The Recycler issue 339

Three R’s to 

sustainability: 

Changing our way of life 

Reuse, Remanufacture, Recycle. Three simple 

words with many definitions and interpretations. 

Individually, they are a behaviour which contributes 

to the goal of creating a more sustainable way 

of life and use of finite resources. Collectively, 

they are a process, a route map to the same 

sustainability goal. 

Starts page 4 

February 2021 

Issue 339 | £10 

Italy impose €10 million penalty on HP 

for deceptive and aggressive practices 

The Authority ascertained that the firmware 

and dynamic security restrictions on the use 

of non-original cartridges are not adequately 

highlighted on the sales packages. 

Page 12 

'Operation Fulfilled Action' to stop 

counterfeits 

The U.S. government’s National Intellectual 

Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR 

Center) and Amazon announced the launch 

of a joint operation to prevent counterfeit 

goods from entering the U.S 

Page 15 

Prices to rise as shipping costs quadruple 

Christmas and Coronavirus impact of 

shipping costs that are now set to quadruple. 

Page 20 

Inkjet surges in New Zealand 

New Zealand inkjet printer market grows 

7% due to surge in remote working, according 

to IDC. 

Page 25

IN THIS ISSUE 

2 Issue 339 February 2021

EDITORIAL 

Short cycling, 

or riding over a cliff? 

▲ Stefanie Unland Editor 

& Publisher, The Recycler 

Short cycling came up in a conversation 

about some OEMs a few days ago. I wasn't 

sure what it meant so I wrote it down, and 

after the call, I googled it and got lots of 

pictures on men and women in figurehugging 

sportswear. 

Scrolling down the page, I discovered 

that short cycling is a common problem in 

air conditioning systems. Air conditioning 

and sportswear did not reflect my 

conversation, so I pondered over a coffee 

and then called back to explore OEMs' 

short cycling. 

It seems that some OEMs, which I won't 

name to save their embarrassment and to 

protect my source, are in a bit of a panic, 

running around like headless chickens sort 

of activities. It transpires that they have 

substantial quantities of unsold hardware 

in the channel and are busy swopping out 

hardware in current MPS programmes 

with new hardware. The problem is a lot 

of the technology they are swopping out 

is maybe 18 – 24 months old and still 

has around three years left on the MPS 

agreement—office imaging’s own version 

of short cycling. 

Is this a Black Adder style cunning plan 

to shift hardware and lock in the customer 

for five more years? Or is it madness? I 

am on the side of OEM madness, because 

short cycling brings large quantities 

of hardware that is two years old or less 

onto the reuse market. For the reuse 

market, it is a gift. All you need is the 

hardware and a cunning plan that will 

destabilise the market over the next five 

years. Here is why… 

Sales of refurbished or reused printer 

hardware took off last year in Europe 

with estimates that the sales doubled, and 

a lot of that hardware was less than five 

years old with low page counts. On the 

back of the sale of refurbished hardware, 

the sales of remanufactured consumables 

have increased despite the coronavirus 

downturn. In the future, reuse, 

the right of repair etcetera (you can 

read extensively about it in this issue) are 

all in the legislative frame. Can you smell 

the coffee? 

If refurbished hardware and 

consumables sales grew last year, it must 

mean the OEMs lost out last year? Is this 

setting the scene for a massive market 

change over the next few years? I think it 

is because if a company buys refurbished 

technology, whether it is a printer or 

pc etcetera, and it works, they are more 

than likely to do it again and again. 

Which stores up the OEM dilemma: Will 

companies revert back to new technology 

over the next few years or keep with the 

refurbished technology that meets their 

needs? I am betting a good percentage 

The problem is a lot of the technology 

they are swopping out is maybe 18 – 24 months 

old and still has around three years left 

on the MPS agreement 

will hold with refurbished technology, 

and those new hardware sales will decline 

unless the hardware offers something 

exceptional. 

A case of short cycling today and 

possible riding over a cliff tomorrow. ■ 

Issue 339 

February 2021 

3

FEATURE 

Three R’s to sustainability: 


Reuse, Remanufacture, Recycle. Three simple words with many 

definitions and interpretations. Individually, they are a behaviour 

which contributes to the goal of creating a more sustainable way of 

life and use of finite resources. Collectively, they are a process, a route 

map to the same sustainability goal. 

▲ Peter Mayhew Director & Senior 

Analyst, Lightwords Imaging 

Let’s first check our vocabulary. 

Dictionaries define Reuse as “using 

something again” while Recycle is the 

“conversion of waste into something else”. 

Remanufacture though is to “refurbish 

a used product by renovating and 

reassembling its components”. Just one 

more, Sustainability; “a way that maintains 

something at a certain rate or level”. 

Environmental evidence 

There is strong evidence that sustainability 

in the context of depletion of natural 

resources on Earth, is important. We 

should also consider sustainable economic 

growth and equally, global environmental 

sustainability. 2019 was the second 

warmest year on record, greenhouse gasses 

in the atmosphere also rose to new record 

levels. The 2015 Paris Agreement was 

2019 was the second warmest year on record, 

greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere also rose 

to new record levels. 

designed to strengthen the global response 

to climate change. Implementation is 

“work-in-progress”, but the motivation 

exists to save energy, prevent pollution, 

save natural resources, and reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions. 

Many organisations are tracking changes 

in the planets’ climate. NASA report that 

Carbon Dioxide levels at 415 parts per 

million are the highest in 650 million years, 

global temperature is now 2.0 degrees 

Fahrenheit higher than in 1880 and 19 of 

the 20 warmest years have occurred since 

2001, we are losing Polar ice at a rate of 

428 billion metric tons per year, that’s 

about 13% per decade. As a result, sea 

levels are rising at a rate of 3.3 mm per 

year. Not much, but over the last 100 

years that is 178 mm. 

It is not just Nasa who point to the 

warming of the Earth’s climate, there is also 

strong scientific consensus (see figure 1) 

Why? The likely cause is human activity. 

F.1 Yearly temperature anomalies from 1880-2019 


You can contact The Recycler via Twitter at @RecyclerMedia 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

Change for the better 

Changing human behaviour is not easy. 

Psychologists cite the Fogg Behaviour 

Model which identifies behaviour as 

composed of motivation, ability, and 

triggers. When all three occur in the correct 

sequence, change is most likely to occur. 

Governments role is critical in setting 

agenda’s which lead to behavioural change. 

The European Union recognises this 

responsibility through its EU Circular 

Action Plan and EU Green Deal. A 

package of legislative and non-legislative 

measures and actions the EU can take 

to add value and provide a roadmap to 

achieving climate neutrality in the region. 

Their scope is broad, considering the 

entire life cycle of products including 

design, manufacture, consumption, repair, 

reuse, recycling and returning resources 

back to the environment and economy. 

They contain specific targets including, 

doubling circular material use in a decade. 

The EU estimates that these initiatives 

will increase its GDP by 0.5% by 2030 and 

create 700,000 jobs. 

Specifically, the Action Plan and Green 

Deal will look at Eco-Design reaching 

beyond energy savings into product 

sustainability, right to repair, durability, 

reusability, upgradability, repairability 

and waste. The use of hazardous chemicals 

also falls within their scope. Their target 

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment 

is one of the largest sustainability problems 

facing the planet. 

markets include Electronics, Information 

and Communications Technology, 

Textiles, Plastics, Construction and 

Buildings, Packaging, Batteries, Vehicles 

and Food. 

Waste is a huge problem for the EU. 

The plan and deal address waste creation, 

target setting, extending producer 

responsibilities, and restricting exports. 

To achieve its goals the EU has put in 

place supporting funds, financing, a 

Circular Economy Alliance, monitoring 

frameworks and indicators. The EU 

estimates that over €500 billion ($615 

billion) will be invested over the next 10 

years in the “green economy” but, some 

money is re-allocated existing budgets 

and expenditure. 

One initiative is the €80 billion ($98 

billion), EU Horizon 2020 Research 

and Innovation Program which aims to 

encourage a package of eco-innovative 

services. It is an initiative leveraged by 

Lexmark through its C-Servees Project. 

C-Servees is a consortium of industries 

and academia sharing best practice and 

boosting the shared use, reuse, repair and 

remanufacture of products through their 

eco-design and implementation of productservice 

systems. Updating The Recycler on 

the status of the project Lexmark’s Head 

of Government Affairs EMEA, Maxime 

Furkel said: ”The project has now passed 

the half way stage and the exchange of 

ideas and cooperation from engineers, 

suppliers and life cycle experts from a wide 

range of diverse industries have been very 

beneficial for Lexmark.” 


February 2021 

5

FEATURE 

The impact of WEEE 

and WEEE2 

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment 

is one of the largest sustainability problems 

facing the planet. In 2006 most EU states 

transposed the WEEE Directive and 

regulations into law. The regulations 

separated WEEE into two categories; first 

is WEEE placed on the market before 

2005 where the onus is on the owner to 

manage its recycling and second, WEEE 

produced later, where the producer and/or 

distributor has the collection and recycling 

responsibility. 

The 2014 WEEE 2 directive laid down 

certification criteria to demonstrate 

that companies are complying with the 

regulations. These regulations provide 

frameworks for how end-of-use products 

are managed at the end of their lifecycle. 

They also encourage recycling and reuse. 

The scope encompassing everything from 

household appliances to IT equipment 

to medical devices. Certification is now 

mandatory for many electronic devices. 

Non-compliance could result in an 

EU wide market bar. Pollution of the 

environment carries significant fines. 

There are numerous takeback schemes 

in action today which vary depending 

upon whether we are discussing business 

or consumer WEEE. Revenue streams 

accompanying the WEEE also vary 

between B2B and B2C channels and EU 

countries. The B2C advice if the product 

features the WEEE symbol (see figure 2) is 

to check with the local authority, product 

manufacturer and distributor to establish 

the correct collection channel. In a B2B 

scenario, do not expect to take it to the 

local household recycling center, they are 

likely to turn you away. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

F.2 WEEE Symbol 

F.3 China Consumers Electronics Replacement Habits 

China has the lowest percentage of consumers replacing devices less frequently 

but the highest number of consumers who plan to implement 

100% 

75% 

50% 

25% 

0% 

US China India Germany 

Already replacing 

less frequently 

Letting go: Reuse in the 

ICT sector 

Some electronic products have a value 

that cannot be measured in financial 

terms only. Humans develop emotional 

attachments which means we habitually 

store products at the end of their life, 

rather than return or dispose of them into 

the WEEE stream. 

A study by Alphawise, the proprietary 

survey and data arm of Morgan Stanley 

Research found that almost 50% of 

consumers keep electronic devices that 

have stopped working. The study also 

found that trade-in and recycling is on 

the rise in the consumer market and, that 

almost 80% of respondents intend to either 

repair or, have repaired their devices in 

the next two years. A consequence is that 

consumers are extending the lifetime of 

devices and, 60% are buying new devices 

less frequently. 

The repair or replace conundrum 

varies around the world. Figure 3 shows 

consumers in China have been behind in 

replacing their devices less frequently than 

others but, 90% of Chinese respondents 

plan to slow their rate of replacement. 

Finally, the Alphawise study revealed 

that cash remains the greatest incentive 

to encourage consumers to trade-in. It is 

estimated that there are billions of Euros of 

older, serviceable mobile phones in homes. 

Most manufacturers offer a generous tradein 

against new models but take-back is 

Planning to replace 

less frequently 

UK 

No plans 

Source: Alphawise, Morgan Stanley Research 

low. A quick and unscientific study of the 

author’s own home embarrassingly found 

four, old but usable mobiles. 

Getting this waste into reuse by 

remanufacturing before recycling is a 

problem. Numerous surveys demonstrate 

that consumers want to rethink their 

behaviour in a more sustainable way. One 

survey by Capgemini revealed that 79% of 

German buyers are ready to change. 

But how? The answer may come from 

an unlikely source, Value Added Tax 

(VAT). It has been suggested by several 

environmental groups including the Green 

Alliance, that reducing VAT on repairs 

would keep products in use for longer and 

create employment. Evidence from several 

EU country trials found encouraging 

results. In Sweden, when they reduced 

repair VAT, they countered the lost revenue 

with an increased tax on hazardous waste. 

It is possible that the problem is broader 

than motivation to reuse or recycle. 

Economically, there is a need to separate 

the use of resources from economic 

growth and, to separate environmental 

impact from resource use. But these are 

social norms which may take regional, and 

probably global events to spark change. 

Measuring progress is important and the 

EU has a target of collecting 65% of WEEE 

placed on the market. A target missed by 

the UK and many other member states in 

2018. Even defining the collection goals 

in measurable tonnage terms has been 

difficult to achieve. 




February 2021 

7

FEATURE 

Rare metals and toxic WEEE 

Another incentive to recover WEEE 

is the quantity of precious metals it 

contains. E-waste such as laptops, mobile 

phones and monitors contain some of 

the Earths rarest natural resources, Gold, 

Neodymium and Indium. Although 

combined they account for 0.00001% of 

this planets crust, they play a critical role 

in the connectivity and displays of devices. 

Neodymium and indium are not only rare, 

but they are only found in certain parts 

of the world where the supply chains are 

insecure. This makes their recovery from 

waste more critical. Recovery is feasible, 

but not straight forward. The ecological 

A consequence is that consumers are extending 

the lifetime of devices and, 60% are buying new 

devices less frequently. 

case for recovering Neodymium is clear; 

when the material is obtained from a 

recycling process the overhead on the 

environment is a third less than if it were 

mined from the earth. 

Recovering Indium from disassembled 

LCD screens is similarly worth the effort. 

However, the quantities involved are 

small both in devices and in the world. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

Consequently, their monetary value is low 

making the recovery process economically 

questionable. 

Shipping older devices from developed to 

developing markets may be sustainably 

problematic. From a reuse perspective, 

the life of the product is extended but, 

the environmental cost of transportation 

needs to be considered. Further, at end of 

life, disposal in some countries is as crude 

as open burning of the waste. 

A substantial proportion of WEEE is 

plastic and the burning process releases 

both useful energy and harmful gasses 

to the atmosphere. Energy recovery and 

emission treatment is essential to the 

sustainability argument. It also makes 

sense to keep devices with high content 

in use and functioning rather than losing 

these resources to bottom ash (residual 

waste from the energy-from-waste 

processes) or landfill forever. 


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

The document printing 

market 

If you review the websites of the 

major industry OEMs you will find 

manufacturers are trying to produce in a 

sustainable manner. Most have invested in 

“green” factories with measurable energy 

efficiency and emissions control gains. 

Some take important steps to ensure that 

the products they produce are collected 

and disposed of in a responsible manner. 

For example, Canon has collected and 

recycled 408,000 tonnes of cartridges in a 

28-year period to 2018. To acknowledge 

reuse, Canon has also reduced its reliance 

on new materials by 285,000 tonnes. 

Ricoh in Japan apparently collects 115,000 

machines from across the region. And 

Epson claims the 50 million units sold of 

its eco-tank printers has saved a “potential” 

1.1 million tonnes of plastic based 

consumables. 

It is in reuse and remanufacturing where 

the aftermarket excels. There may be 

high expectations that a recent European 

Voluntary Agreement initiative may 

help to reinforce the “remanufacturing” 

element of the printing supplies 

aftermarket but, “voluntary” may not be 

sufficient or timely enough to comply with 

the mood in Brussels. 

Late in November 2020, European MEP’s 

voted positively for a resolution which 

calls on the European Commission to 

make it easier for consumers to repair, 

resell and reuse products, specifically to 

improve sustainability. They want to 

tackle activities which shorten the life of 

products, an area where the document 

printing market has a questionable 

reputation. 

This positive decision may also be 

good news for ETIRA President, Javier 

Martinez who, in a pre-vote interview, 

commented that he would like to see 

“Proper Regulation” of the document 

printing industry. He went further to say 

that he would like to see “WEEE, ROHS 

and product compliance regulations 

enforced.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 

has caused the world to unite and fight 

a common viral problem. The global 

reaction has had both positive and negative 

outcomes. One positive effect has been 

that of reducing human activity and 

consequently emissions of greenhouse 

gasses have fallen. However, the rate at 

which humans are using technology has 

accelerated, advancing its penetration into 

all aspects of life by several years, causing 

demand for devices to increase. 

A substantial proportion of WEEE is plastic and 

the burning process releases both useful energy 

and harmful gasses to the atmosphere. 

The most positive consequence has 

been that environmental awareness has 

been heightened and environmental 

sustainability strategies and policies are 

now seen as a viable method of creating 

economic growth and employment. 

The opportunity now exists for reuse, 

remanufacturing and recycling to become 

mainstream activities and permanently 

embed themselves in the document 

printing industry. ■ 


February 2021 

9

IN THIS ISSUE 

On the cover 

Three R’s to sustainability: Changing our way of life 

Breaking a lance for China 

32 

Fix it or recycle it? 

4 

36 

Editorial 

3 Short cycling, or riding over a cliff? 

Feature 

4 Three R’s to sustainability: 


World Focus 

12 Italy impose €10 million penalty 

on HP for deceptive and aggressive 

practices 

13 China bans all imports of solid 

waste from 2021 • Brother UK has 

launched EcoPro print subscription 

service 

14 EU: Don’t use Biodegradable 

Plastics over reuse 

15 'Operation Fulfilled Action' to 

stop counterfeits 

16 Are 3D printers too toxic for 

humans? 

18 Canon stops counterfeits entering 

Canada and continues with removal 

requests 

City News 

20 OEM share prices January 2021 

• Prices to rise as shipping costs 

quadruple 

21 HP confirms the razor and blades 

model is changing 

22 KAO announces new five year plan 

• COVID claims 16,000 OEM 

jobs in Japan • Apex secures new 

investment 

Around the Industry 

24 Marco ranked among elite MSPs 

• KMP employee celebrates 20 th 

anniversary 

25 Inkjet surges in New Zealand 

26 PRPS promotes IP-safe products 

• Cartridge Save slashes customer 

response times • CONTEXT 

predicts printer sales growth to 

soften in 2021 

27 MPS Monitor receives BLI 

Pick award 

28 Inkmaker teams up with Novasys 

Group • Print-Rite tallies 3,000+ 

patent registrations 

29 ECI named among finalists, adds 

new South American distributor 

30 PCL sponsor Print IT awards 

• India PCS market to grow 22.2% 

31 New partners join PrintReleaf 

network 

Feature 

32 Breaking a lance for China 

34 Inside the new Retech factory 

36 Fix it or recycle it? 

Products & Technology 

38 Latest HP firmware upgrade does 

not affect G&G cartridges 

39 IR Italiana Riprografia adds 

more cartridges to Graphic-Jet 

range • Apex releases latest 

chip solution 

40 CET reveals latest new products 

• HYB adds to cartridge range 

• Mito launches latest solution 

41 CTS Toner Supplies previews 

new products • Ecoservice 

launches new toner cartridges 

• Utec adds to copier 

supplies range 

42 Latest new products from CIG 

• GM Technology announces 

latest products 

43 wta Carsten Weser highlights latest 

products • Konica Minolta launches 

bizhub C257i 



February 2021 

11

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE HP Inc, Italy, AGCM 

Italy impose €10 million penalty on HP 

for deceptive and aggressive practices 

The Authority ascertained that the firmware and dynamic security restrictions on the use of non-original cartridges 

are not adequately highlighted on the sales packages. 

The Italian Competition and Market 

Authority has concluded a detailed 

investigation procedure against HP Inc 

and HP Italy Srl at the end of which it has 

ascertained that, for some years, HP has 

introduced significant limitations in many 

inkjet and laser printers sold to consumers 

and the use of non-genuine ink/ toner 

cartridges. 

The two companies provide specific 

authentication instructions contained in 

the firmware - especially through a system 

called DS - Dynamic Security - according 

to which the printer recognizes the original 

HP cartridges and accepts them and instead 

refuses to print when it recognizes nonoriginal 

cartridges or cartridges produced 

before a certain date. 

In particular, according to the Authority, 

HP has failed to adequately inform 

consumers - at the time of purchase - about 

the presence of this relevant and significant 

limitation, leading them to believe that they 

need to replace non-original ink/ toner 

cartridges due to shortages or defects. of the 

latter and therefore to use only original HP 

cartridges. 

These limitations have been renewed 

and modified through subsequent printer 

firmware updates, proposed by HP to 

consumers, once again without properly 

informing them of the consequences 

of these updates, neither at the time of their 

dissemination, nor on its website, 

nor to the when requesting information 

from the assistance centres. 

The Authority also ascertained that 

through the firmware present on many 

printers, HP records the consumption data 

relating to the cartridges used, original or 

not: data used both to create a database 

useful for formulating its commercial 

strategies, without informing consumers, 

both to deny assistance for printers that 

have used non-original cartridges, thus 

hindering the provision of the legal 

guarantee of conformity. 

Within 60 days of notification of the 

action, HP must submit a report on the 

steps taken to comply with the warning, 

and within 120 days it must modify the 

sales packages of the printers to clearly 

indicate the restrictions on the use of nonoriginal 

ink/ toner cartridges, depending on 

the firmware installed. 

The aftermarket responds to Italy’s 

€10 million penalty on HP and others 

take to social media to comment: 

Commenting on the findings and 

penalty, by AGCM, Static Control said “As 

a steadfast supporter of the aftermarket, 

we welcome any action that supports 

transparency, consumer knowledge and 

the freedom of choice. HP’s tactics of 

using firmware updates to have end users 

unknowingly commit to OEM cartridges 

do not allow consumers open choice. 

Static Control will continue to fight for 

the aftermarket and warn customers of the 

dangers of OEM firmware updates. We 

also encourage all customers to disable the 

automatic firmware update options on HP 

printers to help prevent cartridge lock-out.” 

The European trade association, ETIRA 

President Javier Martinez welcomed 

the penalty: ”For way too long, printer 

manufacturers like HP have used software 

updates as a way to prevent consumers to 

buy environment-friendly reuse cartridges 

instead of only expensive original 

cartridges, making the “Reuse experience 

“ a nightmare that many times was blamed 

on product quality something completely 

wrong as many Print quality test confirm. 

It is unacceptable that when you buy a HP 

printer, you are basically tied in to buying 

only HP cartridges. But many end users 

prefer remanufactured cartridges and 

want to save 45-60% in CO2 emissions and 

natural resources like oil and aluminium. 

Printer manufacturers should allow for 

this by ensuring that all printers accept 

remanufactured OEM cartridges and 

design their cartridges in such a way that 

they can be easily reused again and again. 

Hopefully the fine issued by the Italian 

competition watchdog will bring about a 

change in the market behaviour of printer 

manufacturers, both in Italy and the EU as 

a whole.” 

Taking to LinkedIn, Patrick Cavallaro, 

EU Technical Consultant for Utec 

commented “in my opinion should be EU 

doing these kind of actions against OEMs 

like HP which use firmware updates to 

obfuscate users freedom.” 

In the same vein Miguel Neureiter, Senior 

Business Development Manager at Integral 

GmbH, commented “I hope that other 

countries will follow soon. This should be 

a stimulus for the European Commission 

and the European Council to protect us for 

deceptive and aggressive practices.” 

Editorial Opinion: The findings reflect 

what most of the aftermarket have been 

saying for years about the adverse impact 

of firmware and dynamic security on 

consumers choice. The timing could 

not be worse for HP who have been 

leading the OEMs in negotiating a new 

Voluntary Agreement (VA) with the 

European Union. These findings could 

adversely affect the VA as member states 

give their feedback on the VA. ■ 

What do you think? 

Let us know at news@therecycler.com. 


visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news 

ASIA China, BAN, Waste 

China bans all imports of solid waste from 2021 

Chinese authorities confirm that China will ban all imports of solid waste from effective 1 January 2021. 

China has been moving towards a ban 

on all imports of solid waste and this 

now comes into effect from 1st January 

2021. The ban is an attempt to tackle the 

souring volumes of domestic waste and 

will no longer accept and approve import 

applications for solid waste from 2021. 

For the last forty years China has been 

the final destination of millions of tonnes 

of e-waste, plastic, paper, and scrap metal 

which is often recycled in poor conditions. 

We all remember the stories from Guiyu 

in China. 

Pictures like these resonated around the 

world and China has been taking action ever 

since and Guiyu today is unrecognisable. 

At the time of Guiyu, China introduced 

import licenses that affected many Chinese 

importers of used toner and inkjet cartridges 

and many companies could not secure the 

import license or put in place the correct 

handling of the imported toner and inkjet 

cartridges and those companies closed. 

Today the import license system is still in 

effect and the importing of toner and inkjet 

cartridges is still going on despite the ban on 

solid waste. Why? Simply used toner and 

inkjet cartridges are not considered solid 

waste. They are merely empty units to be 

repossessed and exported back to the market 

of origin. 

Qiu Qiwen, Director of China’s Ministry 

of Ecology and Environment’s solid waste 

division explained in an interview in 2019 

that high-quality material would not be 

forbidden: “If the solid waste […] meets 

the requirements of China’s import 

standards and doesn’t contain any 

hazards, then it can be treated as common 

commodities, not waste.” 

For cartridge collectors exporting to 

China, how do you present toner and inkjet 

cartridges to comply with the requirements 

of China’s import standards? That’s the 

challenge for the industry. 

We have shipped three containers to 

China this week one collector told The 

Recycler. When asked how they did it, 

they commented “it is all in the detail, if 

the paperwork is 100% correct and when 

Chinese Customs open the container and 

see that it is clean tidy and the paperwork 

matches the inventory, the container 

normally passes through. If on the other 

hand, they open the container as see blag 

bags or cartridges, they will rightly assume 

its garbage and send the container back.” 

Ahead of the 1 st January change The 

Recycler is aware of several China based 

companies taking a precautionary approach 

to the changes and pausing imports until 

the changes have come into effect. 

Editorial Opinion: It is likely that the 

pause in imports could last until after the 

Chinese New Year to allow the changes to 

come into effect and at the same time, run 

down some of the surplus inventory that has 

built up during 2020. ■ 

EUROPE Brother, EcoPro, UK 

Brother UK has launched EcoPro print subscription service 

Brother UK has launched EcoPro print subscription service targeted at small businesses and the Work from Home and 

Learn from home market. 

Brother UK has joined the OEM 

bandwagon and launched their EcoPro print 

subscription service which is targeted at small 

businesses and the Work from Home and 

Learn from Home market. 

Brother’s EcoPro printer and supplies 

subscription service is designed to save 

consumers money while reducing the impact 

on the environment. Customers will be able 

to choose between A4 monochrome and 

colour laser options or an A4 scan and print 

inkjet selection that also has an A3 print 

option. 

A 12 or 24 month subscription plans are 

available and cost (see table). 

All three printers are available 

at a promotional price of £1.00 

(€1.09/$1.33)* until 31 March 2021. 

Thereafter the price is normally £20 

(€28/$34). 

Printer 12 month cost, per month* 24 month cost, per month* 

Mono Laser Printing A4 (with Print, Copy, Scan) 

Shipped device: DCP-L2530DW or equivalent and 

includes supplies to print up to 6000 pages a year 

Colour Laser Printing A4 (with Print, Copy, Scan) 

Shipped device: DCP-L3510CDW or equivalent and 


Inkjet Printing A4 (with Print, Copy, Scan)** 

Shipped device: DCP-J1100DW or equivalent and 


£13 (€14/$17) £10 (€14/$17) 

£29.99 (€33/$39) £25 (€27/$33) 

£14.99 (€16/$20) £13 (€14/$17) 

* Taxes included 

** An A3 print option is available at an additional cost of £4.99 (€5.45/$6.65) per month 

According to Brother the EcoPro scheme 

can achieve up to 66% CO2e reduction 

by maximising the total length of time a 

device is in use. When the device is no longer 

required Brother will offer an incentive to 

collect and refurbish it to put it back into use 

with another subscriber. 

Brother is also offering a free return and 

recycling scheme for ink and toner supplies 

which are processed at their dedicated 

facility. The company does not mention if 

the supplies are reused. 

Editorial Opinion: Brothers response to 

HP’s Print+ seems to be a better offering with 

a low cost entry to buy a printer. But will it 

compete against an upcycled or refurbished 

printer and Reuse consumables? ■ 

What do you think? 

Let us know at news@therecycler.com. 


February 2021 

13

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE EU SAM, GCSA, Biodegradable Plastic 

EU: Don’t use Biodegradable Plastics over reuse 

EU scientists recommend that the use of Biodegradable Plastics should be limited to specific applications for which 

reduction, reuse, and recycling are not feasible. 

This week the European Commission’s 

Group of Chief Scientific Advisors 

(GCSA) published a report, entitled 

“Biodegradability of plastics in the open 

environment”. The scientific opinion 

informs the European Commission’s 

forthcoming policy framework on plastics. 

The opinion published in December 

2020 recommends limiting the use 

of biodegradable plastics in the open 

environment to specific applications for 

which reduction, reuse, and recycling 

are not feasible, rather than as a solution 

for inappropriate waste management 

or littering. To realise the potential 

environmental benefits over conventional 

plastics, it recommends supporting the 

development of coherent testing and 

certification standards. It also identifies 

a need to promote the supply of accurate 

information on the properties, appropriate 

use and disposal, and limitations 

of biodegradable plastics and their 

applications to relevant user groups. 

The scientific opinion was commissioned 

in 2019 and asked the question: “Can 

biodegradable plastics help reduce plastic 

pollution?” 

This scientific opinion examines the 

conditions and criteria under which 

biodegradable plastic applications can 

be beneficial for the environment, and 

provides advice to inform decisions by 

society, consumers, businesses and policy 

makers. A growing global use of plastics 

has led to an increased amount of plastic 

waste in the environment, polluting and 

harming land and marine ecosystems. 

Biodegradable plastics could be part of 

the solution to this problem, but they 

also present challenges. Biodegradability 

depends not only on the properties of 

the plastic material itself, but also on 

the environmental conditions. Many 

biodegradable plastic products only 

actually biodegrade in certain specific 

environments, or only in industrial 

composting facilities, rather than in the 

open environment more generally. 

Nicole Grobert, Chair of the GCSA 

and Professor of Nanomaterials at the 

University of Oxford commented on 

the said: “The biodegradation of plastics 

is a complex process that depends 

on both the material itself and the 

conditions of the environment in which 

it takes place. Assessing which specific 

biodegradable plastic applications can offer 

environmental benefits requires careful 

consideration of both these factors and the 

behaviour of users.” 

In their December newsletter, Hasso von 

Pogrell, Managing Director of European 

Bioplastics (EUBP) said: “We are pleased 

to see that this report clearly identifies 

several beneficial application areas for 

biodegradable plastics even though this 

was not its original focus”. Adding: 

“We also welcome the call for economic 

incentives to promote appropriate disposal 

behaviour as well as the need for further 

research that it highlights”. ■ 



NORTH AMERICA IPR Center, Amazon, Counterfeits, USA 

'Operation Fulfilled 

Action' to stop 

counterfeits 

The U.S. government’s National Intellectual Property 

Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) and Amazon 

announced the launch of a joint operation to prevent 

counterfeit goods from entering the U.S. and help 

protect American consumers. 

In an effort to protect consumers, 

this joint operation will analyse data 

and conduct targeted inspections 

aimed at preventing counterfeit products 

from entering the U.S. supply chain. 

The IPR Center and Amazon will 

leverage evidence obtained during 

the operation to expand on-going 

investigations, with the goal of holding 

bad actors accountable to the fullest 

extent of the law. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

and DHL are also supporting the 

operation. 

“The IPR Center plays a critical role 

in securing the global supply-chain 

to protect the health and safety of the 

American public,” said IPR Center 

Director Steve Francis. “However, our 

efforts are increased with partners like 

Amazon to identify, interdict, and 

investigate individuals, companies, 

and criminal organizations engaging in 

the illegal importation of counterfeit 

products. This joint operation is our 

latest public-private initiative bringing 

us one step closer to border security.” 

“Amazon conducts investigations 

and sidelines inventory if we suspect a 

product may be counterfeit, ensuring 

our customers are protected,” said 

Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President, 

Customer Trust and Partner Support, 

Amazon. “But we also know that 

counterfeiters don’t just attempt to offer 

their wares in one store, they attempt to 

offer them in multiple places. Now, by 

combining intelligence from Amazon, 

the IPR Center and other agencies, we’re 

able to stop counterfeits at the border, 

regardless of where bad actors were 

intending to offer them. We appreciate 

the partnership from the IPR Center 

and other agencies to protect American 

consumers and prosecute bad actors.” 

This operation will be led by Amazon’s 

Counterfeit Crimes Unit, which was 

created earlier this year to support 

law enforcement investigations and 

to initiate civil litigation against 

counterfeiters. 

This operation builds on longstanding 

strategic public-private initiatives 

currently in place at the IPR Center. 

Amazon proactively provides the 

IPR Center with data on confirmed 

counterfeiters to assist with investigative 

efforts to stop crime. More recently in 

May, Amazon was one of six industry 

leaders to join the IPR Center in 

an unprecedented public-private 

partnership to combat fraud and other 

illegal activity related to COVID-19 

through Operation Stolen Promise 

(OSP). OSP is a joint task force focused 

on combating COVID-19 related fraud 

and criminal activity. ■ 

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February 2021 

15

WORLD FOCUS 

GLOBAL 3D Printing, Risks, Plastics, Health 

Are 3D printers too toxic for humans? 

Researchers are asking new questions about potential health risks to 3D printer users and consumers, especially 

children, of products manufactured with this emerging technology. 

The particles released during the printing 

process, which are small enough to 

infiltrate deep into the lungs, can affect 

indoor air quality and public health, 

according to the Society for Risk 

Analysis (SRA). 

The wide use of 3D printers to 

manufacture face shields, respirators and 

other personal protective equipment for 

COVID-19 has created a new urgency 

on these questions as 3D printing is 

increasingly being used in homes, schools, 

libraries and other spaces where people 

commonly spend a lot of time. 

Several studies that aim to characterise 

and quantify the release and composition, 

particle size, and residence time in the 

indoor environment were presented in 

the Exposure and Risk Assessment of 

3D Printing and Emerging Materials 

symposium on 15 December, at the 2020 

Society for Risk Analysis virtual Annual 

Meeting held 13-17 December 2020. 

The base materials used in 3D 

printers include thermoplastics, metals, 

nanomaterials, polymers and volatile 

and semi volatile organic chemicals. The 

printing process may take several hours, 

and during this time a range of chemical 

by-products and particulates may be 

released into indoor environments. 

Given these unknowns, scientists 

have begun to conduct studies to 

understand these releases and their 

specific composition, particle size, and 

residence time in the indoor environment, 

producing data that can be incorporated 

into robust exposure and risk assessments. 

A study conducted by Yong Qian, Ph.D., 

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH), evaluated 

the potential toxicity of ABS emissions 

generated during 3D printing by 

examining human lung cells and rats 

exposed via inhalation. The study, 

"Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) 

printer emission induced in vitro and in 

vivo toxicity," revealed that the emitted 

particles cause moderate toxicity in human 

lung cells and minimal toxicity in rats. 

The presentation, "Recent 3D printing 

emissions research at Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA)," reviews two 

recent studies from the EPA; the first 

analysed emissions from a 3D printer 

filament extruder (a device used to create 

3D printer filaments) in a laboratory 

setting, and the second used a simulation 

model to predict the number of particles 

deposited at specific locations in the 

respiratory tract, and how that pattern 

changes for individuals of different ages, 

when using a 3D printer. 

"To date, the general public has little 

awareness of possible exposures to 3D 

printer emissions," states Peter Byrley, 

Ph.D., EPA, lead author. "A potential 

societal benefit of this research is to 

increase public awareness of 3D printer 

emissions, and of the possibly higher 

susceptibility of children." 

The studies found that the filament 

extruder released amounts of small 

particles and vapours similar to those 

found in studies of 3D printers, and 

the simulation model predicted higher 

deposition of particle mass per surface area 

in the pulmonary region for individuals 

ages nine and younger. Further testing 

of emission profiles with additional 

simulation studies to predict inhaled dose 

are needed, SRA said. 

While 3D printing makes numerous 

products more readily available, and at 

cheaper costs, they do contribute to the 

mass of plastic products polluting the 

planet. Joana Marie Sipe, Duke University, 

has developed a machine that can measure 

how much a plastic product, like a water 

bottle, can break down through rubbing 

and sanding during use and in the 

environment. The plastic particles were 

then fed to fish to see the effects that the 

nanoparticles in the plastic had on their 

organs. 

The study, "NanoPHEAT: Forecasting 

nanocomposite consumer product's 

release, exposure, and toxic effects of 

nanomaterials (MWCNT and Ag NPs)," 

reveals that when plastics breakdown, the 

nanomaterials that were incorporated and 

thought to be biologically unavailable 

become exposed to the environment. 

The researchers were able to predict the 

percentage of nanoparticles that came 

out of the plastic when they were eaten 

by the fish, providing a Matrix Release 

Factor (MRF) which could be used 

to find out the quantity of plastic and 

nanoparticles that are released when 

someone chews a product or when 

it breaks down in the ocean. 

"This research can help set regulations 

on how much nanomaterial fillers can be 

added to particular consumer products, 

based on their MRF value," states Sipe. 

"The data can help determine how much 

plastic and/or nano-filled products release 

contaminants into the environment or the 

human body." 

As 3D printing technologies 

become more widespread, regulators, 

manufacturers, and users may need to 

focus their attention on better managing 

potential risks. 

The Society for Risk Analysis is a 

multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, 

scholarly, international society that 

provides an open forum for all those 

interested in risk analysis. SRA was 

established in 1980 and has published 

Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 

the leading scholarly journal in the field, 

continuously since 1981. ■ 



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February 2021 

17

WORLD FOCUS 

GLOBAL Canon, Amazon Removals, IP, Counterfeits 

Canon stops counterfeits entering Canada and continues 

with removal requests 

Canon U.S.A., Inc., its parent company, Canon Inc. of Japan, and its subsidiary, Canon Canada Inc., announced that the 

companies have recently had success working with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in preventing counterfeit 

Canon goods from entering into commerce and distribution in Canada and online. 

In early January of 2020, CBSA contacted 

Canon through their Canadian legal 

representatives to alert the company that they 

had intercepted and detained 280 suspicious 

cartons bearing marks corresponding to 

various model numbers of Canon toner 

cartridges. 

Working with Customs agents around the 

globe to stop importation of counterfeits 

which unlawfully use the Canon brand is 

part of Canon’s ongoing efforts to protect 

Canon consumers’ health and safety from 

counterfeit products, as well as to protect 

Canon’s reputation for quality and reliability. 

The goods that were detained by CBSA 

were imported into Canada by a company in 

Niagara Falls, Ontario. 

Responding to the CBSA’s Request 

for Assistance, image inspection of the 

suspicious goods by Canon experts led to 

the conclusion that the toner cartridges were 

counterfeit. According to the importer, the 

toner cartridges were originally offered for 

sale on Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce site. 

They had been shipped to Canada by certain 

Chinese exporters in packaging designed to 

mimic the appearance of genuine Canon 

toner cartridges. 

Based on Canon’s years of anticounterfeiting 

experience, the OEM said 

it was clear that the use of the Canon 

trademarks on the packaging was intended 

by the counterfeiters to deliberately 

mislead the public as to the true source of 

the products. The actions of the Chinese 

counterfeiters and those of the importer 

constituted unfair competition and misuse 

of the Canon trademarks, thereby damaging 

Canon’s business and reputation. 

The OEM has also filed further 

infringement reports with Amazon in 

Canada, US and various European countries. 

Canon announced the filing of an 

infringement report with Amazon.ca 

seeking the removal of an Amazon.ca listing 

for certain toner cartridges sold by BEST 

SUPPLY. 

Canon's infringement report alleged that 

certain model CF210X, CF211A, CF212A 

and CF213A toner cartridges sold by BEST 

SUPPLY via Amazon.ca infringed Canon's 

Canadian Patent no. 2,635,791. Canon 

requested the removal of the corresponding 

listings for these products, having 

Amazon Standard Identification Number 

B07BJZNKKL. 

Canon also announced the filing of an 

infringement report with Amazon.com 

seeking the removal of Amazon.com listings 

for certain toner cartridges sold by JC 

TONER for use in HP laser beam printers. 

In Europe, Canon announced that it 

filed Report Infringement Forms with 

Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.it 

and Amazon.es based on the alleged use of 

claims 1 and 2 of the German, UK, Italian 

and Spanish portion of Canon's European 

Patent EP 1 977 289 ("EP '289") regarding 

certain models of toner cartridges offered by 

shenmushiyishidexiaojiadiandian. 

The OEM requested removals 

of toner cartridges offered by 

YulinshiHengshanquQimingEryuandian 

via Amazon Germany, UK, Italy and Spain, 

by FUTURE COLOR SA DE CV from 

Amazon Mexico and by Hainberger from 

Amazon Germany. 

In Mexico, Canon filed an infringement 

report with Amazon.mx seeking the removal 

of Amazon.mx listings for certain toner 

cartridges sold by FUTURE COLOR SA 

DE CV for use in HP laser beam printers. 

Canon's infringement report alleged that 

claim 160 of Mexican Patent Number 

308881 was infringed by certain model 

CE505A toner cartridges offered by 

FUTURE COLOR SA DE CV. 

In Germany, Canon requests filed 

Report Infringement Forms with Amazon. 

de based on the alleged use of claims 1 

and 2 of the German portion of Canon's 

European Patent EP 1 977 289 ("EP '289") 

regarding the cartridge models CE410X, 

CE411A, CE412A, CE413A, CE320A, 

CE321A, CE322A and CE323A offered by 

Hainberger. 

The OEM also requested removals of 

toner cartridges offered by Mal-ll from 

Amazon Canada, by AMTONER from 

Amazon USA and by xianshi yanliangqu 

canqiubaihuodianshanghang via Amazon 

Italy, Germany, UK and Spain. 

Afterwards, Amazon took down the 

respective products. 

Filing a Report Infringement Form with 

Amazon is a service offered by Amazon 

and does not comprise any official finding 

of validity or infringement of a patent. 

The decision to take down a product is in 

the discretion of Amazon and is based on 

information provided by Canon. 

Amazon informed the vendors about the 

takedown and the vendors may object to it. ■ 



GOGREEN! 

REACH 

READY 

20 

05/20 


February 2021 

19

CITY NEWS 

OEM share prices 

January 2021 

Share Prices 

Prices correct as of 1 st January 2021 

GLOBAL Prices, Shipping, Containers 

Company DECEMBER JANUARY 

Brother Industries (Yen) ¥ 2062 2179 

Canon (Yen) ¥ 1945 1967 

Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (Yen) 

Sun Chemicals parent company 

¥ 2659 2543 

HP Inc. (US$) $ 22.38 24.27 

Hubei Dinglong (RMB) ¥ 17.3 17.74 

Jadi (MYR) M 0.12 0.1 

LG Chem (S Korean Won) W 841k 962k 

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. 

(Yen) Panasonic parent company 

¥ 1153 1274.5 

Mitsubishi Chemicals (Yen) ¥ 601.8 634.2 

Ninestar Corporation (RMB) 

Formerly Apex Microelectronics 

¥ 30.7 25.75 

Oki (Yen) ¥ 924 923 

Seiko Epson (Yen) ¥ 1625 1500 

Turbon AG (Euro) € 2.14 2.3 

Xerox (US$) $ 22.16 23.62 

UK Waste Prices 

price per tonne 

Aluminium € 4.96 0.86 

Plastic € 5.86 20.13 

Paper € 0.82 0.83 

Currency 

€/US$ 1.21 1.23 

€/£ 0.91 0.9 

£/US$ 1.33 1.36 

£/€ 1.1 1.11 

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) 

$ 47.25 50.68 

$ 2091 4091 

$ 2219 4286 

$ 3880 4018 

$ 4708 4729 

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

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

Prices to rise as shipping 

costs quadruple 

Christmas and Coronavirus impact of shipping costs 

that are now set to quadruple. 

A year ago, a 40 foot 

container used to cost around 

$2,000 (€1,660) to ship 

between China and most 

European ports but today 

the cost is anywhere between 

$8,000 (€6,640) and $10,000 

(€8,300). 

Global shipping is facing the 

perfect storm of Christmas, 

Congestion and Covid and 

a shortage of containers and 

shipping space. The result 

of an uneven distribution of 

containers to meet surging 

shipping demand from Asia 

to Europe and the U.S. 

The shortage of containers 

and ships is a result of the 

coronavirus earlier in the 

year with many ships loaded 

with containers, but in ports 

with nowhere to go. Demand 

rises and shipping lines are 

faced with getting ships, full 

of empty containers back to 

Asia to then pick up full loads 

to deliver across the globe. 

But empty ships cost money, 

and full ships command a 

premium. 

Congestion at ports has 

built up in recent months 

as a result of ships wanting 

to unload quickly, but the 

port has high quantities of 

empty containers built up 

over the year that has led to 

congestion and delays. As a 

result, surcharges and higher 

shipping costs imposed by 

some of the world's largest 

shipping lines are feeding 

through into higher costs. 

China will increase the 

supply of containers and 

tighten monitoring of the 

shipping market to further 

stabilize the rising logistics 

costs in international trade, 

a government official said on 

Thursday. 

Gao Feng, a spokesperson 

for the Ministry of 

Commerce, said during a 

news conference that the 

Commerce Ministry will 

continue to work with related 

parties to provide more 

containers to the market, 

speed up the turnaround of 

containers, and help container 

manufacturers to expand 

productivity, the official said. 

For the office imaging sector 

early indication is that prices 

will rise in Q1 next year with 

hardware and consumables 

increasing between 3% and 

12%. Low value parts could 

see prices double if the value 

of the load is less than the 

freight cost. ■ 



GLOBAL HP, Financials, Enrique Lores 

HP confirms the razor and blades model is changing 

HP Inc’s CEO, Enrique Lores, uses the Q4 2020 results, earnings call to confirm the company continues “to evolve our 

print business models with our drive towards services and a rebalance of profitability between hardware and supply." 

In the recent HP Q4 2020 results, 

earnings call CEO Enrique Lores told 

the audience of analysts "We continue 

to evolve our print business models with 

our drive towards services and a rebalance 

of profitability between hardware and 

supply." A first hint at the plan announced 

over a year ago to raise printer prices for 

customers who didn't want to use HPbranded 

supplies. 

Printing now accounts for just 31% of 

HPs revenue and the bulk (65%) of that 

is the supplies segment. Supplies is a 

competitive space where reuse and new 

build alternatives are carving out a strong 

market share as bit as 45% in some markets. 

Lores reported that the “strong consumer 

business is a clear advantage for us and the 

shift to remote work and school continues 

to create momentum in home printing.” 

But expects the strength in home will 

gradually subside when more offices and 

schools reopen.” 

Instant ink continues to grow and has 

passed the companies 8 million subscriber 

target and Lores confirmed that HP plans 

to extend HP Plus "end-to-end platform 

strategy" that ties customers into only using 

HP ink, which "provides a differentiated 

value proposition for our loyal customers," 

said Lores. 

What he didn’t say in the earnings report 

is that the print-free-for-life tier of their 

instant ink programme is ending. Designed 

to lure the consumer in, the print-free-forlife 

was limited to 15 pages a month. 

The Instant Ink free tier is being scrapped 

and will have to start paying HP a monthly 

fee or the printer will stop working. sh 

cartridges. Prices are now $0.99 / €0.99 

a month for 15 pages with the ability to 

rollover up to 45 unused pages. 

Gross margin was 17.6%, down 1.4 

points year-on-year. The decline was due 

to a combination of a higher consumer 

mix within both personal systems 

and print hardware and lower rate in 

commercial print. 

Supply change shortages in Q2, Q3 and 

Q4 reduced HPs ability to supply many 

key resellers. HP expects this to continue in 

the early part of 2021 because of ongoing 

demand on the consumer side of supplies. 

Driven by people working from home and 

kids learning from home. 

"Together, we expect these actions 

will help us to optimize the business by 

reducing the number of unprofitable 

customers." 

Q4, ended 31 October, revenues were of 

$15.3 billion flat year-over-year. With full 

year revenue of $56.6 billion, down 3.6% 

from the prior-year period. Business sales 

were down and consumer sales were up. 

Print revenues for in Q4 were $4.8 billion, 

Ful year revenues were $17.6 billion, 

down 21.1% from the prior-year period. 

Gross margin was 17.6%, down 1.4 points 

year-on-year. The decline was due to a 

combination of a higher consumer 

mix within both personal systems 

and print hardware and lower rate in 

commercial print. 

Editorial Opinion: HP expects home 

use to decline in coming quarters and 

commercial print to strengthen, which 

it will, but to what level? Hardware sales 

are only 35% of the print business now. 

Will selling cheap printers with locked 

in consumables grow, or will consumers 

who already have printers, just rebel at the 

higher prices and go off-brand for reused 

and new-build? ■ 


February 2021 

21

CITY NEWS 

GLOBAL KAO, Business, 

Environment, Employees 

KAO announces 

new five year plan 

The toner and resins producer, Kao 

is launching their next five year 

plan for the fiscal 2021 to 2025 

period focused on an enriched 

sustainable world. 

The Kao Group, producers of toner 

and resins, new five year plan focuses on 

an enriched and sustainable world. The 

five-year period from fiscal 2021 to 2025. 

Founded in Japan in 1887, the Kao 

Group is better known for their leading 

brands such as Attack, Bioré, Goldwell, 

Jergens, John Frieda, Kanebo, Laurier, 

Merries and Molton Brown. In the 

imaging sector their chemical division, 

which contributes to a wide range 

of industries, produces low fusing 

temperature toner and resins. 

The five year plan will sees KAO create 

a new business with a focus in the new 

area of “Save lives, protect people”. This 

will involve starting “Another Kao” 

business that contributes to solving 

people’s urgent problems by making the 

most of our core technology that we have 

not to date been able to use fully. 

The five year vision is that 

“Sustainability as the only path” and 

will follow the Japanese Kirei concept 

of “Making Life Beautiful” and for 

the company to become “an essential 

company in a sustainable world and 

take leadership in a self-propelling 

sustainable society.” 

Key areas will see investment in carbon 

recycling, the conversion of carbon 

dioxide into raw materials and positive 

recycling, the creation of new business 

through re-use. Another new area of 

development is eradicating the source 

of infectious diseases. 

The Kao Group generates about 

1,500 billion yen (€11.8 billion / 

$14.42 billion) in annual sales and is 

headquartered Japan, and has facilities 

in Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Spain. ■ 

GLOBAL Ricoh, Canon, Job losses, COVID-19 

COVID claims 

16,000 OEM 

jobs in Japan 

Ricoh and Canon are the latest OEMs 

who are looking to shed jobs due to 

the impact of the pandemic. 

Nikkei Asian Review reported that 

between January and September 2020 the 

big Japanese companies, including Ricoh 

and Canon, have shed about 16,000 jobs of 

their payroll. According to Nikkei Asian 

Review, 6,400 jobs were cut at Ricoh in the 

period and about 4,100 at Canon. 

At Ricoh, the workforce was reduced 

by “voluntary retirements of sales and 

maintenance personnel out of the country, 

and by consolidating manufacturing 

after it opened an original manufacturing 

facility in China in July”, according to 

jp.bankloankorea.com. 

The Future of Jobs 2020 report has found 

that COVID-19 has caused the labour 

market to change faster than expected. 

The research released today by the World 

Economic Forum indicates that what used 

ASIA Ninestar, Apex, CICIIF, City 

Apex secures new investment 

China’s National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Limited 

will acquire a 10.526% stake in the equity of Apex Microelectronics. 

Ninestar Corporation (Ninestar) has 

announced that their wholly owned 

subsidiary Zhuhai Apex Microelectronics 

Co., Ltd. (Apex) has received an investment 

from the National Integrated Circuit 

Industry Investment Fund Limited (China 

IC Fund) who intends to increase the capital 

of RMB 200 million to Apex and will 

acquire a 10.526%, valuing Apex at RMB 19 

billion (€2.4 billion / $2.9billion). Ninestar 

will retain 83% of the Apex shares. 

The CICIIF is a State-owned fund set up 

in 2014 to support the value chain of the 

integrated circuit industry, which involves 

to be considered the “future of work” 

has already arrived. 

By 2025, automation and a new division 

of labour between humans and machines 

will disrupt 85 million jobs globally in 

medium and large businesses across 15 

industries and 26 economies. Roles in 

areas such as data entry, accounting and 

administrative support are decreasing in 

demand as automation and digitisation 

in the workplace increases. 

More than 80% of business executives 

are accelerating plans to digitise work 

processes and deploy new technologies; 

and 50% of employers are expecting to 

accelerate the automation of some roles in 

their companies. In contrast to previous 

years, job creation is now slowing while job 

destruction is accelerating. ■ 

chip design, production, packaging 

and testing. 

The fund invests in selected companies 

operating in semiconductors and related 

industries to develop China's integrated 

circuit industry ecosystem and explore 

potential business opportunities in the sector. 

Apex is the leading producer of chips for 

the printer market. From their four R&D 

centres in Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Shanghai and 

the United States, the company’s ongoing 

developments focus on security chip 

technology, CPU Design technology, 

multi-core SoC design technology and 

compatible chip design technology and 

other core technologies. 

Apex Microelectronics' SoC/MCU chip 

shipments based on domestic embedded 

CPUs exceeded 500 million chips, it is the 

largest chip supplier based on domestically 

produced CPUs, and related products have 

won the “China Core” best eight times. ■ 




February 2021 

23

AROUND THE INDUSTRY 

NORTH AMERICA Marco, Books For Africa, MSP 

Marco ranked among elite MSPs 

Marco has been named as one of the world's premier managed service providers (MSP) on the new 2020 Channel Futures 

NextGen 101 rankings. 

The NextGen 101, an MSP 501 list, 

features resellers, system integrators, 

consultants and other partners with 

recurring revenues from business models 

that are diversified beyond managed or 

cloud services. 

“The NextGen 101 is designed specifically 

to honour partners dedicating resources 

to building out their practices — all while 

maintaining the integrity of their core 

businesses,” said Allison Francis, Editor and 

Content Producer at Channel Partners and 

Channel Futures. “Maybe these partners 

will become the MSP powerhouses of the 

future. Maybe they’ll continue to expand 

their managed services capabilities while also 

devoting resources to core competencies. Or 

maybe they’ll become a new kind of hybrid 

partner that isn’t yet even on our radar. We 

can’t wait to see what these companies will 

do next, and we’re excited to honour them in 

a list of their very own." 

Channel Futures is pleased to name Marco 

to the NextGen 101. 

“This award exemplifies Marco’s dedication 

and continued investment into the broad 

technology needs of every organization, all 

while striving to be the best in every category 

we offer,” said Trevor Akervik, Marco’s Vice 

President of Managed Services. 

The complete 2020 NextGen 101 list 

is available at Channel Futures. 

Marco also recently reported on providing 

volunteer assistance and support to help 

ship more than 20,000 books to universities 

across Nigeria through Books For Africa. 

Marco employees stepped up to volunteer 

hours of their time to package the books for 

a major shipment made possible by the work 

of Bassey Eyo, a retired professor at St. Cloud 

State University and a native of Nigeria. Eyo 

has been collecting textbooks for Books For 

Africa for 35 years. Marco also provided one 

of its trucks to complete the first leg of the 

books’ route to Nigeria. 

“We’re always grateful for opportunities 

to give back to our communities,” Marco 

CEO Jeff Gau said. “Bassey has done a lot for 

this area and we were happy to help out and 

return the favor. 

As Marco explained, Eyo collected most 

of the academic books from colleagues at 

St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, 

where Marco is headquartered. They cover 

everything from business to science and 

engineering to social science and art. After 

he gathered the books, he knew he needed a 

large crew to prepare the shipment. He made 

a call to Jeff Gau, who he had met 30 years 

ago in the St. Cloud Leadership Programme 

through the St. Cloud Area Chamber of 

Commerce. 

“Jeff was a dynamo in leadership even 

then,” Eyo said. “He made quite an 

impression on me and we’ve been friends 

since. When I called him to ask if he could 

help me transport the books, he was quick 

to say yes.” 

The volunteer effort is part of Marco’s 

Gold Standard volunteer programme that 

encourages employees to get involved in 

the local community and allows them to 

volunteer on company time. 

To make shipments like Eyo’s possible, 

Books For Africa accepts monetary 

donations to assist with transportation 

of the books. To make a donation to Books 

For Africa, contact the organisation at 

bfa@booksforafrica.org. ■ 

EUROPE KMP AG, Anniversary, 20 Years, Employees 

KMP employee celebrates 20 th anniversary 

Jana Sporrer celebrated her 20 th anniversary with KMP AG on 15 th December. 

The qualified chemical laboratory 

technician joined KMP on 1 November 

2000 and was responsible for the 

development of inks for all kinds of inkjet 

printers from the start. 

20 years later, she still does this job with 

full commitment. KMP proudly explained 

that Sporrer takes care of everything 

related to the subject of colours and has 

always attached great importance to 

ensuring that everything fits. 

Sporrer was honoured in the conference 

room for her 20 th company anniversary, 

where KMP’s CEO Jan-Michael Sieg, the 

Head of Finances and Human Resources 

Werner Watzinger, as well as her colleagues 

Kerstin Sieg, Monika Kaltenegger and 

her colleague Jürgen Baur thanked her for 

her commitment with a gift and a glass of 

sparkling wine. 

KMP said: “We wish you Jana Sporrer all 

the best and much health for your future 

and we look forward to continued good 

cooperation.” ■ 



AUSTRALASIA IDC, New Zealand, Inkjet Printers, Inkjet 

Inkjet surges in New Zealand 

New Zealand inkjet printer market grows 7% due to surge in remote 

working, according to IDC. 

The Largest UK 

Remanufacturer 

Toner Cartridges 

Chips 

Waste Toner Bottles 

Fuser Units 

Drum Units 

Developers 

OEM STOCK 

PPE 

IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly Hardcopy 

Peripherals (HCP) Tracker shows that the 

New Zealand inkjet printer market has 

grown in unit shipments by 6.9% year-onyear 

(YoY), the second highest growth by 

quarter over the last 3 years. 

The overall New Zealand HCP market 

in 2020Q3 saw a YoY growth in unit 

shipments of 2.2% but a 17.2% decline in 

revenue. This is strongly driven by a YoY 

decline of 8.9% in laser unit shipments. 

Richard Xu, Associate Market Analyst 

at IDC, said this surge in popularity 

of inkjet printers is a continuation of 

the trend seen in 2020Q2. Following a 

country-wide lockdown in 2020Q2 and 

a second lockdown for Auckland during 

2020Q3, the demand for both businesses 

and employees to set up home offices 

for remote working has soared. The 

lockdown periods also explain the decline 

in laser unit shipments, which generally 

require on-site technicians to install. 

“Lockdown has spurred many 

businesses to realise the importance 

of a robust working environment. 

It reinforces the notion that flexible 

working conditions are so much more 

than just employee perks, but an integral 

part of sound business continuity plans,” 

said Xu. 

HP Inc. shipped the most inkjet units 

in 2020Q3 by a wide margin, while 

Canon’s shipments saw the highest YoY 

growth. These two vendors combine low 

prices with efficient and easy to set up 

machines to fulfil the increased printing 

demand from buyers looking to set up 

home offices. 

Xu said that there is a lot of opportunity 

for HCP vendors to establish their 

strengths in this diversifying space with 

increasingly varying customer needs. 

“To the price conscious New Zealand 

market, inkjet machines are by far the 

most popular home printing choice, but 

as business returns to usual, laser printers 

are a viable alternative. In the first half 

of 2019, we saw a glimpse of the potential 

that laser printers had when it came to the 

SMB market. In the coming year, IDC 

expects to see more vendors selling laser 

printers for home office setups, SMBs, 

as well as enterprises and government,” 

said Xu. 

According to Xu, this will be a 

transformational time for the HCP 

market in New Zealand. Products 

conventionally designed for consumer 

and SMB markets will see more uptake 

in the enterprise and government space 

as employees are given the choice to spend 

working hours away from the office. 

This poses a challenge to traditional 

laser copier vendors which will need 

to reinvent their current offerings or 

develop new innovative products to 

fulfil changing customer demands. ■ 

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February 2021 

25


EUROPE PRPS, Print Rite Europe, 

IP, Amazon Removals 

PRPS promotes 

IP-safe products 

Print Rite Europe and PRPS have 

said that resellers of their products 

have “are never taken down by 

Amazon”. 

Since June 2018 the total number 

of Amazon take downs in Europe by 

Canon came to 2762. As a response to 

the continued action from Canon on 

Amazon PRPS and Print Rite Europe 

are promoting the fact that their 

products are “IP-safe compatibles” 

and their “resellers are never taken 

down” from Amazon. 

Commenting on these latest 

revelations, Print-Rite Europe’s 

General Manager – Sales & 

Marketing UK, Jason Doran, said: 

“OEM patent infringements have 

become increasingly serious and 

costly for the resellers involved. Major 

brands and the owners of their patents 

are now routinely serving ‘cease and 

desist’ orders on distributors and 

resellers in Europe who are selling 

products that infringe their patents. 

“Our customers have always enjoyed 

complete peace of mind when it 

comes to the patent safety of our 

products and this commitment will 

remain at the heart of our offering 

going forward.” 

Print Rite employs 15 in-house 

patent lawyers and over 200 patent 

design engineers to ensure that their 

products do not infringe OEM 

patents and to ensure that their 

customers stay out of the OEM 

cross hairs. ■ 

EUROPE Cartridge Save, Zendesk, Business, Innovation 

Cartridge Save slashes 

customer response times 

Cartridge Save has seen the speed at which it replies to customer queries in 

lockdown soar by over a quarter after transforming its internal processes. 

The transformation has seen Cartridge 

Save adopt the Zendesk customer service 

platform which allows it to automatically 

filter queries as well as offering users a 

chatbot function. The 27.5% boost means 

the UK’s largest printer and ink retailer 

has reduced the average time it takes to 

respond to an email from 202 to 152 

minutes. 

It comes as a boom in home-printing 

sparked by the coronavirus outbreak has 

seen the leading online retailer hit record 

domestic sales of £9 million ($12 million/ 

€10 million) since March. 

Cartridge Save Operations Manager 

Nichola Ansbro said: “At Cartridge Save 

our customers rely on us for the highest 

quality printing products at unbeatable 

value. It’s one of the reasons we’re the 

largest printer and ink retailer in the 

UK. Another is our commitment to the 

highest levels of customer service. 

EUROPE CONTEXT, Blog, Ink Tanks, Printers 

“And to ensure we maintain these high 

standards we have invested significantly 

in how we process queries. By adopting 

the Zendesk platform we’ve noticed 

immediate results that means we’re now 

getting back to customers at our fastest 

rate ever.” 

Cartridge Save added that it comes 

as increased demand from household 

customers has sparked a 15% increase in 

sales year-on-year. As workers abandon 

offices Cartridge Save said it has shipped 

100,000 more cartridges to homes 

compared to the same period last year - 

bringing its total to 750,000. ■ 

CONTEXT predicts printer 

sales growth to soften in 2021 

The market intelligence company has released its latest insights in a blog post, 

where it predicts that consumer printer sales growth is set to soften in 2021 

with continued delayed business demand. 

In its latest blog, CONTEXT analyses 

the past 12 months in IT channel printer 

sales, calling it a “tale of two markets” with 

consumer demand climbing and business 

demand suffering because of global lockdowns 

due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“According to CONTEXT data from the 

European market, the story for 2021 will 

be similar, with consumer sales growing at 

a lower rate—at least, during the start of 

the year,” the blog says. 

As office closures continue, CONTEXT 

predicts as MPS demand grows even 

further it will mean “upfront hardware 

purchases in the corporate sector, and for 

small offices and the self-employed” will 

be reducing in 2021. In 2020 as the new 

hybrid workplace appeared and home 

schooling was introduced, entry and midlevel 

printers saw a rise in sales and the 

market intelligence company sees this will 

continue but at a lower rate in Q4 2020 

and early 2021. 

The home office and schooling 

has increased ink tank printer sales 

which CONTEXT sees continuing. 

CONTEXT’s blog concludes with the 

prediction that promotions and discounts 

on hardware sales will be a part of 2021 

and ink tank printers will continue to grow 

in Europe as consumer demand for home 

office set ups continues to grow. ■ 



EUROPE MPS Monitor 2.0, BLI Pick Award, Award 

MPS Monitor receives BLI Pick award 

The remote monitoring platform has been awarded as Outstanding Fleet 

Management Solution by the world’s leading independent evaluator of 

document imaging software, hardware, and services. 

MPS Monitor has been awarded for MPS 

Monitor 2.0, its SaaS Cloud platform, as 

Outstanding Fleet Management Solution in 

the Document Imaging Software category 

of the Buyers Lab (BLI) 2021 Pick and 

Outstanding Achievement Awards from 

Keypoint Intelligence. 

After a challenging and rigorous test 

cycle by Keypoint Intelligence analysts, 

MPS Monitor 2.0 has been recognised for 

its effective features, supporting dealers in 

their competitive marketplace, helping them 

with BI reports for fast decision making, in 

order to serve their customers quickly and 

profitably, as well as with administrative 

tools to easily create and manage contracts 

and invoices. Moreover, the BLI Award has 

recognised the value of the recent integration 

with Universal Print by Microsoft, allowing 

dealers and Managed Print Services 

providers to help their customers move their 

print infrastructure to the Microsoft 365 

cloud and have all their print fleet managed 

by a single SaaS platform. 

“MPS Monitor 2.0 comes with a wealth 

of fleet management features that can help 

Dealers and MPS providers make fast, datadriven 

decisions, provide proactive service, 

and optimize their business. The solution 

can remotely track vital details about their 

fleet, such as device status, meter counts, 

and consumables levels, and alert Dealers 

when a problem arises – or sometimes 

before it occurs,” explained the BLI 2021 

Pick Awards announcement from Keypoint 

Intelligence. 

“Working with documents is increasingly 

a digital process, especially in the age of 

COVID-19,” said Lee Davis, Associate 

Director of Software/Scanners at Keypoint 

Intelligence. “Businesses are leveraging all 

kinds of software and services to supplement 

their existing document hardware, pushing 

their productivity to the max. For the last 

year, we’ve been testing a wide range of these 

solutions, from print and fleet management 

solutions that enable businesses to control 

costs and optimise efficiency, to full 

blown content management and workflow 

platforms that can automate entire business 

processes. Today, we honour the standout 

performers for their productivity-enhancing 

features and exceptional value, ease of use, 

and other key attributes: MPS Monitor 2.0 

is certainly among these.” 

“We’ve watched the MPS Monitor fleet 

management system mature over many 

years, and the latest incarnation gives dealers 

everything they need to monitor devices, 

analyse device use, proactively monitor and 

ship consumables, and even create contracts 

and invoices,” said Andrew Unsworth, 

Consulting Editor at Keypoint Intelligence. 

“The solution embraced cloud technology 

from the start, empowering its users to access 

device data anywhere, and it has consistently 

provided customers with a flexible array of 

DCAs to support their business.” 

“We’re so proud to receive the BLI Pick 

Award from Keypoint Intelligence today, 

which seals a challenging but really exciting 

year, full of confirmations from one of 

the industry’s most trusted resource for 

unbiased information, analysis, and awards”, 

said Nicola De Blasi, CEO of MPS Monitor 

Srl. “This achievement is a further step 

towards the recognition of MPS Monitor 

2.0 as a global solution for enhancing 

productivity and digital transformation 

of the whole print and imaging industry.” ■ 


February 2021 

27


AUSTRALASIA Inkmaker, Distributor, New Zealand 

Inkmaker teams up with Novasys Group 

Inkmaker Group appointed Novasys Group as new exclusive agent for Australia and New Zealand. 

Roberto Guerra, CEO Asia Pacific 

of Inkmaker Group electronically 

formalised the exclusivity contract with 

Mr. Ron Craigie, CEO of Novasys 

Group Pty Ltd. 

“This is a great achievement for both 

parties; Inkmaker Group’s prowess in 

the fields of ink, coatings, tinting and 

special applications is widely recognised 

by leading multi-nationals. Its specialised 

brands, highly valued for their precision 

and quality, coupled with their legendary 

proprietary software, positions Inkmaker 

Group above the competition. 

“Additionally, with the Group’s 

acquisitions of Rexson and Vale-Tech 

in UK, Tecnopails in Italy, and most 

recently Swesa in Germany and through 

their loyal partnership, with IEC, 

IEC+ and GFC Chimica, the Group 

is a formidable force of expertise and 

cross-knowledge. Truly a total-process 

engineering provider,” remarked 

Craigie, “with Novasys Group’s leading 

intelligence of the Australasian market, 

extensive network and resources, we 

are confident that this collaboration 

will see Inkmaker Group’s market 

share soar here.” 

Novasys Group, founded in 1993 

in Melbourne, is an instrument and 

machine supplier to the food, wine, 

paint, print and pharmaceutical sector 

as well as the textile, chemical, paper, 

water, environmental and analytical and 

laboratory Industries. Its superior colour 

management, process control, quality 

control and environmental solutions, 

provide quantifiable cost savings and 

improvements for increased productivity. 

Furthermore, the products and services 

marketed and supported by Novasys 

Group are widely used for quality 

assurance applications, production 

and resource recovery. 

“Novasys Group has been an active 

partner with Vale-Tech since its early 

beginnings. Having been granted the 

rights to now represent all of Inkmaker 

Group’s products and services—for 

collaborative projects in Australia and 

New Zealand—effectively positions 

the Novasys Group with an unmatched 

advantage,” explained Nick Scott, Global 

Sales & Technical Manager Offset, 

Narrow Web & Screen of UK-based Valetech 

(a member of the Inkmaker Group). 

“We are pleased to count Novasys 

Group amongst our reputed agents 

and are confident this partnership will 

expedite growth for both Groups within 

the region,” concluded Guerra. ■ 

ASIA Print-Rite, Patents, IP, Patent Registrations 

Print-Rite tallies 3,000+ 

patent registrations 

The company reports that, globally, it has recently 

recorded its 3,000th patent registration. 

As of the 8 December 2020 the 

company reports that the total count of 

registered patents by Print-Rite totalled 

3,002 globally. The company said: “These 

registered patents include invention 

patents, utility model patents and design 

patents. They cover a wide variety of 

Print-Rite compatible products such as 

toner cartridge, inkjet cartridge, copier 

cartridge, to name a few. 308 out of the 

3000+ patents are on 3D printing.” 

Commenting on this achievement, 

Print-Rite said: “Print-Rite focuses 

on developing and supplying IP safe 

compatible printing consumables to the 

market. We are proud to announce that 

we have registered over 3000 patents by 

December 2020. 

“Print-Rite has continuously invested in 

R&D to bring new and innovative design 

to our IP safe products. Since 1996 when 

Print-Rite registered its first patent, the 

number of registered patents has grown 

significantly over the years.” ■ 



GLOBAL ECI Software Solutions, New Distributor, User Management 

ECI named among finalists, adds 

new South American distributor 

In the inaugural Print IT Awards, ECI has been named among the Device Management solution of the year finalists. 

ECI also appointed CBC Group, a provider of both device and user management solutions to office technology dealers 

in South America, as its newest distributor. 

The company said it is a testament to the 

team’s hard work, and the innovation and 

development the company has put into 

its print management software to support 

MPS businesses in Europe and right across 

the globe. 

In fact, the performance of more than 20 

million print devices worldwide is managed 

by its leading solutions within its print 

management software including FMAudit 

and PrintFleet. ECI went on to say: “In 

what has been a challenging year for the 

field service market, it’s important that 

innovation and collaboration continues to 

help push the sector forward. This is why 

we are continually adding updates and new 

functionality to our print management 

software to improve efficiencies and help 

MPS businesses work smarter.” 

Also announced this month was ECI’s 

new South American distributor. 

CBC Group is an Argentina-based 

provider of office technology solutions since 

1981 and has been ISO 9001 certified in all 

its processes since September 2005. CBC 

Group has distributed ECI’s PrintFleet 

managed print solutions to its customers for 

more than five years and will now be able to 

offer ECI’s User Management solution as 

well. The suite of solutions will be available 

to office technology dealers in Argentina, 

Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. 

“We are thrilled to add User Management 

to CBC Group’s suite of managed print 

offerings, so that dealers in South America 

can help their customers better manage 

every aspect of their print environments,” 

states Laryssa Alexander, President, Field 

Service Division, ECI. “We look forward 

to working with CBC Group to continue 

to enhance the product offerings to office 

technology industry.” 

“CBC Group is really pleased and proud 

to incorporate ECI as a key solutions 

provider in its portfolio of Enterprise 

solutions. We strongly believe this 

relationship will be a real success and it 

will bring quality and comfort to many 

companies in the region,” said Marcelo 

Pittera, COO, CBC Group. ■ 


February 2021 

29


EUROPE PCL Direct Group, Awards, Sponsorship 

PCL sponsor Print IT awards 

Alongside Sindoh UK, PCL Direct Group is delighted to announce the 

sponsoring the Print IT award 2020 Marketing Campaign of the Year. 

PrintIT Reseller, launched the 

awards programme to celebrate the 

achievements of a vital, ever changing 

technology sector. The PrintIT Awards 

2020 are a dedicated awards programme 

for the UK Print/MFP industry. 

The shortlist includes ARMOR 

with its Outsourced Print Services 

in the Solution of the Year category, 

ECI Solutions with its ECI Print 

Management Software and MPS 

Monitor with its MPS Monitor in ERP/ 

Device Management Solution of the 

Year category and many more. 

The winners will be announced 

during an award ceremony which 

now takes place in February 2021 

due to the impact of 

COVID-19. 

To see the full shortlist, 

scan the QR code. ■ 

IMEA IDC India, Market Research, Cloud, SaaS 

India PCS market to grow 22.2% 

The overall India public cloud services (PCS) market is likely to touch $7.4 billion (€6.1 billion) by 2024 

growing at a CAGR of 22.2% for 2020-24. 

The India public cloud services (PCS) 

market, including infrastructure-as-aservice 

(IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) 

solutions, and software-as-a-service (SaaS), 

touched $1.6 billion (€1.31 billion) for 

the first half of 2020, according to the 

International Data Corporation (IDC) 

Worldwide Semiannual Public Cloud 

Services Tracker. 

"The current uncertainty has accelerated 

the demand for public cloud services. 

Getting to the “next normal” entails 

businesses to leverage cloud as part of 

their business plans. Irrespective of where 

the businesses are positioned across the 

IDC’s “response to recovery” framework, 

organisations state cloud is imperative in 

attaining their core business objectives. 

Enterprises across verticals like financial 

services, IT/ITeS, media, education among 

others are witnessing a surge in demand,” 

said Rishu Sharma, Principal Analyst, 

Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, 

IDC India. 

The spending continues to solidify 

with the top two cloud providers capturing 

close to 52% of the Indian public cloud 

services market in the 1H 2020. From a 

segment perspective, SaaS forms the largest 

component of the overall public cloud 

services market with over 63% of the overall 

market in 1H2020, followed by IaaS and 

PaaS segment. 

The public cloud services market has 

nearly tripled since 2016, according to 

the IDC. As businesses focus on gaining 

agility, flexibility, and resilience, reliance 

on cloud platforms and infrastructure as 

well as software as a service will become 

pivotal. Although most organisations in 

India have adopted cloud in some stage, 

the current pandemic situation has now 

enabled organizations to rely on public 

cloud IaaS and PaaS to expedite the 

development process and deployment of 

business applications. 

"Enterprises which adopted cloud and 

other digital technologies fared better than 

enterprises with traditional IT systems 

during the pandemic, thereby stressing 

the urgent need for digital transformation. 

During the pandemic, there has been 

an increase in demand for cloud-based 

collaboration tools, content management 

solutions, and online streaming platforms. 

We are witnessing demand from large 

enterprises, tech start-ups and government 

institutions. The pandemic, along with 

investments from tech giants is expected 

to propel the adoption of cloud among 

SMBs,” said Harish Krishnakumar, 

Senior Market Analyst, IDC India. ■ 



NORTH AMERICA PrintReleaf, Reforestation, Environment 

New partners join PrintReleaf network 

One of the latest companies to partner with PrintReleaf is ZenOffice’s specialist division, The MPS Team 

and Future Digital Systems. 

The MPS Team is a specialist division 

of ZenOffice and an MPS provider in 

the UK, with solutions and software for 

a wide-ranging customer base across the 

UK, Europe and beyond. The company is 

a Canon Silver Partner, a HP Gold Partner 

First Specialist and a Xerox Platinum 

Partner. 

Using PrintReleaf, The MPS Team 

and their customers have the option to 

measure their total paper consumption 

and reforest that total into an equivalent 

number of trees which are automatically 

and certifiably planted around the world at 

reforestation sites of their choice. 

Dale Needham, Group Director at 

The MPS Team said: “We are delighted 

to form a partnership with PrintReleaf, 

enabling all our customers to convert 

their paper footprint into actual trees. 

As they print, PrintReleaf replants trees 

in forests that need it most around the 

world. The process is automated, precise 

and verified by SGS International, making 

it easy for our customers to contribute 

towards environmental and ecological 

reforestation.” 

Rylan MacVey, PrintReleaf ’s Director of 

Business Development, said: “ZenOffice 

and The MPS Team represents an exciting 

opportunity for PrintReleaf to offer 

certified reforestation for their vast array of 

clients. We look forward to engaging with 

The MPS Team to expand our solution and 

plant more trees worldwide.” 

Future Digital Systems also announced 

its newly formed partnership with 

PrintReleaf. 

Using PrintReleaf, Future Digital 

Systems and their customers have the 

option to measure their total paper 

consumption and reforest that total into 

an equivalent number of trees which are 

automatically and certifiably planted 

around the world at reforestation sites of 

their choice. 

Each customer of Future Digital Systems 

will have a free account set up in the 

PrintReleaf platform, allowing them to 

contribute to a reforestation project of their 

choice. Each month an updated certificate 

will be available to each customer that 

highlights their lifetime impact on the 

project/s they have decided to support. 

“At Future we have the aim to be carbon 

neutral by 2025. In an industry that may be 

seen as counterintuitive to sustainability, 

Future understand the need to print will 

remain and how imperative it is to take 

steps that limit or eliminate the carbon 

footprint that printing creates. Futures 

partnership with PrintReleaf allows us to 

take giant strides towards our ultimate goal 

of carbon neutrality by 2025,” said Michael 

Butcher Director of Business Development 

at Future Digital Systems. 

“Future Digital Systems represents a 

great opportunity for PrintReleaf to grow 

with a like-minded sustainability focused 

managed print supplier as well as their 

customers. We look forward to engaging 

with Future Digital Systems to expand our 

solution and plant more trees worldwide,” 

said Rylan MacVey, PrintReleaf ’s Director 

of Business Development. ■ 

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February 2021 

31

FEATURE 

Breaking a lance for China 

By Javier Martinez, European Environmental Defender at Turbon 

Products AG 

▲ Javier Martinez, European Environmental 

Defender, Turbon Products AG 

On many occasions, I have highlighted 

how many Chinese companies have abused 

the market and created Environmental 

chaos in the printing sector. 

This has represented much more waste 

we all European pay to be treated, but 

more importantly, thousands of green 

jobs have disappeared. 

It is tough for me to acknowledge 

respect when “Reciprocity“ is not there, 

for example: Could they make the same 

actions they have done in the past if they 

were not hidden under the “Communist 

wall” that was a “patent safe protection”. 

Of course, this is a rhetoric question we 

all know the answer, or maybe, all we the 

Europeans are stupid as to not skip/design 

around a patent? The truth is that in the 

risk/opportunity equation, it was nearly 

impossible in a “Western country” and any 

company failing to do it correctly, will be 

directly filing for insolvency. 

Are Chinese companies 

“solely” responsible? 

By no means! It is a supply and demand 

situation where European companies 

purchased and distributed their products. 

So what they did was to benefit from a 

lack of regulation as under “Compatible” 

everything fitted and a “Voluntary 

Agreement“ can not be enforced by 

European Market Surveillance Authorities. 

But times change, and today we need to 

recognise that some Asian companies have 

the resources and the determination to 

move the legislation to the limit. Here I 

would like to talk about the competition 

case in Italy, that ended with a severe 

fine to HP. 

Was it hazard? The Italian competition 

authorities just decided on their own to 

look for the case, or did somebody “put 

them on track and made a denounce”? 

Well, I’ve been long enough in relations 

with authorities to understand “luck” 

does not exist. The cartridge abuse situation 

is well known by many authorities, be 

they competition, trade or environment. 

Something had to “trigger the action“, and 

my suspicion is that Italian retail expert 

Prink, backed up by a powerful Chinese 

manufacturer, pushed for it in front of the 

Italian competition authorities. 

The cartridge abuse situation is well known 

by many authorities, be they competition, 

trade or environment. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 



This new “legal position” from some Chinese 

companies, may have an impact that goes beyond 

the one described previously. 

I have personally assisted to a couple of 

meetings where it was clear there was 

“ground for legal action“ to defend the “fair 

single market”, something I understand 

as such does not exist today. However, the 

expenses made it impossible for the industry 

to finance when European remanufacturing 

resources were scarce. 

The Italian case might become a tipping 

point as the same “OEM competition 

infringing behaviour“ is done everywhere. 

I also understand that though some 

countries may have relatively different 

legislation, they have to share a “common 

core”, so we may expect some actions 

in other territories. Eventually, the EU 

Commission may jump into it. 

This new “legal position” from some 

Chinese companies, may have an impact 

that goes beyond the one described 

previously. 

At the last meeting where the “printer and 

cartridge” legal frame for Europe was to be 

decided, OEMs that have been signatories 

of the self-regulatory agreement, presented 

the third draft, as two previous ones were 

rejected by EU Commission and the 

Member States. 

Though the Circular Economy Action 

plan presented on 11 March included a 

deadline to “present a circular ambitious 

self-regulatory proposal” to avoid an ecodesign 

regulation, more than 10 months 

have passed, and yet the presented proposal 

was “very weak” at some points mainly 

repairability and reusability. 

It looks as in the Action plan there is 

“wording determination” that is lacking on 

the reality and we can see time and time, that 

though it is clearly mentioned that “under 

voluntary schemes there is not enough 

uptake”, nothing seems should change. 

In the past Stakeholders, ETIRA, DKWU, 

EEB, ECOS mentioned the weak points but 

never went further. 

During the first time I attended it, a Chinese 

manufacturer took the floor, announced 

that some relevant parts of the “Voluntary 

Agreement”, may represent a breach of the 

eco-design directive and EU treaty laws 

on competition. They even went one step 

further to announce legal actions if the 

imaging equipment voluntary agreement 

should remain as presented. 

Well, it looks they really have the 

determination, and though this may 

represent, again, a delay on the legal frame 

that was expired on 2018, we will not be 

able to blame it on them. 

If this is the case, the market changes, and 

freedom of choice and reuse gets pushed 

forward, I have only one thing: thanks. ■ 

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February 2021 

33

FEATURE 

Inside the new Retech factory 

We caught up with Steven Wang, the General Sales Manager at Retech 

Technology International Ltd (Retech) following their opening of a 

new 42,000m2 branch factory in Zhuhai, China. Wang describes this 

as the Dinglong Industrial Zone. 

▲ Steven Wang, General Sales 

Manager, Retech 

So, who is Retech? 

Established in 2001 with a focus on 

producing new compatible printing 

consumables, especially monochrome. 

Now part of the Hubei Dinglong Group, 

Retech is celebrating 20 years in the 

imaging industry this year. 

Rapid rise 

Back in 2007 Retech was ranked No. 19 

in the world in The Recyclers "First Fifty" 

cartridge manufacturers report. Fast 

forward to 2020 and the company is 

one of the top 10 suppliers to the in 

European market. 

New factory 

According to Wang, “the second factory 

is needed to meet the demand from their 

global customers who require product 

innovation and patent safe solutions 

and fast delivery. To achieve this level of 

manufacturing quality and efficiency 

required a substantial investment in a 

new and automated factory. Especially 

if Retech is passionate to deliver a 100% 

customer experience.” 

Today, Retech manufactures more than 

1,000 different models of compatible 

inkjet and laser consumables from their 

Shenzhen and Zhuhai factories. The 

Zhuhai factory features new intelligent 

automatic machines producing toner and 

inkjet cartridges with a defect rate of less 

than 1% and a much lower labour cost. 

Global reach 

Operating in the Americas, Eastern 

Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa, has 

seen sales of Retech consumables increase 

40% sales during 2020, despite the weaker 

global economic outlook and supported 

with their new, Zhuhai based, enlarged 

manufacturing capacity. 

Part of the group 

As part of the Hubei Dinglong Group, 

Retech accesses PCR, Doctor blades, 

high quality toners, and chips that are 

all produced within the group are made 

to ISO9001 and ISO 14001 standards. 

Retech has STMC certification produces 

to CE specifications and is REACH 

and RoHS compliant. A constant focus 

on quality and cost-effectiveness is are 

the drivers underpinning Retech's 

growth strategy. 

The latest products released by 

Retech include the patented 950XL- 

953XL series ink cartridge that was 

sourced and produced within the 

Dinglong Group. The newest laser 

cartridge is the in-house designed 

the patented W1107A toner cartridge 

with their own proprietary chips. ■ 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 




February 2021 

35

FEATURE 

Fix it or recycle it? 

David Connett, Partner at Connett & Unland GbR 

talks repairs and reuse, rather than recycling. 

▲ David Connett, Partner, 

Connett & Unland GbR 

When I was elevenish I wanted to listen to 

the pirate Radio Caroline, but my parents 

were more fans of the BBC “Home Service.” 

Not to be outwitted, I spent four weeks 

pocket money and built my own radio 

set tuned to Radio Caroline and listened 

through some old army headphones I 

bought in a secondhand shop. I guess that 

was the starting point of my engineering 

career making, fixing and repairing all 

things electronic. 

Since the mid-sixties when I built my 

radio, the art of repair has slipped from 

our conscious in Europe. We consume and 

dispose of working technology because the 

battery is flat, or there is newer faster, sleeker 

technology available. The art of repair has 

diminished and there is a price to pay for the 

ease of consumption. 

The tide is turning as politicians realise that 

repairing is better than recycling. 

According to the right to Repair 

organisation: 

• Over 200 million smartphones are 

sold in Europe every year. 

• That’s 6.7 sold every second 

• On average they last 2 years which is 

3 years less than what people would 

like them to last. 

• Extending the lifetime of all smartphones 

in the EU by 1 year would save 2.1 Mt 

CO2 per year by 2030, the equivalent of 

taking over a million cars off the roads. 

• Sticking with smartphones, a 200 gram 

phone generates during its production, 

including all stages of mining and 

manufacture, 86kg of “invisible waste”. 

• Europe is the largest generator of electronic 

waste per person in the world. Each person 

produces on average 16 kg each year. 

• While our electronics are filled with 

gold, copper and aluminium, as well as 

“critical raw materials” we recover 

Less than 6%. Rare earth elements like 

neodymium have nearly insignificant 

rates of recycling. 

And I could fill this entire edition of facts 

and figures about wasted technology, but 

I think you have the gist of the message. 

The tide is turning as politicians realise 

that repairing is better than recycling. 

The European Parliament recently voted 

in favour of making products more durable 

and easier to repair and recycle, to boost 

sustainability and tackling practices that 

shorten the lifespan of products. They 

also insist on increasing support for secondhand 

goods markets, call for measures to 

tackle practices that shorten the lifetime 

of a product, and endorse sustainable 

production. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

Javier Martinez, President of ETIRA, said: 

“A stronger reuse and second-hand goods 

market for imaging consumables can create 

thousands more jobs across Europe and, 

to see the Parliament’s call for measures to 

tackle practices that shorten the lifetime 

of a product, while endorsing sustainable 

production, is fantastic.” 



In the UK a parliamentary committee 

recommended the right to repair should be 

enshrined into law, ensuring access to repair 

manuals, to affordable spare parts and the 

ability to repair products without repairers 

needing access to physical or software 

tools specifically designed to be a barrier to 

independent servicing or repair. 

In the printer market one of the major 

barriers is the lack of spare parts and the 

short life that OEMs will support a printer. 

It is not unusual for a printer model to be 

withdrawn within two or three years and 

supported for a further two years. 

Yet it is not uncommon for a five year old 

printer to only have printed 20% of its 

potential pages and will still have many 

years of good printing ahead of it. If it can 

be repaired and supported. 

An end to firmware lockouts? 

Among the recommendations made by the 

MEP’s was the need for corrective updates 

– i.e. security and conformity updates – to 

continue throughout the estimated lifespan 

of the device, according to product category. 

They also recommended that corrective 

updates should be kept separate from 

evolutive updates, which must be reversible, 

and no update must ever diminish the 

performance or responsiveness of the goods. 

Ken Lalley, CEO of Static Control 

commented: “Our thousand plus European 

customers are vested in the reuse of imaging 

consumables and would welcome reversible 

firmware updates that often lock out reused 

consumables and frustrate consumers.” 

Moving forward, in the 1 st January 

this year, France implemented a 

repair index on smartphones, TVs, 

laptops, washing machines and lawn 

mowers to inform consumers of how 

repairable a product is. Expect this 

to roll out across Europe over the 

next few years. ■ 

In the printer market one of the major barriers 

is the lack of spare parts and the short life that 

OEMs will support a printer. 

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February 2021 

37

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 

ASIA Ninestar, G&G, Printers, Hardware 

Latest HP firmware upgrade does not affect 

G&G cartridges 

G&G has acted swiftly since the OEM warned on 24 August about an update scheduled to be released on 1 December 

2020 which may impact consumers. 

G&G is pleased to announce its updated 

ink cartridges to replace HP 902/903/904/ 

905/906XL /907XL/908XL/909XL 

and HP 952/953 /954/955 

/956XL/957XL/958XL /959XL series 

are unaffected by the latest HP firmware 

upgrade released on 1 December 2020. 

G&G has acted swiftly, since the OEM 

warned on 24 August about an update 

scheduled to be released on 1 December 

2020 which may impact consumers. G&G 

commented: “Immediate verification 

process run by G&G once again affirms 

its arduous R&D efforts has paid off-HP’s 

latest firmware upgrade does not affect 

G&G’s updated version cartridges.” 

G&G also has prepared its UFU solutions 

to manage recurring firmware upgrade 

issues and the latest chip version has been 

uploaded to cloud in real time. UFU, 

the cloud-based upgrade service system, 

enables G&G’s global distributors to 

achieve synchronous chip upgrades. 

G&G also this month, discussed its new 

hardware, the P4100 and M4100 models, 

which the company says are tailored to 

offer business owners with an economical 

printing option, G&G have created a video 

to explain the new models. 

G&G said that its printers come with 

the following features: 

• Lower cost per page: low owning 

cost, up to 11,000-yield cartridge 

and the separate design of drum unit 

from the toner lower the cost per 

page a lot, making a much-lowered 

running cost than the counterpart 

of G&G printer. 

• Lower maintenance cost: the metal 

frame design provides maximum 

protection to printers and lowers 

paper jam rate. 

• Improved efficiency: high printing 

speed of 33ppm and auto duplex 

printing guarantee highly efficient 

work. 

• Convenient to print and manage: 

wireless connection, fine printing, 

poster mode, clone mode, and mute 

mode are available to meet different 

printing needs. 

• User-friendly operation: one-step 

driver installation enables users to get 

started quickly and easily. 

• Excellent monochrome output: 

with well-shaped and highly legible 

printouts, the two models are suitable 

for most workplaces. 

Also, with printing, scanning, 

photocopying and a 50-sheet automatic 

document feeder combined into a 

compact and elegant metal structure, 

the three-in-one G&G M4100 seamlessly 

integrates paper and digital workstream 

for various application in home working 

and schooling. ■ 

You can watch the video 

by scanning the video QR 

code here: 



EUROPE IR Italiana Riprografia, Inkjet, Cartridges, Graphic-Jet 

IR Italiana Riprografia adds 

more cartridges to Graphic- 

Jet range 

The latest addition to the company’s Graphic-Jet range 

are compatible Epson and Brother inkjet cartridges. 

IR Italiana Riprografia announced 

the expansion of its compatible Epson 

cartridge range, with the addition of 

Graphic-Jet compatible inkjet cartridges 

for use in Epson Expression Home XP 

5100 (502XL). These cartridges come with 

page yields of 550 pages for the black and 

470 pages for the colour cartridges. 

Another addition are compatible 

Graphic-Jet inkjet cartridge for use in 

Epson Workforce WF 100W (266 267), 

with a page yield of 250 pages for the black 

and 200 pages for the colour cartridges. 

IR Italiana Riprografia also announce 

the expansion of its Graphic-Jet products 

range with compatible inkjet cartridges for 

use in Brother MFC-J890DW (LC-3211). 

The compatible inkjet cartridges come 

with page yields of 200 pages in black and 

in the colours. 

The company is proud to say that 

the cartridges provide not only “OEM 

equivalent print quality,” but also “100% 

compatibility” with OEM products, as 

well as “significant savings” over the OEM. 

The remanufactured toner cartridges also 

offer MSDS in compliance with REACH. 

Additionally, the inkjet 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 Italiana 

Riprografia follow the standards set by 

STMC and ISO 19752 and ISO 19798. 

Products in compliance with the RoHS II 

directive (when required). ■ 

For more information 

about the above-mentioned 

products and more, please 

scan the QR code. 

ASIA Apex, Chips, Remanufacturing, Reuse 

Apex releases latest chip solution 

The company has announced its latest replacement chips, which are for use with Epson IB10A series cartridges. 

In October 2020, Epson launched 

the A4 colour inkjet multifunction 

device EW-M530F in Japan. With its 

compact size, it is suitable for small 

to medium size workgroups in any 

businesses. 

Apex said that it is a “first-to-market” 

solution which offers “consistent 

performance” and is “easy to install 

in recycled cartridges”. The new 

replacement chips are regionalised 

for Japan and are for use in Epson 

EW-M530F devices. ■ 


on the above or any other 

of Apex’s range, please 

scan the QR code. 


February 2021 

39


ASIA CET Group, New Products, 

Remanufacturing 

CET reveals 

latest new 

products 

The company has recently released 

new products for use in various 

Sharp, Ricoh and Xerox devices. 

CET Group has announced new 

replacement OPCs for use in Sharp 

MX2310U/ 2610N/ 2615N/ 2616N/ 

2640N and Sharp MX3110N/ 3111U 

3115N/ 3116N/ 3140N/ 3610N and 

3640N devices. These OPCs come 

with a page yield of 70,000. Also added 

to the Sharp parts range were OPCs 

for use in Sharp MX M654N/ 754N/ 

6508N/7508N/ 6570/ and 7570 devices, 

boasting a page yield of 800,000. 

Also now available are drum cleaning 

blades for use in Ricoh C5100s/ 5110s 

devices. Added to the range were 

transfer belt and cleaning blades for use 

in Ricoh IMC2000/ 2000A/ 2500/ 

2500A, IMC3000/ 3000A/ 3500/ 

3500A, IMC4500/ 4500A/ 5500/ 

5500A and 6000 devices. Furthermore 

the Ricoh parts range saw the addition 

of drum lubricant bars for use in Ricoh 

MPC501SP, MPC3003/ 3503/ 3004/ 

3504 and Ricoh MPC4503/ 5503/ 6003/ 

4504/ 5504/ 6004 devices. 

CET’s chip range was expanded with 

new replacement chips for use with 

cartridges for use in Xerox Versalink 

C8000. The replacement chip for the 

black cartridge comes with page yields of 

20,900 and the replacement chips for the 

colour cartridges come with page yields of 

16,500. ■ 

For more information on the above 

and more products 

from CET, go to the 

company’s website by 

scanning the QR code. 

ASIA HYB Toner, New Products, Toner Cartridges 

HYB adds to cartridge range 

The company has launched a set of compatible toner cartridges for use in 

Ricoh Pro C7100/C7100S/C7100SX devices. 

The latest addition to HYB Toner’s 

cartridge range are compatible toner 

cartridges for use in Ricoh Pro C7100/ 

C7100S/C7100SX devices which come 

with page yields of 45,000 pages. The 

full CMYK set is now available. 

HYB said that the cartridges have 

“been tested compatibility and reverse 

ASIA Mito, Cartridges, Toner, New Products 

compatibility in their LAB and by their 

customers”. 

Similar products were launched earlier 

this year by HYB, where the company 

announced compatible waste toner boxes 

for use in the toner collection section of 

Ricoh Pro C651EX/ C751EX/C751/ 

Pro 7100/Pro C7100s/Pro C7100sx/ 

Pro C7100x/Pro C7110/Pro C7110s/ 

Pro C7110sx/Pro C7200e/Pro C7210sx/ 

Pro C7210x/ Pro C751EX/Lanier Pro 

C7100/Pro C7100s/Pro C7100sx/Pro 

C7100x/Pro C7110/Pro C7110s/Pro 

C7110sx/Pro C7200e/Pro C7210sx/ 

Savin Pro C651EX/Pro C7100/Pro 

C7100s/Pro C7100sx/Pro C7100x/ Pro 

C7110/Pro C7110s/Pro C7110sx devices. 

HYB Toner said in its release that more 

products are in the approval process and 

will be released in the next two weeks. ■ 


on the above and other 

products from HYB, visit 

their website by scanning 

the QR code here: 

Mito launches latest solution 

The latest additions to Mito’s product portfolio are compatible toner 

cartridges for use in HP LaserJet devices. 

In May 2020, HP introduced the 

monochrome laser 408dn / MFP 432fdn 

series printers targeting small and mediumsized 

enterprises. 

The newly launched compatible cartridge 

from Mito replaces the HP W1330/1331 

A/X cartridges for use in HP Laser 408dn 

/ MFP 432fdn printers is now available 

from Mito. The cartridges come with page 

yields of 5,000 for the “A” cartridge version 

and 15,000 in the “X” cartridge version. 

Mito said its “high quality compatible 

mono toner cartridge” is “as small as it 

could be for package, which save freight 

charge”, and the company offers “fast 

delivery to help you take more market 

share”. ■ 


on the above-mentioned 

products as well as Mito’s 

full range of products, 

please scan the QR code. 



EUROPE CTS Toner Supplies, New Products, Cartridges, Remanufacturing 

ASIA Utec, Cartridges, New Products 

CTS Toner Supplies previews 

new products 

The company said that it will have the popular line of remanufactured HP 

CF259A cartridges available from early 2021. 

CTS Toner Supplies has announced 

that new remanufactured HP CF259A 

cartridges in a dual pack are going to 

become available in early 2021. The 

cartridges are for use in HP LaserJet 

Enterprise M406dn, HP LaserJet 

Enterprise M430f MFP, HP LaserJet Pro 

M304a, HP LaserJet Pro M404d, HP 

EUROPE Ecoservice, Cartridges, Remanufacturing 

LaserJet Pro M404dn, HP LaserJet Pro 

M404dw, HP LaserJet Pro M404n, HP 

LaserJet Pro MFP M428dw, HP LaserJet 

Pro MFP M428fdn, HP LaserJet Pro 

MFP M428fdw and HP LaserJet Pro 

MFP M428m devices. 

CTS Toner Supplies added: “Stock of 

these products are due in in early 2021, 

these products are in short supply so 

place your back orders of these products 

with us today.” ■ 

For further information 

on the above or other 

products available from 

CTS Toner Supplies, please 

scan the QR code here: 

Ecoservice launches new toner 

cartridges 

The Italian company has recently widened its product range and released new 

remanufactured toner cartridges for use in HP printers. 

In particular, the latest additions 

to Ecoservice’s product range are 

remanufactured HP W1331A /X toner 

cartridges and W1332A drum units for 

use in HP Laser 408dn and 432fdn MFP 

devices. The company said that these new 

cartridges “passed quality tests according 

to STMC, ISO 19752, DIN 33870-1 

standards”. 

Recently, Ecoservice also added 

remanufactured HP CF244A / 44A toner 

cartridge for use in HP LaserJet Pro M15A, 

15W, 17, 28A and 28W printers. 

Ecoservice that its cartridges are 

produced “in a certificated environment” 

according to the ISO 9001:2015 and to 

the ISO 14001:2015 standard criteria. 

The products performances follow the 

standards set by STMC. ■ 


about Ecoservice and its 

products, please scan the 

QR code. 

Utec adds to 

copier supplies 

range 

The company has highlighted 

its latest new product for use in 

various Canon imageRUNNER 

devices and added new compatible 

cartridges for use in various HP 

printers. 

The new additions to Utec’s copier 

supplies product range are compatible 

drum units for use in Canon 

imageRUNNER Advance C3325i/ 

C3330i/C3525i/C3530i/C3320i 

devices. The compatible drum units 

come with page yields of 60,000. 

Utec said that this new solution comes 

in an “innovative design” and “good 

compatibility to printers”. 

The drum units are available for cyan, 

magenta, yellow and black. 

The company has also announced new 

additions of compatible cartridges for 

use in HP LaserJet Pro M102a/M102w, 

MFP M130a/M130fn/M130fw/ 

M130nw and HP LaserJet Pro M203d/ 

M203dn/M203dw, HP LaserJet Pro 

MFP M227d/M227dn/M227dw/ 

M227fw/M227fdn/M227fdw/ 

M227sdn devices. These monochrome 

cartridges come with chips and come 

with the company’s PR2 gear. 

Also added to the range were 

compatible monochrome cartridges 

for use in HP LaserJet Pro M118dw 

and HP LaserJet Pro MFP M148dw/ 

M148fdw devices which are available in 

“A” and “X” yield options. ■ 

For more information on the abovementioned 

newly 

launched products 

and more, visit the 

company’s website by 

scanning the QR code. 


February 2021 

41


NORTH AMERICA Clover Imaging Group, Cartridges, 

Remanufacturing 

Latest new products 

from CIG 

Clover Imaging Group (CIG) has introduced 

remanufactured Sharp MX-23 cartridges and 

remanufactured cartridges for use in various Konica 

Minolta devices. 

The latest addition to CIG’s products 

range are remanufactured toner cartridges 

for use in Sharp MX-2010U, MX-2310U, 

MX-3114N, MX-2310F, MX-2614N, 

MX-2310N and MX-3111U devices. The 

black cartridge comes with page yields 

of 18,000 and the colour cartridges offer 

page yields of 10,000 at 5% coverage. 

Commenting on the launch, CIG said: 

“The end of a turbulent and challenging 

year is near! As we move into a new year we 

do so with great expectation of an exciting 

year where we can return to normality– in 

business and in our personal lives. So, with 

better days on the horizon, we would like 

to present you Clover’s remanufactured A3 

colour set - the Sharp MX-23 designed to 

support the needs of MPS environments.” 

Another addition to CIG’s product range 

are new remanufactured Konica Minolta 

TN-514 toner cartridges. The cartridges are 

for use in Konica Minolta bizhub C458, 

bizhub C558 and bizhub C658 devices. 

The cartridges come with page yields of 

28,000 for the black cartridge and 26,000 

for the colour cartridges at 5% coverage. 

CIG added: “If you are environmentally 

conscious, now is the time to take 

a moment and re-evaluate your choices.” 

The company added these new products 

are “100% IP compliant”, “100% 

remanufactured” and “100% in-house 

designed and built”. ■ 

To learn more about 

these and other products 

from Clover Imaging 

Group, scan the QR code. 

EUROPE GM Technology, Cartridges, Remanufacturing, New Products 

GM Technology announces latest products 

The company has added a new range of ‘COLOR Original Remanufactured’ toner cartridges. 

GM Technology has added to its 

remanufactured range ‘COLOR Original 

Remanufactured’ TN324 toner cartridges 

for use with Konica Minolta Bizhub C 

258, 308 and 368 devices. The company 

also added remanufactured TN 321 

cartridges for use in Bizhub C 224,C 

224e, C284, C284e, C364, C364e devices 

and remanufactured TN 514 cartridges 

for use in Konica Minolta Bizhub C 458, 

C558, C658 machines. Furthermore, GM 

Technology announced the addition 

of remanufactured TN512 cartridges 

for use in Konica Minolta Bizhub C 

454/454E, C554/554E devices. 

Pleased about the new launch, GM 

Technology said that it “has in its DNA 

the commitment to the circular economy” 

and urges that “we must create an efficient 

and sustainable work environment”, 

by choosing “quality remanufactured 

or compatible toner and ink cartridges 

that have a high level of recyclability such 

as those offered by GM technology”. 

“The setting of the United Nations 

Sustainable Development Goals for 

2030 - and the European Union's efforts 

to conserve its natural resources and use 

them efficiently - makes it clear that the 

world's focus is on the environment,” the 

company added. ■ 

For more information on the above 

and other product lines 

within the GM Technology 

product portfolio, 

please scan the QR code. 



EUROPE wta Carsten Weser, 

Remanufacturing, Cartridges 

EUROPE Konica Minolta, Bizhub i-Series, Printers, MFPs 

Konica Minolta launches 

bizhub C257i 

Konica Minolta has introduced the newest member of the bizhub i-Series 

portfolio, the bizhub C257i. 

wta Carsten 

Weser highlights 

latest products 

The German remanufacturer 

has unveiled its latest releases of 

remanufactured cartridges for use 

in various Brother, Epson, HP and 

Sharp devices. 

wta Carsten Weser has expanded its 

products range with the addition of 

remanufactured cartridges for use in 

HP Color Laser 150, MFP 178/179, 

HP Color LaserJet Pro M255, MFP 

M282/283, HP Color LaserJet Pro 

M454/479, HP Color LaserJet Pro 

M454/479, HP LaserJet 107, MFP 

135/137/138 and Sharp MX- M364/36 

5/464/465/564/565/2630/3050/3070/3 

550/3570/4050/4070/5050/5070/6050/ 

6070 devices. 

The company’s refilled inkjet 

cartridge range was expanded with 

the addition of refilled cartridges 

for use in Brother MFC-J5920, 

Brother DCP-J785, MFC-J985, 

Epson Expression Home XP 

5100/5105/5115, WorkForce WF 

2860/2865, Epson Expression Home 

XP 2100/2105/3100/3105/4100/4105, 

WorkForce WF-2810/2830/2835/2850, 

HP Envy Photo 6220/6230/6232/6 

234/7130/7134/7830/7834, Tango 

and HP PageWide Enterprise Color 

556, Color Flow MFP 586/E58650 

machines. The last-mentioned set of 

cartridges is available in normal page 

yield “A”, higher page yield “X” and 

extra high yield “Y”. ■ 


on all of the above, scan 

the QR code. 

This A3 colour multifunctional 

peripheral (MFP) provides the full IT 

capability of other i-Series products, 

but as an entry-level model it is 

particularly attractive to companies 

with smaller budgets. 

Benjamin Licht, Product Manager, 

Konica Minolta Business Solutions 

Europe GmbH said: “MFPs have 

transformed in the wake of digitalisation. 

They are no longer just a printing device 

— they are a link between printed, 

physical workflow steps and their virtual, 

digital counterparts. They are designed 

to make the transitions between the 

two types of workflow as seamless and 

smooth as possible.” 

Thanks to the IT6 platform, the colour 

A3 MFP is connected to Konica Minolta 

MarketPlace, which is preinstalled on 

the device. This allows users to securely 

access, implement and manage a wide 

range of cloud-based services and 

applications. With Open API support, 

the bizhub C257i can also be easily 

integrated into existing document 

workflows with several server-based or 

device-based print and scan applications. 

The bizhub C257i offers a print speed 

of 25 ppm and comes with a 6 GB of 

memory, three times more than its 

predecessors. The system storage has 

been changed from HDD to 256-GB 

SDD for faster read and write speeds. 

Furthermore, the scanning speed has 

increased to 55 ppm in simplex. The 

bizhub C257i comes with an upgraded 

Automatic Document Feeder and a new 

50-sheet finisher with manual stapling as 

new functionality. 

Konica Minolta has equipped the 

bizhub C257i with the same security 

standards as the other systems from the 

bizhub i-Series. The anti-virus solution 

BitDefender has been embedded in the 

firmware and monitors all scanned files 

and transferred documents in real time. 

Equipped with a large number of 

sensors enabling self-diagnosis and use 

of the Konica Minolta Remote Service 

Platform, the bizhub C257i minimises 

downtime and ensures uninterrupted 

use. Consumables such as toner are 

delivered proactively, and a maintenance 

technician can be called automatically 

when needed. ■ 


February 2021 

43

MARKETPLACE 

REMANUFACTURER 



Kleen Strike (UK) Ltd 

sales@kleenstrike.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1706 658852 

www.kleenstrike.co.uk 

Total Post Mailing Ltd 

sales@totalpost.com 

Tel: +44 845 4900 360 

www.totalpost.com 

Printtotaal.com 

info@printtotaal.com 

Tel: +31 528-232444 

www.printtotaal.com 

CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR 

CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR 

TONER MANUFACTURER 

BCMY Ltd 

info@bcmy.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1273 900 249 

www.bcmy.co.uk 

BioService 

info@bioservice.es 

Tel: +34 94 648 0632 

www.bioservice.es 

IMEX EU Trading Srl 

info@imex-europe.com 

Tel: +34 93 530 56 31 

www.imex-europe.com 

MARKET INTELLIGENCE 

RESELLER 

TONER MANUFACTURER 

LightWords Imaging 

admin@lightwords.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1270 878850 

www.lightwordsimaging.com 

Copyclic 

info@copyclic.com 

Tel: +33 01 60 78 78 78 

www.copyclic.com 

Integral GmbH 

info@integral-international.de 

Tel: + 49 28 33 60 60 

www.integral-international.de 

SUPPLIER 

SUPPLIER 

BROKER AND RECYCLER 

Freckles Ltd 

info@freckles.bg 

Tel: +359 2 955 5560 

www.freckles.bg 

TOKO Srl 

toko@toko.ro 

Tel: +40212327270 

www.toko.ro 

The Greener Side 

info@greener-side.co.uk 

Tel: +44 1427 700 700 

www.greener-side.co.uk 


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

» Looking to sell your business? 

» Looking to buy a business? 

» Looking to expand your business? 

» Looking for retirement options? 

Call us today to find out how we can help! 

We are small enough to care and 

experienced enough to deliver. 

Connett & Unland GbR 

Boschweg 43 

D-48351 Everswinkel 

Germany 

Phone: +49 (0) 2582 991 0702 

Email: candu@candugbr.com 

United Kingdom 

kontakt@itp-group.com 

kontakt@itp-group.com 

ETIRA membership benefits include: 

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Promotion of top-quality remanufacturing 

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Join our business Code of Conduct, and sell 

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Meeting 60 top remanufacturers already 

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ETIRA brings the remanufacturing Industry 

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The Netherlands Tel: + 31 6 414 614 63 

info@etira.org 

www.etira.org 

ETIRA: WORKING FOR ALL REMANUFACTURERS AND PARTNERS 


February 2021 

45

NEXT ISSUE 

March 2021 

Issue 340 

Eco-design 

provisions of the 

EU Green Deal 

and Circular 

Action Plan 

ISSN 2045 - 2047 (PRINT) FEBRUARY 2021 EDITION 339 PUBLISHED 28 JANUARY 2021 

The Recycler 

Wittas House, Two Rivers Estate, Station Lane, 

Witney, OX28 4BH, United Kingdom 

t. +44 (0) 1993 899 800 

t. +49 (0) 2582 991 0701 

e. info@therecycler.com 

w. www.therecycler.com 

The Recycler Team 

Managing Editor 

Stefanie Unland 

e. s.unland@therecycler.com 

t. +44 1993 899 800 

News Team 

news@therecycler.com 

t. +44 1993 899 800 

Production & Distribution Team 

e. production@therecycler.com 

Design 

Danielle Lamb Design 

e. danielle.lamb.design@icloud.com 

The Small Print 

Articles may be photocopied for the private use 

of paid subscribers only. For other copying or 

republication please contact The Publishers 

Licensing Society, or visit www.plsclear.com 

The Recycler (ISSN 2045-2047 [Print]) is 

published 12 times per year by Recycler 

Publishing & Events Ltd on behalf of the 

owner. 

Copyright 1992 – 2021 

Recycler Publishing & Events Ltd. 

The editorial content does not reflect the 

opinions of the publisher or editorial team. 

The Recycler is printed in Germany 

by Druckerei Stelljes. 

The regular retail price of The Recycler is £120 

for 12 months (12 issues) worldwide and is 

delivered free to your home or office worldwide. 

Complaints & Corrections 

The Recycler’s policy is to correct substantial 

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and significant corrections are collated in our 

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RecyclerMedia 


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


February 2021 

47

DOES YOUR 

PRINTER NEED 

ITS OWN PPE? 

If you are using or 

supplying PPE for your 

employees or customers, 

don’t forget the laser 

printers. 

Have you ever noticed a plastic odour from your laser printer? 

This may be printer emitted particles (PEPs) which may be harmful. 

• TONER CATCHER can minimise the potentially harmful emitted particles 

(PEPs) from laser printers. 

• TONER CATCHER is PPE for your printer and you can profitably add 

it to your range of PPE products. 

• TONER CATCHER can be overprinted with instructions and your brand. 

To get your 

FREE 

sample and further 

information email 

candu@candugbr.com

The Recycler issue 339

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