The Recycler Issue 336
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Time to repurpose<br />
the office MFP?<br />
Konica Minolta announced a new addition<br />
to its Workplace Hub Portfolio, an A3 bizhub<br />
i-Series. Nothing special about that, except<br />
this bizhub comes fully loaded with a Server!<br />
Is this the new reality of printing and IT Services<br />
coming together?<br />
November 2020<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> | £10<br />
23% of imported products not<br />
REACH and CLP compliant<br />
A pilot project by ECHA’s<br />
Enforcement Forum examining<br />
imports of products into the EU has<br />
found that 23% of inspected products were<br />
non-compliant with REACH and CLP.<br />
Page 13<br />
Starts page 4<br />
HP issues the most firmware<br />
updates so far<br />
Between January and August this year five<br />
OEM brands issued 707 firmware updates,<br />
or which 38 blocked aftermarket products.<br />
Page 14<br />
Ricoh takes over Data Vision<br />
<strong>The</strong> company becomes one of the largest AV<br />
and workplace integrators in Europe through<br />
the acquisition of Data Vision.<br />
Page 22<br />
ETIRA welcomes EU’s new GPP criteria<br />
for imaging equipment tenders<br />
ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet<br />
Remanufacturers Association, has welcomed<br />
new criteria introduced by the EU to reduce<br />
the environmental footprint of printers and<br />
cartridges purchased through public tenders.<br />
Page 26
IN THIS ISSUE<br />
2 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
EDITORIAL<br />
Beyond the MFP<br />
Over the last few months we have been<br />
brainstorming the direction the OEMs<br />
are moving in as the market is clearly<br />
changing. We are not so much looking<br />
at the consumables business for the next<br />
year or so, but five to ten years out. This<br />
is a challenge because some OEMs haven’t<br />
got that picture, but one fact has emerged<br />
rather strongly this year.<br />
As businesses adapt to home, mobile<br />
and office working, the emerging trend is<br />
that the IT team, which could be inhouse<br />
or a contractor, are making it happen.<br />
It is the IT team, not the MPS provider<br />
that is connecting workers with servers,<br />
printers, the cloud, mobile devices safely<br />
and securely. Big deal you say. Well it is,<br />
because it means control and management<br />
is moving away from the MPS provider<br />
and that has an impact on revenues.<br />
A second trend is the growing awareness<br />
of how little printers are being used.<br />
A recent report on 300 printers that had<br />
been removed from an MPS programme<br />
showed that in some cases their use had<br />
been as little as 8%. That is not a one-off,<br />
but more common than you think.<br />
<strong>The</strong> third trend is that the demand<br />
for second had printers and copiers has<br />
more than doubled this year, which we<br />
will cover in a future issue. <strong>The</strong> OEM<br />
of the future is one that can leverage<br />
technology to deliver the whole platform,<br />
IT, servers, cloud, hardware, connectivity,<br />
security and supplies. A sort of “Office<br />
on Demand”. Peter Mayhew has an<br />
interesting perspective on this starting<br />
on page 4.<br />
Are the cheap cartridges days<br />
numbered?<br />
It is not hard to buy cartridges on online<br />
platforms; they are cheap, and you are<br />
spoilt for choice and they originate outside<br />
of the EU/EEA. It’s a simple process, you<br />
open a store on the marketplace, ship<br />
your goods to the marketplace warehouse.<br />
<strong>The</strong> consumer buys, the marketplace<br />
warehouse delivers, but the responsibility<br />
that the product complies with all EU<br />
It is the IT team, not the MPS provider that is<br />
connecting workers with servers, printers, the<br />
cloud, mobile devices safely and securely.<br />
regulations (CE, WEEE, REACH,<br />
RoHS etc) is currently with the private<br />
citizen. This changes next year when new<br />
regulations will require manufacturers<br />
in 3rd countries (based outside of the<br />
▲ Stefanie Unland Editor<br />
& Publisher, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong><br />
EU/EEA) to appoint an Authorised<br />
Representative and the EU establishes<br />
Market Surveillance Authorities<br />
with powers to impose penalties on<br />
transgressors. You can read the feature<br />
in the next edition.<br />
HP are rarely out of the press at the<br />
moment. A $6 million (€5.11 million)<br />
penalty for misleading investors by failing<br />
to disclose the impact sales practices<br />
during 2015 and 2016. For the record<br />
HP neither admitted nor denied the SCC<br />
findings, but agreed to pay the $6 million<br />
(€5.11 million).<br />
Big shout out to Tricia Judge<br />
Who spotted that while Canon were<br />
busy telling the world they had filed a<br />
patent complaint against Ninestar, they<br />
had quietly not appealed the earlier ruling<br />
against them and in favour of a whole host<br />
of non-OEM producers.<br />
All change<br />
<strong>The</strong> Paperworld show is moving dates<br />
for 2021 only to 17 – 20 April and will<br />
be restyled, for one year only, as the<br />
International Consumer Goods Show –<br />
Special Edition. This brings Paperworld,<br />
the Remanexpo product group,<br />
Christmasworld and Ambiente together<br />
from 17 - 20 April 2021.<br />
As a result of this change, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong><br />
Live conference that was scheduled for<br />
20 – 21 May 2021 will now be held on<br />
16-17 September 2021 at the Holiday Inn<br />
Prague Congress Centre. ■<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
3
FEATURE<br />
Time to repurpose<br />
the office MFP?<br />
On 15 July 2020 Konica Minolta quietly issued a press release<br />
announcing a new addition to its Workplace Hub Portfolio, an A3<br />
bizhub i-Series. Nothing special about that, except this bizhub comes<br />
fully loaded with a Server! Is this the new reality of printing and IT<br />
Services coming together?<br />
▲ Peter Mayhew Director & Senior<br />
Analyst, Lightwords Imaging<br />
Over the past ten years Printing and<br />
IT Services have been moving closer<br />
together but it has not been clear which<br />
industry will yield to the other to become<br />
the dominant “go to” provider of office<br />
equipment and services. Konica Minolta’s<br />
announcement that it is fusing together<br />
an IT Services package with its popular<br />
Bizhub line of A3 MFP’s sets and<br />
interesting new precedent. It is certainly<br />
FEATURED<br />
A R TIC L E<br />
a differentiator and arguably the game<br />
changer. <strong>The</strong>y are the first to marry to the<br />
two diverse industries into one solution. Is<br />
this evolution or revolution? Let’s look at<br />
the facts.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bizhub i-Series range of office MFP’s<br />
have been available since April 2019. <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
arrival brought 10” touchscreens, fast print<br />
speeds, large paper trays and advanced<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are the first to marry to the<br />
two diverse industries into one solution.<br />
Is this evolution or revolution?<br />
document workflows, delivered through a<br />
wide range of apps from Konica Minolta’s<br />
Marketplace. <strong>The</strong>re was also remote service<br />
monitoring and, system back-up supported<br />
by industry leading security systems and<br />
virus protection.<br />
Beyond the features, the i-Series also<br />
claimed an EPEAT Gold rating and<br />
compliance with Blue Angel standards.<br />
Redesigned fuser units were added to keep<br />
energy consumption low and, much work<br />
was evident to keep noise levels down.<br />
Seven models were introduced on day one<br />
to ensure they had an offering for most<br />
business situations.<br />
What was not said was that this was a<br />
platform which, like many competitive<br />
MFP’s, was designed to integrate into<br />
the document workflow of small and<br />
medium sized businesses. Consequently,<br />
that meant a lot of configuration work<br />
for over-stretched IT managers and<br />
service providers to ensure that the full<br />
functionality of the MFP was achieved.<br />
July 2019 saw the introduction of Konica<br />
Minolta’s Workplace Hub. A suite of<br />
IT solutions also targeted at SMEs and<br />
delivered by their channel Partners. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
partners came with a print background<br />
but were retrained to provide IT Services.<br />
This meant that with the full support and<br />
leverage of the Konica Minolta brand, they<br />
could now offer their clients IT service,<br />
sales, installation and consultancy. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
could not provide the Business Process<br />
Optimisations (BPO) and managed<br />
services such as Virtual Private Networks<br />
(VPN’s) and the security support their<br />
clients needed.<br />
4 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
You can contact <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> via Twitter at @<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
OPEN FOR BUSINESS<br />
ALL STOCK AVAILABLE<br />
12 months on, enter the Workplace Hub<br />
Pro. What looks like, and is, a bizhub<br />
i-Series MFP (see figure 1) but, where the<br />
lower paper drawer is now home to an HPE<br />
Gen 10 Server.<br />
services are a key part of Ricoh’s Business<br />
Services portfolio but, they are targeted at<br />
larger enterprises needing an internationally<br />
linked, support provider with the scale and<br />
reach of Ricoh.<br />
Toner Cartridges<br />
Chips<br />
Waste Toner Bottles<br />
Fuser Units<br />
Drum Units<br />
Developers<br />
OEM STOCK<br />
PPE<br />
This additional capability means print and<br />
document management, cloud backup,<br />
remote VPN connection and Wi-Fi<br />
management all in one place and supported<br />
by one provider. All these IT features are<br />
in addition to the standard office printing<br />
functionality of printing, copying, faxing<br />
and scanning.<br />
Other manufacturers have suites of IT<br />
Services, software, and apps available but,<br />
a copier or MFP with a server built in, no.<br />
HP under their JetAdvantage Solutions<br />
portfolio can provide a wide range of<br />
solutions from third party vendors.<br />
Whether managing a private cloud,<br />
developing workflows, controlling mobile<br />
or remote access, or maintaining security,<br />
HP has access to a solution.<br />
Similarly, Ricoh offer a range of workplace<br />
solutions from implementing Office 365,<br />
providing data analytics for printing<br />
insights, through to collaboration for global<br />
IT infrastructure development. Managed<br />
Xerox has been supporting Enterprise<br />
infrastructures within healthcare,<br />
education, and government for many years.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y bring content management tools,<br />
business process workflow automation<br />
support, collaboration, translation, and<br />
file sharing management tools for team<br />
working. But again, the target is Enterprise<br />
level and no sign of a merge of print and<br />
IT hardware.<br />
Lexmark is an interesting OEM with<br />
a product range that spans all sizes of<br />
business and a focus on paper intensive<br />
industries such as banking, insurance,<br />
Other manufacturers have suites of IT Services,<br />
software, and apps available but,<br />
a copier or MFP with a server built in, no.<br />
manufacturing, and retail. <strong>The</strong>y have<br />
a history of integrating and providing<br />
supportive IT services to their clients,<br />
especially those with SAP ecosystems where<br />
paper output is needed. Lexmark, like its<br />
competitors offer the full suite of IT service<br />
support from security to fleet management.<br />
And it is a similar story at Kyocera, Oki<br />
and Sharp, each with varying levels of IT<br />
support and services available.<br />
State-of-the-art filling<br />
machines in the UK<br />
ISO 9001 & 14001 certified<br />
products, services & facilities<br />
Dedicated research and<br />
development teams<br />
<strong>The</strong> largest range of<br />
products and parts in the UK<br />
Contact ECS NOW<br />
www.ecs-uk-ltd.com<br />
+44 (0)1427 337 355<br />
Effective Consumable Solutions<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
5
FEATURE<br />
FEATURED<br />
A R TIC L E<br />
Consider the possibility of an MFP equipped<br />
with Azure Active Directory to control<br />
access to the company’s IT infrastructure<br />
(not just the printer access) for all users.<br />
So, for the larger business and enterprise, the<br />
choices are many. All the brands can provide<br />
an MFP, as fast as you like, with a familiar<br />
personalized, interface on which you can<br />
load apps and control as much or as little of<br />
your print output as you want, streamlining<br />
your business processes if you choose to do<br />
so. And you can do all that with the help<br />
and support of the brand of your choice or,<br />
their dealer or partner, if you prefer.<br />
It is a very different proposition for the<br />
micro, small and even some medium sized<br />
businesses. <strong>The</strong>ir server and IT systems<br />
usually remain separate and distinct. Print<br />
being regarded as an afterthought pain<br />
point. Some will argue that is an advantage;<br />
printers, copiers and MFP’s should be an<br />
end point on the network, not an integral<br />
and integrated hub.<br />
That still leaves the issue of telephony,<br />
maybe now using VoIP or Wi-Fi, and video<br />
conferencing, sitting outside of the scope of<br />
print management. <strong>The</strong>y may be resident in<br />
the cloud or in-house on a server. <strong>The</strong>n there<br />
is the problem of how to provide secure wi-fi<br />
through the office.<br />
Konica Minolta spotted these problems as<br />
many of its customers fall into this small<br />
and medium size category. This where the<br />
MFP with a server onboard offers a solution.<br />
Let’s look again at the Workplace Hub Pro.<br />
Remember the bottom drawer of many<br />
MFP’s, the one that is supposed to hold<br />
1,000+ sheets of A4 paper or A3 media that<br />
was specified on the purchase order but the<br />
need just never materialized? That is where<br />
Konica Minolta have neatly installed an<br />
HPE ProLiant Gen10 Server.<br />
Consider the possibility of an MFP<br />
equipped with Azure Active Directory<br />
to control access to the company’s IT<br />
infrastructure (not just the printer access)<br />
for all users. And it has high speed, wide<br />
bandwidth access to the internet and<br />
consequently, the cloud. Collaboration is<br />
also available through Konica Minolta’s<br />
Workplace Go which leverages both<br />
Office 365, Microsoft Teams and for larger<br />
organizations SharePoint, Delve, Power BI<br />
and multiple other tools, all centered at the<br />
Workplace Hub Pro.<br />
Its Admin Dashboard offers asset, user, and<br />
application management from one interface.<br />
It is also a Wi-Fi hub with management tools<br />
to configure and manage both private and<br />
public networks using Sophos access points<br />
which can include protection through the<br />
firewall.<br />
Now, it is easy to generalise about servers<br />
and, like PC’s and laptops there are<br />
numerous combinations and choices.<br />
Form factor is the first question. You<br />
can be forgiven for the image of rows of<br />
cabinets with racks and multiple server bays<br />
connected by miles of cables. If you are an<br />
enterprise with a large web presence, then<br />
the image is probably correct.<br />
But what about the micro business or<br />
SME who needs help with the pain of<br />
surviving the current pandemic. Especially<br />
as staff may not be able to return to the<br />
office, for at least some of the time. A tower<br />
server is simple, efficient and value for<br />
money. <strong>The</strong>y can be cheap too, starting<br />
at less than €500 ($585).<br />
6 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
You can contact <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> via Twitter at @<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
7
FEATURE<br />
<strong>The</strong> Konica Minolta solution is to “bundle”<br />
the server in with the MFP although this<br />
description over-simplifies the proposition.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y will carefully align both the MFP and<br />
the Server specifications, and their support<br />
levels to match your precise requirements,<br />
making this almost a customised solution.<br />
You could argue that there is a risk in<br />
combining a Server and an MFP in one<br />
box. What if one breaks down, is the other<br />
affected? No, they remain independent<br />
devices, even down to the power cords and<br />
they are packaged into a one square meter<br />
footprint.<br />
Payment is also packaged into a combined<br />
fee which includes your print contract, click<br />
charges, the suite of IT services and support<br />
included. A compelling package and one<br />
that will be hard for any competitor or<br />
aftermarket supplier to break.<br />
With office printing hit hard by the<br />
pandemic and MFP’s transforming into<br />
servers, there are even more difficult<br />
questions to consider. Could we be at the<br />
end of the road for printing requiring its<br />
own server support to manage queues, as<br />
well? Google were here first, some ten years<br />
ago, when they beta tested a cloud print<br />
service but, that will end as 2020 becomes<br />
2021. Now, enter Microsoft with their<br />
Cloud Print Platform solution.<br />
Just a few months ago, Microsoft announced<br />
it is moving Windows Print Server<br />
functionality to the Microsoft 365 Cloud<br />
and specifically onto Azure, its open source,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Konica Minolta solution is to “bundle”<br />
the server in with the MFP although this<br />
description over-simplifies the proposition.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y will carefully align both the MFP<br />
and the Server specifications, and their<br />
support levels to match your precise<br />
requirements, making this almost<br />
a customised solution.<br />
flexible cloud platform which allows users<br />
to build, deploy and manage applications<br />
across the Microsoft worldwide network.<br />
Interestingly, Azure does have competitors<br />
such as Google, Amazon and VMware<br />
but, it is quickly becoming the standard for<br />
a wide range of industries which require<br />
proprietary solutions such as Healthcare,<br />
Financial Services, Government, Retail and<br />
Manufacturing.<br />
Currently known as Universal Print it is<br />
initially targeted at educational users, the<br />
benefits are compelling. Organisations will<br />
no longer need an on-site print servers with<br />
their costly overheads or, to install printer<br />
drivers on devices across the enterprise.<br />
In addition, by leveraging Azure Active<br />
Directory, additional security for printer<br />
access and location-based printer discovery<br />
FEATURED<br />
A R TIC L E<br />
and administrator controls are available.<br />
Plus, there is the convenience of printing<br />
anywhere for mobile workers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> major OEMs seem to be advocates<br />
of the Microsoft initiative. Canon Inc.<br />
have already said that they are committed<br />
to a partnership with Microsoft for their<br />
imageRUNNER Advance products.<br />
Similarly, HP have announced participation<br />
in the initial roll-out along with Konica<br />
Minolta, Lexmark and Brother.<br />
Software companies who have already been<br />
offering cloud print solutions are recognising<br />
the benefits of this Microsoft initiative<br />
and, are supporting the integration. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
include Ysoft, Omnibridge and SafeQ,<br />
Pharos, Ringdale, Papercut, Kofax and<br />
Uniflow Online.<br />
For the channel and its distributors and<br />
dealers, installations will get easier as<br />
Microsoft Universal Print rolls out to other<br />
industries and, the major cloud-based<br />
software integrators roll out solutions.<br />
With a greater flow of information and<br />
even better print management and security,<br />
the challenges raised by the Corona virus<br />
pandemic, especially those of “working from<br />
home” may be a little easier to manage once<br />
Universal Print is fully deployed.<br />
So, where does that leave the Workplace<br />
Hub Pro and the printer/server concept?<br />
In a strong position as there remain many<br />
industries and markets where the law does<br />
not permit storage in the Cloud on servers in<br />
other countries. Also, local edge-type servers<br />
are often the only viable solution for small<br />
businesses to achieve compliance. <strong>The</strong>y also<br />
provide for an efficient working environment<br />
with reduced latency (the time from click to<br />
screen response) for its users. A key issue as<br />
small businesses pivot to a work from home<br />
business model.<br />
8 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Search for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> on Facebook for more news and industry coverage<br />
This is the new conversation which Konica Minolta are training<br />
their partners to hold with small businesses. Although the<br />
discussion may be triggered by renewing and extending the<br />
managed print services contract, it is also now different. It starts<br />
with the return to work and the new normal, quickly moves into<br />
work from home, security, then into IT requirements, finishing<br />
with new business processes, document workflows and ending with<br />
how much printing is being cut. All these new services partners will<br />
need to offer if they are to move forward from yesterday’s A3 MFP<br />
upgrade world.<br />
For small businesses, the business owner may be the contact<br />
point. IT support may have been sourced from a variety of local<br />
providers with varying skill sets and solutions. Bringing print and<br />
IT requirements together at a device level with an integrated support<br />
package and upgrade paths is a compelling proposition. It is also<br />
an easier sell to the client as the solution is managed through one<br />
point of contact and one contract. Although Konica Minoltas’ Kai<br />
Ohnesorge, their Senior Portfolio Development Manager, explained<br />
that it will be a collaborative approach with HPE for break/fix issues<br />
with the Workplace Hub Pro.<br />
For the aftermarket, the risks are clear. It is becoming harder to<br />
break into MPS contracts with a third-party supplies proposition,<br />
no matter how compelling the price. Although the industry can<br />
expect hardware to remain in the market longer, the link between<br />
print and IT services in the office has been strengthened by the<br />
pandemic and that further complicates the sale. Konica Minolta<br />
clearly have hit on an emerging niche and the Workplace Hub is an<br />
important milestone product.<br />
This means the aftermarket reuse conversation needs to be held<br />
now, ready for when the MPS contract ends. A closer relationship<br />
with IT service providers, is going to be essential in the future,<br />
finding partners who are open to offering environmentally<br />
beneficial solutions and IT competence has just become an urgent<br />
must have. ■<br />
Benefit from one of the largest ranges in the industry of<br />
compatible copier and printer toners and the many<br />
years of manufacturing experience from the only<br />
independent producer of toner powder in Europe.<br />
Our programme of quality leading toners offers important<br />
cost savings, low cost per page, brilliant colours<br />
and full REACH compliance.<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
9
IN THIS ISSUE<br />
On the cover<br />
Time to repurpose the office MFP?<br />
Inside GM Technology<br />
34<br />
SEC imposes $6M penalty<br />
on HP for undisclosed<br />
sales practices<br />
4<br />
36<br />
Editorial<br />
3 Beyond the MFP<br />
Feature<br />
4 Time to repurpose the office MFP?<br />
World Focus<br />
12 Canon continues with legal actions<br />
and Amazon removals<br />
13 23% of imported products not<br />
REACH and CLP compliant<br />
14 HP issues the most firmware<br />
updates so far<br />
16 Is the oil and plastics bubble<br />
about to burst?<br />
17 Call to transform tax to<br />
encourage repair<br />
18 HP's ACF bags more<br />
counterfeiters in Asia<br />
City News<br />
20 OEM share prices October 2020<br />
• Datamax acquires Advantage<br />
Copy Systems<br />
21 Kelley Connect doubles footprint<br />
in Montana • Applied Imaging<br />
buys Toshiba dealer<br />
22 WiZiX acquires Intelligent<br />
Copier Solutions • Ricoh takes<br />
over Data Vision<br />
Around the Industry<br />
24 Ninestar sheds light on its<br />
smart production<br />
25 ECS talks the 4 R’s • Aster UK<br />
increases warehouse capacity<br />
26 ETIRA welcomes EU’s new GPP<br />
criteria for imaging equipment<br />
tenders • Marco named Top<br />
Workplace 2020<br />
28 UKCRA wins in complaint against<br />
HP • Apex wins innovation award<br />
• Olivier Wernain joins Recoll<br />
Europe B.V.<br />
29 Bureau Vallée new store openings<br />
• Tradesupply expands UK team<br />
30 HYB warns of counterfeit products<br />
in Europe, starts video series and<br />
sets up e-commerce store for<br />
Latin America<br />
32 OWA brand celebrates 5 th<br />
anniversary • Static Control<br />
announces new VP of HR • CIG<br />
adds distributor in Jordan<br />
33 Eakes celebrates 75 th anniversary<br />
Feature<br />
34 Inside GM Technology<br />
36 SEC imposes $6M penalty<br />
on HP for undisclosed sales<br />
practices<br />
38 Inside the Hubei Dinglong Group<br />
Products & Technology<br />
40 G&G adds to Eco-Saver range,<br />
announces move into hardware<br />
41 IR Italiana Riprografia adds new<br />
models to Graphic-Jet range<br />
• Katun introduces new colour<br />
toner cartridges<br />
42 Biuromax adds inkjet range<br />
• CET releases plethora of new<br />
products • New replacement chips<br />
from Apex<br />
43 Cartridge Web’s new patent free<br />
100% made in Taiwan cartridge<br />
• Effective Consumable Solutions<br />
showcases latest product additions<br />
However you consume your<br />
news make sure you engage:<br />
Like, Follow and Share<br />
10 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Discover the Expanding<br />
Eco-friendly Printer and<br />
Multifunction Device<br />
Range from Katun<br />
Overall, the environmental impact of producing a remanufactured<br />
machine is 77% less compared to production of a new printer.*<br />
✔ Performs and looks like a new printer<br />
✔ Stringent remanufacturing processes completed in Europe<br />
✔ Cleaning process good as new<br />
✔ Boost your profitability when combined with Katun compatible supplies<br />
✔ Connect to your network and MPS Program Software straight out the box<br />
✔ Two Years Warranty on Hardware<br />
Watch how our machines are<br />
remanufactured, scan QR code:<br />
Learn more about Remanufactured Printers and Multifunction<br />
Devices from Katun by visiting us online at www.katun.com/eu<br />
*Comparison Analysis based on the Life Cycle Assessment study (under ISO 14044:18)and external peer review.<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
11
WORLD FOCUS<br />
GLOBAL Canon, Ninestar, Legal, IP, Amazon<br />
Canon continues with legal actions<br />
and Amazon removals<br />
Canon lawyers are back again as the company has filed another complaint against<br />
Ninestar alleging a breach of five cartridge patents, more Amazon removals were<br />
requested and disputes settled in Düsseldorf.<br />
Canon has announced the filing of a<br />
complaint in the U.S. District Court for<br />
the Central District of California against<br />
Ninestar Corporation, Ninestar Image<br />
Tech Limited, and Ninestar Technology<br />
Company, Ltd. (collectively, "Ninestar"),<br />
for infringement of Canon's U.S. Patent<br />
Nos. 9,851,688; 9,857,766; 10,620,582;<br />
10,712,709; and 10,712,710.<br />
Canon alleges that Ninestar sells toner<br />
cartridges that infringe Canon's patents for<br />
use in various models of Canon and HP<br />
laser beam printers. <strong>The</strong>se include printers<br />
which accept Canon toner cartridge models<br />
729 and HP toner cartridge models 126A<br />
and 130A.<br />
<strong>The</strong> HP 126 family of cartridges are used<br />
in the following printers:<br />
• HP LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP M175a<br />
(CE865A)<br />
• HP LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP<br />
M175nw (CE866A)<br />
• HP LaserJet Pro CP1025 Colour Printer<br />
(CE913A)<br />
• HP LaserJet Pro CP1025 Colour Printer<br />
(CF346A)<br />
• HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw Colour<br />
Printer (CE914A)<br />
• HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw Colour<br />
Printer (CE918A)<br />
• HP TopShot LaserJet Pro M275 MFP<br />
(CF040A)<br />
<strong>The</strong> HP 126 family of cartridges are used<br />
in the following printers:<br />
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M176n<br />
(CF547A)<br />
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M177fw<br />
(CZ165A)<br />
In March 2018, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> reported<br />
that the OEM had filed legal proceedings<br />
against nearly fifty companies claiming<br />
infringement of several patents. <strong>The</strong><br />
accused companies include such wellknown<br />
aftermarket names as Aster,<br />
Ninestar Corporation, Static Control, and<br />
Print-Rite.<br />
In March 2019, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> reported<br />
that <strong>The</strong> United States International Trade<br />
Commission has ruled against the OEM,<br />
throwing out its dispute with a series of<br />
aftermarket companies, following the<br />
Markman ruling of non-infringement<br />
earlier this month.<br />
In legal documents seen by <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Recycler</strong>, Administrative Law Judge Dee<br />
Lord granted the motions for summary<br />
determination of non-infringement by<br />
Aster, Ninestar, and Print-Rite.<br />
As a result of this decision, Canon’s own<br />
motion, for summary determination of<br />
infringement, and Ninestar’s motion for<br />
summary determination of invalidity, were<br />
both denied as moot.<br />
Canon went on to appeal this decision,<br />
but the Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord<br />
decision was upheld.<br />
Following the filing, Ninestar (Ninestar<br />
Corporation, Ninestar Image Tech Limited,<br />
and Ninestar Technology Company, Ltd)<br />
issued the following statement: “We are<br />
aware of a new lawsuit that Canon Inc. filed<br />
on September 17 with the U.S. District<br />
Court for the Central District of California<br />
while the complaint has not yet served.<br />
“We respect the intellectual property<br />
rights of any third party and protect our<br />
own innovations through patents. As<br />
always, we are confident with and stand<br />
proudly behind our proprietary technology.<br />
“Should you have any question, feel free to<br />
contact our sales representatives.”<br />
In its complaint, Canon alleges that<br />
Ninestar sells toner cartridges that infringe<br />
Canon’s U.S. Patent Nos. 9,851,688;<br />
9,857,766; 10,620,582; 10,712,709; and<br />
10,712,710 that are used in various models<br />
of Canon and HP laser beam printers.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se include printers which accept Canon<br />
toner cartridge models 729 and HP toner<br />
cartridge models 126A and 130A.<br />
In Düsseldorf, Canon Inc. and<br />
Doree Supplies B. V., doing business as<br />
"AppleToner", as well as its Managing<br />
Director agreed to resolve their pending<br />
patent dispute by signing a settlement<br />
agreement.<br />
Doree Supplies B. V. and its Managing<br />
Director inter alia accepted a preliminary<br />
injunction (docket no. 4a O 95/18) of the<br />
District Court Düsseldorf based on the<br />
infringement of the German portion of<br />
Canon's European Patent EP 2 087 407 B1<br />
as final and binding between the parties.<br />
Furthermore, Doree Supplies B. V. and<br />
its Managing Director have agreed to<br />
refrain from making, offering, putting<br />
into circulation and/or importing and/or<br />
possessing laser toner cartridges comprising<br />
a drum unit with a certain coupling<br />
member for use in various models of HP<br />
and/or Canon laser beam printers in all<br />
countries where EP 2 087 407 B1 is valid<br />
and in force and to pay damages for past<br />
infringement to Canon.<br />
Further details of the settlement<br />
agreement are confidential.<br />
Most recent Amazon removal requests<br />
include toner cartridges offered<br />
by Handelsagentur Silhan GmbH<br />
from Amazon in Germany and by<br />
DianShangWu and Building GYF and<br />
DTHXT from Amazon in Canada,<br />
URZAIZ BASSO SA DE CV from<br />
Amazon in Mexico and its biggest removal<br />
request yet, GREENSKY and 34 others<br />
from Amazon in the US. ■<br />
Patent US-9851688-B2 US-9857766-B2 US-10620582-B2 US-10712709-B2 US-10712710-B2<br />
Priority Date 2007-03-23 2007-03-23 2007-03-23<br />
Application Date 2017-03-10 2016-12-13 2019-09-18 2019-09-18 2019-09-18<br />
Grant Date 2017-12-26 2018-01-02 2020-04-14 2020-07-14 2020-07-14<br />
Expiration Date 2028-03-24 2028-03-24 2028-03-24<br />
12 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
EUROPE DecaBDE, REACH, CLP, Compliance<br />
23% of imported products not REACH and CLP compliant<br />
A pilot project by ECHA’s Enforcement Forum examining imports of products into the EU has found that 23%<br />
of inspected products were non-compliant with REACH and CLP.<br />
National enforcement authorities<br />
and customs inspectors in 16 Member<br />
States checked almost 1,400 products,<br />
with more than 300 (23%) found to be<br />
non-compliant with certain obligations<br />
under REACH and the Classification,<br />
Labelling and Packaging (CLP)<br />
regulations. <strong>The</strong> products were checked at<br />
strategic entry points in these countries,<br />
such as airports and harbours but also at<br />
inland customs offices.<br />
ECHA reported some imports<br />
contained illegal amounts of hazardous<br />
substances that are restricted in the<br />
EU, while others had incorrect hazard<br />
labelling, which could compromise their<br />
safe use and put citizens’ health at risk if<br />
they enter the market.<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority of checks addressed<br />
compliance with REACH restriction<br />
obligations, focusing on the presence of<br />
the restricted substances cadmium, lead<br />
and nickel in articles. Of the 1,225 checks<br />
for restricted substances, 17% of the<br />
products had amounts of the restricted<br />
substances above the required limit. This<br />
rate is similar to those reported in the<br />
Forum’s previous project on restrictions<br />
(REF-4) conducted in 2016. <strong>The</strong> highest<br />
rate of non-compliance was for cadmium<br />
detected in jewellery.<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority of the products were<br />
checked for restriction obligations<br />
(79 %) and those found to be noncompliant<br />
(74 %) mostly came from<br />
China, as well as from the United Arab<br />
Emirates, India, Thailand, North<br />
Macedonia and Madagascar. Importers<br />
of articles containing chemical substances<br />
must ensure that products placed on the<br />
EU market are compliant with REACH<br />
obligations.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se findings indicate that a<br />
significant number of imported products<br />
are in breach of REACH restrictions and<br />
would put the health of those buying the<br />
products at risk if the products entered<br />
the market.<br />
For CLP, 167 products were checked<br />
and 64% were found to be non-compliant.<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority of the non-compliances were<br />
related to labelling requirements, most<br />
commonly a lack of national language,<br />
and lack of or use of incorrect pictograms<br />
and signal words on the hazard label.<br />
<strong>The</strong> results show that importers need<br />
to intensify their efforts to supply safe<br />
products which are compliant with<br />
REACH and CLP. <strong>The</strong>y also show there<br />
is a continued need for targeted<br />
enforcement on these specific restrictions<br />
and more stringent enforcement of<br />
REACH and CLP at European points<br />
of entrance.<br />
ECHA said that one of the objectives<br />
of this project was to assess how<br />
cooperation between REACH/CLP<br />
enforcement and customs authorities<br />
worked in practice. <strong>The</strong> results indicate<br />
that there is well functioning cooperation<br />
between participating authorities and<br />
that the most frequent method of<br />
working during the project were joint<br />
checks performed by both customs and<br />
REACH/CLP inspectors.<br />
Within the imaging aftermarket,<br />
environmental issues have become a<br />
huge issue since it was<br />
discovered in 2018 that<br />
some aftermarket cartridges<br />
contained elevated levels of<br />
DecaBDE. ■<br />
Unused and unwanted<br />
empty cartridges?<br />
OHANA<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
We can solve your problem. It is a 3 step process:<br />
1. 2. 3.<br />
Contact us to arrange<br />
delivery, either by phone<br />
or email.<br />
We sort your cartridges, extracting<br />
everything of value and arranging the<br />
correct recycling of everything else.*<br />
* Cartridges of value will be sold on your behalf<br />
through our global network.<br />
Settle up with you and send<br />
you all the waste transfer<br />
documents for your records.<br />
To find out more, call Terry Bridgeman on +44 1328 633013, or email him at info@ohanatl.com<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
13
WORLD FOCUS<br />
GLOBAL Firmware, HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, Sharp<br />
HP issues the most<br />
firmware updates so far<br />
Between January and August this year five OEM brands<br />
issued 707 firmware updates, or which 38 blocked<br />
aftermarket products.<br />
Source: Apex Microelectronics Co. Ltd.<br />
HP leads the pack when it comes to<br />
firmware updates with 282 firmware updates<br />
issued between January and August this<br />
year. <strong>The</strong> number rises to 310 id you include<br />
Samsung firmware updates. Epson comes a<br />
close second with 245 firmware upgrades in<br />
the same period.<br />
OEM brands issued 707 firmware updates,<br />
or which 38 blocked aftermarket products.<br />
Thirty-eight of the firmware updates<br />
blocked the use of aftermarket products,<br />
with a slew of upgrades coming as the<br />
COVID-19 lockdown began rolling out.<br />
In March HP issued a firmware update<br />
affecting HP 903xl and 953xl cartridges<br />
in the United Kingdom market. Richard<br />
Pateman of UK based World of Inks Ltd<br />
reported at the time that customers are<br />
experiencing problems when installing<br />
remanufactured cartridges and the cartridges<br />
will not work again until new chips are<br />
available.<br />
Around the same time, Lexmark was<br />
reported to have issued a firmware update<br />
preventing third-party supplies from<br />
working in its MS/MX310 and MS317 series<br />
printers. Previously working chips are no<br />
longer being recognised and are reporting the<br />
error code 32.16 or 32.50.<br />
Hot on the heels of Lexmark, Ricoh issued<br />
a firmware update 2.27.1 that affected all<br />
Ricoh IM C series machines (C2000, 2500,<br />
3000, 3500, 4500 AND 6000) and MP<br />
C models like the MP C2503 and C2504.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Ricoh firmware update is in line with<br />
the ‘Always Current Technology’ strategy<br />
launched by the brand in 2019. Where Ricoh<br />
has programmed its new firmware to run the<br />
update fully automatically without requiring<br />
prior authorisation from the user.<br />
Sharp also issued their own firmware<br />
update 04.02.72 for printers used with<br />
MX60 series cartridges in April 2020,<br />
causing some errors with replacement chips<br />
which are no longer recognised by printers<br />
such as MX-2651, MX-3071, etc. <strong>The</strong> printer<br />
prompts an “Install the toner cartridge” error<br />
message.<br />
HP issued another firmware update in July<br />
2020 that affected third party replacement<br />
cartridges for HP 63/302 series cartridges.<br />
This latest firmware update, version<br />
2025A/2021B was released in July 2020. <strong>The</strong><br />
affected printers are HP OfficeJet 5220, 5255,<br />
5230, 5232, HP ENVY 5020, 5032 and HP<br />
DeskJet 2621 devices.<br />
No internet connection, not a problem as<br />
HP now updates firmware direct from the<br />
chip resident on the cartridge.<br />
In May 2020 HP released the newly<br />
W2080A/118A series cartridges, which are<br />
capable of upgrading the corresponding<br />
printers without being connected to a<br />
network. This upgrade is contained in<br />
the encrypted chip resident on the toner<br />
cartridge. Once the cartridge is installed<br />
in the printer, the “handshake” between<br />
the printer and the cartridge is made and<br />
determines the firmware status of the printer<br />
and that activates the upgrade if it is needed<br />
and no internet connection required.<br />
It is expected that the newly manufactured<br />
HP MFP 179fnw printers have installed the<br />
upgraded OEM cartridge, which also enables<br />
a firmware upgrade to the printer as soon as<br />
you start to use it.<br />
Unhappy Consumers<br />
Apart from the cost, expense and<br />
inconvenience to the aftermarket, consumers<br />
are out of pocket and upset.<br />
“DAMN HP FIRMWARE” Tina from<br />
the USA said in an email to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong><br />
over the Easter holiday. Just one of several<br />
consumers reaching out about HP’s latest<br />
firmware update. Tina does not pull any<br />
punches and goes on “I was just victimised<br />
by the latest HP attempt to stop use of<br />
remanufactured ink cartridges in my HP<br />
Officejet Pro 6968!!!!! I am steaming mad<br />
and will NEVER buy anything HP again!<br />
“How could a company think they can<br />
tell me – who brought and own my printer,<br />
what kind of ink I must use? Ford doesn’t tell<br />
owners of their cars what brand of tires or gas<br />
they must use!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
“With the problems we are facing in the<br />
world right now and SO MANY people<br />
having to work from home this latest strike<br />
at their customers could not have come at<br />
a worse time. Blood suckers…..they should<br />
be heavily fined for doing what they already<br />
know is illegal AND for price gouging at a<br />
time when many companies are going out of<br />
business due to the virus and yet most that<br />
can are volunteering to do things to help….<br />
but not HP.”<br />
Meanwhile, instant ink comes in for<br />
criticism from UK based Alli, who contacted<br />
us saying: “This scam and that is all it is.<br />
Cost me over £70 ($87 / €80) I didn’t realise<br />
that I was charged monthly. I didn’t use my<br />
printer for around 8 months as I was out<br />
of the country. I have only just been able to<br />
cancel the log in site is as clear as mud on<br />
how to cancel. I googled and found out that<br />
way, I also found a way to talk to one of the<br />
rogues that harped on about two missed<br />
payment when I stopped the card. I have<br />
received 3 black and two colour of which 1<br />
colour and 1 black [cartridges] are unused,<br />
and now cannot be used because of their chip<br />
protection.<br />
“I bought a set of two cartridges from<br />
Amazon for £17.90 ($22.50 / €20.50). you<br />
really were doing me a favour HP. I have had<br />
such a bad time over this, I have used HP for<br />
35 years, my current pc screen K/Board and<br />
mouse plus printer all HP. I’m upgrading this<br />
month and its all going I cannot bare to look<br />
at another HP product that’s the damage,<br />
this must be doing, I am not alone in this.<br />
<strong>The</strong> charity shop will get some current new<br />
kit, I will make sure to tell them a post note<br />
on the printer saying whatever you do, do not<br />
sign up for the scam that is INSTANT INK.<br />
Good riddance.”<br />
Editor's Opinion: <strong>The</strong> pace of firmware<br />
updates continues, and the OEMs are raking<br />
in the cash, but the consumers are waking up<br />
to the tactics and it is a gamble for the OEMs<br />
in how far they push consumers. You don’t<br />
need a lot of tina’s to voice their opinions and<br />
devalue their brand value and the consumer<br />
loses a fair choice. ■<br />
14 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
Remanufacture<br />
Reduce<br />
Recover<br />
Redesign<br />
Recycle<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
15
WORLD FOCUS<br />
EUROPE European Commission, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Oil, Plastics, SYSTEMIQ, Politico, Carbon Tracker<br />
Is the oil and plastics<br />
bubble about to burst?<br />
<strong>The</strong> week could see the decline of the oil and petrochemical sector begin and the<br />
EU is set to announce a much stricter emissions target by 2030. Meanwhile a Carbon<br />
Tracker report suggests that worldwide public concern could slash virgin plastic<br />
demand growth from 4% a year to under 1%, with demand peaking in 2027.<br />
European Commission President Ursula<br />
von der Leyen is expected to announce a<br />
much stricter target for cutting emissions by<br />
2030 during her State of the Union speech<br />
on Wednesday. And upping the current goal<br />
of 40 percent to at least 55 percent means<br />
making some very radical choices … such<br />
as considering imposing a phase-out date<br />
for petrol and diesel cars Politico Brussels<br />
Playbook reports.<br />
As the demise of the internal combustion<br />
engine appears on the horizon, “the oil<br />
industry is pinning its hopes on strong<br />
plastics demand growth that will not<br />
materialise, as the world starts to tackle<br />
plastic waste and governments act to hit<br />
climate targets. This risks $400 billion worth<br />
of stranded petrochemical investments,<br />
increasing the likelihood of peak oil demand,<br />
finds a new report from Carbon Tracker,<br />
basing some of its findings on a recent report<br />
“Breaking the Plastic Wave”. Carbon Tracker<br />
reports.<br />
<strong>The</strong> report suggests worldwide public<br />
concern is increasing pressure to curtail the<br />
use of plastics and could lead to the slashing<br />
of virgin plastic demand growth from 4% a<br />
year to under 1%, with demand peaking in<br />
2027. <strong>The</strong> implications are that the demand<br />
for oil peaked as early as 2019.<br />
“Remove the plastic pillar holding up the<br />
future of the oil industry, and the whole<br />
narrative of rising oil demand collapses,” said<br />
Kingsmill Bond, Carbon Tracker Energy<br />
Strategist and report lead author.<br />
<strong>The</strong> petrochemical industry is already<br />
facing record-low plastic feedstock prices as<br />
a result of massive overcapacity. And yet, it<br />
plans to expand supply for virgin plastics use<br />
by a quarter at a cost of at least $400 billion<br />
in the next 5 years, risking huge losses for<br />
investors.<br />
According to the report: “Plastics imposes<br />
an externality cost on society of at least<br />
$1,000 per tonne, or $350 billion a year, from<br />
emitting carbon dioxide, associated health<br />
costs from noxious gases, collection costs and<br />
the alarming growth in ocean pollution.<br />
And yet it receives more in subsidy than<br />
it pays in taxation, and until recently there<br />
have been very few constraints on how you<br />
can use plastics. Meanwhile, 36%<br />
of plastic is used only once, 40% ends up<br />
polluting the environment and less than 10%<br />
is actually recycled.”<br />
SYSTEMIQ notes that technology<br />
solutions are already available to enable a<br />
massive reduction in plastic usage at lower<br />
cost than business as usual. Solutions include<br />
reuse, with better design and regulation of<br />
product, substitutions such<br />
as paper, and a large increase in recycling.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re are huge benefits in the change<br />
from the current linear system to a<br />
more circular one. You can have all the<br />
functionality of plastics but at half the<br />
capital cost, half the amount of feedstock,<br />
700,000 additional jobs and 80% less plastic<br />
pollution,” said Yoni Shiran, lead author<br />
of Breaking the Plastic Wave and analyst<br />
at SYSTEMIQ.<br />
Policymakers in Europe and China are<br />
already taking steps to clamp down on<br />
plastics waste and have a wide range of tools<br />
they can use, from regulation and bans to<br />
taxes, targets and recycling infrastructure.<br />
As part of its coronavirus recovery package<br />
the EU agreed in July 2020 to introduce<br />
an €800/t tax on unrecycled waste plastic.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tax, to be introduced as of 1 January<br />
2021, will be calculated on the weight of<br />
nonrecycled plastic packaging waste.<br />
China has similar regulatory aspirations<br />
and has started to ban certain types of<br />
plastic. In 2018 China imposed more<br />
stringent conditions for the importing and<br />
processing plastic waste, forcing exporters to<br />
solve the waste issue at home.<br />
<strong>The</strong> report notes a stagnation in demand<br />
in developed markets and a leapfrog in<br />
emerging markets. As has been seen in other<br />
areas of the energy system, OECD plastic<br />
demand is stagnating at the same time as<br />
emerging market leaders are looking for<br />
alternative solutions to plastic.<br />
A further critical element that will dim the<br />
rosy petrochemical demand picture painted<br />
by incumbents is the effects of global policy<br />
action to tackle climate change. Carbon<br />
dioxide is produced at every stage of the<br />
plastic value chain – including being burnt,<br />
buried or recycled, not just extraction of oil<br />
and manufacturing. <strong>The</strong> analysis therefore<br />
finds that plastic releases roughly twice as<br />
much CO2 as producing a tonne of oil.<br />
If one assumes 350Mt of plastic demand<br />
with a total carbon footprint of around<br />
5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of plastic, that<br />
implies 1.75Gt of CO2. Continuation<br />
of current growth rates would see the carbon<br />
footprint of plastics double by the middle of<br />
the century to around 3.5Gt. And yet, the<br />
Paris Agreement implies that global CO2<br />
emissions (33Gt from the energy sector in<br />
2018) will have to halve by 2030 and get to<br />
zero by the middle of the century.<br />
“It is simply delusional for the plastics<br />
industry to imagine that it can double its<br />
carbon emissions at the same time as the rest<br />
of the world is trying to cut them to zero,”<br />
said Kingsmill Bond.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Ellen MacArthur Foundation<br />
commented “A few plastic producers are<br />
committed to be part of the solution.<br />
Borealis, Indorama Ventures PCL, Novapet,<br />
Kingfa Sci.&Tech. Co., Ltd., Plasticos<br />
Compuestos SA and Eastman Chemical<br />
Company have signed the Foundation's<br />
Global Commitment along with 450 other<br />
organisations to start to transition their<br />
business model from one based on the<br />
extraction of finite resources<br />
to one that is based on the circulation<br />
of materials. <strong>The</strong>y all set a quantitative 2025<br />
target to significantly increase the share<br />
of recycled plastics in the total volume of<br />
plastics they sell. For them, the transition to<br />
a circular economy is an opportunity that<br />
contributes to the growth of their business.<br />
We need many more plastic producers to<br />
follow their lead.”<br />
Editor's Opinion: If, as anticipated, the<br />
EU does up the 2030 quota, you can expect<br />
oil and plastics prices will free fall, but the<br />
tax €800 per tonne tax will drive circularity<br />
of reuse and recycling and end the linear<br />
market. ■<br />
16 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
EUROPE UK VAT, Repair, Reuse, Remanufacturing, Environment<br />
Call to transform tax to encourage repair<br />
Green Alliance, an independent think tank and charity focused on leadership<br />
for the environment in the UK is calling for the tax system to change to<br />
encourage reuse and repair.<br />
Reducing VAT on repairs would keep<br />
products in use for longer<br />
People are frustrated by product lifespans<br />
and lack of repairability<br />
"Currently products<br />
are difficult<br />
to get repaired"<br />
With is latest publication “Improving the<br />
environmental and social impact of UK<br />
VAT”, Green Alliance is investigating how<br />
taxes can be applied in a way “to enable people<br />
to make more sustainable choices,” leaning on<br />
the Swedish system example.<br />
<strong>The</strong> publication suggests that using<br />
BREXIT to overhaul the UK VAT system is a<br />
good start stating: “It is in the spotlight at the<br />
moment, as Brexit will allow more flexibility<br />
around how it is applied. Ministers have<br />
repeatedly said that leaving the EU will give<br />
the UK more freedom to map its own path.<br />
Reforming VAT is an opportunity to show<br />
what that means in practice.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> project looks at housing, energy and<br />
specifically repair/reuse of electronics. It<br />
says that “the problem” as “VAT is normally<br />
charged at the standard rate for repairs<br />
which, combined with high labour costs,<br />
discourages people from mending broken<br />
items.” <strong>The</strong> research shows that “nearly two<br />
thirds of people in the UK think products are<br />
currently too difficult to repair.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> publication points out: “<strong>The</strong><br />
problem of electronic waste, for instance, is<br />
particularly acute in the UK, which generates<br />
more e-waste per capita than any other<br />
You can contact<br />
visit www.therecycler.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> via Twitter<br />
for<br />
at<br />
all<br />
@<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
the breaking news<br />
"I often feel frustrated<br />
about how long<br />
products last"<br />
country in the world, apart from Norway.<br />
In 2019, the UK generated 23.9 tonnes of<br />
e-waste per person, against an EU average of<br />
16.2 tonnes and a global average of just 7.3<br />
tonnes per year.”<br />
Green Alliance is calling for change: “As<br />
the UK will no longer be subject to EU<br />
VAT rules, it should zero-rate VAT on all<br />
repairs, potentially starting with high impact,<br />
frequently wasted products like electronics.”<br />
“With a boost like this, many new jobs in<br />
the repair and remanufacturing industry<br />
would be created in all areas of the country.<br />
Combined with other policies to accelerate<br />
the circular economy, repair could create<br />
34,000 new jobs as it would be needed in<br />
every locality. And a robust remanufacturing<br />
sector could support 312,000 new jobs.34<br />
With unemployment rising because of the<br />
economic impact of coronavirus, an increasing<br />
proportion of these jobs will also be net jobs<br />
to the economy,” Green Alliance added. ■<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> 335<br />
November October 2020 2020<br />
17
WORLD FOCUS<br />
GLOBAL HP Inc., Counterfeits, Partners, Events<br />
HP's ACF bags more counterfeiters in Asia<br />
<strong>The</strong> OEM’s Anti Counterfeiting and Fraud (ACF) programme for the EMEA announced it has seized counterfeit<br />
supplies worth $2.5 million (€2.14 million) within seven months.<br />
HP Inc. has given an update on its<br />
anti-counterfeiting efforts in Indonesia,<br />
Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand,<br />
Vietnam and Singapore, reporting that<br />
through its Anti-Counterfeiting and<br />
Fraud (ACF) Programme the company<br />
seized $2.5 million (€2.14 million)<br />
counterfeit products and delisted<br />
over 12,800 online sites in the last<br />
seven months.<br />
HP said that Trade in counterfeit and<br />
pirated goods has risen steadily in the<br />
last few years, accounting for at least<br />
3.3% of global trade. In South East<br />
Asia, the range of counterfeit goods<br />
being traded in the black market by<br />
organized crime syndicates has grown to<br />
include everything from ink and toner<br />
print supplies and automobile parts<br />
to handbags and alcohol, generating<br />
an estimated value up to $ 35.9 billion<br />
(€30.6 billion) annually.<br />
<strong>The</strong> HP ACF program combats<br />
the production and distribution of<br />
counterfeit ink and toner print supplies.<br />
It delivers added value to consumers,<br />
business customers and partners to ensure<br />
security, reputation protection, seamless<br />
operations and savings on costs as they<br />
keep going with tighter resources.<br />
To identify counterfeit sellers, HP<br />
scours millions of online product listing<br />
pages across South East Asia and Korea<br />
– examining uses of the company's<br />
copyrighted imagery, trademarks and<br />
other unique identifiers. This helps<br />
to identify sellers who are deceiving<br />
customers as well as sellers pretending<br />
to be authorised resellers. When a seller<br />
is confirmed to be retailing counterfeit<br />
ink and toner supplies, they are reported<br />
to the online marketplaces who act on<br />
the information and remove the listings.<br />
Authorised online partners also work<br />
closely with HP to enhance brand<br />
protection and identify the origins of<br />
such products to ensure that consumer<br />
exposure to counterfeit ink and toner<br />
supplies is reduced.<br />
From November 2019 to May 2020,<br />
over 12,800 listings were removed across<br />
South East Asia and Korea, of which 122<br />
were from Singapore, HP said.<br />
HP conducts regular checks and raids to<br />
reduce counterfeits in the supply chain.<br />
For over 20 years, HP has partnered<br />
with local law enforcement across South<br />
East Asia and Korea to arrest counterfeit<br />
resellers who prey on unsuspecting<br />
customers and partners both offline<br />
and online. In the last eight months, 72<br />
counterfeit resellers have been arrested<br />
in raids where local seized items included<br />
finished and unfinished cartridges,<br />
packaging materials and various sets of<br />
labels.<br />
Large and medium-sized HP customers<br />
can further protect themselves by<br />
requesting for a complimentary Customer<br />
Delivery Inspection (CDI) offered at<br />
www.hp.com/anticounterfeit.<br />
Earlier this month HP also held its<br />
annual global partner event where the<br />
OEM unveiled a range of new offerings<br />
and sustainability, including the<br />
expansion of subscription-based plans<br />
for toner.<br />
<strong>The</strong> shift to remote and distributed<br />
workforces has accelerated many<br />
companies’ efforts for remote<br />
management and digitised workflows.<br />
As customer buying behaviours continue<br />
to evolve - everyone – from large<br />
enterprises and governments to SMBs<br />
and individual employees have had to<br />
adapt to new workspaces and digital<br />
business methods.<br />
In response to these changing<br />
dynamics, the company launched new<br />
print products, services and solutions<br />
optimised to enable new ways of working,<br />
new ways of managing and new ways of<br />
buying. New Print innovations include:<br />
• HP LaserJet Enterprise 400 Series,<br />
HP’s smallest enterprise-class<br />
experience<br />
• HP DesignJet portfolio for architect,<br />
engineer, construction and home<br />
offices<br />
• Document Workflow Cloud<br />
solution for simplifying the flow of<br />
information from paper to digital<br />
• Fleet Onboarding tool enabling<br />
partners to quickly onboard HP<br />
Workpath across printer fleet<br />
• Expansion of subscription-based<br />
plans for toner ■<br />
18 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
17.04 - 20.04.21, Frankfurt am Main<br />
paperworld.messefrankfurt.com<br />
Trade Fairs work<br />
As we KickStart 2021 make sure<br />
Paperworld / Remanexpo is on<br />
your agenda. Here’s why:<br />
Fostering personal relations is a key aspect of<br />
business and any trade event. To see, touch and<br />
order or sell new products and where to get lots<br />
of inspiration. A day at the show is as busy as a<br />
week in the office, but the buzz, the ideas, the<br />
opportunities make it worthwhile.<br />
Messe Frankfurt events - all under safe conditions:<br />
• Covid-19 conformed hygiene and safety programme<br />
• Space - 600,000 square metres – equivalent<br />
to 84 football pitches<br />
• Fresh air refreshed up to five times per hour<br />
• Wider aisles and a one-way system<br />
• High-ceilinged exhibition halls<br />
• Contactless access controls<br />
• Electronic admission tickets and payment<br />
NEW<br />
DATES<br />
See you in Frankfurt<br />
17 - 20 April 2021<br />
Powered by<br />
Visit www.therecycler.com/live<br />
for more information<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
19
CITY NEWS<br />
OEM share prices<br />
October 2020<br />
Share Prices<br />
Prices correct as of 1 st October 2020<br />
NORTH AMERICA Datamax, Acquisition,<br />
Advantage Copy Systems<br />
Company SEPTEMBER OCTOBER<br />
Brother Industries (Yen) ¥ 1693 1658<br />
Canon (Yen) ¥ 1745 1698.5<br />
Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (Yen)<br />
Sun Chemicals parent company<br />
¥ 2497 2572<br />
HP Inc. (US$) $ 19.3 19<br />
Hubei Dinglong (RMB) ¥ 18.2 15.7<br />
Jadi (MYR) M 0.12 0.095<br />
LG Chem (S Korean Won) W 743k 654k<br />
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.<br />
(Yen) Panasonic parent company<br />
¥ 953.4 869.5<br />
Mitsubishi Chemicals (Yen) ¥ 641.8 592<br />
Ninestar Corporation (RMB)<br />
Formerly Apex Microelectronics<br />
¥ 34.55 28.5<br />
Oki (Yen) ¥ 1012 1091<br />
Seiko Epson (Yen) ¥ 1231 1192<br />
Turbon AG (Euro) € 2.5 2.48<br />
Xerox (US$) $ 18.37 18.24<br />
UK Waste Prices<br />
price per tonne<br />
Aluminium € 27.97 16.57<br />
Plastic € 41.96 28.24<br />
Paper € 8.44 7.18<br />
Currency<br />
€/US$ 1.19 1.17<br />
€/£ 0.89 0.91<br />
£/US$ 1.33 1.29<br />
£/€ 1.12 1.1<br />
Oil Price<br />
Crude oil - (US$) 'Brent Crude<br />
futures, 1-Pos IPE close' per barrel*<br />
Shipping Prices<br />
Europe<br />
(Hamburg/Antwerp/Felixstowe<br />
/Le Havre)<br />
Mediterranean<br />
(Barcelona/ Valencia/Genoa/Naples)<br />
USWC<br />
(Los Angeles/Long Beach/Oakland)<br />
USEC<br />
(New York/ Savannah /Norfolk<br />
/Charleston)<br />
$ 44.32 39.4<br />
$ 1042 1168<br />
$ 1082 1211<br />
$ 3758 3863<br />
$ 4538 4622<br />
Sources: HMRC, FT.com, krx.co.kr tse.or.jp, Environment Exchange,<br />
packagingnews.co.uk *Brent Crude price is for September 2020<br />
Datamax acquires<br />
Advantage Copy Systems<br />
Datamax announced the acquisition of Advantage Copy<br />
Systems, a privately‐owned business technology provider<br />
in Sulphur Springs, TX.<br />
Established as a Canon<br />
dealership in 1992, Advantage<br />
Copy Systems is provider of<br />
office machines and copierrelated<br />
consumer products in<br />
the Northeast Texas area. <strong>The</strong><br />
company was purchased in 2006<br />
by long-time Sulphur Springs/<br />
Hopkins County area residents,<br />
Dan and Paula Brown.<br />
Datamax said that this<br />
agreement represents an integral<br />
part of the Datamax Growth<br />
Plus (+) strategy to further<br />
expand and strengthen its<br />
marketplace presence within<br />
Texas and Arkansas.<br />
<strong>The</strong> newly-expanded<br />
organisation will offer a<br />
complimentary array of<br />
multifunction copiers and<br />
printers, desktop printers,<br />
wide‐format printers and<br />
digital production equipment.<br />
Coupled with Document<br />
Management/Workflow<br />
solutions, Managed Print<br />
Services, Managed Network<br />
Services, IT consulting<br />
services, and Unified<br />
Communications, the ability<br />
to address “holistically” a<br />
broader spectrum of business<br />
technology challenges can now<br />
be realised.<br />
"We are very excited about<br />
this new association and all<br />
the advantages that it will<br />
provide for the company, the<br />
employees, and most of all you,<br />
our customers," said Advantage<br />
Copy Systems President Paula<br />
Brown. "We will continue to<br />
offer you the personalized<br />
customer service, which we<br />
feel is the most important<br />
factor in maintaining a good<br />
business relationship, as well<br />
as the ongoing growth of the<br />
relationship."<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Advantage Copy<br />
Systems customer and employee<br />
commitment level is clearly<br />
the same, which makes this a<br />
wonderful match,” said Barry<br />
Simon, President, Datamax<br />
Inc. "This acquisition will offer<br />
additional synergy and thought<br />
leadership to ultimately benefit<br />
customers in all of the markets<br />
we serve. Although business<br />
alignment is a major factor<br />
in such an acquisition, what<br />
we’re equally excited about is<br />
our cultural alignment. We<br />
believe culture trumps all. At<br />
Datamax, we aren’t satisfied<br />
with customers or employees<br />
just being satisfied. Our mission<br />
is much bigger. We set the<br />
bar very high regarding the<br />
experiences of our customers,<br />
as well as the aspirations of our<br />
employees and the needs of<br />
our communities. Unless we’re<br />
Creating Raving Fans of each<br />
of them, our job is simply not<br />
done." ■<br />
20 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Search for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> on Facebook for more news and industry coverage<br />
NORTH AMERICA Kelley Connect, Acquisition, J&H<br />
Kelley Connect doubles<br />
footprint in Montana<br />
<strong>The</strong> company has announced the acquisition of Montana-based J&H, Inc.<br />
Kelley Connect continued its expansion,<br />
announcing it has purchased the Montanabased<br />
business with offices in Bozeman,<br />
Billings, Missoula, and Kalispell.<br />
"We've been looking to find opportunities<br />
to meet the demand of our promise to<br />
become the best independent resource for<br />
companies looking for full-service business<br />
technology support," said Kelley Connect<br />
Owner and CEO Aric Manion. "Montana<br />
is quickly becoming a technology hotbed.<br />
We are committed to providing technical<br />
expertise, depth of product and professional<br />
services to help our clients take advantage of<br />
this growth."<br />
With the addition of J&H, Kelley Connect<br />
is now 29 offices with 279 people across<br />
five states.<br />
"Tom and I are exited about the new<br />
opportunities Kelley Connect has to<br />
offer our customers and employees," said<br />
Janet White, President of J&H. "J&H has<br />
provided excellent customer service for<br />
the past 47 years and we are confident that<br />
Kelley Connect will continue this tradition<br />
into the future."<br />
All J&H employees are part of the<br />
transition plan, and Kelley Connect will<br />
be looking to hire additional staff to<br />
implement the new offerings in the region. ■<br />
NORTH AMERICA Applied Imaging, Upstream Office Solutions, Acquisition<br />
Applied<br />
Imaging buys<br />
Toshiba dealer<br />
Mike Dudek and Rich Wisniewski of Zygoquest Group "seeking to unite"<br />
served as the advisor to Upstream Office Solutions and its owners Mark and<br />
Jillian Wild on the sale of assets to Applied Imaging.<br />
Upstream Office Solutions, located<br />
in Tampa Bay, Florida, was owned and<br />
operated by Mark and Jillian Wild.<br />
Upstream Office Solutions was a full-line<br />
authorised Toshiba dealer and authorised<br />
to sell and service printers for Kyocera<br />
and Epson. Upstream Office Solutions<br />
provided office equipment and document<br />
solutions and services to customers located<br />
throughout the Tampa Bay, Florida<br />
metropolitan market.<br />
Applied Imaging is owned and operated<br />
by John Lowery and is an office technology<br />
solutions provider. Applied Imaging offers<br />
businesses office solutions for every phase<br />
of their document lifecycle – copiers and<br />
printers, managed print services, document<br />
management, managed IT services,<br />
facilities management, and shredding.<br />
Applied Imaging is headquartered in<br />
Grand Rapids, Michigan and operates 14<br />
locations throughout Michigan, Ohio,<br />
and Florida. Since 1987, Applied Imaging<br />
has been recognised for being one of the<br />
nation’s most innovative and customer<br />
friendly technology dealers.<br />
Other awards earned include INC5000<br />
Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies<br />
in the Nation, Crain’s Cool Places to<br />
Work, Best & Brightest Places to Work,<br />
Elite Dealer Awards from Canon, Ricoh,<br />
and ENX, and more. John Lowery,<br />
President of Applied Imaging, had been<br />
named Michigan’s Small Business Person<br />
of the Year in 2012 and Ernst & Young’s<br />
Michigan & Northern Ohio Entrepreneur<br />
of the Year.<br />
Terms of the transaction are confidential. ■<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
21
CITY NEWS<br />
NORTH AMERICA WiZiX<br />
Technology Group, Acquisition,<br />
Intelligent Copier Solutions<br />
GLOBAL Ricoh, Acquisition, AV, Solutions<br />
WiZiX acquires<br />
Intelligent<br />
Copier Solutions<br />
WiZiX Technology Group, Inc.<br />
announced the acquisition of<br />
Intelligent Copier Solutions (ICS),<br />
based in Rohnert Park, CA.<br />
WiZiX Technology Group was<br />
Founded in 2017, and is headquartered<br />
in Roseville, CA with offices in: Fresno,<br />
San Jose, Pleasanton, and now Rohnert<br />
Park. WiZiX remains and independent,<br />
locally owned, and operated imaging<br />
technology dealership, with a strong<br />
regional presence throughout Central<br />
and Northern California.<br />
ICS was founded by Robert M.<br />
Brown in 2010, with the goal to<br />
provide exceptional service after the<br />
sale, as the most important criteria<br />
of the company. ICS will always work<br />
at offering client’s, leading technology,<br />
to enhance and make their business<br />
activities more efficient.<br />
<strong>The</strong> purchase of ICS marks the fifth<br />
such transaction and the fifth office<br />
location for WiZiX in less than three<br />
years since its inception.<br />
Gary Johnson, President of WiZiX<br />
stated: “Bob and I connected from the<br />
very beginning. I could tell immediately<br />
this was a well-run operation. His<br />
customer-centric business approach<br />
fits right in-line with our view of how<br />
business should be done. ICS gives<br />
WiZiX a strong foundation from which<br />
to continue our growth in the North<br />
Bay. Bob has built an incredible team<br />
at ICS, and everyone at WiZiX looks<br />
forward to working alongside them<br />
as we continue on our journey. As the<br />
ICS motto goes, ‘make the intelligent<br />
choice,’ and that was certainly the case<br />
here.” ■<br />
Ricoh takes over Data Vision<br />
<strong>The</strong> company becomes one of the largest AV and workplace integrators<br />
in Europe through the acquisition of Data Vision.<br />
Ricoh strengthens its conference room<br />
technology offering, workplaces and<br />
digital collaboration through the takeover<br />
of Data Vision. Data Vision was founded<br />
in 1995 and is a leading integrator for<br />
audio visual (AV) and conference room<br />
and workstation technologies. Data Vision<br />
has 100 employees and is represented<br />
through its eight service- and sales<br />
locations across Germany.<br />
<strong>The</strong> head office is in Düsseldorf. Data<br />
Vision specialises in the conception and<br />
integration of modern conference room<br />
and workplace solutions, including<br />
Unified Communications & Collaboration<br />
(UCC), Audio visual Technologies (AV)<br />
and solutions for workplace and meeting<br />
room management. <strong>The</strong> company has over<br />
1,300 customers and looks after 15 of the<br />
30 DAX companies in Germany as well as<br />
numerous large ministries.<br />
Data Vision customers will benefit from<br />
the global reach, the financial strength and<br />
the integrated service infrastructure from<br />
Ricoh, Data Vision said. <strong>The</strong>y will also get<br />
access to the products and solutions from<br />
the Communication Services portfolio and<br />
other business areas from Ricoh, such as<br />
Managed Document Services, IT Services,<br />
Business Process Services or Production<br />
Printing Services.<br />
Edward Hamilton, Vice President<br />
Communication Services, Ricoh Europe,<br />
said: “<strong>The</strong> were a number of factors<br />
that were decisive in the decision to take<br />
over Data Vision. <strong>The</strong>se include their<br />
leading market position, their extensive<br />
expertise and experience as well as our<br />
common synergies with regard to our<br />
customer base, our corporate culture<br />
and our strategy. This acquisition creates<br />
a strong foundation for our further<br />
growth in Europe and forms a supporting<br />
pillar within our change to one Digital<br />
Services company. Most importantly, it<br />
will still help our customers to support<br />
them more effectively in their own digital<br />
transformation."<br />
David Mills, CEO, Ricoh Europe,<br />
said: “This step represents a significant<br />
development for the market and<br />
an important expansion for our<br />
Communication Services division, both<br />
in Germany and at European level. It<br />
is crucial that we offer our customers<br />
solutions for an even better cooperation to<br />
provide intelligent and safe workplaces."<br />
Data Vision will continue under its<br />
existing company name – Data Vision<br />
Deutschland GmbH – as a wholly-owned<br />
subsidiary of Ricoh.<br />
Jochen Roggenkämper, Managing<br />
Director of Data Vision said: “We are<br />
excited and very happy for the future.<br />
<strong>The</strong> global reach and infrastructure,<br />
as well as the vast experience of Ricoh<br />
in the end-to-end implementation of<br />
managed services, combined with our<br />
experience and expertise in the areas of<br />
AV, UCC and workplace management<br />
ensure that we can serve our customers<br />
in Germany and Europe even better and<br />
more comprehensively when it comes<br />
to integrating solutions for modern and<br />
collaborative working environments. ■<br />
22 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
23
AROUND THE INDUSTRY<br />
GLOBAL ASIA Ninestar, Company, Automation, Xxxxx, Xxxxx Cartridges, Smart Production, Chief Printing Officer<br />
Ninestar sheds light on its smart production<br />
Ninestar’s Johnson Qiang talks about its smart automated production and how it empowers its partners.<br />
Ninestar’s Vice General Manager of<br />
Ninestar Image and Vice General Manager<br />
of Printing Consumables BU, Ninestar,<br />
Mr Johnson Qiang, talks about production<br />
automation and responds to their partners<br />
questions about the advantages and<br />
benefits of automation.<br />
Responding to a question on how much<br />
of Ninestar’s manufacturing is automated,<br />
Johnson said: “Today, much of Ninestar’s<br />
ink cartridge production has been<br />
fully automated and 4 fully automated<br />
toner cartridge workshops have come<br />
online. Our scale allows us to produce<br />
cartridges that truly rival the quality and<br />
performance of their OEM counterparts.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> four automated toner cartridge<br />
workshops currently produce “new-built<br />
replacement toner cartridges for HP 226<br />
series, HP 252/452 series, HP 435 series and<br />
Samsung 2160 series,” and added: “<strong>The</strong><br />
average pass rate of our 4 full-automated<br />
toner cartridge workshops is 98%.”<br />
Responding to a question on how<br />
automation drives productivity, Johnson<br />
said: “No doubt, a well-thought-out<br />
automation solution can bring increased<br />
efficiency and productivity. We use Units<br />
per People per Hour (UPPH) to measure<br />
the efficiency.<br />
In addition, the Overall Equipment<br />
Effectiveness (OEE) of our smart<br />
production equipment increases to 90%.<br />
An OEE score of 85% is considered world<br />
class for manufacturing industry. We are<br />
far beyond the world-class standard. Our<br />
improvement on OEE also contributes to<br />
the increasing productivity.<br />
What’s more, digital signage is widely<br />
used in our intelligent production<br />
workshops. Production metrics, inventory<br />
management, product quality reports, and<br />
business performance can be updated in<br />
real time and displayed automatically on<br />
screens. Digital signage shortens response<br />
time and helps drive productivity by<br />
providing a flexible one-to-many solution<br />
for effective visual communication.”<br />
“Automation drives quality” Johnson<br />
said, “our state-of-the-art automated<br />
equipment improves quality in a number<br />
of ways: eliminating human error,<br />
improving consistency and identifying<br />
error. <strong>The</strong> first two are easy to understand.<br />
How to identify error? Bear in mind that<br />
although automated systems improve<br />
processes greatly, they have their own<br />
imperfections. To prevent this, we invest in<br />
a machine vision system to rapidly inspect<br />
each item on the production line, ensuring<br />
the quality of a component or product.<br />
<strong>The</strong> system uses a combination of lights,<br />
sensors and cameras to guarantee each<br />
product meets the same specific criteria<br />
and may notice defects too small for the<br />
human eye.<br />
Johnson confirmed Ninestar’s future<br />
plans to “increase its investment in<br />
automation. It is expected there will<br />
be another two fully automated toner<br />
cartridge workshops available by next<br />
year” to drive “our relentless pursuit of<br />
product quality.<br />
“I’m a great believer that automated<br />
production has become the best tool<br />
Ninestar possesses to achieve the balance<br />
between quality and efficiency. Just like<br />
what I’ve said before, smart production<br />
will elevate our customer benefits to the<br />
next level. Hence, there is no doubt that<br />
Ninestar will increase its investment in<br />
automation.”<br />
To celebrate its 20th anniversary<br />
Ninestar ran a competition for a one year<br />
supply of G&G cartridges.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first CPO announced was Joewan<br />
Salihi, the Creative Director of Jox<br />
Creative Studio from Berlin, Germany and<br />
was followed by the second winner, Jesaeng<br />
Hospital, a well-renowned medical centre<br />
located in Seoul, South Korea. İstanbul<br />
Faculty of Medicine, a time-honoured<br />
faculty of İstanbul University in Turkey,<br />
was named the final winner of the one year<br />
free cartridges from G&G was named.<br />
<strong>The</strong> CPO project in Turkey is kindly<br />
supported by a local distributor that<br />
started cooperation with G&G since 2016.<br />
G&G said it will provide the İstanbul<br />
Faculty of Medicine with one-year<br />
high-quality replacement cartridges HP<br />
CE505XX, HP CE285A and HP Q2612A<br />
for free.<br />
“Thanks G&G for being with us in these<br />
difficult times. <strong>The</strong>se consumables will be<br />
a great help for us in the next one year, and<br />
we will give the company our feedbacks of<br />
printing experience as useful as possible”,<br />
said Dr. Ahmet, a prestigious Professor of<br />
İstanbul Faculty of Medicine.<br />
G&G is working on offering good<br />
experience for customers in every<br />
channel, such as education and medicine.<br />
By collecting feedback from its CPO’s,<br />
it said it will improve its products and<br />
provide effective solutions for vertical<br />
customers. ■<br />
24 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
EUROPE ECS, Cartridges, Reuse, Circular Economy<br />
ECS talks the 4 R’s<br />
Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle are the 4 R’s at the heart of waste prevention<br />
and a circular economy – something that all modern businesses should strive<br />
for. As a remanufacturer and recycler ECS sit perfectly to help you deal with<br />
these demands.<br />
Effective Consumable Solutions’<br />
(ECS) business model shows complete<br />
commitment to the four major<br />
cornerstones of waste prevention, with<br />
all of their customers who take advantage<br />
of their services gaining a huge boost<br />
to their green credentials as a result,<br />
something which the company feels is<br />
needed now more than ever, given the<br />
current climate crisis.<br />
ECS <strong>The</strong> Greener Side’s Recycling<br />
Director, Adrian Lovatt said: “Refusing<br />
to use single-use plastic products is the<br />
idealistic approach for most forward<br />
thinking businesses, which is why<br />
remanufactured toner cartridges are the<br />
most appropriate option for businesses<br />
who are looking for an option that<br />
won’t cost the earth – quite literally.<br />
Remanufactured toner cartridges offer<br />
a fair price for a high quality product<br />
that can be remanufactured a number<br />
of times, limiting the need for more raw<br />
materials.”<br />
As both a remanufacturer and recycler,<br />
Effective Consumable Solutions and<br />
ECS <strong>The</strong> Greener Side explained that<br />
they really do offer a complete solution<br />
to accommodate modern customer<br />
demands where the planet and the<br />
consequences of buying a product really<br />
are the focal point of the majority of<br />
customers in today’s market.<br />
<strong>The</strong> companies state-of-the-art<br />
ISO9001 & ISO14001 remanufacturing<br />
and recycling facilities set them apart<br />
from most of the competition, giving<br />
their partners the competitive advantage<br />
in terms of high quality products and the<br />
ideal end of product-life solution.<br />
ECS’s remanufactured range of<br />
products covers all major manufacturer<br />
brands, while their recycling and recovery<br />
service successfully deals with over<br />
1,000,000 cartridges every single year. ■<br />
EUROPE Aster UK, Warehouse,<br />
Stock Levels<br />
Aster UK<br />
increases<br />
warehouse<br />
capacity<br />
<strong>The</strong> company announced an<br />
increase in stock it holds in its<br />
UK warehouse, increasing stock<br />
from under 50,000 to 75,000<br />
toner cartridges ready to be<br />
shipped.<br />
Two years ago, when Aster UK was<br />
launched it announced its 1,000sqm<br />
warehouse will have an initial stock<br />
of 50,000 units. To enable the<br />
company to now stock an increased<br />
product range, it has now increased<br />
its stock levels to 75,000 toner<br />
cartridges.<br />
Aster said in its announcement:<br />
“This new stock holding capacity will<br />
enable us to increase our product range<br />
and also offer further storage for our<br />
shipments of branded packaging orders<br />
for UK customers.”<br />
Shipment option from its warehouse<br />
include plain label drop shipment,<br />
real time technical support, a bespoke<br />
packing service, a full selection of<br />
products, and an experienced R&D<br />
team. ■<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
25
AROUND THE INDUSTRY<br />
EUROPE ETIRA, Green Procurement Policy, Environment, Imaging Equipment<br />
ETIRA welcomes EU’s new GPP criteria for imaging<br />
equipment tenders<br />
ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association, has welcomed new criteria introduced by the<br />
EU to reduce the environmental footprint of printers and cartridges purchased through public tenders.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new Green Procurement Policy (GPP)<br />
criteria for imaging equipment applies to<br />
printers, copiers, multifunctional devices<br />
and scanners, enabling public authorities to<br />
endorse sustainable printing by lowering the<br />
environmental impact of devices purchased,<br />
and favouring the use of remanufactured<br />
cartridges.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new criteria, which also includes<br />
requirements for printers’ plastics, chemicals<br />
and emissions, have been in development by<br />
the EU’s scientific body – the Joint Research<br />
Centre (JRC) - since 2018, and the list was<br />
approved by the EU Commission in late July<br />
2020.<br />
Public bodies are being invited to use the<br />
guide, which is currently voluntary, when<br />
they solicit offers for imaging equipment and<br />
consumables through tenders.<br />
Javier Martinez, President of ETIRA,<br />
said: “<strong>The</strong> introduction of this new list of<br />
criteria within the European Union is an<br />
encouraging step forward towards a more<br />
sustainable future for the printing and ink<br />
and toner cartridge industry.<br />
“We have been lobbying the EU for two<br />
years on this policy and participating in the<br />
development process while insisting that<br />
cartridge reuse is a vital part of the new<br />
criteria.<br />
“By including a clear preference for<br />
remanufactured cartridges in the 2020 GPP<br />
criteria, the EU confirms that in terms of<br />
environmental performance, reusing your<br />
cartridge is better than buying a new one<br />
each time.<br />
“Together with our members, we will<br />
now raise awareness of the criteria in EU<br />
countries to encourage public authorities to<br />
use the GPP criteria and in turn, lower the<br />
environmental footprint of printing and<br />
cartridge use across EU member states.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> GPP is made up of two elements –<br />
‘core criteria’ designed to allow for easy<br />
application, focusing on the environmental<br />
performance of a product, and<br />
‘comprehensive criteria’ for use by authorities<br />
that want to lead the way in supporting<br />
innovative environmental goals.<br />
Key takeaways from the new policy are<br />
outlined below. For the full list of criteria,<br />
please scan the QR code.<br />
• Printers must comply with EU<br />
regulations on REACH (Registration,<br />
Evaluation, Authorisation and<br />
Restriction of Chemicals) WEEE<br />
(Waste Electrical and Electronic<br />
Equipment Directive) and other regular<br />
EU rules and laws.<br />
• Printers must meet standards for<br />
emissions, noise, energy consumption,<br />
and not contain hazardous substances<br />
beyond limits.<br />
• <strong>The</strong>y must offer warranties and allow<br />
the use of remanufactured cartridges and<br />
any firmware update must not hinder<br />
the use of reused or remanufactured<br />
consumables.<br />
• Take-back programmes are also<br />
requested, and there are criteria for<br />
consumables supplied under a managed<br />
print contract. Cartridges must comply<br />
with page yield standards and must not<br />
be designed to limit the ability to reuse or<br />
remanufacture them.<br />
<strong>The</strong> GPP criteria also encourages an<br />
initial ‘fleet assessment’ to determine<br />
which machines need to<br />
be replaced and crucially,<br />
which ones can be kept,<br />
which will offer increased<br />
opportunities to reuse both<br />
cartridges and machines. ■<br />
NORTH AMERICA Marco, Award, Top Workplace 2020<br />
Marco named Top Workplace 2020<br />
<strong>The</strong> Des Moines Register named Marco a winner of the Iowa<br />
Top Workplaces 2020 Award.<br />
For the fifth time, Marco has been<br />
awarded a Top Workplaces 2020 honour<br />
by <strong>The</strong> Des Moines Register.<br />
Top Workplaces are based solely on the<br />
results of an employee feedback survey<br />
administered by Energage, LLC. <strong>The</strong><br />
anonymous survey uniquely measures<br />
fifteen drivers of engaged cultures that are<br />
critical to the success of any organisation:<br />
including alignment, execution, and<br />
connection, just to name a few.<br />
Marco currently has 70 employees across<br />
Iowa in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines,<br />
Mason City, Quad Cities, Sioux City and<br />
Waterloo.<br />
“On behalf of all our Iowa-based<br />
employees, I wanted to share how excited<br />
we are to be featured by the Des Moines<br />
Register’s Top Workplaces of 2020,”<br />
said Doug Wood, Director of Sales.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Top Workplaces award has come<br />
to mean a lot to our local employees.<br />
Marco is frequently recognised for<br />
many of its achievements and this award<br />
demonstrates the voice of the local<br />
employees and their pride in quality of<br />
work we do and the environment that<br />
has been created for Marco in Iowa. This<br />
award is an incredible win for Marco and<br />
a win for our clients.” ■<br />
26 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Search for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> on Facebook for more news and industry coverage<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
27
AROUND THE INDUSTRY<br />
EUROPE ASA, UKCRA, HP Inc., Complaint<br />
UKCRA wins in<br />
complaint against HP<br />
HP has given assurances to the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards<br />
Authority that they will remove the claims from their future advertising.<br />
In January this year, the UK Cartridge<br />
Remanufacturers Association (UKCRA)<br />
logged a complaint with the UK Advertising<br />
standards Authority (ASA) in response to an<br />
email HP circulated warning its customers<br />
of “imitation toners” and their damaging<br />
effects on printers.<br />
In its email, HP claimed that “over 1 in 5<br />
problems caused by non-HP cartridges can<br />
cause damage to the printer” and that “49%<br />
of imitation cartridges failed during use<br />
or right out of the box”, compared to HP<br />
original supplies.<br />
With the complaint UKCRA asked the<br />
ASA “to request HP to cease and desist from<br />
any further campaigns of this sort” stating<br />
that the advertisement includes “many<br />
statements that are discriminatory” and tries<br />
to “to discredit third party toner and inkjet<br />
printer cartridges other than their own in<br />
their printers.”<br />
UKCRA added at the time: “Printer<br />
cartridges that are remanufactured (re-used)<br />
EUROPE Recoll Europe B.V., New Hire, Business<br />
Olivier Wernain joins<br />
Recoll Europe B.V.<br />
Wernain joins as Sales & Collection Director<br />
Europe at Recoll Europe B.V.<br />
Recoll Europe B.V. has been collecting<br />
empty inkjet and toner cartridges for 25<br />
years and facilitates an empty cartridge<br />
return programme for retailers and dealers<br />
throughout Europe.<br />
Wernain began his career in the industry<br />
in 2004. He previously worked for K&U<br />
Printware before moving on to become the<br />
are not only more environmentally friendly<br />
they are more sustainable than recycling.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> ASA has now received an answer from<br />
HP, who have assured the authority that<br />
they will remove the claims from their future<br />
advertising.<br />
A check of the HP site reveals that the<br />
email in question either does not exist<br />
anymore on the server, or it may have been<br />
moved or deleted.<br />
ASA said in its message to UKCRA: “We<br />
consider that this will resolve the complaint<br />
without referring the matter to the ASA<br />
Council, and will consequently be closing<br />
our file.<br />
“In a formal investigation, if the ASA<br />
Council decides that an ad is in breach of the<br />
Code, the advertisers are told to withdraw or<br />
amend it. Because HP has already assured us<br />
that the advertising you complained about<br />
will be amended, we consider there is little<br />
to be gained from continuing with a formal<br />
investigation, which would achieve that same<br />
outcome.”<br />
Although ASA is not publishing full<br />
details of the UKCRA complaint on its<br />
website, www.asa.org.uk, basic information<br />
including the advertisers' name and where<br />
the ad appeared will appear though on<br />
9 September 2020. ■<br />
▲ Olivier Wernain Sales & Collection<br />
Director Europe, Recoll Europe B.V.<br />
UKs Environmental Business Products<br />
European Sales Director. He then worked<br />
for Prolaser in France where he worked for<br />
two years before he joined Mito in 2017.<br />
After briefly exiting the industry, he<br />
has now returned as Sales & Collection<br />
Director Europe at Recoll Europe B.V. who<br />
are based in the Netherlands. ■<br />
ASIA Apex, Chips, Innovation<br />
Apex wins<br />
innovation<br />
award<br />
Apex announced it has won<br />
the 2019 China Semiconductor<br />
Innovation Product and<br />
Technology award.<br />
At the summit of the World<br />
Semiconductor Conference 2020 held<br />
on 26 August Apex's project "Security<br />
Chip based on Domestic Multicore<br />
CUPs" won the 2019 China<br />
Semiconductor Innovation Product<br />
and Technology award.<br />
Apex explained that the Security<br />
Chip Dachuan launched by Geehy<br />
Semiconductor (a wholly-owned<br />
subsidiary of Apex) is based on domestic<br />
T-head XuanTie CPU multi-core (dualcore,<br />
four-core and even seven-core)<br />
heterogeneous architecture. <strong>The</strong> entire<br />
system makes a breakthrough in the use<br />
of trusted CPU and secure CPU,<br />
which has built the trusted execution<br />
environment and embedded iSE security<br />
unit, as well as the security mechanism<br />
customised with 19 items. Apex added<br />
that it is able to prevent it from multiple<br />
attacks like time attack, power analysis<br />
attack, wrong injection, buffer overflow,<br />
etc., as well as avoid attacks to the<br />
sensitive data, thus guaranteeing the key<br />
information transmission and device<br />
connection is secure, stable, and reliable.<br />
As a leading global supplier of printer<br />
cartridge chip solutions, Apex has 16<br />
years of experience in the printer industry<br />
with capabilities in 8/16/32-bit CPUs and<br />
DSP independent design and powerful<br />
encryption and decryption and antiattack<br />
technologies. <strong>The</strong> self-developed<br />
integrated circuit chips have won the Best<br />
Market Performance Award seven times.<br />
Apex said it has sold over 500 million<br />
security chips based on domestic CPUs.<br />
Apex and Geehy said they will continue<br />
to deepen the innovative applications<br />
for security chips in industrial<br />
control, automobile electronics, smart<br />
transportation, smart home, smart<br />
resources, providing more high-quality<br />
chip products and application solutions<br />
to accelerate the development of domestic<br />
chip industrialisation. ■<br />
28 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
You can contact <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> via Twitter at @<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
EUROPE Bureau Vallée, Brussels, Englos, Montauroux, Vauvert, New Stores<br />
Bureau Vallée new store openings<br />
While you were catching some sun this summer, Bureau Vallée were busy opening<br />
new stores.<br />
<strong>The</strong> French-based Bureau Vallée office<br />
and stationery supplies company continues<br />
to expand internationally and has opened<br />
several stores this summer.<br />
Following the acquisition of the 10<br />
store, Belgian Buro Market network,<br />
an eleventh store was opened in August<br />
2020 in Brussels. <strong>The</strong> Bureau Vallée<br />
store is located at Avenue Louise 406,<br />
1050 Brussels, Belgium. <strong>The</strong> store has an<br />
area of 292 square meters, this new store<br />
provides customers with nearly 4,000<br />
products "with particular attention paid to<br />
sustainable and environmentally friendly<br />
products," insists the brand.<br />
A second store was opened in Englos,<br />
near Lille in the north of France, close to<br />
the Belgian border. <strong>The</strong> store is located at<br />
70B Rue des Fusillés 59160 Capinghem,<br />
France. <strong>The</strong> store has an area of 550m²<br />
and provides customers with a range of<br />
7,000 products. <strong>The</strong> store franchisee is<br />
Frédéric Bontemps.<br />
Opening this week<br />
Franchisee 42 year old Cyril Benet will be<br />
opening the doors of his new Bureau Vallée<br />
store this Wednesday (9th September) at 9<br />
am. <strong>The</strong> store is located<br />
at 76 avenue du Mas Saint Laurent, 30600<br />
Vauvert, in the south of France. <strong>The</strong><br />
store has an area of 550m² and provides<br />
customers with a range of 7,000 products.<br />
And last week<br />
On the 2nd September 2020, Franchisee<br />
Amélie Imbertche and her team opened<br />
their Bureau Vallée store in Montauroux.<br />
<strong>The</strong> store is located at 76 avenue du,<br />
Avenue Mas Saint-Laurent, 30600<br />
Vauvert, in the south of France.<br />
Bureau Vallée is a B2C stationery<br />
and office retail channel supplying the<br />
biggest brands at discount prices on ink<br />
cartridges and toners, office furniture and<br />
school supplies.<br />
Bureau Vallée operate 330+ stores<br />
in Belgium, Cameroon, France,<br />
Guadeloupe, Guyana, Italy, Malta,<br />
Mayotte, Mauritius, New Caledonia,<br />
Réunion, Spain, St. Martin and Tunisia<br />
and has a turnover in excess of €450<br />
million ($532 million). ■<br />
EUROPE Tradesupply, Business, UK, Growth<br />
Tradesupply expands UK team<br />
<strong>The</strong> company took to LinkedIn to announce the expansion of the UK sales team with two new recruits.<br />
Melissa Lacey and Sam McKernan will be<br />
joining the Tradesupply team to help grow<br />
its UK sales, Tradesupply said.<br />
Tradesupply is based in UK & Ireland<br />
business providing a range of Print<br />
Consumables & Office Seating &<br />
Furniture. <strong>The</strong> company deals strictly with<br />
trade only and are focused on working with<br />
its customers to support them to achieve<br />
better margins.<br />
Together Lacey and McKernan have<br />
a combined 28 years’ experience in the<br />
Aftermarket Print Consumables Industry.<br />
Tradesupply added that they “can’t wait to<br />
join the “Tradesupply ship” and we look<br />
forward to welcoming them too.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> company said: “<strong>The</strong>y are both very<br />
much team players and the perfect fit<br />
for Tradesupply, offering a professional<br />
approach, excellent industry and product<br />
knowledge and a great sense of fun!” ■<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
29
AROUND THE INDUSTRY<br />
ASIA HYB Toner, Cartridges, E-Commerce, Latin America<br />
HYB warns of counterfeit products in Europe, starts video<br />
series and sets up e-commerce store for Latin America<br />
HK HaoYinBao Group (HYB) was made aware of the counterfeit products through a complaint by a buyer of toner<br />
cartridges, parts and consumables in Warsaw, Poland.<br />
<strong>The</strong> dealer claimed it bought the toner<br />
cartridges from a Chinese trading company,<br />
who allegedly said their products are made<br />
by HYB. After the communication with<br />
the customer, HYB’s sales professionals<br />
immediately realised this trading company<br />
was using HYB’s brand name to sell their<br />
own toner cartridges.<br />
HYB said that the trading company<br />
wrongly claimed “made by HYB”<br />
compatible toner 006R01701, 006R01702,<br />
006R01703, 006R01704 for use in Xerox<br />
Altalink C8030 damaged the developer unit<br />
of the customers and caused a bill with high<br />
expenses for the Polish customer.<br />
HYB technical professionals immediately<br />
helped the customer to solve their quality<br />
issue and minimised any cost and now the<br />
customer started to order directly from<br />
HYB since May 2020.<br />
HYB legal representatives are investigating<br />
the issue and articles published from this<br />
trading company who announced incorrect<br />
product sources related to HYB. <strong>The</strong><br />
company is now considering what actions to<br />
take against the Chinese trading company.<br />
HYB added: “Customers are<br />
recommended to order only from<br />
authorised distributors in the EU for HYB<br />
products or ordering directly from HYB<br />
Sales Professionals to avoid misleading<br />
information and faulty products.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> products distributed by E.U.<br />
distributors should come with HYB logo,<br />
holograms, batch numbers linked with<br />
HYB Quality System. Zeus Toner and HYB<br />
Toner are both the trademarks owned by<br />
HK HaoYinBao Group and any Parties<br />
who quote and use our brand names for<br />
marketing purposes should be authorized<br />
otherwise we reserve the right to accuse<br />
for legal responsibility with disclosures of<br />
companies that wrongly using our names.”<br />
HYB products are available through 150<br />
importers in the European Union and the<br />
United Kingdom.<br />
Responding to travel bans and social<br />
distancing rules due to COVID-19, HYB<br />
Toner has decided to launch a new series<br />
of videos.<br />
<strong>The</strong> series of videos are aimed at its<br />
distributor customers, with its sales<br />
representatives introducing HYB’s technical<br />
and quality assurance teams’ work processes<br />
for each product.<br />
LATAM Sales Manager Omar Moreno,<br />
International Development Manager<br />
Andres Rubio together with the other<br />
HYB sales representatives have been busy<br />
preparing these videos, from which the<br />
customers will definitely tell the difference<br />
HYB products offer and understand the<br />
mission of HYB.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> timely resume to production and<br />
NPD (New Product Development) enable<br />
HYB to release a series of new products<br />
which were approved by their Laboratory<br />
as well as our customers. <strong>The</strong> Ozone filter,<br />
new version of Service Vacuum, Ricoh<br />
Drum Units, Toner cartridges for Konica<br />
Minolta, Xerox, Canon etc. <strong>The</strong> video<br />
introduces more details rather than data<br />
and technical specification disclosed to<br />
the customers. It will be a way to make a<br />
better approach to customers who get used<br />
to receive lots of mail shots from different<br />
suppliers while few of them ever detailed<br />
them details and difference of products”<br />
said Kim Lee, Sales Director of HYB.<br />
In Latin America, through the popular<br />
e-commerce store ‘Falabella’ HYB Toner<br />
products are now available online for the<br />
region.<br />
Falabella is one of the largest and most<br />
consolidated companies in Latin America.<br />
For more than 100 years, Falabella has<br />
offered products helping to meet the needs<br />
of its customers. HYB was recently invited<br />
to showcase their products on the platform.<br />
HYB said: “Products with HYB<br />
trademarks have gained a great popularity<br />
in more than 38 countries through the<br />
sales network of their distributors. <strong>The</strong><br />
e-shopping mode gets more and more<br />
popular in the past few years and a high<br />
demand from end-users for premium<br />
products with good brand names has driven<br />
the products of HYB a higher exposure.”<br />
According to its distributor in Brazil, the<br />
products of HYB are already available in<br />
ACF Stores, Mercado Libre and Creative,<br />
already showing a growth rate of 25-33%<br />
every year in sales in the region. ■<br />
30 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Search for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> on Facebook for more news and industry coverage<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
31
AROUND THE INDUSTRY<br />
EUROPE ARMOR Office Printing, OWA, Anniversary<br />
OWA brand celebrates 5 th anniversary<br />
OWA, ARMOR Office Printing's eco-responsible brand for remanufactured cartridges, is celebrating its 5 th anniversary.<br />
Launched in 2015, the OWA brand<br />
name represents “Our Way to Act” and<br />
has become and has become the company’s<br />
flagship brand.<br />
Gerwald van der Gijp, VP & Managing<br />
Director of ARMOR Office Printing<br />
explains: “<strong>The</strong> circular economy is at the<br />
heart of OWA’s business values and the<br />
company intends it to remain so. “Our<br />
OWA brand was a pioneer when it launched<br />
5 years ago. At the time, the circular<br />
economy was not yet on trend, as it is today.<br />
But we stayed on course, and remained<br />
committed.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se 5 years of progress in a dynamic<br />
and ultra-competitive market are<br />
illustrated by several success stories, of<br />
which we are proud. First of all, the OWA<br />
brand has succeeded in internationalising<br />
the company, extending its reach outside<br />
of France.<br />
<strong>The</strong> range has expanded considerably<br />
and now includes copier, inkjet and 3D<br />
filaments, in addition to the laser present<br />
at the launch of the brand.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> company expounded that in<br />
2020 Armor Office Printing is continuing<br />
its programme of selective international<br />
distribution by taking the degree of<br />
commitment to the circular economy<br />
of its partners as a key criterion. "This<br />
is consistent with the guiding principle<br />
we set from the beginning of the brand,"<br />
confirmed Gerwald van der Gijp. ■<br />
NORTH AMERICA Static Control, New Hire, Human Resources, Business<br />
NORTH AMERICA CIG, IPrint, MSE<br />
Static Control announces<br />
new VP of HR<br />
Zhuodan “Sunny” Jin has been appointed the company’s<br />
Vice President (VP) of Human Resources (HR).<br />
▲ Zhuodan “Sunny” Jin Vice President<br />
of Human Resources, Static Control<br />
As VP of Human Resporces, Jin will be<br />
responsible for creating innovative ways<br />
to integrate global HR services, engage<br />
employees and establish talent plans,<br />
systems and training programs that will<br />
develop Static Control’s organisational<br />
competency and culture.<br />
Her professional experience has focused<br />
on establishing and upgrading fullspectrum<br />
HR modules at multinational<br />
companies while navigating through<br />
cultural differences, mindsets and business<br />
challenges. She will lead the global HR<br />
team to solve problems, create efficient<br />
processes, improve HR services and ensure<br />
effective technologies are implemented<br />
across the entire Static Control<br />
organisation.<br />
Jin earned an MBA from the University<br />
of Houston and holds a Professional<br />
Human Resources and Global Professional<br />
Human Resources certification. Before<br />
Static Control, she has worked in positions<br />
at Simcere Innovation and Inventec.<br />
“Static Control is a great organisation<br />
with a unique culture and history,” said<br />
Jin. “<strong>The</strong> people I have met are hardworking<br />
and passionate about what they<br />
do. <strong>The</strong> industry outlook and future<br />
challenges will create opportunities<br />
leading to technical breakthroughs<br />
and innovations. I am thrilled to be<br />
part of the team to help create great<br />
employee experiences while also embracing<br />
changes made through my knowledge<br />
as an HR leader.”<br />
CEO Ken Lalley is excited for Jin<br />
to join the team. “Sunny is an experienced<br />
leader who understands the HR needs<br />
of a global company. I know our employees<br />
will greatly benefit from having someone<br />
with her background and education<br />
in this position. We are delighted she’s<br />
joined our team.” ■<br />
CIG adds<br />
distributor<br />
in Jordan<br />
IPrint has partnered with Clover<br />
Imaging Group (CIG) to distribute<br />
MSE-branded remanufactured<br />
cartridges in Jordan.<br />
As an authorised Clover distributor<br />
for Jordan, IPrint is introducing MSE<br />
branded remanufactured cartridges to<br />
the Jordanian market.<br />
Since 2014, IPrint provides technical<br />
solutions to help customers manage<br />
their printing environment in<br />
professional and cost-effective ways<br />
and to implement high-impact print<br />
marketing strategies in Jordan.<br />
CIG welcomes IPrint and said:<br />
“Working together with IPrint we look<br />
forward to building our partnership<br />
and to growing the MSE brand in<br />
Jordan.” ■<br />
32 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Search for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> on Facebook for more news and industry coverage<br />
NORTH AMERICA Eakes Office Solutions, Business, Anniversary<br />
Eakes celebrates 75 th anniversary<br />
Eakes Office Solutions, a provider of business products and solutions, is celebrating their 75 th anniversary this year.<br />
Founded in 1945 by Howard Eakes, the<br />
company has grown from two employees<br />
in Grand Island, NE to over 250<br />
employees spanning 13 locations across<br />
Nebraska.<br />
Originally named Office Equipment<br />
Company, Eakes started as a Remington<br />
Rand adding machine and typewriter<br />
servicing business. As Eakes continued to<br />
grow, so did their business offerings.<br />
<strong>The</strong> company added filing systems<br />
and office supplies in 1952, copiers and<br />
printers in the late 1970’s, furniture<br />
and design services in 1998, commercial<br />
janitorial products and equipment in<br />
2017, and a software and technology<br />
services division in 2019. Eakes Office<br />
Solutions continues to grow their services<br />
to better support their customers in every<br />
aspect of their business.<br />
“Howard Eakes started our company<br />
75 years ago on the premise of hard work,<br />
dedication, and great customer service.<br />
To this day, Eakes employees embrace<br />
these values to provide the highest level<br />
of care that our customers desire.” said<br />
Mark Miller, Eakes President & CEO.<br />
“I am fortunate to have worked alongside<br />
Howard’s sons Ron and Dan for nearly<br />
three decades to help carry forward<br />
these values, ensuring our future is full<br />
of promise for satisfied customers and<br />
fulfilled employees.” ■<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
33
FEATURE<br />
Inside GM Technology<br />
<strong>The</strong> demand for reused printers, copiers and consumables is on the increase, and we take a look<br />
at Spain’s GM Technology, one of the leading players in this growing market segment.<br />
From their base in Seville, Spain, GM<br />
Technology serves clients in all 27 EU<br />
member states as well as Africa, Middle<br />
East, Asia and Latin America. <strong>The</strong><br />
company has a robust global quality on the<br />
premium refurbished photocopier market.<br />
It was the first to produce on an industrial<br />
scale and market the unique R-OEM copier<br />
toner cartridge range.<br />
With origins going back more than 30<br />
years, GM Technology, through constant<br />
growth and investment, has become the<br />
market leader in both the import and<br />
export of used and refurbished office<br />
machine and the first to re-market original<br />
photocopier toner cartridges.<br />
According to Zoltan Matyas, GM<br />
Technologies Director of International<br />
Business Development: “Our focus on costsaving,<br />
profitability and circular economy<br />
made us a clear market leader in this sector.<br />
Combine this with our highly skilled<br />
multilingual sales team, who have extensive<br />
experience dedicated exclusively to the<br />
international market. This approach allows<br />
us to develop unique and outstanding trade<br />
relationships.<br />
Reuse is the heart of our business. On the<br />
hardware side, is the GreenLine range of<br />
premium refurbished photocopiers. On<br />
the consumables side, we have the R-OEM<br />
All our secondhand equipment is sourced<br />
exclusively in Europe. We only import the best<br />
equipment and the most advanced technologies.<br />
FEATURED<br />
A R TIC L E<br />
range of toner cartridges; and our range of<br />
remanufactured toner cartridges.”<br />
Matyas added: “We hold 16,000 printers/<br />
copiers in stock and ship 60,000+ units a<br />
year. That’s around 24 containers a month<br />
leaving our Seville facility to destinations<br />
around the world.<br />
“All our secondhand equipment is<br />
sourced exclusively in Europe. We only<br />
import the best equipment and the most<br />
advanced technologies. Thanks to exclusive<br />
agreements with the main OEM´s (Original<br />
Equipment Manufacturers) and trade<br />
partners in Germany, Switzerland<br />
Holland, France and the United Kingdom,<br />
which guarantees the controlled loading<br />
of our printing equipment with the best<br />
transport services.”<br />
GreenLine – Premium<br />
Refurbished Printing<br />
Machines<br />
GreenLine machines are the “true circular<br />
economy solution” that lowers the initial<br />
hardware investments and print costs while<br />
maintaining exceptional quality and full<br />
manufacturers guarantee. “<strong>The</strong>se machines<br />
offer our partners the opportunity to<br />
promote sustainable printing services<br />
(MPS) with higher profits,” Matyas said.<br />
With two categories, Eco-Smart and<br />
Eco-Select, the difference is based on<br />
the lifecycle stage, page counters, and<br />
machine appearance.<br />
GreenLine machines come with a 6-month<br />
warranty and at least 70% of working life<br />
remaining and refurbished to an “as new”<br />
machine standard inside and outside.<br />
Devices that don’t make the GreenLine<br />
standard are sold as secondhand machines.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y have no fixed or minimum % of<br />
working life left, and their appearance vary<br />
from one device to another. Secondhand<br />
machines are sold without warranty.<br />
Remanufacturing in action<br />
<strong>The</strong> remanufacturing is process-driven<br />
and starts with the selection of the printing<br />
equipment. According to Matyas “We<br />
select the best equipment and work on<br />
remanufacturing the devices to put them<br />
back into circulation with the same quality<br />
as new conventional equipment.<br />
Successful remanufacturing of printers and<br />
copiers starts with the evaluation of the<br />
quality of the equipment. Next comes the<br />
extensive testing and finally, the start of the<br />
remanufacturing process.<br />
34 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
In phase one, the equipment is completely<br />
disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.<br />
Critical parts that show signs of wear are<br />
discarded and recycled.<br />
In phase two, the chassis is visually<br />
inspected for any damage to the surfaces<br />
where axles, motors, rollers, gears and<br />
threaded holes are assembled and repaired<br />
where needed.<br />
Utilising sustainable technologies<br />
and customised solutions the team of<br />
technicians assembles the equipment<br />
utilising new parts were needed to ensure a<br />
long life cycle for the product.<br />
At the end of the assembly phase, the<br />
firmware is updated on all remanufactured<br />
equipment. <strong>The</strong>n the equipment is tested<br />
for image quality and performance,<br />
ensuring the correct functioning of<br />
all its utilities and accessories.<br />
Finally, the equipment is ready for<br />
specialised packing and fast delivery<br />
anywhere in the world.<br />
R-OEM toner cartridges<br />
R-OEM toner cartridges – are products<br />
where we reuse the original toner bottle<br />
and refill it with 100 % genuine recycled<br />
OEM toner powder. A sustainable, IP<br />
safe and OEM equivalent product at a<br />
very competitive price. All products are<br />
manufactured under the strictest ISO<br />
and DIN quality standards and shipped<br />
in brand neutral packaging.<br />
Remanufactured copier toners<br />
and consumables<br />
Recycled OEM toner powder is a limited<br />
resource. To meet the market demand<br />
for reuse products, we have a range of<br />
remanufactured toners utilising premium<br />
aftermarket toner powder.<br />
<strong>The</strong> rest of the remanufacturing<br />
process and quality control is the same<br />
for maximum print quality yield and<br />
reliability. ■<br />
GM Technology,<br />
facts and figures<br />
• 160+ employees<br />
• €16+ turnover in 2020<br />
• 11,000m2 warehouse<br />
• 16,000 printers / copiers in stock<br />
• 280+ container shipments a year<br />
• 60,000 units shipped worldwide<br />
Accreditations<br />
• ISO 9001 – Quality Management<br />
• ISO 14001 – Environmental<br />
Management<br />
• ISO 45001 – Occupational Health<br />
• ISO /IEC 27001 – Information<br />
Security Management<br />
• ISO /IEC 19752 - Evaluation of<br />
monochrome toner cartridge page yield<br />
• ISO /IEC 19798 - Evaluation of<br />
Colour toner cartridge page yield<br />
• DIN 33870 - Requirements and<br />
tests for the preparation of refilled<br />
toner modules<br />
• ETIRA Member<br />
Specialists in the Purchase<br />
of Unused OEM Toner for<br />
over 10 years<br />
Purchasing<br />
WE BUY SURPLUS UNUSED PRINTER TONERS & INKS<br />
Find us on:<br />
software<br />
• One of the UK's largest independent<br />
buyers of surplus OEM toners<br />
• Any OEM manufacturer, any quantity<br />
• Any grade, including ‘Open Box’ and<br />
‘No Box’<br />
• Friendly, expert staff<br />
• Fast, genuine & reliable quotes<br />
• Pan European service<br />
• Environmentally responsible<br />
Call us on 01462 605050 or<br />
visit www.thejollysavage.co.uk<br />
Find us on:<br />
software<br />
<strong>The</strong> Jolly Savage Ltd www.thejollysavage.co.uk +44(0) 1462 605050 admin@thejollysavage.co.uk<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
35
FEATURE<br />
SEC imposes $6M penalty on<br />
HP for undisclosed sales practices<br />
HP Inc. has agreed to pay US$6 million (€5.11 million) to settle charges levied by the U.S<br />
Securities and Exchange Commission that the company misled investors by failing to disclose<br />
the impact of sales practices.<br />
FEATURED<br />
A R TIC L E<br />
<strong>The</strong> U.S Securities and Exchange<br />
Commission (SEC) imposes a $6 million<br />
(€5.11 million) penalty as well instigating<br />
cease and desist proceedings against HP Inc.<br />
without admitting or denying the<br />
SEC‘s findings.<br />
Between early 2015 and June 2016, HP<br />
regional managers used a variety of incentives<br />
to accelerate, or “pull-in,” to the current<br />
quarter sales of printer consumables that<br />
they would otherwise expect to materialise<br />
in later quarters.<br />
HP operates three geographic regions: the<br />
Americas (“AMS”), Asia Pacific and Japan<br />
(“APJ”) and Europe Middle East Africa<br />
(“EMEA”). <strong>The</strong>se regions were consolidated<br />
into HP’s corporate results at its worldwide<br />
level. HP policy and contracts with<br />
distributors specifically prohibit the sale of<br />
HP products, including supplies, outside the<br />
distributor’s authorised territory.<br />
Prior to the split of HP into HP Inc and HP<br />
Enterprise in November 2015, consistent<br />
with the overall secular decline of printing,<br />
Hewlett- Packard’s Printing segment had<br />
seen declining revenue for several years, with<br />
overall Printing revenues, as well as Supplies<br />
revenues, declining for multiple quarters in<br />
a row. However, because of the high profit<br />
margins, the Printing segment, and the<br />
Supplies business unit in particular, still<br />
delivered consistent cash flow and operating<br />
profit that Hewlett-Packard used to invest in<br />
its other business lines.<br />
<strong>The</strong> SEC found that managers in the HP Asia<br />
Pacific and Japan (APJ) region sold printing<br />
supplies to distributors who HP known to<br />
be involved in selling HP printing supplies<br />
into grey market channels causing significant<br />
margin erosion and cannibalisation of HP<br />
sales in HP’s European and African markets.<br />
Despite the risk that these sales practices<br />
could negatively impact HP’s operating profit<br />
in future quarters, HP did not disclose to the<br />
market during the relevant time period that<br />
its use of the pull-ins and A-Business were<br />
causing decreased margins and increased<br />
channel inventory. HP further failed to<br />
disclose facts necessary to make its channel<br />
inventory disclosures not misleading,<br />
including that the channel inventory metric<br />
employed by the company in quarterly<br />
earnings calls only included channel<br />
inventory held by channel partners to which<br />
HP sold directly and not by channel partners<br />
further down the distribution chain, thereby<br />
disclosing only an incomplete picture of HP’s<br />
channel health.<br />
<strong>The</strong> SEC said: “<strong>The</strong> practice had occurred<br />
on a small scale in APJ for years and came<br />
to be included in APJ’s budgeting process.<br />
To engage in the A Business [grey market],<br />
sales managers in APJ provided HP product<br />
to resellers and brokers within their region<br />
at higher than normal discounts, knowing<br />
they would sell the goods through a network<br />
of firms into the Middle East.” In some<br />
instances, the discounts were in excess of 40%.<br />
Despite the risk that these sales practices<br />
could negatively impact HP’s operating<br />
profit in future quarters, HP did not disclose<br />
to the market during the relevant time<br />
period that its use of the pull-ins and grey<br />
sales were causing decreased margins and<br />
increased channel inventory.<br />
During this period, one regional general<br />
manager in the Printing segment described<br />
“unhealthy levels of stock” in Tier 1 and<br />
Tier 2, saying that “we needed the Supplies<br />
Revenue & we used significant amounts of<br />
contra to push in Supplies at T1 to > 2 weeks<br />
above their optimal levels.”<br />
In June 2016, HP changed its go-to-market<br />
model, in part to address the undisclosed<br />
sales practices and undertook a channel<br />
inventory reduction that would reduce<br />
HP’s net revenue by approximately $450<br />
million (€383 million) during the third<br />
and fourth quarters of 2016 the SEC said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> $450 million (€383 million) reduction<br />
represented 5% of HP’s reported printing<br />
segment net revenue for the second half<br />
of 2016.<br />
Following the announcement, HP’s stock<br />
price dropped nearly 6%, eliminating more<br />
than $1 billion (€0.85 billion) of market<br />
capitalisation.<br />
"Investors are entitled to accurate disclosures<br />
of business trends that are likely to have<br />
a material impact on a company's future<br />
revenues or operating profits," said Melissa<br />
Hodgman, an Associate Director in the<br />
SEC's Division of Enforcement. "HP’s<br />
failure to disclose the foreseeable negative<br />
impact of its use of pull-ins and other<br />
sales practices created a misleading and<br />
incomplete picture of the company’s<br />
financial condition." ■<br />
36 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
DOES YOUR<br />
PRINTER NEED<br />
ITS OWN PPE?<br />
You can contact <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> via Twitter at @<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
If you are using or<br />
supplying PPE for your<br />
employees or customers,<br />
don’t forget the laser<br />
printers.<br />
Have you ever noticed a plastic odour from your laser printer?<br />
This may be printer emitted particles (PEPs) which may be harmful.<br />
• TONER CATCHER can minimise the potentially harmful emitted particles<br />
(PEPs) from laser printers.<br />
• TONER CATCHER is PPE for your printer and you can profitably add<br />
it to your range of PPE products.<br />
• TONER CATCHER can be overprinted with instructions and your brand.<br />
To get your<br />
FREE<br />
sample and further<br />
information email<br />
candu@candugbr.com<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
37
FEATURE<br />
Inside the Hubei Dinglong Group<br />
As Hubei Dinglong celebrates 20 years, we take a look at the companies that make up the group.<br />
FEATURED<br />
A R TIC L E<br />
PRINTWELL<br />
Printwell, more formally the Zhuhai<br />
Dinglong Print-well Technology Company, is<br />
the newest company in the Hubei Dinglong<br />
Group and was established in 2019 to<br />
manufacture new compatible inkjet products<br />
from their base in Zhuhai, China.<br />
Printwell leverages in the strength of<br />
Dinglong Group's whole industrial supply<br />
chain, delivering continuous compatible<br />
inkjet product solutions integrated R&D,<br />
manufacturing, and marketing.<br />
<strong>The</strong> primary focus of the company is to<br />
deliver premium products and 24/7 service<br />
support to the global market for compatible<br />
inkjet products. Hand in hand with the<br />
compatible inkjet products are a range of<br />
new options for marketing, customers, and<br />
the whole industry. <strong>The</strong> Printwell goal is a<br />
<strong>The</strong> primary focus of the company is<br />
to deliver premium products and 24/7<br />
service support to the global market<br />
for compatible inkjet products.<br />
healthy industry and environment for all<br />
global customers.<br />
Intellectual Property (IP) is an ongoing<br />
and crucial requirement for the market,<br />
and Printwell has developed global patent<br />
protection registrations.<br />
Printwell told <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> "We have now<br />
released our first superstar cartridge, a new<br />
compatible inkjet cartridge for the HP<br />
950/951XL series, which is a replacement for<br />
HP 950XL 951XL Combo 950 951. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
cartridges work with the HP Office Jet Pro<br />
8100 8600 8610 8615 8616 8620 8625 8630<br />
251DW 276DW 271DW printer range.<br />
All compatible inkjet cartridges produced by<br />
Printwell are extensively tested for reliability<br />
and quality and comply with ISO9001 and<br />
ISO14001 standards.<br />
38 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
You can contact <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> via Twitter at @<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
RETECH<br />
Big Brother Retech<br />
Retech International Technology Limited<br />
(Retech) was established in 1999 and is located<br />
in Shenzhen and has recently established a<br />
new 45,000m2 branch factory also in Zhuhai,<br />
China. In 2007 Retech was ranked No. 19<br />
in the world in <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong>s "First Fifty"<br />
cartridge manufacturers report.<br />
Today, Retech manufactures more than 1,000<br />
different models of compatible inkjet and laser<br />
consumables from their Shenzhen and Zhuhai<br />
factories. <strong>The</strong> Zhuhai factory features new<br />
intelligent automatic machines producing<br />
toner and inkjet cartridges with a defect rate<br />
of less than 1% and a much lower labour cost.<br />
quality toners, and chips that are all produced<br />
within the group are made to ISO9001 and<br />
ISO 14001 standards. Retech has STMC<br />
certification produces to CE specifications<br />
and is REACH and RoHS compliant.<br />
A constant focus on quality and costeffectiveness<br />
is are the drivers underpinning<br />
Retech's growth strategy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> latest products released by Retech<br />
include the patented 950XL-953XL series<br />
ink cartridge that was sourced and produced<br />
within the Dinglong Group. <strong>The</strong> newest<br />
laser cartridge is the in-house designed the<br />
patented W1107A toner cartridge with their<br />
own proprietary chips. ■<br />
Today, Retech manufactures more<br />
than 1,000 different models of compatible<br />
inkjet and laser consumables from their<br />
Shenzhen and Zhuhai factories.<br />
Operating in the Americas, Eastern Europe,<br />
Southeast Asia and Africa, has seen sales of<br />
Retech consumables increase 40% sales during<br />
2020, despite the weaker global economic<br />
outlook and supported with their new, Zhuhai<br />
based, enlarged manufacturing capacity.<br />
As part of the Hubei Dinglong Group,<br />
Retech accesses PCR, Doctor blades, high<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
39
PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY<br />
ASIA Ninestar, G&G, Cartridges, Eco-Saver, Printers<br />
G&G adds to Eco-Saver range,<br />
announces move into hardware<br />
Ninestar introduced its new Eco-Saver series of remanufactured inkjet cartridges for use in various Canon devices<br />
and announced the launch of two G&G-branded A4 monochrome laser printers for the MPS market.<br />
What is Eco-Saver? Eco-Saver is a series<br />
of remanufactured inkjet cartridges<br />
featuring one reusable print head and<br />
multi-pack replacement ink cartridges.<br />
Eco-Saver cartridge print heads print up<br />
to 1,440 pages in total and have a reusable<br />
print head.<br />
Ninestar teamed up with Apex for the<br />
cartridge chips, which means Eco-Saver<br />
series products featuring the reusable<br />
print heads also show ink level from start<br />
to finish.<br />
G&G now announced its latest addition<br />
to the range, replacement cartridges for<br />
use in Canon Pixma devices. Available<br />
now are replacement Canon PG545 and<br />
CL546 cartridges for Europe, PG245 and<br />
CL246 cartridges for North America,<br />
PG445 and CL446 cartridges for Africa<br />
and Eastern Europe and PG845 and<br />
CL846 cartridges for China.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first printers under the G&G brand<br />
are the A4 monochrome single-function<br />
desktop laser printers P4100DN/DW and<br />
multi-function M4100DN/DW<br />
laser printers.<br />
According to G&G, the new printers<br />
are focused on “on enabling its customers<br />
to provide better-value Managed Print<br />
Services (MPS).”<br />
<strong>The</strong> printers are designed to benefit<br />
SOHO and SMB with large printing<br />
volumes, G&G P4100 and M4100 series<br />
offer efficient, convenient, and moneysaving<br />
printing experience. This latest<br />
launch comes along with new Managed<br />
Print Service solutions for end users.<br />
G&G added that a series of refurbished<br />
copiers will be available as Ninestar/G&G<br />
MPS hardware alternatives to fit different<br />
demands. G&G is the world’s first<br />
aftermarket brand that can provide both<br />
printers and copiers.<br />
“While everyone says MPS and business<br />
printing demand are shrinking because<br />
the COVID-19 outbreak compels many<br />
companies to embrace remote working,<br />
we think it differently.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> companies still have to pay for<br />
their staff ’s printing cost, no matter<br />
where staff locate. Thus, managing<br />
their staff ’s printing tasks/a managed<br />
print application to be put in place for<br />
their staff definitely helps companies’<br />
sustainability, especially given situation in<br />
the current coronavirus.” said Gang Chen,<br />
MPS Director of Ninestar Image.<br />
“What G&G does is to keep our partners<br />
to stay ahead of the game. We extend<br />
our product portfolio and remind our<br />
partners not to miss the incremental<br />
potential lying in MPS sector. That’s why<br />
bundled with the roll-out of the hardware<br />
combo, we’re releasing this tempting and<br />
value-added MPS solution to have our<br />
global partners better empowered.”<br />
G&G hardware will also be available<br />
separately without its MPS<br />
programme. ■<br />
For more information on<br />
its Eco-Saver range, please<br />
scan the QR code here:<br />
40 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Search for <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> on Facebook for more news and industry coverage<br />
EUROPE IR Italiana Riprografia, Cartridges, Remanufacturing<br />
IR Italiana Riprografia<br />
adds new models to<br />
Graphic-Jet range<br />
<strong>The</strong> Italian company has announced new remanufactured<br />
Graphic-Jet cartridges for use in various HP devices as<br />
well as new compatible toner cartridges for use in various<br />
Ricoh devices.<br />
IR Italiana Riprografia announced the<br />
expansion of its remanufactured Graphic-<br />
Jet cartridge range with the addition of<br />
remanufactured cartridges for use in HP<br />
Color Laser 150A/150NW/178NW and<br />
179FNW devices. <strong>The</strong>se cartridges come<br />
with page yields of 1,000 pages for the<br />
black cartridges and 700 pages for the<br />
colour cartridges.<br />
IR Italiana Riprografia also announced<br />
the addition of compatible toner cartridges<br />
for use in Ricoh IM 350 and Ricoh IM<br />
550F devices. <strong>The</strong> replacement cartridges<br />
for use in Ricoh IM 350 machines come<br />
with page yields of 14,000 pages and the<br />
replacement cartridges for use in Ricoh<br />
IM 550F devices come with page yields of<br />
25,500 pages.<br />
According to the company, the toner<br />
cartridges provide not only “OEM<br />
equivalent print quality,” but also “100%<br />
compatibility” with OEM products, as<br />
well as “significant savings” over the OEM.<br />
<strong>The</strong> compatible toner cartridges also offer<br />
MSDS in compliance with REACH.<br />
Additionally, the cartridges were<br />
produced “in a certificated environment”<br />
including the ISO 9001:2015 quality<br />
management system certificate; the ISO<br />
14001:2015 environmental management<br />
system certificate; and the BS OHSAS<br />
18001:2007 occupational health and<br />
safety management system certificate. <strong>The</strong><br />
“product performances of several items<br />
distributed” by IR follow the standards set<br />
by STMC and ISO 19752 and ISO 19798.<br />
IR Italiana Riprografia products are in<br />
compliance with the RoHS II directive<br />
(when required). ■<br />
For more information<br />
on the above-mentioned<br />
products or other ranges<br />
available from IR Italiana<br />
Riprografia, please scan<br />
the QR code.<br />
NORTH AMERICA Katun, North America, Cartridges<br />
Katun introduces new colour toner cartridges<br />
Katun Corporation announced the introduction of high-quality Katun Performance colour toner cartridges in North America.<br />
Forty-four Katun Performance colour<br />
toner part numbers have been introduced<br />
for use in Canon applications, primarily a<br />
range of Canon imageCLASS machines.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se Katun toner cartridges provide<br />
dealers with OEM-equivalent colour<br />
reproduction and image quality, at<br />
significant cost savings, Katun said.<br />
Also now available are two replacement<br />
colour toner sets from Katun for use<br />
in Toshiba devices. Cyan, magenta and<br />
yellow toners are available for use in<br />
Toshiba e-STUDIO 2515AC /3015AC<br />
/ 3515AC / 4515AC / 5015AC-series<br />
machines. Also available are cyan,<br />
magenta and yellow toners for use in<br />
Toshiba e-STUDIO 2505AC / 3005AC<br />
/ 3505AC / 4505AC / 5005AC-series<br />
applications. Katun added: “Each colour<br />
toner set provides excellent colour<br />
reproduction, OEM-equivalent yields and<br />
OEM-equivalent performance. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are available at substantial cost savings<br />
when compared to the OEM toner for<br />
these machines.”<br />
Katun products may be ordered by<br />
email, phone or via the Katun Online<br />
Catalogue – the one-stop Internet<br />
resource that allows registered<br />
customers to locate and order thousands<br />
of Katun products while viewing<br />
real-time information about their<br />
orders and accounts. ■<br />
To find out which products are now<br />
available in your market,<br />
customers can access the<br />
Katun Online Catalogue<br />
by scanning the QR code.<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
41
PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY<br />
EUROPE Biuromax, Ink,<br />
New Products<br />
ASIA CET, New Products,<br />
Remanufacturing, Parts<br />
CET releases<br />
plethora of<br />
new products<br />
<strong>The</strong> company has released a new compatible drum unit for use in various<br />
OEM devices.<br />
Biuromax adds<br />
inkjet range<br />
<strong>The</strong> company is widening its<br />
product range further with a new<br />
business class inkjet range.<br />
Biuromax took to social media to<br />
announce its latest product addition, a<br />
range of business class inks. According<br />
to the company, the ink “provides<br />
accurate and intense print image<br />
reproduction for many types of media”<br />
and “shows exceptional resistance to<br />
fading (photo-stability)”, allowing the<br />
colours of the printed image remain<br />
bright and stable for a long time.<br />
Biuromax said: “We provide only<br />
proven products for you. <strong>The</strong> Business<br />
Class inks have passed more than 20<br />
different quality tests and passed them<br />
perfectly.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> newly added range of inks have<br />
a wide operating colour gamut offering<br />
smoother gradients which faithfully<br />
reproduces real colours for high<br />
quality photos and documents. <strong>The</strong><br />
ink dries quickly leaving paper dry to<br />
touch immediately leaving no smudges<br />
or smears.<br />
Biuromax added that its inks are fully<br />
compatible with OEM inks. ■<br />
For more information<br />
on the abovementioned<br />
products<br />
and more, scan<br />
the QR code.<br />
CET Group Co., Ltd. has announced<br />
parts for use un HP LaserJet Pro and HP<br />
Color Laserjet Pro devices. <strong>The</strong> new range<br />
include separation roller assembly, manual<br />
pickup roller, manual separation pad,<br />
paper separation roller, pickup/feed roller<br />
assembly, lower roller gear 27T and paper<br />
pickup roller.<br />
New products also include copier parts<br />
for use in various Konica Minolta Bizhub,<br />
Ricoh, Sharp, Xerox and Kyocera Ecosys<br />
devices.<br />
<strong>The</strong> company also expanded its<br />
cartridge range with replacement<br />
cartridges for use in Canon iR<br />
ADVANCE C5535/5540/5550/5560, iR<br />
ADVANCE C5535i/5540i/5550i/5560i,<br />
iR ADVANCE C5535i II//5540i<br />
II/5550i II/5560i II and iR ADVANCE<br />
C5535i III/5540i III/5550i III/5560i III<br />
ASIA Apex, Chips, Remanufacturing<br />
machines. <strong>The</strong> cartridges come with page<br />
yields of 69,000 for the black and 60,000<br />
for the colour cartridges.<br />
CET’s newest chemical toner is for use in<br />
Ricoh MPC501SP devices. <strong>The</strong> company’s<br />
Ricoh range also saw the addition of<br />
replacement cartridges for use in Ricoh<br />
IM350/350F deviecs. <strong>The</strong>se cartridges<br />
come with page yields of 14,000.<br />
Furthermore, the company added new<br />
replacement drum units for use in Ricoh<br />
MP2554SP/3054SP/3554SP and Ricoh<br />
MP4054SP/5054SP/6054SP devices.<br />
<strong>The</strong> drum units come with page yields<br />
of 160,000 pages at 5% coverage. ■<br />
For more information<br />
on the above and more<br />
products from CET,<br />
scan the QR code here:<br />
New replacement chips from Apex<br />
Apex has announced new replacement chips for use in Ricoh IM C530<br />
series devices.<br />
In August 2020, Ricoh released two<br />
colour laser multifunction printers IM<br />
C530F and IM C530FB in Europe and the<br />
United States. Delivering brilliant colour<br />
output at up to 55 pages per minute, the<br />
new series can digitise and share documents<br />
quickly with advanced scanning or<br />
paperless faxing, making the office more<br />
efficient.<br />
This “first-to-market” solution offers<br />
“consistent performance” and are “easy to<br />
install in recycled cartridges”, Apex said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> replacement chips are for use in Ricoh<br />
IM C530F/C530FB devices and come with<br />
page yields of 20,500 for the chips for the<br />
black cartridges and 18,000 for the chips for<br />
the colour cartridges.<br />
<strong>The</strong> company added: “Apex helps you<br />
seize the market opportunities by providing<br />
you with the first-to-market replacement<br />
chips solution for Ricoh IM C530 series.<br />
You're welcome to contact us and ask for<br />
product samples!” ■<br />
For more information on<br />
Apex’s chip range scan the<br />
QR code.<br />
42 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news<br />
ASIA Cartridge Web, GPI, New Products, Cartridges<br />
Cartridge Web’s new patent free<br />
100% made in Taiwan cartridge<br />
<strong>The</strong> company’s latest addition to their product range is a patent free, 100% “made<br />
in Taiwan” replacement cartridge for use in various Kyocera Ecosys devices.<br />
<strong>The</strong> company’s latest addition to their<br />
product range is a patent free, 100% “made<br />
in Taiwan” replacement cartridge for use<br />
in Kyocera Ecosys P3260 and M3860 series<br />
devices which comes with a page yield of<br />
40,000 pages at 5% coverage.<br />
Cartridge Web highlighted that the<br />
cartridges are “100% self-made/owned<br />
moulding/tooling for Cartridge Web<br />
product only” and they are “100% made<br />
EUROPE ECS, New Products, Remanufacturing<br />
in Taiwan”. Customised packaging is<br />
available for the product and the company<br />
said proudly that the toner used in the<br />
replacement cartridges is “Japanese toner<br />
from an industrial leading company”.<br />
As part of its product testing, Cartridge<br />
Web said the cartridges go through<br />
“rigorous examination during the<br />
development stage, like drum life test,<br />
noise test (comparing to OEM), drop<br />
Effective Consumable Solutions<br />
showcases latest product additions<br />
<strong>The</strong> Remanufacturer and Collector of the Year has highlighted its latest new<br />
releases for use in various Canon Advance IR devices.<br />
State-of-the-art filling<br />
machines in the UK<br />
test etc.”<br />
ISO<br />
<strong>The</strong><br />
9001<br />
replacement<br />
& 14001<br />
cartridges<br />
certified<br />
are<br />
products, services & facilities<br />
produced in an ISO 9001, ISO14001,<br />
STMC, Dedicated WEEE and research CE environment, and<br />
meaning development during production teamstrict criteria<br />
are applied. Cartridge Web guarantees<br />
compatibility <strong>The</strong> largest with range OEM of<br />
consumables. products ■ and parts in the UK<br />
For more information<br />
on its products range,<br />
scan the QR code.<br />
Contact ECS NOW<br />
www.ecs-uk-ltd.com<br />
+44 (0)1427 337 355<br />
Effective Consumable Solutions<br />
<strong>The</strong> first of many upcoming releases by<br />
Effective Consumable Solutions (ECS)<br />
has been announced this week as their<br />
new Canon C-EXV28/29 Developer<br />
Packs. <strong>The</strong>se developer packs are suitable<br />
for use with Canon Advance IR-C5030,<br />
5035, 5045, 5245 and Canon IR-C5051,<br />
5235, 5240, 5250, 5255 devices.<br />
Alongside their new Canon<br />
C-EXV28/29 Developer Packs, the<br />
remanufacturer also provides the<br />
following relating products that are<br />
suitable for use with the equivalent<br />
devices:<br />
• Canon CEXV28 & 29 toner cartridges<br />
• Canon CEXV28/29 remanufactured<br />
waste toner bottle<br />
• Canon CEXV-28/29 remanufactured<br />
drum units<br />
• Canon IRC5030 OPC drum<br />
• Canon IRC5030-5045 fuser<br />
fixing film sleeve<br />
ECS said it is currently entering an<br />
extremely busy and exciting period<br />
during the development of a number of<br />
new products that its partners are eagerly<br />
awaiting.<br />
<strong>The</strong> remanufacturer of the year produces<br />
all of their remanufactured products at<br />
their own state-of-the-art ISO9001 &<br />
ISO14001 testing and remanufacturing<br />
facilities in the UK. ■<br />
For more information on<br />
the above and more, please<br />
scan the QR code.<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
43
MARKETPLACE<br />
TONER MANUFACTURER<br />
COLLECTOR<br />
COLLECTOR<br />
CBC (Europe) GmbH<br />
toner@cbc-europe.com<br />
Tel: +49 211 530670<br />
www.cbc-europe.com<br />
FBO Organisation, S.L.<br />
fbo@fbo-org.com<br />
Tel: +34 936724863<br />
www.fbo-org.com<br />
LVL<br />
hb.sales@lvlcartridge.com<br />
Tel: +33 251 70 14 58<br />
www.lvl.fr<br />
REMANUFACTURER<br />
RESELLER<br />
TONER MANUFACTURER<br />
wta Carsten Weser GmbH<br />
info@wta-suhl.de<br />
Tel: +49 3681 4529710<br />
www.wta-suhl.de<br />
Copyclic<br />
info@copyclic.com<br />
Tel: +33 01 60 78 78 78<br />
www.copyclic.com<br />
Integral GmbH<br />
info@integral-international.de<br />
TEL: + 49 (0) 28 33 60 60<br />
www.integral-international.de<br />
MARKET INTELLIGENCE<br />
CARTRIDGE CLEANING SYSTEMS<br />
SUPPLIER<br />
LightWords Imaging<br />
admin@lightwords.co.uk<br />
Tel: +44 1270 878850<br />
www.lightwordsimaging.com<br />
Futor Cleaning System AG<br />
info@futorag.ch<br />
+41 716800549<br />
www.futorag.com<br />
TOKO Srl<br />
toko@toko.ro<br />
Tel: +40212327270<br />
www.toko.ro<br />
SUPPLIER<br />
BROKER AND RECYCLER<br />
TONER MANUFACTURER<br />
Freckles Ltd<br />
info@freckles.bg<br />
Tel: +359 2 955 5560<br />
www.freckles.bg<br />
<strong>The</strong> Greener Side<br />
info@greener-side.co.uk<br />
Tel: +44 1427 700 700<br />
www.greener-side.co.uk<br />
Primedia Products<br />
tmiller@primediamicr.com<br />
Tel: +1 304-277-2050<br />
www.primediamicr.com<br />
44 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Contact us to advertise here: t.01993 899800 e. info@therecycler.com<br />
» Looking to sell your business?<br />
» Looking to buy a business?<br />
» Looking to expand your business?<br />
» Looking for retirement options?<br />
Call us today to find out how we can help!<br />
We are small enough to care and<br />
experienced enough to deliver.<br />
Connett & Unland GbR<br />
Boschweg 43<br />
D-48351 Everswinkel<br />
Germany<br />
Phone: +49 (0) 2582 991 0702<br />
Email: candu@candugbr.com<br />
United Kingdom<br />
kontakt@itp-group.com<br />
kontakt@itp-group.com<br />
ETIRA membership benefits include:<br />
Meeting new clients and partners at our<br />
network meetings!<br />
A strong fight against clever chips, unfair<br />
patents, waste transport rules etc.!<br />
PR-work to tell the world about remanufactured<br />
cartridges and why they are good for both<br />
consumers and the environment!<br />
Promotion of top-quality remanufacturing<br />
(standardisation)!<br />
Join our business Code of Conduct, and sell<br />
more cartridges thanks to our logo!<br />
Meeting 60 top remanufacturers already<br />
members of ETIRA...<br />
ETIRA brings the remanufacturing Industry<br />
together. Be part of the family!<br />
Haydnlaan 13, 4837 CS Breda,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Netherlands Tel: + 31 6 414 614 63<br />
info@etira.org<br />
www.etira.org<br />
ETIRA: WORKING FOR ALL REMANUFACTURERS AND PARTNERS<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
45
NEXT ISSUE<br />
December 2020<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 337<br />
Remote working<br />
– approved<br />
printers and<br />
collection<br />
challenges<br />
ISSN 2045 - 2047 (PRINT) NOVEMBER 2020 EDITION <strong>336</strong> PUBLISHED 29 OCTOBER 2020<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong><br />
Wittas House, Two Rivers Estate, Station Lane,<br />
Witney, OX28 4BH, United Kingdom<br />
t. +44 (0) 1993 899 800<br />
t. +49 (0) 2582 991 0701<br />
e. info@therecycler.com<br />
w. www.therecycler.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> Team<br />
Managing Editor<br />
Stefanie Unland<br />
e. s.unland@therecycler.com<br />
t. +44 1993 899 800<br />
News Team<br />
news@therecycler.com<br />
t. +44 1993 899 800<br />
Production & Distribution Team<br />
e. production@therecycler.com<br />
Design<br />
Danielle Lamb Design<br />
e. danielle.lamb.design@icloud.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> Small Print<br />
Articles may be photocopied for the private use<br />
of paid subscribers only. For other copying or<br />
republication please contact <strong>The</strong> Publishers<br />
Licensing Society, or visit www.plsclear.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> (ISSN 2045-2047 [Print]) is<br />
published 12 times per year by <strong>Recycler</strong><br />
Publishing & Events Ltd on behalf of the<br />
owner.<br />
Copyright 1992 – 2020<br />
<strong>Recycler</strong> Publishing & Events Ltd.<br />
<strong>The</strong> editorial content does not reflect the<br />
opinions of the publisher or editorial team.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> is printed in Germany<br />
by Druckerei Stelljes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> regular retail price of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong> is £120<br />
for 12 months (12 issues) worldwide and is<br />
delivered free to your home or office worldwide.<br />
Complaints & Corrections<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Recycler</strong>’s policy is to correct substantial<br />
errors as soon as possible. Corrections appear on<br />
the relevant web page and/or in the magazine<br />
and significant corrections are collated in our<br />
corrections and clarifications column.<br />
To complain or advise of a correction please visit<br />
our “How to Complain” web page at:<br />
www.therecycler.com/about-us/how-to-complain/<br />
We are a member of the Independent Press<br />
Standards Organisation and commit to abiding to<br />
the Editors’ Code. More information about IPSO<br />
and the Code is available at www.ipso.co.uk<br />
Bureau Office – Germany<br />
Stefanie Unland<br />
t. +49 (0) 2582 991 0701<br />
e. s.unland@therecycler.com<br />
Contact us:<br />
www.therecycler.com<br />
news@therecycler.com<br />
@<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
<strong>Recycler</strong>Media<br />
46 <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong> November 2020
Contact us to advertise here: t.01993 899800 e. info@therecycler.com<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>336</strong><br />
November 2020<br />
47
SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR