The Recycler Issue 332

Eyes On Africa – 

Progress, power, 

and potential 

The Recycler examines what effect this increased 

connectivity is having on Africa’s business 

appeal, and whether conditions are ripe for 

substantial market development. 

Starts page 4 

July 2020 

Issue 332 | £10 

Lockdown increases demand for inkjet 

A spike in consumer printer demand during 

COVID-19 lockdowns has helped overall sales 

through European distributors grow by 2.2%. 

Page 14 

Embedding sustainability 

into business operations 

A new UK survey provides insights into how 

Conscious Consumerism is continuing to 

drive the need for organisations to embed 

sustainability into business operations. 

Page 20 

Speed Infotech keeps the inspectors busy 

The inspectors have been busy at Speed 

Infotech as the company has been awarded 

ISO50001: Energy Management System 

and the Carbon Footprint Certificate. 

Page 26 

Armor: What’s the score 

Taking inspiration from the practices in 

the food industry and anticipating legislators 

to improve its customer experience 

of the circular economy, Armor 

introduces OWA Score. 

Page 27

IN THIS ISSUE 

2 Issue 332 July 2020

EDITORIAL 

Slowly back to work… 

It is now some three months since the 

coronavirus lock down began and you 

don’t need me to tell you that it has, is 

and will change a lot of things we do and 

how we do them. A friend of mine has 

two children and has been working from 

home for just about all that time. But she 

has quit her job because her employer 

was too inflexible. When she was office 

based, she worked 9 – 5, but with clients 

across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and 

beyond, she regularly handled emails and 

calls outside of business hours. Working 

from home she was given a printer and 

a laptop and was told she had to log on 

between 9am and 5pm, if she took time 

out to look after the two young children, 

she got a text message from her boss 

asking why she wasn’t working. If she 

logged off 15 minutes early, she got a text. 

Yet no complaints when she logged on at 

6am to do a proposal for a customer, or at 

8pm when she caught up with her single 

US customer. 

She quit because she expected more 

from her employer, as in trust that she 

will get the job done and manage her 

family responsibilities. Trust that because 

she accounted for 40% of the company 

revenue and is a good account manager. 

What is she doing now? Well she has 

set herself up doing what she was doing 

for her employer, but for herself and 

working from home and taken 80% of her 

customers with her. And yes, she can do 

that because her [now former] employer 

never gave her a contract of employment. 

Recent announcements that Jadi UK 

and Ecoburotic UK as well as Top Print 

in China have closed their doors is not 

necessarily due to coronavirus, but 

it is symptomatic of changes that are 

happening. 

One story does not change the world, 

but it does highlight what a lot of 

companies and individuals are doing at 

the moment, taking a deep dive at the 

market, their business or their job and 

She has set herself up doing what she was doing 

for her employer, but for herself and working from 

home and taken 80% of her customers with her. 

the way forward. Whatever you do and 

wherever you are in the market you need 

a plan. Have a read of Zoltan Matyas’s 

timely feature on planning your way into 

2021 on page 34. 

Here at The Recycler we are doing the 

▲ Stefanie Unland Editor 

& Publisher, The Recycler 

same. We have taken the opportunity to 

bring two projects scheduled for 2021 

forward to this autumn (more about 

that in future issue) and to have a look at 

some of the technology we use to try and 

work faster, smarter etc. As a result, we 

have retired some technology, upgraded 

our publishing software. And if you 

think that the office imaging space is 

challenging at the moment, try being 

a publisher serving an office imaging 

channel. 

Just a heads up that our rescheduled 

Summer conference is on 24-25 

September in Prague. Check out page 

39 for information or check our website 

www.therecycler.com/live/prague. 

A couple of topical items you may have 

missed, inkjet is still in demand, as are 

inkjet empty cartridges. Our OEM spy 

tells us some more firmware upgrades are 

in the pipeline. As soon as we have details, 

we will let you know and if you find out 

first, let us know! 

I like the “Armor, what’s the score” 

concept, it is easy to recognise and 

understand. Well done Armor. 

Another well done to Netherlands based 

Inkstation who have successfully refilled 

an ink cartridge 32 times. Sustainability 

in action. 

Finally, congratulations and good luck 

to former Jadi UK General Manager, 

Chris Rouse who has joined Biuromax 

as their Key Account Manager Europe. ■ 

Issue 332 

July 2020 

3

FEATURE 

Eyes On Africa – Progress, 

power, and potential 

A recent report has taken an in-depth look at the African consumer market 

potential; with the continent standing on the precipice of great social and 

technological change over the coming decades, The Recycler examines what 

effect this increased connectivity is having on Africa’s business appeal, and 

whether conditions are ripe for substantial market development. 

▲ Owen Collins, 

Freelance Writer 

The Africa Growth Initiative, based at 

Washington DC public policy organisation 

The Brookings Institution, released its 

report into the African consumer market at 

that were becoming commonplace in 

what it termed “one of the fastest-growing 

consumer markets in the world.” The 

report notes that on the continent, the 

the global average, whilst in the last 

decade, consumer expenditure has risen 

at a compound annual rate of 3.9 percent 

since 2010. 

the end of 2018, as it set out to examine the 

trends, drivers, opportunities and strategies 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

By the end of the next decade, 

one in five of the world’s consumers 

will live in Africa. 

average annual growth in gross domestic 

product (GDP) is consistently outpacing 

By 2015, total consumer expenditure 

had hit $1.4 trillion (€1.27 trillion), 

with Landry Signe, the author of the 

Brookings report, stating that this figure 

is predicted to total $2.1 trillion (€1.9 

trillion) by 2025, climbing to $2.5 trillion 

(€2.2 trillion) in 2030. It is perhaps, in 

some ways, unsurprising – the continent 

is currently home to around 1.2 billion 

potential consumers, with the continent’s 

population expected to reach 1.7 billion, 

and overtake that of China and India, in 

the next ten years. “By the end of the next 

decade,” asserts Brookings, “one in five of 

the world’s consumers will live in Africa.” 

It makes sense, therefore, that consumer 

spending on the continent is now “the 

fastest-growing source of demand”, 

compared to other sectors like business 

spending and government spending. 

So, what is the reason for this growth? 

There are many, of course, including 

the growth of the internet and related 

technologies across the continent, 

the shifting demographic of Africa’s 

workforce, and increasing urbanisation in 

individual nations. All of these factors are 

interlinked when it comes to explaining 

Africa’s burgeoning potential, but it is 

the first of these that is perhaps the most 

interesting; as the third world collides 

with the age of global connectivity, what 

correlation is there between market growth 

and digital advancement? 


You can contact visit www.therecycler.com The Recycler via Twitter for at all @RecyclerMedia 

the breaking news 

A plugged-in world 

In recent decades, the change in pace in 

African connectivity has been significant: 

The Brookings Report relays that “roughly 

two out of three Africans now has internet 

access, 75 percent of whom report going 

online on a daily basis.” Furthermore, 

“connectivity has surpassed 80 percent in 

many countries.” This is partly due to the 

increased proliferation of mobile phones 

across the continent, the use of which 

has grown “rapidly”, with the result that 

Africans are apparently “especially likely” 

to prioritise ICT needs over other needs, 

with a number of respondents to one 

survey admitting to skipping meals so that 

they could pay instead for internet usage. 

Brookings further asserts that by 2024, “at 

least 250 million Africans will have mobile 

phones, and a monthly income of over $500 

(€450).” It stands to reason, therefore, that 

this increasing connectivity is providing a 

boost to the continent’s consumer market 

potential. As Signe writes, “the spread 

of information and communications 

technologies provides new and innovative 

avenues for consumer spending – such as 

e-commerce – and marketing campaigns.” 

“There is also an increasingly recognised, 

complementary relationship between 

these two sectors,” Signe continues, “as the 

internet and mobile phones have increased 

the range of financial services available to 

previously under-reached consumers.” 

Yet there is substantial evidence suggesting 

that internet rollout is not the driving force 

behind Africa’s new market potential – or 

at least, that many nations are failing to 

make the most of the opportunities it 

provides. According to the United Nations 

Conference on Trade and Development 

(UNCTAD) B2C E-Commerce Index 

2018, “the region lags the rest of the 

world in terms of e-commerce readiness,” 

with Mauritius, at 55 th in the world, 

the highest-placed of the 44 African 

countries listed. That said, UNCTAD 

stipulates that “the continent is showing 

progress in key indicators related to B2C 

e-commerce,” adding that between 2014 

Brookings further asserts that by 2024, 

“at least 250 million Africans will have mobile 

phones, and a monthly income of over 

$500 (€450).” 

and 2018, sub-Saharan Africa comfortably 

surpassed world growth on three of the 

index’s key indicators – account ownership, 

individuals using the internet, and secure 

internet servers. 


July 2020 

5

FEATURE 

The second-highest placed African country 

after Mauritius was Nigeria, which, 

according to the Brookings Report, is one 

of the biggest beneficiaries of the region’s 

growing consumer market. Nigeria has 

long been the continent’s largest consumer 

market by total volume, standing at a 

worth of around $370 billion (€336.3 

billion) in 2013, and is forecast to remain 

in the top three on the continent come 

2030, alongside Egypt and South Africa. 

This is perhaps in part due to the fact that 

Nigeria has the largest population of any 

African nation, with 206 million potential 

consumers – the seventh-highest populace 

in the world, no less. 

Nigeria also boasts “one of the highest 

levels of market competition in Africa,” 

reports Brookings, although other sources 

cast doubt on how much of this success 

is attributable to greater internet reach. 

Babatunde Okunoye, in a 2019 blog post 

for New York-based think tank the Council 

on Foreign Relations (CFR), identified 

Nigeria as “a representative example of the 

challenges Africa faces.” 

Despite the continent as a whole being 

the second most populous on the planet, 

the CFR cites data from the International 

Telecommunications Union that shows 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

that are more than double the number of 

internet users in Europe than in Africa 

(501 million to 213 million.) 

“Despite Africa’s urgent need for 

information and communication 

Nigeria also boasts “one of the highest 

levels of market competition in Africa,” 

technology,” Okunoye asserts, “internet 

connection speeds in Africa are much 

slower than those obtainable in the 

developed world.” This is a particularly 

prominent concern in Nigeria, where 

“despite being connected to the 

international broadband backbone by 

terabytes of data-laden cables at the 

country’s shores – typically in Lagos – the 

inland deployment of internet connectivity 

is lacking.” 

The CFR blog names internet penetration 

in the country as 27 percent, with active 

mobile broadband at 22.9 percent and fixed 

broadband penetration at a “miniscule” 

0.1 percent, a state of affairs with the 

think tank says leaves “about 138 million 

people in Nigeria without internet access.” 

This data – combined with Brookings’ 

evaluation of the nation’s consumer market 

potential – implies that that potential 

does not necessarily hinge upon internet 

penetration. 

This inference is echoed by both the World 

Bank, which observed that although 

broadband was rapidly on the up in Africa, 

its relative infancy means that it might not 

be the catalyst it seems. 

“While the number of broadband 

connections in Africa crossed the 400 

million mark in 2018 (nearly twenty times 

2010 levels,” the World Bank said last 

October, “the regional average broadband 

penetration - including 3G and 4G 

connections – is only 25 percent in 2018.” 

One of the contributing reasons the 

World Bank highlighted for this was “the 

lack of access to reliable and affordable 

electricity, making accelerating Africa’s 

digital transformation journey even more 

difficult.” 


You can contact The Recycler via Twitter at @RecyclerMedia 

REACH 

READY 

20 

05/20 


July 2020 

7

FEATURE 

“In large parts of Africa, we are witnessing 

a lack of progress in extending access 

and network coverage” 

“In large parts of Africa, we are witnessing 

a lack of progress in extending access and 

network coverage,” observed Doreen 

Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU’s 

Telecommunication Development Bureau, 

and Executive Director of the Broadband 

Commission for Sustainable Development. 

“Affordability is also declining in many 

nations.” 

Abdi Latif Dahir, writing for business 

news website Quartz, concurred, 

observing that the number of African 

households in Africa with computer access 

increased from 3.6 percent in 2005 to 9.2 

percent in 2018, while in the same period, 

those with internet connection rose from 

2.1 percent to over 24 percent. “But while 

internet penetration continues to increase, 

affordability continues to remain an 

issues,” writes Latif Dahir, adding that 

sluggish internet speed is also a problem, 

“ranking well below the average speeds of 

above 10 megabits per second, which is the 

minimum needed to allow consumers to 

fully take part in a digital economy.” Once 

again, it seems plausible that the growth 

in the African consumer market is being 

boosted by factors other than increasing 

internet rollout. 

Driving growth offline? 

There are several other factors that 

Landry Signe’s Brookings report identifies 

as helping enhance Africa’s consumer 

market potential. One of these is the 

shifting demographics of the continent’s 

population, which is seeing two major 

trends: The emergence of a bigger middle 

class, and the increasing youth of the 

region’s workforce. 

On the former point, Brookings 

estimates that “more than half of all 

African households are expected to have 

discretionary income” in the coming 

years, which would obviously present 

a significant boost to the potential of 

the consumer market. Furthermore, 

the 2018 report acknowledged that the 

continent’s middle class - which two years 

ago comprised around one-third of the 

population – is expanding at such a rate 

that the total consumer expenditure was 

“expected to double by 2020.” 

Interestingly, this seems to be one of the 

influences driving the inchoate potential 

in consumer markets below the five largest 

cases (Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, 

Morocco and Algeria.) Brookings gives the 

examples of Ghana, whose middle class 

is “growing at a rapid rate”, and Angola, 

where the middle class is “increasingly able 

to afford” a widening range of essential 

products, and where demand for nonessential 

items is also on the up. Kenya 

is cited as another nation showing the 

benefits of the growth of the middle class, 

where 54 percent of consumption growth 

is driven by middle class households, 

with annual earnings of between $5,000 

(€4,530) and $20,000 (€18,150). 



“With the current trend of stable, positive 

growth in income levels and urbanisation 

rates, this segment of the population is 

likely to continue expanding over the 

coming years,” Signe states. The report 

also quotes Japanese economist Kiminori 

McKinsey article goes on to state that the 

“massive expansion of the consumer pool” 

will power Africa’s GDP growth from 4.9 

percent in 2015 to 6.2 percent by 2025, a 

rate that easily outstrips global growth rate 

of 3.7 percent. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

54 percent of consumption growth 

is driven by middle class households 

Matsuyama, who observed in 2002 that 

as the value of labour rises, so too does the 

income of the average worker; therefore, 

consumer goods become more affordable 

to more households, the range and 

quantity of goods consumed increased, 

and the overall consumer market expands. 

These observations are supported by 

a report from American management 

consultants McKinsey & Company, 

which opined in 2015 that “more and 

more Africans are entering the consumer 

class, with tens of millions emerging from 

poverty in recent years” – an important 

consideration when observing the growth 

of the region’s consumer market. The 

It is not just the African middle class that is 

experiencing a surge: Signe highlights that 

“while it remains relatively small compared 

to other world regions, an upper class is 

beginning to emerge in certain African 

countries, demanding high-quality, niche, 

and foreign-produced goods as a mark 

of social status.” The writer links this 

particularly to oil-producing nations, and 

indeed, three of the ‘Big Five’ – Egypt, 

Nigeria, and Algeria – are oil-producers. 

Nigeria and Algeria are both members 

of the Organisation of the Petroleum 

Exporting Countries (OPEC), as is 

Angola, which is also enjoying a boom in 

its consumer market. Nigeria, specifically, 

is simultaneously the largest oil producer 

in sub-Saharan Africa, and the region’s 

biggest consumer market; in fact, over 

half of Africa’s eight largest consumer 

markets are “heavily reliant on oil exports”, 

according to Brookings, which does 

suggest a correlation between the two 

factors. 

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July 2020 

9

FEATURE 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

The African Development Bank has 

previously stated that economic growth 

in the region would defy challenges 

such as plummeting oil prices, but there 

is still risk that the long-term health 

of the continent’s consumer markets 

remain somewhat in the hands of these 

fluctuating prices, as well as the possible 

decrease in fossil fuel demand, as 

environmental consciousness rises. 

On which note – just as an increasingly 

climate-aware generation is altering the 

buying and consumption trends in the 

‘First World’, the demographic make-up of 

African workers is having an effect. Signe 

writes that “while the global population 

is aging, Africa’s workforce is increasingly 

young, urban, and affluent – particularly 

in comparison to other developing 

regions, where productivity gains have 

largely stagnated in recent years.” 

Almost two-thirds of the continent’s 

population is under the age of 25 

Almost two-thirds of the continent’s 

population is under the age of 25, and this 

new generation are described by Brookings 

as “sophisticated, globalised, and costconscious, 

representing important drivers 

of consumer trends in emerging markets.” 

While such factors could discount the 

idea that Africa’s growth is dependent 

upon its increased connectivity, it is worth 

remembering that everything is interrelated, 

and much of the contributing 

success of the above elements still hinges 

on the continent’s digital infrastructure; 

population growth must be accompanied 

by equivalent increases in technological 

capability for them to make a profound 

difference, and a more affluent population 

will still, to some extent, be reliant on 

e-commerce and similar platforms to 

propel growth in the consumer market. 

“The working-age population in Africa is 

expected to increase by some 450 million 

people between 2015 and 2035,” said 

Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s Vice 

President for Infrastructure, in October 

2019. “If current trends continue, less 

than one quarter will find stable jobs. 

Broadening internet access means creating 

millions of job opportunities.” 

“The digital agenda is first and foremost 

a growth and jobs agenda.” 

A bright future ahead? 

McKinsey & Company are under no 

allusions as to what an exciting prospect 

all of this growth represents, declaring 

in 2012 that “the single-largest business 

opportunity in Africa will be its rising 

consumer market,” and Landry Signe’s 

report for Brookings is in agreement, 

asserting that the continent’s emerging 

economies “present exciting opportunities 

for expansion.” 


Search for The You Recycler can contact Facebook The Recycler for more via news Twitter and at industry @RecyclerMedia coverage 

As shown, there are multiple reasons 

for this economic growth – and each 

presents its own unique set of hurdles. 

The advancements in ICT have brought 

various setbacks from above, as Babatunde 

However, Okunoye is optimistic, 

explaining that “much is already 

happening across Africa,” giving the 

example of the “emerging internetenabled 

e-commerce sector”, the advent 

potential, for growth, trade, investment, 

and business, are all enhanced by the 

ongoing rollout of internet connection 

and information and communications 

technology. 

The single-largest business opportunity 

in Africa will be its rising consumer market 

As efforts to escalate penetration continue 

and develop, Africa’s consumer market will 

grow alongside them, and will surely stand 

the continent in increasingly good stead in 

the digital decades to come. 

Okunoye highlighted for the CFR: “Many 

African countries have more cybercrime 

legislation, typically used to prosecute 

government critics or illegally seize data, 

than laws that encourage internet access.” 

The writer cites Uganda as an example, 

which in July 2018 introduced a tax on 

social media, leading to a huge drop in the 

country’s number of internet users. 

of technology hubs in South Africa and 

Morocco, and increasingly accessibility of 

services elsewhere. 

“Removing the infrastructural, legislative, 

and literacy barriers to internet penetration 

should create even greater opportunities 

for a continent deeply in need of them,” 

Okunoye surmises. 

Africa is a rich and diverse tapestry, and 

there is never simply any one answer to any 

of its conundrums or trends – including 

the current high potential of its growing 

consumer market. While its increased 

digital connectivity cannot be said to 

the driving force behind this growth – 

indeed, there is clearly no single driving 

force – it is undeniable that the continent’s 

NEXT ISSUE: Eyes On Africa Part Two 

– examining the growth in e-commerce 

on the continent, and what’s driving the 

increasing appeal of online shopping and 

other services, and what effect it may 

have. ■ 

Owen Collins 

Owen Collins is a freelance writer 

who has been writing about all 

aspects of the remanufacturing 

industry since 2017. Aside from this, 

he also covers sport, culture, politics, 

and current affairs. 

You can contact him at 

owengbcollins@gmail.com. 

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July 2020 

11

IN THIS ISSUE 

On the cover 

Eyes On Africa – Progress, power, and potential 

Lockdown increases 

demand for inkjet 

14 

4 

The effects of COVID-19 

on how we market 

imaging products 

34 

Editorial 

3 Slowly back to work… 

Feature 

4 Eyes On Africa – Progress, power, 

and potential 

World Focus 

14 Lockdown increases demand 

for inkjet 

15 Epson faces new complaint over 

firmware updates 

16 UK businesses 'need less than 

a week' to restart • EU looks east 

for stronger ties beyond 2020 

17 India: Calls to regulate and 

standardise consumables 

18 Epson ReadyInk, not so ready? 

• COVID-19: Green Deal at the 

heart of recovery 

20 Embedding sustainability into 

business operations 

City News 

22 OEM share prices June 2020 

• Paragon acquires Spicers Ireland 

23 HP secures $1 billion credit 

facility • Ninestar continues 

with acquisitions 

24 13,000+ jobs to go at Office Depot 

Around the Industry 

26 LD Products settles with Canon 

• Speed Infotech keeps the 

inspectors busy 

27 Armor: What’s the score 

28 Jadi UK ceases operations 

• Zhuhai Top Print closes doors? 

29 Biuromax showcases 

new look website 

30 Ninestar settles IP dispute 

and talks CSR 

31 Paperworld Middle East goes virtual 

• Data Direct partners with ByBox 

32 CTS shares working update 

• Ecoburotic to close UK 

subsidiary? 

33 Inkstation: 32 refill record 

DM Column 

34 The effects of COVID-19 on how 

we market imaging products 

Products & Technology 

36 Biuromax highlights latest products 

• New products announced by 

Katun • Zhono releases new 

replacement chips 

37 Apex announces new replacement 

chips • Latest products showcased 

by IR Italiana Riprografia 

38 Mito showcases its latest IP-safe 

solution • G&G expands Eco-Saver 

product line 

40 Chipjet introduces latest products 

• HYB showcases its latest release 

41 wta Carsten Weser releases plethora 

of new products • ECS adds antibacterial 

sanitiser to product range 

42 Aster adds to product portfolio 

• CiT announces latest products 

43 Metrofuser offers ‘Protect the 

Tech’ kits • Fuji Xerox releases 

new A3 devices • Utec launches 

latest launches 

However you consume your 

news make sure you engage: 

Like, Follow and Share 


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July 2020 

13

WORLD FOCUS 

GLOBAL CONTEXT, Market Research, Inkjet 

Lockdown increases demand for inkjet 

A spike in consumer printer demand during COVID-19 lockdowns has helped overall sales through European 

distributors grow by 2.2% year-on-year in the first 18 weeks of 2020, according to CONTEXT, the IT market 

intelligence company. 

The latest data from CONTEXT 

indicates that, although not as essential to 

home working and studying as products 

like computers and headsets, printers 

became more popular in March and April 

as households began to see the value of 

having a device at a time of mass school 

and office closures. 

Consumer unit sales across Europe 

spiked by 72% year-on-year in week 14 

(ending 5 April) and by 52% in week 12 

(ending 22 March). 

However, although the etailer consumer 

and retail channels accelerated their 

purchasing in Q1 2020 due to concerns 

over supply instability, revenues fell by 

10.6% year-on-year. This was due to falling 

ASPs and a greater focus on consumer 

products (cheaper entry-level and midrange 

models) than in the same period last 

year. 

According to CONTEXT, consumer 

printers dominated the first 18 weeks of 

2020, accounting for 64% of sales and 

growing by 11.7%, while unit sales in the 

business segment fell sharply at -14.4%. 

Brother (+33%), Canon (+18%), HP 

(+17%) and Epson (+11%) saw significant 

year-on-year sales increases in the 

consumer space as a result, although most 

brands benefited, while in the commercial 

space just four vendors saw double-digit 

growth: Brother (+17%), Canon (+16%), 

Xerox (+14%) and Epson (+10%). 

Inkjet MFPs and SFPs were the winners: 

European distributors sold more of these 

models in almost every single week than 

at the same time in 2019, CONTEXT 

said. A shortage of consumer printers also 

forced many buyers to purchase entry-spec 

business inkjet MFPs, driving up revenues. 

Overall inkjet sales have risen 30% yearon-year 

due in part to ink-tank models that 

are appealing to consumers looking for 

more durable home essentials. 

Laser printers have had a less successful 

year thus far, with neither the business 

nor the consumer segment matching 2019 

performance. Overall sales during the first 

18 weeks of 2020 were down by 7.2% yearon-year 

(and revenue by was down 17.5%), 

mainly due to falling business demand. 

However, sales of laser MFPs aimed at 

consumers grew by 29%, driven mainly by 

cheaper models of up to €150 ($167). 

The story in each of the major Western 

European countries was slightly different, 

and it reflects differences in the timing 

and nature of measures implemented 

by governments to control the spread of 

the virus. Only Spain recorded unit sales 

and revenue growth, with most countries 

showing declining revenues even as volume 

sales increased. 

CONTEXT concluded that although 

there is no sign of recession, a prolonged 

lockdown across Europe could leave 

vendors and distributors with excess 

inventory, especially business laser printers. 

We recently reported the spike in inkjet 

demand which is also showing in the 

remanufacturing industry. 

In March we reported that one 

Netherlands retailer told us “We sold 150 

inkjet printers last week, it was all our 

stock.” We contacted him again yesterday 

and it is a slightly different story. He shared 

with us that “we sold another 420 printers 

in April and so far this month another 150, 

or we will as soon as they arrive.” 

Several other retailers are reporting 

disruptions in the production or delivery 

cycle that lead to delivery delays from 

most OEMs. German OEM wholesaler 

Winterholt & Hering GmbH, took to 

LinkedIn to advise customers [translated 

from German] “The effects of the 

Corona virus are now clearly felt in the 

consumer materials #OEM market. 

Numerous disruptions in the production 

or delivery cycle lead to delivery delays and 

bottlenecks, especially in the ink sector 

(HP, Canon, etc. For this reason, it is not 

always possible for us to meet your possible 

best-before date (MHD) specifications.” 

Earlier this month Armor reported that 

Armor said that “demand for certain inkjet 

products (orders have grown by 200% 

compared to April 2019). wta Carsten 

Weser GmbH, a leading remanufacturer 

in the German market “is looking for 

empty printhead cores to meet demand.” 

Meanwhile Jeremy Gilchrist, director at 

UK based BCMY Ltd, reports “There 

seems to be a real shortage from Tier 1 

Distribution in the UK for OEM inkjet 

[and] inktank” ■ 


visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news 

NORTH AMERICA Epson, Class Action, Firmware Update 

OPEN FOR BUSINESS 

ALL STOCK AVAILABLE 

Epson faces new complaint 

over firmware updates 

The OEM is facing a new Class Action Complaint brought to the United 

States District Court Central District of California, alleging “improperly 

and illegally quash competition from third-party ink cartridge 

manufacturers” with its firmware updates. 

Toner Cartridges 

Chips 

Waste Toner Bottles 

Fuser Units 

Drum Units 

Developers 

OEM STOCK 

PPE Equipment 

The Complaint was brought by William 

Mondigo, Felix Rabinovich, Richard 

Famiglietti, Jesse Gordon, Gregory Szot, 

Martin Dignard, and Michael Kovach, 

Individually and on behalf of all others 

similarly situated, alleging that Epson 

“In an effort to improperly and illegally 

quash competition from third-party ink 

cartridge manufacturers, Epson engaged, 

and continues to engage, in a systematic 

campaign of disabling Epson printers 

when non-Epson, replacement ink 

cartridges are installed.” 

The legal documents go on to claim 

that “To carry out this scheme, Epson 

designed and delivered software and/ 

or firmware Updates (defined below) to 

Epson printers that purposely disabled 

those printers with non-Epson printer 

cartridges installed. For many users, these 

software Updates effectively ruined their 

printers. For others, the Updates forced 

them to purchase Epson ink cartridges, 

which are significantly more expensive 

than third-party cartridges.” 

The plaintiffs claim that Epson never 

informed the inkjet printer owners of the 

updates and “To the contrary, the Epson 

Software License informs consumers that 

the software and/or firmware Updates will 

improve the printers and fix known issues.” 

Printers in question are a Epson 

WorkForce WF-3640 All-in-One printer, 

Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 

All-in-One printer, Epson XP-830 All-in- 

One printer, Epson WF- 

4740, Epson XP 440 printer, Epson 

Workforce Pro WS3720 printer and a 

Epson Workforce 3720 printer. 

The claim goes on to say: “Plaintiffs 

and other Epson printer owners did not 

authorize Epson to disable their printer to 

prevent them from using cheaper thirdparty 

alternatives to Epson’s OEM ink 

cartridges. Instead, Epson exceeded its 

authority when it disabled their printers.” 

The plaintiffs are asking the Court to 

declare that Epson violated the CFAA 

and CDAFA and acted unlawfully, unfair 

and/or deceptive updating the firmware 

on the printers. Plaintiffs are requesting 

for just compensation and a jury trial. ■ 

Despite the circumstances, 

we’re still working hard 

to deliver fantastic 

remanufactured products 

to all our valued clients 

State-of-the-art filling 

machines in the UK 

ISO 9001 & 14001 certified 

products, services & facilities 

Dedicated research and 

development teams 

The largest range of 

products and parts in the UK 

Contact ECS NOW 

www.ecs-uk-ltd.com 

+44 (0)1427 337 348 

Effective Consumable Solutions 


July 2020 15

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE (BCC) Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker, ECS, Coronavirus, SSEE, UK 

UK businesses 'need less than a week' to restart 

Results from the latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker reveal the vast 

majority of firms surveyed say they will require three weeks or less to prepare to restart operations alongside any 

loosening of the UK lockdown. 

More than half of all UK businesses 

could be up and running in less than a 

week, business owners have said in the 

latest BCC survey that was conducted 

between April 29 – May 1. 

Small businesses throughout the 

country are at the heart of government’s 

long term economic plan. The BCC 

said “Smaller businesses may be able 

to restart operations more quickly. 

Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of 

respondents employing fewer than 

10 people say they would need less 

than one week, compared to half 

(50 per cent) of respondents with more 

than 50 employees.” 

Is green the colour of the road to 

recovery? New research from the Smith 

School of Enterprise and Environment 

and the Oxford Martin School suggests 

the UK, Italy, China and the USA are 

among countries that could win big in 

the global transition to a green economy. 

"As the world shifts towards a greener, 

cleaner competitive landscape, being able 

to produce and export environmentally 

friendly products is likely to become 

more important", said Dr Penny Mealy, 

lead author and researcher at the Smith 

School of Enterprise and the 

Environment, University of Oxford. 

"Our analysis sheds light on which 

countries are likely to be the green 

growth tigers of the 21st century". 

The UK government has admitted 

meeting recycling targets during 

coronavirus lockdown will be difficult, 

UK remanufacturer ECS encourages a 

continued commitment to circularity 

and they are still very much open 

for business, including both of their 

remanufacturing and recycling facilities. 

Director Chris Fink added 

“Despite many businesses suffering 

at this moment in time, it’s vital 

as a remanufacturer and recycler 

that we don’t forget our values and 

everything that the remanufacturing 

industry stands for. Maintaining our 

commitment to a circular economy is 

extremely important during these times, 

and as such, our recycling service will 

continue to be available to all Partners 

of ECS across the UK. ■ 

EUROPE Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine 

EU looks east for 

stronger ties beyond 

2020 

The EU looks east to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, 

Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine for 

stronger ties beyond 2020. 

European Commission, through The 

Eastern Partnership, looks to increase 

trade, strengthen connectivity and deepen 

economic integration with Armenia, 

Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the 

Republic of Moldova and Ukraine beyond 

2020. 

More than 2,000 mainly micro 

remanufacturing businesses are active 

in these six countries where the average 

monthly wages are €393 ($430) compared 

to €897 ($968) in China. Typically, these 

micro remanufacturing businesses provide 

remanufactured and refilled products and 

printer repairs to local businesses. One 

of the largest players in the region is the 

Ukraine based VM Group. 

Launched in 2009, the EaP is a strategic 

and ambitious partnership based on 

common values and rules, mutual 

interests and commitments as well as 

shared ownership and responsibility. 

It supports the delivery of many global 

policy objectives, including the Paris 

Agreement on Climate Change and the 

UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable 

Development Goals. It contributes to the 

overall goal of increasing the stability, 

prosperity, and resilience of the EU’s 

neighbours 

High Representative/Vice-President 

Josep Borrell said: “Our neighbours' 

strength is also the European Union's 

strength; the Eastern Partnership remains 

a crucial element of the EU's foreign 

policy. Our proposals will further 

strengthen our six partner countries, 

reflecting the priorities and challenges 

that we share, while maintaining the 

emphasis on delivering tangible, positive 

results for all citizens.” 

Commissioner for Neighbourhood 

and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said: 

“We are sending a very clear message 

to our Eastern partner countries: we 

will help you to build strong economies 

and to create growth and jobs by 

attracting foreign direct investment and 

by strengthening connectivity in key 

sectors, such as transport, energy and 

environment.” ■ 



IMEA India, OEMs, Prices, HP, Make In India 

India: Calls to regulate 

and standardise 

consumables 

Indian media channels call for regulation of the pricing 

of printer-cartridges and standardisation to drastically 

cut prices. 

An article featuring in several Indian 

media channels calls for the Bureau of 

Indian Standards (BIS) to call a meeting 

of domestic and international printermanufacturers 

to minimise types of 

ink-cartridges. The article states that 

”HP has too many types of ink-cartridges 

of similar shape and size for their vast 

range of inkjet and laser printers.” The 

article suggests that “It is not difficult 

to standardise so many ink-cartridges in 

a limited number to be used uniformly 

in different models of inkjet and laser 

printers. Such standardisation will heavily 

bring down cost of ink-cartridges.” 

According to the article Hewlett- 

Packard (HP) is the largest seller of 

computer-printers in the Indian market 

has an “exorbitantly high” Maximum- 

Retail-Price (MRP) on ink-cartridges 

and cites that OEM “original cartridges 

available in wholesale markets of Nehru 

place and Nai Sarak in Delhi at muchmuch 

less than printed MRP.” 

The article continues “Even wholesale 

price for its ink-cartridges remains 

much higher around rupees 3000 

($39.71/ €36.22) making some Indian 

manufacturers marketing re-filled 

cartridges at around rupees 700 ($9.26/ 

€8.45) or so. Even re-fill can be done at 

just rupees 200 ($2.65/ €2.41) or so. But 

using re-filled ink-cartridges result in 

termination of warranty.” 

The article seeks “condition should 

be imposed to allow manufacture of 

ink-cartridges in India” and that “Indian 

companies should also be authorised refill 

ink-cartridges without affecting warranty 

of printers.” The article also calls for “Any 

foreign company [most OEMs] selling 

its products manufactured in country 

other than that of the company, should 

be asked to set up its manufacturing unit 

in India like was done by Samsung to set 

up biggest unit for mobile-phones in the 

world in Noida (UP-India).” 

OEMs in India are under more 

constant scrutiny. Recently an article 

on newsd.in contends “the [GeM] 

platform is being manipulated by the 

OEM”, now the portal has two separate 

classifications for printer consumables 

of “OEM Cartridges/consumable” and 

“Compatibles”. The article alleges that the 

OEMs “extract unrealistic and unjustified 

prices from the government”. 

Editor’s Opinion: India is a significant 

market for the OEMs and the 

competition is fierce between OEMs, 

new build imports and domestic refilling 

and remanufacturing. Speaking recently 

India’s Prime Minister [insert name] said 

“The state of the world today teaches 

us that a “Self-reliant India” is the only 

path.” Speaking further the Prime 

Minister said “the Corona crisis has 

also explained to us the importance of 

Local manufacturing, Local market and 

Local supply chain. In times of crisis, 

this Local has fulfilled our demand, this 

Local has saved us. Local is not just the 

need, it is our responsibility also.” The 

Indian Government is the largest buyer of 

printers and consumables and under the 

countries “Make In India programme” 

may come under pressure to manufacture 

in India products for the Indian market. ■ 


July 2020 17

WORLD FOCUS 

GLOBAL Epson, ReadyInk, HP, 

Instant Ink 

Epson ReadyInk, 

not so ready? 

Hardly a day goes by without a 

consumer complaint about the HP 

Instant Ink programme. So today 

we got two complaints, one about 

HP and, a first, one about the 

Epson ReadyInk programme. 

The Epson ReadyInk is a pay-as-you-go, 

hassle-free print service from your local 

retailer or reseller and supplies genuine 

ink cartridges before your ink runs out. 

Here is how it works: You buy a 

ReadyInk enabled printer and sign up to 

ReadyInk on the website with your email 

and delivery address and your payment 

details. The ReadyInk technology lets 

you know that you are going to need a 

new cartridge soon and you get a prompt 

to purchase, confirm the order and your 

ink is delivered. 

Except when it is not. Joe from 

Delaware contacted our help desk today 

saying “My friend bought a brand 

new Epson printer she has signed up 

with your ink program and she has not 

received her ink yet. I talked her into it.” 

[She] is the type of person that gets very 

upset and don't know what to do because 

she's running out of ink and she applied 

and paid for your program. She has tried 

several times to call but keeps getting a 

robot with no heartbeat. Please contact 

her [we have removed the contact details]. 

As we all know ReadyInk is about 

convenience and you don’t need to keep 

spare cartridges in the office or home and 

will save you the time and trouble of a 

trip to the store or waiting buying online 

and waiting for delivery. 

It is not cheap; you are buying Epson 

consumables so surely ReadyInk has to 

work perfectly and at the prices Epson 

charge, a live person to answer the phone 

is a minimum. 

Our advice to Joe and his friend was to 

download the Nubeprint app to check 

the printer ink levels and know how 

much life is left in the cartridges and to 

shop around for the best deals from a 

local dealer. 

If anyone from Epson would like Joe 

and his friends contact details, please get 

in touch at news@therecycler.com. ■ 

EUROPE EuRIC, COVID-19 Recovery, Waste Management 

COVID-19: Green Deal at the 

heart of recovery 

In an open letter EuRIC, the European Recycling Industries Confederation, 

issued a joint call together with FEAD and CEWEP to put the Green Deal 

and the new Circular Economy Action Plan at the forefront the post 

COVID-19 recovery. 

In the open letter addressed to Ursula 

von der Leyen, President of the European 

Commission, Frans Timmermans, 

Executive Vice-President of the 

European Commission, Thierry Breton, 

Commissioner for Internal Market and 

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner 

for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, 

CEWEP, EuRIC and FEAD, representing 

waste management and recycling 

industries at European level, “emphasise 

the need to safeguard the level of 

ambition of The European Green Deal 

and of the new Circular Economy Action 

Plan2 as an integral part of Europe’s 

COVID-19 recovery plan.” 

Cinzia VEZZOSI, President of EuRIC, 

stressed, in a statement issued together 

with the joint call, the key role played 

by Europe’s recycling industry in 

turning waste into valuable raw materials 

while saving greenhouse gas emissions 

and energy. 

For EuRIC President, it is vital to use 

the momentum of the post COVID-19 

crisis to direct a significant part of 

massive public investments towards 

circular industrial value chains and 

infrastructures needed to make Europe 

climate-neutral by 2050. 

In that respect, the joint call highlights 

the importance of prioritising certain 

measures aiming at: 

• Stimulating the demand for secondary 

raw materials through incentives, their 

greenhouse gas emissions and energy 

savings, recycled content targets and 

green public procurement to bridge 

circular economy and climate policy; 

• Further strengthening the internal 

market and, in particular, fasten the 

creation of a well-functioning EU 

market for secondary raw materials 

thanks to simplified waste shipment 

procedures and EU-wide end-of-waste 

criteria; 

• Speeding up work on eco-design to 

ensure that tomorrow’s products will 

last longer and be easier to recycle when 

reaching end-of-life; 

• Enhancing investment certainty by 

implementing current recycling targets 

and resuming a fact-based discussion 

on proper treatment of unrecyclable 

waste in Europe, through energyrecovery 

or final disposal. 

Read the open letter here: file:///Users/ 

StefanieU/Downloads/Openletter- 

PostCOVID-19SustainableRecovery_ 

EuRIC_CEWEP_FEAD_final_signed. 

pdf ■ 




July 2020 19

WORLD FOCUS 

GLOBAL Sustainability, Consumer trends, UK 

Embedding sustainability into business operations 

A new UK survey by packaging leader Smurfit Kappa provides insights into how Conscious Consumerism 

is continuing to drive the need for organisations to embed sustainability into business operations. 

With a growing demand for higher 

transparency of companies' sustainability 

practices amongst a new generation of 

consumers, the survey highlights how 

two thirds of UK businesses struggled to 

measure the bottom-line impact of their 

sustainability strategies. 

New research reveals Conscious 

Consumerism will keep sustainability 

a top priority for businesses 

• 61% of consumers expect the 

brands they buy from to have clear 

sustainability practices 

• Customer experience / satisfaction is 

the leading metric businesses (58%) use 

to measure return on investment from 

sustainability practices 

• Two-thirds of UK businesses 

struggle to measure impact of their 

sustainability strategies 

• Sustainability to remain a priority for 

businesses in post Covid-19 era 

The Balancing Sustainability and 

Profitability Survey, which was 

conducted among 200 senior executives 

and 1500 consumers in the UK, examines 

the business community's and consumers' 

views on sustainability and how they 

are adapting to create a more sustainable 

future. 

The survey found that 61% of 

consumers expect the brands they buy 

from to have clear sustainability practices. 

While 65% of consumers say price is still 

a key factor in their purchasing decision, 

in the past six months more than half say 

they have purchased a product specifically 

because it had reusable or biodegradable 

packaging and 56% have paid more for a 

product or service that was sustainably 

sourced. 

Commenting on the research, Steven 

Stoffer, Group VP of Sustainability 

and Development at Smurfit Kappa, 

said: "In the past, sustainability was 

considered more of a corporate topic but 

now the sustainability agenda is being 

driven by consumers. While this survey 

was conducted just before the Covid-19 

pandemic, we are seeing growing evidence 

that these trends will continue as our 

economies begin to re-open. 

"Pre-pandemic, consumers were 

increasingly demanding sustainable and 

ethically sourced products and recent 

research in the US[1] suggests that 

Covid-19 has not reduced consumers' 

demand for sustainable products." 

The driving force of Conscious 

Consumerism is echoed by the 

survey: 63% of businesses stated that 

their organisational attitude towards 

sustainability is customer driven. 

However, half of organisations say 

that greater customer (and consumer) 

awareness of the effects of their 

sustainability practices would be most 

beneficial to their long-term impact. 

The research also shows 69% of 

consumers struggle to identify whether 

brands practice sustainability. 

"This suggests there is a knowledge 

gap between brands and consumers and 

indicates there is an onus on brands to 

better communicate what they are doing 

in the area of sustainability. In general, 

more education is necessary and if brands 

can get this right, it will hugely strengthen 

the brand/customer relationship," said 

Mr. Stoffer. 

Improved customer experience / 

satisfaction is the leading metric that UK 

businesses (58%) use to measure return on 

investment from sustainability practices. 

However, the Balancing Sustainability 

and Profitability Survey also found that 

only 18% of organisations are currently 

measuring their sustainability plans with 

4 in 10 businesses saying measurement 

is the main barrier to implementing 

sustainable practices. 

The research also showed that 82% of 

business executives treat sustainability 

as a long-term investment, rather than a 

cost. Crucially, this is changing the rules 

of financial reporting in nearly threequarters 

of businesses. However, less than 

half of organisations have the ability to 

link sustainability to financial results. 

Growing social and environmental 

awareness is increasing pressure on 

businesses to play their role in reducing 

the impact of climate change and waste. 

The survey found that 72% of businesses 

see sustainability as a lasting trend. 

Sustainability is also opening up growth 

opportunities for businesses; 83% of 

businesses described sustainability as a 

business opportunity to be exploited. 

"Sustainability is a catalyst for growth, 

but businesses will need to strike a 

balance between sustainability practices 

and profitability if they are going to 

ensure long-term stakeholder buy-in. 

Those businesses that see the value of 

investing now for the long-term, will 

be positioned to win in the future," 

concluded Mr. Smurfit. ■ 




July 2020 21

CITY NEWS 

OEM share prices 

June 2020 

Share Prices 

Prices correct as of 1 st June 2020 

EUROPE Spicers Ireland, Paragon Group, Business 

Company MAY JUNE 

Brother Industries (Yen) ¥ 1805 2138 

Canon (Yen) ¥ 2145 2353.5 

Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (Yen) 

Sun Chemicals parent company 

¥ 2630 2919 

HP Inc. (US$) $ 15.25 17.41 

Hubei Dinglong (RMB) ¥ 12.83 13.47 

Jadi (MYR) M 0.04 0.04 

LG Chem (S Korean Won) W 354 434k 

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. 

(Yen) Panasonic parent company 

¥ 809.5 1008 

Mitsubishi Chemicals (Yen) ¥ 572.4 671.3 

Ninestar Corporation (RMB) 

Formerly Apex Microelectronics 

¥ 29.9 32 

Oki (Yen) ¥ 1051 1135 

Seiko Epson (Yen) ¥ 1112 1448 

Turbon AG (Euro) € 2.2 2.1 

Xerox (US$) $ 14.89 18.46 

UK Waste Prices 

price per tonne 

Aluminium € 120.17 118.85 

Plastic € 280.74 256.67 

Paper € 19.27 22.42 

Currency 

€/US$ 1.08 1.13 

€/£ 0.89 0.89 

£/US$ 1.22 1.27 

£/€ 1.12 1.12 

Oil Price 

Crude oil - (US$) 'Brent Crude 

futures, 1-Pos IPE close' per barrel* 

Shipping Prices 

Europe 

(Hamburg/Antwerp/Felixstowe 

/Le Havre) 

Mediterranean 

(Barcelona/ Valencia/Genoa/Naples) 

USWC 

(Los Angeles/Long Beach/Oakland) 

USEC 

(New York/ Savannah /Norfolk 

/Charleston) 

$ 32.45 42.21 

$ 831 880 

$ 875 931 

$ 1686 2132 

$ 2542 2738 

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

packagingnews.co.uk *Brent Crude price is for May 2020 

Paragon acquires 

Spicers Ireland 

Office supply wholesaler Spicers Ireland has been 

rescued from liquidation after the business was sold 

to the Paragon Group. 

Luke Charleton and 

Colin Farquharson of EY, 

in their capacity as joint 

official liquidators of Spicers 

(Ireland) Limited have 

completed the sale of the 

business and its assets to 

the Paragon Group for an 

undisclosed sum. 

The sale of the business 

includes the trade and stock 

and will see Paragon Group 

take assignment of the lease 

of the Spicers Ireland depot at 

Citywest in Dublin. 

Earlier this month The 

Recycler reported that the 

High Court had appointed 

Luke Charleton and Colin 

Farquharson both of EY as 

joint provisional liquidators 

to Dublin based Spicers 

Ireland. The office supplies 

wholesaler employed more 

than 40 people. 

The High Court had heard, 

that while Spicers Ireland 

was trading profitably, it was 

part of a wider UK-based 

group that had entered 

administration. 

On 14 May 2020 Spicers 

Ireland parent company, 

Spicers Limited ceased 

trading and R H Kelly and 

C G J King were appointed 

as Joint Administrators of 

Spicers Limited. 

Commenting on the 

purchase of Spicers Ireland, 

Paragon said: "The purchase 

of these businesses will 

further strengthen Paragon’s 

business services capabilities 

within Ireland. Spicers 

Ireland within Paragon will 

continue to be led by Martin 

Everard." 

Spicers Ireland possesses 

a large customer base in 

Ireland, many of whom 

depend on the company 

as their primary wholesale 

source. Paragon said "Spicers 

Ireland is proud to support its 

customers and prides itself on 

stock availability, breadth of 

product range, and provision 

of marketing and business 

solutions to help resellers 

grow." 

Sean Shine, CEO of the 

Paragon Group, said: "We are 

pleased to welcome Spicers 

Ireland to the Paragon 

Group. Spicers’ knowledge 

and prowess adds significant 

value to our growing range of 

Business Services in Ireland." 

Martin Everard, Managing 

Director of Spicers Ireland 

said "I am delighted that 

Spicers Ireland is joining the 

Paragon Group. Paragon 

has been growing rapidly 

both globally and in Ireland. 

Becoming part of Paragon 

allows Spicers Ireland to 

provide a broader range of 

products and services to our 

Customers in Ireland". ■ 


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

GLOBAL HP, City, Q2, Business 

HP secures $1 billion credit facility 

In a regulatory filing HP announced that it had secured a 364-day revolving 

credit facility for general corporate purposes. 

HP Inc. (HP) has secured a 364-day 

revolving credit facility with JPMorgan 

Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative 

agent, for a senior, unsecured revolving 

credit facility with aggregate lending 

commitments of $1 billion (€0.89 

billion). Loans under the revolving credit 

facility may be used for general corporate 

purposes. 

The facility is for 364 days running from 

29 May 2020 to 28 May 2021. 

A week before securing the credit facility, 

HP posted second quarter net revenue of 

$12.5 billion (€11.23 billion), down 11.2% 

from the prior-year period. 

Printing net revenue was down 19% year 

over year with a 13.2% operating margin. 

Total hardware units were down 23% with 

Commercial hardware units down 25% 

and Consumer hardware units down 22%. 

Supplies net revenue was down 15%. 

Personal Systems net revenue was down 

7% year over year with a 6.6% operating 

margin. Commercial net revenue decreased 

7% and Consumer net revenue decreased 

7%. Total units were down 5% with 

Notebooks units up 5% and Desktops 

units down 23%. 

For fiscal 2020, given the level of 

uncertainty around the duration of 

the pandemic, the timing and pace of 

economic recovery and the potential 

impact of a resurgence in cases, HP 

anticipates a much wider range of 

outcomes for the year. As a result, HP will 

not be providing an outlook for the fiscal 

year 2020. ■ 

ASIA Ninestar, Kingway, Ink-tank, Topjet, M&A 

Ninestar continues with acquisitions 

Slowly and surely Ninestar has been investing in other companies and has 

recently announced the share buyout of three more companies. 

On 1 March, Ninestar announced its 

plans to purchase the remaining share 

equity of Tuojia Technology (Topjet), 

Zhuhai Xinwei Technology (Kingway) 

and Zhuhai Zhongrunjingjie Printing 

Technology (Ink-Tank). In each case the 

remaining share equity is 49%. 

The value of the transactions is reported 

as 214 million yuan ($30.1 million / 

€27.9million) for Topjet, 196 million 

yuan ($27.6 million / €25.6 million) for 

Kingway and 125 million yuan ($17.6 

million / €16.3 million) for Ink-Tank. 

The value will be paid by issuing shares in 

Ninestar Corporation. 

All three companies are reported to 

be in the business of development, 

production and sales of printing 

consumables such as toner cartridges 

and ink cartridges with strong overseas 

markets. Topjet exports account for 90% 

of their total revenues, Ink-Tank exports 

account for 70% of total revenues and 

Kingway exports account for 60% or 

revenues. 

Ninestar is reported to have said that 

through the acquisition of the remaining 

equity of the target company, the listed 

company can further consolidate the 

horizontal integration of the industrial 

chain, expand its production capacity 

while consolidating its market position in 

the field of printing consumables sales, 

with a richer product series. 

The above story was translated into 

English from the original story written by 

Zhuomu and first published in Chinese 

on chinaIPO.com. ■ 


July 2020 

23

CITY NEWS 

GLOBAL Office Depot, Business, Financials 

13,000+ jobs to go at Office Depot 

In a recent SEC filing, Office Depot announced a big restructuring plan that will see 13,100 job losses by 2023 and store 

and distribution facility closures. The company also reported its Q12020 financial results and sold its Nordics business. 

On 13 May 2020, Office Depot, Inc. 

announced a restructuring plan to 

realign its operational focus to support its 

“business-to-business” solutions and IT 

services business units and improve costs. 

Implementation of the restructuring plan 

is expected to be substantially completed 

by the end of 2023. 

The restructuring plan includes the 

reduction of approximately 13,100 

employee positions and closing and/or 

consolidating distribution facilities and 

retail stores by the end of 2023. 

Office Depot said it is still evaluating 

the number of potential retail store and 

distribution facility closures, as well as the 

timing of any such closures. 

The Company currently estimates it will 

incur incremental restructuring charges of 

up to approximately $543 million (€502 

million), $194 million (€179 million) of 

which will result in cash expenditures by 

the end of 2023. 

According to the report, such cash 

expenditures include $30 million 

(€28 million) for supply chain capital 

investments and $21 million (€19 million) 

for IT capital investments. The remaining 

$492 million (€455 million) of estimated 

charges expected in the restructuring plan 

is comprised of one-time costs associated 

with potential retail store and distribution 

facility closures and related headcount 

reductions. 

The Company expects the restructuring 

to result in up to approximately $860 

million (€795 million) in net savings by 

the end of 2023. 

Office Depot also announced its results 

for the first quarter ended 28 March 2020. 

Total reported sales for the first quarter 

of 2020 were $2.7 billion (€2.5 billion), 

a decrease of 2% compared to the first 

quarter of 2019. 

The company said its Business Solutions 

Division (BSD) reported sales were $1.3 

billion (€1.2 billion) in the first quarter 

of 2020, down 1% compared to the first 

quarter of 2019. The year-over-year 

comparable sales performance includes the 

positive impact of customer acquisitions 

and growth in adjacency categories, 

primarily cleaning and breakroom supplies 

and technology, which were up 25% and 

10%, respectively, as customer demand 

for these products increased as a result of 

COVID-19 outbreak. 

Also announced was that Office Depot 

Europe completed the divestment of Office 

Depot Nordics to CEO Frank Egholm in 

a family-office backed Management Buy- 

Out transaction. 

Office Depot Europe's decision to divest 

its business in Sweden and the wider 

Nordics region comes after a successful 

transformation of the business since its 

acquisition by AURELIUS in January 

2017, the announcement said. Since then, 

Office Depot's Nordics business has 

expanded its product and service offerings, 

its retail channel has been integrated into a 

multi-channel approach, and the business 

has continued to foster its position among 

the top three leading players in its core 

market, Sweden. 

Office Depot Nordics has its nucleus in 

Sweden. Together with the involvement 

of partners, it is also servicing customers 

in Norway, Denmark and Finland. With 

its 450 employees it is one of Sweden's 

largest office suppliers covering the 

Nordics. Office Depot Nordics provide 

business supplies and services to help their 

customers work better and become more 

productive and efficient at work - regardless 

of their workplace. 

Frank Egholm and the management 

team are said to be excited to take on the 

next chapter in Office Depot Nordic's 

growth and have great plans for the future. 

Entering an MBO transaction is a firm 

testament of the parties' confidence in the 

strength and profitability of the business, 

the company said. 

“I'm truly excited to have this 

opportunity because Office Depot Nordic 

is a fantastic company. We have come a 

long way the past few years, but there 

is still a great potential for evolving the 

business further. This change will fuel 

our ambitions of becoming an even more 

successful player in the Swedish market, 

and this deal marks an important milestone 

for us all in achieving that goal. We already 

have a great team in place to take us there. 

Our employees are our best asset and we 

as a management team are ready for the 

challenge. I'm very pleased to be a part of 

Office Depot Nordics' future,” said Frank 

Egholm. 

Office Depot Europe exited its CEE 

(Central Eastern European) business in 

November 2019. The exit of Office Depot's 

Nordics division follows the same strategic 

rationale, the company explained, freeing 

resources to allow Office Depot Europe 

to focus on its stronghold European 

e-commerce centric business activities. ■ 


visit visit www.therecycler.com www.therecycler.com for for all all the the breaking breaking news news 

Issue Issue 332 XXX 

July XXXX 2020 2020 25 5

AROUND THE INDUSTRY 

NORTH AMERICA LD Products, 

Canon, Lawsuit, IP, Patent Infringement 

ASIA Speed, Product Carbon footprint, ISO5001 

Speed Infotech keeps 

the inspectors busy 

The inspectors have been busy at Speed Infotech as the company has been 

awarded ISO50001: Energy Management System and the Carbon Footprint 

Certificate. 

LD Products 

settles with 

Canon 

The two companies have entered 

into a consent judgement, settling 

the lawsuit initially brought by 

Canon and countered by LD 

Products. 

On 20 March 2019 Canon filed a 

complaint against LD Products alleging 

patent infringement of the OEM’s 

‘646 patent. On 29 April 2019 Canon 

amended the complaint alleging that LD 

Products also infringe the OEM’s ‘740, 

‘494, ‘760, ‘916, ‘736 and ‘304 patents. 

LD Products response was not only to 

deny the alleged patent infringement, 

but to also file two counterclaims against 

Canon. 

The two companies have now agreed to 

a Consent Judgement which claims that 

LD Products “Defendant has imported, 

sold, and/or offered for sale in the United 

States the Accused Products.” The legal 

document goes on to say “For purposes 

of this lawsuit and any proceeding 

to enforce this Consent Judgment, 

Defendant does not contest that all 

of the claims of the Asserted Patents 

asserted in Plaintiff’s First Amended 

Complaint are valid, enforceable, and 

infringed by the Accused Products. 

Nothing in this Consent Judgment shall 

be construed as an admission of liability 

by any party for any other purpose.” 

The two parties agreed that effective 

as of the date of the content judgement, 

that “making, using, selling, or 

offering for sale in the United States, or 

importing into the United States”, any 

toner cartridges that infringe the named 

patents. ■ 

Speed Infotech (BEIHAI) Co., 

Ltd. (Speed) recently announced that 

following a successful inspection in 

accordance to the standard ISO14067, 

they are one of the first companies in the 

consumable remanufacturing industry to 

receive the Carbon Footprint Certificate. 

The inspection institution conducted 

the Product Carbon Footprint 

Certification in the areas of greenhouse 

gases, the carbon footprint of products 

and the requirements and guidelines 

for quantification. 

Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) 

refers to the total amount of direct and 

indirect greenhouse gases released by a 

product during its life cycle, that is, the 

accumulation of various greenhouse gas 

emissions for individual product from 

“cradle to gate”. 

Speed commented: “The inspection 

institution collected data for the whole 

life cycle of remanufactured cartridge 

products, and comprehensively calculated 

the carbon footprint from various 

dimensions to ensure the accuracy 

of the data. The results show that a 

remanufactured ink cartridge produced 

30 % of the carbon emissions of a brandnew 

cartridge, as well as, 0.5 % of a mobile 

phone. 

The carbon footprint of Speed covers its 

entire global value chain, from suppliers 

to resellers and millions of customers 

worldwide. The insight through this 

process will help Speed to continually 

improve and create positive and 

sustainable impact on the planet where 

we live, work and do business.” 

ISO50001: Energy Management System 

The company was also inspected 

for their energy management system 

certification in accordance to the standard 

ISO50001: Energy Management System. 

Speed met the required standards and 

was awarded the ISO50001 Energy 

Management System Certificate. 

Speed commented “The energy 

management system is implemented 

by establishing a complete management 

system to manage energy. It included 

energy policy, energy target, energy 

index, energy efficiency and energy 

consumption. Energy management 

systems can help companies set energy 

targets and take steps to improve energy 

performance. 

The certification results show that the 

comprehensive energy consumption per 

unit of output value is 3.363kgce/ten 

thousand yuan, which is much lower than 

other manufacturing enterprises. 

In the future, Speed will continue to 

strengthen the construction of the energy 

management system, strictly implement 

the energy management program, 

and integrate the concept of green 

manufacturing and energy conservation 

into every production link.” ■ 



EUROPE Armor, OWA Score, Green Deal, European Union 

Armor: What’s the score 

Taking inspiration from the practices in the food 

industry and anticipating legislators to improve its 

customer experience of the circular economy, 

Armor introduces OWA Score. 

▲ Gerwald van der Gijp VP & 

Managing Director, Armor 

Office Printing 

Taking inspiration from the practices 

of the food industry and anticipating 

the upcoming European Union Green 

Deal legislation. Armor introduces OWA 

Score to improve its customer experience 

of the circular economy. 

The OWA Score allows customers 

to select cartridges in relation to their 

circular credentials and heralds a green 

revolution in the printing consumables 

sector. 

OWA Score is an intuitive visual scale 

for customers Inspired by practices 

in the food industry and is being 

implemented on the full laser (end 

of June), inkjet and copier ranges to 

evaluate the environmental impact of 

OWA printing consumables in relation 

to the circular economy, using questions 

such as: 

• Can the cartridge be reused? 

• When the cartridge is reconditioned, 

how many parts are replaced? 

• Is the cartridge collected by the 

manufacturer after use? 

• Does the manufacturer offer a 

cartridge recycling programme? 

• Is the packaging plastic-free? 

• Does the printer cartridge have 

an eco-label? 

Gerwald van der Gijp, VP & Managing 

Director of Armor Office Printing 

explains OWA Score: “At Armor we 

produce remanufactured printing 

consumables with an ecological 

footprint that is, by definition, much 

lower than that of standard cartridges. 

"Since the beginning of the year, 

we have been making lots of progress 

in our efforts to further reduce their 

environmental impact by redesigning 

all our packaging. Using the OWA 

SCORE means giving customers all of 

this information clearly so that they can 

make informed purchasing decisions." 

As part of the ‘Green Deal’ Europe will 

focus on the printing equipment and 

consumables sector, and work continues 

on an impressive plan for manufacturers, 

that is due for release within the next six 

months. 

Armor commented: “This [OWA 

Score] process is in line with EU 

ambitions, particularly the ‘Green 

Deal” and are “actively involved in this 

initiative.” 

In announcing OWA Score the 

company said it was “sharing its 

experience with various stakeholders 

committed to the circular economy in an 

effort to anticipate the requirements of 

the Commission, which hopes to secure 

a reusability rate of 65% for certain 

products – including ink cartridges – 

by 2023. Over the coming months, a 

certain proportion of green consumables 

or consumables from the circular 

economy will be imposed on these same 

institutions.” ■ 

Unused and unwanted 

empty cartridges? 

OHANA 

TECHNOLOGY 

We can solve your problem. It is a 3 step process: 

1. 2. 3. 

Contact us to arrange 

delivery, either by phone 

or email. 

We sort your cartridges, extracting 

everything of value and arranging the 

correct recycling of everything else.* 

* Cartridges of value will be sold on your behalf 

through our global network. 

Settle up with you and send 

you all the waste transfer 

documents for your records. 

To find out more, call Terry Bridgeman on +44 1328 633013, or email him at info@ohanatl.com 


July 2020 

27


EUROPE Jadi, Closure, Business, Toner 

Jadi UK ceases operations 

Jadi Imaging Solutions (UK) Limited ceased its operations on 27 th April 2020 and is in the process of winding 

down the business. 

Malaysian Parent company Jadi Imaging 

Holdings Berhad (Jadi) announced that, 

Jadi Imaging Solutions (UK) Limited (Jadi 

UK) has ceased its operations on 27 th April 

2020 and is in the process of being winding 

down the business. 

Jadi said: “The cessation was affected 

based on the Board’s decision as part of 

the Company’s restructuring to maximize 

cost efficiency. All existing and future 

distribution in the United Kingdom and 

European markets will be served directly by 

Jadi Imaging Technologies Sdn Bhd from 

hereon.” 

Chris Rouse, the former General Manager 

at Jadi UK said: “It was a pleasure working 

with Jadi, they were good employers, I 

enjoyed my time very much with them. I am 

looking forward to connecting up with my 

industry friends and colleagues in a new role 

very soon." 

In March 2016 Jadi acquired 100 percent 

of the UK toner manufacturer, AQC Group 

UK Ltd and rebranded the company as Jadi 

Imaging Solutions (UK) Limited. 

In August 2018 announced it was set 

to dispose of its loss-making Chinese 

subsidiary Jadi Suzhou for RM20.3 million 

($4.95 million/€4.34 million). 

The disposal will include land measuring 

191,502 square feet in Suzhou, China. 

The company has said that the disposal 

will allow it to “deconsolidate a lossmaking 

business entity” and is part of a 

wider strategy to focus particularly on the 

manufacture and sale of resin toners. 

“This will enable the group to better 

utilise its resources to generate profit 

and at the same time, eliminate further 

potential losses which might be incurred 

by Jadi Suzhou,” said Jadi in its filing. “The 

property’s divestiture will also allow the 

group to unlock and realise the value of the 

property and provide it with the additional 

resources to invest and grow its existing 

businesses.” 

In August 2019 the company announced 

that Static Control Holdings Limited (SCC) 

purchased ten percent of the shares in Jadi. 

At the same time Jadi entered into a three 

year Supply Agreement that commenced on 

the 1 April 2020 whereby SCC, Ninestar 

Corporation or any of its subsidiary 

companies will purchase a committed 

tonnage of chemical toners per annum from 

Jadi. 

According to the announcement the 

Proposed Agreement marks a synergistic 

collaboration between Jadi, an established 

manufacturer of high quality toners and 

Ninestar Group, one of the global market 

leaders in the manufacture and distribution 

of printing and imaging products. The 

Proposed Subscription will provide Jadi 

with the funds necessary to support the 

expansion of its manufacturing facilities as 

well as an access to a larger market, whilst 

Ninestar Group will be able to leverage on 

Jadi’s R&D and manufacturing capabilities 

of toners. ■ 

ASIA Zhuhai Top-Print, Coronavirus, Closure 

Zhuhai Top Print closes doors? 

Following the retirement of one of the partners, Zhuhai Top-Print Technology Co has recently closed with the loss of 800 jobs. 

Established in 2010 the Zhuhai based 

company produced around 6 million STMC 

certified compatible laser cartridges, printer 

parts, printing inks and other supplies 

from their 30,000 m2 facility. The Partner 

and CEO Olina retired recently, and the 

retirement culminated in the closure of 

the factory. Among the Zhuhai imaging 

community, Olina was held in high regard 

“Olina is a very good CEO of TOP PRINT 

and took the company forward” one 

competitor commented. 

The private limited company is thought to 

have an annual turnover in the region of $1 

billion and thirty production lines produced 

compatible monochrome and colour printer 

consumables for use in Brother, Canon, 

Epson, HP, Lexmark, Samsung and Xerox 

printers with most of their products exported 

to around 80 countries. Analysis of their last 

220 international shipments shows that the 

USA (60%), India (36%) and South America 

(4%). 

China went into lockdown in January when 

the coronavirus first emerged. However, 

as the pandemic spread, the demand for 

printer consumables has declined. Research, 

commissioned by The Recycler, suggests that 

the need for laser consumables has fallen 60% 

since the beginning of February. In contrast, 

the demand for inkjet has increased by 30% 

in the same period. 

Mr Beck, a co-owner told The Recycler 

“A group of like-minded technical and 

salespeople who had more than 10-15 years 

experience of [the] imaging industry and I 

have created a new company, Zhuhai Enlite 

Technology co. Ltd to continue to support 

customers. We own or jointly own a couple 

of specialized factories that produce top 

quality in their field of toner cartridges, 

inkjet cartridges, and bulk ink to provide a 

one-stop solution for our customers.” 

The new company details are: 

ZHUHAI ENLITE TECHNOLOGY 

CO., LTD, R00M NO. 232-3, 2nd Floor 

Plant No. 3, Road No. 6366, ZHUHAI 

AVENUE,HONGQI TOWN, JINWAN 

DISTRICT, ZHUHAI 

Whats app/ wechat: +86 15907565050 

Skype: tanyaozu 

Email: Beck@enlite-china.com 

Website: www.enlite-china.com 

(Under Construction ■ 



EUROPE Biuromax, Website, New Look 

Biuromax showcases new look website 

Since the new refreshed look was implemented just prior to Paperworld 2020 held earlier in January of this year, 

Biuromax has been working hard to complete the new look also on its website. 

This latest milestone for this company is 

another piece in the journey the company 

started a few months ago to incorporate 

its “Relationships First” moto and to 

reflect on the company’s achievements. 

The new website can be found here and 

although at the moment only available in 

Polish and English, the company already 

said it will be translating the pages into 

twelve languages soon. Among these are 

French, Italian, Spanish and Russian. 

The basis for customer satisfaction is 

good communication. That is why we 

have prepared a brand new version of our 

website available for now in two language 

versions: Polish and English, which 

according to Biuromax also reflects how 

truly global the company is working in 

42 countries around the world, speaking 

20 languages within the company and 

having over 30 years experience within 

the imaging industry. 

In its latest blog post, “Return After 

The Pandemic – How Europe Is Coming 

Back To Life”, Biuromax is giving an 

overview of what their experience is of the 

current COVID-19 situation. 

Biuromax is present in 42 countries 

around the globe. From its day to day 

business and co-workers during this 

unprecedented time, the company has 

compiled a current understanding on 

several European countries’ situation 

Talking about its home country, 

Biuromax said: “We return to normality, 

slowly but with optimism: shopping 

malls, hotels, kindergartens and nurseries 

have been opened to a limited extent, 

we are soon opening primary schools 

and partly restaurants; Many employees 

return to their offices, the traffic on the 

city streets increases every day. Of course, 

as recommended by the authorities, we 

wear masks, gloves and 

keep social distance.” ■ 

Check out the new look 

website here: 


July 2020 

29


ASIA Ninestar, IP, Litigation, CSR 

Ninestar settles IP dispute 

and talks CSR 

The 18 month legal action ended with Ninestar winning 

their case and Zhongshan Yuzhe agreeing a settlement. 

Ninestar has announced it has reached a 

comprehensive settlement with compatible 

ink cartridge manufacturer Zhongshan 

Yuzhe Electronic Co., Ltd who admitted 

that its series of products infringed on 

Ninestar's several patents in China and 

Japan, thus willing to pay Ninestar an 

undisclosed amount of damages. 

Ninestar initiated legal action in October 

2018 against the company alleging one 

or more of their products infringed 

certain Ninestar’s inkjet patents, namely 

patent numbers ZL201510524601.7 and 

ZL201520643462.5. The patents relate to 

their “engagement serving” technology, 

describing: “The stability of the cartridge 

installation has always been decisive for 

the print quality. Failure to install the 

cartridge firmly will result in poor chip 

contact or leaks in the ink outlet, which 

will further affect printer operation and 

even damage. The 'Engagement Portion' 

technology, independently developed by 

Ninestar, is able to offer customers a better 

installation experience while ensuring a 

stable cartridge installation. A number 

of patents on this technology have been 

filed. The cartridge product that uses this 

patented technology is compatible with 

Epson inkjet printers.” 

Zhongshan Yuzhe Electronics Co., 

Ltd., founded in July 2012, is located 

Zhongshan City, close to Ninestar’s 

headquarters and, according to their 

website, produces around 3.5 million 

inkjet cartridges a year that are mainly sold 

to China and Japan, United States, South 

Africa and Australia. 

The Recycler also took a look behind 

Ninestar’s corporate social responsibility 

programme that has raised millions for 

different projects. 

In 2007 Ninestar and the China 

International Red Cross joined together 

to establish the first corporate-sponsored 

fund in China, the Ninestar Angel Love 

Fund, which devotes its resources to 

helping children in need who are suffering 

from leukaemia. 

It is not just about the money, which is 

surely needed, but one of the key goals 

behind the Ninestar Angel Love Fund is to 

highlight the plight of children living with 

leukaemia. 

Ninestar has donated a large amount of 

money to CRCF and founded the Ninestar 

Angel Love Fund, which it believes is the 

embodiment of high social responsibility. 

Ninestar will appeal to more international 

peers to contribute to the charity project 

and help the leukaemia kids in China. The 

idea behind the foundation of the Ninestar 

Angel Love Fund is not merely limited to 

donations, but to highlight the plight of 

the leukaemia kids. 

Fixing the desert 

As early as in 2007, Ninestar joined the 

ten-year project plan of “100 Million 

Alxa Haloxylon Ammondendron” This 

project aims to plant 100 million haloxylon 

ammondendron in the Alxa area over 

10 years to restore 2 million acres of 

vegetation, thereby improving the local 

ecological environment and curbing the 

trend of desertification. Meanwhile, the 

derivative economic value of these trees 

could also enhance the living standards 

of herdsmen there. Since March, 2017, 

Ninestar has helped to plant 29,000 

haloxylon ammondendron, covering 

up to 580 acres. 

Earthquakes 

Three catastrophic earthquakes occurred 

in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces one 

after another in 2008, 2010 and 2013. In 

response, Ninestar raised a total charitable 

donation of 2.2 million CNY (€283,000/ 

$310,000) for the earthquake-stricken area. 

More recently 

Last year Ninestar Angel Love Fund 

gave away a second grant of 1 million 

CNY (€129,000 / $141,000) to support 

Red Cross in student assistance, serious 

disease relief, health intervention and 

environmental protection. 

In Spain, the first G&G International 

Padel Tournament raised over €10,400 

($11,400) for the Children's Oncology Unit 

of the Hospital of Alicante. 

Ninestar also supported The Recycler’s 

former Editor and Publisher David 

Connett last year when he walked 

Scotland’s 154km West Highland Way to 

raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières/ 

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) the 

international medical humanitarian 

organisation that treats people where the 

need is greatest. 

COVID-19 

Supporting the courageous men 

and women standing tall in front of 

coronavirus catastrophe are millions of 

doctors, nurses, scientists and front-line 

workers all helping to rolling back the 

disease at the frontline. 

Backing up these workers Ninestar 

Corporation pro-actively joined the silent 

fight. Overseas-based employees purchased 

50,000 medical disposable masks and 2.1 

thousand N95 masks and brought them 

back in person to donate to hospitals 

in Hubei Province. Furthermore, the 

company donated nearly 300 Pantum 

printers were given away to Cantonese 

medical team who went to Hubei Province 

to support by an affiliated company of 

Ninestar. 

It is all about our people 

Corporate philanthropy is not just 

about a money or property donation. 

Successful altruism requires the support 

and participation of everyone. Customers 

and suppliers need to buy in and support 

programmes, but most of all it is the 

employees that deliver the shared value of 

giving. 

For the last five years Ninestar 

employees combine personal exercise and 

philanthropy by participating in walking 

for the charity. In return the company 

pledges charitable donations on behalf 

of employees after they successfully 

participate in the charity walk. 

The culture of giving back to the society 

is deeply rooted in Ninestar’s values. 

Only by holding goodwill and care for 

other fellow members in need could the 

corporate grow into a leading and reliable 

service provider for industry and all 

consumers. ■ 



EMEA Paperworld Middle East, Virtual Trade Show, Events 

EUROPE Data Direct, ByBox, 

Deliveries, Contactless 

Data Direct 

partners with 

ByBox 

Paperworld Middle East 

goes virtual 

Having missed the opportunity to network with industry peers and experts 

this March, Paperworld Middle East 2020 is offering visitors and exhibitors 

an opportunity to join a virtual trade show. 

In line with the recent development 

due to COVID-19 where movement is 

severely restricted, Paperworld Middle East 

is creating a virtual event to replace the 

2020 event to give buyers and sellers the 

opportunity to meet in an innovative way. 

This low cost opportunity is available 

from a small investment of $500 (€461) 

and features a wider visitor reach from 

the Middle East, Africa & Indian subcontinent, 

real time conversation with the 

visitors with no logistics cost. Sponsorship 

and branding opportunities are available 

and exhibitors will be given a detailed after 

show report. 

Target audiences are retailers and 

distributors of stationeries, toys and office 

supplies, office managers who are sourcing 

new office items, e-retailers and end-users 

of paper products and small, medium and 

large enterprise from Middle East and 

Africa. 

How will it look and feel? Scan the QR 

code at the end of this story. 

If you are interested in exhibiting or 

would like some more 

information, please 

contact Lorelei Soriano 

lorelei.soriano@uae. 

messefrankfurt.com. ■ 

The company has announced its 

partnership with ByBox, which 

enables delivery of parts to 27,000 

lockers within the UK. 

In partnership with ByBox, the largest 

field engineer locker delivery network, 

with over 27,000 lockers nationwide, 

Data Direct said it can now continue 

to deliver urgent parts to convenient 

locations whilst observing contact-free 

social distancing practices. 

As a specialist distributor to the office 

equipment and supplies industry, this 

service is available from Data Direct 

delivering parts pre-8am to lockers 

every single day. 

Earlier this year, Data Direct was 

announced as CET’s exclusive 

distributor in the UK. Data Direct has 

been in the market for over 27 years, but 

individuals within the company have 

many more years of industry experience 

in various market-leading companies 

around the world. ■ 


July 2020 

31


EUROPE CTS Toner Supplies, Spicers, SPOT, Business 

CTS shares working update 

CTS Toner Supplies has shared an update on how it successfully adapted to remote working, its current stock levels and 

new opportunities. 

At the end of March, due to the 

COVID-19 pandemic and new regulations 

from the UK government CTS Toner 

Supplies successfully implemented their 

remote working plan and continues 

to be fully operational during this 

challenging time. 

Speaking to The Recycler, CTS said it 

has carried on supplying and supporting 

their established customer base and 

are also experiencing new applications 

from businesses looking for a strong 

distribution partner, offering both quality 

cost-effective products and vital services 

such as EDI to match. 

Looking at new opportunities, the recent 

reports of Spicers and SPOT coming into 

the spotlight with SPOT stating it was a 

“difficult period with its business affected 

by the widespread and unprecedented 

effects of the pandemic” and the Court 

appointing liquidators to Spicers 

Ireland, the UK-based company sees an 

opportunity to help business customers to 

maintain their supply chain. CTS Toner 

supplies maintains a good stock level and 

is continuing to receive new stocks with 

containers still arriving regularly. 

Steve Clayton, Managing Director CTS 

Toner Supplies, said: “In these testing 

times we are working hard to maintain the 

supply of our extensive product range to 

our trade only customers. 

“Our current stock levels are at near 

all time highs due to post New Year 

procurement now arrived, for anticipated 

increases in business in 2020. 

“Product type emphasis has moved 

towards inkjet with dealers supplying 

home working and schooling. 

“There are industry wide shortages of 

empty cores for remanufactured inkjet, to 

maintain supply we are making available 

new eco design solutions with a product 

offering a reusable printhead with 

multipack replacement ink cartridges. 

“As part of this we welcome any SPOT 

customers needing to keep their customers 

furnished with the same source product.” 

To sign up directly with CTS, business 

partners can call +44 (0) 1543 474920 

or email sales@ctstonersupplies.co.uk to 

register directly with the company. ■ 

EUROPE Ecoburotic UK, Closure, Business 

Ecoburotic to close 

UK subsidiary? 

Matthew Carslake, the Loyalty Accounts Manager at 

Ecoburotic UK Ltd announces the business is to close. 

Describing it as the “End of an era” 

Carslake announced that “Ecoburotic UK 

is closing down” and “Guess I'm on the 

hunt for something new now.” 

Ecoburotic UK was formed in 2010 and 

is a wholly-owned Ecoburotic, the office 

print specialist located in Rouvignies in 

northern France. 

According to their website, Ecoburotic 

UK has “100,000 SME customers” and 

“25 printer specialists.” The company 

replicates it parents’ message “At 

Ecoburotic, we are here to help you choose 

the right printing equipment for your 

office. Laser printer or Inkjet printer, A3 

or A4, multifunction or single function, 

colour or black and white, you will find the 

perfect machine that suits your needs.” 

Hardcopy Shipments (HCP) have seen 

a decline in recent years. Last November 

International Data Corporation (IDC), 

reported the Western European printer 

and multifunction (MFP) market 

decreased by 4.9 percent in unit terms 

in 3Q19 compared with the same period 

a year ago, to give a market size of 4.60 

million units. 

This meant the overall market declined 

year-on-year by 236,000 units, but price 

declines steadied and as there was a skew 

toward higher-priced devices including 

production, the quarter generated market 

values of $2.1 billion (€1.9 billion), an 

increase on the same period a year ago. 

2020 has been impacted by COVID-19 

and again IDC reports that the worldwide 

hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market 

declined 7.5% year-over-year in the first 

quarter of 2020 to 21.1 million units in 

the first quarter of 2020 (1Q20), according 

to the International Data Corporation 

(IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy 

Peripherals Tracker. 

Earnings at the French parent Ecoburotic 

reflect the market changes. Earnings 

in 2018 are reported at €30,722,230 

($33,839,379), down 17.5% on 2016 

earnings of €37,260,720 ($41,041,280). 

Commenting on the performance of the 

UK subsidiary, Carslake said “Feel it's such 

a shame, as 2019 was going very well, with 

my boss and my input, it started to work 

and was going to be very profitable.” 

No date for the closure was given. ■ 



EUROPE Inkstation, Refill, Inkjet, Laser 

Inkstation: 32 refill record 

The Netherlands refill and office supplies retailer claims the record of 32 refills for one ink cartridge. 

The Netherlands refill and office 

supplies retailer, Inkstation, claims the 

record of 32 refills for one ink cartridge. 

While the average ink cartridge can be 

refilled 3 to 5 times, 32 does seem 

to be a record. 

Founded in 2005, Inkstation has stores 

in Amersfoort, Barneveld, Bussum, 

Ede, Nijkerk and Soest and specialises 

in the while you wait hand refilling ink 

cartridges, where the savings can be as 

high as 80% when compared to buying 

a new price of a cartridge. 

Taking to LinkedIn Inkstation 

promotes their ink and toner refilling 

service advising that “a cartridge can 

be refilled 3 to 5 times” and “the record 

for 1 and the same cartridge stands 

at 32 refills”. 

Apart from the while you wait ink refill 

service the stores sell printers, original 

ink and toner cartridges, remanufactured 

toner cartridges. The stores carry a range 

of quality paper in all weights, colours 

and dimensions and have more than 

18,000 office supplies available to you. 

Are 32 refills of one cartridge a record, 

or do you have a higher record. Let us 

know at news@therecycler.com. ■ 


July 2020 

33

DM COLUMN 

The effects of COVID-19 on 

how we market imaging products 

Okay, so we all went to Paperworld in January and had a plan 

for the year, …and then came the virus and changed it all. 

▲ Zoltan Matyas, Founder 

of PrintEvery Consulting 

What are the real effects? How did the virus 

change our market? These are “the juicy 

questions” and guess what: Nobody really 

knows. Just like WHO didn’t know what’s 

going to happen and just like no government 

can tell us now if we are facing another 

lockdown in September/ October if the virus 

is back. There are unlimited variables and 

many different answers, but one thing is sure: 

COVID-19 changed things around. 

As to the effects on the market, printing 

habits, print volumes etc., there are many 

better qualified people out there, so I will 

stick with marketing. 

At the time of writing this article the 

business world is slowly coming back and 

recovering from the shock, but many of us 

are still working from home and run video 

conferences from the kitchen table after 

home schooling our kids. That’s just what it 

is, and businesses are forced to adapt to this 

reality at least for a few more weeks. 

The news on the TV says we are facing 

a “Double Eco Crisis”. Economic and 

Ecologic. Possibly the biggest of our 

generation. I believe large-scale crisis always 

acts as an accelerator of already ongoing 

changes. This time it is the famous “Digital 

Transformation” that is being accelerated. 

Of course, the “Double Eco Crisis”, will 

mean more ears for green arguments and 

more pockets for printing cost savings but 

the real big deal here is digital change. I said 

it many times that we are lucky enough to 

live thru the biggest transformation of our 

society driven by tech and digitalisation. 

Now guess what, this shift just been 

supercharged. (Some say we live thru the 

largest scale human experiment, but I will 

not go there.) 

Facts and numbers are out there. The virus 

changed how we internet (yes, I’m using 

internet as a verb). Let’s see a few stats, I 

know you love them: 

1. Facebook +27% 

2. Netflix +16% almost 16 million new 

subscribers in Q1 of 2020 

3. Youtube +15.3% 

4. Spotify +33% monthly active users 

5. Google Duo +12.4% 

6. Nextdoor.com +73.3% 

7. Houseparty (app) +79.4% 

(Source: Similarweb, Forbes, Econsultancy.com) 

Interesting fact as home office brought the 

PC closer to our fingertips these content 

providers registered a return to computers 

and decrease of mobile use for the first 

time in many years. 

Another obvious change, as you can 

see from 5,6 and 7, is that with social 

distancing at full scale the increase in use 

of video conferencing apps and solutions 

to video chat. Yes, my friends, investors of 

Zoom made a lot of money this year (Source: 

Google). 

Home office is here to stay and solutions 

to make this easier and more efficient for 

businesses are on the winning side of the 

game. 

It is evident that within our “new normal” 

reality we are forced to change lifestyle, 

work style and the way we consume and 

exchange information. 

The “Double Eco Crisis”, will mean more ears for green 

arguments and more pockets for printing cost savings 

but the real big deal here is digital change. 

Zoom Share Prices 

That is of course a key fact for marketing. 

Remember marketing is communication, 

marketing is perception. 

34 

Issue 332 July 2020


I mean, if I would have the phone number 

of COVID-19´s PR manager I would be a 

millionaire. Think about this: One of the 

biggest challenges our remanufacturing 

industry historically faced, is how to 

educate our customers to sell our product’s 

benefits…Now look at how the entire 

world within a period of 4-5 weeks became 

an expert of virology, public health, and 

health crisis management. All this is 

entirely true digital without a single faceto-face 

interaction or event. 

Daily app sessions for popular remote work apps 

The key of today’s digital marketing is still 

how to stay relevant, cut through the noise 

and find where the customer’s attention 

is. As the level of digitalisation increases 

getting in front of these eyes is increasingly 

difficult. Now more than ever those eyes 

are on digital, so with the supercharge of 

digitalisation, many of you are asking the 

obvious question. 

Is it time to supercharge our 

digital marketing effort? 

The answer is obviously yes, but how? How 

to stay relevant during COVID-19 and 

post COVID-19? And no, I do not mean 

selling facemasks and hand sanitisers on 

your website. 

And the answer to this how is always by 

listening to the consumers and taking a 

strategic approach. 

Some of the ongoing trends affecting 

marketing today: 

1. The disappearance of all live events 

and conferences are obliging to reinvent 

marketing in a digital form to compensate 

for the loss of opportunities. 

2. Cancelled business trips and face-toface 

business meetings are a challenge for 

B2B companies. Companies are looking at 

re-purposing those travel budgets to digital 

marketing. 

3. Speeding up the adaptation of digital 

channels in terms of connecting internal 

teams and companies with customers. 

4. Increased adaptation of digital interactive 

value content in forms of webinars, live 

stream events and virtual tradeshows. 

5. Less money is being spent on adverts, 

basically due to restricted operations or 

revenue collapse. Some just stopped to pass 

on the uncertain period and will come back 

to spend once uncertainty is over and sure of 

the right message and the right channel. 

6. The gain of importance of the marketing 

message of back to basics. Good service 

and trust. Back to marketing basics talking 

about core values and purpose. Trust is key 

and being helpful is a value… It is not the 

time of sell-sell-sell approach nowadays. 

7. Eco arguments and the rise of conscious 

and responsible consumption, reuse of IT 

and remanufacturing are all concepts on the 

rise. Interesting collaborations, co-branding 

are on the rise. 

8. As consumers and industries demand 

better connectivity new practical solutions 

are rolling out to meet these needs. 

9. Transmitting a worry-free customer 

experience becomes a top priority message. 

10. When it comes to content creations 

companies started to share the measures, 

they take to assure safety and how they 

protect workers to guarantee service 

levels. When it comes to content creation: 

“document vs create” became the concept of 

content creation. 

11. Creating Human touchpoints during 

the pandemic such as looking for ways to 

Marketing is a perception and digital is the new normal. 

App popularity according to iOS App Store rankings on March 16-18. Source:Apptopia 

contribute to the community, environment, 

society, culture, leveraging strength and 

expertise within the organization. A 

great example of this is the Spanish SEAT 

documented and published a story of 

how they switched a production line of 

windshield wipers to make ventilators for 

hospitals within weeks. Imagine what this 

did for the brand in Spain… 

What lies ahead for marketers? 

More than ever, the world is going digital 

and the key challenge becomes cutting 

through the noise in a crowded digital space 

competing for customer attention. 

The virus will not last forever, but it will 

change how we connect forever. How we 

connect with customers and how customers 

connect with our brand. I repeat: Marketing 

is a perception and digital is the new normal. 

Customers are increasingly engaging 

with brands online and personalisation 

will continue to be key apart of value 

content. Today’s digital channels enable 

us to re-invent marketing and connect to 

our customers to build a different kind 

of relationship. We must not be afraid of 

getting creative about it. 

Research where your customers can be 

found online, connect, and find the right 

tactics to impact your business moving 

forward. ■ 

Zoltan Matyas 

Zoltan Matyas is a Digital Marketing 

and Sales specialist in the independent 

imaging industry with over 15 years 

of front-line sales experience. He is 

a regular contributor in industry 

publications and speaker at industry 

events. 

You can connect with him on 

LinkedIn or email him at zoltan@ 

printevery.com. 


July 2020 

35

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 

EUROPE Biuromax, Remanufacturing, 

Supplier 

GLOBAL Katun, New Products, Parts, Remanufactured Printers 

New products 

announced by Katun 

Katun Corporation announced the introduction 

of imaging supplies plus personal protective 

equipment in Europe and replacement OPC 

drum kit, parts and remanufactured HP printers 

for North American dealers. 

Biuromax 

highlights 

latest 

products 

The Polish supplier has released 

new compatible toner, chips, reset 

levers, filler caps, developer roller 

covers and top name plates for the 

remanufacturing of Brother TN 

243/TN247 cartridges. 

The latest announcement by 

Biuromax are components for the 

remanufacturing of Brother TN 

243/TN247 cartridges for use in 

HL-L3210/3230/3270, Brother 

DCP-L3510/3550 and Brother 

MFC-L3710/3730/3750/3770 devices. 

Available is CMYK bulk toner in bags 

and 1kg bottles, chips for use with TN 

247 cartridges in page yields of 3,000 

and 2,300 as well as chips for use with 

TN 243 with page yields of 1,000. 

Also added to the range were standard 

and high yield reset levers, filler caps, 

developer roller covers and top name 

plates for these cartridges. ■ 

For more information 

on the above products 

and more, please scan 

the QR code here: 

Katun Europe introduced replacement 

toner cartridge and its Personal Protective 

Equipment (PPE) product offering expands 

to include more masks and other protective 

equipment. 

Katun has introduced Katun Performance 

toner cartridges for use in Kyocera Ecosys 

M4125-series devices. This toner cartridge 

set provides OEM-equivalent yields and 

consistent, reliable performance, according to 

the company. 

Katun added: “This product has been 

manufactured in facilities that have earned 

the ISO 9001:2015 quality management 

system certificate and the ISO 14001:2015 

environmental management system 

certificate.” 

To help businesses stabilise and succeed 

while working through the COVID-19 

pandemic, Katun is also introducing several 

items in the PPE category. A range of face 

masks, including FFP2 graded and surgical 

style masks, various gloves and sanitisers are 

now available to help businesses get back to 

work safely. 

Katun Corporation also announced the 

introduction of several high-quality products 

including a Katun Access OPC drum kit for 

use in Canon imageRUNNER Advance 

4525/4535/4545/4551-series devices. Katun 

ASIA Zhono, Chips, Remanufacturing 

said its kit provides dealers with significant 

cost-per-copy savings at a time when cash 

flow is paramount. 

The company added: “This reliable product 

has been tested and approved in Katun’s 

Research and Development laboratory in 

Minneapolis, Minnesota, to ensure it meets 

Katun’s high standards.” 

Ricoh dealers will be happy to know that 

Katun has introduced several parts, including 

a replacement transfer belt and a drum charge 

roller for use in various devices, including 

Ricoh Aficio 1050/550/650/850-series 

machines. 

Katun has also added several new HP 

models to its line of Katun Certified 

remanufactured printers, including the HP 

LaserJet Enterprise Flow M 630 and HP 

LaserJet Enterprise M 604 DN. Katun said 

about the launch: “These low cost, highquality 

remanufactured printers connect to 

your network and MPS programs straight 

out of the box and are remanufactured 

in the USA. Save money and benefit the 

environment by purchasing a Katun Certified 

remanufactured printer.” ■ 

Katun products may be 

ordered by phone, fax or 

email, or via the Katun 

Online Catalogue here: 

Zhono releases new replacement chips 

The company has announced updated replacement chips for Sharp MX61 

series cartridges. 

The updated replacement chip version 

works after the latest Sharp firmware 

update affecting the use of third party 

supplies in several Sharp devices. 

Zhono’s replacement chips for use with 

Sharp MX61 series cartridges are for use 

in Sharp MX-2630/3050/3060/3070N/3 

550N/3570N/4050N/4060/4070N/5050 

N/5070N/6050N/6070N, Sharp MX- 26 

51/3051/3551/4051/3561/3571/3061/30 

71/4061/4071/3061/5051/5071/6051/60 

71 devices. ■ 


on the above and other 

Zhono products, please 

scan here: 



ASIA Apex, Chips, Remanufacturing 

Apex announces new 

replacement chips 

The company has announced its latest replacement chips 

for use with Kyocera devices in the US market. 

In March 2020, Kyocera released 

two A4 colour MFPs TASKalfa 408ci/508ci 

in the United States with a printing speed 

of 40ppm, which Kyocera said is mainly 

suitable for small and medium-sized 

working groups that require durable 

operation and flexible finishing. 

Apex has announced its replacement chip 

solution offering “consistent performance” 

and are “easy to install in recycled 

cartridges”. These latest replacement 

chips are for use with Kyocera TK-5317 

series cartridges which are for use in 

Kyocera TASKalfa 408ci/508ci devices. 

Regionalised for the USA, the chips come 

with page yields of 24,000 for the black 

cartridge chip and 18,000 for the CMY 

cartridge chips. ■ 

For more information on 

the above or any other of 

Apex’s range, please scan 

here: 

EUROPE IR Italiana Riprografia, Cartridges, Waste Toner Boxes 

Latest products showcased by IR Italiana Riprografia 

The company has announced new compatible toner cartridges for use in Olivetti devices and released a number of 

compatible waste toner boxes in various Konica Minolta, Sharp, Toshiba and Xerox devices. 

The latest addition to IR Italiana 

Riprografia’s product range are 

compatible toner cartridges for use in 

Olivetti D-Color MF 2624 devices, 

which come with page yields of 4,000 

pages in black and 3,000 pages for the 

colour cartridges. 

Also available in IR Italiana 

Riprografia’s catalogue are the 

corresponding Kyocera toners for use in 

Kyocera Ecosys M5526CDN with page 

yields of 4,000 pages in black and 3,000 

for the colour cartridges. 

IR Italiana Riprografia announced 

the expansion of its products range with 

the new additions of compatible waste 

toner boxes for use in Konica Minolta 

Bizhub Press C1060, Konica Minolta 

Bizhub 227, Sharp MX-M364N, Sharp 

MX-C250F, Sharp MX-2301, Toshiba 

E-Studio 5520C and Xerox Versalink 

C7020 devices. 

According to the company, the 

compatible toner cartridges provide not 

only “OEM equivalent print quality,” 

but also “100 percent compatibility” with 

OEM products, as well as “significant 

savings” over the OEM. The compatible 

toner cartridges also offer MSDS in 

compliance with REACH. 

Additionally, the cartridges were 

produced “in a certificated environment” 

including the ISO 9001:2015 quality 

management system certificate; the ISO 

14001:2015 environmental management 

system certificate; and the BS OHSAS 

18001:2007 occupational health and 

safety management system certificate. 

The “product performances of several 

items distributed” by IR follow the 

standards set by STMC and ISO 19752 

and ISO 19798. IR Italiana Riprografia 

products are in compliance with the 

RoHS II directive (when required). ■ 

For more information on the abovementioned 

products or 

other ranges available 

from IR Italiana 

Riprografia, please scan 

the QR code here: 


July 2020 

37


ASIA Mito, New Products, IP Safe, Patents 

GLOBAL CTS Toner Supplies, 

Eco-Saver Range, Ninestar 

G&G expands 

Eco-Saver 

product line 

Mito showcases its latest 

IP-safe solution 

Mito Color Imaging announced that the company has been 

granted a new patent for its new Canon toner cartridge solution. 

Mito launched their own patent safe 

solution and says it has significantly 

improved and restructured the core part 

of the OEM design, to ensure the perfect 

compatibility between the toner cartridge 

and the printer. 

The company, pleased with its latest 

launch commented: “Mito’s patented 

designed toner Cartridge has outstanding 

printing quality and stability, and this 

patent solution is suitable for all Canon 

and HP toner cartridges with EP 289 

Patent design as shown below.” 

Canon’s European Patent EP1 977 

289 (also known as EP 289) is aimed at 

protecting the mechanism for separating 

developer roller from OPC drum under 

the action of second force receiving 

portion. 

The recently assigned patent is for Mito’s 

new design for the developer roller and 

OPC drum which are never separating 

from each other. 

This latest solution is available as 

replacement cartridges for HP125 series, 

HP128 series, HP131 series, HP304 series 

HP410 series, HP312 series, Canon CRG 

118/718 KCMY series, Canon CRG 

116/716 KCMY series and Canon CRG 

131/731 KCMY series cartridges. 

General Manager of Mito, Wendy Duan 

stated that the company always respects 

Intellectual Property Rights of the OEMs 

and any other third party. “During the 

design and development procedure of new 

products, Mito invests large resources 

in patent studying and researching, and 

innovation is always a core part of Mito’s 

business. The company will continue 

providing innovative and high quality 

products, and help our partners with 

further success in their markets,” 

Duan added. 

One of the latest highlighted products 

being added to Mito’s product portfolio 

are patented (design around) replacement 

monochrome toner cartridges for use in 

Canon Image Class LBP226dw, 227dw, 

MF445dw, 448dw, 449dw and Canon 

i-SENSYS LBP223dw, 228x, MF443dw, 

445dw, 446dw, 449x devices. These new 

solutions come in two page yield versions 

of 3,100 and 10,000 pages. 

Also launched were remanufactured 

colour toner cartridge sets for use in 

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdn, 

M479fdw as well as HP Color LaserJet 

Pro M454dw, M454dn devices. The “A” 

version cartridges come with page yields 

of 2,400 for the black and 2,100 for the 

colour cartridges and the “X” versions 

of the remanufactured cartridges come 

with page yields of 7,500 for the black and 

6,000 for the colour cartridges. 

Mito’s range was also expanded with a 

compatible colour toner cartridge set for 

use in Kyocera TASKalfa 356ci devices, 

which come with page yields of 18,000 

for the black and 12,000 for the colour 

cartridges. 

Mito Group’s supply chain advantage 

and chemically produced toner powder 

ensure its products come “with stable 

and perfect printing quality” and “good 

toner performance of fusing in different 

environments”. ■ 


products as 

well as Mito’s full range of 

products, please visit their 

website by scanning the 

QR code. 

Last September, Ninestar 

introduced its new Eco-Saver 

series of remanufactured inkjet 

cartridges, an environmentalfriendly 

printing solution 

created specifically for users 

who want to save printing cost 

in a sustainable way. 

What is Eco-Saver? Eco-Saver is 

a series of remanufactured inkjet 

cartridges featuring one reusable print 

head and multi-pack replacement ink 

cartridges. Eco-Saver cartridge print 

heads print up to 1,440 pages in total 

and have a reusable print head. 

Ninestar teamed up with Apex for the 

cartridge chips, which means Eco-Saver 

series products featuring the reusable 

print heads also show ink level from 

start to finish. 

The Eco Saver products range was 

started with replacement HP 302XL 

cartridges, but has now been expanded 

with newly available replacement 

HP 63XL and HP 65XL for the US 

market, replacement Eco Saver HP 

664XL for the Latin American market, 

replacement HP680XL and HP 803XL 

cartridges for the Asia Pacific market 

and replacement Eco Saver HP 123XL 

and HP 652XL cartridges for the 

Middle Eastern market. 

In its announcement, Ninestar said 

that Eco-Saver remanufactured inkjet 

cartridges for use in Canon devices are 

coming soon. 

Good news for the UK channel, CTS 

Toner Supplies is set to introduced 

G&G’s new Eco-Saver series of 

remanufactured inkjet cartridges. 

Available Eco-Saver products from 

CTS include HP 302XL black and 

colour cartridges. HP304XL and 

HP301XL black and colour cartridges 

are coming soon. ■ 


on Ninestar’s Eco-Saver 

range, please scan the 

QR code. 


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DATES 


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24-25 TH SEPTEMBER 2020 

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NEW DATES 

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Kindly sponsored by: 

Key Sponsor 

Drinks Reception Sponsor 

Lanyard & Ticket Sponsor 

BIUROMAX 

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30 Years of the office printer – The next 10? 

In 1990 the OEM printer market was disrupted with the evolution of the reuse sector. 

30 years on the disruption continues in every sector of the market. 

The market is contracting 

Business and personal printing is reducing 

The OEM community is realigning through Mergers and acquisitions 

The GREEN agenda is at the forefront of European policy 

New build consumables are the newest disruptor 

This conference explores the current market, the latest trends and issues, the EU’s GREEN 

agenda and EU policy initiatives to boost greener printing, and cartridges are at the heart of this. 

And a hard look at where the industry will be in 3, 5 and 10 years. 

Holiday Inn, Prague Convention Centre Na Pankraci 15/1648, Nusle Prague 4, 140 00, Czech Republic Tel: +420 2 968 950 50 

Email: info@holidayinn.cz NOTE – We have a special room rate, please contact us for more information. 

Join us in Prague to learn, share, and network. 


July 2020 

www.therecycler.com/live/prague 

39


ASIA ChipJet, Chips, Remanufacturing 

Chipjet introduces latest products 

Replacement cartridge chip manufacturer Chipjet has announced its latest products for use with Kyocera devices. 

In July 2016, Kyocera released a series of 

A4 black and white and colour MFPs, such 

as M2135dn black and white multifunction 

printer and P6230cdn A4 colour printer. 

The printers come with print speeds of up 

to 37ppm. 

Chipjet introduced its latest solution 

which are replacement chips for use in 

ECOSYS-P5021cdn/P5021cdw/M5521cdn 

/M5521cdw/P5026cdn/P5026cdw/ 

M5526cdn/M5526cdw/P5018cdn in 

replacement of Kyocera Color Gen 7 

series, and ECOSYS-P3045dn/P3055dn/ 

P3060dn/P3145dn/P3150dn/P3155dn/ 

P3260dn, ECOSYS-M3145dn/M3645dn/ 

M3860idn/M3860idf/P3050dn/ 

M3655idn/M3660idn, ECOSYS- 

P2335d/P2335dn/M2835dw/P2235dn/ 

P2235dw/P2040dn/P2040dw/M2040dn/ 

M2540dn/M2640idw and ECOSYS- 

M2135dn/M2635dn/M2735dw devices. 

Chipjet said that its replacement chip 

solutions are "fully tested" and offer "stable 

performance". 

Been dedicated to printing consumable 

chips industry for over a decade, Chipjet said 

it now offers products for multiple fields like 

inkjet printers, laser printers and copiers. 

The company said that based on its 

strong technical advantages and research 

and development strength, Chipjet will 

try to satisfy the market demand actively 

and provide replacement chip solutions 

with higher anti-update ability. ■ 


on the above or any other 

of Chipjet’s range, please 

scan here: 

ASIA HYB Toner, New Products, Remanufacturing 

HYB showcases its latest release 

The company announced the release of replacement lower and upper fusing rollers for use in various Xerox devices. 

HYB Toner has released a replacement 

lower fusing roller for use in Xerox 

4110/4112/4127/4590/4595/DC900/ 

DC1100/D95/D110/D125 devices 

offering a page yield of 100,000 pages, 

according to the company’s tests. 

The company said about this latest 

launch: “It is a long life product that 

offers great convenience to technicians 

and it made significant savings compared 

with the existing After Market Products 

they’ve been using.” 

HYB Toner also released a replacement 

upper fusing roller for use in Xerox 

WorkCentre 5945/5945i/5955/5955i 

devices offering a page yield of 250,000 

pages, according to the company’s tests. 

The company commented on the 

release: “It is a long-life product that 

offers great convenience to technicians 

and it made significant savings compared 

with the existing After Market Products 

they’ve been using.” 

The latest launch from HYB Toner is 

a remanufactured drum unit for use in 

Xerox DocuCentre SC2020/SC2021/ 

C2022 devices. 

Pleased about the launch, HYB Toner 

said: “In order to satisfy our customers 

who are mostly making business with 

dealers and having a high expectation 

when they compare our toner, spare 

parts with the Genuine Products, HYB 

has been working on development with 

premium quality toner, developer and 

drum units for the copiers with most 

up-to-date catalogues. It’s important 

for HYB to develop new items and 

assure our distributors are in the 1st 

place to carry a full range of latest and 

quality assured products.” 

The company added that more 

products are approved to be release 

in the next two weeks. ■ 


on the above and other 

products from HYB, visit 

their website by scanning 

here: 



EUROPE wta Carsten Weser, Cartridges, Remanufacturing 

wta Carsten Weser releases 

plethora of new products 

EUROPE ECS, Anti-Bacterial 

Sanitiser, Supplies 

The German remanufacturer has unveiled its latest releases of 

remanufactured cartridges for use in various Brother, Epson, HP, Samsung, 

Utax and Xerox devices. 

wta Carsten Weser has expanded 

its products range with the 

addition of remanufactured toner 

cartridges for use in Brother HL- 

3140/3142/3150/3152/3170/3172, 

DCP-9017/9020/9022 and Brother MFC- 

9130/9140/9142/9330/9332/9340/9342 

devices which boast a page yield of 

15,000. Also added was a new CMYK 

set of remanufactured cartridges for use 

in Brother HL-L8360, MFC-L8900 

machines which come with page yields 

of 9,000 for the black and 6,500 for 

the colour cartridges, as well as a set of 

remanufactured cartridges for use in 

Brother HL-L9310, MFC-L9570 devices 

with page yields of 9,000 for the CMYK 

cartridges. 

The company’s remanufactured HP 

toner cartridge range was expanded 

with cartridges for use in HP LaserJet 

Pro M304/305/404/405, MFP 329/420 

devices, HP LaserJet Enterprise M507, 

MFP M528, Managed E50145, HP 

LaserJet Pro M118, MFP M148, which 

are available in normal and high-yield 

versions. Additionally, a CMYK set of 

remanufactured cartridges for use in HP 

Color LaserJet Enterprise M652/653, 

HP Color LaserJet Managed E55040, 

Flow MFP E57540 and HP Color 

LaserJet Enterprise M652/653, Flow MFP 

M681/682 machines were announced. 

Also now available are remanufactured 

monochrome cartridges for use in HP 

LaserJet Enterprise Managed E60055/600 

65/60075/60155/60156/62655, Flow MFP 

E62565/62575/62665, MFP E62555/62565 

and HP LaserJet Managed E50045, Flow 

MFP E52545 devices. 

Furthermore, wta Carsten Weser 

launched a new remanufactured CMYK 

set of cartridges for use in Samsung 

ProXpress C4010/4060 devices which 

boast page yields of 15,000 for the black 

cartridges and 10,000 for the CMY 

cartridges. A new set of remanufactured 

cartridges for use in Xerox VersaLink 

C7020/7025/7030 devices was also added. 

The black cartridge has a page yield of 

23,600 and the colour cartridges come 

with page yields of 16,500. 

The company’s remanufactured Epson 

range saw the addition of a CMYK set of 

cartridges for use in Epson WorkForce 

AL-C300, and the remanufactured Utax 

range was expanded with the addition of 

remanufactured monochrome cartridges 

for use in Utax P4531 devices, which boasts 

a page yield of 14,500. ■ 

For more information on 

all of the above, please scan 

the QR code. 

ECS adds 

anti-bacterial 

sanitiser to 

product range 

ECS has added to its product 

portfolio an anti-bacterial sanitiser 

which kills 99.9% of germs and 

bacteria and stops the spread of 

harmful infections. 

Delphis ECO Anti-Bac is tested 

to EN1276, EN13697 and EN4120 

standards, which ECS highlights to 

guarantee that it is highly effective against 

a multitude of bacteria, algae, moulds and 

viruses, including viruses like COVID-19. 

Delphis Eco is the first UK manufacturer 

that has received EU Ecolabel accreditation 

and boasts a large range of accredited 

products. The anti-bacterial sanitiser 

comes in a 100% recycled plastic bottle and 

is 100% UK made. 

Application of the sanitiser is easy. Apply 

directly onto the surface, allow 30 seconds 

contact time and wipe clean. For larger 

surfaces it can be used with a mop and 

bucket application. ■ 

For more information, 

contact ECS direct or 

scan the QR code to find 

more details. 


July 2020 

41


EUROPE Aster, Cartridges, New Products 

Aster adds to product portfolio 

The company has released its latest solution for use in HP devices. 

Aster recently released IP-compliant 

replacement toner cartridges with chip 

for HP W1106A and HP W2070 series 

cartridges. 

The new replacement toner cartridges 

replacing HP W1106A cartridges, deliver 

1000 pages and are for use in HP Laser 

MFP l37fnw, HP Laser MFP 107a/107w 

and HP Laser MFP l 35a/l 35w series 

devices. 

“As the first toner product launched 

by HP while with a Samsung engine 

technology after the acquisition, W1106A 

is foreseen to become very popular, just 

like HP Q2612A,” Aster commented. 

Aster has found that, just like the 

firmware games HP or Samsung always 

play with their printers released in the past 

years, this W1106A would get the same 

challenge. The firmware update can cause 

compatibility problems with third-party 

cartridges. 

To reduce this risk, Aster said it already 

has its anti-upgrade solution, which helps 

its replacement W1106A works perfectly 

without compatibility issues. 

Shortly after the company announced 

its latest solutions for use in HP Color 

Laser 150/MFP 178 series and HP Color 

Laser MFP 179 series devices and come 

equipped with 100% workable chips. 

These cartridges come with page yields of 

1,000 for the black cartridge and 700 for 

the colour cartridges. 

These HP Color Laser 150 singlefunction 

printers and M178nw/179fnw 

MFPs were introduced in May 2019. 

According to HP, these devices are 

targeted at home users and small and 

medium-sized enterprises. 

Aster said about the launch: “As another 

small HP cartridges with Samsung engine 

technology, these colour toners are also 

highly expected to become as popular as 

HP CF410A series.” ■ 

Aster’s new toners are now available 

from Aster Holland warehouse. For more 

information on the above 

or any other of Aster’s 

products, please visit their 

website by scanning the 

QR code here: 

EUROPE CiT BV, New products, Remanufacturing 

CiT announces latest products 

The company has released a range of products for use with various OKI, Kyocera TASKalfa and Ricoh devices. 

Latest releases from CiT BV include 

chips and Japanese high end colour toner 

for use in OKI C824/834/844 series 

devices. The chips come in two page yield 

versions, 5,000 and 10,000 for all four 

CMYK cartridges. 

Also launched were toner and chips 

for use in Kyocera TASKalfa 408/508ci 

devices. The chips come with page yields 

of 24,000 for the black cartridge chip and 

18,000 for the colour cartridge chips. The 

range was further expanded with chips 

and toner for TASKalfa 352ci devices, 

where the chips come with page yields of 

17,000 for the black cartridge chips and 

9,000 for the colour cartridge chips. 

Talking about its latest Ricoh range 

additions, CiT said: “Some good 

opportunities for Europe's biggest copier 

brand Ricoh: start re-using the drum 

units of these copiers. Drum units are 

not easy to remanufacture, they are a 

huge cost saving for the owner if you 

can re-use the drum unit with a few new 

parts inside. If you apply skilled hands 

and the right materials like carrier, OPC, 

foam rollers, PCR, wiper blades, it is 

very possible to remanufacture Ricoh 

drum units.” OPCs for use in various 

Ricoh, Samsung and Toshiba devices are 

available now. 

CiT’s product range was further 

expanded with cover lids. Commenting 

on this latest addition, CiT said: 

“Looking for a professional look on 

your Kyocera cartridges? Consider our 

cover labels in nice glossy orange with 8 

language instructions! 

“These cover labels (no stickers!) have a 

very professional appearance and fit on 

most TK's from Kyocera, UTAX, TA and 

Olivetti.” 

Free samples of these are available from 

CiT now. Free samples are available on 

request at order@citbv.com. ■ 



NORTH AMERICA Metrofuser, 

Protect The Tech Kit, Innovation 

Metrofuser 

offers ‘Protect 

the Tech’ kits 

Laser printer parts manufacturer 

Metrofuser has introduced its 

Protect the Tech Programme. 

As part of Metrofuser's Protect the Tech 

programme the company has created a 

simple glove and mask kit that ships free 

with orders of $250 (€226) or more. Now 

and while supplies last, customers can 

request Metrofuser to ship the disposable 

‘Protect The Tech’ kit with its laser 

printer parts orders. 

As part of the kit, customers will receive 

one disposable face mask, 3-Ply Ear loop, 

one pair of disposable safety gloves and 

user instructions. 

This ‘Protect The Tech’ kit will 

be available 1 per order and with the 

following product lines: 

• Remanufactured Fusers 

• Remanufactured Maintenance Kits 

• Remanufactured Transfer Belts 

• Nextgenn Aftermarket Replacement 

Service Parts 

• Remanufactured Logic / Formatter 

Boards 

• Remanufactured Power Supplies 

• Remanufactured Laser Printers 

• Remanufactured Paper Trays and 

Handling Assy 

Metrofuser is a manufacturer of printer 

parts, equipment, diagnostics, repair 

information and systems solutions for 

professional users performing critical 

tasks. Products and services include 

HP printer parts, printers, and printer 

repair training. Parts include HP printer 

parts such as printer fusers, printer 

maintenance kits, 

and other hp printer 

replacement parts. ■ 

For more information, 

please scan the QR code. 

ASIA Fuji Xerox, Fujifilm, A3 Colour Printers 

Fuji Xerox releases 

new A3 devices 

The company announced the release of two new 

A3 colour laser printers that achieve low running 

costs by using large-capacity toner cartridges. 

Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. of the Fujifilm 

Group announced A3 colour printers that 

the company says improves continuous 

printing speed and achieves low running 

costs while maintaining the ease of use of the 

conventional model. The laser printer models 

are the new DocuPrint C3550 d and C2550 d 

and will be released from 5 June 2020. 

The DocuPrint C3550 d / C2550 d 

devices have a colour toner cartridge 

capacity that is approximately twice of 

that of the conventional models, and has 

reduced running costs by 12%, according 

to Fuji Xerox. In addition, the used toner 

amount can be set in 1% increments to 

save toner according to the intended 

use of the document. 

ASIA Utec, Cartridges, New Products 

Utec’s product range for HP devices 

was expanded with the addition of 

remanufactured toner cartridges for use in 

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M552dn/ 

M553n/M553dn/M553x and HP Color 

LaserJet Enterprise MFP M577/MFP 

577c/MFP 577z/M577dn/MFP 577f 

devices. 

“AEG formula OPC and chemical toner 

bring high resolution and stable printing 

performance”, Utec said about its new “IP 

safe solution”. 

Also added was a CMYK set of 

compatible cartridges for use in HP Color 

Laser 150a/150nw and HP Color Laser 

MFP 178nw/179fnw devices as well as 

Fuji Xerox said: “It reduces the frequency 

of customer replacement of consumables 

and contributes to a reduction in TCO 

(total cost of ownership). This product has 

a compact size that can be placed anywhere, 

and has inherited the structure that allows 

all maintenance operations to be performed 

from the front, which is more popular than 

conventional machines, and has improved 

continuous printing speed.” 

In both colour and monochrome, the 

DocuPrint C3550 d printer can print 35 

sheets per minute, and the DocuPrint C2550 

d printer can print 30 sheets per minute. 

It prints the first colour page in 9.1 seconds 

and first monochrome page in 7.9 seconds. 

Furthermore, by adding an optional 

secondary Ethernet in addition to the 

standard Ethernet, users can use two 

different network lines at the same 

time, so they can create a more secure 

printing environment, such as separating 

the lines for their core business and general 

office business. ■ 

Utec launches latest launches 

Over the past few weeks, the company has released several new products 

to its range for use in various HP and Ricoh devices. 

compatible monochrome cartridges for 

use in HP Laser 107w/107a and HP Laser 

MFP 135a/137fnw. 

The company also expanded its range 

with compatible cartridges with chip for 

use in Ricoh MP501SPF/MP 501SPFTL/ 

MP601SPF/SP 5300DN/SP 5300DNTL/ 

SP 5310DN/GSA MP 501SPFG/MP601SP 

FG/SP 5300DNG devices. These cartridges 

come with page yields of 25,000. ■ 


newly launched 

products and more, visit 

Utec’s website by scanning 

the QR code. 


July 2020 

43

MARKETPLACE 

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 

hb.sales@lvlcartridge.com 

Tel: +33 251 70 14 58 

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 

CARTRIDGE CLEANING SYSTEMS 

SUPPLIER 

LightWords Imaging 

admin@lightwords.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1270 878850 

www.lightwordsimaging.com 

Futor Cleaning System AG 

info@futorag.ch 

+41 716800549 

www.futorag.com 

TOKO Srl 

toko@toko.ro 

Tel: +40212327270 

www.toko.ro 

SUPPLIER 

BROKER AND RECYCLER 


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 


Contact us to advertise here: t.01993 899800 e. info@therecycler.com 

Airbags for Toner Cartridges 

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repacking toner cartridges 

• Universal and reusable 

• Fast, free delivery throughout the EU 

• European stocks at affordable prices 

• Terms available 

Visit our new webstore now: 

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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 

members of ETIRA... 

ETIRA brings the remanufacturing Industry 

together. Be part of the family! 

Haydnlaan 13, 4837 CS Breda, 

The Netherlands Tel: + 31 6 414 614 63 

info@etira.org 

www.etira.org 

ETIRA: WORKING FOR ALL REMANUFACTURERS AND PARTNERS 


July 2020 

45

NEXT ISSUE 

August 2020 

Issue 333 

Eyes on Africa: 

Part 2 

ISSN 2045 - 2047 (PRINT) JULY 2020 EDITION 332 PUBLISHED 25 JUNE 2020 

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