The Recycler Issue 312

www.therecycler.com Issue 312 l NOVEMBER 2018 l £10 

Amazon moves in on local government 

Independent and local retailers across the United States are breathing uneasily as the e-commerce giant sets its 

sights on government contracts, with potentially ruinous results. The Recycler investigates… Starts Page 4 

Changes afoot at 

eBay 

Inside Track 

INSIDE: 

NEW BUILT CARTRIDGES 

TESTED 

“Excessive” DecaBDE reported 

p10 

PRINT-RITE FINDS WORKAROUND 

“PR3 products don’t infringe” 

– Canon 

p12 

QUARTER OF A CENTURY! 

Sapi Srl celebrates its 

anniversary 

p18 

NEW PARTNERSHIP 

Armor partners with Iconex 

p26 

New rules set to be 

introduced. Starts Page 34 

Alfred Wirch, 3T Supplies. 

Page 36 

RETAIL COLUMN 

You and the angry customer… 

p42

EDITORIAL 

Editorial 

New threats, and legal battles galore 

The unstoppable Amazon rolls on? 

This month, we cover the worrying 

report produced by the Institute for 

Local Self-Reliance that examines 

Amazon’s moves into bidding for local 

government contracts. Whilst at face 

value this perhaps sounds a fairly 

innocuous development, the potential 

consequences are huge, and could very 

easily harm not only small retailers and 

suppliers having to compete against the 

online monolith, but also the very local 

government departments whose 

contracts Amazon is bidding for. As the 

e-commerce giant takes more of these 

departments’ money, its tax 

arrangements – well-publicised, and 

frequently condemned – mean that far 

less goes back to the municipal 

authorities themselves. The result: Civic 

government without the necessary 

finances to provide essential services, 

local and independent businesses 

shutting up shop, and Amazon 

becoming ever more dominant in both 

market share and capital. Is it too late to 

stop it? Only time will tell. 

Canon moves its battles online 

Amazon has been in the news again this 

month, as Canon looks to cut down on 

counterfeiters using the online platform 

THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 312 • NOVEMBER 2018 

to infringe the OEM’s intellectual 

property. With many of its mass 

onslaught of lawsuits from earlier this 

year still to be settled, it looks like the 

company is casting the net further and 

wider to stop patent violation. Perhaps 

buoyed by the near-unanimous 

successes of its earlier legal cavalry 

charge, Canon is now seeing who else it 

can turn the screw on, and we can only 

imagine that other OEMs will follow 

suit; Amazon may no longer be a safe 

platform for small businesses trying to 

take on the big boys. 

Apex comes out smiling 

There was good news, too, for the 

industry, with Canon admitting that 

Apex “has not engaged in any allegedly 

unlawful acts,” and filing a motion to 

terminate the investigation into them. 

It’s a resounding victory for Apex, which 

will surely give hope to other companies 

currently feeling the OEMs breathing 

down their necks. 

No infringement from Print-Rite 

Furthermore, Canon has also conceded 

this month that Print-Rite’s PR3 

products do not infringe on the OEM’s 

copyrights, and that no action can be 

taken against them. Another victory, 

another ray of sunlight for our industry. 

Owen Collins Editorial Assistant 

DecaBDE allegations cause 

concern 

It was reported this month that some 

newbuild cartridges have been found to 

contain concentrations of DecaBDE, a 

restricted flame retardant, which exceed 

the permitted limit. The substance has 

been described as a Persistent Organic 

Pollutant by the EU, and if the findings 

prove to be widespread there could be 

some grave repercussions. However, the 

company which commissioned the test 

has provided very few details; there is a 

possibility that rather than an extensive 

problem, it could be a one-off or 

anomalous result. More will surely come 

to light following further investigation. 

Expansion, expansion, expansion 

It’s all going on in China, too, where two 

different companies have been looking to 

the future, with two major expansions. 

CET has announced the completion of its 

new 980,000 square feet manufacturing 

facility, which also comprises a six-storey 

R&D building, intelligent warehouses, 

and, with employee welfare in mind, a 

restaurant and exercise park. 

Land ahoy for Ninestar 

Ninestar, meanwhile, has purchased 

almost 600,000 square feet of land in 

Zhuhai City on a fifty-year lease. The 

company describes it as part of a future 

production strategy, with Ninestar 

aiming to become one of the top three 

laser printer manufacturers in the world. 

Sapi’s Silver Jubilee 

Finally, congratulations to Sapi Srl, who 

have been marking a quarter-century in 

the business this month. It’s an 

impressive feat to remain such a 

constant in an ever-changing landscape 

– many happy returns to all involved! R 

3

FEATURE 


A new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has sent shivers down the spines of many local 

and independent retailers across the United States, as all-conquering e-commerce giant Amazon sets its 

sights on local government – with potentially ruinous consequences for small businesses, public bodies, 

and basically anyone but Amazon itself… 

In 2017, Amazon signed a national 

contract with US Communities, an 

organisation that brings together 

myriad public bodies (including school 

districts, police departments, and 

libraries) across the USA under one 

umbrella, with the objective of 

negotiating joint purchasing decisions 

for members; most of those members 

are local governments. 

Serious questions and issues have 

been raised about the exact details of 

the contract, and, perhaps more 

worryingly, about the implications of 

it. Unanswered questions regarding the 

contract’s procurement process will 

worry those smaller, independent 

retailers already squeezed by going up 

against the giant of Amazon, whilst 

concerns over costs – and whether the 

new contract really represents a good 

deal – will raise eyebrows in City Halls 

across the country. 

The ILSR claims that when the US 

Communities contract was put out to 

public tender, the RFP – or Request for 

Proposals – was worded in such a 

preferential way that it “hobbled a 

truly competitive bidding process.” 

RFPs are normally written in a way 

that is open enough to attract multiple 

competing (and competitive) offers, but 

for the US Communities contract, only 

five offers were received at all – a quite 

damning indictment of the openness 

and competitiveness of the initial 

tendering. 

All bids are scored by a set of five 

criteria, with a maximum of twenty 

points available in each bracket. Of 

the five bids for this contract, four 

achieved especially low scores, 

ranging from 36.7 points down to 

just 2.5, out of 100. The fifth 

bid – Amazon’s – received 91.3 points, 

lending credence to the ILSR’s 

allegation. 

“It’s important that there’s really a 

qualified pool of respondents,” said 

Brent Maas, the Director of Outreach 

at NIGP: The Institute for Public 

Procurement, adding that if not, “it’s 

not truly a competitive process.” 

Ordinarily, if a bid receives fewer 

than a certain number of offers, the 

tender will be re-opened, but despite 

the minimal number of responses to 

this contract, that hasn’t happened. 

Guernsey, a Virginia-based office 

supply company, was part of a group 

called Independent Stationers that 

previously held a US Communities 

office supply contract. But when an 

RFP came for Prince William County 

Public Schools, via US Communities, 

for products including office supplies, 

Guernsey was reticent: “We looked 

at it and said, there’s just no place for 

us to play,” observed founder David 

Guernsey, who established the 

company in 1971. 

The RFP called for bids from an 

“online marketplace for the purchases 

of products and services”, with ten 

specified categories: Office supplies; 

classroom and school supplies; 

home kitchen and grocery; books; 

musical instruments; audiovisual 

and electronic equipment; scientific 

equipment and lab supplies; clothing; 

animal supplies and food; and 

miscellaneous/other.” 

“It occurred to us right off the bat 

that there was only one organisation 

4 THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 312 • NOVEMBER 2018

FEATURE 

that could be a responsive bidder,” 

Guernsey continued. His colleague, 

Gordon Thrall, added: “We thought, 

this is absolutely spec’d to Amazon.” 

Thrall’s concerns about the RFP 

stemmed from its sheer unfamiliarity – 

“frankly,” he said, “it seemed to go 

against all of the procurement 

processes that we understood.” 

It was later announced that the 

contract had been won by Amazon – 

unsurprisingly, given the wide range of 

products required to be offered by the 

winning bidder. “We’ve just made it 

easier for educational and publicsector 

organisations to get the supplies 

they need,” heralded a joint press 

release from the online retailer and US 

Communities. 

A later written statement from 

Amazon insisted that the contract 

was “competitively solicited”, and 

that it provides “best-value pricing 

for education and public sector 

organisations,” allowing government 

buyers to “purchase directly from the 

Amazon Business marketplace, which 

includes small, local, and socioeconomically 

diverse businesses.” 

Therein lies another large worry 

about this new contract, and what it 

might mean in the future, as Amazon’s 

grip on public bodies and local 

governments tightens. The contact 

allows these bodies to still use local 

and independent suppliers – but 

through Amazon Marketplace. As well 

as creating a potential conflict of 

interest - as Amazon is then in a 

position to be both retailer competing 

on the platform, and the actual 

platform itself - this will also have a 

tangible financial effect. 

Amazon charges sellers on its 

Marketplace a fee – effectively a tax on 

their sales. With the imposition of 

this new contract, Amazon is set to 

profit, even if local bodies insist on 

still purchasing from independent 

suppliers. There is also concerning 

evidence that Amazon’s internal 

algorithms prioritise Amazon’s own 

offerings ahead of competitors within 

the marketplace in search results; even 

more worrying is the research from 

Harvard Business School suggesting 

Amazon harvests data from its thirdparty 

sellers in order to improve its 

own ability to compete against them. 

This, combined with the cut that 

Amazon will take whoever local 


governments choose to spend with, 

should worry public bodies who have 

signed up to the contract – and should 

worry Amazon’s competitors even 

more. But what should raise further 

eyebrows at the public bodies is the 

suggestion that they won’t even receive 

value for money from the contract. 

The ILSR relays that Amazon won 

the bid “iwhtout having to compete on 

price, and without providing a volume 

discount for the $5.5 billion (€4.73 

billion) in sales that the contract is 

expected to generate over 11 years”, 

something which the organisation 

labels “a remarkable departure from 

standard practice.” 

Part of the reason is Amazon’s 

adherence to its ‘dynamic pricing’ 

policy – the term used for the 

constantly changing prices offered on 

the site, which can rise and fall several 

times over the course of just one day. 

Amazon’s argument is that its platform 

“naturally produces the lowest prices” 

due to the plurality of traders on 

its Marketplace, but as detailed 

above, there are multiple reasons to 

believe this may not be the case. 

Amazon’s General Manager for 

Global Education, Daniel Smith, said in 

a webinar last year that dynamic 

pricing was a boon to local 

governments and bodies, declaring 

that they will “get incremental value as 

prices lower on the Amazon Business 

Marketplace.” Yet as David Guernsey 

counters, “I’ve been in the business for 

47 years, and pricing tends much more 

toward increasing, not lowering.” 

Furthermore, repeated research has 

unearthed that in many cases, 

Amazon is not even the cheapest 

option, especially given the difference 

from the “established norms” in 

public procurement. Analysts from 

OPSoftware discovered that a 

California school district would be 

paying approximately 12 percent more 

on its purchases by using Amazon, 

than if it had chosen the alternative. 

A further hurdle comes not just with 

pricing, but with delivery. Locallybased 

cooperative Independent 

Stationers won the US Communities 

contract in 2010, and promised free 

5

FEATURE 


next-day delivery for orders placed 

before 4pm – with no minimum order 

size. However, the new Amazon 

contract offers no such guarantees, 

unless public bodies wish to sign up for 

Business Prime, and limit their 

purchases to Prime-eligible items. Until 

the end of 2018, Amazon is offering 

those bodies to have signed up to the 

US Communities contract free Business 

Prime accounts, but once that offer has 

expired, signatories must pay the 

annual membership fee – just shy of 

$500 a year. This lack of free delivery is 

an obvious disadvantage for public 

bodies, and raises questions over why 

the terms of the contract were so 

readily accepted. 

There are other terms that should 

cause concern – mostly owing to the 

fact that they are Amazon’s own 

terms, and not those of the local 

bodies. The retailer’s legal team 

rewrote many of the terms and 

conditions of the original contract, 

including a clause that in the case of 

inconsistencies, Amazon’s conditions 

prevail. 

Such changes include the original 

section, reading “the Contractor 

agrees to ensure that Small and 

Minority Businesses shall have the 

maximum practicable opportunity to 

compete for subcontract work”, being 

changed to “the Contractor will 

promote Small and Minority 

Businesses via the Contractor’s Seller 

Credentials programme, available on 

the Amazon Business marketplace.” 

Another difference refers to the 

freedom of information: Whereas 

before, all documents and proceedings 

relating to the contract were “open 

to the inspection of any citizen, or 

any interested person, firm, or 

corporation,” now Amazon must be 

notified of any such requests, 

and it has the “right to request 

exemption or redaction based on 

assertions of confidentiality or 

proprietary information.” 

The ILSR was scathing of these 

changes, saying that they “violate the 

spirit of public information laws, and it 

goes against the principle that, when 

it comes to government spending, 

citizens should be able to see what’s 

going on.” 

This is untested ground, as attested 

to by one national sales manager of an 

office supply company, which itself 

has ten years of public procurement 

experience. “I’ve been part of many 

RFPs that award points for terms and 

conditions, or say, if you do not comply 

with our terms and conditions 

you’re deemed non-responsive,” they 

explained. “Somehow, Amazon got all 

of their standard terms and conditions 

to apply to this contract, which is really 

unique. I’ve never seen that before.” 

There is speculation that this 

contract is just one example of 

Amazon moving closer and closer to 

local government and other such 

public bodies, with a number of 

developments pointing a similar way. 

As part of its new direction, it has hired 

Anne Rung to leads its government 

division, an event which the ILSR 

described as “a move that declared its 

intentions to go after public sector 

spending.” Rung has previously held a 

multitude of positions within federal 

procurement for President Barack 

Obama’s administration, including 

two years as the US Chief Acquisition 

Officer at the White House. Rung, who 

began her new position in 2016, has 

since been joined by Mario Marin, as 

Head of US Sales for the Government 

Division; Marin was previously in 

charge of the Mayor of Los Angeles’ 

Office of Economic Development. 

In 2017, Congress approved a bill 

that authorised the government’s 

procurement agency, the GSA (General 

Services Administration) to select a 

single supplier for federal departments 

through an “e-commerce portal”, also 

specifying that the GSA could choose 

said supplier “without the use of full 

and open competition.” Following the 

complaints of competing companies, 

Congress included a specification that 

the GSA must invite bids from 

“multiple commercial e-commerce 

portal providers.” 

There has been resistance to the 

contract, and the creeping influence of 

Amazon. Michael Lamb, Controller of 

the City of Pittsburgh, has his 

doubts about the contract’s suitability: 

“There are reasons why certain 

checks are in our system. One of those 

is to make sure we’re getting the best 

price, and another is to make sure that 

we’re treating everyone fairly. With 

Amazon, we just don’t know that 

that’s the case.” 

Savannah, Georgia’s City 

Purchasing Director, Molly Huhn, 

echoes this. “I think everyone takes 

seriously the fact that we’re stewards 

of taxpayer dollars, so you want to 

make sure that you’re getting the best 

deal possible, and having the most 

competition possible.” 

Virginia Commonwealth University 

has its own approach to the contract, 

as exampled within its procurement 

office policies. “While not expressly 


FEATURE 

prohibited, departments that order 

through Amazon are accountable 

for compliance with the following 

requirements, and must take into 

account the negative impact the 

purchase(s) have on the university.” 

These negative impacts referred to 

include having to accept Amazon’s 

terms and conditions if it wants to 

enjoy tax-exempt status; the lack of 

discounted pricing or free shipping; 

and the possible contravention 

of the university’s commitment to 

purchasing from diverse suppliers.” 

As much as there are perceived 

negatives to the Amazon contract, 

there are advantages to not signing up 

to it too. California State University 

conducted a study in 2009 that 

demonstrated that by contracting with 

local small business, and disabled 

veteran-owned businesses, the State of 

California generated around $4.2 

billion (€3.61 billion) of additional 

economic activity, and created 

approximately 26,000 new jobs, than 

it would’ve done by using larger 

companies. 

From a local government or public 

entity point of view, the Amazon 

contract raises questions, not least as 

to what the actual advantage is, given 

that it has been shown not to provide 

unanimous value for money, and it 

involves the overruling of their own 

rules and regulations. Furthermore, 

Amazon’s well-publicised tax 

arrangements mean that money spent 

by local authorities won’t necessarily 

be returning to that area’s tax base – as 

it would if it was spent with 

independent dealerships. It could 

therefore be argued that public bodies 

are going to suffer a somewhat 

ludicrous knock-on cut to the services 

they provide – such as hospitals, 

highways and schools – as a result of 

their own spending. It has the potential 

to be even more worrying, too, for the 

small businesses that would previously 

have come together to win the supply 

contracts. Faced with either competing 

with Amazon, or competing on the 

Amazon platform and therefore 

allowing the retail giant to slice a 

percentage off of their profits, it is 

perhaps emblematic of a wider shift to 

greater corporate power over the 

independent. 

As the ILSR itself declared, local 

governments now face a choice: 

“Whether to use public money to 

further Amazon’s monopoly power, or 

to take steps to limit their spending 

with the company, and instead 

cultivate a diverse economy.” An 

awful lot hinges on the outcome of 

that choice. 

R 


7

In this Issue 

City News 

22: Share collapse after ADVEO acquisition talk; Restore 

reveals half-year rises 

23: Ninestar makes land purchase as HY revenues rise 

24: Staples acquires Essendant with “superior proposal” 

Around the industry 


Independent and local retailers across the United States are 

breathing uneasily as the e-commerce giant sets its sights on 

government contracts, with potentially ruinous results. 

The Recycler investigates… Starts Page 4 

Changes afoot at 

eBay 

Inside Track 

26: Mutually beneficial: Armor’s Iconex partnership; 

Recyclia deploys Spanish cartridge collection scheme 

27: Success for G&G at IFA; PRINTek upgrades ISO 

certification; GM Technology wins sanitary contract 

28: UAE: Thousands of counterfeit cartridges seized; 

Trade Copiers hopes for Exporters award; KMP 

speaks of employee pride; Community building and 

customer services at Katun 

29: Totalpost becomes Training Academy; Epson 

launches patent infringement lawsuit 

30: CostCo rolls out RIS refilling service; Atrix promotes 

Shane Vail; Metrofuser named in NJBIZ Top 250 

31: ABS now offering IBM toner cartridges; HYB opens 

first South American hall 

32: Dimerc Office embraces automation; Milestone 

celebrations for The Recycler’s Amy 

33: Laser Pros unveils new website; LD Products 

celebrates rebranding success; Pantum announces 

new Indian distributor 

Feature 

Editorial 

3: New threats, and legal battles galore 

Feature 

4: Amazon moves in on local government 

World Focus 

10: “Excessive” DecaBDE reported in new-builds; Hubei 

Dinglong achieves Nordic Ecolabel standard 5.5 

11: Static Control streamlines operations; Printerre 

announces new NF certification 

12: CET announces completion of new factory; “PR3 

products don’t infringe” – Canon 

14: MPS in India: why business is booming; Ecologic 

France wins State approval 

16: Educational 3D printing primed for expansion; Flex 

Technology has strong selling power 

18: Sapi Srl celebrates quarter century 

19: Trump’s trade war escalates even further 

20: Legal conclusions and new battles for Canon 

8 

New rules set to be 

introduced. Starts Page 34 

Alfred Wirch, 3T Supplies. 

Page 36 

34: Changes afoot at eBay 

Inside Track 

36: Alfred Wirch, 3T Supplies 

Wide-Format Column 

38: Studies continue for graphene uses, safety 

Retail Column 

42: You and the angry customer – A frightening tale? 

Products & Technology 

44: Apex releases new replacement chips 

45: Static Control’s latest product announcements; KMP 

launches Green Up concept 

46: Aster USA releases new compatible cartridges; Katun 

reveals new compatible toner cartridges 

47: Multiple new products from CET 

48: Ninestar launches new replacement toner cartridges; 

Raven releases compatible colour toner cartridges; 

Cross launches new compatible toner 

50: Array of new products from Uninet; Toshiba unveils 

new MFP line 

51: New printers and copiers from Sharp; DPI releases 

new alternative cartridges; HYB release new 

compatible drum units 

THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 312 • NOVEMBER 2018

WORLD FOCUS 

visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news 

GLOBAL Hubei Dinglong, Nordic 

Swan, Certification 

Hubei Dinglong 

achieves Nordic 

Ecolabel 

standard 5.5 

The company has received the 

standard for its H76 toner, for 

use in multiple HP colour 

The toner is for use in the HP 

M252/M452/M553/M254/M180 

colour printers, and has now been 

certified as meeting the requirements 

for toner powders in the Nordic 

Ecolabel standard 5.5. 

The material was tested by TUV 

Rheinland LGA Products GmbH, 

and has passed the stringent 

requirements to become approved for 

use in Nordic Ecolabel-certified toner 

cartridges. 

Originally, H76 was developed just 

for the HP M452, but with additional 

testing and development it is now 

suitable for the current HP Colour Jet 

Intelligence range models noted 

above, as well as the Canon equivalent 

applications. The addition of NWS 5.5 

now “completes the appeal of this 

high-quality toner.” 

Reacting to the news, Hubei 

Dinglong’s General Manager for 

Europe, Ian Copsey, said that the 

approval “demonstrates our raw 

material selection and manufacturing 

process is meeting the industry’s 

high standard. We recognise the 

requirement in the European market 

to attain these standards and to assist 

our customers in meeting their end 

users obligation for Health & 

Environmental standards.” 

EUROPE Cartridge Testing, LDA, DecaBDE 

“Excessive” DecaBDE reported 

in new-builds 

The analysis of two new-build cartridges has revealed concentrations of a 

restricted flame retardant which exceed the permitted limit. 

Recent testing, carried out by LGA on 

behalf of an unnamed German organisation, 

has revealed high concentrations of 

decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE), a toxic 

flame retardant, within certain new-build 

cartridges. Digital Imaging (DI) magazine 

reports. 

DecaBDE, the substance in question, the 

use of which above a particular quantity was 

banned in electrical appliances (including 

printer cartridges) across the European 

Union ten years ago, is described as “difficult 

to decompose” and has been assessed and 

classified as a Persistent Organic Pollutant 

(POP). It is also listed as a Substance of 

Concern by the European Chemicals 

Agency. The supplier of a product has a duty 

to inform commercial customers if that 

product contains a concentration of more 

than 0.1 percent of a Substance of Concern. 

Many new-build cartridges contain a 

variety of different plastics and increased 

recyclates which can affect the melting point 

of the plastic and its flexibility. These product 

and design variations make remanufacturing 

complex and cost prohibitive and 

disposing of cartridges with higher levels of 

decaBDE could be problematic. 

In a joint submission on the Recast of the 

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) 

Regulation, ten of Europe’s leading plastics 

recycling organisations said “Over the last 

years, the recycling industry has developed 

advanced separation techniques to sort and 

eliminate plastics containing brominated 

flame retardants, so that the recycled plastics 

meet the concentration levels set in EU and 

international standards and regulations to 

protect human health and the environment. 

European plastics recycling companies are 

pioneering the development of technology 

and treatment processes to recover complex 

plastics from WEEE and ELVs.” 

DI reported that the cartridges in question 

were from Static Control and in response to 

the story Static Control released a statement, 

in which it declared that “we take 

accusations of this sort very seriously.” 

“As with most companies, we purchase 

the plastics in our products from many 

companies,” Static Control continued. “Each 

vendor assures us their products comply 

with all European laws. We try to use as 

many recycled products as possible, and the 

flame retardant is required for the successful 

Chemical structure of a molecule of 

decabromodiphenyl ether, a brominated 

flame retardant 

reuse of recycled plastics, but in a level below 

the level prohibited by law.” 

Commenting that “the competitor has 

provided few details”, Static Control also 

announced plans to “commission an 

external European-based testing facility to 

conduct tests immediately on some of our 

plastics to see if there is any validity in these 

accusations.” 

“We want to assure our customers that we 

will investigate these claims thoroughly and 

take all necessary appropriate actions,” the 

company added. 

There was also a response to the results by 

ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet 

Remanufacturing Association, which called 

for the EU and its Member States to “actively 

ensure that all cartridges imported into the 

European Union comply in every manner 

with European WEEE, REACH and 

RoHS directives and Intellectual Property 

regulations to protect the health and wellbeing 

of EU citizens and the environment.” 

The trade association for called for the EU 

to mandate that all toner and inkjet 

cartridges placed onto the market are 

designed and manufactured so as to be 

suitable for reuse as a cartridge, whilst also 

stressing that “for consumers and 

businesses, the best options are remanufactured 

OEM cartridges, as supplied by 

the 3,000 companies across Europe. 

Remanufactured OEM cartridges are less 

expensive than new OEM cartridges but are 

100 percent environment-friendly.” 

ETIRA added: “Eliminating toxic 

products from the market and ensuring 

cartridges are entirely reused could generate 

more than 16,000 new SME jobs across the 

European Union.” 


You can contact The Recycler via Twitter at @RecyclerMedia 

WORLD FOCUS 

NORTH AMERICA Static Control, Business 

Static Control streamlines 

operations 

Static Control has announced plans to streamline its operations, with the layoff 

of around 240 employees. 

The majority of those laid off worked in the 

company’s manufacturing operations. 

“The imaging industry is constantly 

changing,” declared a company statement, 

which explained “it was necessary to adapt 

in order to stay competitive in the pricesensitive 

marketplace.” 

“We know customers rely on our 

premium components, toner, chips and 

cartridges that were developed and 

manufactured with quality in mind, and 

this has not changed,” the company 

continued. “We have moved production to 

lower labour cost areas of the world to 

ensure we stay competitive. These state-ofthe-art 

facilities use our exclusive designs 

and are manufactured to our exact 

specifications. As always, each product 

undergoes a full quality assurance and 

quality control process to ensure our 

stringent engineering standards are met. 

Our products are still made with the utmost 

care taken to quality and performance.” 

Static Control explained that the change 

will allow the company to “remain 

competitive” in the marketplace, as well as 

keeping prices stable and allowing for news 

solutions to be released faster. 

“This will especially benefit our 

remanufacturing customers who rely on 

our growing component offering, which is 

still the heart of our business,” the company 

explained. “Our state-of-the-art research 

and development facility will remain 

operational, as well as speciality 

manufacturing for key product areas. We 

will continue to offer a full range of 

components and cartridges and be the 

single shop solution for our customers 

around the globe.” 

The company concluded: “Our mission 

of being the best imaging aftermarket 

supplier has not changed. Customers can 

expect the same level of customer service, 

combined with our premium offering of 

imaging solutions. Be it cartridges 

or components, we will continue to have 

you covered.” 

EUROPE Printerre, ISO certifications, Business 

Printerre announces new NF 

certification 

The French remanufacturer has revealed the awarding of its NF 335 certification, 

after more than two years of work. 

The certification applies to a variety of 

Printerre’s cartridges, and means that the 

company is now the only one in France to 

receive the label. 

Director General Laurent Berthuel 

announced the news on LinkedIn, speaking 

of his “great pride” at the designation, and 

how it would be a boost to Printerre’s 

“circular economy and social responsibility.” 

The certification follows the awarding of 

ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 26000 last 

year, which Berthuel said meant the 

company was now “one of the biggest 

remanufacturers in France.” 

The Printerre Group has focused on 

printer reprocessing, printing system 

maintenance, and the sale of computer 

consumables and printers since its 

establishment in 2007. Printerre EA was 

founded 5 years later, in 2012, with more 

than 80 percent of its jobs going to disabled 

workers. Printerre collects, sorts and 

recovers used printer cartridges, in addition 

to its other services, and has been awarded a 

number of ISO certifications. 

Earlier this year, the company announced 

that it had created eight new jobs over 

April and May, with its predominantly 

disabled workforce welcoming the arrival of 

many new faces. 


11

WORLD FOCUS 


ASIA CET, Business, Events 

CET announces completion 

of new factory 

The Chinese company revealed the news, as well as reporting on the success of 

its summer seminar series. 

The new manufacturing facility, which 

covers more than 980,000 square feet, 

will house every part of the production 

cycle, from research, design, 

development, and training through to 

manufacturing, quality control, and 

climate-controlled warehousing. 

The freshly-completed campus 

includes a six-storey R&D office building, 

six production buildings and two 

“intelligent warehouses.” 

It will allow production capacity to 

increase by 30 percent, via “fullyautomated 

production lines” and 

“state-of-the-art toner filling equipment.” 

The warehouses feature “intelligent 

storage,” comprising automated handling 

software and robotics, to increase the 

accuracy of storing and picking raw 

materials and finished goods. 

The new manufacturing campus also 

includes a restaurant, exercise park, and 

dormitory for employees. 

The development follows CET’s 

investment strategy of pursuing 

opportunities which provide “higher 

value product, in order to improve the 

profitability of their customers.” 

The company’s founder, CEO, and 

Chairman of the Board, Steven Ma, 

explained: “As a supplier, it is our duty to 

identify and nurture the needs of our 

customers. Whether our products are 

being distributed through CET USA, Q2, 

or any of our other sales groups, we want 

to maintain a win-win philosophy with 

our customers. One that creates a 

relationship built on mutual respect with 

the aim of creating more abundant 

opportunities, wealth, resources, 

recognition and reward. This principal is 

at the heart of our continuous development 

and growth.” 

The facility will be officially opened at a 

grand opening ceremony, on the 16th of 

October. 

Meanwhile, away from the new site, 

CET has been reflecting on its 

“successful” programme of Distributor 

Strategic Seminars. 

The events took place of the course of 

this summer, beginning on the 28th of 

July and concluding on the 25th of 

August, and saw CET Group travel across 

China to deliver the message of a “winwin 

plus” cooperative concept. 

Starting in Changsha Station, the 

touring seminar – titled “Creating a ‘winin 

plus’ era” - took in Harbin, Hefei, 

Wuhan, Lanzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, 

and Fuzho. 

CET explained that “at the heart of the 

‘win-win plus’ concept is a mutually 

beneficial cooperation between CET 

Group and their customers,” adding that 

“quality products are the key to creating 

that value for both parties.” 

The company continued: “In CET’s 

new facility in Caofeidain, CET will 

adopt precise production management 

methods, strictly control product quality, 

and accelerate the implementation of 

globalisation, providing customers with 

high quality products and services.” 

ASIA Print-Rite, Canon, IP 

“PR3 products don’t infringe” – Canon 

The OEM has confirmed that Print-Rite’s PR3 products do not infringe any of its patents currently the subject of 

an ongoing ITC case. 

Canon has certified that the PR3 products, 

including NL-CE505 (III), NL-CF280X (III), NL- 

CF226A (II) and NL-CF226X (II), would be 

outside the scope of any remedial orders that may 

be issued at the conclusion of the ITC case. 

Responding to the news, Print-Rite said: 

“With Canon’s confirmation, our clients would 

have the freedom to continue to import and/or to 

sell these confirmed PR3 products without any 

concern of any remedial orders in this case in 

the future.” 

The news comes almost exactly a month after 

Canon also conceded that Aster’s latest patented 

dongle gear solution did not infringe on any of 

the OEM’s patents, following another legal 

battle between the two companies. 

26.–29.1.2019, Frankfurt am Main 

paperworld.messefrankfurt.com 

Remanexpo: Product Group 

Connecting people and businesses 

The dedicated part of the event focused on reuse and 

remanufacturing of printer cartridges 

Powered by 

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WORLD FOCUS 

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

IMEA MPS, Business, India 

MPS in India: why business is booming 

Some high-profile figures from the country’s biggest print vendors have been revealing why MPS is so important in India. 

According to Leo Joseph, Senior Director 

of Printing Systems at HP India, 

digitisation is “important”, due to “the 

whole Digital India approach and focus in 

the country.” He revealed to CRN that HP 

is “working closely with a lot of 

government departments, ministries, 

high courts and public-sector banks to 

convert every physical document into 

digital.” 

He explains that MPS is currently the 

OEM’s “biggest priority”, with security 

being a crucial area of focus as CIOs 

and CXOs focus on protecting their 

infrastructure. HP takes a “3D approach”, 

consisting of Data, Devices and 

Documents, and Joseph explains they 

“keep the device secure with a security 

solution.” 

He goes on to say that HP’s MPS 

business is growing rapidly, and they have 

garnered a “lot of enterprise accounts” as 

well as offering “regular training, 

enablement and business planning with 

partners.” 

He concludes by stating that when 

“customers move from a disparate or 

managed printer infrastructure to 

managed print services, the savings can 

be anywhere in the range of 15 percent to 

20 percent.” 

Meanwhile, Manish Garg of WeP 

Solutions Ltd comments that the MPS 

market in India currently remains “under 

explored” despite the fact that the nation 

“is one of the fastest growing global 

markets in the sector.” 

He says, “The majority of MPS 

commitments come from mid-market to 

enterprise levels of accounts”, but small 

and medium enterprises are also opening 

up towards the innovative ideas of cost 

reduction and are now considered a 

potential market in India for MPS.” 

Garg revealed that MPS currently 

contributes “52 percent” to the overall 

business of WeP Solutions, which 

recently signed a deal with an Israelibased 

ePaper and is the only organisation 

in India to offer solutions powered by 

Sentinel. 

Also speaking to CRN, Xerox India’s 

Managing Director, Raj Kumar Rishi, 

stated that the MPS market in India “has 

evolved over the past few years”, with 

organisations becoming “more open 

to outsourcing non-core business 

processes.” He explains that Xerox has 

helped companies “transition from an adhoc 

un-managed print environment to a 

managed environment” as well as guiding 

them toward “business process 

transformation.” 

He goes on to reveal that MPS “is a 

major contributor to the Xerox India 

business”, with the OEM recording 

double digit growth in this sector. 

According to Rishi, Xerox boasts an 

“elaborate MPS channel”, designed to 

benefit both end clients and partners. 

He concludes by saying that the 

company is increasing its market 

coverage “to make MPS available to 

organisations so that they can realise 

business benefits”. 

EUROPE Ecologic, WEEE Collection, Compliance 

Ecologic France wins State approval 

The organisation has revealed that, as of 1 August 2018, it has been approved by public authorities to organise the 

recycling of professional print cartridges in France, in accordance with WEEE regulations. 

As a result of this decree, published in 

the Official Journal at the beginning of 

August, Ecologic France has become the 

first eco-organisation to be charged with 

the collection and recycling of “all 

household and professional printing 

cartridges and to offer its services to all 

stakeholders.” 

As well as serving as a manufacturer, 

remanufacturer and distributor of 

cartridges, Ecologic is also involved in 

waste management, with its own 

collectors and treatment operators – 

hence the awarding of the State’s 

approval. 

Ecologic explains that “Each 

stakeholder concerned is therefore 

invited to approach Ecologic to verify its 

compliance requirements and the 

contractual framework to be considered.” 

The organisation goes on to say that, it 

has “filed with the competent authorities 

a dossier of response to the 

specifications for the approval of the new 

‘category 14’” for professional printing 

cartridges, and “obtaining this approval 

issued by the government validates the 

relevance of the application.” 

It allows Ecologic to “offer the entire 

printing industry a “one-stop shop” for 

compliance for all print cartridges; 

whether they be of a household or 

professional nature, in addition to their 

historical ability to manage equipment.” 

Ecologic goes on to explain that, for 

the sake of simplicity, it has opted to 

“apply the same principle for all 

cartridges”. 

The scale of eco-contribution 

“distinguishes a total of 5 weight ranges 

depending on the type of products. The 

eco-contribution applied to small inkjet 

cartridges of less than 50g is set at 1cts; 

2cts for single cans or cartridges up to 

200g and 10 cts for complex laser 

cartridges from 500g to 1kg.” 

By abiding by these guidelines, 

Ecologic says it is “thus able to deploy its 

administrative and operational capacity 

to take charge of the extended 

responsibility of print cartridge 

producers and to offer through its 

partners a complete collection and 

recycling solution that complies with the 

general regulations”. 


WORLD FOCUS 

Subscribe to The Recycler at www.therecycler.com/subscribe 

GLOBAL Technavio, STEM, 3D Printing 

Educational 3D printing primed for expansion 

Technavio has published a new market research report on the global 3D printing market in the education sector from 2018- 

2022, in which it forecasts the market will grow by almost 20 percent. 

A key factor driving the growth of the 

market is rapid development in 3D printing 

technology. 3D printing technology made 

rapid strides in the education industry in 

2017. Vendors are launching 3D printing 

products and services specifically suited for 

education requirements and are focusing 

particularly on aligning 3D printing 

functionalities to education curriculum at 

K-12 level, especially for STEM subjects. 

This market research report on the global 

3D printing market in the education sector 

2018-2022 also provides an analysis of the 

most important trends expected to impact 

the market outlook during the forecast 

period. 

Technavio classifies an emerging trend as 

a major factor that has the potential to 

significantly impact the market and 

contribute to its growth or decline. 

In this report, Technavio highlights the 

cloud-based platforms for 3D printers as 

one of the key emerging trends in the global 

3D printing market in the education sector. 

With the growth of technology, 3D 

printing manufacturers are enabling their 

products with Wi-Fi connectivity and cloud 

compatibility. Cloud compatibility for 3D 

printers brings in a variety of benefits such 

as wireless software upgrades, scalability, 

easier file access, and one-click printing 

without the need to download and slide 

Standard Tessellation Language (STL) files. 

Cloud-based platforms ensure easier, 

effective distribution of content and 

enhance software functionalities. 

“Major vendors in the 3D printing market 

in the education sector such as Materialise 

and Marketbot offer cloud-based 3D 

printing devices and software systems. The 

introduction of cloud-based platforms for 

3D printing devices will help in the efficient 

management of 3D printers in classrooms 

and significant cost reductions. The 

distribution of software, training materials, 

and updates through the cloud will 

significantly lower the operating costs for 

educational institutions,” explains a senior 

analyst at Technavio for research on 

education technology. 

This market research report segments the 

global 3D printing market in the education 

sector by end-user (higher education and 

Pre-K12), by product (3D printing services 

and 3D printers), and geographical regions 

(APAC, EMEA, and the Americas). 

The Americas led the market in 2017 

with a market share of around 40 percent, 

followed by APAC and EMEA, respectively. 

Although APAC held the smallest share of 

the market, it is expected to witness the 

maximum increase in its market share over 

the forecast period. 

A free sample of the report can be 

requested from www.technavio.com. 

NORTH AMERICA Flex Technology, Business 

Flex Technology has strong selling power 

For the third consecutive year, the Flex Technology Group has been recognised as one of the “50 Best Companies to 

Sell For” by Selling Power magazine. 

Selling Power evaluated sales-focused 

corporations from across the country in 

categories that include sales culture, 

sales training and coaching, onboarding, 

sales enablement, and 

compensation/benefits packages. 

“It’s an honour to be included in 

Selling Power’s ‘50 Best Companies to 

Sell For’ list once again,” states Frank 

Gaspari, CEO of Flex Technology Group. 

“This year, we implemented a new sales 

process and pipeline management system 

powered by a best-in-class CRM that 

establishes a quick and firm foundation 

for our account executives and national 

account managers to ramp up quickly. 

Our sales teams are embracing this 

renewed focus on pipeline management 

and individual development which is 

driving unprecedented results.” 

Gerhard Gschwandtner, the founder 

and publisher of Selling Power magazine 

says its vital to recognise companies that 

are creating excellent sales teams today. 

“The companies on this year’s list 

represent the future of selling,” 

Gschwandtner states. “We are living in 

the age of sales enablement. To win at an 

elite level, sales people need the support of 

excellent sales training, the right 

technology, and great sales coaching. The 

50 Best Companies to Sell For have made 

the right investments, culturally and 

financially, to make sure their 

salespeople have every advantage as 

the compete to win deals and 

generate more revenue.” 

Flex Technology Group, which 

includes FlexPrint, Laser Options, 

ProCopy, Cannon IV, Action 

Imaging Group, Caltronics 

Business Systems, Flo-Tech, 

Marimon Business, and RS Business 

Machines, provides customised office 

technology solutions for national and 

leading-edge regional companies. Their 

focus is on print, document 

management, document production and 

managed IT solutions, representing 

industry leading suppliers such as 

Canon, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, HP, 

Lexmark and various software solutions. 

The combined company services almost 

20,000 customers nationally. 


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EUROPE Sapi Srl, 25 years, Business 

Sapi Srl celebrates quarter century 

The toner recycler is marking its twenty-fifth year in business in 2018, with the official anniversary falling last week. 

Having started production in September 

1993, Sapi has been constantly evolving 

and improving over the intervening 

years. The company describes itself 

as committed to research, whilst 

maintaining a “careful eye” on the 

evolution of technologies. It is this that 

has helped the company “distinguish 

itself from others,” with Sapi adding that 

as well as its quality, it has also reached 

“the upper steps of the market; Sapi is 

now, in fact, among the top ten producers 

of remanufactured cartridges in Europe.” 

The company’s management team 

boasts many years of experience across 

various multinational companies. 

Headquartered in Lombardy, Italy, since 

its foundation, Sapi states that it “tried to 

make our Italian style a symbol of pride, 

favouring local labour and producing 

everything in-house, despite the great 

difficulties of the aftermarket.” 

It views its continued success over the 

last twenty-five years as “the result of 

conscious choice on behalf of the owners, 

who believe in the need for a healthy, 

comfortable, and rewarding environment 

to work well in, and who, starting in ‘93 

from a small office and a staff of 3 people, 

have arrived at the point of having more 

than 3000 square metres of production 

area, warehouse and offices, and over 40 

employees.” 

Since its establishment, Sapi’s goals 

have including “developing a productive 

activity aimed at achieving economic 

results” whilst respecting environmental 

protection and consumer satisfaction, 

and “offering the possibility of using 

products with low environmental impact” 

whilst maintaining high quality and low 

cost, compared to OEM products. 

Remaining aware of “the importance of 

adopting a responsible behaviour” with 

regards to the environment, Sapi focuses 

on the recovery of materials from waste, 

in the process “assuming a prominent 

role in the waste disposal processes of 



our society.” The goal is to reduce both 

the quantity of waste going to landfill, 

and the devastating environmental 

impact of such disposal. This is linked to 

its goal of “maximising production, and 

consequently increasing the amount of 

recovered materials, and thereboy 

contributing to the preservation of 

natural resources.” 

“Thanks to our activities, we reuse over 

300 truckloads of waste material,” the 

company adds. 

In 2009, the company opened a new 

subsidiary, Sapi Service, operating in 

the MPS market; Sapi Service has 

designed its over software, integrating 

maintenance and reuse of printers, and 

which allows the customers to reduce 

both the financial and environmental 

cost of printing. 

Five years ago, it began a partnership 

with a German company to successfully 

start a trading online company of new 

OEM products, whilst between 2015 and 

2016, it undertook yet another new 

venture, starting business with copier 

cartridges material development. 

At the beginning of this year, it 

branched out further into copier and 

printer refurbishment. After twenty-five 

years, the company remains intent on 

constantly “moving forward.” 





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GLOBAL USA, China, Trade War 

Trump’s trade war escalates even further 

Trading relations between the USA and China have lurched from bad to worse, with an atmosphere of increasing civility 

being replaced by rancour and further tariffs. 

The crisis was initiated back in 

July, when the USA imposed 

additional tariffs on around $50 

billion (€43 billion) of Chinese 

imports in July, in retaliation for 

alleged violation of American IP 

rights. Beijing hit back with 

tariffs of their own, and despite 

remedial attempts, the dispute 

escalated into a trade war. 

There was brief hope of a 

reconciliation, however, when 

the US invited China to resume 

trade talks, in what South China Morning 

Post described as a “goodwill gesture.” 

In response to the invitation, China’s 

Ministry of Commerce said details were 

being discussed on how to put the 

invitation into practice, with spokesman 

Gao Feng acknowledging that “an 

escalating trade war is not beneficial to the 

two nations.” 

In addition, Geng Shuang, a spokesman 

for the Asian superpower’s Foreign 

Ministry, said the country “welcomed” 

Washington’s invitation, in which the 

American Government proposed a new 

round of “high-level” talks, aimed at 

halting any further escalation. 

The Wall Street Journal also reported 

that US Treasury Secretary Steven 

Mnuchin invited his opposite number 

from the Chinese administration, Vice- 

Premier Liu He, for negotiations “in the 

coming weeks,” only days after China was 

set to ask the World Trade Organisation for 

permission to impose further sanctions on 

the USA, at a special meeting of the 

WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body. 

However, the goodwill soon evaporated, 

with reports that Donald Trump took the 

decision to go ahead with additional tariffs, 

despite the apparent thaw in relations. 

Bloomberg reported that the Chinese 

government was “considering declining 

the offer of talks” due to Trump’s decision, 

with also saw stocks in both Europe and 

Asia plummet as “optimism of talks 

fizzled.” 

“The two sides are still lacking trust,” 

observed Raymond Yeung, chief greater 

China economist for Australia & New 

Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Hong 

Kong. “China sees the U.S.’s action 

following Liu He’s visit in May as 

dishonourable,” he added, commenting 

that “Trump’s tariff threat only rubs salt 

into the wound.” 

With renewed hostility, China 

abandoned its attempts at de-escalation, 

responding to the new additional tariffs 

with its own hefty set of duties on 

$60 billion (€51.2 billion) worth of US 

products. 

The new tariffs, set at 5 and 10 percent, 

came into effect on the same day 

America’s tariffs on Chinese imports will 

come into force. 

Trump has reacted with 

vitriol to Beijing’s counter 

measures. 

“China has openly stated 

that they are actively trying 

to impact and change 

our election by attacking 

our farmers, ranchers 

and industrial workers 

because of their loyalty to 

me,” he wrote on Twitter. He 

had previously said that in 

the event of Chinese 

retaliation, the US would respond with 

further tariffs on $267 billion (€228.4 

billion) worth of products which would 

cover “almost all Chinese exports to 

the US.” 

Spokesperson Geng Shuang explained 

that Beijing “could not accept the 

‘unilateral trade action and protectionism’ 

of the US” and stated that the US should 

demonstrate “sincerity or goodwill”. 

With economists predicting a drawn-out 

battle between the two global superpowers, 

Nick Marro, an analyst at The Economist 

Intelligence Unit, observed that “there is a 

high risk for further escalation” in the 

conflict, whilst economist Alicia Garcia 

Herrero has said that some European 

companies could stand to benefit from the 

tensions. 

“If the European Union were obliged to 

take sides, the US market [would] continue 

to be more relevant for Europe,” she 

explained. “Beyond Europe’s historical 

alliance with the US [...] European 

exporters have more to lose from the US, 

which will not help China lobby European 

governments to remain open to China.” 


19

WORLD FOCUS 


GLOBAL Canon, Legal, IP 

Legal conclusions and new 

battles for Canon 

The OEM has signed off on a number of disputes this month, whilst also filing 

an infringement report with Amazon.com in a further bid to clamp down on 

copyright violation. 

In the US District Court for the Southern 

District of Ohio, Canon agreed a consent 

judgement with Ink Technologies Printer 

Supplies LLC, which was one of the many 

dozens of companies sued by Canon earlier 

this year, accused of infringing US Patent 

No. 9,581,958 through the sale of toner 

cartridges for use in various HP laser beam 

printers. 

The complaint against Ink Technologies 

was also one of several amended by Canon 

in papers filed to the USITC in June. 

The defendant stipulated to a Consent 

Judgement and Permanent Injunction, 

prohibiting it from making, using, selling, 

offering for sale, or importing the infringing 

toner cartridges in the USA; this includes 

toner cartridges with the HE-CF360X, HE- 

CF361X, HE-CF362X and HE-CF363X 

product designations. Ink Technologies has 

also agreed to pay Canon an undisclosed 

amount. 

In a statement following the agreement, 

Canon said: “Throughout the development, 

sales and marketing process, Canon 

respects the intellectual property of other 

companies and individuals and expects 

others to similarly respect Canon’s 

intellectual property rights. Canon remains 

committed to pursuing legal enforcement 

against those who do not respect Canon’s 

intellectual property.” 

The OEM also reached a settlement 

agreement with NTT New Time Trade 

GmbH (also trading as New Time Trade 

Company), which was accused of infringing 

the German portion of Canon’s European 

Parent EP 2 087 407 B1, and which 

previously accepted inter alia a preliminary 

injunction from the District Court 

Düsseldorf. 

The new settlement agreement resolves 

the dispute, although details of the 

agreement have not been disclosed. 

NTT is a German cartridge supplier that 

has been providing products and services to 

its customers since 2013; its warehouse 

system boasts more than 500 square metres 

of capacity, and the company states that this 

“allows us to handle our business processes 

even faster. The time saved can be invested 

in higher quality assurance and control.” 

Several more of Canon’s multiple legal 

conquests have progressed recently: In court 

papers viewed by The Recycler, the OEM has 

filed a motion seeking to terminate the 

investigation of Apex Microtech Ltd. 

This motion came about “in light of 

Apex’s stipulation that it has not engaged in 

any allegedly unlawful acts”. Canon 

explained that it had learned that Apex had 

not been involved in any such activity “since 

at least 27 August 2017” and stated that the 

termination of the investigation into Apex 

was “in the interest of the public and 

administrative economy.” 

Canon also entered a joint discovery 

stipulation with Supplies Guys “for the 

purpose of streamlining the issues to be 

resolved.” 

The stipulation states that since 23 

January 2018, Supplies Guys “has sold 

within the United States after importation” 

Type G, H, C, E, and B products, which were 

defined in the Joint Stipulation Regarding 

Representative Accused Products filed in 

July this year. 

Supplies Guys has stated that, to the best 

of its knowledge, it “has not imported or 

sold any Type A, D, F or I products” since 

August 2017, and “does not import the 

accused products into the United States”. 

Based on the previous stipulations and 

representations regarding Supplies Guys, 

Canon says it “agrees that it will not require 

any further discovery from Supplies Guys” 

relating solely to importation. The OEM has 

also revealed that it will not require Supplies 

Guys to “respond to any discovery seeking 

Supplies Guys’ contentions regarding its 

defences.” 

Although many of the legal battles 

undertaken by Canon this year seem to be 

drawing to a close, the OEM remains as 

vigilant as ever. It recently filed an 

infringement report with Amazon.com, 

seeking removal of listings for certain toner 

cartridges sold by Etechwork for use in HP 

laser beam printers. 

Canon’s infringement report alleged that 

certain model CF280A toner cartridges sold 

by Etechwork via Amazon.com infringed 

Canon’s U.S. Patent Nos. 8,280,278; 

8,630,564; 8,682,215; 8,688,008; and 

8,676,090. Canon requested that Amazon 

remove Etechwork’s listings for those 

products, namely, Etechwork’s listings with 

Amazon Standard Identification Numbers 

(ASINs) B06X3YZ141 and B06WRVGXY1. 

At the time of this announcement, the 

Etechwork listings identified above were no 

longer available on Amazon.com. 



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CITY NEWS 

OEM share prices 

October 2018 

Prices correct as of 1st October 2018 

Share Prices 

COMPANY AUG OCT 

Brother Industries (Yen) ¥ 2299 2229 

Canon (Yen) ¥ 3585 3535 

Dainippon Ink & (Yen) ¥ 3605 3690 

Chemicals 

Sun Chemicals parent company 

HP Inc. (US$) $ 23.37 25.01 

Hubei Dinglong (RMB) ¥ 8.35 6.58 

Jadi (MYR) M 0.04 0.04 

LG Chem (S Korean Won) W 391k 321k 

Matsushita Electric (Yen) ¥ 1470 1308 

Industrial Co. 

Panasonic parent company 

Mitsubishi Chemicals (Yen) ¥ 992 1056 

Ninestar Corporation (RMB) ¥ 28.82 24.79 

Formerly Apex Microelectronics 

Oki (Yen) ¥ 1373 1443 

Seiko Epson (Yen) ¥ 1961 1902 

Turbon AG (Euro) € 5.65 3.96 

Xerox (US$) $ 25.68 26.56 

UK Waste Prices 

price per tonne 

Aluminium € 40.41 56.91 

Plastic € 69.78 80.81 

Paper € 16.95 18.78 

Currency 

€/US$ 1.16 1.15 

€/£ 0.89 0.88 

£/US$ 1.30 1.31 

Oil Price 

Crude oil - (US$) $ 73.13 84.37 

‘Brent Crude futures, 

1-Pos IPE close’ per barrel 

Shipping Prices 

Europe (Hamburg/Antwerp/ $ 926 735 

Felixstowe/Le Havre) 

Mediterranean (Barcelona/ $ 898 767 

Valencia/Genoa/Naples 

USWC (Los Angeles/ $ 1877 2332 

Long Beach/Oakland) 

USEC (New York/Savannah $ 2846 3319 

Norfolk/Charleston) 

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

Environment Exchange, packagingnews.co.uk 

*Brent Crude price is for October 2018 


EUROPE Adveo, Investor, Staples 

Share collapse after ADVEO 

acquisition talk 

The company’s bonds fell by more than 57 percent in the Continuous Market, 

after an international industrial investor made a non-binding offer to 

purchase the group’s debts. 

The as-yet-anonymous investor is seeking 

to acquire the debt for capitalisation, 

reports Bolsamania, and is anticipating 

a “significant” dilution for current 

shareholders. 

They have presented the offer to BBVA, 

Banco Sabadell, CaixaBank, Banco 

Santander, Banco Popular, Bankia, and 

Kutxbank, who are asking ADVEO to 

provide all necessary information to 

perform a ‘due diligence’ test, preceding a 

binding offer. 

The group’s debt is currently stood at 

€149.2 million ($172.6 million). 

Bolsamania further reports that the 

capitalisation “would be subject to the 

regime of waiver of obligation to make 

a public takeover bid, provided for in 

the decree on the regime of public 

takeover bids.” 

As a result, ADVEO’s Board of 

Directors has decided to accept the initial 

requests from the offer or, “in the best 

interests of the company.” 

The proposed move to remove 

ADVEO’s debt would, according to the 

supplier itself, definitively resolve its 

“structural debt problem”, and would help 

“build a multi-channel leader group in 

Europe in the space of the solutions for 

the work environment in line with our 

declared strategy.” 

ADVEO’s Board and Management 

team has reaffirmed it will continue 

working “in the best interest of the 

company and its shareholders”, and will 

relay any new developments as they 

happen. It has also begun a process to 

obtain additional long-term financing, 

which will allow it “to return to its normal 

levels of availability.” 

UPDATE: Shortly after the above article, 

PBS reports surfaced suggesting that 

ADVEO’s mystery purchaser is 

Netherlands-based Staples Solutions, 

which was sold by office supplier Staples 

to Cerberus in 2017. 

EUROPE Restore Plc, Financials, Business 

Restore reveals half-year rises 

The UK-based office services provider has published its consolidated 

financial results for the first half of 2018. 

The company’s overall revenue rose by 

9 percent compared to the same period 

of last year, increasing from £86.9 

million ($113.9 million/€97.7 million) 

to £95.1 million ($124.6 million/€106.9 

million). 

There was also an increase in 

Restore’s operating profit, which 

increased by 15 percent to £18.9 million 

($24.7 million/€21.2 million), from 

strong first-half performance, 

particularly in light of the demanding 

comparator set by our growth in the 

prior year period,” CEO Charles 

Skinner said, reflecting on the results. 

He added: “TNT Business Solutions, 

whose acquisition we completed in 

May, has performed in line with 

expectations and its full integration into 

the Group is now underway. We remain 

2017’s £16.5 million ($21.6 focused on realising our targeted 

million/€18.5 million). 

Profit before tax increased from £15.3 

million ($20.05 million/€17.2 million) 

to £17.3 million ($22.6 million/€19.4 

million), whilst EBITDA also increased 

from £19.5 million ($25.5 million/€21.9 

million) to £22.1 million ($28.9 

million/€24.8 million) – in both cases, 

a rise of 13 percent. 

“We are pleased to report another 

operational synergies and the longerterm 

opportunities that the business 

provides to expand our presence in the 

UK public sector, where many entities 

still undertake records management inhouse. 

We will continue to pursue our 

strategy of organic and acquisitive 

growth and we are well positioned to 

gain further market share across all of 

our businesses.” 



CITY NEWS 

ASIA Ninestar, Business, Financials 

Ninestar makes land purchase as HY revenues rise 

The acquisition of the land in Zhuhai City is part of the Chinese company’s future production strategy. 

According to papers released by the company, 

the land – on the east side of the Gaolan Port 

Expressway in Pingsha Town, Zhuhai City – 

has been purchased on a fifty-year lease, 

for the purposes of production of 

Ninestar’s “high-end equipment intelligent 

manufacturing project for laser printers”. 

The project, seen as part of the company’s 

“strategic development”, is being undertaken 

in order to achieve Ninestar’s entry “into the 

top three global laser printers.” 

The total size of the land purchased is just 

over 598,000 square metres, and will cost 

Ninestar ¥201.5 million ($29.3 million/€25.3 

million). 

The company explained that it will 

“gradually start the follow-up project 

construction work according to the progress 

of the project,” whilst adding that “successful 

bidding will not have a significant impact 

on the company’s operations and financial 

status.” 

The acquisition of land use rights still needs 

to complete the signing of the land transfer 

contract, the payment of the transfer and the 

processing of the land certificate. 

Ninestar Group has also revealed its Half- 

Year financial results for the first half of the 

current fiscal year, ending June the 30th, with 

plentiful increases for itself and many of its 

subsidiary companies. 

The company’s net profit for the period was 

¥31.5 million ($4.6 million/€3.9 million), a 

considerable increase of 130.78 percent from 

the same period of 2017. According to 

Ninestar, this was because “the company’s 

operating performance continued to improve 

during the reporting period,” combined with 

other factors including “exchange rate 

fluctuations.” 

However, there was also a 6.32 percent drop 

in the company’s operating income, which fell 

from ¥11.1 billion ($1.62 billion/€1.39 billion) 

to ¥10.4 billion ($1.52 billion/€1.31 billion), 

which Ninestar attributes to the sale of ES 

Enterprise Soft in July last year. 

There was more positive news for Ninestar 

in its net cash flow from operating activities, 

which rose from a loss of ¥163.9 million 

($23.9 million/€20.6 million) last year to 

¥555.2 million ($81.2 million/€69.9 million) 

this year – an increase of 438.77 percent. 

Looking at the figures specifically by 

segment, Ninestar’s operating income from 

general printing supplies (including all 

holding subsidiaries) was ¥1.53 billion ($224 

million/€192.7 million), a rise of 61 percent 

year-on-year, and the sales gross profit from 

the same sector was ¥382 million ($55.9 

million/€48.1 million), up 35 percent year-onyear. 

This was “mainly because the 


consumables business continued to improve,” 

Ninestar reported. 

There was also growth for the company’s 

general printing consumables business, which 

saw a growth of 19 percent to its operating 

income, and a rise of 12 percent to its non-net 

profit growth. Specifically, the general toner 

cartridge business saw a sales increase of 25 

percent, aided by “the new chip first product 

advantage”, and the general ink cartridge 

business bucked the “overall decline of the 

inkjet market” with year-on-year sales growth 

of 7 percent. 

Included in Ninestar’s financials were 

details on the operations of the company’s 

individual subsidiaries. Regarding Apex, there 

positive news, with a 25 percent rise in 

operating income and a 45 percent rise in net 

profit, compared to the same period of 2017. 

Domestic sales and export sales also saw 

growth, whilst “foreign sales performance 

exceeded expectations, and sales achieved a 

high growth rate of approximately 37 percent” 

according to Ninestar. The company also 

reported that “the development of the generalpurpose 

MCU chip project is progressing 

smoothly,” with three related products to be 

released in the second half of 2018, to be 

shipped “in small quantities.” 

Static Control Components, meanwhile, 

recorded a total operating income of ¥494.1 

million ($72.3 million/€62.2 million) – 

incorporating ¥12.9 million ($1.88 

million/€1.62 million) and ¥92.4 million 

($13.5 million/€11.6 million) in chip sales and 

consumables sales respectively. Ninestar 

detailed that the company continued to 

strengthen its component business, 

leveraging its own component R&D 

capabilities and quality control, and vigorously 

explored sales channels for high-end 

consumable products, achieving a 31 percent 

year-on-year increase in revenue from 

consumables business. 

Ninestar’s integrated circuit business – 

including the Apex and SCC subsidiaries – 

declared a total operating income of ¥735 

million ($107.6 million/€92.5 million), a 10 

percent increase on 2017, and a sales gross 

profit of ¥538 million ($78.7 million/€67.7 

million) – an increase of 16 percent. 

The company’s financial report also 

included an update on its Research and 

Development activities throughout the first 

half of the year. “All of the ink cartridge 

products are first launched, and the toner 

cartridge products have completed a variety of 

initial launches, greatly improving the profit 

margin of the products,” Ninestar reported, 

adding that it has also “steadily promoted the 

transformation of the production automation 

project of the consumables factory,” and that 

“some small equipments achieved the 

expected results in reducing staff and 

improving efficiency and product quality.” 

In sales and marketing terms, Ninestar 

added that “in terms of domestic sales, 

through the opening and closing of the front 

and back and speeding up information 

exchange, the company has formulated a 

landing strategy for different channels, 

increased the expansion of major customers 

and e-commerce channels, and significantly 

increased overall sales.” 

Furthermore, “in foreign markets, it 

attaches importance to online sales. 

Pioneering work, focusing on the main online 

sales platform, achieved leap-forward growth 

in e-commerce business.” 

There was also an update on the fortunes of 

subsidiary consumables companies Zhongwei 

Jingjie, Zhuhai Tuojia, and Zhuhai Xinwie. 

Zhongwei Jingie, whose main product is 

universal print cartridges, recorded an 

operating income of ¥92.7 million ($13.5 

million/€11.6 million) in the period, with a 

sales gross profit of ¥22.9 million ($3.35 

million/€2.88 million), whilst Zhuhai Xinwie 

– which deals in both universal print 

cartridges and toner cartridges, saw operating 

incomes of ¥217 million ($31.7 million/€27.3 

million) and sales gross profits of ¥41.2 

million ($6.03 million/€5.19 million). 

Zhuhai Tuojia, meanwhile, which also 

focuses on universal print cartridges and toner 

cartridges, recorded sales gross profit of ¥38.5 

million ($5.63 million/€4.85 million) and 

operating incomes of ¥210.7 million ($30.8 

million/€26.5 million). 

Shipments of Pentium Pantum printers 

reached 308,000 units in the first half of 

2018, a year-on-year rise of 75 percent 

compared to the equivalent period in 2017, 

whilst the Lexmark printer business saw an 

increase in both operating income and gross 

profit, by 11 percent and 64 percent 

respectively. However, the total number of 

Lexmark printers sold fell by 6.7 percent, to 

668,100, “mainly due to the slowdown in 

shipments in the European market.” Sales 

revenue increased by 11 percent, with 

shipments of original consumables 

increasing “significantly.” 

23

CITY NEWS 


NORTH AMERICA Staples, Essendant, Acquisition 

Staples acquires Essendant with “superior proposal” 

The Illinois-based office supplier has confirmed its purchase by Staples, despite a previously-agreed deal with S.P. 

Richards and last minute shareholder reservations. 

Having failed in its takeover of Office 

Depot in 2016, Staples was making its 

“first major move” since that 

acquisition collapsed, although the 

supplier’s road was far from a smooth 

one, with Essendant having already 

accepted a takeover from S.P. 

Richards, and its parent company, 

GPC. 

With shareholders having already 

voted in favour of the S.P. Richards 

deal, Staples resorted to publishing an 

open letter, extolling the virtues of its 

own offer in comparison, whilst at the 

same time criticising the previouslyagreed 

deal, on antitrust grounds. The 

company impressed upon shareholders 

that “the SPR merger is inferior and 

presents significant antitrust risks that 

could delay or prevent the transaction 

from closing.” 

“Your proposed merger with S.P. 

Richards has very significant regulatory 

uncertainty and risk, given that it is a 

horizontal merger to what would appear 

to be a monopoly,” the letter read. 

“Moreover, there is no apparent remedy 

that could be undertaken that would 

allow for the transaction to close. Your 

agreement for the S.P. Richards merger 

does not provide you with any protection 

if it is blocked, and your own disclosures 

make it clear that you will not even know 

whether you can obtain regulatory 

approval until the end of the year.” 

Staples, of course, knows plenty about 

antitrust legislation, with that being the 

key stumbling block in its failed pursuit 

of Office Depot. The company also 

warned of a negative impact on 

Essendant’s share prices were the S.P. 

Richards deal to be voted through, 

claiming to shareholders that “if your 

proposed transaction is blocked, 

Essendant’s stock could fall to below $5 

(€4.30) a share — we would then be in a 

position to acquire Essendant for well 

below $11.50 (€9.89) a share.” 

The missive continued: “Enclosed with 

this letter is an Investor Presentation 

that we filed today, which includes pages 

previously provided to you regarding our 

views concerning the value of your 

proposed merger with S.P. Richards. The 

Investor Presentation demonstrates that 

the market was right in valuing your 

proposed merger at below $10 (€8.60) a 

share — and that was before your more 

recent disclosures of the weakness in the 

operations and outlook for both you and 

S.P. Richards’ business. 

We believe that our $11.50 (€9.89) 

offer already is far superior to your 

highly uncertain proposed merger, and 

would note that none of the information 

you have shared with us has changed our 

view on value. Nevertheless, in order to 

come to a negotiated transaction, we 

continue to be prepared to engage to see 

if we can reach agreement through a 

potential increase in price. However, in 

that context, it is important to recognize 

that the current trading prices for your 

stock are based on takeover speculation 

and unrealistic price expectations.” 

Staples’ letter had the desired effect, 

with Essendant’s Board of Shareholders 

determining its offer a “superior 

proposal” less than a week later, as 

defined in its previously-announced 

merger agreement with S.P. Richards of 

April this year. 

Consequently, Essendant announced 

its intention to terminate the merger 

with GPC, in order to enter into a new 

merger agreement with Staples. Despite 

this, S.P. Richards retained the right to 

propose amendments to the terms of 

its original merger, and for the duration 

of the period of notice, Essendant’s 

Board could not change its previous 

recommendation to shareholders that 

they vote in favour of the S.P. Richards 

transaction. 

However, following the Board’s 

decision, GPC confirmed that it would 

not make a counteroffer, and announced 

that it resultantly expected the deal 

agreed in April to be terminated. 

However, it declaring the deal dead in the 

water, it still contended that it believed its 

deal was the “superior proposal.” 

It seemed that with the Board’s 

approval, Staples were in the clear, but 

the deal still had to pass the approval of 

Essendant’s shareholders, which 

presented a hurdle when Essendat’s 

largest shareholder, Pzena Investment 

Management, announced it believed 

Staples’ proposal “does not constitute a 

superior offer”, and that it “does not 

intend to support the Staples proposal 

as it currently stands, if and when it is 

presented to shareholders.” 

Only a couple of days later, however, 

Essendant confirmed the acquisition, 

with Pzena either outnumbered or 

undergoing a last-minute change of 

heart. Under the terms of the purchase, 

Staples will acquire all of the outstanding 

shares of Essendant, in a transaction 

worth around $996 million (€854 

million). 

“We are excited about the opportunity 

to move forward with this agreement, 

and to work with the Essendant team to 

complete the partnership of these two 

great companies, which will ultimately 

deliver significant value to independent 

resellers and end customers across the 

US,” said Staples. 

Essendant Chairman Charles Crovitz 

added: “After carefully evaluating 

Staples’ revised offer, including taking 

into account the extended regulatory 

process and risks associated with the S.P. 

Richards transaction and the continued 

challenges presented by the rapidly 

changing industry dynamics on our 

ability to realise value in combination 

with S.P. Richards, we are confident that 

the Staples transaction is in the best 

interest of Essendant shareholders. 

While our agreement to merge with 

S.P. Richards presented an attractive 

opportunity, we believe the Staples 

transaction provides superior and 

immediate value to our shareholders.” 

“We believe combining with Staples 

provides a tremendous opportunity to 

enhance our resources and ability to 

serve customers, while delivering 

compelling and certain value to 

shareholders,” said Rich Phillips, CEO 

and President of Essendant. “I want to 

thank all our associates for their 

continued commitment and dedication 

as we have navigated this process over 

the past several months.” 


AROUND THE INDUSTRY 


EUROPE Recyclia, Cartridge 

Collection, Spain 

Recyclia deploys 

Spanish 

cartridge 

collection 

scheme 

The organisation has announced 

the launch of its first toner and 

printer cartridge collection 

system in Spain. 

Recyclia is deploying over 40,000 

collection points in major stores and 

commercial premises as well as public 

buildings and other prominent locations 

around the country. The organisation 

says it expects to collect over a thousand 

tons of printing consumables (about 6.6 

million units). 

Ink cartridges from the domestic 

channel are expected to account for 23 

percent of this, while the remaining 77 

percent will consist of toner cartridges 

from the distribution channel. 

Recyclia explains, “The implementation 

of these recycling systems 

coincides with the regulatory change in 

Spain, which will come into force on 

August 15, whereby the printing 

consumables with electrical parts – “most 

of which are marketed” – will go to be 

considered as ‘electronic waste’.” 

This new collection system in Spain 

will utilise Recyclia’s 15 years of 

experience in the waste management of 

electronic equipment. 

EUROPE Armor, Iconex, Partnership 

Mutually beneficial: Armor’s 

Iconex partnership 

Iconex, a provider of receipt and label solutions, and Armor, which specialises in 

coating TTR ribbons for barcode printing, have announced that they have entered 

into a significant new agreement. 

Through this new partnership, Armor, 

headquartered in Nantes, France, with 

U.S. headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, 

will acquire Iconex Thermal Transfer 

Ribbon (TTR) Business and Intellectual 

Property (IP). 

The two companies also announced 

that they have signed a global reseller 

agreement, under which Iconex will 

become a preferred global reseller for 

Armor and its TTR technology. The 

partnership will benefit customers of 

both companies: it will significantly 

enhance Armor’s presence and service to 

U.S. and worldwide TTR customers and 

also strengthen the Iconex go-to-market 

strategy, as it will spur company growth 

and foster a focus on its core offerings. 

Armor will fully integrate Iconex’s 

offerings and IP into its organisation 

over the upcoming months, ensuring 

cross-pollination of product, people and 

support. Terms of the transaction were 

not disclosed. 

As part of the agreement, Iconex has 

agreed to sell its TTR intellectual 

property, which includes the patented 

formula of all Iconex grades including 

Ultra-V. Iconex invented the paper 

receipt over a century ago, and today 

offers products including receipts, labels, 

printer supplies and other essentials. 

Armor is the worldwide market leader in 

the coating of TTR for printing on 

packaging and barcode labels and is a 

specialist in print consumables and 

coated films for the renewable energies 

market. The company has a strong 90- 

year history of innovation as printing and 

consumables specialists. Armor has a 

manufacturing unit in USA since 2000. 

The acquisition of Iconex TTR business 

marks a new stage in Armor presence as 

a key TTR player in the U.S. market. 

“Today’s news strengthens the 

industry by bringing together two longtime 

leaders in the TTR market – with 

storied histories in the market. The 

Iconex brand is well known for its 

product innovation and we are excited to 

merge with our existing technology to 

better service our customers,” said 

Hubert de Boisredon, Chairman and 

Chief Executive Officer, Armor. “We are 

not only acquiring a market-leading 

technology, we are establishing an 

important reseller agreement with 

Iconex that will enable an extensive more 

robust go-to-market strategy for us and 

reinforce our market penetration in USA 

and around the globe.” 

The global reseller agreement between 

the two companies allows Iconex to sell 

its TTR technology as an Armor 

preferred partner in several countries 

around the world. The partnership is 

built upon a clear alignment of corporate 

strategy and direction and allows Armor 

to fully leverage Iconex strengths in the 

market. This preferred partnership 

becomes effective upon 1 October 2018. 

“This strategic decision to sell our 

Thermal Transfer Ribbon Business and 

associated Intellectual Property will allow 

us to better focus on our strategy to 

become the world’s leading provider of 

receipts and innovative label solutions,” 

said Craig Gunckel, Chief Executive 

Officer of Iconex. “We are also very 

excited to enter into a distribution 

agreement to become a reseller of the 

full line of Armor’s products and 

technologies, which now includes Ultra 

V. This partnership will allow us to better 

support our existing customers by 

offering an extended range of products 

and tools, which we believe will lead 

to growth for both Iconex and our 

customers.” 



EUROPE Ninestar, Tonerdumping, Events 

Success for G&G at IFA 

The Ninestar brand and its German distributor, Tonerdumping, enjoyed a 

prosperous exhibition at IFA 2018 in Berlin recently. 

IFA, described as “the world’s leading trade 

show for consumer electronics and global 

innovations in technology and software,” 

ran from the 31st of August to the 5th of 

September. 

G&G reported a highly positive reception 

at the event, with Oleg Zhao, the General 

Manager of Seine Holland – Ninestar’s 

European branch – stating that he was “glad 

to see so many customers are interested in 

the G&G brand.” 

Zhao continued: “G&G is new to this 

exhibition, and we believe people will fall in 

love with G&G and its products.” 

The company claims that it has “set the 

industry’s gold standard in terms of 

performance,” and that “today, Ninestar’s 

G&G-branded products are recognised 

internationally for their superior 

performance and reliability.” 

EUROPE PRINTek, ISO Certifications, Business 

PRINTek upgrades ISO certification 

The Hungarian remanufacturer has announced that it has had its ISO certification 

upgraded, as the company accords with ISO’s new standards introduced in 2015. 

PRINTek reveals that they have successfully 

completed the ISO 9001:2015 certification. 

This new certification specifies 

requirements for quality management 

systems (QMS). Organisations use the 

standard to demonstrate the ability to 

consistently provide products and services 

that meet customer and regulatory 

requirements. 

In order to become ISO 9001 certified, 

applicants must complete a rigorous process 

including passing a physical ISO 9001:2015 

certification audit by a certifying agency. 

PRINTek completed each portion of the 

requirement and is now fully certified for 

the remanufacturing of inkjet cartridges, 

laser cartridges and ribbon cartridges . 

Gyorgy Koppany, Managing Director of 

PRINTek, commented, “I could not be 

more happy with my colleagues. We’ve 

worked long and hard to complete 

the tasks to get us ready for the site audit 

and we really demonstrated our dedication 

in quality.” 


EUROPE GM Technology, 

Nubeprint, MPS 

GM 

Technology 

wins sanitary 

contract 

The company has announced the 

news of its success along with 

Nubeprint, revealing that it will be 

providing over a thousand printers 

throughout the Córdoba sanitary 

network. 

The Sanitary Logistics Platform of 

Córdoba has signed a contract with GM 

Technology for the provision of printing, 

reprography and digital procedure 

services in all of the health centres that 

make up the platform’s network. 

The success of GM Technology’s 

technical proposal was due to “the 

characteristics of the multifunctional 

equipment, the management software or 

the optimisation of the services; 

evaluation criteria that allowed” the 

company to gain the highest score 

compared to the other offers received by 

the platform. 


27


EUROPE PKMP, Business, Employee 

KMP speaks 

of employee 

pride 

The German company has declared 

its pleasure at the long tenure of so 

many of its employees. 

Following the celebrations of 

Mahmut Demirkaya’s decade with 

the company last month, Heinz G. 

Sieg and Jan-Michael Sieg have 

expressed their gratitude to 

employees Apollonia Bär and 

Gerhard Ammerich, who have 

respectively spent 21 years in the 

Dispatch department and 10 years in 

the Electrics division. 

Whilst Ammerich is set to “gladly” 

continue in his work, Bär is stepping 

down to enjoy a “well-deserved 

retirement,” according to KMP. 

The company declared its gratitude 

to the long-serving pair, saying: 

“Thanks to both of you for being part 

of our family and for contributing to 

KMP’s success!” 

EMEA HP, Samsung, Counterfeit 

UAE: Thousands of counterfeit 

cartridges seized 

this year, according to HP. 

These ready-for-sale counterfeit toner 

cartridges had both HP and Samsung 

brands, the OEM revealed. 

As Gulf News reports, in April this year a 

number of raids were carried out by local 

officials on “several private residences and 

farms”, where they discovered “significant 

volumes of HP and Samsung branded illicit 

products” concealed in storage. 

These raids “helped halt the trade of 

counterfeit cartridges across the UAE and 

The Recycler first reported on the company’s 

award nomination last month, when 

Marketing Manager Stephen Brownsteele 

said, “We face some tough competition this 

year in the form of Oxley Group who run a 

large and very tight export operation but I 

know how good we are here so I’m looking 

forward to the November awards.” 

This year the company’s export 

department hit the “magic 1,000” export 

milestone for a five-day period. 

As part of its submission for the business 

award, Trade Copiers underwent an 

interview with Maria Whitehead MBE of The 

Hawkshead Relish Company, and says it is 

hoping to repeat last year’s win. 

Brownsteele said: “Maria came to 

interview us last year when we were in the 


Authorities in the UAE have confiscated over 46,000 counterfeit toner cartridges 

internationally and disrupted the criminal 

ring assembling and distributing the 

goods”, HP explained. 

EUROPE Trade Copiers, Export, Awards 

Trade Copiers hopes for Exporters award 

The company has revealed that it is keeping its fingers crossed as the judging 

process for In-Cumbria’s Best Exporter award takes place. 

process of the building work so she has been 

able to see real and physical improvements 

which should bode well for the final decision 

on who has won Best Exporter.” 

The award ceremony will be held at the 

Halston Hotel in Carlisle on 15 November 

2018, and be will be hosted by popular radio 

personality, Jeremy Vine. 

NORTH AMERICA Katun, Charity Work, Team 

Community building and customer services at Katun 

It has been a busy week for the supplier, as its Customer Technical Services reps gather from across the globe and helpful 

staff build a home with Habitat for Humanity. 

As Katun reveals, this week has been a 

fruitful one for the company, both in terms 

of work-related activities and giving back to 

the community. 

The supplier voiced its pride at its 

employees, who “consistently and 

enthusiastically” dedicate themselves to 

the community throughout the year. On 

this particular occasion, it was a team of 

“hard working folks” who pitched in to 

help with the building of a house with 

Habitat for Humanity in the St. Paul – 

Cottage Grove area. 

This week at Katun, the supplier has also 

played host to its global team of Customer 

Technical Services representatives, which 

“focuses on keeping devices humming 

along, solving problems, driving innovation 

and keeping customers happy!” 

The event was hosted by Katun’s Marty 

and included fun and relaxation as well 

as work. 




EUROPE Totalpost, Training, Business 

Totalpost becomes Training Academy 

Cartridge remanufacturer Totalpost has become one of North West England’s “leading training academies in its field.” 

The company has been providing advanced 

training opportunities both in its factory 

and in business disciplines for over 5 years, 

in which time it has had many success 

stories of apprentices rising through the 

ranks of the firm, learning new skills and 

moving into different areas of the business. 

Speaking about the academy, Chairman 

David Hymers said: “We recruit for attitude, 

and let each individual’s skills shine 

through. By providing young people with 

opportunities to try working in different 

areas of the business they are able to find a 

career that they really enjoy.” 

Dean Johnson started working as an 

apprentice at Totalpost in 2013. He started 

out learning all the different processes in 

the factory, quickly demonstrating a strong 

work ethic. After showing interest in the IT 

side of the business, he was given the 

opportunity to try a role within this 

department, since which he has thrived, 

developing new IT processes for Totalpost 

which are helping it to stay ahead of 

technological advances. Dean has also 

trained to become an ISO internal auditor, 

which helped “immensely” when Totalpost 

recently passed its triennial revue to achieve 

the higher standard ISO9001:2015. 

“I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do 

when I began my career at Totalpost,” said 

Johnson. “I have been able to gain practical 

qualifications while getting lots of different 

hands on experience. This has been 

invaluable as I am now lucky enough to 

have a job I thoroughly enjoy.” 

A similar story is that of apprentice Rory 

Jewitt, who started with Totalpost in 2015. 

Quicking picking up all the different factory 

processes, in the intervening three years he 

has progressed to become the factory 

supervisor. 

“I’m very grateful and fortunate at 

Totalpost, not just for the faith shown 

in recruiting me in the first place but 

also for the promotion I received and 

the opportunity to improve myself 

academically,” explained Jewitt. “I hope in 

time to be able to repay that faith by putting 

my new skills to good use and help 

Totalpost achieve further prosperity.” 

Furthermore, Dale McCormack started 

out as a factory apprentice, and due to his 

skills in graphics and communication was 

promoted to run the service desk, collating 

and providing management information to 

customers, and undertaking web design 

and graphics. Dale said of his progress: 

“When I first started at Totalpost I knew I 

wanted to progress in the company and I 

have been given plenty of opportunities to 

do so, with the Level 3 management course 

I am enrolled on it has improved my 

knowledge and skill set far more than I 

thought was possible.” 

NORTH AMERICA Epson, Lawsuit, IP 

Epson launches patent infringement lawsuit 

District of New York. 

The action accuses the defendants of 

infringement of three of Epson’s patents 

- United States Patent No. 6,502,917 (“the 

‘917 patent”), United States Patent No. 

8,794,749 (“the ‘749 patent”), and 

United States Patent No. 8,454,116 (“the 

‘116 patent”) – collectively known in this 

case as “the Epson patents.” The patents 

were allegedly violated through the 

manufacture and sale of aftermarket ink 

cartridges for use with Epson printers. 

The accused parties are FTrade Inc., 

also trading as Valuetoner, and Hong 

Kong-based GPC Trading, which operates 

as GPC Image in the United States; both 

have also recently been subject to legal 

action from Canon. Also named as a 

defendant is individual Wei Feng Li, who 

is described in court papers as the sole 

officer and/or general manager of 

FTrade. They are accused of selling 

cartridges that violate the IP of Epson, 

both through their own websites and 

across various other e-commerce 

platforms, including Amazon and eBay. 

The OEM is seeking a trial by jury, and 

Totalpost has also supported employees 

in other areas of the business to upskill, 

funding qualifications and giving time for 

employees to study. Team members Ruth 

Reed and Lisa Brightwell, both long term 

employees, have undertaken study in 

business administration and ICT and 

have both gained NVQ qualifications. 

“I’m really pleased to have achieved my 

first official qualification,” Reed reflected, 

while Brightwell opined: “I’ve really 

enjoyed this work based study and I am 

already looking forward to the next course 

based around digital marketing and social 

media for business.” 

“The opportunity to learn and upskill 

should be available to everyone,” 

emphasized Hymers. “I am delighted that 

we are able to support our employees to 

do this across such a wide area of 

disciplines. It has helped our business as 

an SME enormously as we have people 

who can now multi task across more 

than one discipline which helps 

with staff coverage in times of holiday or 

sickness.” 

Totalpost is now being recognised as a 

leading example of how companies can 

support young people to learn whilst 

earning a living, with Hymers regularly 

asked to speak at Universities, Colleges 

and other public sector bodies about 

skill training, and how his company 

implemented “a training scheme which 

works for both the employer and 

employee.” 

The OEM has filed the suit against FTrade Inc., GPC Trading, and Wei Feng Li, in the US District Court for the Eastern 

a ruling that not only are the 

aforementioned Epson patents “valid and 

enforceable”, but that the above 

defendants are infringing them, wilfully; 

as a consequence, Epson is filing for the 

defendants and their “subsidiaries, 

affiliates, parents, successors, assigns, 

officers, agents, representatives, servants, 

and employees”, to be preliminarily and 

permanently enjoined from continued 

infringement. 

It is also seeking full payment of its 

legal costs pertaining to the case. 


29


NORTH AMERICA Metrofuser, NJBIZ, 

Business 

Metrofuser 

named in 

NJBIZ Top 250 

The printing solutions company and 

printer parts manufacturer has been 

named amongst NJBIZ’s Top 250 

Privately Held Companies in New 

Jersey. 

NORTH AMERICA RIS, CostCo, Ink Refilling 

CostCo rolls out RIS refilling 

service 

Last week, RIS revealed that new ink cartridge refill kiosk signs are now on 

display at select CostCo warehouses across the USA. 

CostCo is now advertising RIS’s ink 

cartridge refilling services at select locations 

nationwide, encouraging customers to bring 

their empty cartridges to the Photo Centre at 

their local branch so they can be refilled 

while the customers shop. 

In this way, consumers can make savings 

of up to 60 percent, according to CostCo, 

while obtaining “top-quality inks” and 

reducing the amount of waste that goes to 

landfill. 

2018 has been a fruitful year so far for 

RIS, as the company opened its second 

European operation in France at the end of 


last month, and attended the IFA-Berlin 

Exhibition, where representatives from the 

company performed on-site demonstrations. 

It is the second year in a row that 

Metrofuser has been so honoured. The 

ranking, provided by the New Jersey 

business journal NJBIZ, evaluates 

companies based on their revenue, 

growth, and employee count. 

Metrofuser, a manufacturer and 

marketer of printer parts, equipment, 

diagnostics, repair information, and 

systems solutions for professional users, 

offers products and services including 

remanufactured laser printer parts, 

remanufactured printers and service 

training for OEM brands including HP, 

Lexmark, and Canon. 

The company’s customers include 

office equipment dealerships, online 

retailers, repair centres and MPS service 

providers nationwide. 

Co-President Will DeMuth said of the 

news: “We are honoured to have ranked 

among New Jersey’s Top 250 privately 

held companies. This recognition can be 

attributed to our commitment towards 

our clients, and providing them with the 

right IT services that take them to the 

next level.” 

NORTH AMERICA Atrix, Promotions, Business 

Atrix promotes Shane Vail 

Atrix, U.S. manufacturer of portable, industrial vacuums with ultrafine 

filtration, has announced the promotion of Shane Vail to Vice President 

and General Manager. 

Vail started with Atrix in July of 2016 and, 

according to the company, “has been 

responsible for strategic direction, day-to-day 

operations, and revenue growth.” 

In addition, Vail has directed the rebrand 

and launch of a new website, managed the 

creation of new collateral, branded new and 

existing products, and hired three new 

positions. 

Under Vail’s leadership, Atrix says it has 

managed to achieve record year-over-year 

growth. 

“Shane’s management skills and attention 

to detail have greatly added to the growth of 

Atrix,” said Chairman Steve Riedel. “I look 

forward to seeing his continued 

contributions in Fiscal Year 2019 and 

working with him over the years to come.” 

“Atrix is a thriving company built by a 

strong team dedicated to supplying quality, 

innovative products driven by excellent 

customer service,” said Vail. “I am highly 

driven and Atrix is well-positioned for 

continued growth. We have an exciting 

opportunity in front of us.” 



Remanexpo: Business Matchmaking 


The service allows you to meet new customers and 

suppliers at Paperworld 2019 

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EUROPE IOP, IBM, Activ Business Solutions 

ABS now offering IBM toner 

cartridges 

Activ Business Solutions and IOP have forged an agreement, whereby ABS can 

now stock IOP’s IBM toner cartridges. 

Michael Lowes, Managing 

Director at Activ Business 

Solutions, has explained that this 

agreement takes “35 percent out 

of printer supply costs for 

clients” and thanked IOP’s 

Business Development Manager, 

Paul Smith, for a profitable 

business meeting, leading to the 

forging of this new “focussed 

partnership”. 

He went on to say that the IBM 

toner cartridges will provide consumers 

with “quality, environmental benefit and 

cost reduction” and urged them to get in 

touch to find out more about how the 

cartridges can benefit their business. 

Turbon appointed IOP as its wholesale 

distributor of the company’s IBM 

cartridges at the start of the year. 

IOP’s co-founder, Mark Dawson, 

explained, “Resellers face many 

challenges with their printer supplies 

businesses. On the one hand, OEMS are 

pulling back on their channel support 

programmes meaning that real margins 

are reduced. On the other hand, the 

cut-throat competition and price 

compression associated with compatible 

or remanufactured alternatives means 

that cash margins are now even thinner 

on these offerings compared with the 

OEM products. It really isn’t a pretty 

picture out there. 

The IBM brand provides an escape 

from this. Despite decent remanufactured 

alternatives being available with a price 

advantage, for more than 20 years, and 

despite new build compatibles being 

available at a fraction of the reman cost, 

the OEM still has a circa 75 percent share. 

In a climate where every enterprise user 

needs to reduce office printing costs, this 

is irrefutable evidence that price is not the 

only driver. Brand recognition is clearly a 

much bigger influence on procurement 

decision making. 

Interbrand lists IBM as the 10th most 

valuable brand on the planet (Apple being 

#1). HP comes in at #52. There is now an 

opportunity for resellers to take advantage 

of this brand strength and to multiply 

their cash margins”. 

SOUTH AMERICA HYB, Demonstration, Products 

HYB opens first South 

American hall 

The company has announced the opening of its first multi-functional hall in 

South America. 

According to HYB, in this new venue, 

customers “can speak their own language 

with our LATAM sales in the conference 

room and get online technical 

demonstration from” its staff of 

“experienced copier sales professionals.” 

2018 has been a big year for HYB so far, 

with the company announcing a new Italian 

distributor, opening a brand new Test Room 

and attending a major office consumables 

seminar in South Africa, among other 

accomplishments. 


31



SOUTH AMERICA Dimerc Office, Distribution, Automation 

Dimerc Office embraces automation 

The Chilean office supplies distributor has installed a three-level pick module and high-speed shipping sorter to its 

Santiago distribution centre. 

As a result of the new installation at 

216,000 square ft. premises in the 

nation’s capital, productivity has risen by 

30 percent, according to Modern Materials 

Handling. 

The work is part of an ongoing strategy 

to become not only Chile’s premier 

distributor of office supplies, but to rival 

Dimerc’s international rivals on the global 

stage, too. 

“We are continuously evaluating 

process improvements and looking at 

possibilities for automation,” explained 

Dimerc’s Logistics Manager, Igancio 

Calvo. 

Without retail premises, Dimerc 

distributes directly to office buildings, and 

has seen “significant growth” as it seeks to 

add third-party drop-ship and fulfilment 

services to its repertoire. 

“We needed to increase our production 

capacity, control our labour resources, 

improve quality and decrease errors along 

with decreasing the number of credit 

notes we issued for missing items, 

damaged goods and other mistakes,” 

Calvo continued, adding that a desire for 

increased accuracy was also a motivating 

factor. 

The company achieved this with the 

installation of a three-level pick module, 

utilising pick-to-light and RF scanning; an 

expanded conveyor system; implemented 

RF-directed carton picking in place of 

paper-based picking; a new selection of 

quality control scanners and the 

introduction of a quality control area; and 

the installation of a high-speed shipping 

sorter, capable of handling 6,000 cartons 

each hour. 

As a result, “we have been able to fulfill 

our dispatched orders on time, managing 

to deliver more than 99% of orders within 

24 hours,” reported Calvo. The facility 

processes approximately 33,000 cartons 

daily, and Dimerc serves a customer base 

of around 4,000 clients. 

First founded in 1937 by Jorge Naser 

Kaba, a Syrian immigrant, Dimerc Office 

has since grown to become one of Chile’s 

biggest suppliers, diversifying into office 

supplies in 1997 and expanding 

operations into Peru in 2011. 

EUROPE The Recycler, Business, Anniversary 

Milestone celebrations for The Recycler’s Amy 

Amy Van De Casteele, Editorial Assistant at The Recycler, is celebrating a successful first year with the magazine, 

which she described as “a real journey of discovery.” 

Having joined the company in 

September 2017, half-Belgian, half- 

British Van De Casteele is popping the 

corks on a wildly successful 365 

days’ service. 

“It has been an amazing first year at 

The Recycler,” she declared. “I can’t 

believe how the time has flown by. I 

started this job knowing almost nothing - 

okay, nothing at all - about the 

remanufacturing industry, so the last 

year has been a real journey of discovery.” 

Having come to the role following six 

years’ worth of experience as a freelance 

copywriter in the travel industry, working 

for the likes of HotelTravel, Honeymoon 

Dreams and Pure Destinations, it wasn’t 

long before Van De Casteele had her feet 

firmly under the table. 

“I was working as a 

freelance content writer 

in the travel business 

before this, so it took a 

little while to learn the 

ropes but hopefully I 

have acquitted myself 

well - though I still get a 

little confused about 

whether it’s CYMK 

cartridges or CMYK (just 

kidding, Editor...)” 

Reflecting on the 

highlights of the last year, she admitted 

that “the best thing about joining this 

magazine has, without doubt, been the 

working relationships I have forged 

with my colleagues; their 

support and good humour 

over the past year has been 

outstanding and I am so 

grateful.” 

“It’s been great having 

Amy as part of the team,” 

The Recycler’s Managing 

Editor, Stefanie Unland, 

said. “She has a fresh style 

of writing that’s engaging, 

and she has brought a 

refreshing wind to the 

news. I am looking forward 

to working with Amy on many new and 

exciting projects to further develop her 

skills, and I hope she continues to enjoy 

her writing!” 







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NORTH AMERICA Laser Pros, Business, Website 

Laser Pros unveils new website 

Following a period of downtime, the brand new online presence of Laser Pros 

International has been launched. 

The Wisconsin-based company alerted 

customers and partners to the news last 

week that its website was being taken 

offline for maintenance. 

Now, with work completed, the striking 

new version has gone live. 

The new website features an extensive 

online shop, offering a wealth of products 

from toner and ink to paper trays and hard 

drives, as well as a plethora of online 

technical resources. 

It also comprises a blog, which will keep 

visitors up to date with company news, a 

history of the company, details of Laser 

Pros’ various green initiatives and 

community support drives, and a section 

dedicated to its Research and Development 

enterprises. 

To check out the new website for yourself, 

visit www.laserpros.com. 


IMEA Pantum, Superton Electronics, 

Distributor 

Pantum 

announces new 

Indian distributor 

Supertron has been named as 

Pantum’s official national 

distributor in India. 

NORTH AMERICA LD Products, Rebranding, Business 

LD Products celebrates 

rebranding success 

The company’s in-house Design Team, Studio LD, has been honoured for its 

recent rebrand and new logo design. 

LD Products’ CEO, Aaron Leon, paid 

tribute to the team, and its Director Fred 

Machucha, on LinkedIn, after Studio LD 

won the Identity Redesign Silver Medal 

from Graphis, a “prestigious” advertising 

and design publisher. 

“I’m pretty sure this is the first time a 

company from the printer cartridge 

industry has won such an award,” said 

Leon, “so we are extra proud and excited to 

be in the company of higher profile 

companies.” 

Supertron Electronics has been open for 

business since 1993, launching with the 

goal of providing “cost-effective products 

and solutions in all areas of IT”. Early 

patrons included Canon and LG, but 

Supertron later added other big brand 

names to its list of clients, among them 

Dell, Acer and AMD. 

With India’s IT industry set to expand 

“at the rate of 15 to 20 percent in coming 

years”, Supertron asserts that it is 

“uniquely placed to ride the growth wave 

as it adds more brands to its portfolio”, 

such as Pantum. 

Announcing that Supertron was its 

latest distributor, Pantum invited 

consumers to “Stay tuned and see what 

the future holds.” 


33

FEATURE 

Changes afoot at eBay 

In the world of e-commerce and online retail, it’s not only Amazon 

making the news at the moment (see page 4); new rules set to be 

introduced by auction site eBay will impact those companies that sell 

new products through its platform, and could have a big effect on your 

business. The Recycler explains further… 

Over the coming months, and into 2019, 

eBay will introduce its new Product 

Based Shopping Experience (PBSE), in an 

attempt to improve the shopping 

experience for buyers and customers. 

Whilst this is a positive move from that 

group, it will have a knock-on effect on 

retailers, who must become familiar with 

the intricacies of the PBSE if they hope to 

carry on trading effectively across the 

platform. 

The main crux of the PBSE is that eBay 

is moving away from its current style of 

presenting search results in a list-based 

format. The reasoning behind this 

change is that currently, many tens, 

potentially hundreds, of listings can be 

presented for either the same, or highly 

similar items; eBay argues that this 

makes it tricky for customers to choose 

the right item, and to compare prices and 

other details of listings. 

Instead, the PBSE ‘Shop by Product’ 

grouping will utilise shorter lists, 

supposedly making it a smoother and 

easier process for customers to find what 

they are looking for – and to buy it. 

Discussing the changes, Optiseller CEO, 

Craig MacCallum, a specialist in online 

retail, said that “we have already seen the 

new listing method introduced to a small 

number of product lines.” He went on to 

add that “from September 2018, this 

will be expanded to 12 categories,” 

explaining that sellers and retailers will 

therefore “need to ensure their product 

categories match with eBay’s catalogue.” 

To make sure that your business isn’t 

left behind, there are several steps you 

can take to make sure you are prepared 

for the implementation of these changes. 

The first is obviously to be proactive, with 

MacCallum suggesting that “you need to 

be sure that you’re ready.” One good tip 

for getting ahead of the curve is to check 

the new categories already introduced by 

eBay, as well as researching those which 

will be introduced imminently. Once you 

have undertaken this, reflect on how 

these new categories will affect your 

existent listings, and consider what data 

you will need in the future. 

The data you provide to eBay when 

listing products must also be accurate 

under the new changes, particularly 

product identifiers. Product identifiers 

are the code on most goods which 

identify the product in its particular field; 

examples include Global Trade Item 

Numbers (GTINs), Universal Purchase 

Codes (UPCs) or International Standard 

Book Numbers (ISBNs). It’s imperative 

that if you want your products to feature 

within the correct groupings, you use the 

correct product identifier when listing. 

MacCallum points out that “with more 

listings associated to a product in the 

catalogue, competition for the primary 

position will be greater.” In response to 

this, you must ensure that your product 


FEATURE 

remains attractive and appealing to 

customers, through a variety of 

methods: Advertising fast delivery speeds 

is a good way to catch a buyer’s eye, as is 

the promotion of high stock quantities. 

It’s also worth making a fuss of your 

feedback history, so buyers can see you 

are a trusted and reputable seller, and 

also proudly advertising your returns 

policy; anything to improve the buying 

experience for the customer and to lead 

them to you, rather than your 

competitors. 

Another knock-on effect of the 

changes which you must be mindful of is 

that multi-variation listings (one product 

with multiple different possibilities), with 

each variation now needing to be 

carefully matched to one of eBay’s 

unique product categories. You must also 

make sure your listing process is fully 

compliant with eBay’s requirements, 

particularly if you are listing through a 

third party or multichannel management 

tool. It pays to be cautious, and not 

just assume that everything will go 

smoothly by itself. 

Speaking about the changes introduced, 

MacCullum reflected: “Focussing 

on the buyers’ experience is a great 

initiative, and clearly there is a lot of 

work online retailers need to do to align 

themselves with the new eBay strategy. 

Knowing where to start on your data is 

often the hard part.” 

Whilst he is right to pinpoint that 

online retailers will have to put in a 

ot of work to match up with eBay’s new 

approach, improving the experience of 

your customers is rarely, if ever, a bad 

thing, and so any new strategy 

that will help make your business more 

appealing to them is well worth 

adhering to. 

R 


35

INSIDE TRACK 

3. In that 21 years, what do you 

think has been your greatest 

personal achievement? 

Alfred Wirch, 3T Supplies 

For our latest Inside Track, The Recycler spoke to Alfred Wirch, 

who has served as Chief Executive of Switzerland’s 3T Supplies 

since the company’s foundation, back in 1997. A year later, 3T 

launched the Peach brand, with the intention of offering quality, 

cost-effective products worldwide. We spoke to Alfred about how 

he feels the industry has shifted since he joined 3T, and what the 

future has in store. 

We have always been able to find a 

solution that allows our company 

to offer IP safe products to 

the market resistant to firmware 

changes. 

4. And what has been 3T’s 

greatest achievement, as a 

company, in that time? 

A number of tests have shown that 

our products are almost as good as 

OEM products, as well as showing that 

they allow the consumer a substantial 

saving. 

1 How did your company start – 

what were your origins? 

Our company was started in 

Switzerland, and is now 

producing remanufacturing toner 

and inks in Prague.Africa. 

2. You’ve been CEO at 3T 

Supplies for 21 years – 

how do you feel the 

industry has changed – 

for better or worse – in 

that time? 

It has become more and more 

difficult to offer the consumer IPsafe 

products with a saving. If the 

consumer needs to buy an 

alternative product, it is almost 

impossible to compete with 

the one-to-one copies from Chinese 

manufacturers, which are being sold 

on Amazon. 

5. How has the EU’s new 

circular economy legislation 

impacted your company’s 

work, and what sort of effect 

will it have going forwards? 

I think the most important issue 

is to make sure that the points in the 

VA related to empties are really 

happening. The latest Firmware 

Action has shown that the empties 

in the market can not be used 

anymore. 

6. What plans do you have for 

the future expansion of 

Peach and 3T? 

We already offer a lot of products, 

which are somehow related to the 

printed paper, and in the future, we 

will continue to go this way. R 


WIDE FORMAT COLUMN 

Studies continue for 

graphene uses, safety 

Most people have seen the hexagon-shaped lattices that represent graphene. 

The carbon-derived material has super conductivity and strength that is 300 

times that of steel. It promises to revolutionise everything from clothing to 

aircraft, enveloping the imagination of researchers in about every field now, 

including 3D printing. 

Neal McChristy 

There are now graphene jackets and 

graphene gloves. Cotton in clothing 

seems to blend well with graphene for 

electrically-conductive clothing. But is 

the material, first made at the 

University of Manchester in the UK in 

2004, safe for humans? That’s an 

important consideration as graphene’s 

properties begin to be explored. 

The opinions vary from those who 

think it can invade and damage tissue 

to those who point out that when 

people barbecue, the material is 

released. 

One publication, Nanowerk, points 

out that the scientific papers on 

graphene now exceeds 12,000 per 

year with patents amounting to almost 

21,000 since the year 2000. 

Studies on graphene safety 

Ken Donaldson, a respiratory 

toxicologist at the University of 

Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, 

weighed in first with his colleagues. An 

article by David Bradley in Materials 

Today states Donaldson and his 

colleagues are concerned how nanoplatelets 

of graphene could be 

transported into the lungs. Donaldson 

points out that since there is no 

mechanism for removal or breakdown, 

the particles could interfere with 

normal functions or cause a chronic 

inflammatory response. While the 

body can filter out particles, Donaldson 

says these particles have behavior that 

allows them to slip past the body’s 

filters and white cells can’t engulf 

them. 

Biologists, material scientists and 

engineers at Brown University, 

Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 

Researchers use electron-beam lithography to fabricate graphene devices. The process scans a 

surface covered with an electron-sensitive film with a focused electron beam to draw custom shapes 

(Photo courtesy of University of Manchester) 

checked out graphene’s human-cell 

toxicity. Those scientists found 

because of the strength and sharpness 

of graphene nanoparticles, the 

material easily pierces the human 

lung, skin and immune cells, 

according to an article in New Atlas, 

and can do damage to humans and 

animals. 

New Atlas, in the article “Wondermaterial 

graphene could be dangerous 

to humans and the environment,” also 

cited another study by a University of 

California, Riverside, California, USA, 

team at the Bourns College of 

Engineering. The team was testing 

how graphene might interact with the 

environment in water on the surface or 

groundwater. 

If there is little organic matter in 

the water and the water is hard, the 

team found that graphene oxide 

nanoparticles would become less 

stable or be removed in non-surface 

water. But with surface water found 

in lakes and rivers, where more 

organic matter is found, the particles 

are much more stable and travel 

farther in the surface water. Under 

such conditions, it could spread and 



would take a length of years to be safe. 

Nanowerk, in the article by Michael 

Berger, “Nanotechnology innovation 

safety aspects – the case of graphene,” 

quote a paper in ACS Nano, 

“Considerations for safe innovation: 

The case of graphene.” Nanowerk 

states that the “innovation process of 

graphene may serve as an example 

that would benefit from considering 

safety aspects at various stages of 

development, according to a similar 

strategy suggested for nanomaterials 

in general.” 

The article points out the need for 

timely taking account of graphene’s 

innovative aspects or uncertainty 

about production safety, use and 

handling of waste will remain, 

including in commercial areas. 

Graphene has a set of unique and 

outstanding properties that make it a 

good candidate for use in a variety of 

applications. Graphene is the subject 

of study by the EU Graphene Flagship, 

coordinated by Chalmers University 

of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. 

representing Europe’s biggest 

research initiative from 150 academic 

and industrial research groups in 23 

countries. The Graphene Flagship 

seeks to take graphene from 

academics to European Society within 

a decade and generate “economic 

growth, new jobs and new 

opportunities”, according to the 

flagship Web site. 

And another view… 

In all this atmosphere of caution, there 

are those who cite the peaceful 

coexistence of humans with graphene 

Dr. Rahul R. Nair (who carried out this work) shows his research sample: a one-micron thick 

graphene oxide film (Photo courtesy of University of Manchester) 

for years. It was isolated from graphite 

pencil marks using tape in 2004. 

Chemistry World, in an article 

quoted India researchers who found 

when meat was barbecued, carbon 

particles, including graphene oxide, 

is released. Those researchers 

concluded that humans have been 

consuming graphene oxide for 

thousands of years. 

In an article by Hamish Crawford in 

Chemistry World, published 1 July 

2014, said that because of that, 

researchers Sabyassachi Sarker and 

Manav Saxena of the India Institute of 

Engineering Science, West Bengal, 

India, carbon nanomaterials had 

“effectively passed the test of time”. 

At this point, the material is 

generating numerous studies that will 

determine its safety. 

In an article by Jesus de La Fuente in 

Graphena, this comment is made: “In 

terms of how far along we are to 

understanding the true properties of 

graphene, this is just the tip of 

iceberg. Before graphene is heavily 

integrated into the areas in which we 

believe it will excel at, we need to 

spend a lot more time understanding 

just what makes it such an amazing 

material.” 

R 

An artist’s conception of a graphene matrix of carbon atoms 


39


Wide-Format news in brief 

Trump tariffs threaten USA economy, remanufacturing 

Recent US Stock-market rallies have 

defied predictions that the trade war 

between the USA and China will 

negatively impact the USA economy. 

But the recent threat by the Trump 

administration to tariff all Chinese 

imports hangs like Damocles’ sword 

over the USA economy and the 

remanufacturing industry. 

ABC News reported 10 September 

2018 that Chinese Foreign Ministry 

Spokesman Geng Shuang said that if 

the USA imposes another round of 

tariffs, China will take countermeasures. 

Since then, Trump has 

threatened tariffs on all China goods. 

Recently, Trump said the USA would 

impose tariffs on $200 billion (€174 

million) worth of goods and was 

prepared to tax all imports. The tariffs 

are expected to impact prices at “big 

box” stores, such as Wal Mart, 

significantly in the months ahead. 

Several new ventures are underway at 

Stratasys, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, 

including carbon-fiber 3D printers and 

use of its Fortus printer for a digital 

rail-maintenance center in Germany. 

The Stratasys Fortrus 380mc 

Carbon Fiber Edition is priced at 

$70,000 (€59,597) and is being used 

in partnership with Team Penske, a 

famous USA driving team. The team 

can use the printers to make windtunnel 

development, composite 

tooling, jibs and fixtures, engineering 

prototypes and race car components. 

Marketwatch quoted testimony of 

Naomi Wilson, director for China and 

greater Asia at the ITIC “Companies 

may be forced to downsize their 

production in the U.S. and manufacturing 

facilities or move overseas.” 

Some remanufacturing firms, such 

as Ninestar, Zhuhai, Guangdong, 

China, state they are outside the 

influence of the tariffs. But Actionable 

Intelligence reports that components 

from China, such as printer hardware, 

supplies and components, will mean 

higher prices and also different sources 

for these types of necessities. 

Actionable Intelligence states that “a 

full-blown trade war is going to hurt 

the entire imaging industry.” This is 

particularly true, the publication states, 

because many in the industry have not 

climbed back from the pre-Great 

Recession levels in 2007-2008. 

It is not out of the question that 

Stratasys carbon-fiber printers making transportation easier 

Stratasys’s carbon-fiber printers make 

lightweight mirror housings. The 

speed from prototype to design is one 

of the desirable features for the 

Penske team. 

Stratasys is also a part of the 

opening of the Siemens Mobility 

GmbH, which has opened its first 

digital rail-maintenance center in 

Dortmund-Eving, Germany. The depot 

offers the highest level of digitalization 

in the rail industry courtesy of 

Stratasys printing, which eliminates 

need for extensive inventory. 

economic dominoes could fall, causing 

a global recession. In a Marketwatch 11 

September 2018, opinion piece, “Apple 

and other companies sound the alarm 

on Trump’s China tariff plans,” Therese 

Poletti reported The Consumer 

Technology Association said it 

identified 380 codes from the tariff lists 

which “would cause significant harm 

to its industry, its member companies, 

as well as consumers. 

“Of concern are items that allow 

Americans to access the internet, such 

as servers, desktop computers, printed 

circuit assemblies and connected 

devices,” said Sage Chandler, Vice 

President for international trade at 

the CTA. 

Customer purchasing under the 

tariffs is expected to decrease by 12 

percent, according to Poletti’s article, 

and the CTA states price increases 

could be up to six percent. 

Since every train has to go through 

maintenance several times each year, 

having the parts avai0lable through 

3D printers is a definite plus, 

compared to casting the parts. The 

Stratasys Fortus 450 3D printer allows 

getting parts that once took six weeks 

to be produced in 13 hours, according 

to Tina Eufinger, business 

development additive manufacturing 

spokesman for Siemens Mobility 

Division. 

Metal 3D printing becoming easier: HP enters area 

Printing metal has been a tough item 

in the 3D printing area, while plastic 

or associated prototyping is much 

easier. But now Yale University 

researchers say they have made it 

easier, according to an article in 

Materials Today. 

The researchers turned to bulk 

metallic gasses, according to a 3 

September 2018 article by Kristin 

Houser in Robots & Machines. Such 

BMGs soften more easily than other 

metals, but still have strengths of 

metals. Yale researchers were 

able to print a number of metal 

shapes out of the material. 

Corporate metal 3D printing 

interest has also been high. Hewlett- 

Packard, Inc., showed HP Metal Jet, a 

metal 3D printing technology, at the 

2018 International Manufacturing 

Technology Show in Chicago. 

HP says the HP Metal Jet uses 

voxel-level (3D equivalent of a pixel) 

binder jetting. The first material will 

be stainless steel, It is expected there 

will be major interest in the auto, 

industrial and medical sectors, 

according to Dion Weisler, CEO and 

President of HP, Inc. Cost for the 

printers are expected to be under 

$399,000 (€339,705). 

Editor’s Note: Neal McChristy is a 

freelance writer with over 35 years 

journalism experience in magazine, 

newspaper and Web-based work. He has 

been contributing editor for magazine 

columns in the wide-format industry for 

18 years. He also has over 20 years’ 

experience as reporter and editor in the 

printing and imaging area. He likes to 

correspond with readers and can be reached 

at freelance9@cox.net. 


RETAIL COLUMN 

You and the angry 

customer – 

A frightening tale? 

Everyone in retail has those stories: the angry customer encounter. 

Sometimes funny – usually ugly – there are strategies your staff can learn 

to prepare for the inevitable and bounce back quickly. 

Flora Delaney 

Working in the retail sector means 

handling customer complaints. It is as 

inevitable as opening the store and 

taking out the rubbish. So it makes 

sense to teach your staff how to handle 

those conversations early in their 

career. If you do not spend time 

training and then practicing how to 

handle angry customers, your staff 

will have to learn on the sales floor. 

And that is never a good idea. 

Here are the keys to helping your 

staff manage the rough waters of 

difficult customers. 

1) Recognise the signs 

Some customers can return to the 

store or make a phone call and have a 

perfectly rational conversation about 

their situation. Others are in a much 

more emotional place. If they are 

screaming, swearing, panicked, 

accusing or abusive, it is easy to 

diagnose the situation. Crying or chinwobbling 

is another common 

emotional response. As soon as you or 

your staff recognise the signs, it is time 

to begin the resolution process 

outlined here. 

If a staff member is in over their 

head, they need to engage a manager. 

Speed is important. Try to quickly 

suspend the dialog with the customer 

and find a manager. Customers will 

only become more belligerent if they 

have to repeat their story. 

2) Manage yourself 

First, store staff or phone reps need to 

separate themselves personally from 

the caller and their emotions. The 

customer is emotional, but you do not 

have to be. Stay calm and listen to their 

story. If there is abusive language or 

swearing, tell the customer that while 

you wish to help them, you cannot 

assist if they continue with their 

language. Be logical and neutral but by 

all means, hold firm to creating a 

conversation of mutual respect. 

Staying cool and collected while 

being screamed at is difficult. But 

staying focused on the facts – not the 

emotions – is the only way to resolve 

the issue at hand. If you want to bring 

this ugly scene to its conclusion 

quickly, you need to understand what 

the problem is and what the customer 

wants. 

If possible, remember that 

emotions like anger and crying 

usually are covering other deeper 

feelings of embarrassment or fear. In 

our industry, there could be anxiety 

over their job or reputation if they 

have purchased an (expensive) 

incorrect item for their company. Or 

they could be facing serious deadlines 

for a client and are afraid that their 

work will be inadequate if the final 

presentation isn’t printed. In any case, 

it is important to remember that no 

matter what they are saying it isn’t 

about YOU personally. The more you 

match your customer in pitch and 

tone the longer the resolution will 

take and the longer you postpone the 

de-escalation. 

Finally, be hyper-aware of your 

body language. Crossing your arms is a 

natural – almost instinctive – posture 


RETAIL COLUMN 

to protect yourself from a verbal 

attack. Force your arms to your sides. 

Similarly, restrain yourself from 

holding up your palm in a “halt!” 

fashion or placing your hands on your 

hips. Both of which connote not 

listening. The best thing to do is look 

directly at the person and nod while 

listening to non-verbally deescalate 

their hostility. 

3) Patience 

To bring your customer around and let 

them run their course, it is important 

to give them the time to tell their entire 

story. When it is confusing, ask openended 

questions and continually check 

in with them by re-stating what you 

have heard and asking, “is that right?” 

Remember you are not prosecuting or 

trying to arrive at a solution at this 

point. Use questions to uncover their 

remembrance of the situation. Don’t 

back them into a corner with leading 

questions. The longer you listen and 

ask questions the more they will 

come to see that you are trying to 

understand their problem. Plus, you 

will get more details, which can help 

resolve the issue. 

4) Energy 

It may be natural for some staff 

members to passively listen when a 

customer is angry or upset while other 

meet that same emotion with similar 

intensity. Instead channel your own 

energy to show the customer that their 

issue is important and urgent. Tell 


customers that you will find a solution 

for them and that it has your 

ull attention. Be empathetic and 

understanding of their situation. In 

other words, be an advocate for the 

customer. Help them see that they are 

not alone. You are also going to 

shoulder their issue and together you 

will both try to get it solved. It doesn’t 

mean you must apologize or take full 

responsibility if, indeed, the customer 

was also at fault. (Such as when they 

purchase the wrong item.) That 

sounds like: 

“Well, that doesn’t sound good at all. 

Let’s work together to get to the bottom 

of this right away.” 

“This is troubling. Let me ask you 

some questions so I can understand 

what happened and then we can work 

together to find a solution.” 

“I understand. This is not a good 

situation. I am here to help you – so let 

me see what I can do.” 

5) Compassion 

When there is a solution, smile and 

move swiftly to complete the 

transaction. Let the customer know 

you are glad that it has been corrected. 

Should the issue be escalated above 

you, know that you have done all that 

you can and prepare to engage with 

your next customer. 

Have compassion for them and 

yourself. 

If it has been a heated exchange, 

give yourself time to cool off before 

handling the next customer by getting 

a drink of water. Stretch your neck 

and shoulders where you have 

probably been holding tension. Touch 

your toes. Physically release the 

tension in your body to prepare 

for the rest of your shift. 

Maybe one of the best things 

about working in retail is being 

able to solve customer problems. It 

happens when you help them 

select the right item to purchase 

in the first place. Or helping them 

when a transaction goes astray. It 

takes a special person to succeed 

in retail. If you and your staff stay 

positive in the face of difficult 

customers, you will have a 

flourishing career in retail. R 

43

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 


GLOBAL Apex, Chips, New Releases 

Apex releases new replacement chips 

The company has announced the release of a range of replacement chips, for use in multiple Canon and Oki machines, 

whilst also releasing an updated solution for use in the Xerox B400/C400 series. 

The first of the replacement chips for use in 

Canon models is for use in the Canon 

PIXMA TR7550/TR8550/TS6150/TS6151/ 

TS8150/TS8151/TS8152/TS9150/TS9155, 

and is for use with CMYK, as well as 

Photo Black and Page Black cartridges. 

The second replacement chip, 

meanwhile, offers the same page yields 

across the six colours, and is for use in the 

Canon Pixma TR7520/TR8520/TS6120/ 

TS8120/TS9120. 

The third replacement chip is for use 

with the Canon PIXUS XK70/XK50, with a 

fourth released for use with the Canon 

PIXUS TS8130/TS6130/TR8530/TR7530. 

Apex has also announced the impending 

release of five more replacement chips, for 

use in various other Canon printers. 

The first of these is for use with the 

Canon PIXMA TR8570/TS9170/TS8170, 

whilst the second is for use with the Canon 

PIXMA TS6140/TS8140/TS9140/ 

TR7540/TR8540. 

Also coming soon is a replacement chip 

for the Canon PIXMA TR7560/TR8560/ 

TS6160/TS8160/TS9160, and a 

replacement chip for use in the Canon 

PIXMA TS8190/TS8195. Apex has also 

announced that a replacement chip for the 

Canon PIXMA TS9180/TS8180/TS6180/ 

TR8580 is coming soon as well. 

All replacement chips are ASIC design 

and boast “consistent performance” and a 

“one-time use solution,” whilst also being 

“compatible with recycled cartridges.” 

“With years of research and experience 

in Canon’s series ink cartridge chip 

technology, Apex helps you seize the first-tomarket 

opportunities and introduces the 

replacement chip solution for the Canon 

PGI-580/PGI-280/XKI-N10/BCI-380 

series,” said the company. 

Furthermore, Apex also released a 

selection of new replacement chips for use 

in various models of Canon imageCLASS 

printer. 

Compatible with black cartridges, the 

replacement chips are for use with 

cartridges for use in Canon’s imageCLASS 

LBP113w/112 and MF113w/112. 

Available in two editions, the 

replacement chips promise a yield of 

either 1,600 pages or 12,000 pages. 

According to Apex, the chips are 

SoC design and offer “consistent 

performance,” whilst being “OEM size” 

and “easy to install in recycled cartridges.” 

The Canon printers that they are for use 

in are described by the company as 

“compact and stylish,” and “tailored to the 

varied needs of Small Office Home Offices 

(SOHOs).” 

These replacement chips were followed 

by the release of a series of replacement 

chips for use in a selection of Oki 

machines. 

The first of these is for use in cartridges 

for the OKI C532dn/C542dn and OKI 

MC573dn/MC563dn, and comes in 

various editions – a CMY chip with a yield 

of 6,000, a black with a yield of 7,000, or 

a CMYK with a yield of 1,500. 

A further replacement chip is for use 

with cartridges for the same models, 

offering a yield of 3,000 in the CMY 

variant and 3,500 in black. 

Additionally, Apex has released a 

replacement chip for use with cartridges 

for the C332dnw/C332dn/MC363dn, 

which again comes in multiple variations – 

a CMY variant with a yield of 3,000, a 

black variant with a yield of 3,500, and a 

CMYK variation with a yield of 1,500. 

Finally, the company has 

released a replacement chip for 

use with cartridges for the 

ES5473/ES5432dn/ES5442dn. 

This comes in two CMY variations, 

with a yield of either 5,300 or 

6,000, and two black variations, 

with a yield of either 6,800 or 

7,000. 

The Oki printers in question are 

described as being “suitable for medium 

and small enterprises.” 

This month also saw Apex announce a 

“first-to-market” updated solution for use 

in the Xerox B400/C400 series after 

firmware updates and error reports. 

In the announcement, Apex declared its 

solution for Xerox 6020 can be used in 

both the old and new manufactured 

printers with the latest firmware. 

Apex released the “first-to-market” 

updated solution for use in Xerox 

B400/C400 series, which can be 

recognised by both the new and old 

printers. What’s more, the new solution 

also covers the risky models that may be 

involved in the future and lower the 

possible risk. Apex declared it “will keep 

monitoring and provide more stable 

solutions to the global customers!” 

Models effected of upgraded printers 

include Xerox VersaLinK C400N/DN/ 

DNM, Xerox VersaLinK C405, Xerox 

VersaLinK C400/C405 and Xerox 

VersaLinK B400/B405. 

Models with the risk of new hardware 

upgrade include Fuji Xerox DocuPrint 

CP225w, Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CP115w, 

Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CP116w, Xerox 

DocuPrint CP118w, Xerox DocuPrint 

CM228fw, Xerox DocuPrint CP228W, 

Xerox DocuPrint CP119w, Xerox Phaser 

6022/6020, Xerox WorkCentre 

6027/6025, Fuji Xerox DocuPrint 

CM315z/CP315 dw, Fuji Xerox DocuPrint 

CM210 z/CP210 dw, Fuji Xerox DocuPrint 

CM310 z/CP310 dw, Xerox Phaser 

6510/WorkCentre 6515n, Xerox Phaser 

6510n/dn/ dnm/dni, Xerox WorkCentre 

6515n/dn/ dnm/dni, Xerox VersaLink 

C600, Xerox VersaLink C605 and Xerox 

VersaLink B600/B605/B610/ B615 

machines. 

For more information, please visit 

www.apexmic.com. 




GLOBAL Static Control, Cartridges, Drum Units, Remanufacturing 

Static Control’s latest product 

announcements 

Static Control Components has announced the latest additions to their 

product range. 

Announced were 

replacement cartridges 

for HP’s CF230A/X 

cartridges which are 

used in HP LaserJet Pro 

M203dn, HP LaserJet 

Pro M203dw, HP 

LaserJet Pro M203dn, 

HP LaserJet Pro 

M203dn and HP 

LaserJet Pro M203dn 

printers. Also available 

for these cartridges are the toner, chip and 

conversion kits. 

Also announced were replacement 

cartridges for Samsung’s MLT-D111L 

cartridges which are for use in Samsung 

Xpress SL-M2020, Xpress SL-M2020W, 

Xpress SL-M2060FH MFP, Xpress SL- 

M2070 MFP, Xpress SL-M2070 MFP, 

Xpress SL-M2070 MFP and Xpress SL- 

M2070W MFP machines. Toner, chip and 

drums are also available for this model. 

And finally Sattic Control announced a 

remanufactured replacement drum unit for 

Brother’s DR520 which are for use in 

Brother DCP-8060, DCP-8065DN, HL- 

5240, HL-5250DN, HL-5250DNT, HL- 

5280DW, MFC-8460N, MFC-8660DN, 

MFC-8670DN, MFC-8860DN, MFC- 

8870DW machines. Toner cartridges and 

more products are also available for this 

range. 


www.scc-inc.com. 

GLOBAL KMP, Green Up, Environment 

KMP launches Green Up concept 

A new video from the company explains its new Green Up initiative, which 

promises “organic colourants, less adhesives, less chemicals.” 

“Human influences on the environment 

are becoming clear,” the short video begins, 

explaining that this is why KMP started 

Green Up. 

The founding principles behind the 

initiative involves the “avoidance of 

chemistry and adhesives,” and the intention 

to “reduce the number of components by 

intelligent design.” 

KMP also intends to stop using animal 

leather, instead focusing on renewable raw 

materials, and has invited visitors to its 

booth at the IFA in Berlin to “feel and touch 

our easily recyclable cases and sleeves made 

of bio-based leather.” 

Another key aspect of Green Up is the 

ability to separate the components of a 

product at the end of its lifespan, and 

recycle the materials, so you too can help 

“green up the world.” 

You can watch the video in full on KMP’s 

LinkedIn page. 


45


NORTH AMERICA Katun Corporation, 

Cartridges 

Katun reveals 

new compatible 

toner cartridges 

Katun Corporation has announced 

the introduction of new compatible 

toner cartridges for use in Canon 

and Kyocera Mita applications. 

Katun Performance compatible toner 

cartridges for use in Canon 

imageRUNNER Advance 4525/ 

4535/4551-series MFPs provides OEMequivalent 

yields, according to the 

supplier, as well as “outstanding 

image quality”. 

Katun says the compatible toner 

cartridges are available at “significant 

cost savings vs. the OEM toner”, 

adding, “This toner has been tested 

and approved at Katun’s Research 

and Development laboratory in 

Minneapolis, Minnesota, to ensure it 

meets Katun’s high image quality and 

performance standards.” 

Dealers servicing Kyocera Mita 

devices will also be able to purchase 

18 new Katun Performance 

compatibletoner cartridges, which the 

supplier has introduced for use in 

several popular OEM applications, 

including the Kyocera Mita Ecosys M 

6530-series (TK-5142), Ecosys M 6035- 

series (TK-5152), Ecosys M 2635-series 

(TK-1152), Ecosys M 2040 DN-series 

(TK-1172), Ecosys P 2040 DW-series 

(TK-1162), and Ecosys M 3655 IDNseries 

machines. 

According to Katun, these products 

also provide OEM-equivalent print 

quality, colour reproduction and 

yields. 

Katun products may be ordered by 

phone, fax or email, or via the Katun 

Online Catalog. 

For more information visit 

www.katun.com. 


NORTH AMERICA Aster, Cartridges, Jumbo Cartridges 

Aster USA releases new 

compatible cartridges 

The company’s American division has launched a new range of compatible 

cartridges for use in Canon’s imageCLASS LBP 162dw, whilst also highlighting its 

range of jumbo cartridges. 

The remanufactured toner cartridges are 

available in two variations, offering a page 

yield of either 1,700 or 4,000. 

According to Aster USA, the remanufactured 

cartridges are “100 percent 

compatible”, and provide both “excellent and 

stable print yield” and “OEM-equivalent 

page yield.” 

The Canon imageCLASS LBP 162dw is 

described by Aster USA as offering “fast, 

high-quality business printing” alongside 

“flexible network connectivity” and “costefficient 

printing.” It is capable of printing at 

a speed of 30 ppm, and was released in 

March of this year. 

Aster USA also highlighted its range of 

replacement Brother jumbo cartridges and 

drum units, which come with an increased 

yield of 100 percent, according to the 

company. 

The products highlighted by Aster USA 

include its range of replacement cartridges 

for Brother TN350 cartridges, which come 

with a page yield of 5,000 (OEM page yield 

is 2,500), replacement cartridges for Brother 

TN360 cartridges, Brother TN450 cartridges 

and Brother TN660 cartridges which come 

with page yields of 5,200 compared to the 

OEM cartridge which come with page yields 

of 2,600. 

Also highlighted were replacement 

cartridges for Brother’s TN580 cartridges 

which are offered as jumbo cartridges with 

page yields of 10,000. 

Replacement drum units announced were 

replacement drum units for Brother DR420 

and DR630 which are offered in jumbo with 

a page yield of 20,000. 

Aster has also showcased its range of 

jumbo replacement cartridges for use in a 

variety of HP machines. 

The products highlighted include a 

replacement cartridge for the HP CE285A 

Jumbo cartridges, which offers a yield of 

2,500, compared to the OEM yield of 1,600. 

Secondly, there are replacement cartridges 

for the HP CB435A and CF279A Jumbo 

cartridges, also offering page yields of 2,500, 

in comparison to OEM yields of 1,500 and 

1,000 respectively. 

Furthermore, Aster has released a 

replacement cartridge for the HP CE278X 

Jumbo, which offers a page yield of 3,000, as 

opposed to the OEM yield of 2,100 pages. 

There is also a replacement cartridge 

for the CB436A Jumbo, again with a page 

yield of 3,000 compared to the OEM yield 

of 2,000. 

Aster has also released replacement 

cartridges for the Q2612X Jumbo (with a 

yield of 3,000 compared to the OEMs 

2,000); the CE505A Jumbo (a yield of 3,500 

compared to 2,300); the C4096A Jumbo 

(with a yield of 7,000, versus the OEM’s 

5,000); and the Q5949X Jumbo (with a page 

yield of 8,000, against the OEM yield of 

7,000). 

Additionally, Aster has released a 

replacement cartridge for the CF280X 

Jumbo, with a page yield of 8,000 compared 

to the OEM yield of 6,900, and a 

replacement cartridge for the CE505X 

Jumbo, with a yield of 8,000 compared to 

6,500 from the OEM. 

There is also a replacement for the 

CC364A Jumbo, offering a yield of 13,500 

compared to the OEM yield of 10,000, and a 

replacement for the CE255X Jumbo, with a 

yield of 15,000, compared to the OEM yield 

of 12,500. There is also a replacement 

cartridge for the C4127X Jumbo, with a yield 

of 15,000, 5,000 more than the OEM yield of 

10,000. 

Finally, there is a replacement for the 

Q5942X Jumbo, with a page yield of 27,000, 

compared to the OEM yield of 20,000, 

and for the CC364X Jumbo, with a page 

yield of 30,000, compared to the 24,000 

yield of the OEM. 

Aster USA say that the jumbo 

replacement cartridges and drum units are 

“ideal for high volume printing and MPS” 

and offer “consistent printing quality” whilst 

also being “cost efficient.” 


www.info.goaster.com. 




ASIA CET, New Products, Remanufacturing 

Multiple new products from CET 

The Chinese supplier has launched a wide range of new products designed for 

use in various OEM devices. 

Among these new products is a 

compatible drum unit for use in 

Kyocera ECOSYS P2235dn/2235dw/ 

2040dn/2040dw/M2135dn/2635dn/ 

2635dw/2735dw/M2040dn/2540dn/ 

2540dw/2640idw. 

CET explains that this new drum 

unit is “designed for easy waste toner 

removal” and the augur roller material has 

been changed from plastic (used by OEMs) 

to metal, in order to reduce warping. The 

page yield offered by this drum unit is 

100,000 pages. 

The company has also unveiled a 

compatible monochrome toner cartridge 

for use in Canon iR1435/1435i/ 

1435P, offering a page yield of 17, 600 

pages, and a full set of CMYK cartridges for 

use in Canon iR ADVANCE C3325i/ 

3330i/3320/3320L/3320i. the black cartridge 

offers a page yield of 30,000 pages and 

the CMY cartridges offer a page yield of 

19,000 pages. 

CET has also launched a compatible 

monochrome toner cartridge designed for 

use in various Ricoh models, including 

the Aficio 1060/1075/2060/2075, Aficio 

MP5500/6500/7500/7502, Aficio 

MP6000/ 7000/8000/6001/7001/8001 

and Aficio MP9001/9002. This cartridge 

provides a page yield of 43,000 pages. 

Also unveiled is a full set of compatible 

CMYK chemical toner cartridges for use in 

Konica Minolta Bizhub C220/280/360. 

The black cartridge offers a page yield of 

29,000 pages and the CMY cartridges offer 

a page yield of 26,000 pages. 

CET has launched a compatible toner 

cartridge for use in Kyocera TASKalfa 

3010i/3011i models, with the cartridge 

providing a page yield of 20,000 pages. 

Also among the products revealed by the 

company were a drum unit designed for 

Konica Minolta Bizhub C227/287 devices, 

providing a page yield of 105,000 pages. 

CET has also unveiled compatible Ricoh 

developer and a range of compatible Ricoh 

parts. These include an upper fuser roller 

for use in the Ricoh SP6430DN, an OPC 

drum for use in Ricoh Aficio 1035/ 

1045/2035, Aficio 2045/3035/3045 and 

Aficio MP3500/4500. There is also an OPC 

drum for use in Ricoh MP4000/ MP 

4001G/MP4002 and MP5000/ MP5001G/ 

MP5002 models, and a drum cleaning 

blade for use in Ricoh Pro 8100EX/ 


8100EXe/8100s/8100/se, Pro 8110e/8110s/ 

8110se and Pro 8120e/8120s/ 8120se. 

Among the products launched by the 

Chinese supplier, consumers will also find 

compatible lower roller bushing for use in 

HP LaserJet Pro M101/102/103/104/105/ 

106, and MFP M129/130/131/132/133/134. 

There is also a compatible lower sleeved 

roller for use in HP Colour LaserJet 

Enterprise M855dn/855x/855xh and Flow 

MFP M880z/880z+ and a heating 

element compatible with HP LaserJet 

Enterprise M607dn/607n/608dn/608n/ 

608x, Laser-Jet Enterprise M609dh/ 

609dn/609x, MFP M631dn/M631z, 

M631h/M632z and MFP M633z. 

Further products released by CET 

include a compatible transfer roller, for use 

in the Xerox Phaser 3610DN/3610N and 

Xerox WorkCentre 3615DN/3655S/3655X. 

CET has also released a replacement 

drum chip, for use in the same Xerox 

machines and models as the transfer 

roller. 

Furthermore, the company has released 

a new compatible transfer belt, for use in 

the Konica Minolta Bizhub Press C8000, 

and a compatible OPC Drum for use with 

Ricoh’s Aficio MPC2030/2050/2051 and 

Aficio MPC2550/2551. 

Additionally, CET has also unveiled a 

compatible ADF Feed Roller Maintenance 

Kit, for use in the HP LJEntflowMFP 

M525, LJEntMFP M630, LJEntflowMFP 

M630, LJEntColorFlowMFP M575, 

LJEnt500 ColorMFP M575, LJEnt500 

MFP M525, LJEnt600flow M680, 

LJEnt600Colour M651, LJEnt600MFP 

Color M680, LJEnt 700 Color M775, and 

LJEnt700MFP M725. 

Finally, CET has released a compatible 

Drive Gear 18T, for use in the Kyocera FS- 

1028MFP/1030MFP/1035MFP/1130MFP/1 

035MFP/1110/1120D/1128MFP/1320D/135 

0DN/1370DN, the Ecosys P2035d/2135d/ 

2135dn and the Ecosys M2030dn/2035dn/ 

2530dn/2535dn. 


www.cetgroupco.com. 

47



EUROPE Cross Imaging, Copier Toner, 

Remanufacturing 

Cross launches 

new compatible 

toner 

The company’s latest releases are 

for use in various OEM machines. 

Cross Imaging Supplies’ new premium 

compatible toner is for use in the Konica 

Minolta Bizhub C227/C287, as well as 

the Ricoh MP-C306/C307/C406/C407. 

Compatible toner has also been 

released for use in the Kyocera Mita 

ECOSys M4125/M4132, the Kyocera Mita 

TASKalfa 4002i/5002i/6002i, TASKalfa 

2552ci, TASKalfa 3552ci, TASKalfa 4052ci 

and TASKalfa 5052ci/6052ci. 

The launch follows the release earlier 

this year of Cross’ compatible premium 

toner for the Canon iR-C5535/ 

C5540i/C5560i. 

The company states that all toner has 

been “successfully tested under different 

environmental conditions to prove their 

high and stable image-quality and 

performance.” 

“These toners stand for highest 

performance and reliability as required in 

today’s office and production printing 

applications, that are increasingly MPS 

supported, were total cost of ownership is 

important, and you just cannot risk to 

lose printing contracts or customers 

because of toner-related quality issues,” 

Cross continued. 

The toner is available in “patent-free 

cartridges” as well as in bulk, for local 

refilling, and Cross adds that it can be 

shipped “from our European warehouses 

in Rotterdam and Singen.” 

For more information, visit www.crossimaging.com. 

ASIA Ninestar, Cartridges, New Releases 

Ninestar launches new 

replacement toner cartridges 

The company has announced the launch of new replacement toner cartridges 

designed for use in various Canon printers, whilst also revealing that replacement 

inkjet cartridges for use in Canon’s new generation of PIXMA TS and TR series 

models are coming soon. 

Ninestar’s new replacement toner cartridges 

are compatible with models in the Canon 

LBP-110/MF110 printer series. 

The replacement toner cartridges 

designed for use in the Canon i-SENSYS 

LBP113w/LBP112/MF112/MF113w/Canon 

imageCLASS LBP 113w devices offer a page 

yield of 1,600 pages, whilst the replacement 

toner cartridges designed for use in the 

Canon LBP112/LBP113w/iC MF112/iC MF113w 

devices offer a page yield of 12,000 pages. 

The company has also previewed its future 

release of compatible cartridges for the 

PIXMA TS and TR series. 

The printers, which were launched in 

August last year and which are aimed at the 

SOHO and office workgroup printing 

market, can install five single ink cartridges 

and six single ink cartridges respectively. 

For the new generation of PIXMA 

printers, Canon introduced original PGI- 

The first full colour set of CMYK compatible 

toner cartridges released by Raven is for use 

in Kyocera TASKalfa 3252ci/Copystar CS 

3252ci/UTAX 3206ci devices. 

The black cartridge produces a page yield 

of 25,000 pages while the colour cartridges 

offer page yields of 15,000 pages. 

The second full colour set of CMYK 

compatible toner cartridges released by 

Raven is for use in Kyocera TASKalfa 

2552ci/Copystar CS 2552ci/UTAX 2506ci 

devices. 

580/CLI-581XXL series inkjet cartridges, 

adding ‘Photo Blue colour’ for the new sixcartridge 

model, whilst discontinuing the 

‘Grey colour.’ 

The OEM also added a super large capacity 

ink cartridge for the new PIXMA printers, 

which has an increase in ink volume and 

page yield. Furthermore, the price of the 

new printers is slightly lower than the 

previous generation. Ninestar said in its 

announcement that due to this, “it is 

expected that the market potential for the 

new printers will be huge. The consumables 

demand will be increasing accordingly.” 

The company added: “Ninestar’s inkjet 

cartridges are equipped with high-end 

pigment ink and dye ink. Abundant colour 

performance, sharp text and natural colour 

transition.” 

or more information, please visit 

www.ggimage.com. 

NORTH AMERICA Raven, Cartridges 

Raven releases compatible colour 

toner cartridges 

Raven Industries Inc USA has announced the launch of new compatible low melt 

colour toner cartridges for use in Kyocera devices. 

The black cartridge offers a page yield of 

20,000 pages and the colour cartridges 

provide page yields of 12,000 pages. 


www.ravenindustries.com. 




Remanexpo: 

Product Group 

Connecting people 

and businesses 

The dedicated part of the 

event focused on reuse 

and remanufacturing of 

printer cartridges 

Powered by 

Visit www.therecycler.com/live for more information



EUROPE Uninet, Toner, Components 

Array of new products from Uninet 

The company has announced the release of a new Absolute Black toner formula, as well as various other components. 

Uninet’s multipurpose Absolute Black 

toner formula has been released for use 

with the Toshiba E Studio 855/853/ 

755/723/655/603/ 555/523. The toner 

formula is said by the company to 

provide “crisp dark prints, and highdensity 

print quality, as well as superior 

page yield and effective cost per page,” all 

at “a substantially competitive price.” 

The company has also released new 

Absolute Colour toner and components 

for use with Xerox’s Versalink C405/400 

colour printers. According to Uninet, 

“the standard-yield black cartridge is rated 

at 5,000 pages, and the high-yield black 

toner cartridge is rated at 10,500-page yield, 

both with an average of 5 percent page 

coverage.” 

Finally, Uninet has unveiled new Anti- 

Static heat seal foil bags for use in HP’s 

4500/4350/4250, 4100/4000, /8500/ 

5200/ 5000, 9000/8100/ M806/800. 

The bags have been designed to provide 

“superior protection” to the toner 

cartridge during transit, and to safeguard 

it from exposure to electrostatic 

discharges. 

Uninet explains that the bags “also offer 

the advantage of keeping dust and debris 

from being in contact with the toner 

cartridge and serve as a shield to protect 

from heat exposure.” They are available in 

a wide variety of cartridge sizes. 

For more information on all of the above, 

visit www.uninetimaging.com. 

GLOBAL Toshiba, MFPs, e-Studio 

Toshiba unveils new MFP line 

Toshiba America Business Solutions introduced three new e-STUDIO series to complement its current award-winning 

multifunction printer (MFP) product suite. 

Toshiba’s newly available MFP line 

features seven colour and six 

monochrome models, delivering up to 50 

pages-per-minute to tackle virtually any 

print, document management and 

workflow application required for today’s 

businesses. 

The available Elevate customisable user 

interface (UI) enables clients to enjoy a 

completely custom-tailored product that 

supports each customer’s unique 

requirements. Elevate enhances an 

organisation’s overall efficiency and 

productivity by enabling document 

workflows and common tasks with a 

single push of a button. 

Toshiba e-STUDIO MFPs additionally 

couple the powerful multi-core Intel Atom 

processor with next-generation security 

protection. 

Adhering to the Hard Copy Device 

Protection Profile (HCD-PP) – the latest 

security certification adopted by National 

Information Assurance Partnership 

(NIAP) and Common Criteria Test 

Laboratories – helps ensure all scans, 

copies, faxes and digital document prints 

using Toshiba MFPs are secure by 

meeting rigorous security assurance 

standards. 

The Toshiba products also support NFC 

Authentication, a security protocol 

embraced by the mobile device 

community, simplifying login for users of 

many Android devices. 

“Toshiba’s newest product offering 

reflects our continued commitment 

to provide organisations with the 

industry’s most secure and featurerich 

multifunction printers to 

efficiently, effectively and affordably 

handle today’s document printing 

and workflow applications,” said Bill 

Melo, Toshiba America Business 

Solutions chief marketing executive. 

“These new MFPs are the most 

secure, customisable and planetfriendly 

devices that we’ve ever 

delivered.” 

According to the OEM, this “latest 

product portfolio affirms the company’s 

pledge to a more sustainable planet. 

All 13 of the company’s new products 

meet the stringent criteria of major 

environmental programs and standards, 

such as PEAT Gold, Restriction of 

Hazardous Substances (or RoHS) and 

ENERGY STAR.” 

Toshiba’s new colour product portfolio 

includes two new models of the e- 

STUDIO2510AC series and five new 

models of the e-STUDIO5015AC 

series. Toshiba’s new monochrome 

portfolio includes six models of the e- 

STUDIO5018A series. 

The new Toshiba e-STUDIO products 

start at $5,339 (€4,604) and may now be 

purchased through the company’s 

authorised dealers. 

For more information about Toshiba 

products, visit www.business.toshiba. 

com. 



GLOBAL Sharp, Printers 

New printers and copiers 

from Sharp 

The OEM announced four new additions to its desktop multifunction printer line, 

as well as two new high-speed monochrome document systems for busy 

workgroups and departmental environments. 

A respectively, with easy integration with 

mobile technologies, allowing for easy 

printing from tablets and smart phones. 

Sharp explained that “taking into account 

today’s mobile workforce, these new 

models also offer an intuitive user 

experience, as well as a compact footprint 

and wireless capability, making them easy 

to place in virtually any size office 

environment.” 

With the new MX-B350W and MX- 

B450W multifunction printers (MFPs), 

Sharp said it is “bringing an economical 

MFP offering to the market while at the 

same time providing outstanding print 

quality, out-of-the box copying, network 

printing, and network scanning and faxing 

capabilities.” 

All four desktop models can print on 

letter, legal and statement size paper, as well 

as envelopes. The products also comply 

with the latest EnergyStar standards and 

according to Sharp deliver a low cost per 

page, making them economical to operate. 

“We’re excited to announce these new 

models in the Sharp desktop product line,” 

said Shane Coffey, Vice President, Product 

Management, Sharp Imaging and 

Information Company of America. “Sharp 

continues to drive innovation by creating 

new offerings that raise the bar for entry 

level print and MFP devices.” 

Meanwhile, Sharp’s other new releases, 

the new MX-M6570 and MX-7570 

multifunction copiers offer print speeds up 

to 65 and 75 pages per minute respectively 

and are designed for demanding customers 

that need superior performance. Both 

models offer an easy-to-use 10” (diagonally 

measured) touchscreen display with tabletstyle 

menu navigation. The new models 

also integrate easily with popular network 

applications and cloud services to help 

businesses manage their workflow more 

easily. 

The new MX-M6570 and MX-7570 also 

offer a variety of paper handling and 

finishing options to accommodate all types 

of business needs. Advanced options 

include a multi-folding unit that can 

produce five different types of folds, 

enabling users to create professionallooking 

pamphlets that get results. A 

standard wireless connectivity feature 

enables users to print from mobile devices 

using the free Sharpdesk Mobile app. 

“We’re excited to introduce these new 

high-speed models in the Sharp product 

line,” said Coffey, reiterating that “Sharp 

continues to drive innovation in the office 

by developing new document system 

products that raise the bar for multifunction 

copiers and printers.” 


NORTH AMERICA DPI, Cartridge, 

DPI releases 

new alternative 

cartridges 

The US-based company has 

unveiled its replacements for the 

HP CF450 series of colour toner 

cartridges. 

The CF450 range of cartridges are used 

in the following printer models: LaserJet 

Enterprise Flow MFP M681/LaserJet 

Enterprise Flow MFP M681f/LaserJet 

Enterprise M652/LaserJet Enterprise 

M652dn/LaserJet Enterprise M652n/ 

LaserJet Enterprise M653/LaserJet 

Enterprise M653dh/LaserJet Enterprise 

M653dn/LaserJet Enterprise M653x/ 

LaserJet Enterprise MFP M681/LaserJet 

Enterprise MFP M681dh/LaserJet 

Enterprise MFP M681f. 

The products are manufactured, tested, 

and packaged at DPI’s facility in the USA, 

and come backed with “superb technical 

support and customer service,” according 

to the company. 

DPI claims that it has “one of the 

largest selections of USA-made OEM 

alternative toner cartridges,” and that 

its “empty cartridges are confirmed 

compliant by our vendors, as well as our 

products and materials that we purchase 

and use in the manufacturing process.” 

Last month, Direct Precise Imaging 

also released alternatives to the Lexmark 

CS/X 317/417/517 colour series. 

For more information, visit 

www.directpreciseimaging.com. 

ASIA HYB, Drum Units 

HYB release new compatible drum units 

The Chinese company has announced the release of new compatible drum units for use in Kyocera ECOSYS devices. 

These new compatible drum units are 

designed for use in Kyocera ECOSYS 

M2735P2235dn/2235dw/2040dn/2040dw/ 

M2135dn/2635dn/2635dw/2735dw/M2040 

dn/2540dn/2540dw/2640idw printers. 

According to HYB, the compatible drum 


units produce “approximately 100 000 

pages during the testing process”. 

The first 500 units will be available at a 

promotional price. 


www.copiertonerpro.com. 

51

marketplace or 

To advertise here 

Call: 01993 899800 

email: info@therecycler.com 

The 

TONER MANUFACTURER 

COLLECTOR 

COLLECTOR 

CBC (Europe) GmbH 

toner@cbc-europe.com 

Tel: +49 211 530670 

www.cbc-europe.com 

FBO Organisation, S.L. 

fbo@fbo-org.com 

Tel: +34 936724863 

www.fbo-org.com 

LVL 

bp.sales@lvlcartridge.com 

Tel: +33 251709249 

www.lvl.fr 

REMANUFACTURER 

RESELLER 


wta Carsten Weser GmbH 

info@wta-suhl.de 

Tel: +49 3681 4529710 

www.wta-suhl.de 

Copyclic 

info@copyclic.com 

Tel: +33 01 60 78 78 78 

www.copyclic.com 

Integral GmbH 

info@integral-international.de 

TEL: + 49 (0) 28 33 60 60 

www.integral-international.de 

MARKET INTELLIGENCE 

COLLECTOR/SUPPLIER – EMPTIES 

SUPPLIER 

LightWords Imaging 

admin@lightwords.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1270 878850 

www.lightwordsimaging.com 

Eco Wave Trade Pvt. Ltd. 

info@ecowavetrade.com 

Tel: +919971533209, 

+919810899501 

www.ecowavetrade.com 

TOKO Srl 

toko@toko.ro 

Tel: +40212327270 

www.toko.ro 

SUPPLIER 

COLLECTOR 


Freckles Ltd 

info@freckles.bg 

Tel: +359 2 955 5560 

www.freckles.bg 

The Greener Side 

info@greener-side.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1427 700 700 

www.greener-side.co.uk 

Primedia Products 

tmiller@primediamicr.com 

Tel: +1 304-277-2050 

www.primediamicr.com 


To advertise here 

Call: 01993 899800 

or email: info@therecycler.com 

marketplace 

ETIRA: WORKING FOR ALL REMANUFACTURERS AND PARTNERS 

ETIRA membership 

benefits include: 

Meeting new clients and partners at our 

network meetings! 

A strong fight against clever chips, unfair 

patents,waste transport rules etc.! 

PR-work to tell the world about 

remanufactured cartridges and why they are 

good for both consumers and the environment! 

Promotion of top-quality remanufacturing 

(standardisation)! 

Join our business Code of 

Conduct, and sell more 

cartridges thanks to our logo! 

Meeting 60 top 

remanufacturers already 

member of ETIRA........... 

ETIRA brings the remanufacturing 

Industry together. Be part of the family! 

Grieglaan 7 • 4837 CB Breda • The Netherlands 

Tel: + 31 6 414 614 63 • Fax: + 31 76 564 04 51 

info@etira.org 

www.etira.org 

Email d.connett@candugbr.com 

to find out about an EU based 

solution to handle 10,000 tons 

per year. 


53

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THE RECYCLER - ISSN 2045-2047 

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25 October 2018 

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