The Recycler Issue 303

RETAIL COLUMN: 

Master Social Media in 2018. 

Starts page 42 

MPS: 

Positive signs in the MPS market. 


www.therecycler.com Issue 303 l FEBRUARY 2018 l £10 

Winning a Second 

Generation MPS deal 

A UK remanufacturer won an MPS deal with a local school 

to provide MPS services read their story. Starts page 28 

Happiness as a business owner 

Managing the life-work balance. Starts page 34 

INSIDE: 

CALIDAD V. EPSON 

Calidad successful in Epson patent 

infringement case 

LD PRODUCTS 

The online retailer has launched a 

new Channel Partner Division 

NUBEPRINT EXPANSION 

The MPS provider announced the 

hiring of two new executives 

WIDE-FORMAT COLUMN 

Consider these (mostly) new 

Wide-Format printers 

p3 

p10 

p18 

p38

visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news 

WORLD FOCUS 

AUSTRALIASIA Calidad, IP, Lawsuit 

Calidad successful in Epson patent 

infringement case 

The company has been successfully defended against the majority of claims brought against it by Epson in the Federal Court of Australia. 

Calidad, a long-established manufacturer of 

alternative printing consumables based in 

New South Wales, has been successful in its 

legal battle against the Seiko Epson 

Corporation. 

A press release from Minter Ellison, the law 

firm responsible for defending Calidad, 

revealed that in the recent Federal Court of 

Australia decision delivered by Justice Burley, 

Seiko Epson Corporation v Calidad Pty Ltd 

[2017] FCA 1403, MinterEllison successfully 

defended Calidad Pty Ltd and others (Calidad) 

against the majority of claims brought by 

Seiko Epson Corporation and Epson Australia 

Pty Ltd (Epson). 

Calidad successfully defended claims of 

patent infringement (in part), trade mark 

infringement, breach of statutory duty relating 

to criminal provisions of the Trade Marks 

Act and misleading or deceptive conduct 

with respect to Calidad’s importation and sale 

of particular remanufactured household 

printer cartridges. 

This is the first Australian decision to 

consider a number of legal principles relating 

to repaired/remanufactured products. 

Calidad’s successful defence of the majority 

of Epson’s claims means that Calidad can 

continue to trade in the remanufactured 

printer cartridges that it has been selling to 

customers since April 2016. 

Amongst other matters, the case considers 

in what circumstances the: 

1. importation of repaired/remanufactured 

products from overseas might amount to 

patent infringement; 

2. sale of repaired/remanufactured goods that 

still bear original trade marks might 

constitute trade mark infringement; and 

3. covering or removal of an original trade 

mark on repaired/remanufactured goods 

(or dealing with such goods) might 

constitute a violation of criminal penalty 

provisions in the Australian Trade 

Marks Act. 

The matter was led by MinterEllison 

partners Robert Cooper and Sophie 

Chen, with support from Megan Evetts and 

Tony Middleton. 

“This decision has important implications 

for companies that deal in repaired/ 

remanufactured products and may also have 

implications for those that deal with second 

hand goods, even where they are not 

repaired/remanufactured.” said Mr Cooper. 

“This case unveils the complexities 

involved for these companies. The outcome 

in each case is likely to be highly dependent 

on their own facts. Relevant factors that will 

likely affect the outcome of any such case 

include, for example, the types of products, 

the repair/remanufacturing processes that are 

undertaken, the location that the processes 

are performed in and the patents involved.” 

EUROPE IOP, Business, Start-up 

Finding new revenue streams just got easier 

Internet of Printing BV (IOP) is a new company based in the Netherlands, and set up to serve the printer supplies reseller 

community in the EMEA region. 

The company was founded by Mark Dawson 

and Oded Yakobowitz each of whom have a 

wealth of experience working with supplies 

resellers in these territories. 

The company founders stated: “Many 

such resellers face challenges brought on by 

the maturity of the market and the changing 

purchasing habits of enterprise users. Price 

compression of traditional 2D printer 

supplies shows no sign of reversing and is 

contributing to falling top and bottom line 

performances in many businesses.” 

IOP’s stated mission is to help these 

resellers find new revenue streams and 

execute strategies which drive up their gross 

margins. IOP has several programmes 

available to achieve this. 

One is 3D printers and supplies. This 

programme is focussed on the education 

vertical. It offers a product line extension 

opportunity, particularly for 

those resellers that have 

schools, colleges and 

universities among their 

customers already. 

IOP say that demand is 

driven by a government focus 

on STEM learning (Science, 

Technology, Engineering & 

Mathematics). 

Dawson and Yakobowitz 

explained: “STEM-related job opportunities 

are growing faster than any other type. 

However, a serious global shortage of 

qualified knowledge workers is predicted. 

Countries are striving to keep up with the 

current and projected demand for STEM 

professionals. Economies must become 

more competitive in all STEM related 

disciplines. Building a well-rounded primary 

and secondary school 

STEM curriculum is the 

best way to achieve this. 

Governments now know it 

and are releasing funds to 

support such initiatives.” 

They continued: “3D 

printers are revolutionising 

manufacturing and it is vital 

that we start teaching the 

theory and practice in 

schools. IOP plays its part by developing and 

spreading effective methods to help young 

students (and teachers) learn the basics and 

the potential of 3D Printing, which is the 

future of Manufacturing. Today’s students 

are tomorrow’s leaders.” 

Hardware, software, supplies, service and 

training are all available from IOP for 

resellers. 

THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 303 • FEBRUARY 2018 

3

IN THIS ISSUE 

In this Issue 

Winning a Second 

Generation MPS 

deal 

A UK remanufacturer won an 

MPS deal with a local school to 

provide MPS services from April 

2018. The conversation with the 

school started back in 2009. 

Read their story. Starts page 28 

Happiness as a 

business owner – 

managing the life-work 

balance 

A survey of business owners in 

the UK found that 68 percent of 

business owners were happy 

with their work-life balance, but 

21 percent had suffered a health 

issue from the stress related to 

running a business. 


World Focus 

3: Calidad successful in Epson patent 

infringement case; Finding new revenue 

streams just got easier 

6: Chinese environmental audit poses 

problems; Counterfeit toner seized in 

Mozambique 

7: EMEA printer hardware shipments stable; 

ARMOR committed to the fight against 

climate change 

8: The Recycling Association fears potential 

chaos over China; Wireless printing goes 

from strength to strength; Canon awarded 

preliminary injunction for patent 

infringement 

10: LD Products launches Channel Partner 

Division; Billionaire Carl Icahn clashes with 

Xerox 

13: Editorial 

City News 

14: wta acquire German collector; Sharp 

acquires Federalgraphics, LLC 

15: Turbon AG completes latest acquisition; 

Flexprint acquires twice in a week 

16: Indiana office supply companies merge; 

NovaCopy expands with purchase of Service 

Technologies 

Around the Industry 

18: Nubeprint announces hiring of two new 

executives; Epson and Ninestar court case 

concluded 

19: KMP honours employees at Christmas Party; 

French circular economy ‘roadmap’ devised 

20: Cartridges Direct scoops seven awards; 

Print Audit anticipates continued growth in 

2018; Scam letters circulating once again 

21: Ink cartridge recycling campaign founder 

wins award; Inky Shop arrive in Durban 

North 

22: ECi announce integration and appointment; 

New remanufacturing industry report 

published 

24: Former Fuji Xerox printers man builds new 

partner program; 2017 finishes on a high 

for PrintReleaf 

26: Keypoint pools resources for commoninterest 

studies; Corporate Consumables 

LTD has ceased trading 

27: In 2018 big businesses go green; Print- 

Rite launch new 3D printer 

28: FEATURE: 

Winning a Second Generation MPS deal 

32: FEATURE: 

Positive signs in the MPS market 

34: FEATURE: 

Happiness as a business owner – 

managing the life-work balance 

38: WIDE FORMAT COLUMN: 

Consider these (mostly) new Wide-Format 

printers 

42: RETAIL COLUMN: 

Master Social Media in 2018 

Products & Technology 

44: Apex launches new chips 

45: wta launches new products; Sharp is first 

MFP provider to adopt Alexa 

46: Ninestar release new cartridges; New 

products launched by Uninet; CET 

launches new Xerox compatible products 

47: Lexmark debuts RFID laser printing 

solution 

48: Kyocera expands its ECOSYS MFP range; 

UTec releases monochrome compatible 

drum unit; LMI Solutions releases Xerox 

compatible products; Gikar releases new 

Brother compatible cartridge 

50: Brother Australia targets new printer 

series at SMBs; Epson expands corporate 

colour inkjet line 

51: Konica Minolta launches new App and 

new MFP 

4 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 303 • FEBRUARY 2018

WORLD FOCUS 

IMEA Counterfeit, Cartridges, Crime 

Counterfeit toner 

seized in 

Mozambique 

An operation carried out in Maputo 

has discovered “an unspecified 

number” of fake products. 

A series of raids in the Mozambican capital, 

Maputo, this week resulted in the seizure 

of 300 boxes of counterfeit toner. The 

National Inspection of Economic Activities 

(INAE) also confiscated “an unspecified 

number” of counterfeit goods, including 

clothing, appliances, batteries, detergents, 

and motor oil, reports Club of 

Mozambique. 

Aly Mussá, the national director of 

operations for the INAE, stated that the 

inspection arose after a complaint; he also 

offered an insight into the operations of 

the warehouse owners, whose reluctance 

to comply led to some warehouses being 

forced open by inspectors. 

“Toner is imported, but when it comes 

into the warehouse, the HP brand 

stamping process and ink filling occurs, 

there is the powder used to fill the 

cartridges,” explains Mussá. “The process 

of packaging in sachets and boxes also 

takes place here, and only then is the 

product put on the market.” 

The operation was carried out in 

conjunction with the Police of the 

Republic of Mozambique and the Attorney 

General’s office. In a dark development, 

the INAE also suspects the warehouse 

complex is being used for private 

incarceration. 

Mussá continued: “There are people 

being imprisoned in one of the 

warehouses, for what reason we do not 

know. This makes us even more interested 

in opening the warehouses, to see what 

kind of products exist, and why people are 

incarcerated there.” 

Search for The Recycler on Facebook for more news and industry coverage 

ASIA China, Environment, Factory closures 

Chinese environmental audit 

poses problems 

Beijing’s new attempts to tackle pollution could have a knock-on effect for companies 

sourcing products. 

Companies sourcing products 

from China could be left in a 

difficult situation following the 

country’s Environment Ministry’s 

hardline stance against ‘heavy 

polluters’, reports Global Sources. 

Tens of thousands of factories 

have been shut down already, in a 

tightening of environmental laws. 

Following decades of rapid 

manufacturing and industrial 

growth, the nation is now home to 

some of the world’s most polluted 

cities, with one of the primary 

concerns being the pollution of groundwater 

– leading to safety concerns surrounding 

drinking water. These concerns led to the 

adoption of the ‘10 Measures for 

Environmental Protection’. 

The Chinese government is now rigidly 

enforcing environmental laws, which have 

been in place since adoption in 2013, but 

with less punishment for non-compliance – a 

fairly common occurrence if factories were 

either unaware of, or unimpressed by, the 

legislation. Now, however, China is forcing 

factories to comply, or face production being 

closed down indefinitely. 

Research by Global Sources suggests that 

the plastic industry is one of those affected, 

along with printing, textiles, chemicals, 

rubber, and a variety of others. The 

‘environmental audits’ so far have been 

taking place in regions throughout Northern 

China, although Global News predicts that 

“the later phases will reach other regions.” So 

far, factories have been affected in Beijing, 

Sichuan, Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, 

Hebei, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Jilin. 

For many factories, however, it is not a 

straightforward issue of compliance or noncompliance. 

The “opaque” policy details 

mean many factories are unaware of exactly 

what constitutes compliance or not, and so 

may be running the risk of being shut down 

without realising it. When a factory is closed, 

there is no clear timeline informing them 

when – or indeed if – production may 

resume. 

Global Sources highlight that these 

developments in the country could seriously 

affect any international company sourcing 

their parts or products from China; it 

recommends contact your factory 

immediately to check if they have been, or 

will be, affected – “Chinese culture doesn’t 

encourage people to reveal bad news until it 

happens”, it points out. 

It also alerts companies that even if a 

factory has passed the environmental audit, 

there is still a risk that component 

subtractors could fail it, leaving an equally 

problematic spanner in the works. Several 

solutions are mooted, the most extreme 

being to move production out of China 

altogether, although the primary 

recommendation is to make contact with the 

factories themselves, to ascertain their 

success – or otherwise – with the 

environmental audit. 

21.–30.1.2018, Frankfurt am Main 

paperworld.messefrankfurt.com 

Meet Apex at 

booth C35 

Powered by 

To find out more, visit www.therecyclerlive.com 


You can contact The Recycler via Twitter at @RecyclerMedia 

WORLD FOCUS 

EMEA Printer shipments, CONTEXT, Market Data 

EMEA printer hardware shipments stable 

New data released by CONTEXT shows more of the same in Q3 of 2017. 

European IT market analysis company 

CONTEXT has published new data that shows 

unit shipments of printer hardware to Europe, 

the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in the 

third quarter of 2017 were the same as the 

year before, despite sell-in declining in all 

categories but inkjet MFPs. 

Inkjet MFPs were largely responsible for 

driving increased sell-in levels of printer 

hardware in the UAE, with year-on-year 

growth of 12 percent, whilst Saudi Arabia, 

South Africa, and Turkey all saw doubledigit 

growth following weak performance in 

Q3 of 2016, with unit shipments to Turkey 

rising 25 percent. 

Zivile Brazdziunaite, one of CONTEXT’s 

Imaging Market Analysts, said: “The Middle 

East and Africa (MEA) continued to 

outperform other regions, with unit 

shipments increasing by 22 percent, following 

a decline in the quarter last year. There was 

positive performance in all categories, and 

According to ARMOR, safeguarding the 

planet is at the heart of its business 

model, with the reduction of greenhouse 

gas emissions constituting “an ongoing 

catalyst to innovation in the fields of 

the circular economy and renewable 

energies.” 

ARMOR “was almost the only midmarket 

signatory of the pledge, among 

90 large groups within the French 

economy”. 

The company’s CEO, Hubert de 

Boisredon was one of the few signatories to 

make an address, saying: 

“We have created a flexible photovoltaïc 

sell-in levels of inkjet MFPs and laser SFPs 

were particularly high.” 

Meanwhile, sell-in to Western Europe 

(WE), which accounts for over 65 percent of 

all printer hardware shipments to EMEA, 

saw a year-on-year decline of 3 percent in 

Q3, following an increase in the previous 

quarter. CONTEXT attribute this to a drop 

in sell-in levels of laser hardware, 

specifically laser SFPs. Inkjet MFPs 

film that is 30 times lighter than a 

traditional solar panel. By developing this 

type of innovation, we believe that we can 

increased 1 percent in the same period. 

Whereas most major WE countries saw sellin 

levels decline, the United Kingdom bucked 

the trend with a 1 percent increase, driven by 

inkjet MFPs, with other rises coming in 

Ireland, the Netherlands, and the 

Scandinavian countries. Conversely, a sell-in 

surge in Germany in Q2 meant a fall of 8 

percent in Q3, whilst 2016’s strong growth in 

Spain and Italy was not maintained, with 

shipments dropping by 10 and 14 percent 

respectively. 

The story in Central and Eastern Europe 

(CEE), meanwhile, was similar, with falling 

sales of laser hardware contributing to a 3 

percent year-on-year decline, despite sell-in 

levels for inkjet MFPs increasing by 8 percent. 

Whilst shipments to most major countries in 

the region declined further, there was a ray of 

hope in Hungary, where demand for inkjet 

MFPs caused sell-in levels to climb, increasing 

4 percent year-on-year. 

EUROPE ARMOR, Climate Change, Environment 

ARMOR committed to the fight against 

climate change 

During the One Planet summit, co-organised by the UN and the World Bank, ARMOR’s CEO signed the French Business Climate Pledge. 

truly provide a response to the 

challenges of global warming.” 

Two years after the historic Paris 

climate agreement during COP21, the 

president of the French republic, the UN 

and the World Bank are currently rallying 

international leaders to accelerate 

implementation of the Paris agreement. 

The One Planet Summit brings together 

actors from public and private finance to 

offer tangible solutions to environmental 

challenges. The event is an opportunity 

for all co-signatories of the French Business 

Climate Pledge to present effective solutions 

in order to take action without delay. 



Meet Biuromax 

at booth C31 

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7

WORLD FOCUS 

GLOBAL Wireless, Printing 

Wireless printing 

goes from 

strength to 

strength 

While for decades wireless 

printing has been a complicated 

process, with new developments 

it has at last become a great 

deal more user-friendly. 

As Larry Alton of RCRWirelessNews 

explains, although both wireless 

technology and printing have 

undergone various advances over 

the last few decades, until very 

recently, when the two were 

paired, the result was “slow and 

unreliable”. In fact, the implementation 

of wireless printing 

transformed the process of setting 

up a printer into what amounted to 

“an afternoon of frustration and 

troubleshooting”. 

This was because the fusing 

of wireless technology and 

home printers rendered wireless 

printing’s usability “complex” as 

“the lines of communication 

became tangled.” Multiple devices 

were necessary, among them 

routers, modems and Ethernet 

switches, and if a device wasn’t 

compatible it could scupper the 

whole process. 

These days, thanks to new 

advancements in technology, 

wireless printing is now much more 

stream-lined and simple, with the 

majority of modern printers 

designed to be able to connect to a 

network as soon as you enter 

the password. 

Although this easy efficiency has 

been a long time coming, it looks 

like the wireless printing market is 

finally set to go from strength to 

strength, as a new report indicates. 

GLOBAL Recycling Association, China, Waste Import 

The Recycling Association fears 

potential chaos over China 

A meeting between the American Institute 

of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and 

Chinese Government officials has 

“highlighted potential chaos over recycling 

imports”, according to Simon Ellin. 

The Recycling Association chief executive 

has been “working closely with colleagues from 

trade bodies around the world” in the wake of the 

announcement of China’s import ban and 

restrictions. This has included organisations such 

as ISRI, European Recycling Industries’ 

Confederation and Bureau of International 

Recycling among others. 

ISRI has now revealed that a meeting it had with 

Chinese officials recently has “brought about lots of 

areas of further concern over the import ban and 

new restrictions on allowed imports.” 

According to Simon Ellin, these concerns 

include: 

• Actions are coming from the highest level of the 

Chinese Government - agencies such as CMEP 

and AQSIQ forced to implement without time 

and resources to do so 

• The Chinese philosophy that “if you need 

something corrected, you go overboard and 

later correct” is very much in play here 

• AQSIQ unprepared - likelihood of inspectors 

understanding what they are inspecting and 

what they are looking for is very low in order to 

meet the proposed 0.5% contamination levels 

for allowed materials 

• Confusion over definitions of what is allowed 

and what is not - believe even more confusion 

and inconsistency is yet to come 

• ISRI has concern that what China is doing may 

Canon Inc. announced that it has obtained a 

preliminary injunction, which inter alia contains 

injunctive relief, granted by the District Court 

Düsseldorf against New Time Trade GmbH and its 

managing director. 

The preliminary injunction is based on the 

infringement of the German portion of Canon’s 

European patent EP 2 087 407 relating to a drum 

unit and a process cartridge. The accused act 

consists in the offer and distribution of a laser toner 


The Association has revealed that it is concerned at the “potential chaos” which could ensue 

over recycling imports in the wake of China’s restrictions. 

EUROPE Canon, IP, Preliminary Injunction 

set off a wave of copycat rules in other 

countries. This means going above and 

beyond and demonstrating our 

industry’s commitment to responsible 

recycling and to differentiate ourselves 

from those market players that continue to 

be the lowest common denominator 

• ISRI is recommending to its members to keep 

material very clean - no stones or dirt, present, 

more photos than required, and prepare 

for rejections. 

Simon Ellin said: “The discussions ISRI has had 

with the Chinese Government highlight a lot of 

concerns we have had that the ban and greater 

restrictions on imports is being implemented 

too quickly. 

“Clearly, as much as we in the UK, US and 

elsewhere do not have enough time to adapt, this 

is also the case with the Chinese agencies at the 

other end. This suggests there could be chaos until 

everyone is able to adapt or ideally a much longer 

time period is given for us to prepare. 

“Until we get to the bottom of some of the areas 

of uncertainty, The Recycling Association, like ISRI, 

is reminding its members and the wider recycling 

sector of the need to keep material exceptionally 

clean, take more photos than were required 

previously, and be prepared that even this material 

can be rejected. 

“With the World Trade Organisation 

consultation ending on Friday 15 December, 

The Recycling Association will continue to lobby 

for a relaxation of standards or alternatively a 

delay in implementation, until all stakeholders 

are prepared.” 

Canon awarded preliminary 

injunction for patent infringement 

The OEM has revealed that it has obtained a preliminary injunction against New Time Trade 

GmbH from the District Court Düsseldorf. 

cartridge comprising a drum unit via amazon.de 

under the ASIN (=Amazon Standard Identification 

Number) B00VYPUUZU. This cartridge replaces the 

cartridge model CE255A compatible with certain 

HP laser beam printers. The preliminary injunction 

granted by the District Court Düsseldorf is not yet 

final. Defendants have the option to file an 

objection against the preliminary injunction. Canon 

can enforce the decision after service of the PI on 

the vendors. 


WORLD FOCUS 


NORTH AMERICA LD products, Channel, Business 

LD Products launches Channel Partner Division 

LD Products, the online aftermarket cartridge retailer, announced the launch of their new Channel Partner Division. 

CEO Aaron Leon, along with division president 

Christian Pepper, have assembled a team of 

aftermarket cartridge experts to take on the 

changing reseller market. Based in Phoenix, AZ, 

the team is headed by Mr. Pepper, an industry 

thought leader with 20 years of expertise. 

Pepper believes an immediate demand for 

OEM and remanufactured cartridge 

alternatives stems from hiring trusted 

industry professionals who can educate 

dealers to make informed decisions on their 

toner choices. In today’s hypercompetitive 

global marketplace, a low cost, reliable toner 

solution that serves the business reseller 

market is “needed more than ever”. 

“As OEMs continue to drop their toner prices 

in exchange for valuable consumer reporting 

data, dealers are looking for alternative 

cartridge options to stay aggressive,” says Mr. 

Pepper, president of the division. 

“Remanufactured cartridges have become 

increasingly less profitable for contracted 

resellers. LD’s new build compatible GOLD line 

of commercial grade toner products offer 

resellers a disruptive OEM quality alternative 

for 20% less than remanufactured cartridges, 

allowing for much-needed competition in a 

consolidating market.” 

CEO Aaron Leon has had his eye on the 

reseller market for some time and is thrilled to 

have the right team in place to challenge a 

transitioning market. 

“This new division is a merging of talents and 

expertise from different areas of the print 

world. LD Products’ established distribution 

network and infrastructure can properly 

support the economies of scale needed to be a 

dependable wholesaler in the reseller market,” 

says Mr. Leon. “Together with the reach, 

expertise and relationships of Christian and his 

team, we can bring lasting value to our future 

reseller partners.” 

The new LD Gold line of monochrome and 

colour toner products have been designed and 

manufactured specifically for resellers. The 

cartridge line is the result of combining 25 

years of US industry R&D experience with topquality 

component manufacturers (American & 

Japanese) into a new product that meets the 

quality standards expected by business 

consumers. The new non-infringing / new build 

description refers to the fact that the cartridges 

don’t have to be cracked in half like a 

remanufactured cartridge to replace used 

components. This often causes leaks and 

performance issues that lead to increased 

servicing calls to clean dusty devices. Instead, 

each cartridge comes with a brand-new shell 

and the same top quality internal components 

used by leading remanufacturers. LD Gold line 

customers can “purchase with confidence 

knowing they are fully backed by a 100 percent 

hassle-free lifetime guarantee that also covers 

reseller onsite repair costs.” All the cartridges 

are tested and quality checked for performance 

and LD indemnifies its customers for 

infringement claims of U.S. Patents. Altogether, 

according to the company, this “forms an 

extremely high-quality cartridge that has 

comparable OEM print quality and 

performance, but with a price point around 20 

percent less than a dealer would pay for a 

premium remanufactured cartridge.” 

The new LD Channel Partner team’s initial 

charter is to create awareness and provide 

affordable solutions for larger copier dealers, 

managed print providers and B2B office supply 

resellers. The group brings over 100 years of 

collective industry reseller channel experience 

and a reputation for service excellence. 

NORTH AMERICA Xerox, Business 

Billionaire Carl Icahn clashes with Xerox 

The Wall Street bigshot and billionaire investor is picking a fight with Xerox, criticising the performance of its CEO and warning of 

potential future bankruptcy for the OEM. 

As the Democrat & Chronicle reports, Icahn, 

who is Xerox’s biggest shareholder with a 9.7 

percent stake in the OEM, has published an 

open letter to other shareholders in which 

he criticises CEO Jeff Jacobson and warns of 

dire repercussions if the company’s 

leadership is not changed. 

“If the long-tenured directors at Xerox 

continue to refuse to acknowledge that 

change is needed, then we believe it is 

mandatory for shareholders to speak up and 

demand that further new blood be 

introduced into the boardroom,” Icahn 

wrote. “We have shown time and time again 

that replacing an ineffective CEO can lead to 

billions and billions of dollars of value 

creation for all shareholders.” 

The Recycler already reported earlier, 

Icahn Capital’s former Managing Director, 

Jonathan Christodoro, resigned from Xerox’s 

Board of Directors. Christodoro explained in 

a letter to chairman 

Robert Keegan that that 

“he believed the board’s 

decisions were taking the 

company in the wrong 

direction.” He also 

revealed that he would 

“stand with three other 

candidates in seeking 

election to the board at 

the company’s 2018 

annual meeting.” 

Xerox also released a 

statement: 

“Since our December 2016 separation of 

Conduent Inc., we have delivered on our 

commitments to shareholders and are ahead 

of plan relative to our well-defined Strategic 

Transformation,” the statement said. 

“Shareholders have recognized our strong 

progress.” 

Carl Icahn 

By way of response, Carl 

Icahn described Xerox as 

painting “a rosy picture of what 

is in reality a bleak situation” 

which he likened to that of 

Eastman Kodak, and slammed 

the OEM’s claim that its stock 

price was up 30 percent. 

“To be clear, the primary 

reason Xerox stock is up 30 

percent year-to-date is the 

Conduent spin-off that I spent 

over a year fighting for,” Icahn 

said. “That means the split I 

championed is responsible for 75 percent of 

the value creation Xerox claims as evidence 

of shareholder support.” 

Excluding the impact of that move, 

according to the Wall Street mogul, Xerox 

stock has “dramatically underperformed” 

the S&P 500 Index. 


EDITORIAL 

Editorial 

As we go to press, I am just packing my 

bags ready for Remanexpo at Paperworld. 

By the time you have read this, the show 

will be closing, and I will be getting ready 

for a trip to the middle east, so if you were 

in Frankfurt, my apologies if you have 

heard some of this before. 

Single-use plastics 

Teresa May, the UK Prime Minister has 

announced a policy to eliminate singleuse 

plastics by 2042. Single-use plastics 

are in use every day from supermarket 

food trays to drinking straws, disposable 

cutlery, take away coffee cups and a whole 

lot more. 

The office imaging industry uses a lot of 

plastics and could lead the way in 

changing how we use plastics. Step one 

could be to ensure all the plastics we use 

are recyclable. Step two might be to 

design plastic products for reuse. For 

instance, millions of single-use ink tanks 

are sold every month some can be refilled, 

but many end up in a landfill because they 

can’t be recycled. In 2007 Promax Imaging 

patented a valve that enables an ink tank 

to be easily refilled. If circular economy 

supporters Armor were to make this 

change with their ink tanks, others might 

well follow. Then there are millions of 

airbags used for packaging, is there a 

better solution? 

One thing is for sure that this issue is 

capturing attention and governments are 

waking up to the issue, the problems it 

causes and potential tax revenues that 

could be imposed on single-use plastics. 

China’s decision to ban waste plastics will 

be problematic in many countries. But 

may well be a visionary one as we all face 

the challenge to eliminate single-use 

plastics. 

The remanufacturing industry has led 

the field in the reuse and remanufacturing 

of office imaging products, but there is 


more that we can and should do. 

Collectively as an industry and individually 

in our business lives. At The Recycler, we 

have stopped mailing magazines with 

plastic film, and we have reverted to using 

recycled / recyclable paper envelopes. 

Cost wise the decision added about €30 

($36) to the cost of each mailing and is the 

start of our review of plastics in our home 

and business. 

Another win 

OEMs have always been aggressive in 

litigating to protect their IP and market 

share as many companies can testify. On 

the surface, it is always about protecting 

IP, but behind the screens, it is more about 

controlling and dominating the market for 

their consumables and more often than 

not the OEM wins. But more recent 

victories like the one achieved by 

Australian based Calidad who were sued 

by Epson invoke a sport like punch in the 

air and a whoop or two (in the privacy of 

my office). But seriously each and every 

win helps shape the market and give 

consumers a real choice. 

Close to you - 1 

Every couple of years we refresh and 

compile our top companies list for 

publication later in the year, and we have 

seen that some companies are doing very 

well, some are doing OK while some are 

not faring well at all. Nothing new you say, 

and mostly you are right except that we 

see a trend. The companies that are doing 

well are very close to their customers, and 

the companies that are doing less well 

seem to be further away from the 

consumers who use their products, often 

with anything up to three layers of 

distribution between them, the 

remanufacturer and the final consumer. 

Some of the OEMs spotted this trend a 

few years ago and have already squeezed 

Stefanie Unland Managing Editor 

their channels to get as close as possible 

to consumers. As a result, the reseller 

market has faced some challenging times 

as they try to make margin. Some make it 

and sadly some don’t. 

LD Products has also seen this 

opportunity and has launched their 

Channel Partners Division that leverages 

in their sales expertise and highly 

successful distribution model to provide 

copier dealers, managed print providers 

and B2B office supply resellers with a 

genuine OEM alternative. 

They are back 

Industry veterans (they won’t appreciate 

being described as old) Mark Dawson and 

Oded Yakobowitz have launched their 

new venture the Internet of Printing 

focusing on providing reseller 

opportunities in the market. The first 

feather in their cap is their appointment 

as wholesale distributors of IBM branded 

replacement toner cartridges for the 

EMEA region. This is a market they know 

well and should succeed in. 

Close to you - 2 

Social Media isn’t just about what you post 

or tweet; it’s a whole lot more. Social 

Media should be a significant part of your 

strategy to get closer to your customers 

and people and organisations that need 

your products and services. Your social 

media strategy is something you build 

from the ground up, not buy in. Make sure 

you get social in 2018. 

R 

13

CITY NEWS 

OEM share prices 

February 2018 

Prices correct as of 1st January 2018 

COMPANY NOV JAN 

Brother Industries (Yen) ¥ 2940 2934 

Canon (Yen) ¥ 4353 4358 

Dainippon Ink & (Yen) ¥ 3980 4350 

Chemicals 

Sun Chemicals parent company 

HP Inc. (US$) $ 21.17 21.70 

Hubei Dinglong (RMB) ¥ 11.33 12.22 

Jadi (MYR) M 0.06 0.06 

LG Chem (S Korean Won) W 392k 425k 

Matsushita Electric (Yen) ¥ 1720 1732 

Industrial Co. 

Panasonic parent company 

Mitsubishi Chemicals (Yen) ¥ 1184 1306 

Ninestar Corporation (RMB) ¥ 30.80 25.20 

Formerly Apex Microelectronics 

Oki (Yen) ¥ 1583 1665 

Samsung (S Korean Won) W2796k 2520k 

Seiko Epson (Yen) ¥ 2617 2757 

Turbon AG (Euro) € 10.70 9.30 

Xerox (US$) $ 28.17 30.26 

UK Waste Prices 

price per tonne 

Aluminium € 8.39 5.38 

Plastic €78.05 36.11 

Paper € 1.39 2.27 

Currency 

€/US$ 1.18 1.19 

€/£ 0.91 0.88 

£/US$ 1.29 1.35 

Oil Price 

Crude oil - (US$) 62.78 62.07 

‘Brent Crude futures, 

1-Pos IPE close’ per barrel 

Shipping Prices 

Europe (Hamburg/Antwerp/ 728 888 

Felixstowe/Le Havre) 

Mediterranean (Barcelona/ 619 738 

Valencia/Genoa/Naples 

USWC (Los Angeles/ 1411 1465 

Long Beach/Oakland) 

USEC (New York/Savannah 1917 2425 

Norfolk/Charleston) 

Sources: HMRC, FT.com, krx.co.kr, tse.or.jp, 

Environment Exchange, packagingnews.co.uk 

*Brent Crude price is for January 2018 

Find out more about our Weekly Newsletter at www.therecycler.com/newsletters 

EUROPE wta, Acquisition, Business 

wta acquire German collector 

The recycling agency will become part of wta Carsten Weser’s operation in Suhl/ 

Thüringen. 

wta Carsten Weser have announced the 

acquisition of Heinz Demski Recycling 

Agency GmbH. The German remanufacturer, 

which has been in business since 1997, 

produces approximately half a million 

cartridges a year. 

Its new purchase was founded in 1998, 

and since 2003 has been a certified disposal 

specialist, and an official collector, carrier, 

and dealer of non-hazardous waste since 

2012. Operating across Germany with a fleet 

of more than 10 trucks, Heinz Demski 

NORTH AMERICA Acquisition, Sharp, Federalgraphics 

Sharp acquires 

Federalgraphics, LLC 

Federalgraphics, LLC, which was owned 

and operated by Ron Sparkman, conducted 

business in Macon, Georgia, and 

Birmingham, Alabama, and Federalgraphics 

of Columbus, Inc., which was owned and 

operated by Ron Sparkman and Chad 

Hasty, conducted business in Columbus, 

Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama. Ron 

founded Federalgraphics in 1994 and 

subsequently acquired a majority 

ownership interest in DocuSystems Paper 

Handling Equipment, Inc., (renamed 

Federalgraphics of Columbus, Inc.) 

from Chad Hasty who retained an 

ownership interest. 

Federalgraphics provided customers 

with document solutions and sold and 

serviced the full lines of copiers, printers, 

MFP’s and fax of Konica-Minolta, Kyocera, 

KIP Wide-Format, Riso and Lexmark. 

Federalgraphics also sold and serviced 

other office equipment, including mailing 

systems (FP), phone systems, folders and 

inserters (MBM), and also provided 

customers with MPS (Managed Print 

Services) and IT Managed Services. Ron 

Sparkman and Chad Hasty will continue to 

Recycling Agency serves a wide range of 

clients, from corporate backgrounds to 

public authorities, as well as hospitals and 

clinics. 

wta has already moved the agency’s stock 

to its Suhl headquarters on Simsonstrasse, 

and following the acquisition, it shall be 

operating from there. 

Mike Dudek and Rich Wisniewski of Zygoquest Group served as the advisor to 

Federalgraphics, LLC and its owner Ron Sparkman and Federalgraphics of Columbus, 

Inc. and its owners Ron Sparkman and Chad Hasty on the sale of certain assets to 

Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation. 

run the acquired business for Sharp which 

will now feature the sale of Sharp’s full line 

of multifunction printers and professional 

display products. 

“We are elated to have Federalgraphics 

join the Sharp family and further expand 

our presence in Georgia and Alabama,” 

said Anthony Sci, Senior Vice President of 

Sharp Business Systems. “We are 

committed to upholding the standard of 

excellence that Federalgraphics 

customers have come to expect as well as 

adding the value of Sharp’s extensive 

catalog of products and services.” 

Terms of the transaction are confidential. 



CITY NEWS 

EMEA Turbon, Acquisition 

Turbon AG completes latest acquisition 

The company revealed that it had completed the acquisition of the IPS Division of NCR Corporations Interactive Printer Solutions MEA. 

Turbon AG announced that it had completed 

the acquisition of the IPS Division of NCR MEA 

(Middle East Africa) effective 21st December 

2017. The company will trade as Interactive 

Printer Solutions FZCO (IPS) a member of the 

Turbon Group of Companies (www.ipsmea.com). 

The new company has been established by 

Turbon AG in conjunction with two former 

long term NCR Executives, Mr. Shankar 

Ganapathi and Mr. Simon McCouaig, who will 

both hold minority interests. Mr. Ganapathi 

will continue to manage the operation as its 

Managing Director. Mr. McCouaig is a 

member of Turbon AG’s Executive Board 

since December 2016 and will also be a 

director of IPS. 

Turbon explained that, with its 

manufacturing plant in Jebel Ali Free Zone in 

Dubai, IPS is the market leader in MEA for 

paper rolls, ticketing and cheque solutions 

with significant market share in the Financial, 

Retail and Hospitality markets. IPS will retain 

its entire team of employees “in order to 

guarantee the continuation of the well-known 

service and support to its customers in the 

future.” In addition, Turbon revealed that, as 

many customers in the region are shared, IPS 

will continue to work closely together with 

NCR in the MEA region. 

Turbon also stated that, with its “strong 

presence in Europe and the USA” it will 

“complement the IPS business as a leading 

company in the field of aftermarket laser toner 

cartridges”. Also, through the MEA distribution 

network, Turbon will be able to expand its 

presence in the Middle East Africa region and 

bring its range of laser toner cartridges to the 

market, including brands such as IBM and 

AGFAPHOTO. In addition, Turbon will enable 

IPS to offer MPS (managed print services) and 

MDS (managed document services) solutions 

to its current and new customers. 

The newly acquired MEA network will also 

“play an important role in Turbon’s 

diversification strategy.” IPS operates 

warehouses in many major Middle East 

countries and has access to the majority of 

MEA markets. Through IPS, all Turbon 

companies now also have access to this 

network in a rapidly developing market. 

For a European company of Turbon’s size 

this is “a unique position to work from” and 

Turbon explained that “in line with Turbon’s 

platform strategy, it enables us to open up the 

newly acquired distribution network to small 

and mid-sized companies who have an offering 

of interesting products for the MEA markets 

but are not able to build up a comparable 

network themselves.” 

NORTH AMERICA Flexprint, Acquisition, Business 

Flexprint acquires twice in a week 

Two companies have been purchased in the latest machination of its growth strategy. 

Flexprint LLC has further accelerated its 

growth strategy with the acquisition of two 

separate companies within the space of a 

week. The two purchases, of Caltronics 

Business Systems and Flo-Tech, were both 

funded by San Francisco private equity firm 

Oval Partners, which itself acquired Flexprint 

back in 2016. 

The purchase of Caltronics was described 

as “an important milestone” by Flexprint’s 

CEO Frank Gaspari. The Sacramento-based 

office technology dealer has twelve offices 

across Northern California and Arizona, and 

has been providing office technology and 

award-winning service for over forty years. In 

that time, has been named in OfficeDealer 

Magazine’s Top 50 Dealers nationally for 

seven years in a row. 

“We are pursuing and executing an 

aggressive expansion plan,” explained 

Gaspari, “and the addition of Caltronics to our 

portfolio of partner companies speaks 

volumes to how unique and dynamic this 

initiative is.” 

The CEO of Caltronics, Dan Reilly, will 

become an equity holder in Flexprint but 

retain his current leadership position, along 

with the rest of Caltronics’ executive team. 

Discussing the deal, he said: “We are very 


excited to join forces with Oval Partners and 

FlexPrint, LLC in our next phase of growth. 

We see a significant opportunity to expand 

our market share and enhance our service 

offerings through our partnership with 

FlexPrint, LLC, providing more opportunities 

for our employees and more choices for our 

customers. Oval’s unique ability to partner 

with founders and entrepreneurs is quite 

evident as they collaborate with Frank Gaspari 

and team to capitalize on a very attractive 

market opportunity that exists today in our 

industry.” 

In the same week, it was announced that 

Flexprint and Oval Partners had also acquired 

the Connecticut-based managed print 

services provider, Flo-Tech. The MPS 

company, founded in 1992, provides its 

nationwide client base with efficiency and 

performance improvements across their 

printing and imaging fleets, and describes 

itself as being “experts at printing, imaging 

and document driven processes.” 

“The addition of Flo-Tech to the FlexPrint 

LLC portfolio of companies is a major 

development in our space and significantly 

enhances our offerings to our national 

customer base,” said Gaspari. “Leo and his 

entire team are highly respected in the 

managed print services space and we are 

excited to combine our strong cultures of 

collaboration, with leading customer-centric 

workforces, to elevate the value we provide to 

our clients. With this acquisition, FlexPrint 

LLC now has revenues of over $200M with a 

diverse pipeline of new partner candidates for 

2018.” 

Leo Bonetti, Flo-Tech’s founder and CEO, 

said that he was excited by the potential of 

the new acquisition, and added that the 

industry experience of Gaspari and his team 

was one of the deciding factors in agreeing to 

the deal. 

“We are excited by the growth 

opportunities that are in front of us by joining 

forces with Oval Partners and FlexPrint LLC,” 

he declared. “Our complementary business 

philosophies, solutions offering, industry 

expertise, and national footprints will 

significantly enhance our customer’s 

experiences and provide increased 

opportunities for all of our team members.” 

15

CITY NEWS 

Find out more about our Weekly Newsletter at www.therecycler.com/newsletters 

NORTH AMERICA Office Supplies, Merger, Business 

Indiana office supply companies merge 

Des Plaines Office Equipment has announced the merger of “key firms”, McShane’s and Kramer & Leonard. 

Two office equipment, supply and 

office furniture companies in 

Northern Indiana have merged to 

form McShane’s, Kramer & Leonard. 

Chip Miceli, Chairman of 

McShane’s, and a shareholder in both 

companies, made the announcement 

this week. The new company is the 

result of the recently-completed 

merger of McShane’s Business Products and 

Services, and Kramer & Leonard. 

McShane’s Business Products and Services 

is a 48-person firm, which opened in 1921 as a 

printing and stationery company in 

Hammond, Indiana. Over the years, 

McShane’s evolved into a large, independent 

office products dealer. McShane’s added 

Canon copiers in 1978, Konica Minolta copiers 

in 1984, and colour copiers in 1993; and the 

company also carries Kip (wide format) and 

Muratec, Lenovo computers and servers. One 

area of growth for McShane’s has been the 

offering of Managed IT services, and Microsoft 

certifications. McShane’s has been voted best 

“Office Equipment and Supply” 

company 12 years in a row in the 

“Northwest Indiana Business 

Quarterly” magazine. 

Kramer & Leonard is a 22-person 

company serving the region since 

1983, having been held by the same 

family for the last 31 years. The firm 

offers office products, break room, 

contract furniture, and is an authorised dealer 

of National Office, HON and Herman Miller. 

Kramer & Leonard also has a team of office 

designers on staff to assist with design of 

office space. Greg Fox, who serves as 

President of Kramer & Leonard, said that his 

father-in-law started the company in 1983. 

The new firm will maintain both of its 

locations – in Munster and Chesteron. Brian 

McShane, who has served as CEO of 

McShane’s, will serve as the Chief Executive 

Officer of the new entity. Greg Fox will serve 

as the new organization’s President. 

McShane said, “The combination of these 

two companies brings us to the point where 

we can offer workplace solutions that no one 

else in the market can do. Our greater 

inventory of office furniture, plus the design 

component, makes us a strong player in that 

market.” He continued, “And the IT services 

that McShane’s has offered will be a 

tremendous asset to the Kramer & Leonard 

customer base, just as their in-house design 

team will be to ours.” 

Fox added, “The merger is a natural fit. 

Our combined strength provides the critical 

mass necessary to offer more comprehensive 

services across a number of areas in 

the market.” 

NORTH AMERICA NovaCopy, Acquisition 

NovaCopy expands with purchase of Service 

Technologies 

The acquisition of the Konica Minolta dealership allows NovaCopy to expand its presence in the Atlanta area. 

NovaCopy, an award-winning Managed IT 

and Printer Services provider, has 

announced the purchase of Service 

Technologies, a 20-year Konica Minolta 

dealership located in the greater Atlanta 

area. 

“We are excited at the opportunity to 

provide NovaCopy’s award-winning service, 

state-of-the-art solutions and comprehensive 

customer care to even more of the 

greater Atlanta business community,” said 

NovaCopy CEO Darren Metz. “As an 

operational business entity, Service 

Technologies has filed an Assignment for 

Benefit of Creditors and is shuttering its 

operations. In the transaction, NovaCopy 

did not assume the liabilities of Service 

Technologies, but will continue providing 

service and supplies to its customers.” 

NovaCopy has been recognised by Inc 

Magazine as one of the USA’s fastest growing 

companies, having 12 branches scattered 

throughout the country and generating 

revenues of $80 million (€68.171 million). 

In the Assignment for Benefit of Creditors 

transaction, NovaCopy purchased certain 

Service Technologies assets including the 

copier/printer division, customer list and 

has employed most of its staff. 

“Customer satisfaction is very important 

to NovaCopy and it is our goal to retain, and 

grow, the relationships that have already 

been created,” said Benny Malicoat, 

NovaCopy’s GA & East TN District VP. “We 

truly believe it is essential to have Service 

Technologies’ team on board to help make 

this a success.” 

So far, NovaCopy has made five 

acquisitions in the last year, including this 

latest purchase of Service Technologies. It’s 

acquisition of KopierNet, also located in the 

greater Atlanta area, was completed just four 

weeks ago. 

“As we seek to grow throughout the 

South, we’re reminded of NovaCopy’s 

mission to flourish as a team by delivering 

caring, efficient service and support to our 

customers and to each other,” Metz said. 

“We deliver outstanding equipment and 

service performance beyond our customers’ 

expectations, with the fastest on-site service 

available. And, that’s what sets us apart from 

all the rest.” 


AROUND THE INDUSTRY 


EUROPE Nubeprint, Hires, Business 

Nubeprint announces hiring of two new 

executives 

The company is ‘reinforcing its presence’ in both Europe and Latin America with the hiring of two new staff members. 

Nubeprint Inc. has announced the addition of 

Joaquin Rebollo to its European Sales 

Organisation. Mr Rebollo has 20 years of 

experience in the MPS industry and has held 

various sales management positions at HP, 

OKI and Inforpor. He attended the 

Polytechnic University, graduating in 

Computer Science. 

“We are excited by the addition of Mr. 

Rebollo to our growing European Team. This 

new position, as Director of Institutional 

Relations will help Nubeprint to reinforce and 

expand its relationships with OEMs, 

Corporations and Public Institutions” said 

Antonio Sanchez, CEO of Nubeprint. 

Nubeprint has also welcomed a new 

addition to its Central Latin America and 

Mexico Sales Organisation, Carlos Ricardo 

Leyva. Mr Leyva has 10 years of experience 

in the MPS industry and has held various 

sales management positions at Epson, 

Brother and N5 Software. He has a degree 

in Industrial Engineering (IT Specialty) 

from the Universidad Iberoamericana de 

México City. 

“We are excited by the addition of Mr. Leyva 

to our growing Americas Team as Nubeprint 

México & Central América Sales Director. 

“This new position will help Nubeprint 

expand its relationships with OEMs, 

Distributors, Wholesalers and Aftermarket 

Resellers” said Antonio Sanchez, CEO 

of Nubeprint. 

“Nubeprint´s technology is changing the 

way in which output devices are being 

managed and will be managed for years to 

come. Now, any organization involved in the 

business of MPS can add Nubeprint to their 

Program, independent of the DCA they are 

currently using to monitor their printers, to 

easily meet his SLAs and to build unmatchable 

MPS proposals while maximizing their 

profitability and improving the Customer 

Experience.” 

NORTH AMERICA Epson, Ninestar, IP 

Epson and Ninestar court case concluded 

The OEM and the remanufacturer have settled their long-lasting legal battle, bringing the court case to an end, with both parties 

agreeing to a settlement. 

The Recycler has seen court papers 

revealing that the U.S. International Trade 

Commission will not review “an initial 

determination (“ID”) (Order No. 6) granting 

a joint motion to terminate the consolidated 

advisory opinion […] based on a settlement 

agreement. The consolidated advisory 

opinion proceeding is terminated.” 

This decision, which took the form of an 

official notice served on 8 December 2017, 

follows on from the jointly filed termination 

request which both parties submitted to the 

Commission in November 2017. 

The joint request stated that “Epson and 

Ninestar mutually desire to settle and 

compromise the disputes between them 

relating to the AO Proceeding”. 

With the decision of the 

Commission not to review the 

initial determination, the dispute, 

which began when the Commission 

instituted Inv. No. 337-TA-565 on 

March 23, 2006, based on a 

complaint filed by Epson, has finally 

come to a conclusion. 

The initial complaint had 

“alleged violations of section 337 of 

the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 

19 U.S.C. 1337, by reason of 

infringement of certain claims of 

U.S. Patent Nos.,” and kickstarted a 

chain of well-documented legal 

actions on the part of both Epson 

and Ninestar. 



Meet ECS at 

booth C40 

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EUROPE KMP, Business, Awards 

KMP honours employees at Christmas Party 

The remanufacturer’s annual festive celebration followed a visit from a Bavarian State Parliamentarian. 

A trio of long-serving employees with 

half a century of service between 

them have been honoured by 

German remanufacturer KMP at the 

company’s annual Christmas party. 

Appolonia Bär and Rosi Messner 

were both saluted for two decades 

with the company, whilst Stefan 

Unterbuchberger was similarly 

honoured for reaching his ten-year 

milestone. 

KMP CEO Jan-Michael Sieg paid 

tribute to the three workers, amidst 

what the company described as a 

“joyful atmosphere”, and a “perfect” 

occasion. KMP also offered its best 

wishes to Lutz Heim, Rainer 

Höchsmann, Monika Kaltenegger, 

and Sieg himself, all of whom are set to 

celebrate “a notable birthday.” 

The festive celebrations continued with 

KMP’s company salesman for Austria Klaus 

From the left to the right: Jan-M. Sieg, Lutz Heim, Galina Rapp, 

Rainer Höchsmann, Appolonia Bär, Stefan Unterbuchberger, 

Rosi Messner, Volker Kappius, Monika Kaltenegger 

Reissig delighting those in attendance with 

a performance on the saxophone, 

entertaining colleagues with what were 

described as “jazzy interpretations of 

popular Christmas songs.” 

There was also a spontaneous 

guest appearance by Delacamp AG’s 

CEO Volker Kappius, who came 

bearing a generous prize for the 

tombola. 

Kappius was not the only guest 

recently welcomed at KMP. Three 

weeks earlier, Bernhard Roos, a 

politician in Bavarian State 

Parliament, was hosted by the 

remanufacturer with his delegation. 

Roos visited KMP’s headquarters 

in order to gauge the company’s 

opinion on how politics can be used 

to promote the local economy. 

During his tour, he and his team 

showed interest in the work of the 

remanufacturer, and voiced his pleasure at 

KMP’s current standing in the market, as 

well as at the company’s role as an employer 

and a vocational trainer in the region. 

EUROPE Circular Economy, France 

French circular economy ‘roadmap’ devised 

Consultations with the public have helped create the country’s route towards eco-sustainability. 

The French Ministry of Ecological and 

Solidarity Transition has, along with a 

multitude of eco-organisations responsible for 

waste recycling in France, established a 

convention for what it describes as “the 

roadmap for the circular economy”, to be 

published in March of this year. 

The ‘roadmap’, which has arisen from the 

July 2017 climate plan, is aiming to involve not 

only professionals in the field, but also 

ordinary French citizens in the circular 

economy, and hopes to “inform, educate, and 

engage” all parties into the benefits of ecodesign, 

repair, and reuse, according to five key 

questions: How to better consume; how to 

recycle better; how to produce better, with 

fewer resources; how to mobilise 

all concerned to accelerate the 

circular economy; and what 

accompanying measures need to 

be put in place to support the 

transition to it? 

The answers that arose from 

public consultation on these 

questions were varied, but most 

popular suggestions included 

the return of a deposit for glass, 

plastic or metal packaging, standardisation of 

sorting instructions, simplification of access to 

sorting in public spaces and businesses, 

education of young people, and community 

provision of individual or collective compost 

bins. Taxation of products 

with non-recyclable or 

superfluous packaging, or a 

short shelf life, was also 

proposed. 

“This consultation is a 

success in terms of both 

participation and ideas,” 

said Secretary of State 

Brune Poirson. “For 

example, the plebiscite in 

favour of the return of the deposit, which 

would not necessarily have been initially 

retained by the experts because sometimes 

considered too restrictive, shows the 

importance of consulting the French directly” 



Meet General Plastic 

Industrial Co., Ltd 

at booth B57 

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19


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NORTH AMERICA Print Audit, Business 

Print Audit 

anticipates 

continued growth 

The organisation, which was founded in 2006 

in 2018 

In one of its latest blogs, Print Audit 

reveals its new strategies for continuing 

development, citing 2018 as “The Year of 

Growth” for the company. 

Senior management 

teams from both Print 

Audit and NeoStream 

have come up with a set 

of “strategic initiatives” 

to implement in the 

coming year. 

These include expanding Print Audit’s 

Infinite family of products, following on from 

the 2016 launch of Infinite Device 

Management. In 2018 the company plans to 

debut its Infinite User Management, in 

addition to an Infinite document 

management solution. 

Print Audit will also be growing its staff, 

planning to hire 4 new employees in the new 

year to assist its busy sales team. Their 

Careers page can be found here. 

Additionally, the company’s year of growth 

in 2018 will also have “an internal focus”, 

with Print Audit creating “The Growth Tree”, 

with plans to add a $10 ‘leaf ’ every time 

an employee completes a learning 

initiative of some kind. Once they reach their 

target of a thousand leaves and $10,000 the 

money will be donated to three charities, 

chosen by the three employees who “did the 

most learning.” 

Print Audit has also revealed that it will be 

“working hard to make sure our Premier 

members and other customers benefit from 

channel convergence” by developing new 

offerings and making Print Stream Security a 

“big topic” in 2018. 

It will also be making other changes, such 

as incorporating Device Based Billing, 

“launching a new series of roadshows”, 

dramatically expanding the Insight BI 

dashboard and vowing to make print servers 

“a thing of the past”, saying they “have no 

value in the modern office.” 

The company concluded by saying that its 

“2018 strategic initiatives solidify Print 

Audit’s commitment to save the office 

equipment industry by focussing on growth, 

growth and more growth.” 

AUSTRALASIA Cartridges Direct, Awards 

Cartridges Direct scoops 

seven awards 

2017 was a fruitful year for the ink cartridge supplier, which received seven awards and 

accolades throughout the year. 

by entrepreneur Simon Williams, secured 

seven awards in 2017, including “2017 Best 

Most Valued Customer (MVC)”. 

While the industry “is traditionally 

dominated by the original equipment 

manufacturers (OEMs)”, with “high barriers to 

entry for new market participants”, Williams 

implemented a ‘David and Goliath’ strategy to 

“outmanoeuvre the competition by investing 

in online brand marketing activities” which 

would promote the sustainable benefits of 

partnering with Cartridges Direct. The 

company also described itself as “committed 

to a positive customer service.” 

“This award recognises the contribution 

our staff and loyal customers have made in the 

past 10 years,” Simon Williams, founder and 

Managing Director of Cartridges Direct said 

after the awards ceremony. “Growth and 

The company’s scam 

letters have been received 

by exhibitors and passed 

on to The Recycler. As 

before, the letter asks the 

exhibitor to update their 

data ‘in order to secure 

and maintain a problemfree 

communication with 

all visitors interested in 

your company.’ 

It goes on to say that ‘It 

is very important and 

within your own interest 

to verify the validity of your data and to 

undertake all possible and necessary 

modifications under www.inter-fairs.com. Your 

free listing shall be shown among our priority 

search results as soon as your modifications 

have been received.’ It also includes an 

enclosed form ‘if you wish to place an order 

for a payable insertion’, and is signed by the 

“Managing Director”. 

This latest letter related to Remanexpo in 

Frankfurt next year. Companies undertaking 

customer loyalty such as ours relies on 

providing the right product at the right time 

and in the right place. We have our staff, 

suppliers and contractors to thank for this. 

We know that we can supply the right 

product because we only supply Original 

Printer Cartridges and they are guaranteed to 

work, unlike generic, remanufactured and reinked 

products. We know that we get the 

product to the right place at the right time 

because of the exceptional work of our staff 

and contractors.” 

GLOBAL Scam letters, Events 

Scam letters circulating once again 

The International Fairs Directory has resurrected its ‘Expo-Guide’ scam in the lead-up to 

Paperworld 2018, being held in Frankfurt from January 27-30. 

this scam have been operating for many years 

and regularly target thousands of businesses 

worldwide. The Recycler has reported on the 

similar Expo-Guide scam for the past few 

years, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, twice in 2014 

– once for the Dubai show and once for the 

Germany show – and in March 2015, before 

receiving another in July and September. The 

Recycler also received a new events scam 

letter in May 2016, while industry company 

CIT also received the letter in November 2016. 




EUROPE Award, Campaigning, Cartridge Recycling 

Ink cartridge recycling campaign 

founder wins award 

Denis O’ Donovan, who founded the Mercy Recycling Campaign to raise funds for a 

local cancer appeal, has been named ‘Cork Person of the Month’. 

As The Cork reports, the Mercy Recycling 

Campaign “involves Denis and his son John 

collecting empty ink cartridges from 

businesses across Munster”. These cartridges 

are then recycled, and the proceeds from this 

process are donated to the Mercy Hospital 

Cancer Appeal. O’Donovan wanted to raise 

funds for the hospital because he was “so 

impressed” by the treatment his late wife 

received there. O’Donovan “has devoted all 

his retirement years to fundraising for the 

Mercy Hospital Cancer Care Centre”, and he 

also fundraises for other establishments, 

such as the Kerry Hospice and the Kerry 

Cancer Support Group. 

To date, he has raised more than €120,000 

($144,000) for both Cork and Kerry Cancer 

Services, and through his Mercy Recycling 

Campaign, O’Donovan has managed to sign 

up more than 700 Munster-based companies 

“who supply him with empty ink cartridges.” 

In addition to the funds he has raised to 

support the cancer care facilities, he has also 

prevented 800,000 cartridges from going to 

landfill thus far. 

At the award presentation, where he was 

named ‘Cork Person of the Month’, Denis 

said, “I got involved in fundraising 

because of Angela, so I had first-hand 

experience of the incredible care and 

attention received by cancer patients and I 

just wanted to give something back. I hope 

this award will further publicise the great 

work done for cancer patients, especially in 

Cork and Kerry”. 

South African cartridge retailer The Inky Shop has 

opened its latest store, at Pick N Pay Hyper By 

The Sea in Durban North. The franchise’s latest 

outpost offers the complete range of Inky Shop 

products and services and is opening from 9am to 

6pm. 

The Inky Shop was established in 2002, and 

aims to provide small offices and home-based 

consumers with high-quality, affordable printing 

supplies. Its product range includes both original 

cartridges for inkjet printers, toner printers and 

copiers, as well as Inky Shop alternative products, 

and professional ink refilling at selected stores. 

Pictured at the presentation L/R: Pat 

Lemasney, Southern; John O’Donovan; Mike 

Feely, Lehane Motors; Denis O’Donovan, Cork 

Person of the Month; Philip 

Manus O’Callaghan, Organiser of the ‘Cork 

Person of the Year’ Awards said, “The 

fundraising work that Denis has done for the 

Mercy Hospital and their cancer appeal has 

been incredible. The recycling appeal is 

unique and has been extremely successful in 

combining fundraising with helping the 

environment. 

“Denis is truly an inspirational character 

who was motivated to help others because of 

the quality of care his late wife Angela 

received at the Mercy Hospital.” 

As a result of this award, O’Donovan’s 

name will be put forward with those of other 

monthly winners for possible selection as 

‘Cork Person of the Year 2017’, with the 

winner due to be announced at a Gala 

Awards lunch held in mid-January 2018. 

IMEA Inky Shop, Expansion, Business 

Inky Shop arrive in Durban North 

The retailer has brought its full gamut of products and services to the city. 

(Photo © The Cork) 


21



NORTH AMERICA ECi, Software, Business 

ECi announce integration and appointment 

The company has expanded the integration of its MPS solution and hired a brand new CRO. 

Fort Worth-based remanufacturer ECi 

Software Solutions has announced the 

expanded integration of its premier managed 

print services solution, FMAudit® software, 

with Smart Device Services (SDS) from HP. 

The new integration is designed to improve 

first-time fix rates, lessen the need for on-site 

visits, shorten the time required for on-site 

visits, and better track meters and supplies 

while reducing waste by identifying savings 

opportunities in parts, supplies, and labour. 

The integration is initiated by a simple 

connection through HP’s JetAdvantage 

Management Integrations, and is broken 

down into five key features: Diagnose before 

Dispatch allows technicians to immediately 

see the status and history of live devices, 

whilst Remote Remediation permits techs to 

perform critical device tasks and updates 

without having to be on site; meanwhile, ondemand 

training provides a library of 

technical content and training tutorials for use 

in the field, and the enhanced supplies 

management tools facilitate viewing of toner 

levels and remote triggering of alerts, to both 

improve customer service and help maximize 

supply consumption. Finally, Device 

Identification assists in regaining control over 

devices that have lost their data collection 

agent (DCA) connection and enables renewed 

data collection capabilities. 

David Laing, Worldwide VP of Contractual 

Channel A3 Devices and Services Marketing, 

HP Inc., said: “”HP’s Smart Device Services 

technology is revolutionizing the way our 

contractual channel resellers approach the 

management and service of HP devices. 

Because of this cooperation between industry 

leaders, HP resellers will be able to maximize 

HP MFP and printer uptime, improve 

customer satisfaction, and increase 

profitability.” 

“Expanding on our integration with HP, 

these new features will make a significant 

impact on service department efficiency,” said 

Laryssa Alexander, President of ECi’s Field 

Service Division. “Instead of being reactive, 

the service department can now be proactive 

with remote diagnostic, remediation, and 

management capabilities.” 

ECi have also announced the appointment 

of Sam Miller as its new Chief Revenue Officer. 

Having previously held a variety of sales 

leadership and business development 

positions at Dell Technologies, Miller will now 

be responsible for directing ECi’s worldwide 

sales and marketing teams, as well as 

generating new processes, ideas and 

strategies for the company’s continued 

organic growth, whilst carrying on its practice 

of building strong customer relationships. 

Miller, who holds a Bachelor’s of Science in 

Food Science and Technology from Texas 

A&M University, described himself as 

“extremely excited” to take up his new 

position. “Having served the SMB customer 

segment for the past 18 years,” he said, “I have 

a passion for leveraging technology that 

enables them to grow and thrive. Joining 

forces with an amazing team that has an 

impressive portfolio of solutions is exciting; I 

can’t wait to see how we can continue to grow 

together.” 

ECi’s President and Chief Operating Officer, 

Trevor Gruenewald, praised Miller’s high 

energy, systematic leadership approach, and 

“proven track record”, describing him as “a 

natural fit for the company.” 

“Sam has developed strategies that have 

accelerated the growth of some of the world’s 

most successful technology companies,” 

Gruenewald continued. “His insight 

and passion for the SMB market align with 

ECi’s objective of supporting the 

entrepreneurial spirit and profitable growth of 

our customers. We are pleased to have Sam 

take on this new role to provide his 

inspiration and leadership.” 

NORTH AMERICA Action Intell, Remanufacturing, Report 

New remanufacturing industry report published 

The report examines the current state of the industry, the obstacles it faces, and what the future has in store. 

First established in the USA in the 1980’s, the 

remanufacturing industry has gone from 

strength to strength, developing into “a 

global enterprise”, with remanufacturers 

refurbishing billions of cartridges each 

year. Despite this success, however, 

“remanufacturers are finding it increasingly 

difficult to thrive and grow as they cope with 

21st-century market demands”. 

Actionable Intelligence’s new 39-page 

report, entitled “Forces Shaping Today’s 

Cartridge Remanufacturing Industry” 

explores the current state of the industry, 

analysing regional remanufacturing 

industries supplying some of the world’s 

largest cartridge markets, including China, 

Europe and North America. 

“Now in its fourth decade of operation, 

today’s remanufacturing 

industry doesn’t look 

much like the one that 

back in the 1980s used to 

poke holes in in sides of 

cartridges to refill them 

with ink or toner,” says 

Charles Brewer, Actionable Intelligence’s 

founder and president. “Today, the industry 

is as high-tech as the cartridges it 

remanufactures. The leading companies are 

ISO-certified and employ thousands of 

workers at state-of-the-art factories 

worldwide.” Mr. Brewer observes that the 

remanufacturing industry is mature and is 

experiencing consolidation and a decline in 

the number of remanufacturers. “The next 

five years will be pivotal as the industry 

continues to consolidate and 

demand for remanu-factured 

product declines as more and 

more end users move to 

compatibles.” 

Focusing on remanufacturers 

in China, Europe, and 

the United States, “Forces Shaping Today’s 

Cartridge Remanufacturing Industry” 

examines where the industry is today; how it 

got there; and what the future holds for 

remanufacturers worldwide. The report maps 

the current competitive landscape and 

differentiates between the various categories 

of cartridges vying for market share. In 

particular, the report analyses the impact that 

IP-infringing cartridges (a.k.a. “clones”) have 

had on the remanufacturing industry. 




ASIA Teleportivity, Business, Start-up 

Former Fuji Xerox printers man builds new partner program 

David Borg, who recently left his role as Fuji Xerox Printers dealer general manager, 

is heading up a new partner program launched by a local tech start-up. 

As ARN reports, Borg, who was previously 

responsible for Fuji Xerox Printers’ Asian Pacific 

channel business, has now “revealed his next 

endeavour”, co-founding channel-only tech 

start-up Teleportivity. 

Teleportivity, “which operates a video-based 

platform that lets users instantly connect with 

expert help regardless of geography” is now 

developing a channel program in both New 

Zealand and Australia, though it is also set to 

spread further afield. Borg is in charge of 

building this new program. 

So far, Teleportivity has just signed its first 

distribution agreement with a New Zealandbased 

company, Ingram Micro. 

Teleportivity was launched by Borg, with 

fellow founder and CEO, Adam Gottlieb; the 

start-up “is currently built around a 100 percent 

channel-only model”, with the company’s goal 

being “to offer resellers a fully-scalable 

interactive video touch screen, human-based 

expert help system for their customers.” 

NORTH AMERICA PrintReleaf, Environment, Business 

2017 finishes on a high for PrintReleaf 

The reforestation company has updated its standard, following another partnership, this time with Colorado Univeristy. 

2017 proved to be a buoyant year for 

PrintReleaf: As well as reaching the milestone 

of 500,000 trees planted, it announced 

partnerships with EFI and the PRT Group, as 

well as joining the Idealliance Member 

Advantage Group. Now, a collaboration 

between PrintReleaf and the University of 

Colorado has resulted in further progress, 

and in an update to PrintReleaf ’s 

reforestation standard – “version 2.0”, as the 

organisation’s CEO terms it. 

Through its partnership with the 

University’s Masters of the Environment 

Programme, PrintReleaf have added new, 

detailed methodologies for field audits, which 

include drone photography and videography. 

Jordan Darragh, PrintReleaf ’s Founder 

and CEO, said: “The PrintReleaf Standard is 

an open and public document established 

by leading print and forestry experts. It 

outlines the minimum requirements for 

certification as a PrintReleaf global forestry 

partner, as well as the verification process 

to ensure survivability of all newly planted 

forests. In addition, the PrintReleaf 

Standard also defines third party audit 

and verification processes, which are 

Its system “has been built around physical 

location-based environments”. Teleportivity 

“provides a turn-key solution for organisations 

to scale their location-based human workforce, 

and increase productivity exponentially.” 

Australian-designed technology, Worker 

Clicks, lies behind Teleportivity’s system, with 

the company explaining, “Worker Clicks is a 

touch-screen, video-based service that lets 

people touch a screen and instantly get the 

help they need by connecting them to the right 

person, face-to-face, wherever they are”. 

“It allows you to connect live experts, real 

people, wherever they are geographically 

located, at a point of presence, so people 

can tap onto a screen and actually talk to a 

live person, whether they happen to be,” 

Borg said. Teleportivity gives Borg the 

opportunity to “delve even deeper into the 

local channel” while simultaneously giving 

partners “the chance to get some value out 

of the new technology.” 

administered by SGS International. The 

PrintReleaf reforestation standard ensures 

that the viability and survivability of trees 

planted by PrintReleaf global forestry 

partners is accurate and authentic.” 

The programme, at the university’s 

Boulder campus, is a seventeen-month 

graduate degree programme focussing on 

leadership, problem solving, and application; 

it partners with units and disciplines across 

the campus, as well as external organisations. 

The collaboration with PrintReleaf allows 

students the chance to participate in 

developing real-world environmental 

initiatives. 

“The Masters of the Environment 

programme benefits greatly from 

participation with companies like 

PrintReleaf,” said Joel Hartter, Faculty 

“My role is to take the concept and to build 

a global channel. It’s 100 per cent channel, and 

because I love channel, I like to help people 

create solutions that make them good, 

recurring margins; that’s what I’m focused on,” 

Borg told ARN. 

He is currently hoping to find “perhaps 20 or 

so local partners” to help invest in Teleportivity 

and grow the business. 

“Every channel partner we speak to is really 

excited about the opportunity,” he said. “And 

so, for us it’s now about having selection 

criteria, finding resellers aligned with us from a 

values perspective; having a deep, rather than 

wide strategy.” 

Director of the programme and Associate 

Professor at the University of Colorado. 

“Our students and faculty appreciate 

the opportunity to work with companies 

actively seeking to improve the 

environment and address environmental 

sustainability head-on. The PrintReleaf 

programme is particularly useful 

because the company has a global initiative, 

using reforestation projects around 

the world.” 

The company has also announced it 

will be demonstrating its reforestation 

technology at EFI Connect in Las Vegas, held 

between the 23rd and 26th of January. “At 

PRINT 17 in Chicago, PrintReleaf was rolled 

out to the commercial printing market and 

our collaboration with EFI was announced,” 

Darragh explained. “At EFI Connect 2018 in 

Las Vegas, January 23-26, PrintReleaf will 

show how commercial and package printers 

can effortlessly offer their customers 

reforestation services. This popular 

technology has been proven in the managed 

print services environment, and is now ready 

for broad implementation in the commercial 

printing market.” 




NORTH AMERICA Keypoint Intelligence, InfoTrends, Market Data 

Keypoint pools resources for common-interest studies 

Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends has announced that a number of multi-client studies have been completed and more will be 

published before the end of 2017. 

Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends’ detailed 

Multi-Client Studies tackle major industry 

trends and topics that impact clients and 

allow countless companies to fund, influence, 

and receive the research results. Each report 

is led by a team of consultants who provide 

key findings and recommendations by 

delivering in-depth analysis for optimal 

strategic planning. 

Conducting primary research can be 

inaccessible for many businesses as costs can 

vary from project to project. While primary 

data collection is a powerful method for 

acquiring information, some research projects 

are just too large to be carried out by all but 

the largest companies, and some are not 

feasible at all. By pooling resources with 

industry peers, these common-interest 

studies provide multiple companies forwardlooking 

analysis enabling them to obtain 

business critical information at a fraction of 

the cost of conducting the study on their own. 

There are an array of studies that focus on 

digital imaging and document solutions. 

Below are some recently published or soon to 

be completed studies related to the printing 

industry: 

In search of business opportunities: finding 

the right prospects 

This comprehensive report identifies 

communication spending, usage, trends and 

dynamics across key industries. The study 

surveyed communication decision makers in 

small, medium, and large organizations, 

across multiple industries, to uncover the key 

trends and challenges influencing media 

choice, purchasing requirements, vendor 

selection, and selling opportunities. 

Sizing ink & toner e-commerce: mapping 

the impact of china and third-party supplies 

Purchasing supplies through e-commerce 

marketplaces is risky for both OEMs and end 

users. Preliminary results from InfoTrends’ 

Business Purchasing Survey show about 20 

percent of businesses report they “shop the 

internet” among the top two ways in which 

they buy ink and toner cartridges. Among the 

20 percent, almost half of those businesses 

reported issues with product purchases. This 

study will help ink and toner OEMs better 

understand the threats the e-commerce 

marketplace landscape represents. 

High speed inkjet printer multi-client study 

This study is an extensive analysis on the 

growing opportunity for high speed inkjet 

printing systems in North America and 

Western Europe. Results will focus on key 

application categories including transactional, 

promotional, publishing, and packaging 

(primarily folding cartons). Research will 

include in-depth interviews with 75 existing 

roll fed and cut sheet inkjet press users as well 

as a survey with over 300 companies that are 

considering purchasing a system in the next 6 

to 12 months. This report is designed to 

provide OEMs, paper mills, and finishing 

equipment vendors with insights for product 

development decisions and resources for 

accelerating customer sales. 

AUSTRALASIA Corporate Consumables, Business 

Corporate Consumables LTD has ceased trading 

The company made the announcement via their official website, explaining that its current state was “unsustainable as a business”. 

Corporate Consumables, one of New 

Zealand’s larger office products suppliers, 

has ceased trading, releasing the following 

statement on the company website: 

“Corporate Consumables Ltd ceased 

trading as of 12.00pm on Friday the 22nd 

of December. 

Unfortunately, a number of factors have 

combined to create a situation where 

Corporate Consumables in its current state 

is unsustainable as a business. The decision 

to cease trading is not a decision that has 

been taken lightly. Over the last 12 months 

the Directors, management and their 

advisors have explored every possible 

option to keep the company trading and 

return it to profitability. 

We will be proactively managing any 

outstanding business from the 8th January 

2018, to ensure the orderly wind down of the 

company. 

We have very much valued the 

relationship and support all our customers 

and suppliers have provided Corporate 

Consumables over the years. The Directors 

and management of Corporate 

Consumables would like to thank you for 

your business and wish you all every 

success in your future endeavours.” 

According to Stuff, an industry source has 

revealed that Corporate Consumables, a 

Wellington-based company which has been 

in business for 27 years, “employed about 50 

staff and had an annual turnover of about 

$30 million (€17.689 million).” 

As well as its Wellington office, it also had 

branches in Auckland, Nelson, Dunedin, 

Taraunga and Christchurch. The decision to 

stop trading “may have wider implications 

in a sector which is still reeling” from the 

well-publicised accounting scandal at 

Fuji Xerox NZ. 



Meet IR Italiana 

Riprografia at booth B17 

Powered by 





EUROPE Green Business, Environment 

In 2018 big businesses go green 

As we begin a new year, some of the world’s biggest corporations are making efforts to 

reduce their impact on the environment. 

According to Amy Pay of The Telegraph, 2018 

“will see large corporations adopting circular 

economy solutions, where high proportions 

of unwanted, landfill-destined byproducts are 

given a new lease of life.” 

As well as benefitting the environment, 

adopting these measures could generate £29 

billion ($39 billion / €32 billion) GDP in the 

UK, according to the findings of Veolia. 

Some of the corporations implementing 

circular economy solutions include Dell, 

which in December 2017 formed a 

collaboration with Lonely Whale to launch “a 

cross-industry working group” dedicated to 

fighting pollution caused by waste plastic. As a 

result of this initiative, partners of Dell “will 

intercept ocean plastics at the source” and 

“process and refine recovered plastics”, using 

them to help create delivery packaging. 

Adrian Grenier, Dell’s Social Good 

Advocate, said: “Not only are we keeping 

plastics from entering our ocean, but we’re 

also educating consumers and leading by 

example through developing new and 

innovative business systems.” 

When it comes to the supply chain of a 

major business, it can often be difficult to 

uncover environmental problems “without 

access to every data point”, so more 

companies are turning to supply chain 

design software provided by firms like 

LLamasoft. 

As LLamasoft’s Vice President for the EMEA 

region, Will Lovatt, explains, this kind of 

software is “the future” when it comes to 

forging more eco-friendly supply chains for 

businesses. 

“Big companies can use software to set up 

models of their supply chains to identify major 

sources of emissions and model different 

scenarios, measuring the financial implication 

of achieving sustainability goals,” he says. 

“By building multi-year models, they can 

develop and phase greenhouse gas reduction 

programmes, and monitor and report on 

progress during implementation.” 

Other technological innovations can also 

help reduce environmental impact, such as 

HP’s Instant Ink service, which “combines 

technology, customer service and 

environmental responsibility” by orchestrating 

the delivery of replacement ink cartridges to 

customers whose ink is running low. 

In addition, used cartridges are recycled to 

create new ones helping to reduce waste, cut 

costs and give HP a more environmentally 

friendly image. 

Last but not least, Sainsbury’s is also 

looking to adopt more sustainable practices 

this year, revealing that, by the middle of 2018, 

“each of its fridges will possess aerofoil 

technology that prevents cold air spilling out.” 

“We will see energy reductions of up to 

15pc, which is a significant saving,”explained 

Paul Crewe, the company’s Head of 

Sustainability. 

“We’re accelerating how we reduce our 

impact on the environment.” 

ASIA Print-Rite, Business, Awards 

Print-Rite launch new 3D printer 

The remanufacturer has also announced the winner of its Employee of the Month prize. 

The Print-Rite CoLiDo AMSS Metal 3D Printer 

Launch Luncheon took place on 6 December 

2017, presented by Print-Rite. The purpose of 

the luncheon was to launch the company’s 

new 3D metal printer, which applies Print- 

Rite’s independently developed Additive 

Manufacturing Selective Sintering (AMSS) 

metal 3D printing technology, a similar 

procedure to FDM printing. This technology 

will allow more corporations to implement 

metal printing into their business practice in 

order to improve productivity. 

During the luncheon, Print-Rite’s R&D 

General Manager, Mr Philip Su, and the 

Product Manager of Print-Rite’s 3D business, 

Mr Hugo Wong, offered their in-depth 

insights into the growing 3D metal printing 

business as well as thoroughly introducing 

the company’s new device. 

The company has also recently announced 

its latest Employee of the Month, with the 

honour bestowed upon Kirby, from the Admin 

Department. Kirby rejoined Print-Rite in July 

2017, having previously been with the 

company for nearly four years, between 

January 2012 and December 2015. Reasons 

given by her colleagues for her victory 

included her helpful approach, battling 

attitude “through the hard times”, and for 

being “the best dancer at our Christmas party!” 


27

Feature 

Winning a Second Generation 

MPS deal 

Recently a UK remanufacturer won an MPS deal with a local school to provide MPS services from April 2018. The 

conversation with the school started back in 2009, and the remanufacturer was recently awarded a five-year bespoke 

second generation MPS contract by the school. 

A 2G MPS programme is one the OEMs 

and their larger channel partners don’t 

want, or can no longer make money from 

and is an ideal opportunity for the 

aftermarket to develop and grow 

successful second generation (2G) 

programmes tailored to suit the 

customers’ needs. 

In the beginning 

Or how a one thousand pupil senior 

school migrated from an OEM 

programme to a 2G programme over 

nine years. 

Jane took over the school in the 

summer of 2008, at the height of the 

financial crisis and the priorities were to 

improve teaching outcomes, retain and 

develop teachers, increase the number 

of students and manage a budget that 

had a lot of pressures and ran into a 

deficit each year. Not least a growing 

backlog of building repairs and 

improvements, the need for new 

classroom computers and an increasing 

cost of printing. 

IT & Printing 

The school had two monochrome 

photocopiers that were at least ten years 

old and on a cost per page maintenance 

and consumables contract, and thirtyseven 

desktop printers. All owned by the 

school. 

Four of the printers were colour lasers, 

six were inkjet, and the rest were 

monochrome lasers. No more than three 

printers were of the same model, and 

their best guess was that they were 

printing about one million pages per year 

because they had bought nearly two 

thousand reams of paper in the last 

twelve months. They had a stock 

cupboard of cartridges, but never one for 

the printer that needed one. 

The school contacted several, local 

companies, including a local 

remanufacturer to bid on the contact. The 

remanufacturer offered to buy up the 

cupboard stock and supply 

consumables but declined to bid on the 

printer and IT requirements. In 2009, the 

school entered into a contract with an 

OEM channel partner to provide new 

computers for office and teaching use 

and an MPS programme to replace and 

upgrade the schools’ copiers and 

printers. The contract enabled the school 

to control their costs and move the 

IT/printer spend from the schools capital 

budget to the revenue budget, thereby 

freeing up some money for building 

repairs. 

The MPS contract was made up of 

the equipment leasing, equipment 

maintenance and the cost of 

consumables. At the time, their best 

guess was that they were printing about 

one million pages per year because they 

had bought nearly two thousand reams of 

paper in the last twelve months. 

The OEM channel partner 

recommended the following equipment: 

• 1 x A3/A4 70ppm multifunction colour 

printer (50,000 pages per month) 

• 2 x A4 40ppm multifunction monochrome 

printers (15,000 pages per 

month) 

• 10 x A4 10ppm colour printers (5,000 

pages per month) 

• 30 x A4 10ppm monochrome printers 

(5,000 pages per month) 


“ 

A 2G MPS programme is one the OEMs and 

their larger channel partners don’t want 

“ 

• Print server and MPS software. 

The equipment was delivered and 

installed, and generally, the contract 

worked well, but over the five years 

they observed: 

• The colour multifunction device was 

mission critical, and while they had 

next day onsite repair, the printer 

would often be down for 3 or 4 days 

waiting for parts. 

• The monochrome multifunction printers 

were not student proof and often 

jammed. When this happened to print 

server automatically routed print jobs 

to the colour multifunction printer. 

• The total number of pages printed 

declined by an average of 1.8 percent 

in the first three years and by 12 

percent year-on-year in the last two 

years. This was attributed to a new 

school website where notices were 

posted and emailed to parents and 

reduced the print demand. 

• The number of pages scanned to email 

increased 7 percent year-on-year. 

• The total pages printed over five years 

was 5,132,017 

Fast forward to 2014 

Fast forward to 2014 and the OEM 

channel partner was in touch to renew 

the contract. The school wanted to keep 

the existing printers because everyone 

was familiar with them and the school 

was expecting to see a significant 

reduction in costs as the equipment was 

now paid for and the programme would 

only need to cover maintenance and 

consumables. 

Analysis of the print data and service 

records the OEM channel partner was 

suggesting new equipment, but to 

reduce costs would provide fewer 

printers around the campus. Not 

something the staff and students wanted. 

The OEM’s justification was that ten of the 

forty printers were only printing 500 – 

1000 pages per month and it was 

uneconomical to support a used printer 

with that volume. Bear in mind that these 

printers had printed less than 60,000 

pages over the five years and were in 

good condition. The school’s in-house IT 


technician felt there was at least another 

three to four years of life in the printers. 

The school wanted to achieve to 

following goals: 

• A three-year programme, with the 

option to extend another two years. 

• Keep the existing printers and copiers 

• A next day maintenance programme 

• Green printing –reducing the amount 

of wasted paper, toner and ink and 

electricity and having a school-wide 

policy to duplex print in draft mode, but 

certain printers and copiers could print 

in quality print mode. 

• Reduce costs. 

The OEM channel partner offered an 

extension to the existing contract, but the 

school felt the costs were still too high 

and asked several companies to quote, 

including the local remanufacturer. 

The remanufacturer came in with the 

overall lowest price, offering to take over 

all the printers for maintenance and 

provide consumables, but didn’t make it 

clear in their proposal. Had they done so 

they would have got the contract. 

Instead, the current OEM channel partner 

came in with the lowest price compared 

to the other OEM backed bids. 

The new elements were the provision 

29

FEATURE: Winning a Second Generation MPS deal 

of a second multifunction colour printer, 

withdrawing one of the monochrome 

multifunction printers and dedicating 

the remaining one for student 

printing, leaving the printers in place 

on a consumables only basis. New 

print management software was 

installed to offer better printer and cost 

management. 

In the three years to August 2017, the 

school observed: 

• There were still issues with both 

multifunction colour printers, mainly 

from 3 or 4 day delay for parts. 

• All student allocated monochrome 

printers continued to experience 

operator issues (jammed). When this 

happened to print server automatically 

routed print jobs to the more expensive 

colour multifunction printers. 

• The total number of pages printed 

declined by an average of 11.1 

percent year-on-year. 

• More devices in the form of tables and 

phones were added to the network. 

• More staff and students joined the 

school. 

• There was no measurable impact from 

the green printing policy. 

• The number of pages scanned to email 

increased 12.3 percent year-on-year. 

• The total pages printed over three 

years was 3,036,384 

2017 

Fast forward to August 2017, and the 

school invites the OEM channel partner, 

the remanufacturer and three other OEM 

partners to bid for the new contract. Many 

of the printers were over eight years old, 

but only three were beyond economical 

repair. The big change for the school was 

the need to improve information security 

to comply with the new GDPR regulations 

and the need to invest in mobile and 

wireless technology devices and to have 

wireless printing for staff and students 

printing from their own devices: 

• A three-year programme, with the 

option to extend another two years. 

• Keep as many of the existing printers 

and copiers as possible. 

• Wireless printing 

• New equipment spend had to focus on 

wireless printing needs. 

• A next day maintenance programme 

• Green printing – reducing the amount 

of wasted paper, toner and ink and 

electricity and having a school-wide 

policy to duplex print in draft mode, but 

certain printers and copiers could print 

in quality print mode. 

• Reduce costs. 

The OEM channel partner 

approach 

The OEM channel partner recommended 

new equipment with enhanced security, 

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth printing on the 

devices. Maintenance and consumables 

on a cost per page basis. For the first 

time, the proposal included a charge for 

scanning as the OEM had seen the 

increase in the use of scanning 

documents to email and the school 

servers. 

The remanufacturers approach 

The remanufacturer took a different 

approach and focused on the new 

aspects of the school’s requirements. 

Namely the need to GDPR compliancy, 

wireless printing, and green printing. It 

seemed pointless to improve the green 

footprint on the one hand, while possible 

increasing the volume of printed pages 

and thereby increasing costs for the 

school. 

The first step was to identify the 

school's security needs. Collaborating 

with a local IT specialist, they developed 

a network plan that met the needs of 

school and student management, 

teaching resources and student 

requirements. 

Printer security was next on the list, 

and they identified a device that could be 

fitted to every printer requiring staff and 

students to identify themselves via a 

personal tag, student card or pin code to 

release and print their document from 

any printer they accessed in the school. 

The next step was to identify the best 

way to make wireless printing work with 

the existing printers. This best option was 

a Wi-Fi network exclusively for printing. 

Next, they looked at the document 

printing and scanning and the printer 

hotspots and areas of high demand and 

mapped our people flows though the 

school to determine the optimum 

placement of printers and multifunction 

devices. Their experience was to focus 

on one model of multifunction colour 

printer and one model of colour printers 


“ 

The big change for the school was the need to improve 

information security to comply with the new GDPR regulations 

“ 

that could use remanufactureable supplies 

and wherever possible, existing printers. 

The green printing requirements were 

achieved by reducing the number of 

printers in use, and fleet wide forcing the 

duplex printing and draft mode printing for 

students. 

Print management software was 

identified that would meet the needs of the 

contract and provided a range of 

additional features including “Pull Printing” 

that would print to the device you were 

using once you entered your pin. 

Printer maintenance and support 

weren’t so critical with the Pull Printing 

feature so could be easily provided by the 

remanufacturer by purchasing additional 

second user printers of the same models 

and doing a same day swap out. 

The first detailed presentation to the 

school was made in September 2017, and 

a follow-up presentation was made in 

October 2017. The contract was awarded 

to the remanufacturer in December and 

takes effect in April 2018. 

R 

2009 – 2014 2015 – 2017 2018 – 2022 

(5 years) (3 years) (5 years) 

Number of staff and students (per year) 1059 1090 1125* 

Number of devices (computers, mobile 117 342 1187* 

devices etc.) able to print on the network 

Total monochrome pages printed 4,368,225 1,057,186 1,806,788* 

Total colour pages printed 1,384,197 1,979,408 2,943,212* 

Average number of pages printed per year 1,150,484 1,012,198 950,000* 

Multifunction colour printer 1 2 8 

Multifunction monochrome printers 2 1 0 

Colour printers 10 18 12 

Monochrome printers 30 24 0 

Average number of pages printed per 125,836 98,970 47,500 

colour printer per year. 

Average number of pages printed per 136,507 42,315 0 

monochrome printer 

*Estimate / forecast 

Editors note: For commercial confidentiality purposes, we have anonymised the school 

and remanufacturer details and omitted the detail pricing information that was provided. 


31

Feature 

Positive signs in the MPS market 

A recent report and survey has found an optimistic landscape in the global MPS market, with 96 percent company 

satisfaction, and 65 percent expecting MPS budgets to increase over the next year. Together with colour print volumes 

rising, the report points to a healthy future for the market. 

A new report has been published by 

Quocirca, examining the current 

landscape for the global Managed Print 

Services market. The report is based on 

new research undertaken in June of this 

year, including a survey of businesses 

(those with over 500 employees) using 

MPS in the United Kingdom, France, 

Germany, and the United States. 

Quocirca states that MPS remains “the 

prime growth opportunity for print 

manufacturers and their partners”, such 

is the healthy state of the market, with 65 

percent of companies surveyed 

speculating that they expect their MPS 

budgets to increase over the next year. 

However, whilst large organisations are 

generally optimistic, only 18 percent of 

midmarket organisations are expecting a 

significant increase in MPS spending 

over the coming 12 months. Interestingly, 

whether it is ambition or optimism, 42 

percent of organisations in the US predict 

a significant rise in MPS spend; this is 

over twice the percentage of companies 

surveyed in Germany and the UK, less 

than 20 percent of whom foresee a great 

increase in spending on MPS. 

Why, then, are Managed Print Services 

still going from strength to strength? 

Quocirca attributes its ongoing appeal to 

multiple factors, notably “the continued 

reliance on paper-based business 

processes.” Of the companies surveyed, 

nearly half (48 percent) answered that 

paper is ‘very important’ to their daily 

business, although once again, the 

response was more enthusiastic amongst 

large companies (55 percent answered 

very important’) than midmarket ones (40 

percent); similarly again, 70 percent of 

companies in the US viewed paper as 

very important, more than double the 32 

percent of German companies. The 

results point to what Quocirca calls a 

“dependence on paper”, which it 

describes as “not only costly – both in 

financial and environmental terms – but 

also inefficient.” 

Alongside the paper dependency, 

Quocirca points to the continued 

increases in colour printing as a factor 

which is still driving the MPS market: “The 

availability of more affordable and 

sophisticated networked colour 

multifunction MFPs means that many 

organisations can produce high volume 

and high value colour documents inhouse, 

rather than using external print 

providers.” As the research company 

attests, high colour print usage can often 

cause escalating consumables costs, 

without an effective print policy, which is 

why the ongoing growth in colour printing 

“remains one of the top reasons” that 

companies turn to MPS. With 57 percent 

of organisations expect colour print 

volumes to rise over the next year, it 

points to continued health in the MPS 

market. 

Overall however, the research company 

found that service quality is “the toprated 

driver for MPS adoption”, with 

security and compliance the second and 

third most common answers, with cost 

reduction relatively far down the list for 

midmarket companies and overall, 

despite the precarious financial situation 

worldwide. 

Despite the continued reliance on paper, 

MPS is increasingly becoming desirable 

for companies in the midst of 

digitalisation, which offers suggestions 

as to what the future of the market will 

look like. According to Quocirca, many 

MPS providers “have enhanced their 

workflow automation products and 

services to address the needs of 

businesses of all sizes”, with companies 

beginning to appreciate the positive 

difference MPS can make to digital 

transformation – almost 90 percent of 

those surveyed believe MPS will be 

important for this reason over the next 

two years, with a further 70 percent 

believing it is already important. 

Quocirca suggest a key starting point for 

companies will be leveraging smart MFP 

technology for document capture and 

routing into enterprise systems; while 


“ 

Despite the continued reliance on paper, MPS is increasingly 

becoming desirable for companies in the midst of digitalisation 

“ 

smart MFPs can support the better 

integration of paper and digital 

workflows, it suggests “organisations 

need to ensure that MPS providers can 

offer broader business process 

expertise.” 

Looking again to the future, rather than 

just the present, the report highlights 

“the security imperative”, and the need 

for MPS providers to embrace 

innovation, in both technology and 

services, in response to the 

“constantly changing security threat 

landscape”; 60 percent of businesses 

report at least one case of data loss 

through insecure printing practices. 

With European Union General Data 

Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming 

into effect from May 2018, both MPS 

providers and their clients must ensure 

print security does not get overlooked. 

However, GDPR is a “complex topic to 

navigate, and few MPS providers will 

have the relevant expertise beyond the 

traditional approach to print security” – 

print security being just one facet of a 

slew of data protection measure 

involved in GDPR compliance. With 56 

percent of companies suggesting that 

compliance with the new legislation 

was a major goal, MPS providers must 

surely take that into account going 

forwards. 

Overall, the MPS market is in good 

health, thanks to the aforementioned 

factors, and satisfaction amongst 

clients is also “relatively high”, with 43 

percent ‘very satisfied’ and 53 percent 

‘fairly satisfied’. However, as the 

market progresses, there are certain 

aspects which must be looked at: One 

is security, as detailed above; another 

is global delivery, which Quocirca 

concedes can be “challenging and 

complex”, but says that “actual 

performance can vary widely by 

region” and that MPS too often fails “to 

deliver in the area of proactive 

collaboration and communication”. It 

describes this as essential if MPS 

providers wish to build a strong 

partnership with “increasingly 

demanding clients.” 

Another slight negative for the market 

is the comparatively low satisfaction 

rates amongst midmarket enterprises, 

compared to their larger counterparts, 

particularly with regard to solutions for 

digital transformation and cost 

reduction. Quocirca suggests this is 

due to larger companies being 

“potentially further along in their MPS 

engagements”. It further claims that it 

indicates the need for MPS providers 

to “deliver products and services to 

address the needs of midmarket 

enterprises” – the sector that seems 

the most neglected by the increased 

growth of the MPS market, and which 

must be remedied if the market is to 

continue in such a fine bill of health over 

the next two years and beyond. R 


33

Feature 

Happiness as a business 

owner – managing the 

life-work balance 

A survey of business owners in the UK found that 68 percent of business owners were happy with their work-life balance, 

but 21 percent had suffered a health issue from the stress related to running a business. The Recycler looked at the 

report to see what causes stress for business owners, why it does and how owners cope with balancing work and social 

lives. 

The report from Haines Watts, Back to happiness: the life of the 

business owner, looked at a “range of factors” including 

“government initiatives” and “whether owner-managers are 

managing to find a better life-work balance”, asking UK SMBs 

across all industries. These broke down into 12 percent in 

manufacturing, 13 percent in construction, 11 percent in 

wholesales and retail, and six percent in IT and communications. 

In terms of a geographical breakdown, the company saw 

respondents from: the West Midlands (29 percent); the South 

East (13 percent); the East Midlands (12 percent); London/M25 

(12 percent); Scotland (eight percent); the East of England 

(eight percent); the North West (seven percent); 

Yorkshire/Humber (six percent); the North East (three percent); 

the South West (one percent); and Wales (one percent). 

It noted that the report aimed to find out about owners’ 

“experiences of running an enterprise in the UK over the past 

few years”, and their “hopes for the future”, discovering in the 

pre-Brexit report that “while opportunities are appearing for 

businesses in every sector, businesses are still facing 

some critical challenges to their growth”, including “limited 

support from traditional lenders and a shortage of experienced 

middle managers to whom owner-managers can delegate dayto-day 

tasks”. 

Looking back and forward 

The survey followed up another similar survey from 2010, in 

which the company “explored the nature of being in business at 

a time when the recession was beginning to make its presence 

felt”, with that survey discussing the “hopes and aspirations, and 

the challenges that owner-managers faced at the time”. This 

covered how owners felt in the “day-to-day running of their 

businesses”, and at that time 50 percent of businesses saw 

“aggressive cost-cutting from competitors”. 

That report also asked business owners for views on a range 

of issues, such as whether the UK government “was supporting 

them through legislation and finance”, as well as “meeting the 

challenge of reassessing staffing levels”, whether they were 

“achieving work-life balance”, and if they were “planning an exit 

from their business”, with the findings that SMEs, while “critical 

to the British economy, were under tremendous pressure, facing 

challenges they had never before come across”. 

These included that one in four owners “were asked to provide 

personal guarantees to support their business”; that banks were 

“reducing access to credit”; that 22 percent “had to pitch for 

work on a zero-profit basis”; and that half saw “aggressive costcutting 

from competitors”. 21 percent of owners had suffered “a 

health issue caused by the stress of running their business in a 

recession” though 68 percent reported they were “happy with 

their work-life balance”. 

The second, more recent survey “revisited many of the 

themes”, in order to see how the owner-managers had “fared” in 

the time since”, and how the government had performed as well 

as their views on what the future held. This latest survey, taken 

in 2014, found that there were “still come challenges remaining 

from the financial crisis”, but that most were “beginning to pick 

up the pieces and look forward to growing their businesses with 

optimism and move into the future”. 

Haines Watts noted that “key business challenges” that were 

“most affecting businesses’ growth aspirations” were the first 

key point to note, exploring where SMEs “source credit and 

which taxes are seen as the most restrictive”, with 38 percent 

naming suppliers, 24 percent banks, and 18 percent others. Of 

the remainder, 13 percent sourced credit from family members, 

five percent from factoring or invoice accounting, and two 

percent from a loan company. 

In terms of restrictive taxes, 42 percent named corporation 

tax, while 27 percent named income tax, 17 percent valueadded 

tax (VAT), nine percent business rates, and five percent 

other taxes. 25 percent had experienced “reduced or restricted 

access to credit facilities” as a “result of the recession”, while 75 

percent had not; 37 percent had “experienced cash flow issues” 


“ 

At the time of the latest survey, SMEs remained 

‘the backbone of the British economy’ 

“ 

while 63 percent had not; and 24 percent had “brought in 

additional finance”, while 76 percent had not. 

This latest report also addressed the economic climate at the 

time – and as this was before the UK’s decision to leave the 

European Union, the findings are quite interesting. Many SMEs 

surveyed had noted that “there are many expected aspects of 

‘recovery’ that [they] are not yet enjoying”, with business life 

“challenging” in 2010, but under the coalition government in the 

UK, it was seen to be of “interest to see if a change in policy 

would impact on the day-to-day running of their business”. 

In 2010, many were “feeling the bite of the recession” and had 

to “instigate devastating cost-cutting exercises to win work”, with 

an “ever-tightening credit environment” and “increasing 

pressure from the import of products and services from regions 

of the world where labour was more affordable”. At the time of 

the latest survey, SMEs remained “the backbone of the British 

economy”, with 2013 seeing 4.9 million SMEs employing 24.3 

million people with a combined turnover of £3,300 billion ($/€). 

GDP had increased by 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 

2014, which “finally” passed the “pre-downturn peak from 2008”, 

and this was said to have been driven “by the services, 

production and construction sectors as well as stronger 

spending in households”. The report added that other statistics 

“used as indicators of economic health”, including 

unemployment, had showed a “promising change of direction”, 

but that these “should be viewed with care”. 

This was because “they hide the fact that while many people 

are finding employment, it is often through contracts with less 

favourable terms such as zero-hour contracts”, or as 

“freelancers or by setting up their own business, with all the risks 

that entails”. The 2014 outlook was “generally optimistic”, finding 

that 56 percent of UK SMEs were “family-run businesses”, and 

75 percent of owner-managers were “likely to be male”. 

However, such businesses “are not always longstanding”, and 

67 percent were first-generation, while only two percent were “in 

the family for five generations or more”. Many SMEs “still face a 

challenging marketplace”, and at the time were “looking forward 

to where future opportunities lie”, with 43 percent “concentrating 

their business efforts” in the UK as the “main focus” while the 

economic recovery “gathers pace”. 

17 percent were looking to “foreign markets”, while 19 percent 

were “looking to diversification of products and services” as nine 

percent were “considering crossing into another sector”, while 

six percent saw “acquisition of another business as their core 

focus for growth”. Tellingly given the referendum result, 58 

percent of SMEs at the time didn’t “feel they are reliant on the EU 

for the future success of their business”, with “just over a third” – 

36 percent – “somewhat reliant”, and only seven percent “very 

reliant” on the EU. 

Help and support 

In terms of business support, Haines Watts’ 2010 survey found 

SMEs “felt that government initiatives” in the UK, such as the 

“temporary reduction in VAT”, were “failing to help their 


business”, and only 14 percent said this had helped. By 2014, 

46 percent “thought the government had performed well in 

encouraging small and medium enterprises to thrive since 

2010”, but “some key areas emerged” in their feedback. 

In terms of “tax, financial support and HR [human 

resources]”, SMEs were “resilient”, with 28 percent – or “almost 

a third” – having “relied on some form of financial support, such 

as a grant, from the government in the past four years”. 

Additionally “other forms of support have seen less take-up”, 

with 19 percent having turned to the UK Trade and Investment 

(UKTI) body for help. Only eight percent used the Business 

Support Hotline and the Regional Growth Fund; while only 10 

percent used the Growth Accelerator; and only five percent the 

Enterprise Finance Guarantee. 

On tax, many SMEs that responded thought the UK 

government “could help them further simply by reducing the 

amount of bureaucracy across the board”, particularly by 

“simplifying the tax system”. On studying “which taxes affect 

owner-managers’ motivation to continue building their business”, 

the survey found 42 percent believed an increase in corporation 

tax would “have the most impact”, followed by 27 percent and 

17 percent for income tax and VAT respectively. 

Moving on to financial support, the report cited British Banking 

Association (BBA) statistics that showed £6.8 billion ($/€) was 

approved for borrowing in the first quarter of 2014, which was an 

increase of 10 percent on the same quarter in 2013. The 

government’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills 

(which has since been renamed), also launched a £400 million 

($/€) Business Bank Investment Programme “as part of its 

strategy to help SMEs grow”/ 

It was in the government at the time’s belief that “along with 

private investment helping to fill any gaps”, the programme 

would “continue to promote more lending opportunities to 

SMEs”, but in reality “SMEs cannot always find the lending they 

need to grow”. The survey in turn found that SMEs wanted a 

“more local approach to funding, rather than national, to 

stimulate their local economies”. 

35

FEATURE: Happiness as a business owner – managing the life-work balance 

It was in Haines Watts’ view that “the government has 

attempted to think creatively” through the ‘Big Society’ initiative 

that looked at charities and not-for-profit organisations to “fulfil 

vital services for the public”. Despite this, businesses had to 

“fulfil a dual role of meeting a social need as well as breaking 

even or making a profit”, with some commenting they “did not 

feel they received the support they needed”. 

The report moved next to discuss “kick-star business”, or 

start-ups, which respondents believed “received little support 

to ensure they made it past the fragile first wo years”, even 

though “this type of business remains a vital part of the SME 

mix, at a time when many people are finding permanent jobs 

harder to come by and are having to be flexible in the way they 

make a living”. 

On talent, Haines Watts added that “people are at the heart 

of every business”, and that “finding, recruiting and retaining 

the right talent is central to ensuring their business has the 

skills, experience and potential for future growth”. SMBs “feel 

the burden of complying with government employment 

legislation in a range of ways”, it noted, particularly “around 

changes to maternity and paternity leave, employment 

tribunals and apprenticeships”. 

It cited a 2013 Employment Law Panel Report by the Forum of 

Private Business, which found 45 percent of SMBs “felt that 

recent changes in laws around managing people would have an 

overall negative impact on the way they run their business”, but 

24 percent felt that the then-coalition government “was moving 

in the right direction”. 

Despite this, the survey found owner-managers were “still 

wrestling with legislation in some key areas”, including health 

and safety, employment law and pensions. The first of these 

should be a “core focus”, but “keeping up with the paperwork 

can be a burden”, while “knowing your responsibilities is not 

always easy when regulations are updated”, and the cost of 

getting “expert advice” can be a challenge “where there is no 

capacity for a full-time health and safety consultant”. 

On employment law, the aforementioned changes with 

maternity and paternity leave, recruitment flexibility and 

minimum wages were also “highlighted”, with SMBs needing to 

“think ahead to account for the impact this will have on their staff 

management”. Despite this, and the “challenges”, legislation 

“benefits the employee, and, when handled well, can help 

employees achieve better work-life balance and increase 

employee engagement”. 

Finally, on pensions, most “recognise that the way we save for 

our old age is changing”, and that employers “play an important 

role”, with some respondents feeling that “obliging” them to 

contribute “was beyond the government’s remit”. 

Work-life balance 

The 2014 survey also found that “despite the challenges”, 

running and SMB “is a positive experience”, with 84 percent of 

owner-manager recommending “running your own business to 

others”, but “managing your long-term health and happiness” is 

“vital to the future growth of your business and should continue 

to be a priority in your strategic planning”. 

35 percent of owner-managers found “the pressure of running 

a business adversely affected their relationship with their family”, 

while 25 percent said they have “experienced health problems 

as a result of running their business”, with impacts including that 

31 percent felt “staff [were] not managed as they should have 

been”; 28 percent felt a “product or service suffered”; and 17 

percent saw a “direct effect on the bottom line”. 

In terms of support, the company noted that “it’s important 

to find” support to “relieve some of the pressure of being 

a business leader and ensure you can be at your best”, as “it’s 

a lonely business at the top and finding people you trust to use 

as a sounding board to sense-check your key decisions can be 

a challenge”. 

22 percent of owner-manager turned to “other people in 

similar roles”, while accountants “seem to be the most common 

source of trusted advice” for 25 percent of respondents, with 

family following at 20 percent and “more junior staff” at 

16 percent. It must “become more acceptable” for owners to 

“stick more firmly to their standard business hours”, the report 

added, and “prevent business matters from creeping into 

personal time”. 

Asking how “this can be achieved in reality”, Haines Watt 

pointed out that “it’s important to establish a culture of work-life 

balance and for the leadership team to live this philosophy 

themselves”, because this “ensures a business makes full use of 

the skills and talents of its employees and finds people who they 

can be confident in delegating to”. 

Among its tips were that “as best practice”, owners should 

“ensure they get home to put the children to bed a couple of 

times a week”, restrict “the use of technology, such as checking 

emails, after 7pm”, and “get away for a break, even if it’s just a 

long weekend, at least every quarter”. The report also looked at 

middle management, with some owners realising “it’s time to 

recruit middle managers once again” to “take back some of the 

workload that has been absorbed”. 


“ 

With economy and market conditions in 2014 ‘changing quickly’, businesses 

were also told to ‘keep abreast of their customers’ evolving demands’ 

“ 

This in turn “free up the senior team with the time and energy 

to concentrate on business strategy instead of day-to-day 

paperwork”, with 65 percent of respondents stating that the 

“pressure of running a business” had not “adversely affected” 

their relationship or family life, compared to 35 percent saying it 

had. Finally, 75 percent had not seen “health problems [that] 

flared up or been caused” by running the business. 

What makes successful business owners? 

The report next moved on to look at what “makes a successful 

business owner-manager”, adding that “few have come 

through the experience of managing a business in a recession 

unscathed”, but “many useful lessons have been learned along 

the way”. The company’s 2010 survey had seen owners 

note that the “focus was on streamlining and making the 

business more efficient to cope with the more challenging 

business environment”. 

In turn, that earlier report had found that in terms of “range of 

approaches to strategic business planning”, 43 percent had a 

“one to two years budget/plan”, 37 percent had “no plan”, 17 

percent had a “two to five years full strategic plan”, and three 

percent had a “five or more years full strategic plan. 

The 2014 survey however found that “the kinds of skills and 

experiences which have been utilised […] can now take a 

business forward as a leaner, more efficient and commerciallyaware 

unit”, and owners “are now even more aware of essential 

business practices needed to steer a business through a 

challenging economic environment”. 

With economy and market conditions in 2014 “changing 

quickly”, businesses were also told to “keep abreast of their 

customers’ evolving demands”, because the recession had 

“made customers more discerning”, and businesses “must now 

adapt their business model from ‘survival mode’ to one which 

looks forward to growth”. Achieving this would require “being 

more flexible” and “keeping customer service at the heart of their 

strategy to achieve that important competitive advantage”. 

Also, it was said to have “never been more important that 

owner-managers take the time to concentrate on strategy and 

not be all-consumed with the handling of day-to-day tasks”. The 

survey’s finding included that owners were “acutely aware of 

these challenges”, with “key strategies” including “solving 

customer problems, not selling services or products to them”, as 

well as “working with clients, not for them”. 

Others consisted of “identifying their teams’ core strengths 

and skills and utilising them as a key asset”, as well as 

remembering “when at the top” that you should not be “afraid to 

turn to others for advice – using other’s people and knowledge 

and experience as you don’t know it all”. Owners also said “it’s 

important to remain fastidious and continue to do the preparation 

and research that has served all businesses so well in leaner 

times”, but also to “stay ahead of the curve” and “idenfity new 

opportunities, not stand still”. 


Conclusive findings 

The report concluded with a summary of the survey, noting that 

“while most SMEs [were] not yet experiencing the benefits of our 

recovering economy” at the time, many were “moving on from 

survival mode to concentrate on forward-looking growth 

strategies”, and key challenges included “keeping up-to-date 

with legislation on health and safety, employment law and 

pensions”, as well as “gaining access to funding”, a “work-life 

balance” and structuring to “allow leaders to work on strategy”. 

With the economy at the time “changing rapidly”, Haines 

Watts also noted that “more than a third of businesses” had “no 

strategic business plan in place”, with a key challenge 

“ensuring that owner-managers have the time, free of day-today 

operations, to concentrate on building the overarching 

business strategy that is essential for long-term navigation” of 

the “difficult environment”. 

It reflected that “the good news is that business-owners are 

aware of the challenges that they face in doing so, but this must 

not come at the cost of personal or workforce health”, and “with 

poor staff management and detrimental effect to a product or 

service being the most common consequences of health 

problems on a business, long-term health and happiness is not 

something to ignore”. 

For owner-managers, “leading by example is key in promoting 

a good work-life balance amongst employees”, and delegation 

“can mean that others are confident and prepared to take the 

reins should the need arise”. Some were “taking this a step 

further” by “recruiting middle managers to allow senior teams to 

focus on strategy”, but “skills-shortages” meant existing 

managers needed to “be relied on a little longer”, and “ensuring 

that they are happy and healthy” was “so important”. 

It concluded by noting however that “thankfully businessowners 

are not afraid to seek support from trusted sources, 

and are turning to staff, family and professionals such as 

consultants and accountants; often a fresh opinion can 

prove invaluable”. 

R 

37

Wide-Format Column 

Consider these (mostly) new 

Wide-Format printers 

New Large-Format printers have guarantees, are filled with ink and often have discounts on media used in 

them. Beyond that, there is usually some reassurance to buying something new, and for that reason, many 

people prefer it. 

There are some remarkable singlepass 

Wide-Format models on the 

market that shoot out prints with 

screaming speed, but at $40,000 

(€33,778) on up, those aren’t within 

the budget of most small businesses. 

The goal of most small businesses is 

to have wide-format printers that bring 

their outsourced Wide-Format printing 

in-house – not necessarily to have 

printouts in seconds. 

Most new or near-new printers from 

just about any manufacturer have 

features that are attractive. User 

interfaces that show progress of a 

print job in various ways are standard 

now, with many having touch screens 

similar to tablet computers. Wireless 

printing, even in the wide-format field, 

is gaining ground. Hard drives that 

speed printing are common, but 

absent in some printers. 

Ink that used to be in the CMYK 

format now has a multitude of flavors 

that can give subtle nuances to 

printing, giving the colours “pop” and 

making the print superbly realistic. 

Printers can print on paper, of course, 

but the multitude of materials that can 

be printed on even aqueous-based 

printers is expanding exponentially. 

Pigmented ink that is more waterproof 

than dye-based inks is increasing in 

availability 

Spectrophotometers are often builtin 

to help calibrate and also to 

automate processes specialized for a 

particular print job. Raster Image 

Processors that convert images or text 

are often furnished. Easy loading of 

media is the buzzword of the day. 

Easily-loaded media, with selfthreading, 

is a desirable and almost a 

universal feature. 

Epson SureColor P20000 Printer 

This 64-inch (162 cm) P20000 was 

introduced in 2016 with its brother, 

the 44-inch (112 cm) Epson 

SureColor P10000. At about $9,000 

now (€7,600), the larger-sized 

P20000 is not that far out of reach. If 

it is, the 44-inch SureColor P10000 is 

about $6,000 (€5,067). As with all 

Epson wide-format printers, its 

piezoelectric print head assures 

superb printing quality, up to 2,400 X 

1200 DPI. 

It has a 320-gigabyte print server 

(hard drive) and is compatible with 

Apple MacOS, Windows, including 

Windows 10. Its weight is 277 

pounds (171 kg). 

The ink is one of the major costs. 

Epson has UltraChrome PRO pigment 

inks for use in the printer and it is 

fussy about not using third-part 

cartridges. The P20000 printer uses 

10 inks in nine colours, and a set of 

110-milliliter cartridges are furnished 

with the new printer. The 700 – 

Epson SureColor P20000 Printer 

milliliter cartridges cost about $200 

(€167) each or $1,950 (€1,616) for 

a set. The printhead costs $2,525 

(€2,132). 

It will print up to 1.5-millimeter 

poster board. High-speed poster 

printing with coated media is 411 

square feet per hour (38 square 

meters/hr) four-pass and 273 square 

feet per hour (25 square meters/hr) for 

six-pass modes. On-demand photo 

and fine are at 209 square feet per 

hour (19 square meters/hr) For 24- 

pass exhibition quality, speed is 69 

square feet per hour (6.4 square 

meters/hr) 

The printer has a one-year warranty 

and comes with a catch basket, 

spindle free roll-media adapters, ten 

inks, ink maintenance tanks installed 

and software download information. 

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-6000 

For a newer printer, Canon U.S.A. 

introduced the 60-inch (152 cm) 

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-6000 in 


Tel: 01993 899800 • info@therecycler.com • therecycler.com 

late July 2017. As of December 

2017, the price on this aqueous 

printer was $9,400 (€7,938), down 

from $12,000 (€10,133) initially. 

Canon says it is the largest 12-ink 

printer currently sold, designed for 

digital and photographic artists, but its 

use by small businesses is assured. 

The printer can print from 17 inches 

(43 cm) to 60 inches (152 cm) It can 

print on glossy paper, matte paper and 

fine art textured paper and on other 

aqueous-compatible surfaces. It has a 

multifunction roll system standard that 

can be used as a second roll, allowing 

the loading of one type of media on 

each of two rolls and allowing you to 

switch media with no effort. The roll 

system can be a take-up unit and has 

bi-directional rewind capability for no 

interruption of print runs. 

It has a single print head, 1.28 

inches (3.25 cm) wide for the 12 

LUCIA PRO inks (eight colors), plus a 

Chroma Optimizer ink system to 

guarantee good output. It has a multisensor 

to calibrate the printer and 

guarantee consistency. The print head 

costs $400 (€338) and a set of ink jet 

cartridges cost $65-$89 each (€55- 

75) online. 

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO- 

6000 model comes with 330-milliliter 

starter ink tanks. Software included is 

Print Studio Pro, which plugs in to 

Adobe Photoshop, Canon Digital 

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-6000 

Photo Pro software and Adobe 

Lightroom. 

The printer has a 320-gigabyte 

hard drive standard. Wi-Fi connectivity 

is now standard with the 

imagePROGRAF PRO Series. Printing 

can also be done from a USB thumb 

drive by putting the thumb drive with 

the JPEG or PDF files into the USB 

port of the printer, previewing it on the 


39

Wide Format Column: Consider these (mostly) new wide-format printers 

operation panel, and printing without 

the use of a computer. 

The printer is compatible with Mac OS 

and Windows from 7 to 10. The L- 

COA PRO high-speed image 

processing engine in the printer 

provides reputed speeds of 294 

square feet per hour (27 square 

meters/hr). Its maximum DPI is 2400 

X 1200 DPI. 

The printer weighs 359 pounds or 

163 kilograms. 

HP DesignJet T830 24 and 36-inch printers 

HP DesignJet T830 24 and 36-inch 

printers 

If most of the wide-format printing 

done is under 36 inches (91 cm), 

then the HP DesignJet T830 24-Inch 

and 36-inch multifunction printers, 

introduced in 2017, provide printing, 

copying, scanning and sharing plans 

and drawings from a single device. 

The 24-inch T830 printer debuted at 

Autodesk University, Las Vegas, 

November 14-16. 

The price on the 24-inch (61 cm) 

printer is about $2,700 (€2,280) 

now and the 36-inch (91 cm) is about 

$5,500 (€4,644) on the low side. 

The printers do not have a hard drive, 

though they have 1 gigabyte RAM 

memory. In order to load paper on the 

back roll, the operator has to reach 

across the 25-inch depth (63.5 cm) of 

the printer to load it, but the selfthreading 

loading makes it easier and 

moving the 138-pound (63 kg) printer 

shouldn’t be necessary. 

The HP DesignJet T830 24-inch 

and 36-inch Multifunction Printers are 

the most compact large-format 

devices performing print/scan/copy 

functions based on height by width by 

length specifications published as of 

October, 2017. 

Speed is 82 “D”-sized prints per 

hour (“D” sized are 22 × 34 inches or 

86 by 56 centimeters, approximately). 

First print is out in 26 seconds. 

The cost of the four HP OEM ink 

cartridges is $309 (€261), but that 

entails a small, 69 millilitre black 

cartridge. For a 300 millilitere black 

cartridge and three 130 millilitre 

colour cartridges, the cost is $435 

(€367). The print head costs $382 

(€323). 

In another HP DesignJet product 

development, HP Click is offered with 

HP DesignJet T-series printers. The 

software doesn’t need a driver and 

offers one-click printing, plus multipage 

and “drag and drop” PDF 

printing, with a “real print” preview. 

The software optimizes media usage 

and costs. The software offers “drag 

and drop” multipage PDF printing and 

real-print preview, while optimizing 

media usage and printing costs. 

The touchscreen panel allows easy 

control of the printer’s functions, 

including scanning and copying to 

various computer devices. 

Other features include: 

• Using the scanner to make copies of 

originals for use in the field while 

preserving the master. 

• Copying sketches and handannotated 

drawings for immediate 

team distribution. 

• An HP Smart app to share scanned 

images with email contacts and 

posting to the “cloud.” 

• HP Click printing software for easy 

printing of project sets and PDF 

documents. 

• Flexibility to also print half-sized 

documents by using the A4/A3 

input tray. 

Wireless performance is dependent 

on physical environment and distance 

from access point. Wireless operations 

are compatible with 2.4 GHz 

operations only. Wireless broadband 

use requires a separately-purchased 

service contract for mobile devices. 

The operator can immediately share 

project meeting results to peers and 

partners. Wireless printing is enabled 

from smartphone, tablet or computer 

with Wi-Fi Direct and HP Mobile 

Printing. For local printing, HP says it 

requires a mobile device and printer to 

be on the same network (usually Wi- 

Fi access points bridge wireless-towired 

connections) or have a direct 

wireless connection. 

For more details on wireless 

operations, see http//www.hp.com/go/ 

designjetmobility. 

R 

Editor’s Note: Neal McChristy is a 

freelance writer with over 30 years 

journalism experience in magazine, 

newspaper and web-based work. He has 

been contributing editor for a magazine 

column in the wide-format industry for 

seven years. He also has 20 years’ 

experience as writer, editor and editorial 

contributor in the printing and 

imaging area. He likes to correspond with 

readers and can be reached at 

freelance9@cox.net. 


Retail Column 

Master Social Media in 2018 

If you have a competent website and ecommerce platform, you may find that it is just not 

attracting the number and quality of visitors you want - meaning people who buy! Just 

having a website is table stakes. Adding a URL to your business cards and receipts will 

not get people to visit your site the way that compelling offers and content will. In 2018, 

resolve to step into new social media platforms and connect to your target market in new 

ways. To get started, here are goals that will update your retail site with how people are 

using social media today. 

Flora Delaney 

Facebook remains the number one 

platform in Europe, followed by 

Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Reddit 

is a strong presence in some countries 

like Denmark and Norway where it is 

the second most popular platform. 

LinkedIn is the most popular site to 

reach business customers. At the very 

least, secure a business presence on all 

of those sites. You will score extra 

points if you do it using the same 

account handle (@onename) on every 

platform. 

At a bare minimum, your business 

needs a Facebook presence to connect 

with your audience by sharing original 

content and relevant links to other 

content. It is easy to create a post and 

schedule it with Facebook business 

pages natively (create the post with 

images or video or a URL and then 

select “schedule” from the blue 

“publish” button at the bottom right 

side of the post.) Or use a social 

media manager like Hootsuite or 

Buffer. 

A social media manager lets you 

create, schedule and post content to 

multiple sites from one platform – 

eliminating the need to log into 

separate sites like Facebook, then 

Twitter, then Instagram, then 

Pinterest, etc. Hootsuite is a good 

choice if more than one person will be 

creating and posting content as you 

can delegate tasks to other users and 

multiple people can log into the 

platform. Buffer is a simpler interface 

that is used primarily for scheduling 

posts. Proficient social media users 

can schedule a month’s worth of 

content on multiple platforms in just 

one 3-4 hour session. However, show 

good judgement in selecting content 

for each platform. Using the same 

post across every platform is called 

cross-posting and it doesn’t always 

work out well. For example, Instagram 

and Pinterest are visual content 

services so a post that is entirely copy 

will not serve you well on those 

platforms (and may cause your 

business to lose followers.) Another 

example is LinkedIn which is a 

business-only focused site where you 

should not post about your local 

soccer match, for example. 

To keep your content relevant, be sure 

to use a balanced blend of original 

and shared content to meet the needs 

of your target audience. For example, 

a video showing how to do simple 

maintenance on a laser jet printer 

(feed roller maintenance or how to 

empty a waste toner hopper) can be 

alternated with a notice you have 

received for a local business meeting 

or some other event that may hold 

your audience’s interest and showcase 

your connection to the local market. 

Here are five ways to upgrade your 

standard content and use proven 

social media tactics to stay connected 

with your audience in the new year. 

1) Begin to use Instagram stories 

With over 200 million people using 

Instagram stories, this is a better 

bet than Snapchat. Half of all 

Instagram business accounts are 

using Instagram stories today. 

Instagram stories are great for 

sequencing photos to tell a story. 

Perfect for “how-to’s” that show 

how to change a cartridge, clean 

print heads, increase dpi settings, 

etc. Even if it seems like a simple 

step that most people should know, 

there is something mesmerizing for 

people in watching the steps of a 

process. In fact, one of the most 

popular Instagram stories of 2017 


Tel: 01993 899800 • info@therecycler.com • therecycler.com 

was watching people cut kinetic 

sand with knives! Use the “tap to 

skip” feature to take one picture 

and add text to it three times to 

make it look like an animated story 

with just one picture. Here is an 

example: 

Photo: © socialsearchmobile.org 

2) Experiment with Twitter 

advertising 

Twitter had been behind Facebook 

in making advertising easy to 

create and target, but has made 

many improvements in 2017. It is a 

simple platform to master and is 

easy to manage with either 

Hootsuite or buffer. 

3) Create partnerships with 

influencers 

While influencers in the usual sense 

are models and movie stars who 

accept payment in return for 

wearing products in their posts, you 

can use the same concept to make 

cooperative content with other 

businesses or users. For example, 

create a “greener printing” 

campaign of content and work with 

a local environmental action group 

to repost your content. Or work 

with a local preschool to host a 

series of printable children’s 


activities that promotes your 

brands. Only consider this option 

when your brand is mentioned or 

your website hosts the content 

that will be linked in the post. It is 

a great way to micro-target 

potential customers with content 

they will like. You do not need to 

pay for the partnerships and access 

to their followers if you barter your 

services in return. It can be a lowcost 

way to reach a new audience. 

4) Participate in LinkedIn Groups 

LinkedIn Groups are the perfect 

place to build an online presence 

and reputation for smart, helpful 

advice. Find a local group that 

meets your target market (dentists 

in the UK or German accountants, 

for example). Then begin to 

participate when you have 

information that may be helpful 

and promotes your reputation as a 

smart business partner and 

advocate. Everyone needs printing 

and everyone has a certain level of 

uncertainty about whether they are 

using their printer correctly, 

extending their printing life and 

being as economical as they can 

be. Add helpful information that 

they can use on the job (printing in 

a b/w mode versus color for 

invoicing or alerting them to high 

peak usage times during tax 

season, for example, can give you a 

relevant reason to participate in 

the conversation. Use the platform 

to promote your customers’ 

businesses and ask them to do the 

same for you. 

5) Live stream 

Pull out that smart phone and live 

stream events to create visually 

exciting content. It can be as 

simple as unboxing something new 

from a vendor, demonstrating the 

difference in paper weight and 

gloss to create cards or posters 

using a colour printer or showing 

off your staff in their zany day-today 

world. Make it short and 

upbeat. Even 15 seconds is enough. 

Keep your audience entertained as 

much as you inform them and you 

will grow an audience that sees 

you differently from your 

competition. 

R 

Flora Delaney is a retail consultant and 

advisor to the remanufactured cartridge 

industry in the US. A seasoned retail 

executive, Flora’s clients benefit from 

her holistic approach and pragmatic 

solutions. Email flora@floradelaney.com 

to reach her. 

43

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 


GLOBAL Apex, Chips, Remanufacturing 

Apex launches new chips 

The company launched replacement chips for various OEM applications. 

The first announced new range of 

replacement chips are for use in the Brother 

LC3111/3213/ 3719 series. 

The chip is designed in Apex’s ASIC design 

and the company says the chips are 

identifying as Non-OEM cartridges in printer. 

Apex said this chip is “the first-to-market 

replacement chips solution for Brother 

LC3111/3213 series” that can be used in Japan 

and Europe for the A4 printers. 

Also, the solution for Brother LC3719 series 

that are used in the Middle East for A3 printers 

has been released. Now, the regions that this 

solution covers, include Europe, United 

States, Japan, Australia, Asia Pacific, and 

Middle East for A3 Printers. 

The chips released include replacement 

chips for use in Brother DCP-J972N, Brother 

DCP-J973N-W/B, Brother DCP-J572N, 

Brother MFC-J893N, Brother DCP- 

J772DW/J774DW, Brother MFC-J890DW/ 

J895DW, Brother MFC-J2330DW, Brother 

MFC-J2730DW, Brother MFC-J3530DW and 

Brother MFC-J3930DW. 

The second launch was a range of new 

replacement chips for use in Toshiba e- 

STUDIO 2303A/2309A/2809A series. 

Toshiba released a series of A3 Black & 

White and colour MFPs in 2012 and launched 

new models in 2016. Except for the basic 

functions of print, scan, copy and fax, this 

series MFPs has other functions like files 

storage, sorting, stapling, punching, etc. The 

print speed varies from 20ppm to 50ppm. 

The company released a new range of 

replacement chips in their SoC design that are 

for use with Toshiba e-STUDIO 2303A/ 

2309A/2809A, Toshiba e-STUDIO 2802A/ 

2802AM/2802AF, Toshiba e-STUDIO 2000A/ 

2500AC/2505AC, Toshiba e-STUDIO 5506AC/ 

6506AC/7506AC, Toshiba e-STUDIO 2505/ 

2505H/2505F, Toshiba e-STUDIO 257/307/ 

257s/307sd, Toshiba e-STUDIO 2006/2306/ 

2506/2307/2507, Toshiba e-STUDIO 2508A/ 

3008A/3008AG, Toshiba e-STUDIO 357/457/ 

357s, Toshiba e-STUDIO 457s/457s/507, 

Toshiba e-STUDIO 3508A/3508AG/4508 and 

Toshiba e-STUDIO 4508AG/5008A. 

The new generation of chips the company 

said: “Apex solution has a much stable 

performance. The new replacement chips can 

be worked at both the old and new 

manufactured machines.” 

Furthermore, Apex launched replacement 

chips for use in Epson 702XL/378XL series and 

HP CF500 series. 

Epson launched the 702/802 series ink 

cartridges and corresponding business inkjet 

printers WF-3720/WF-4720 in North America 

in April 2017. The 802 series cartridges have a 

bigger volume than the previous generation. 

In August 2017, Epson launched 378/202 

series ink cartridges and corresponding 

printers XP-8500/XP-6000 in Europe. The 

cartridge structure is the same as KUI series 

released in Japan and they have six colours 

and five colours. The printers in this series 

have a smaller size. 

Apex’s first announcement is for “first-tomarket” 

ASIC designed replacement for use in 

Epson 378XL/202XL/702XL/802XL cartridges. 

The chips are for use in Epson Expression 

Photo XP-8500, Epson Expression Photo XP- 

8505, Epson Expression Premium XP-6000, 

Epson Expression Premium XP-6005, Epson 

WorkForce Pro WF-372, Epson WorkForce WF- 

4720/WF-4730 and Epson WorkForce WF- 

4734/WF-4740. 

The second release was for replacement 

chips for use in the HP CF500 series. 

HP released a new series of Colour LaserJet 

printers in September 2017. The cartridges in 

the printers in this series have a smaller size 

and faster printing speed. The print speed is 

up to 21ppm. The new generation cartridge 

combines the drum and toner into one 

cartridge, as well as its smaller size it uses the 

new ColorSphere3 toner. 

The “first-to-market” SoC design 

replacement chips are for use with the HP 

CF500 cartridge series and are for use in HP 

Colour LaserJet Pro M254/M254dw/254nw, HP 

Colour LaserJet Pro MFP M281cdw/ 

281fdn/281fdw/280/280nw, HP Colour LaserJet 

Pro M254/M254dw/254nw, HP Colour LaserJet 

Pro M154 and HP Colour LaserJet Pro MFP 

M180/180n/M181/181fw. 

And finally the company announced the 

launch of replacement chips for use in Ricoh 

SP 5200DN/C435DN/C2551. The chips are in 

the company’s ASIC design. 

Replacement chips released include chips 

for use in Ricoh SP C435DN, Ricoh Aficio MP 

C2010/C2030/C2050/C2530/C2550, Ricoh 

Aficio MP C2010/C2030/C2050/C2051, Ricoh 

MP C2051/C2551, Ricoh Lanier LD620C/ 

LD625C, Ricoh Savin C9120/C9125, Ricoh 

Lanier LD520C/LD520CL/LD520CSPF, 

LD525C/LD525CSPF/LD620C/LD625C, Ricoh 

Aficio MP C4000/C5000, Ricoh Lanier 

LD540C/LD550C, Ricoh Savin C4040/C5050, 

Ricoh Aficio MP C4501/C5501, Ricoh Lanier 


Ricoh Aficio MP C4000/C4000SPF/ C4501/ 

C5000/C5000SPF/C5501, Ricoh Lanier 

LD540C/LD550C/LD645C/LD655C, Ricoh 

Savin C4040/C5050/C9145/C9155, Ricoh SP 

C440DN/SPC430DN/SPC431DN, Ricoh SP 

5200DN/SP5210DN/SP5200S/SP5210SR, Ricoh 

SP C810/C811, Ricoh SP C821/C820, Ricoh MP 

C401SP/C401ZSP/C401SRSP/C401ZSRSP, Ricoh 

MP C300/C300SR/C400/C400SR, Ricoh imagio 

MP C5001it/C4001it/C4001RC/C2801RC, Ricoh 

Aficio MP C2000/C2500/C3000, Ricoh 

Gestetner DSC520/DSC525/DSC530, Ricoh 

Lanier LD420C/LD425C/LD430C/LD430CSPF, 

Ricoh Savin C2020/C2525/C3030, Ricoh Aficio 

MP C3500/C3500SPF/C4500/C4500SPF, Ricoh 

Gestetner DSC535/DSC545, Ricoh Lanier 


Ricoh Aficio MP C2800/C3300, Ricoh Aficio MP 

C3501/C3001 and Ricoh Aficio MP 

C3501/C3001/C2800/C3300. 

Also announced were replacements chips 

that are coming soon which are for use in 

Ricoh Aficio MP C2010/C2030/C2050/C2051, 

Ricoh Aficio MP C2530/C2550/C2551, Ricoh SP 

C810/C811, Ricoh SP C821/C820, Ricoh Pro 

C651EX/Pro C751/Pro C751EX and Ricoh 

Pro C901. 

Apex commented that it “now offers 

replacement chip solutions for about 95 

percent of Ricoh’s products. Apex is working 

to provide a more stable and comprehensive 

solution to the global customers. Please stay 

tuned for more new models.” 

For more information, visit 

www.apexmic.com. 




EUROPE wta, Cartridges, Remanufacturing 

wta launches new products 

The German remanufacturer has launched remanufactured toner cartridges and drums for 

several OEM applications. 

Released were remanufactured cartridges for use 

in Kyocera ECOSYS M2135DN, 2635DN/DNW, 

2735DW, ECOSYS P2235DN/DW and Olivetti PG 

L2535. These cartridges come with a page yield of 

3,000 as per ISO 19752 standard. 

Furthermore the Kyocera ECOSYS range was 

extended with monochrome remanufactured 

toner cartridges for use in Kyocera ECOSYS P2040 

which come with a page yield of 7,200, 

remanufactured toner cartridges for use in 

Kyocera ECOSYS M2040, 2540, 2640 with a page 

yield of 7,200, remanufactured toner cartridges for 

use in Kyocera ECOSYS P3045DN, 3050DN, 

3055DN, 3060DN with a page yield of 12,500, 

remanufactured toner cartridges for use in 

Kyocera ECOSYS P3050DN, 3055DN, 3060DN with 

a page yield of 15,500, remanufactured toner 

cartridges for use in Kyocera ECOSYS P3055DN, 

3060DN with a page yield of 25,000 and a CMYK 

set of remanufactured toner cartridges for use in 

Kyocera ECOSYS P7040CDN with page yields of 

16,000 for the black and 12,000 for the CMY 

cartridges. 

The Dell range was extended with a CMYK set 

of remanufactured toner cartridges for use in Dell 

E525W with page yields of 2,000 for the black and 

1,400 for the CMY cartridges and a CMYK set of 

remanufactured cartridges for use in Dell 

7130CDN with page yields of 19,000 for the black 

and 20,000 for the CMY cartridges. 

The Xerox range was extended with a CMYK set 

of remanufactured toner cartridges for use in 

Xerox VersaLink C400DN/N, C405DN/N 7130CDN 

with page yields of 10,500 for the black and 8,000 

for the CMY cartridges, monochrome 

remanufactured toner cartridges for use in Xerox 

Phaser 3252, 3260, WC 3215, 3225/DNI, 

WorkCentre 3215,3225/DNI with page yields of 

3,000, remanufactured drum units for use in Xerox 

Phaser 3252, 3260, WC 3215, 3225/DNI, 

WorkCentre 3215, 3225/DNI with a page yield of 

10,000 and a CMYK set of remanufactured toner 

cartridges for use in Xerox Phaser 

7500DN/DNM/DNZ/DNZM/DT/DTM/DX/DXM/N/N 

M with page yields of 19,800 for the black and 

17,800 for the CMY cartridges. 

wta also extended its Utax range with a CMYK 

set of remanufactured toner cartridges for use in 

Utax P-C3060MFP, 3061DN, 3065MFP, Triumph 

Adler P-C3060MFP/3061DN/3065MFP with page 

yields of 7,000 for the black and 5,000 for the CMY 

cartridges and a CMYK set for use in Utax P- 

C3560DN/MFP, 3565MFP, Triumph Adler P- 

C3560DN/MFP, 3565MFP with page yields of 12,000 

for the black and 10,000 for the CMY cartridges. 


Furthermore the Brother range was extended 

with remanufactured toner cartridges for Brother 

HL-L5000, MFC-L5700 and more. 

The remanufactured monochrome toner 

cartridge is for use in Brother HL-L5000D, 

5100DN/DNT/DNTT, 5200DW/DWT, 6250DN, 

6300DW/DWT, 6400DW/DWT/DWTT, DCP- 

L5500DN/6600DW, MFC-L5700DN/DW/5750DW, 

6800DW/DWT and 6900DW/DWT. The cartridge 

comes with a page yield of 8,000. 

Recently, the company launched: 

remanufactured cartridges for use in Ricoh, Oki, 

Xerox Phaser, refilled Canon Maxify ink cartridges, 

remanufactured cartridges for Canon, OKI, Xerox 

and Canon refilled ink cartridges Brother and HP; 

remanufactured Xerox cartridges; Canon 

cartridges; remanufactured HP Inc and Samsung 

cartridges; remanufactured HP Inc and Kyocera 

cartridges; remanufactured Samsung and Ricoh 

cartridges; and remanufactured Samsung, Kyocera 

and Canon toners. 

Last year, it launched: remanufactured Canon 

toners; remanufactured Konica Minolta toners; 

remanufactured Ricoh cartridges; inkjets for the 

Canon PIXMA IP 2850; remanufactured cartridges 

for the Colour LaserJet Enterprise M552DN and 

553DN/N/X; a range of Kyocera replacements; 

replacements for OKI printers; Canon and Brother 

replacements; and also released a remanufactured 

Xerox cartridge. 

For more information, visit www.wta-suhl.de or 

www.mygreentoner.de. 

NORTH AMERICA Sharp, Alexa, 

Printers 

Sharp is first 

MFP provider 

to adopt Alexa 

Sharp Imaging and Information 

Company of America (SIICA) 

announced this week that it is 

now working with Amazon Web 

Services and Alexa for Business. 

The company is the first multifunction 

printer (MFP) provider to 

incorporate Alexa for Business 

through Amazon Web Services. 

Alexa for Business is a new 

service that enables businesses and 

organizations to bring Amazon 

Alexa into the workplace to help all 

types of workers be more 

productive and organized on both 

personal and shared Amazon Echo 

devices. In the workplace, shared 

devices can be placed in common 

areas for anyone to use, and 

workers can use their personal 

devices to connect at work and at 

home. 

As the first and only MFP provider 

working with Alexa for Business 

today, Sharp states that it is 

providing key capabilities to 

customers by working with the 

service designed specifically for 

business. Integrating with Alexa for 

Business will allow Sharp’s 

customers to interact through 

simple, verbal commands with their 

Sharp Digital MFPs and the rest of 

the Sharp B2B portfolio, including 

AQUOS BOARD interactive display 

systems. This will improve overall 

usability while minimizing the 

necessity for product-specific 

training. 

“We are excited to be the first 

MFP provider working with Alexa 

for Business,” said Vince Jannelli, 

Associate Vice President, Software 

Product Management, Sharp 

Imaging and Information Company 

of America. “This feature is an 

important step in bringing Sharp’s 

vision for an open, smart workplace 

to life, providing greater value to 

our business customers.” 

45



EUROPE Uninet, Remanufacturing, 

Cartridges 

New products 

launched by 

Uninet 

The company has launched 

Absolute Colour toner, 

replacement cartridges and 

components for use in Toshiba 

E Studio colour printer series, 

Absolute Black toner formula, 

replacement cartridges and 

components for use in Samsung 

ProXpress SLM 4580 MFP printers 

and toner developers for use 

in the most popular Ricoh 

Aficio models. 

The first launch was a black toner 

cartridge for use in in Toshiba E 

Studio 4520C, 3530C, 3520C, 2830C, 

2820C, 2330C colour printer series 

with a page yield of 29,000, and 

colour cartridges with a page yield 

of 24,000 pages. 

UniNet also launched Absolute 

Black toner formula, replacement 

cartridges and components for use 

in Samsung ProXpress SLM 4580 

MFP monochrome printers. 

The monochrome toner 

cartridge comes with a page yield of 

40,000. 

And finally UniNet unveiled toner 

developers for use in Ricoh Aficio 

models such as 2020, 2018, 2016, 

2015, MP 9002, 8000, 7500, 6500, 

5500, 4500, 3350, 2552, 2500 / MP 

5002, 5001, 5000, 4500, 4002, 4001, 

4000, 3500 and 1515, MP 301, 201, 

171, 161 and much more. 

For more information, please visit 

www.uninetimaging.com. 

GLOBAL Ninestar, Tonerdumping, Cartridges 

Ninestar release new cartridges 

The company announced the launch of a new range of replacement inkjet cartridges for the 

Epson 202/378 cartridge series and replacement cartridges designed for use in the Brother 

LC3211 and LC3213 entry-level inkjet printers. 

Ninestar announced their new “patented inkjet 

cartridges” for the Epson 202/378 cartridge series. 

Ninestar’s new releases come with Gloria highend 

dye ink and they offer “delicate colour 

printing performance” and a “wider gamut” to 

meet customers’ home photo printing 

requirements. 

The 202 series of replacement cartridges are for 

use in the Epson Expression Premium XP- 

6000/6005 and are available as standard or XL. The 

black cartridges for the 202 model comes with a 

page yield of 400 in the standard and 550 pages in 

the Xl version. The CMY cartridges have page 

yields of 300 in the standard and 650 pages in the 

XL version. 

The T378 series of replacement cartridges is for 

use in the Epson Expression Photo XP-15000, XP- 

8500 and XP-8505, these are also available in 

standard and XL.The black cartridges come with a 

page yield of 240 pages in standard and 500 pages 

in XL. The CMY cartridges come with a page yield 

of 360 in standard and 830 in XL. 

Also released were new replacement cartridges 

designed for use in the Brother LC3211 and 

LC3213 entry-level inkjet printers. 

According to TONERDUMPING, Ninestar 

G&G’s exclusive German retailer, the new Brother 

ASIA CET, Supplies, Parts 

CET launches new Xerox 

compatible products 

The Chinese-based supplier has unveiled a 

new range of products for use in Xerox 

devices, including fixing film and antistatic 

resistors. 

compatible printer cartridges use pigmented 

Everbrite ink for the black cartridges and Gloria 

dye inks for the colour cartridges. 

Ninestar say that as a result, the black cartridges 

are particularly suited for text printing on plain 

paper, while the colour cartridges are ideal for 

photo printing on photo paper. 

The page yield for both black and colour NP-B- 

3213BK cartridges is OEM equivalent, at 400 pages, 

while the smaller capacity NP-B-3211BK cartridge 

offers a page yield of 200. 

For more information, visit www.tonerdumping.de 

or www.ggimage.com. 

There are five new products in total, all of 

them tested and evaluated in CET Group’s 

R&D laboratory. 

There is an Upper Roller Bushing, a 

Thermistor, an Upper Fuser Roller, Fuser 

Fixing Film (Japan) and a Fuser Anti- 

Static Resistor. All items have been 

designed for use in the Xerox Phaser 

3610DN/3610N and the Xerox WorkCentre 

3615DN/3655S/3655X. 

For more information, visit 

www.cetgroupco.com. 




NORTH AMERICA Lexmark, RFID, Printing 

Lexmark debuts RFID laser printing solution 

This new custom solution will allow manufacturers to print, program and customise RFID labels and tags from a single MFP device. 

Lexmark International Inc. has announced the 

release of Lexmark Radio Frequency 

Identification (RFID) Laser Printing for 

Manufacturing, a custom solution that 

combines the power of Lexmark electronic 

forms, colour print and specialty media 

capabilities into an all-in-one label and RFID 

colour laser multifunction printer (MFP). 

The solution helps eliminate the risk of 

mismatches between RFID tags and labels and 

consolidates device management into one 

robust and reliable RFID-capable colour MFP. 

“RFID is a proven technology to help 

manufacturers maximize process efficiencies,” 

said John Linton, industry director, 

Manufacturing/Distribution. “Work-inprogress, 

logistics, yard management and 

document archiving are all typical areas where 

the radio nature of RFID helps overcome the 

line of sight challenges encountered with 

barcodes and visual labels.” 

RFID Laser Printing for Manufacturing 

allows customers to: 

• Reduce labour costs: Significantly reduce 

time employees spend manually tracking 

work-in-progress. 

• Eliminate reworks: Keep contents and 

packages in sync, eliminating potential 

rework and incorrect product shipments. 

• Improve inventory management: Increase 

the accuracy of inventory saving time 

counting inventory. 

Lexmark’s RFID Laser Printing for 

Manufacturing also has many benefits that 

other RFID printing devices do not, 

including: 

• Simultaneous high-resolution printing and 

programming on large forms: Using a single 

print task, documents up to legal-size, can 

be printed at up to 1200 dpi and 

programmed simultaneously, preventing a 

mismatch between the human readable 

label and the RFID tag. 

• Colour printing: Text, barcodes and 

graphics can be printed in full colour to 

make labels easier to read and instantly 

distinguishable by a yard or line worker 

sighting the form from a distance. 

• Multifunction capabilities: The RFID feature 

works with a multifunction device that 

supports printing, copying, faxing and 

scanning while also enabling label printing 

and RFID tag programming on a single 

device. 

• Complex media support: Lexmark products 

have the ability to print on a wide range of 

media on sizes from 4” x 6” up to 8.5” x 14” 

including labels, card stock, plain paper, 

and outdoor media. 

Lexmark manufacturing customers, 

including 70% of the top 60 manufacturers 

around the world, rely on the rugged, 

industrial design of Lexmark devices that are 

used in a wide range of environments and 

extreme conditions. 

“Lexmark has worked closely with global 

manufacturing companies for 25 years,” said 

Allen Waugerman, Lexmark senior vice 

president and chief technology officer. “RFID 

Laser Printing for Manufacturing is the latest 

in Lexmark’s broad offering of industryspecific 

workflow solutions and applications 

that help streamline manufacturing 

operations.” 

Hubei DingLong Co., Ltd 

Contact us: Tel: +86-27-59596631 Tel: +44 1293 783904 Fax: +86-27-59881614 

e-mail: yxd@dl-kg.com, ianc@dl-kg.com 

No1 Dongjing-River Road WETDZ, Wuhan China430057 www.dl-kg.com 


47


ASIA UTEC, Parts, Supplies 

UTec releases 

monochrome 

compatible drum unit 

The company has announced the arrival of 

a new monochrome compatible drum unit. 

Via LinkedIn, UTec revealed the release of its 

new monochrome compatible drum unit, 

which has been designed for use in the 

following devices: 

Brother DR-1050,1060,1070,1000, 1035 and 

1090 printers. 

The drum unit is also compatible with 

Brother HL-1110/1110E/1110R/1112/1112A/ 

1112E/1112R/1210W/1212W, DCP-1510/ 

1510E/1510R/1512/1512A/1512E/1512R/1610W 

/1612W/1615NW/1616NW, MFC-1810/1810E/ 

1810R/1815/1815R/1910W/1911NW/1915W 

(Worldwide except China), Brother HL- 

1118/1208, MFC-1813/ 1818,DCP-1518 (CN), 

Lenovo Lenovo S2001/S1801/M1840/ M2040/ 

F2070/F2071H (CN) and Fuji Xerox DocuPrint 

P115b/M115b/ M115f/M115fs (TW/AU). 

For more information please contact 

www.union-tec.com. 

ASIA Gikar, Cartridges 

Gikar releases new 

Brother compatible 

cartridge 

The Chinese company has launched a 

new compatible cartridge for use in 

several Brother devices. 

The compatible toner cartridge TN2460/ 

TN2480 has been designed for use in Brother 

DCPL2550DW, HLL2375DW, MFCL2715DW, 

and MFCL2750DW printer models, with both 

cartridge models offering a page yield 

equivalent to the OEM, according to Gikar. 

The code for these cartridge models differs 

according to region. In Australia, the code is 

TN2430/2450, in Asia, the code is 

TN2460/TN2480 and in America, the code is 

TN770/TN760/TN730. According to Gikar, 

regardless of the code, the cartridge models 

can be used in the same printer models. 

For more information visit 

www.gikar.com.cn. 


NORTH AMERICA Kyocera, Printers, MFPs 

Kyocera expands its ECOSYS 

MFP range 

Kyocera Document Solutions America, Inc. has announced the release of four new 

devices in its ECOSYS MFP range, designed for workgroups and small offices. 

As The Imaging Channel 

reports, these new devices 

have been tailored for 

small businesses “looking 

for superior functionality in 

a smaller footprint.” 

The ECOSYS M8130cidn 

and ECOSYS M8124cidn 

both print in vivid colour, 

while the ECOSYS 

M4132idn and ECOSYS 

M4125idn offers “crisp” 

black and white. 

“The beauty of these 

devices is where they fit in our full line-up,” says 

Douglas Cole, Director of Product Marketing, 

Corporate Marketing Division for KYOCERA 

Document Solutions America. “They’re the 

perfect upgrade for offices that can no longer 

get by with basic desktop printers – offices that 

need more functionality and more printing 

options, but don’t have unlimited floor space. 

These ECOSYS MFPs are the answer.” 

These latest models are also ideal for most 

budgets, “offering a competitively low Total Cost 

of Ownership” which is “a benefit for businesses 

of every size.” 

These ECOSYS MFPs provide print, copy, 

scan, and optional fax with the following 

benefits: 

• Scalable Paper Handling – The 11”x17” 

handling capability of these devices will be a 

NORTH AMERICA LMI, Cartridges 

The remanufacturer has launched four new 

remanufactured cartridges, for use in the 

Xerox WorkCentre 6655. 

The products released are remanufactured 

print cartridges X665B, X665C, X665Y and 

X665M, which are all compatible with the 

Xerox WorkCentre 6655 laserjet printer. 

These cartridges have a print speed of 

up to 36ppm and offer an OEM equivalent page 

yield of 12,000 (mono) and 7,500 (colour). 

To find out more, visit www.lmisolutions.com. 

major advantage to offices 

previously limited to letter 

and legal size maximums of 

most desktop models. 

• Mobility – For a workforce 

on the go, these devices 

can be customized with 

mobile print and scan 

capabilities, as well as Near 

Field Communication (NFC) 

printing from smart devices. 

• Speed – The ECOSYS 

M8130cidn color MFP offers a 

print speed of up to 30 PPM, 

with the ECOSYS M4132idn black and white 

device at 32 ppm. 

• Advanced options – Both the ECOSYS 

M8130cidn and ECOSYS M4132idn feature a 

7” color touch screen with intuitive navigation 

and operation, a 500-sheet optional advanced 

finisher, and up to 1200 x 1200 dpi print 

resolution (ECOSYS M8130cidn Series). 

Because “time spent on maintenance is a 

concern for every office”, these MFPs feature 

Kyocera’s Simple Management & Replacement 

Technology, or SMARTech, a modular design 

concept for easy-to-perform maintenance and 

service carried out by an Authorized Kyocera 

Reseller, or in some instances, even the endusers 

themselves. SMARTech reduces many 

maintenance tasks to a few quick, simple steps, 

keeping downtime to a minimum. 

LMI Solutions releases Xerox 

compatible products 




AUSTRALASIA Brother, Printers, SMBs 

Brother Australia targets new printer series at SMBs 

The OEM’s Australian subsidiary has released a new line of printers developed to offer uncompromised print speeds, affordability and 

reliability for SMBs. 

“Today’s home and small business users 

demand greater productivity and reliability – 

all while keeping running costs low. With 

Brother’s latest Compact Monochrome Laser 

range, they won’t have to compromise,” 

explains Stefanie Dixon, Marketing Manager 

(Small-Medium Business), at Brother 

Australia. “With fastest in its class print speeds, 

cost-saving innovations and user-friendly 

mobile printing capabilities, this series 

delivers a compelling blend of cutting-edge 

features and renowned Brother reliability that 

they can depend on for years to come.” 

This new series features five Multi-Function 

Centres (MFCs) (MFC-L2750DW, MFC- 

L2730DW, MFC-L2713DW, MFC-L2710DW and 

the Print, Copy, Scan model HL-L2395DW) and 

two monochrome laser printers (HL-L2375DW 

and HL-L2350DW). 

Performance and enhanced features for this 

new series include: 

• Uncompromised Print Speed - Fastest in 

its class print speeds of up to 34 ppm 

• Uncompromised Reliability - PC 

Magazines Readers’ Choice award winner 

for nine years in a row, Business Choice 

award winner for five years in a row scoring 

NORTH AMERICA Epson, Printers, MFPs 

Epson America today announced the 

expansion of its corporate colour inkjet line 

of printers with the new WorkForce 

Enterprise WF-C17590, which offers 75 ISO 

ppm. This device has been designed to give 

consumers and dealers “another affordable 

colour option alongside the 100 ISO ppm 

WorkForce Enterprise WF-C20590. 

The WF-C17590 is powered by 

PrecisionCore Line Head Technology and 

offers “high-speed production and 

professional-quality output to meet the 

productivity and versatility needs of SMB and 

corporate workgroups.” 

“Epson has always valued its channel 

partners, making it a point to listen and 

implement their feedback when possible. In 

fact, we expanded our high-speed colour line 

head printer portfolio to enable partners to 

offer the range of printing solutions required 

to stay competitive,” said Larry Trevarthen, 

the highest in overall customer satisfaction 

and reliability, as well as likelihood to 

recommend. Made robust with 

hardwearing materials, this range provides 

uncompromised performance every time 

• Uncompromised Ease - Easy to setup and 

easy to use in just minutes 

• Uncompromised Affordability - With 

optional high-yield toners available (up to 

3,000 pages), this range is cost effective to 

operate and efficient to run 

• Uncompromised Precision - Advanced 

laser technology delivers the crispest and 

sharpest resolution resulting in unbeatable 

results for business 

director of business imaging, Epson America, 

Inc. “In addition, we continue to innovate 

with independent software vendors to ensure 

compatibility in nearly any document 

management environment for seamless office 

workflow and enhanced productivity.” 

Epson also revealed that it “has expanded 

its print management options with solution 

partners through the Epson Open Platform 

(EOP), a flexible and customisable program 

that allows ISVs to meet specific and 

changing customer requirements as business 

goals and enterprise IT systems evolve. 

Through Epson’s partnership with Nuance 

Communications, Inc., Nuance eCopy 

ShareScan and Equitrac Office/Express 

software will be fully integrated into the 

WorkForce Enterprise printer portfolio. 

Additional partners available through the 

EOP program include PaperCut, RingdaleÒ5, 

nddPrint, Preo Analytics, Gespage, and Drivve 

• Uncompromised Paper Handling - 

Spend less time loading paper with the 250 

sheet default paper tray and automatic 2- 

sided (duplex) printing on all models as 

well as scan documents with ease with the 

50 sheet Automatic Document Feeder 

(ADF) on the MFC models 

• Uncompromised Quietness - At only 49 

dB, this range is the quietest in its class and 

doesn’t comprise on speed or quality 

• Uncompromised Size - All models have a 

small footprint allowing for more desk 

space 

• Uncompromised Connectivity - To 

ensure performance at the highest 

productivity levels, this range provides 

cloud and mobile accessibility via 

iPrint&Scan, AirPrint, Google Cloud Print 

2.0 and Mopria as well as easy WiFi set up 

and connectivity 

• Uncompromised Support – Brother 

states it is is “always at your side with our 

free Australian-based product support for 

the lifetime of the product so you can be in 

business for the long-haul.” 

For more information, please visit 

www.brother.com.au. 

Epson expands corporate colour inkjet line 

The OEM has added a new device to its line of WorkForce colour A3 MFPs, ensuring cost-effective colour printing for SMBs and the 

corporate market. 

for seamless integration with web-based 

enterprise applications.” 

The new WorkForce Enterprise WF-C17590 

colour MFP is designed to not only deliver 

“fast speeds” but to offer a high-quality 

output. It uses up to 50 percent less power 

than laser printers, “keeps operating costs in 

check and supports convenient print 

management solutions.” The printer allows 

users to print from mobile devices or scan to 

email or the cloud via its user-friendly 

touchscreen. 

In addition, the printer features a 5350 

page maximum paper capacity and dual-head 

scanner, making it ideal for workgroups “with 

heavy shared printing requirements.” 

The Epson WorkForce Enterprise WF- 

C17590 will be available January 2018 through 

participating BTA resellers. For more 

information and availability, please visit 

www.epson.com 




GLOBAL Konica Minolta, App, Printing, MFP 

Konica Minolta launches new App and new MFP 

The OEM launched a new Mobile Print App and has expanded its print portfolio with the release of the new colour MFP, AccurioPrint C759. 

Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA Inc. 

has launched the new Mobile Print app, a 

solution that offers an improved interface 

commonality between iOS, Android and 

Windows environments. It also expands on 

the company’s growing Workplace of the 

Future product line of innovative 

technologies for borderless work spaces. 

Compatible with many Konica Minolta 

MFPs and Production Print engines, the 

Konica Minolta Mobile Print app is available as 

a free download from the Apple App Store, 

Google Play or Windows Store. This easy-touse 

app features: 

• Recognition technology designed to ID and 

register compatible Konica Minolta devices 

and perform mobile operations 

• A versatile set of advanced print 

functionalities typically available only with 

print drivers, including secure print, 

specifying page range and simplex or 

duplex output 

• Support for enhanced security options 

such as User Authentication and Account 

Tracking 

• Support for a wide array of printing options 

and settings, including stapling, hole 

punching, binding and tray selections 

• Extensive Konica Minolta device support 

“Mobile devices are at the centre of how 

people work today,” said Kevin Kern, Senior 

Vice President, Business Intelligence Services 

and Product Planning. “Mobile users access a 

lot of information from their devices and need 

to be able to maximize functionality on the go, 

from printing to scanning to storing files. This 

app enables all of that and more in a secure, 

intuitive, IT friendly package.” 

Also announced was that the OEM’s 

European division has expanded its print 

portfolio with the release of the new colour 

MFP, AccurioPrint C759. 

Corporate, local authority and education 

are the target markets for the “affordable and 

durable” Konica Minolta AccurioPrint C759, 

which is a successor to the bizhub PRO C754e 

and will be available from December. 

The Konica Minolta AccurioPrint C759 is 

equipped with a colour scanner which “offers 

a capacity of 300 sheets and scans documents 

in one pass up to 240 ipm”. It has an optional 

double-feed detector, which “improves 

scanning speed for high-volumes essential to 

legal offices and educational institutes while 

its complete scan workflow makes it an ideal 

system for schools and universities.” In 

addition, the device offers “high scalability”, 

thanks to Konica Minolta’s own OpenAPI 

interface and IWS or NFC Authentication. 

“The top-of-the-class scanning and output 

speed of this colour MFP combines good print 

production capabilities with high durability. It 

is particularly suited to schools and 

universities while its high input and output 

productivity meets the sophisticated needs of 

large offices and CRDs (Corporate 

Reprographic Departments),” said André 

Statkus, Product Manager, Production 

Printing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions 

Europe 

Described by the OEM as being “packed 

with features and benefits” this small 

footprinted, easy-to-use Konica Minolta 

AccurioPrint C759 has a print speed of up to 

65ppm in colour and 75ppm in monochrome 

at a resolution of 1.200 x 1.200 dpi. Paper 

capacity is up to 6,650 sheets and high media 

flexibility of 52gsm to 300gsm, is offered with 

mixplex/mixmedia and an intelligent paper 

catalogue. 

The new Fiery Controller delivers highvalue 

jobs in less time and Statkus adds: “It 

enables customers to achieve consistent and 

reliable colours every time.” 

Operation is made simple via a 10.1 inch 

touch panel furnished with multi-touch 

capability - a mobile touch area (NFC) to 

connect to mobile devices - while professional 

finishing options include stapling, booklet 

making, z-fold and post insertion. 

“This easy to operate system delivers the 

highest productivity for extremely short 

turnaround work,” said André Statkus, 

Product Manager, Production Printing, Konica 

Minolta Business Solutions Europe. 

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