a common, worldwide phenomenon—there are high percentages of patents which have never been commercially exploited. When some people come up with a new idea or innovation, they simply apply for a patent and don’t care if it’s practical or not. But we want to develop or improve products to suit consumers’ demands. We want to solve real problems. With this in mind, we only develop ideas that possess great market potential. For example, when a printer model is popular in the market, we will develop or improve certain consumables for that model. Generally speaking, we have pretty high patent usage rate. How much does Print-Rite spend annually on developing patents? Every year, Print-Rite spends more than US$8 million on R&D and patent maintenance. In spite of the global economic environment being sluggish, and having some pressures from the market as well, we have no plan to reduce our investment. Only through innovation can we remain competitive in the industry. It’s worthwhile. At RemaxAsia 2010, you said PrintRite has a goal of developing 5,000 global patents by 2020. Do y you still have the same goal? Our pace may be faster or slower than we expected. The number of ppatents we will acquire by 2020 iis not important. The direction w we’re moving towards, however, will remain. When people think of Print-Rite, I want them to see us as an innovation-oriented enterprise, and that’s why we are the top seller. Arnald Ho, chairman and founder of Print-Rite Holdings Ltd. Print-Rite is one of the largest manufacturers in the printing consumables industry.

PEOPLE on the move, obituaries, special achievements

Oakley Sails Away Former US navy man, Jon H. Oakley, who was an iconic, free spirited, imaging industry figure passed away February 20 in Madeira Beach, Florida. He served as Vice President of Marketing for Diamond Research Corporation and also worked as an independent consultant in the printing field. “Knowing ‘Johnnie O’ was a great blessing,” says Art Diamond. “Losing him is a deep sorrow.” Read more on: http://bit.ly/10t9faZ

SCC Appoints New General Sales Manager Static Control Components (Europe) has announced the appointment of Miguel Neureiter as its General Sales Manager for Austria, Germany and Switzerland. He has had 10 years experience in the industry, with his most recent role as a Sales and Marketing Manager for Baiksan OPC GmbH. There are 140 people currently employed by Static Control in Europe alone.

InkCycle Promotes Channels Whiz After working at the 200 employee, Kansas based InkCycle for 5 years, and being instrumental for growing the dealer sales channel, Carl Little has been promoted to Vice President of Sales. He will intensify customer partnerships throughout the distribution channels.

Twin Roles for New Ricoh Boss Zenji Miura, former Deputy President and Chief Financial Officer of Ricoh, will take on the twin roles of President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, as well as continuing his Representative Director role as of 1 April.

Canon Marketing Boss Leaves After 7 Years Darren Ryan, the man behind the Photochains campaigns, which won at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in 2010, and the ‘Why Print When You Can PIXMA’ campaign for the company’s inkjet printer brand, has resigned from his marketing job at Canon Australia effective April 26.

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46 TECH ZONE

Mike Josiah Dell 1250/1350/1355 Toner cartridge The Dell 1250 cartridges are rated for 2000 pages black and 1400 pages color. The OEM numbers are 331-0778 Black, 331-0777 Cyan, 3310780 Magenta, and 331-0779 Yellow. There is a chip that must be replaced every cycle. NOTE: The black cartridge is physically larger than the colors.

This is a continuation in a series on easy to do color and monochrome cartridges you may be passing up but shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be. They represent some of the best profit opportunities currently in our

industry. These cartridges are all very simple, and with a good majority of them there is nothing to test! Training is minimal and in all cases the time needed to do them is very small. For the purposes of these articles, we will not be going in depth but to be honest there really is no need. Some use chips while some do not. Some have waste chambers and others are purely a supply hopper. All of this will be covered. Read More: http://bit.ly/Xp0JHC

LOOKING FOR STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES FOR CARTRIDGES? Mike Josiah's popular toner cartridge procedures will be available online in the middle of 2013 as a library of more than 400 cartridge models. This service will be provided exclusively to Recycling Times Media readers by UniNet Imaging: www.uninetimaging.com

QUALITY TIP Qualification and Ongoing Performance Tests of Toner Do you run tests on the toner you are using to make sure it is consistent with what you bought last time? MSE's Luke Goldberg says toners are tested with a California-based remanufacturer, MSE's Luke system for melt points, print quality and yield. "We Goldberg, shares his tip of the month. Contact also analyze toner for both initial qualification and <Lukeg@mse.com> ongoing consistency using a Coulter Counter for precise particle size measurement. This enables us to make sure that the particle size distribution of a given toner is the same as those values we initially qualified, and that each lot is consistent according to the manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specifications." Rigorous stress tests are conducted to determine quality tipping points. Accelerated ageing tests are conducted to ensure quality over time by stressing the cartridge to heat/cold extremes for specific time frames. And vibration tests are run to approximate shipping stress, and then print tests are run to determine whether the vibration altered print performance. Please send your QUALITY TIP OF THE MONTH to us too: doris.huang@irecycingtimes.com Issue37|www.iRecyclingTimes.com

MONEY FROM HOME

Art Diamond Fast Forward to Printing 2023 How will imaging technology change? What share of the market will OEM and aftermarket players each hold? I’ve asked my brain to fast forward and to foretell where desktop printing may be in the Year 2023. How will imaging technology change? Will inkjet displace toner-based printers and capture a significant position in offices? What will be the shape of the legal landscape, with respect to patent infringement lawsuits? What share of the market will OEM and aftermarket players each hold? I possess no mystical or clairvoyant powers, but I can draw from more than 50 years in this industry to make some predictions. Therefore, tongue in cheek, here goes Technology Ten years hence, printing technology will likely depend upon stationary, page-wide arrays for both inkjet nozzle assemblies and OPC drum exposure. That means wide acceptance of the Memjet approach for inkjet and the LED array displacing the laser beam/spinning mirror combination. Both of these fixed array concepts will result in less expensive and more reliable printers. But, how much of a share of the desktop printer market will inkjet capture from toner-based devices? I believe

the need for a special treated or coated paper, one that holds the inked image upon the surface of the sheet, will prove a drawback for inkjet in the office and thereby hinder consumer acceptance both on price and convenience. Further, the cost per page for inkjetbased printing will come down. Where will that price point be set between the extremes of conventional, inkjet cartridges today at almost $1,000 per liter and wideformat inkjet inks at roughly $20 to $40 per liter? The higher that price point is, the greater the share aftermarket players will capture. Legal Landscape As time progresses, OEM patents will expire and many printers and components will move into the public domain. This process favors today’s aftermarket players as well as new OEMs who are entering the arena. Indeed, the benefits of our patent system are aimed at the consumer and at accelerating the competitive race for better products at lower prices. So, the cost of printer ownership will likely decline in terms of today’s dollars. I belie believe the doctrine of patent exhausti exhaustion at first sale will be resolved within tthe coming decade so no matter whi which country hosts the transaction, al all patent claims become invalid up upon the close of a sale. The crime of counterfeiting printer car cartridges and consumables will, in my opinion, be sharply reduced by the co combined action of industry groups, in n including the Imaging Supplies C Coalition (ISC), the International Im Imaging Technology Council (I-ITC), the European Toner & Inkjet Remanufacturers Association

(ETIRA), and numerous other government agencies around the world. The OEMs have also resorted to filing for patent protection on minor modifications to their imaging equipment and consumable materials. In my view, their patent claims are growing progressively weaker over changes in design, rather than improvements in: reduced cost, lower energy consumption, longer product life, or genuine advances in technology. I also see a fiscally stronger reman industry better able to sustain a serious court battle upon weak patents by 2020. Biotoner Toner formulated from renewable resources, such as grown and harvested crops, will become the preferred image forming substance for electrophotography and could comprise better than 30% of the toner consumed worldwide, by 2023. It will replace more expensive petroleumderived resins (e.g., styrene acrylates, styrene butadienes, polyesters, etc.), and, being biodegradable, will be more acceptable for landfill disposal. Color Printing As remanufacturers establish reliable sources for color toners, and develop the expertise to provide the close technical support demanded by their customers, they will have increased their share of the color printing market from today’s 5% to 20%, I suspect. Market Share Weighing the factors of patent expiration, continuing growth and an increased preference for reman products, it seems to me the world’s reman community will enjoy a greater share than now. So what will be the aftermarket share of monochrome and color toner based consumables? Wild guess? I see it moving upscale from to roughly 40% by 2023. Art Diamond is a 56 year veteran of the imaging industry. He is a known globally as a chemist (Kodak), patent holder, author, researcher and consultant, publisher and event manager. <drc@west. net> www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS

Charles Brewer Up Close and Personal with Groundbreaking Business Inkjet Printers "I think HP’s new Officejet Pro X Series has the potential to be disruptive." Hewlett-Packard has just hosted an analyst summit in Boston, Massachusetts (March 5-7).HP’s CEO Meg Whitman was on hand to map out some of the firm’s future plans. She indicated HP received 1,300 patents last year, more than any company located in Silicon Valley and declared innovation is “alive and well” at the company. Ms. Whitman also listed some of the firm’s key recent product launches including servers, networking solutions, PCs, and imaging hardware. For me, the most interesting new releases were in HP’s new Officejet Pro Series X line of high-speed inkjet printers and MFPs. The new Series X units are HP’s fastest desktop inkjet devices to date. The Officejet Pro X451DN and X551DW printers were released in the United States in February, along with two MFPs, the X476DN and X576DW. In certain Asian and EMEA markets, the firm launched the X451DW printer and X476DW MFP. The X451DN/DW and X476DN/DW are capable of printing black-and-white and color documents at up to 55 pages per minute in the draft mode, and the X551DW and X576DW prints draft documents at 70 ppm. All of the machines should be available worldwide later this year The devices employ HP’s PageWide Technology, which is based on a fixed print head with 42,240 nozzles capable of firing 6-picoliter ink droplets. The page-wide array has a 217.8 mm (8.575inch) print swath. Documents are printed out with the same margins as an A4 HP

LaserJet machine. The head does not shuttle back and forth across the page like it would in most desktop inkjet machines. Instead, the media passes by the stationary head when printing, which allows the Officejet Pro X machines to achieve such high print speeds.

The new units are all based on the same print engine, which employs a 792 MHz processor. The single-function printers come with 512 MB of memory and MFPs have 768 MB and offer print, copy, scan, and fax functionality. The X451DN/DW and X476DN/DW units have a maximum monthly duty cycle and the top-of-theline X551DW and X576DW models have a 75,000-page per month duty cycle. All of the units come with standard duplex printing. The DN models provide two USB 2.0 ports for the host and one USB 2.0 for device connectivity along with an Ethernet 10/100 Base-TX network interface, while the DW units add a wireless 802.11 b/g/n station and access point connectivity. To support the X series’s high print

speeds, HP released a new fullypigmented, four-color ink set capable of drying almost instantly. The ink features a polymer-based binding agent similar to the ink used in the previously released Officejet Pro 8100 and 8600. The binder provides enhanced pigment adhesion and supports more reliable firing. Once dried, the binder also forms a protective film that resists smearing if a document is exposed to moisture. The ink cartridges for the X Series have yields typically associated with toner cartridges. The new HP 970 and 970 XL black tanks deliver 3,000 and 9,200 pages, respectively, while each of the CMY HP 971 tanks deliver 2,500 pages and each CMY HP 971 XL tank prints 6,600 pages. HP promotes the machines as far less expensive to operate than many color laser units. With the XL tanks installed, a black-only page costs about 1.3 cents and color pages cost just under 6.8 cents. Using the standard yield SKUs, the price of a black-only page almost doubles to 2.5 cents, while each color page costs almost 12 cents. I think HP’s new Officejet Pro X Series has the potential to be disruptive. The machines have the print speeds, operating costs, features, and durable output required by business users. No inkjet unit prior to these offers office users such an attractive value proposition. It remains to be seen, however, if it will be enough to overcome the laser basis that many firms have demonstrated over the years.

Charles Brewer has covered imaging technology for 20 years as editor for Inc. Magazine, ComputerWorld, The Lyra Hard Copy Supplies Journal and numerous white papers and reports. He is a popular speaker in China, Europe, and North America. His intelligence briefings can be read online at action-intell.com <cbrewer@action-intell.com> www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

KEEPING UP

Steve Weedon Swings and Roundabouts Some will lose and some will gain and everyone will adjust as best they can. Much of our industry is based on international cross border and cross currency trade and as such we keep a close eye on all currency movements that affect either our base costs or our profit margin. Since September 2008 when we all witnessed the meltdown of the world’s financial markets and banks, we have become used to the new norm, as the financial “dust” has settled. Currencies against the Dollar have settled down and traded within a relatively tight

upper and lower band and we have all got on with our own daily routines, hoping that currency movements between the purchase of raw materials and finally getting the check from our customers for the finished product, doesn’t wipe out the margins we rely on to survive. Then, just as we all start to see a return to normal, someone (Japan) kicks up a dust storm and more uncertainty reigns. The problem is that not everyone can be a winner. Those who find themselves

with their base currency strong against the dollar, suffer when they repatriate their dollars sales back home and transfer into local currency. Whilst China handles this issue centrally with fixed rates that help exporters sell in Dollars and trade for Yuan at fixed levels that give confidence to exporting companies, Japan’s exporters ride an uncertain wave and have despaired during recent years. The relationship between the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen is one of the most keenly watched currency relationships. Over the last 40 years these currencies have fluctuated significantly. Looking at the historical highs and lows of the Yen to Dollar gives a glimpse at the enormous pressures on the Japanese companies that export and sell in US dollars or that have overseas subsidiaries trading in US dollars but wanting to send Yen back home to the parent company. • I971: Average exchange rate 348.05 JPY/USD—this means for every dollar repatriated back to Japan for transfer to Yen the company received 348.05 Yen. • 1981: Average was 220.45, JPY/USD, a 36.6% loss over this 10 year period. • 1991: Average was 134.52 JPY/USD, 38.9 % loss over this 10 year period and 61 % over 20 year period. • 2001: Average 121.52 JPY/USD, 9.6% loss over this 10 year period and 65% since 1971. • 2011: Average 79.71 JPY/USD, 34% loss over this 10 year period and 77% since 1971. Since 2013 the Japanese exchange

rate has significantly weakened against the Dollar, as the Dollar gains market strength following President Obama’s reelection and now sits at 93.3 yen to the dollar bringing much welcome relief to distribution companies exporting toner, parts and supplies overseas and billing in US dollars. The Pound Sterling (UK) has fallen to a 30 month low against the dollar after being stripped of its triple A, (AAA) Rating. This makes it more expensive to import Dollar based products and sell in the UK and Euro land. Repatriation of dollars to US parent companies will be less than expected putting pressure on liquidity and margin returns. The once strong Germany economy based on exports into Euro land member states and beyond, has now faltered as the euro slumps against the dollar to reach a high of 1.31 Euro to $1.0. Again those Euro based companies buying parts and supplies to distribute in Europe find their costs increasing and margins declining. Is this just more swings and roundabouts, or is this a paradigm shift that marks a new order of things. Some commentators believe it could be the prelude to real war, a new world war and history will repeat itself starting with a new currency war that is happening right now that could fuel a worldwide trade war that ignites a real war. A repeat, some say of events that ignited WW11. Having watched the currency movements on a daily basis for about 40 years or so I am more inclined to believe the swings and roundabouts theorists. The probability is that the dust will settle. Some will lose and some will gain and everyone will adjust as best they can. For 40 years, Steve Weedon has been a senior manager at Nashua, Katun Corp, Kalle Infotec, Gestetner and Static Control. He started the Recycler Trade Magazine in 1992. He is a Brit, living in America, with a parts supply business based in Hong Kong. <steve@ discoverimaging.com> www.iRecyclingTimes.com|Issue37

52 THE LISTS Next Month’s Poll Question To what extend is secure printing a real issue? Go online to vote: irecyclingtimes.com

Top 8 Multifunction Printers According to PC World Senior Editor Melissa Riofrio Best budget MFP for home (around $100) The Epson Expression Home XP-400

Research

Best midpriced MFP for home ($150-$200)

Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Market Share Q4 2012 (IDC)

HP Photosmart 6520 Best high-end MFP for home (around $300) Epson Expression Premium XP-800 Best budget MFP for a small office HP Officejet 6700 Premium Best Portable for the mobile office HP Officejet 150 Mobile Best high-end inkjet MFP for office

Brother MFC-9125CN Best midpriced color laser MFP HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color MFP M475dw Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2021318/thebest-mfps-you-can-buy-today.html

OEM

Like %

Responses

Canon

97.89

7,716

• As much as we knew of the impending article on Insta in your magazine, the actual visual delight we felt on seeing the article first hand, is indescribable! Harish Lalwani and Anil Kishnani, Insta Impex, Mumbai, India

LETTER OF THE MONTH

OEM

Like %

Responses

Xerox

27.78

Samsung

26.02

2,137

Panasonic

150

Hewlett Packard

52.38

Dell

19.51

1,697

Toshiba

34.81

181

Lexmark

19.23

Epson

Kyocera

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/8385923/The-top-10-most-popular-printer-brands..html

BERTO

• I just read your article “It just isn’t right”, mentioning that at least 2 trade associations refused membership to Chinese firms that are legitimate remanufacturers. ETIRA has only had one Chinese application about 2 years ago, and that firm was, and still is, a notorious clone seller. The acceptance of ETIRA’s updated Code by its members again confirms we are dead serious about patentinfringing newbuilt clones.

Best budget color-laser MFP for office

38.50% 22.40% 14.40% 6.90% 4.60% 13.10%

The top 10 most popular printer brands 1

Letters and blogs from readers

Vincent van Dijk, Secretary General, ETIRA, The Netherlands

Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4540 HP Canon Epson Brother Samsung Others

InBox

Let me respond to your December edition of the magazine (1) The choice of printer model is the most important factor in printing costs for the customer and profitability the aftermarket. The best printer purchase a customer can make, is to not actually buy another printer... (2) If they really do need to buy another printer, choosing a model that has a low cost, high quality (ie well proven) aftermarket consumable will be their best choice. Since 9 times out of 10 that won't be a new model, the correct Top 10 models of printers from both the customers and aftermarket perspective should be existing, older models. Christian Pepper, Printersdirec, Atlanta, USA

DID YOU OU KNOW? You can fit around 1 billion ected from an droplets ejected thead into inkjet printhead a teaspoon..

Issue37|www.iRecyclingTimes.com