The Recycler Issue 340

Eco-Design: 

Making reuse easier 

One of the many considerations of the EU 

Circular Action Plan and EU Green Deal is how 

to increase the useful life of products. Peter 

Mayhew discusses how the EU is planning to 

use design to extent product life through reuse. 

Starts page 4 

March 2021 

Issue 340 | £10 

EU warns about two chemicals used 

in imaging products 

Two chemicals used in imaging are added to 

the list of substances of very high concern 

that may harm people or the environment. 

Page 10 

ETIRA scores a win in Spain 

Rules changes to Spanish WEEE regulations, 

prompted by ETIRA have received royal assent. 

Page 12 

Aleem Hosein, MD at Environmental 

Business Products, dies at 46 

The Recycler is saddened to report the passing 

of Environmental Business Products Managing 

Director, Aleem Hosein, at the age of 46 from 

a COVID related illness. 

Page 24 

Static raises serious 

concerns over VA 

In a letter, commenting to the on 

the EU Commission presentation of the Industry 

VA, Static Control says that “the presentation of 

the proposed draft VA and explanations thereof 

did not address the serious concerns raised by 

Static Control and others present”. 

Page 26

IN THIS ISSUE 

2 Issue 340 March 2021

EDITORIAL 

Reuse is important 

Reuse has been in the news a lot lately 

and this edition carries several features 

and news stories about reuse. Why is reuse 

of imaging equipment and consumables 

important? Firstly, I saw some research 

that suggested if the EU Green deal comes 

off, the reuse of imaging consumables 

could grow by at least 300% by 2030. 

Now that is a simple outcome to a 

complex market change and at the same 

time could create thousands of jobs in the 

European reuse sector. 

Secondly, and more frighteningly our 

research team came across a paper in 

Environment International that reported 

that for the first time microplastics were 

detected by Raman microspectroscopy 

in human placentas. The microplastics 

carry with them substances that could 

cause long-term effects on human health. 

Nobody wants to seriously plasticise 

future generations? No of course not, 

hence the Green Deal. As the time-planet. 

com website so aptly puts it “We are the 

last generation that can save the planet.” 

And it starts with reusing what we have. 

Takedowns 

Is it me, or are more and more OEMs 

using Amazon takedown notices? 

First there was Canon, now Epson and 

the others are all doing it. It’s simple, 

fill out the form, cite your IP and the 

infringement, name the trader and link 

to the product and hey presto they and 

the products are gone. Simple and 

effective, but… 

What if the product wasn’t infringing, 

you have lost your trading platform, 

the adverse PR impacts your business 

and, as is becoming more evident, the 

trader proves to Amazon (other online 

marketplaces are available) that they were 

not infringing and they get restored to 

Nobody wants to seriously plasticise 

future generations? No of course not, 

hence the Green Deal. 

Amazon. Months of problems, costs 

and lost reputation. If an IP holder has a 

problem, they should file a complaint via 

the courts. Alternatively, if a takedown 

notice is issued and proved to be wrong, 

▲ Stefanie Unland Editor 

& Publisher, The Recycler 

the IP holder should be liable for 

compensation. You see there is a fine 

line between defending your IP rights 

and crossing to the dark side to take out 

legitimate competition. 

We will meet again - soon? 

As a journalist and editor covering a 

global industry, talking to people is a core 

activity. So attending events is important. 

Four days at Remanexpo normally 

generates enough stories and feature ideas 

for six months or more and keeps our 

research team busy. Zoom, Skype, Teams 

etc have replaced the face to face contact. 

Interestingly we are getting input from a 

whole new cadre of people in the industry 

who are sharing some new insights into 

the market which we will hopefully reflect 

in future editions. The good news is that 

The Recycler Live conference is scheduled 

for September, Paperworld Middle East 

is now in December and Paperworld and 

Remanexpo are back in their January slot 

for 2022. I will just have to buy some new 

clothes to replace my Zoom attire. 

Aleem Hosein 

We sadly report the passing of 

Environmental Business Products’ 

Managing Director, Aleem Hosein who 

recently lost the fight with COVID-19 at 

the age of 46. You can read about Aleem 

on page 24. ■ 

Issue 340 

March 2021 

3

FEATURE 

Eco-Design: 

Making reuse easier 

One of the many considerations of the EU Circular Action Plan 

and EU Green Deal is how to increase the useful life of products. 

Unfortunately, many product business models ensure that the 

life of a product is finite. Products are often built to a specific 

cost which yields an expected profit over a certain period. In this 

feature, I will discuss how the EU is planning to use design to 

extent product life through reuse. 

▲ Peter Mayhew Director & Senior 

Analyst, Lightwords Imaging 

But what is Eco-Design? Simply, it is 

designing a product with its impact on 

the environment through its whole life 

considered. It is not a new concept. The 

EU has been developing and implementing 

Directives which impact on whole life 

product design for the last 40+ years. 

The performance of boilers, water and 

space heaters were some of the first 

products to see their efficiency questioned 

and design improved to achieve regulatory 

compliance. But early regulations only 

addressed energy efficiency. As we became 

more aware of finite natural resources, the 

scope widened to include Reuse and, how 

it could be increased through Repair and 

Remanufacture. Three areas where it was 

realised that built-in obsolescence could 

be changed to designed-in repairability. 

Eco-Design is focused on this goal. 

Business models matter 

If Eco-Design is to succeed in changing the 

way we reuse products, there must be a credible 

and sustainable business model to make 

implementation compelling for the consumer 

and commercially viable for the producer. 

If Eco-Design is to succeed in changing 

the way we reuse products, there must be 

a credible and sustainable business model 

to make implementation compelling for the 

consumer and commercially viable for the 

producer. Best intentions will not support 

economies. The European Commission 

addressed this concern through their LIFE 

program. A €3.4 billion ($4.07 billion) 

funding instrument for a broad range of 

programs from nature conservation and 

biodiversity to resource efficiency. 

One programme funded by LIFE is the 

REBus project which cites the case of 

Xerox who have evolved their business 

to move from a product-based system 

of selling copiers plus maintenance, to 

selling the service of producing copies. 

Arguably the foundation of Managed 

Print Services today. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 

At its core, the Xerox business case 

leveraged equipment designed through its 

now 30-year-old 'Waste-free Products and 

Factories' initiative to best use resources 

and enable remanufacture. As a result, over 

900,000 tonnes of electronic waste was 

diverted away from landfill. 


You can contact The Recycler via Twitter at @RecyclerMedia 

Cambridge Value Mapping Tool 

The Cambridge Value Mapping 

Tool takes you in a guided step-bystep 

process through the following 

questions: 

1. What is the unit of analysis 

eg product, service, company, 

industry? 

2. Who are the stakeholders 

for the unit of analysis? 

3. What is the purpose of 

the unit of analysis? 

4. What is the current value 

captured? 

5. What is the value missed 

and/or destroyed? 

6. What is the value surplus 

and/or absence? 

7. What are the new value 

opportunities? 

Source: http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/thecambridge-value-mapping-tool/# .V8aiy5N961s 

However, new business model design 

tools are needed to redefine value and 

one example is the work of the University 

of Cambridge in the UK who, through 

its Industrial Sustainability Research 

have created The Cambridge Value 

Mapping Tool. The tool "uses a structured 

and visual approach to identify ‘value 

uncaptured’ in the form of failed 

value exchanges: value missed, destroyed, 

surplus, and absence. The exchange 

of value is analysed through the lens 

of each stakeholder in the business 

network, with the natural environment 

and society each being given its own 

voice and stake in the business ". 

Design for sustainability 

and reuse 

There are many opportunities during 

the new product design (NPD) process 

to reduce the environmental impact of 

a product; the choice and quantity of 

material used, how it is formed, the layout 

of the construction to achieve structural 

or aesthetic requirements, the method 

of assembly to achieve functionality 

or, the type of fixings used to achieve 

Second, third or multiple reuses is not a new 

design concept. There are many examples, 

from cars to clocks, where repair requires 

a few simple tools and, if you cannot buy 

a spare part, you can make it yourself! 

assembly, durability, and safety. Design 

processes now often include consideration 

of product failure to achieve higher 

quality and reliability over a specific 

time, for a specified value proposition. 

Environmental impact has some way 

to go to achieve similar treatment. 

Second, third or multiple reuses is not 

a new design concept. There are many 

examples, from cars to clocks, where 

repair requires a few simple tools and, 

if you cannot buy a spare part, you can 

make it yourself! Additive manufacturing 

leveraging 3D printing technology 

will revolutionize the repair sector. But 

product design must also ensure that 

the end user does not come to harm 

or cause injury on the pathway to end 

of life and the next sale. 

Safe dismantling requires a product 

designed for dis-assembly including, 

Commonly Used Fasteners which 

can be removed and replaced 

multiple times, elimination of 

non-separable connections (use of 

glues and welds) and, levels of skills 

for disassembly and reassembly 

which do not always require extensive 

training and expertise to replace 

worn parts. 


March 2021 

5

FEATURE 

There are Eco-Design minimum 

requirements for some products 

(computers, household appliances, boilers, 

etc.) which are intended to reduce their 

negative environmental impact during 

their life. Their scope can be broad and 

include maximum energy consumption 

to minimum quantities of recycled 

material used in their production. 

Increasingly, there are specific and exact 

values attributed to these requirements. 

Generic requirements do not have limits 

but, may require products to be recyclable, 

maintainable and minimize environmental 

impact. Sometimes, compliance is required 

before the product is placed on the market. 

Implementing standards 

The EU also provides design standards 

which are regulated. European 

standardisation bodies such as CENELEC 

develop Standards and Harmonization 

processes. But there can be a presumption 

of conformity and compliance. 

Presumption may not always be effective, 

and some industry sectors create Voluntary 

Agreements under the EU Eco-Design 

legislation. Imaging equipment is covered 

by an Industry Voluntary Agreement, 

managed through Eurovaprint, providing 

environmental performance targets. 

It includes copiers, MFDs, printers 

and fax machines. 

Plastic is an extremely versatile product, 

but its ubiquitous use is now recognised as 

unsustainable, polluting, and harmful to 

the environment. Imaging equipment, like 

numerous similar products make ample use 

of the material. 

It is positive to note that the latest draft 

of the 2020 Joint Voluntary Agreement 

sets specific requirements for the use of 

plastic, fastener types, and non-separable 

connections in both print hardware and 

cartridges. 

This Voluntary Agreement goes a step 

further to discuss dismantling and nondestructive 

extraction of some components 

which are typically separated at the end 

of the product life. Eco-labeling will 

demonstrate compliance to end-users. This 

is a good example of how the EU Circular 

Action Plan and Green Deal, through Eco- 

Design is slowly starting to have an impact 

on an industry. 

Eco-Design is not difficult to achieve. 

Its problem is that it is caught between 

economic, commercial, and environmental 

stakeholder needs. Either Voluntary 

industry direction or legal compulsion 

will decide the degree and pace of 

its implementation in many industries. 

Post pandemic, competitive advantage 

through Eco-Design will resonate 

well with customers and may prove 

a welcome accelerant. 

References: 

The REBus Project: www.rebus.eu.com 

University of Cambridge. Industry 

Sustainability Research: www.ifm.eng.cam. 

ac.uk/research/industrial-sustainability/ 

CELENEC European Committee for 

Electromechanical Standardization: 

www.cenelec.eu 

EuroVAPrint: www.eurovaprint.eu ■ 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 




March 2021 

7

IN THIS ISSUE 

On the cover 

Eco-Design: Making reuse easier 

Inside Mito 

34 

4 

Amazon prices rise as 

tax authorities close 

VAT loophole 

36 

Editorial 

3 Reuse is important 

Feature 

4 Eco-Design: Making reuse easier 

World Focus 

10 EU warns about two chemicals used 

in imaging products • HP’s instant 

ink in the dock again 

11 Study: Remanufactured printers 

good for environment 

12 ETIRA scores a win in Spain 

• Costco exits instore ink refilling 

13 Canon continues with removal 

requests and gets judgement 

against Tito-Express 

14 Spain maps out route to 

2030 circular economy 

15 January: EU plastic waste ban 

takes effect 

16 MEPs call for binding 2030 

targets for materials use and 

consumption footprint 

18 ICCE looks back on activity in 2020 

City News 

20 OEM share prices February 2021 

• Printvision AG takes over Hauser 

Office Management GmbH 

21 DMC closes seventh acquisition 

• Eakes acquires in Nebraska 

22 Higher Information Group acquires 

• Alleeninkt.nl acquires Inktprecies.nl 

23 Applied Imaging grows MPS business 

Around the Industry 

24 Aleem Hosein, MD at 

Environmental Business Products, 

dies at 46 

25 Canon and Ninestar settle 

patent dispute 

26 Static raises serious concerns 

over VA 

27 ARMOR launches disruptive 

communication campaign 

28 Katun looks to 2021 and shares 

plans • Luke’s back in the game 

30 GPI says farewell to 26 year 

veteran, Robin Hsu • HYB reports 

on annual sales meeting and renews 

ISO certification 

32 Ninestar shares updates on 

promotions, AEO certification 

and its recycling programme 

33 Data Direct launches “Access UK” 

Feature 

34 Inside Mito 

36 Amazon prices rise as tax 

authorities close VAT loophole 

Products & Technology 

38 GM continues to broaden toner 

range • IR Italiana Riprografia 

highlights latest new products 

39 Ninestar introduces re-engineered 

EverBrite inks • Apex releases new 

replacement chips • CET expands 

products range 

40 Mito highlights new solutions 

• HYB announces new 

remanufactured fuser units 

41 SRDi launches WISEE, a smart 

terminal for the collection of ink 

cartridges • CIG adds to postage 

cartridge range 

42 Katun showcases exciting new 

solutions • Pantum launches new 

Global Elite series 

43 Utec announces new products 



March 2021 

9

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE EU, ECHA, Waste Framework Directive, Plastics 

EU warns about two chemicals used in imaging products 

Two chemicals used in imaging are added to the list of substances of very high concern that may harm people or the 

environment. 

ECHA, the Helsinki based European 

Chemicals Agency added the two 

substances to the Candidate List 

yesterday (19 January 2021). The two 

substances are used in products, such 

as inks or toners and to produce plastics 

and rubber tyres. They were added to 

the Candidate List as they are toxic for 

reproduction and therefore, may adversely 

affect sexual function and fertility, and 

cause developmental toxicity in offspring. 

Companies must follow their legal 

obligations and ensure the safe use of 

these chemicals. From January 2021 

onwards, they also have to notify ECHA 

under the Waste Framework Directive 

if their products contain substances of 

very high concern. This notification is 

submitted to ECHA’s SCIP database and 

the information will later be published on 

the Agency’s website. 

The Candidate List includes substances 

of very high concern that may have serious 

effects on our health or the environment. 

These substances may be placed on the 

Authorisation List in the future, which 

means that companies would need to apply 

for permission to continue using them. 

Under the REACH Regulation, 

companies may have legal obligations 

when their substance is included – either 

on its own, in mixtures or in articles 

– in the Candidate List. Any supplier 

of articles containing a Candidate List 

substance above a concentration of 0.1 

% weight by weight has to give sufficient 

information to their customers and 

consumers to allow safe use. 

Importers and producers of articles 

containing a Candidate List substance 

have six months from the date of its 

inclusion in the list (19 January 2021) to 

notify ECHA. Suppliers of substances 

on the Candidate List (supplied either on 

their own or in mixtures) have to provide 

their customers with a safety data sheet. 

As of 5 January 2021, article suppliers 

must notify substances of very high 

concern in their articles to ECHA’s SCIP 

database under the Waste Framework 

Directive. ■ 

Details of the substances added to the 

list: 

# Substance name 

EC 

number 

CAS 

number 

1 Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)ether 205-594-7 143-24-8 

2 

Dioctyltin dilaurate, stannane, dioctyl-, 

bis(coco acyloxy) derivs., and any other 

stannane, dioctyl-, bis(fatty acyloxy) derivs. 

wherein C12 is the predominant carbon 

number of the fatty acyloxy moiety 

- - 

Reason for 

inclusion 

Toxic for 

reproduction 

(Article 57 (c)) 

Toxic for 

reproduction 

(Article 57 (c)) 

Examples of use(s) 

Solvent/extraction agent. 

Not registered under REACH. The mono-constituent 

form of the substance (dioctyltin dilaurate) is used as an 

additive in the production of plastics and rubber tyres. 

EUROPE HP, Instant Ink, World of Inks Ltd 

HP’s instant ink in the dock again 

Consumers leaving the HP instant ink programme find their printers 

are still locked to HP. 

UK customers who enrolled with 

HP’s instant ink programme are facing 

a critical issue when they cancel their 

subscription. The printer remains locked 

to the firmware auto update setting that 

the consumer cannot turn off. 

According to Richard Pateman of UK 

based World of Inks Ltd, “The issue we 

see is that people sign up for the 3 month 

free period, and then cancel but then 

cannot access the firmware settings due 

to the feature being locked. The message 

states, this printer is locked to instant 

ink, even though customer has cancelled 

months ago, we even tried the factory 

reset, still no luck, disabled web services, 

again same message that it’s on AUTO.” 

Another problem is that “we have had 

many customers, one today who cannot 

turn off firmware as it is locked to 

printer, so we have the new chips on the 

953xl. BUT when next updates happen, 

the customer will have to go back to 

originals until new chips work with latest 

firmware, it seems at present time they 

[HP] are doing nearly every 3 months. 

Issues with firmware updates every 

3 months and blocking microchips 

is a nightmare.” ■ 

Are you experiencing this 

problem? 

If you are let us know at 

news@therecycler.com. 


visit www.therecycler.com for all the breaking news 

EUROPE Italia Circolare, LCA, Study, Remanufactured Printers 

Study: Remanufactured printers good 

for environment 

An LCA study commissioned by SAPI SrL compared the environmental impact of the life cycle of a new printer and that 

of a refurbished printer. 

According to the study, refurbished 

printers represent a valid alternative from 

an environmental and economic point of 

view, compared to buying new printers. 

Italia Circolare, an editorial project that 

enhances, tells and communicates the 

culture of the Circular Economy in Italy 

and its social, economic and educational 

impact on the territories published that 

the study shows that, with the same print 

quality obtained, the refurbished printer 

generates a total of about 1/5 of the 

environmental impact of a new printer. 

Italia Circolare said for the comparison 

study, printers used were the HP 

Laserjet Enterprise 600 model M602 

with laser technology. Using the 

modelling of data provided by the 

manufacturer and the literature on it, 

SCF International reconstructed every 

technical-constructive and logistic detail 

of the printer: from the procurement 

of raw materials to the transformation 

processes, transport and distribution up 

to use and/ or consumption and disposal, 

calculating the potential environmental 

impact for each of these steps according 

to recognised indicators such as the 

production of climate-altering gases. 

Italia Circolare stated: “A reconditioned 

printer, therefore, not only allows ethical 

consumption and less impact on the 

environment in line with the orientation 

of the European Union which promotes 

the practices of reuse and circularity, but 

also guarantees the consumer quality 

if we consider the overall costs of the 

so-called “roll-out”, i.e the updating 

of the fleet of smartphones, tablets, 

notebooks and desktop PCs, printers 

and copiers supplied, which companies 

and organizations have to face on average 

every 3/5 years.” 

“The results of the comparative study 

on LCA, whose rigorousness was 

certified by a third-party critical review, 

confirm what was known to us from 

direct experience,” commented Franco 

Ferreri, CEO of SAPI. “Professionally 

refurbished printers are a concrete 

and viable alternative and their 

environmental benefits are far from 

abstract. The tests carried out show that 

the competitiveness of the refurbished 

does not pay for compromises on the 

useful life or reliability." ■ 


March 2021 

11

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE Spain, WEEE, ETIRA, EU 

ETIRA scores a win in Spain 

Rules changes to Spanish WEEE regulations, prompted by ETIRA 

have received royal assent. 

A raft of rule changes around the 

management of WEEE and batteries 

received royal ascent this week (19 

January). The royal decree modifies the 

current WEEE regulations that ETIRA 

working with the Spanish office of 

the European Recycling Platform had 

proposed and lobbied for. 

All importers of EEE from third 

countries will be required to enter their 

Integrated Industrial Registry number, 

(WEEE registration number) when 

clearing imports of EEE into Spain. 

The measures are introduced so that, 

prior to the importation of electrical 

and electronic equipment, Spanish 

Authorities can supervise and verify the 

correct compliance with the registration 

obligations in the Integrated Industrial 

Registry (WEEE registration) by the 

producers, importers or authorized 

representatives. The results of the controls 

are carried out prior to importation and 

will then be transferred to the competent 

authorities for market surveillance. 

This change closes a loophole where 

printer consumables could be imported, 

but the importer was not required to 

disclose the WEEE registration details. 

Unregistered importers would then avoid 

the cost of providing a WEEE collection 

programme and paying the appropriate 

costs of WEEE compliance. 

In June 2020, The Recycler reported the 

Spanish Civil Guard found 5,000 tons 

of clandestine waste toners in a raid 

on a clandestine warehouse in Baños 

y Mendigo (Murcia). The Civil Guard 

commented: “Considered as hazardous 

waste from electrical and electronic 

equipment (WEEE), the toners were 

stacked in cardboard boxes, in large bags 

and scattered on the floor, even spilling 

large amounts of ink on the floor.” 

The Recycler understands that the costs 

of properly disposing of the WEEE waste 

has been estimated at around €8 million / 

$9.7 million. 

Javier Martinez, President of ETIRA, 

the European Toner and Inkjet 

Remanufacturers Association said: 

“This is excellent news for Spanish 

remanufacturers and OEM’s who face 

the challenge of low cost imports 

achieved by not contributing to the 

costs of WEEE, but at the same time 

have to contribute 

to the correct processing of WEEE.” 

“The rule change was formulated at 

a meeting with ETIRA, the European 

Recycling Platform, Spain’s Environment 

ministry and Customs authorities.” 

Martinez added. 

A third country is a country that is not 

one of the 27 members of the European 

Union and the three countries of the 

European Economic Area (Iceland, 

Liechtenstein, and Norway). ■ 

NORTH AMERICA Costco, RIS, Europe, SAS Retail Inkjet Solutions France, Retail Inkjet Solutions UK Limited 

Costco exits instore ink refilling 

Will the upcoming closure of Costco instore photo departments impact on Retail Inkjet Solutions? 

Costco announced the permanent closure 

of all their instore photo departments 

effective from 14 February. The instore 

ink Refilling, passport photos, photo 

restoration and the YesVideo Home 

Movie Transfer Services will all close 

permanently after Sunday, 14 February 

2021. Other instore services will be available 

online only. 

Costco has been using RIS InkCenter 

refill stations supplied by California based 

Retail Inkjet Solutions (RIS). The simple 

concept enabled customers to take their 

empty cartridges to Costco's Photo Centre 

and have them cleaned, tested, and refilled 

while they wait only applied to original 

cartridges. 

USA Today reported that in an email 

sent to members, Costco said " Since the 

introduction of camera phones and social 

media, the need for printing photos has 

steeply declined, even though the number of 

pictures taken continues to grow," the email 

said. "After careful consideration, we have 

determined the continued decline of prints 

no longer requires on-site photo printing." 

The warehouse-style retailer currently 

operates more than 500 US stores out of 803 

globally and e-commerce sites in the U.S., 

Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, 

Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. 

Costco recently reported net sales of 

$19.14 billion (€15.86 billion) for the retail 

month of December, the five weeks ended 

3 January 2021, an increase of 12.3% from 

$17.04 billion (€14.12 billion) last year. 

In recent years RIS has been expanding 

in European markets and has instore filling 

stations in Belgium, France, Germany, 

Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland. 

In October 2020, The Recycler reported 

that Swiss supermarket retailer Migros 

Geneva announced RIS InkCenter 

installations at two retail locations in 

Switzerland. The expansion into the Swiss 

market with Migros followed an earlier 

successful InkCenter launch at Migros 

France in July 2020. 

In 2018 RIS announced its second 

operating entity in Europe SAS Retail 

Inkjet Solutions France to refine services 

to European retailers helping them 

provide better service to instore shoppers. 

RIS had previously formed Retail Inkjet 

Solutions UK Limited in 2014 but is 

currently not trading. ■ 


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

GLOBAL Canon, Amazon Removals, Cartridges, IP, Counterfeits 

Canon continues with removal 

requests and gets judgement 

against Tito-Express 

The OEM continued throughout January to request more removals from 

Amazon in Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, UK, Australia and 

Canada and announced judgement of acceptance against Tito-Express IP 

& Marketing GmbH and its managing director from the District Court 

Düsseldorf. 

In Europe, Amazon received Report 

Infringement Forms in Germany, Italy, 

Spain, The Netherlands and the UK for 

resellers allegedly infringing Canon's 

European Patent EP 1 977 289 ("EP 

'289") regarding certain models of toner 

cartridges. 

Resellers were named as FELIX MANIA 

S.L, XIA NSHI BEIL INQU JINGL 

INGBAI HUO DIAN, Litpol Ltd 

,XIAN SHIBE ILINQ UHUAH UAHU 

ASHAN GMA OBU, Ping yaox ianJiege 

Riy ongpin baihu ozhon gxin, Chang Sha 

Heng Zhi Cai Dian Zi Ke Ji You Xian 

Gong, Hong Kong Boze Co., Limited, 

Handelsagentur Silhan GmbH, INK 

XPERTS LTD, HBOYY, NES Printer 

Supplies & Services, Felix Dupont, guan 

ghan shixiao hongma oqichezhu angshif 

uwu bu, GUOCHU NHONG 

In the European cases, the products 

are compatible with the respective OEM 

HP cartridge models and provide inter 

alia a non-OEM housing, a non-OEM 

developing roller, as well as a non-OEM 

coupling member comprising a rotating 

force receiving portion and a rotating force 

transmitting portion according to claim 

1 of EP '577. 

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. 

Canon Inc. also announced that the 

District Court Düsseldorf issued a 

judgement of acceptance (docket no. 

4a O 33/19) in the patent infringement 

proceedings against the German company 

Tito-Express IP & Marketing GmbH, 

doing business as "Tito-Express", and 

its managing director after Defendants 

acknowledged all claims asserted by Canon. 

The decision is based on infringement of 

the German portion of Canon's European 

Patent EP 1 977 289 B1 (in the following: 

"EP '289") and concerns the offering and 

distribution of certain laser toner cartridges 

including a developing unit moveable 

relative to the drum unit when receiving 

force via a force receiving device through, 

inter alia, www.amazon.de, www.shop. 

tito-express.de and via the eBay shop "Tito- 

Express-Shop". 

According to the decision, Tito-Express 

IP & Marketing GmbH as well as its 

managing director are, inter alia, enjoined 

from offering for sale and distributing 

certain laser toner cartridges that make use 

of EP '289 and, furthermore, paid damages 

to Canon Inc. 

The cartridges at issue can replace the 

OEM cartridge models HP CC530A, HP 

CC531A, HP CC532A, HP CC533A, 

HP CB540A, HP CB541A, HP CB542A 

and HP CB543A as well as the models HP 

CE320A, HP CE321A, HP CE322A and 

HP CE323A which are compatible with 

HP laser beam printers. ■ 

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March 2021 

13

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE Spain, Circular Economy, España Circular 2030, GM Technology 

Spain maps out route to 2030 circular economy 

The Spanish Government has published is executive summary entitled España Circular 2030 which outlines Spain’s 

transition from a linear to circular economy by 2030. 

España Circular 2030 sets out the plan to 

transition from Spain’s current throwaway 

culture to a Circular Economy that uses a 

new production and consumption model 

in which the value of products, materials 

and resources are maintained within the 

economy for as long as possible, with 

minimal waste and reusing as much as 

possible the waste that cannot be avoided. 

España Circular 2030 sets out 

Spain’s efforts to achieve a sustainable, 

decarbonized economy, which uses 

resources efficiently and is competitive. 

España Circular 2030 is inspired by the 

European and Spanish legal frameworks, 

to achieve the following: 

- Protection and improvement of the 

environment. 

- Preventive action. 

- Decarbonisation of economy. 

- “Polluter pays” principle. 

- Health protection. 

- Rationalization and efficiency. 

- Cooperation and coordination 

between public entities. 

- Public participation. 

- Sustainable development. 

- Solidarity between people and 

territories. 

- Integration of environmental 

conscience in decision making. 

- Increasingly competitive economy. 

- Generation of quality employment. 

For consumer goods, including printers 

and ICT products, the España Circular 

2030 plan takes on the EU Commission’s 

new Action Plan for Circular Economy 

proposes the development of European 

standards for a Framework Policy on 

Sustainable Products. The cornerstone 

of this policy is to offer a wider range of 

products included under the Ecodesign 

Directive and include certain aspects 

which are characteristic of a circular 

economy, such as improving durability, 

increasing the contents of recycled 

materials, establishing restrictions to 

marketing certain single use products or 

countering planned obsolescence. 

All these measures, among others, are 

to reduce waste generation, especially 

with regard to electronic products and 

components, which deserve a special 

consideration due to the sheer volume 

of waste created by this flow and the 

challenges posed by its processing. 

The plan will focus on new business 

models based on servitization, in 

combination with technologies such as 

the Internet of Things, opens a new whole 

range of possibilities to improve efficiency 

in the use of materials of management of 

product maintenance, which can extend 

the end of its useful life. 

Key goals for the España Circular 2030 

plan include reducing by 30% domestic 

material consumption in relation to 

national GDP and reducing waste by 15%. 

Reducing food waste throughout the 

entire food chain by 50% reduction per 

person in retail and households and 20% in 

production chains and supplies from 2020. 

A focus on promoting reuse and reuse 

enabling activities until reaching 10% of 

municipal waste and reducing greenhouse 

gas emissions to under 10 million tonnes 

of CO2eq and finally improving water use 

efficiency by 10%. 

In February 2020 the Government of the 

Balearic Islands decided to ban single-use 

plastics that include single-use cartridges. 

The ban is in response to the pressures of 

more and more people want to live in the 

islands and space is scarce. 

Seville based GM Technology is one 

of the leading players in the office 

printer market in Spain offering 

a circular technology approach providing 

remanufactured copier toner cartridges 

and a range of remanufactured / 

refurbished printers and photocopiers 

under the Greenline brand. 

But Spain does have a waste problem. 

In June 2020 The Recycler reported that 

as part of operation “Murton” the Spanish 

Civil Guard in the Murcia region in South 

East Spain discovered 5,000 tons of used 

printer toners in a raid on a clandestine 

warehouse in Baños y Mendigo (Murcia). 

According to the Civil Guard “These 

hazardous wastes were stacked without 

any type of control in a seized industrial 

warehouse that lacks extinguishing and 

surveillance means.” 

The same month The Recycler reported 

that the Spanish Civil Guard in the 

Canary Islands found that 700 kg of 

electrical waste and electronic equipment 

was among waste seized after a two-year 

investigation that was supported by 

Europol’s experts from the Environmental 

Crime Unit supported the investigation 

by providing operational analysis and 

expert liaison with third parties. 

A week later, in July 2020 Spanish 

police arrested and afterwards released 

five people who are associated with an 

Aznalcóllar company involved in the 

recycling of electronic material. 

EL MUNDO reported that Recilec, 

a company that recycles WEEE has 

been under investigation for 

environmental crimes. The website 

said that the company is 25% owned 

by the Environment and Water Agency 

of the Junta de Andalucía. ■ 



EUROPE EU, OECD, Plastic Waste, Virginijus Sinkevicius 

January: EU plastic waste ban takes effect 

The European Union’s ban on the export of unsorted plastic waste takes effect and the onus is on importers and 

exporters to agree on how to handle hazardous shipments. 

Effective from the 1 st January 2021, new 

rules govern the export, import of plastic 

waste. The rules also directly control plastic 

waste shipments within the 27member 

European Union (EU). 

These new rules ban the export of 

plastic waste from the EU to non-OECD 

countries, except for clean plastic waste sent 

for recycling. Exporting plastic waste from 

the EU to OECD countries and imports in 

the EU will also be more strictly controlled. 

Exporting hazardous plastic waste and 

plastic waste that is hard to recycle from 

the EU to non-OECD countries will 

be banned. 

Exporting clean, non-hazardous waste 

(which is destined for recycling) from the 

EU to non-OECD countries will only be 

authorised under specific conditions. 

Exporting hazardous plastic waste and 

plastic waste that is hard to recycle from 

the EU to OECD countries will be subject 

to the “prior notification and consent 

procedure”. Under this procedure, both 

the importing and exporting country 

must authorise the shipment. 

Importing hazardous plastic waste and 

plastic waste that is hard to recycle into the 

EU from third countries will be subject 

to the “prior notification and consent 

procedure”. 

Within the EU the “prior notification 

and consent procedure” will apply to intra- 

EU shipments of hazardous plastic waste, 

and of non-hazardous plastic waste that is 

difficult to recycle. 

For remanufacturers, all intra-EU 

shipments of non-hazardous waste for 

recovery will be exempt from these new 

controls. 

In 2019, the EU exported 1.5 million 

tonnes of plastic waste, mostly to Turkey 

and Asian countries such as Malaysia, 

Indonesia, Vietnam, India and China. 

The share of exported plastic waste 

to China has radically fallen since the 

country’s adoption of restrictions on the 

import of plastic waste in 2018. 

“The moves follow China's 2018 

ban on plastic imports and statements 

from environmentalists that waste was 

ending up in other Asian nations, such 

as Malaysia, and then being dumped 

into ocean waters,” said EU environment 

commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, who 

also commented “the new rules amending 

the bloc's 2006 Waste Shipment Regulation 

will completely ban exports of unsorted 

plastics to less industrialized nations 

outside the OECD.” ■ 

▲ Virginijus Sinkevicius EU 

Environment Commissioner 

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March 2021 

15

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE EU, EU Parliament, Green Deal 

MEPs call for binding 2030 targets for materials 

use and consumption footprint 

Parliamentarians step up the pressure to end the “take-make-dispose” economy and calls for binding targets for 

recycled content and that the EU policy on sustainable products should include non-energy-related products 

The EU needs clear policy objectives to 

achieve a carbon-neutral, environmentally 

sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular 

economy by 2050 at the latest, say the 

European Parliament’s Committee on 

Environment, Public Health and Food 

Safety adopted its report on the new 

EU Circular Economy Action Plan. 

End the “Take-make-dispose” 

economy 

MEPs emphasised that the current linear 

“take-make-dispose” economy must be 

transformed into a truly circular economy, 

based on a series of key principles such as 

preventing waste and reducing energy and 

resource use. Products should be designed 

in a way that reduces waste, harmful 

substances and pollution, and protects 

human health. The consumer benefits of 

a circular economy should be made clear, 

they say. 

Binding targets and indicators 

MEPs call for science-based binding 

2030 EU targets for materials use and 

consumption footprint, covering the 

whole lifecycle of each product category 

placed on the EU market. To this end, 

they urge the Commission to introduce 

in 2021 harmonised, comparable and 

uniform circularity indicators for material 

and consumption footprints. 

The Environment Committee also 

calls on the Commission to propose 

product-specific and/or sector-specific 

binding targets for recycled content, while 

ensuring the performance and safety of 

the products concerned and that they are 

designed to be recycled. 

Sustainable product policy 

MEPs strongly endorse the 

Commission’s intention to broaden 

the scope of the Ecodesign Directive to 

include non-energy-related products. 

They insist that new legislation should 

be put forward in 2021. This should 

set horizontal sustainability principles 

and product-specific standards so that 

products placed on the EU market 

perform well, are durable, reusable, can 

be easily repaired, are not toxic, can be 

upgraded and recycled, contain recycled 

content, and are resource- and energyefficient. 

Rapporteur Jan Huitema (Renew 

Europe, NL) said: “The transition to 

a circular economy is an economic 

opportunity for Europe that we should 

embrace. Europe is not a resource-rich 

continent, but we have the skills, the 

expertise and the ability to innovate and 

develop the technologies needed to close 

loops and build a waste-free society. This 

will create jobs and economic growth and 

bring us closer to reaching our climate 

goals: It’s a win-win.” Watch video 

statements by scanning the QR code. 

Other key proposals by MEPs include: 

• introducing measures against 

greenwashing and false environmental 

claims, as well as legislative measures 

to stop practices that result in planned 

obsolescence; 

• championing the EU Ecolabel as 

a benchmark for environmental 

sustainability; 

• strengthening the role of Green 

Public Procurement by establishing 

minimum mandatory criteria and 

targets; 

• mainstreaming circular economy 

principles into member states’ 

national recovery plans. 

In November 2020 The Recycler reported 

that the European Parliament has voted in 

favour of making products more durable 

and easier to repair and recycle calling on 

the Commission to grant consumers a 

“right to repair” by making repairs more 

appealing, systematic, and cost-efficient, 

whether by extending guarantees, 

providing guarantees for replaced parts, or 

better access to information on repair and 

maintenance. 

They also insist on increasing support 

for second-hand goods markets, call for 

measures to tackle practices that shorten 

the lifetime of a product, and endorse 

sustainable production. MEPs reiterate 

their demand for a common charger 

system to reduce electronic waste and 

want products to be labelled according 

to their durability (e.g., a usage meter 

and clear information on the estimated 

lifespan of a product). 

Our take on this 

The biggest barrier to reuse in the 

imaging sector has been the linear “takemake-dispose” 

economy. Over the last 

few years, the green agenda has generally 

garnered full support across the EU, if 

not globally. The biggest challenge is 

to change mindsets. With up to 80% 

of products’ environmental impact is 

determined at the design phase, legislation 

is the only vehicle to deliver this change. 

For the office imaging 

sector this will help break 

down barriers to reuse and 

create jobs and economic 

across the sector. ■ 




March 2021 

17

WORLD FOCUS 

EUROPE ICCE, 2020, Review, COVID-19 

ICCE looks back on activity in 2020 

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, and although restrictions have been placed on normal legal activities by the 

COVID-19 virus, ICCE reports that criminal gangs have continued to manufacture and ship counterfeit printer supplies. 

ICCE said its members have remained 

active in 2020, working hard around the 

EMEA region to carry out investigations 

and support raids, prosecutions, and 

online takedowns to protect consumers 

from fake products. 

In its review, ICCE added that its 

members could not have enjoyed success 

without the close cooperation and support 

of law enforcement and trading standards 

organisations around the region. 

One of its members had particular 

success working with local enforcement 

agencies in Africa, with 25 enforcement 

actions in 2020, including the seizure 

of goods from a repeat offender in Nigeria 

worth $1.4 million (€1.14 million), and 

counterfeit goods to the tune of $700,000 

(€571,425) seized from an operation in 

Uganda involving a Chinese syndicate. 

Four of its members reported nearly 350 

enforcement actions, including nearly 

100,000 online takedowns, and more than 

1.5 million products, parts and packaging 

seized in 2020. 

ICCE reported that East Africa saw 

increased activity with ICCE members in 

collaboration with Tanzanian authorities 

cracking down on retail stores and socalled 

product completion centres (PCC) 

in and around Dar Es Salaam. 

In Germany following complaints from 

online customers and after months 

of investigations, two successful raids 

were carried out on warehouses which 

led to thousands of counterfeit goods 

and fake retail packaging boxes, including 

fake holograms and counterfeit products 

being seized. 

Another example was a raid by Turkish 

police in Istanbul which resulted in the 

seizure of thousands of counterfeit items 

for printers as well as packaging materials 

and labels. 

ICCE added that in addition to work 

“on the ground”, it has continued to 

collaborate with partners in the fight 

against counterfeiting. A good example of 

this collaborative working is the alliance 

ICCE formed with TRACIT at the 

beginning of 2020. 

ICCE has actively participated in the 

Digital Services Act (DSA) consultation 

which was launched by the European 

Commission during 2020. Once 

implemented, the DSA is intended to 

harmonise e-commerce across the EU. 

Although there is still work to be done, 

notably implementing a more proactive 

“take down, stay down regime”, ICCE 

said it welcomed the rebalancing of 

responsibilities and obligations of internet 

service providers regarding traceability 

of traders, the creation of a Trusted 

Flagger regime requiring ISPs to respond 

to notifications from certain specified 

organisations, and the harmonisation 

of the notice and takedown procedures 

across the EU with respect to reporting 

of infringing content. 

Throughout 2020 ICCE also published 

articles calling for tighter controls for 

a UK/US Free Trade Deal and anticounterfeiting 

measures as part of post 

BREXIT border controls. 

Rounding off the year, ICCE promoted 

a checklist for companies buying printer 

supplies as part of the Underwriters 

Laboratories’ “Be Safe Buy Real” 

campaign in November. During the 

campaign week the ICCE jointly launched 

an infographic on consumer safety online 

along with its own supporting material 

to help corporate and government 

purchasing departments. 

Looking forward to 2021 

ICCE said that its members will continue 

to collaborate with law enforcement 

agencies and other partners, sharing 

intelligence information on counterfeiters, 

and initiating joint industry raids and 

enforcement activities. ICCE members 

will also continue their efforts in training, 

education and in raising awareness of the 

counterfeit threat. ■ 



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March 2021 

19

CITY NEWS 

OEM share prices 

February 2021 

Share Prices 

Prices correct as of 1 st February 2021 

EUROPE Printvision AG, Hauser Office Management 

GmbH, Acquisition, Merger 

Company JANUARY FEBRUARY 

Brother Industries (Yen) ¥ 2179 2384 

Canon (Yen) ¥ 1967 2364 

Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (Yen) 

Sun Chemicals parent company 

¥ 2543 2673 

HP Inc. (US$) $ 24.27 25.95 

Hubei Dinglong (RMB) ¥ 17.74 19.86 

Jadi (MYR) M 0.1 0.085 

LG Chem (S Korean Won) W 962k 1028k 

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. 

(Yen) Panasonic parent company 

¥ 1274.5 1409.5 

Mitsubishi Chemicals (Yen) ¥ 634.2 748 

Ninestar Corporation (RMB) 

Formerly Apex Microelectronics 

¥ 25.75 26.79 

Oki (Yen) ¥ 923 1090 

Seiko Epson (Yen) ¥ 1500 1827 

Turbon AG (Euro) € 2.3 3.1 

Xerox (US$) $ 23.62 23.17 

UK Waste Prices 

price per tonne 

Aluminium € 0.86 5.66 

Plastic € 20.13 60.59 

Paper € 0.83 2.18 

Currency 

€/US$ 1.23 1.2 

€/£ 0.9 0.87 

£/US$ 1.36 1.37 

£/€ 1.11 1.14 

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) 

$ 50.68 59.54 

$ 4091 3335.82 

$ 4286 3838.24 

$ 4018 1338.38 

$ 4729 1470.41 

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

packagingnews.co.uk *Brent Crude price is for January 2021 

Printvision AG takes 

over Hauser Office 

Management GmbH 

Since 1 January 2021, Hauser Office Management GmbH 

is part of printvision AG. 

With the takeover, printvision 

AG said it strengthens its 

position in the market for 

printing and copying systems as 

well as document management. 

Printvision CEO, Martin 

Steyer, explained: "Together 

with Hauser, we want to appear 

on the market as a strong 

partner for our customers." 

According to Steyer, this is 

how the customers of Hauser 


and printvision AG will 

benefit. The merger of the two 

companies can offer existing 

and new customers even more, 

diverse services, a wide variety 

of products from excellent 

providers such as Canon, 

Kyocera and HP and much 

more. 

"We want to support the 

customers of Hauser Office 

Management GmbH with all 

the possibilities and resources 

of printvision AG on their way 

to digitisation", explained Steyer 

and added: "With the merger 

we are one of the top providers 

of document management 

solutions in Bavaria." 

Hauser Office Management 

GmbH was founded as early 

as 1932. The company has 

reinvented itself over and over 

again in its almost 100-year 

history and has continuously 

developed. Hauser Office 

Management GmbH has been 

German Premier Partner of 

Canon Germany since 2011 

and Canon European Premier 

Partner since 2018. In addition, 

the Munich-based company has 

had the certificate for climateneutral 

printing since 2016. 

"We are very pleased to have 

a strong partner at our side in 

the future in printvision AG," 

explained Wolfgang Gramenz, 

von Hauser. He added: "We 

work according to the same 

standards as printvision AG, a 

merger is even easier." 

Printvision AG and Hauser 


are aiming for around €15 

million (€18.24 million) sales 

in 2021. Currently, around 

10,000 contract devices, mostly 

multifunction devices, are being 

looked after. "We look ahead to 

the upcoming 2021 financial 

year with confidence and want 

to continue growing," explained 

Steyer. Together with their own 

employees and those taken over 

by Hauser Office Management 

GmbH, they want to actively 

shape the digital future. ■ 



EUROPE DMC Canotec, Acquisition, Business 

DMC closes seventh acquisition 

Horizon Capital backed DMC announced the acquisition of Artel, adding 

further coverage and capability to the DMC Group. 

Artel was established in 1985 and is 

headquartered in Slough. The business 

serves over 500 customers principally 

in the Thames Valley region and across 

several key sectors including healthcare, 

education and legal. The acquisition 

further strengthens DMC’s southern 

region following the acquisitions of 

Condor Office Solutions and Systems 

Technology in December 2019, the 

company said. 

Andy Young, Regional Managing 

Director, South commented: “Artel is yet 

another excellent business with a firstclass 

reputation with its customers and 

partners and will scale our operations in 

the Thames Valley.” 

DMC CEO, Simon Davey, said: 

“Despite the challenging conditions 

of 2020 we continue to deliver on our 

strategy to build the leading UK-wide 

workplace technology business built 

upon long term partnership with over 

11,000 customers. Artel adds further 

capability and scale and is an excellent 

addition to the Group.” 

Luke Kingston, Partner at Horizon 

Capital, said: “This is the 7th acquisition 

DMC has completed since we invested 

in the Group in 2018 and it is now the 

leading independent operator in the 

workplace technology sector. We look 

forward to supporting Simon and the 

team as they continue to acquire within 

this fragmented landscape.” 

DMC Canotec supports its 11,000 

customers by making their work easy, 

using leading workplace technology. 

DMC’s expertise and experience spans 

four key areas, Managed Print services, 

Information Management systems, 

Agile Working solutions and Telecoms 

and IT services. ■ 

NORTH AMERICA Eakes Office Solutions, Acquisition, Office Solutions 

Eakes acquires 

in Nebraska 

Schwarz Paper Company of Lincoln, 

Nebraska is set to join Eakes Office 

Solutions. 

Eakes Office Solutions announced 

Schwarz Paper Company in Lincoln, 

Nebraska will be joining the Eakes Office 

Solutions team. Schwarz has been locally 

owned and operated since 1899, serving the 

office, locker and janitorial supplies needs 

of businesses in Lincoln and throughout 

the state. 

“We are thankful to everyone that helped 

us grow over the years. We are excited to 

join Eakes Office Solutions, and to be able 

to expand our products and services to all 

of our loyal customers.” said Knox Jones, 

President of Schwarz Paper Company. 

Knox will be joining Eakes along with 

Andy Riddle and Pat Jones as Janitorial 

Specialists. 

“Knox, Pat, Andy, and the rest of the 

team from Schwarz have a tremendous 

wealth of knowledge and experience in 

the janitorial products industry. Working 

together, we believe we can provide an even 

higher level of service to our customers 

throughout Nebraska,” said Mark Miller, 

President & CEO of Eakes. 

The Schwarz Paper Company employees 

will join Eakes at their office at 110 N 35 th 

Street (35 th & O St) in Lincoln. ■ 


March 2021 

21

CITY NEWS 

NORTH AMERICA Higher 

Information Group, Office Equipment 

Source, Acquisition 

EUROPE Alleeninkt.nl, Inktprecies.nl, Acquisition, Merger 

Higher 

Information 

Group acquires 

Higher Information Group (HIG) 

recently announced it has completed 

its acquisition of Office Equipment 

Source (OES), a family-owned 

technology company based in Elmira, 

New York servicing several counties in 

upstate New York and north-eastern 

Pennsylvania. 

The acquisition will allow both HIG 

and OES customers to unlock even 

greater value and will provide HIG with 

a more extensive geographic presence, the 

company said in its announcement. 

“OES is an exceptional company offering 

a range of document technology solutions 

with an outstanding reputation for service 

and commitment to the community,” 

said John Frisch, Owner and President of 

HIG.” The partnership will supercharge 

our capacity to serve customers and 

accelerate our mission of helping businesses 

transform their day-to-day operations so 

they can focus on what matters most.” 

According to OES VP of Operations 

Drew Mitchell, “OES and the Mitchells are 

extremely proud to begin this new journey 

with HIG. We believe this opportunity 

will empower our customers and our 

employees to deliver the most extensive and 

up-to-date service portfolio in the industry. 

We are excited to expand our capabilities 

and look forward to helping our customers 

grow their business.” 

HIG will retain all existing OES sales, 

service, and support staff. Additionally, 

principals Mike Mitchell and Drew 

Mitchell will continue in executive 

roles with OES as part of the Higher 

Information Group family. 

The acquisition extends HIG’s presence 

– spanning from the southern border of 

south-central PA and east to Philadelphia 

and to the north-central border of PA to 

central New York and beyond. ■ 

Alleeninkt.nl acquires 

Inktprecies.nl 

The merger of the two local e-commerce companies came as no surprise, 

said co-owner of Alleeninkt.nl, Daniël Keute. 

Alleeninkt.nl was founded by Daniël 

Keute and Nick van Klinken in 2013. 

As students found it difficult to find 

affordable ink cartridges and toners 

at a reliable-looking webshop, so they 

decided to create a webshop themselves 

to fill the gap in the market. 

The e-commerce company 

Inktprecies,nl, was founded in 2014 

and has served 25,000 customers in 

more than six years. In January 2021 

Alleeninkt.nl found itself as one of 

the top three players in the Dutch 

market and is now competing with 

e-commerce platforms like 123inkt.nl 

and Printabout. 

Both companies, Alleeninkt.nl and 

Inktprecies.nl are located in Coevorden 

in the Netherlands. As part of the 

merger, systems and customers will now 

integrate into Alleeninkt.nl. At the 

moment it is still possible to place an 

order at the webshop but a notice makes 

customers aware of the changes. 

Inktprecies.nl said: “On behalf of the 

entire Inktprecies.nl team, we thank you 

for your confidence in our webshop in 

recent years. 

“It's time to grow, lower prices & 

create an even better customer service 

experience for you & 25,000 customers.” 

Both companies were using Google 

Ads to get consumers interested in 

buying from them, but Google in recent 

month has considerably increased 

pricing for click-throughs. 

“The reason for this acquisition is the 

number of large parties that are active 

in this market and the competition 

that is very high. Click prices have risen 

sharply, making entry increasingly 

difficult. 

We do our best all 22,000 convince 

customers of the added value of 

Alleeninkt.nl,” Daniël Keute said. ■ 



NORTH AMERICA Applied Imaging, Acquisition, Lasers Resource, MPS 

Applied Imaging grows MPS business 

Applied Imaging, one of the USA’s largest providers of office technology products and services, has acquired Lasers 

Resource, a Grand Rapids-based managed print services (MPS) specialist, effective 1 December 2020. 

Lasers Resource was founded in 1991 

as a laser printer toner remanufacturer 

but evolved over the years to focus on 

helping customers effectively manage their 

printer fleets with MPS and become an 

authorised HP printer reseller. Applied 

Imaging has also had a focus on MPS 

with their PrintSmart offering and with 

the acquisition will add the HP lineup 

of printers to its list of represented 

manufacturers. 

As part of the deal, all Lasers Resource 

locations will now operate under the 

Applied Imaging brand and their customers 

will now have access to the vast array of 

Applied Imaging’s products and services. 

Lasers Resource is the fourth acquisition 

Applied Imaging has completed during 

the COVID-19 pandemic; Kopy Sales in 

Traverse City, Michigan, Upstream Office 

Solutions in Tampa, Florida, and ACR 

in Luna Pier, Michigan. This acquisition 

is very strategic and will be important to 

adapting to changes in the industry, the 

company explained. 

“We plan to keep the entire Lasers 

Resource staff to make the transition 

seamless for their customers,” said Applied 

Imaging’s Founder and President, John 

Lowery. “They’ve had an excellent 

reputation in our market for almost 30 

years, so we’re excited to bring both their 

employees and their customers into the 

growing Applied Imaging family.” 

“Both cultures are centred on people, 

innovation, and delivering an exceptional 

customer experience,” remarked Laser 

Resource CEO, Tom Senecal. “I’m excited 

that our customers now have access to 

many more products and services such 

as IT services, document management 

hardware and software products, document 

shredding, large format printing, facilities 

management and much more.” ■ 


March 2021 

23

AROUND THE INDUSTRY 

EUROPE Aleem Hosein, EBP 

Aleem Hosein, MD at Environmental 

Business Products, dies at 46 

The Recycler is saddened to report the passing of Environmental Business Products Managing Director, 

Aleem Hosein, at the age of 46 from a COVID related illness. 

Twenty seven years ago, Aleem left 

university with a business degree, and 

went from a telesales job to Managing 

Director at Environmental Business 

Products (EBP) and became one of the 

most trusted, admired and respected 

people in our industry. 

Aleem became MD in 2009 and 

continued to run Europe’s longest 

established and largest collector and 

remanufacturer of inkjet cartridges. At 

the time The Recycler named EBP as the 

number one recycler of inkjet cartridges 

in the world, but he always had an eye 

for an opportunity. 

In 2015 EBP launched a range of 3D 

printers and ever the sales evangelist, 

entered the growing 3D market. In 

2016, EBP signed a three year deal with 

Polaroid at the Consumer Electronics 

Show (CES) in Las Vegas to become 

the “sole manufacturer of the Polaroid 

ModelSmart 250S 3D printer and 

consumables range” with “exclusivity in 

15 European markets.” 

In 2018 Aleem led the acquisition 

of German ink manufacturer OCP 

GmbH out of administration and in 

2019 completed the acquisition of 

German ink supplier Compedo GmbH 

to become a major player in the office 

inks market. 

Pat Stead, CEO at EBP and a longtime 

friend of Aleem said “that his 

passing leaves a massive hole in the 

business, the industry and all our 

lives. Our loss is as unbearable as it is 

unfathomable. We’re devastated.” 

Ken Lalley, CEO of Static Control 

Components and a friend of Aleem’s 

said “It was with great sadness that 

I heard my friend Aleem passed on 

Saturday. I considered him to be a true 

leader and icon in our industry, 

taken at such a young age. My thoughts 

and sincere condolences are with Reeta, 

the boys and all his family, friends and 

colleagues.” 

Taking to social media, Aaron Leon, 

CEO at LD Products, Inc. commented: 

“I met Aleem many years ago at the 

old Recharger show in Las Vegas. 

He was smart, funny, and had a 

deep understanding of all aspects 

of our industry. We ran into each 

other at various industry shows over 

the following 15 years and he was 

always engaging and warm. He was 

one of those people you instantly 

recognize as being great at what they 

do. My condolences to his family and 

colleagues. He will be greatly missed.” 

Meanwhile Andrew Carroll, 

Platform Services Director at Keypoint 

Intelligence, said of Aleem: “Very very 

sad, and unexpected, news. Aleem 

was always a wonderful person to 

converse with, and I greatly admired 

his business acumen and what he had 

achieved in driving EBP forward. 

My condolences to all his family and 

colleagues.” 

David Connett, the former Editor of 

The Recycler paid this tribute to Aleem: 

“My last conversation with Aleem 

was last January in Frankfurt. He was 

doing the rounds and was upbeat and 

energetic about everything, even 

though his team could do with a rest. 

He had some unique insights into the 

industry. We were talking about the 

market and, I will be honest, we had 

differing perspectives. In the end he 

said, “Look David, if you focus on 

making money, you will be successful.” 

Which was then followed by “don’t 

publish that!” He was charming, clever, 

dedicated and good company to be with 

and to do business with. He will be 

missed.” 

Hosein died on Saturday 30 th January 

after a short battle with COVID-19 and 

follow on complications. He was a man 

of many talents with a great eye for a 

deal and was passionate in everything 

he did and as and anyone who crossed 

his path found his natural energy 

irresistible. He is survived by his wife 

Reeta and two sons. 

The family thank everyone for their 

love and support and request privacy at 

this devastating time. ■ 



NORTH AMERICA Canon Inc., Ninestar, IP, Lawsuit 

Canon and Ninestar settle patent dispute 

The complaint was initially filed by Canon in September 2020, alleging Ninestar infringed Canon’s U.S. Patent Nos. 

9,851,688; 9,857,766; 10,620,582; 10,712,709; and 10,712,710. 

Canon announced in September 

the filing of a complaint in the 

U.S. District Court for the Central 

District of California against Ninestar 

Corporation, Ninestar Image Tech 

Limited, and Ninestar Technology 

Company, Ltd. (collectively, 

“Ninestar”), for infringement of 

its U.S. Patent Nos. 9,851,688; 

9,857,766; 10,620,582; 10,712,709; and 

10,712,710. 

Canon alleged that Ninestar sells toner 

cartridges that infringe Canon’s patents 

for use in various models of Canon and 

HP laser beam printers. These include 

printers which accept Canon toner 

cartridge models 729 and HP toner 

cartridge models 126A and 130A. 

Today, Canon announced it and 

Ninestar have resolved their pending 

lawsuit and it has filed a Notice of 

Dismissal with the U.S. District 

Court for the Central District of 

California, stating it “hereby notices 

the dismissal with prejudice of this 

entire action, with each party to 

bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs.” 

Ninestar said in its statement: 

"Without admitting any wrongdoing, 

in order to amicably resolve the 

lawsuit, Ninestar has agreed to stop 

making, using, selling, and offering 

for sale in the U.S., and importing 

into the U.S., the toner cartridges 

that Canon accused of infringement." 

Further details of the settlement 

agreement are confidential. ■ 

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March 2021 

25


EUROPE Static Control, Voluntary Agreement, Ecodesign, EU 

Static raises serious 

concerns over VA 

In a letter, commenting to the on the EU Commission presentation of the 

Industry Voluntary Agreement to improve the environmental performance 

of imaging equipment and consumables, Static Control says that “the 

presentation of the proposed draft VA and explanations thereof did not 

address the serious concerns raised by Static Control and others present”. 

▲ Ken Lalley CEO of Static Control 

Static Control wrote the letter in 

response to the call for comments on the 

proposed Voluntary Agreement (VA) on 

Imaging Equipment at the conclusion of 

the meeting on 9 December 2020. 

In its comments the company says 

that “regarding the way the negotiations 

leading up to the proposal were not 

sufficiently transparent and that the 

proposal itself distorts competition in 

the markets for printer consumables 

as well in the upstream markets for 

components.” 

The letter continues: “Static Control 

is alarmed by the anticompetitive 

barriers to entry to becoming a 

Supporting Signatory of the VA as set 

forth in Section 9 and Annex A of the 

VA. During comment period, other 

stakeholders expressed similar concerns 

and questioned the basis for how certain 

criteria supported the stated objective to 

achieve a circular economy. 

“In particular, stakeholders echoed 

Static Control’s concern about the 

requirements for a Supporting Signatory 

to have a “substantial operational 

establishment within the EU” and for 

“Remanufactured Cartridges, Refilled 

Cartridges, Remanufactured Containers 

and Refilled Containers must make up at 

least 80% of all Cartridge and Container 

units produced or made available by a 

Supporting Signatory”. 

Stakeholders questioned the 

definition of the term of a “substantial 

operational establishment in the EU”. 

The presenters waivered on a direct 

answer alternating between revenue and 

physical establishment requirements, 

illuminating the subjectivity and 

discriminatory nature of the criteria. 

Stakeholders equally questioned the 

requirement for 80% remanufactured or 

refilled consumable of the Supporting 

Signatories range as most smaller 

remanufacturers sell components and 

new build cartridges to fill out their 

product range.” 

One of the points Static Control 

makes in its letter is that during the 

meeting, “the representative of the 

remanufacturers admitted that very “few 

remanufacturers are actually Supporting 

Signatories,” thus evidencing that the 

large remanufacturers have been the ones 

to dictate who can join their ranks as 

Supporting Signatories.” 

One major issue within the aftermarket 

is firmware updates that lock out thirdparty 

cartridges. So addressing this, 

Static says in its letter: “This is especially 

troubling because the exceptions to 

the design commitments that allow for 

the continuation of the OEM business 

models, including firmware updates that 

lock out aftermarket remanufactured 

products, apply only to Supporting 

Signatories with whom the OEMs have 

entered into bilateral agreements (“BA”). 

“On slide 18 of the 9 December 

2020 presentation, the first bullet 

states “The VA is designed to support 

remanufacturing of OEM cartridges 

using OEM circuitry.”3 Slide 18 

further goes on to state that the “VA 

requires OEMS to offer solutions to 

Supporting Signatories.”4 Therefore, 

if a remanufacturer is not a Supporting 

Signatory and does not have a BA with 

an OEM, then that remanufacturer is 

prevented from fairly competing with 

Supporting Signatories.” 

The letter concludes: “The European 

Commission now must decide whether 

this industry VA is a valid alternative 

to an implementing measure under the 

Ecodesign Directive. For the reasons 

stated herein, Static Control believes 

that the VA lacks ambition and is not 

fit for purpose. As currently proposed, 

the VA allows for the EU Commission 

to be viewed to condone and approve 

anticompetitive practices. 

“Static Control again urges DG ENER 

not to accept the proposed VA as a 

valid alternative to an implementing 

regulation under the Ecodesign Directive 

at least until appropriate revisions have 

been made to the VA to ensure such 

FRAND access. Static Control requests 

the DG ENER to initiate a procedure 

under the Ecodesign Directive to ensure 

a fair and considered process to achieve 

its commendable objectives of a circular 

economy with respect to toner and ink 

cartridges.” ■ 



EUROPE ARMOR Print Solutions, Advertising Campaign, Strategy, Responsible, Communication Strategy 

ARMOR launches disruptive communication campaign 

The campaign will run through January and targets environmentally responsible people who cycling to work, 

eating organic food, etc.), but still use original cartridges. 

ARMOR Print Solutions (ARMOR 

Group) recently announced the new 

campaign that is structured around five 

visuals and is being broadcast throughout 

January in both digital media and the 

press, and across the OWA brand's reseller 

network. 

OWA (Our Way to Act) is the ARMOR 

range of eco-responsible reconditioned 

ink and toner cartridges and the 

campaign contrasts environmentallyaware 

individuals and their contradictory 

behaviour. It portrays men and women 

who show an environmentally responsible 

attitude in some of their daily activities 

(cycling to work, eating organic food, 

etc.), but still use original cartridges - even 

though solutions with a much smaller 

ecological footprint exist. 

“This campaign is intended to be both 

powerful and disruptive. It was designed 

to encourage users of print consumables 

to make an environmental commitment 

by choosing remanufactured 

consumables, an innovative solution 

within everyone’s reach,” explained 

Emmanuelle Travailleur, Trade, 

Marketing and Communication Manager 

at ARMOR Printing Solutions. 

… symbol of a turning point for the 

OWA brand 

Illustrating OWA's promise "Nothing 

is lost, everything is transformed", this 

campaign is intending to reaffirm the 

positioning of the ARMOR group's 

business model based on societal 

innovation, combining industrial and 

economic performance with respect for 

people and the environment. This new 

advertising chapter thus represents a key 

step in the development of the brand and 

confirms ARMOR Print Solutions’ desire 

to consolidate its position as a key player 

in the printing market, the company said. 

“We are very proud of the brand's 

progress in this ultra-competitive market 

through our committed and pioneering 

positioning. The circular economy is 

at the core of OWA’s DNA, because 

we are convinced that innovation 

must be responsible and anticipate 

its environmental impact on society,” 

concluded Gerwald van der Gijp, 

VP & Managing Director of ARMOR 

Printing Solutions. ■ 


March 2021 

27


EUROPE Katun, 2021, Products, Services, Business Partner 

Katun looks to 2021 and shares plans 

Katun recently held its EAME 2021 Connect Conference within the EAME Business Unit outlining plans and strategies 

for the new year. 

The conference was internal to start 

with, but the company said that the plan 

is to use the platform with strategic Katun 

Authorised Distributors and key dealer 

principals in an ongoing effort to be 

“More than Just a Supplier” to Katun’s 

5,000+ customers in Europe, Africa and 

the Middle East. 

Katun said the past year had certainly 

presented everyone with new business 

and personal challenges, deeply changing 

our professional lives. The company 

emphasised that it has stayed focused 

to the mission of providing its dealer 

and distributor customers with a broad 

portfolio of high-quality products and 

services. 

During 2020 Katun’s portfolio 

expanded to include new products for 

the OEC channel, new features and 

products within the Katun Dealer 

Fleet Management portfolio. A general 

expansion of the focus on sustainability, 

including expansion of OEM refill and 

remanufactured product portfolios, new 

devices added to the remanufactured 

MFP/MFD portfolio and active 

participation in the Katun “Print It, 

Plant It” Reforestation Programme by 

PrintReleaf. Katun’s participation in this 

2020 

programme has resulted in the planting of 

115+ trees in 2020. 

Katun expects that 2021 will continue 

to present challenges, but believes that 

there will also be many opportunities. 

According to Heidi Boller, General 

Manager of Katun’s Europe Africa Middle 

East Business Unit, “the office equipment 

channel will be under a lot of pressure 

to manage costs and Katun has worked 

closely with our customers throughout 

2020 to be more than just a supplier – we 

are a business partner. We look forward 

2021 

to engaging with new prospects and 

continuing the development with our 

established customers to show them why 

Katun is a perfect choice to reduce costs, 

positively affect environmental impact 

and promote sustainability.” 

In January, Katun launched a firstto-market 

product suite using 95% 

recycled plastics, another way that the 

Katun family is actively promoting 

environmentally sustainable products. 

Look for the Katun Eco Friendly logo 

on the packages. ■ 

NORTH AMERICA Luke Goldberg, Neat Brands, Z Ventures, inkjets.com, carrotink.com 

Luke’s back in the game 

Luke Goldberg rejoins the imaging industry as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and Partner with Z Ventures Corp. 

After a successful career with MSE 

and then Clover, Luke Goldberg took a 

year out, but now returns to the imaging 

industry as Chief Revenue Officer 

(CRO) and Partner with Z Ventures 

Corp. and with Neat brands LLC. 

Z Ventures owns the websites inkjets. 

com and carrotink.com which were 

established in the late 1990’s supplying 

remanufactured and compatible inks 

printer ink and toner cartridges. 

Commenting on LinkedIn, Goldberg 

said: “I am also glad to have the 

opportunity to continue to foster the 

many great relationships I have forged 

over the years in the imaging supplies 

aftermarket. I will call on you for your 

continued mentorship and support as 

I dive into these new endeavours. My 

partner, Mike Zaya is a pioneer and true 

guru in the e-commerce space and I am 

looking forward to working side by side 

with him to create incredible customer 

experiences and to drive innovation and 

value. I look forward to re-connecting.” 

“Neat brands LLC is in the commercial 

drone service and distribution business 

with a focus on public safety (police and 

fire) and other industrial applications. 

It’s exciting for me to learn a new business 

while still having my feet planted in the 

business I have known and (mostly) loved 

for the last 30 years.” Goldberg added. ■ 




March 2021 

29


ASIA GPI, Katun, Robin Hsu, Business 

GPI says 

farewell to 26 

year veteran, 

Robin Hsu 

In a letter to customers, GPI’s 

President, Jerry Wang announced 

the retirement of Robin Hsu, the 

Vice President of Sales. 

In a letter to their business partners, 

General Plastic Industrial Co., 

Ltd. (GPI’s) President, Jerry Wang 

announced the retirement of Robin 

Hsu, effective from January 1, 2021. 

Robin Hsu retires as Vice President 

of Sales, after 26 years leading the GPI 

sales team for 26 years, and “we've 

enjoyed the opportunity to work with 

him, and we appreciate his dedicated 

devotions at GPI.” Said Jerry Wang, 

President of GPI. 

Hsu gained his MBA in marketing 

and finance at the University of West 

Florida in 1992 and joined GPI in 1994. 

He was appointed Vice President of 

Sales in 2000 and has led the sales team 

until his recent retirement. 

Taiwan based GPI was opened in 

1978 as a precision injection molding 

business and for the last 28 years has 

evolved as a specialist in toner cartridge 

manufacturer providing compatible 

cartridges for copiers and laser printers 

under their own “Cartridge Web” 

brand and is also a leading supplier 

across the industry. Apart from toner 

cartridges, GPI manufactures key 

plastic components such as OPC gears. 

In January 2018, GPI completed 

the purchase of the Minneapolis 

based, Katun Corporation who is one 

of the world’s leading providers of 

OEM-compatible imaging supplies, 

photoreceptors, and parts for copiers, 

printers, MFPs and other imaging 

equipment. From their Minneapolis 

and worldwide locations, Katun serves 

10,000 customers in 116 countries. ■ 

ASIA HYB Toner, ISO Certification, Business, Environment 

HYB reports on annual sales meeting 

and renews ISO certification 

The overseas sales team of HYB had their annual sales meeting of 2020 and set 

their sales target for 2021. 

HYB Toner reported that although the 

COVID-19 pandemic made an enormous 

impact to the market for copier dealers, 

the data disclosed at the meeting showed 

a growth of sales revenue in spare parts, 

copier bulk toner, service vacuum, and toner 

cartridges for copiers. The company added 

that there was significant increase of new 

HYB customers’ accounts. 

Growth was reported to come from the 

North and South American, Middle East 

and Asian market and 90 new customers 

for HYB. HYB said its sales team was 

encouraged by the fact that customers are still 

eager to start business with HYB even in this 

period where business has been affected by 

COVID-19. 

Each member in the team received their 

sales target to be finished in 2021 and they 

are confident in achieving their target, the 

company said. 

During the meeting, the company also 

honoured the employees with awards for 

“Rising Stars” and “Sales Champion” 

of the year. 

HYB said: “During the challenging period, 

HYB and their customers supported each 

other. The company cherishes the precious 

relationship and partnership with their 

customers who conquered the difficulty and 

move on together with HYB.” 

It has been a little over one year since HYB 

launched their Service Vacuum Cleaner XC- 

168 and the company is reporting that it had 

sold more than 6,000 units since its launch in 

late 2019. 

The XC-168 Vacuum Cleaner was 

developed and manufactured by HYB. After 

independent testing, the device received the 

Certificate of Conformity of 

CE (#EBO1912114-V314) in March 2020. 

“The initial intention to develop this 

machine was to offer a more economic 

but high quality tool to keep the 

remanufacturing workshop clean and tidy. 

There were already several models existing 

in the market but most of them are simply 

copying the successful model without 

consideration of the feedback from the 

technicians. Most of them never discover that 

tube they are using for this machine don’t 

resist to the particle’s movement in the entire 

process and the life of the tube is very short. 

“Some are made without FQ convertors 

and the power of the machines maintain 

too strong all the time and it’s very frequent 

for them to repair. We really want to make a 

difference by offering quality and cost-saving 

solutions to our customers,“ said Mr Gu, 

the Technical Manager of HYB at the time 

of the launch. 

In another announcement, Zhuhai 

HaoYinbao Printing Consumables Co., Ltd., 

the factory and subsidiary for production 

of copier cartridges of HK HaoYinBao 

Group, said it has been recertified to 

be in conformity with Environmental 

Management System Standards: 

ISO14001:2015. 

To get the certification, the company 

required every raw material suppliers to 

be in line with their standard to supply 

products only in line with regulation of the 

environment management. As a result, only 

certified and approved suppliers for plastic 

grain, toner, coating materials have been 

accepted to be in the supplier chain of HYB.■ 




March 2021 

31


ASIA Ninestar, AOE, Certification, Business 

Ninestar shares updates on promotions, 

AEO certification and its recycling programme 

Ninestar announced two promotions, elevating Linda Fan to Senior Vice General Manager of Ninestar Image and Celia 

Wu to Vice General Manager of Ninestar Image. 

Linda Fan joined Ninestar in 2006 

and most recently served as Regional 

Sales Director where she handled sales in 

Europe, Asia Pacific and Australia. In her 

new role, she will be assisting Eric Zhang, 

General Manager of Ninestar Image, to 

carry out the company’s daily management. 

Celia Wu brings more than 19 years 

of experience in oversea sales and 

management, with much of her career 

spent at Ninestar. In her new role, she will 

be responsible for brand development and 

new business development. 

“We’re so happy to announce Linda 

and Celia’s well-deserved promotions. 

I am extremely honoured to have these 

two brilliant ladies continue to grow 

with Ninestar,” said Eric Zhang. “They 

are both highly experienced, passionate 

and are committed to providing valuable 

support and service to our customers while 

contributing to the company’s overall 

success. I know they will continue to 

be a great asset to our company and our 

customers.” 

Last July, G&G officially announced it 

started a cartridge collection programme 

in Europe and USA as part of its longstanding 

commitments for a greener 

planet. G&G shared the news that it 

continues to make progress towards its 

goal, despite the challenging environment 

caused by Covid-19. 

By the end of 2020, G&G’s said that 

its recycling programme has collected 

about 110,000 cartridges which have been 

recycled and the utilisation of empties is up 

to 70% of what is collected. 

“Thanks for those customers who are 

willing to put their words into action by 

supporting G&G recycling program. It’s 

incredibly important that manufacturers, 

importers, distributors and downstream 

users within the supply chain work 

together to help drive change at scale. 

G&G will continue its efforts to make 

a difference for the planet and we hope 

more people will join us.” said Eric Zhang, 

General Manager of Ninestar Image. 

Ninestar also shared that it believes it 

leads the aftermarket with 4,839 granted 

and 1,053 pending patents as of 30 June 

2020. The enormous patent portfolio 

includes patent in areas such as printer 

technology, chip technology, ink and toner 

cartridge technology, ink technology and 

3D printers. 

Ninestar said it keeps investing over 6% 

of its annual revenue in R&D. Today, nine 

R&D centers have been set up in Zhuhai, 

Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, USA 

(North Carolina, Lexington, Kansas), 

India and Philippines. Over 600 talented 

engineers work hard to bring innovative 

products and solutions. 

Also this month, the President of 

Ninestar Corporation, Wei Yan, was 

elected as the third President of the 

association and was awarded the credential 

by the Deputy Director of the Commercial 

Bureau of Zhuhai. 

And finally, the company shared the 

news that after an accurate and strict audit 

conducted by the customs authorities, the 

company has been accredited as a Senior 

Authorised Economic Operator (AEO). 

This certification means Ninestar is now 

enjoying simplified and speedy customs 

clearance procedures in 42 countries 

or regions that implemented Mutual 

Recognition of AEO programmes. 

According to the General Administration 

of Customs, P.R.China, enterprises in 

China will be divided into a certified 

enterprise (under AEO), a general credit 

enterprise, and a faithless enterprise based 

on the enterprise credit status. Senior AEO 

certification is the highest credit rating. 

With the Senior AEO certification, 

Ninestar is able to offer smoother and 

simpler customs clearance services for 

its customers by reducing documentary 

and physical checks. Ninestar believes 

that the AEO will be a helpful 

differentiator for its customers by 

providing them with simplified and 

efficient customs processing, improved 

transport security and the priority 

treatment at customs clearance. ■ 



EUROPE Data Direct, Access UK, Distribution, New Products 

Data Direct launches “Access UK” 

Looking for an opportunity to open up the UK market? Data Direct might be able to help! 

With the past year of disruption 

surrounding COVID and multiple years 

of uncertainty surrounding Brexit too, it 

is vital for suppliers, businesses, channels 

and economies to create opportunity and 

deliver positivity and newness for UK 

customers. 

Data Direct is open for business. 

While the past year has seen some shift 

away from the core copier and print 

business towards PPE distribution, WFH 

(working from home) solutions and 

hugely relevant innovations, including 

SmartMister, Data Direct says that 

there are many more opportunities still 

presenting themselves in the UK market. 

As a distribution partner to many 

hundreds of businesses in the UK, Data 

Direct offers its customers solutions 

over and above the core product ranges 

to help with their business model 

to becoming more cost-effective, 

streamlined and efficient. The company 

explained that increasingly customers 

are looking for newness, relevancy 

and incremental products as market 

trends and consumption environments 

change. These, the company says, are 

opportunities for brands, manufacturers, 

suppliers and innovators that it can 

facilitate. 

Commenting on Data Direct / Access 

UK, Peter Cowan, Procurement Director 

said: “Through 2020, we opened up 

distribution and enabled the successful 

launch of multiple products in the UK. 

With procurement, selling and marketing 

expertise, we offer businesses access to 

UK distribution to create opportunity 

for all. With Access UK specifically, 

we’re looking for new products/ 

innovations to add to our product 

range - primarily aimed at supporting 

the office equipment/ IT channel, but 

also interested in more diverse (nonperishable) 

products. 

“This strategy is aimed at enhancing 

the capabilities and scope of our existing 

dealer channel, while offering greater and 

deeper engagement with our suppliers, 

both old and new.” ■ 


March 2021 

33

FEATURE 

Inside Mito 

If you have attended any major trade exhibitions in recent years, you 

will have met one of China's leading remanufacturers. Here at The 

Recycler, hardly a month goes by without receiving a press release from 

Mito, either about a new product or news about the company. So, in 

the run-up to the Chinese New Year holiday, we caught up with Wendy 

Duan, Mito's General Manager, to find out more about the company. 

▲ Wendy Duan, Mito's 

General Manager 

While we all refer to the company 

as Mito, their full name is Mito Color 

Imaging Co., Ltd. They were established 

in 2003 and based in Zhuhai, China. 

The high-tech enterprise specialises in 

manufacturing, researching and sales of 

laser toner cartridges. Its core activity is 

the remanufacturing of more than two 

thousand different models, amounting 

to more than two million colour toner 

cartridges each year. 

In 2013 Mito was acquired by Hubei 

Dinglong Company Limited. A smart 

move by Dinglong as Mito consumes more 

than 200 tonnes of colour toner each year. 

The move also meant that Mito became 

a significant part of Dinglong Group's 

integrated supply chain and fully 

benefited from access to the groups' 

upstream resources. 

Today, Mito products are available 

in more than 80 countries with global 

offices and warehouse and distribution 

centres in the Netherlands and the 

United States providing local partners 

with sufficient stock and logistics 

support and a wide range of products. 

Mito products are available in more 

than 80 countries with global offices and 

warehouse and distribution centres in the 

Netherlands and the United States 

A good call ~ It's all 

about colour 

Back in 2005, the aftermarket focus 

was on producing remanufactured 

monochrome cartridges. Not surprising 

really when you consider that monochrome 

printers dominated the market. Looking 

back at some of The Recycler research 

indicated that monochrome was 95% of the 

market, and colour was the new kid on the 

block but played a small part. 

Colour toner cartridges were as rare as 

hen's teeth "back in the day" (sorry I always 

wanted to write that). Even if you had the 

cartridges, sourcing high-quality colour 

toner was a more significant challenge, 

especially at $80 - $120 (€65 - €100) per 

kilo! Mito identified that colour printers 

and consumables would be the future trend 

of laser printing. "Mito positioned ourselves 

as a professional, remanufactured colour 

toner expert. Our products are different 

from those of other suppliers in quality," 

said Ms Wendy, General Manager of Mito. 

FEATURED 

A R TIC L E 



Invest in quality 

Since day one, back in 2003, the company 

has invested 4% of the annual sales revenue 

into quality control and production 

development, quality assessment and 

production innovation. That is across 

every aspect of manufacturing from raw 

materials to finished products. Each step 

in the process is scrutinised and monitored 

to ensure compliance with Mito's rigorous 

quality control system. The end result is a 

stable product quality has become Mito's 

core competitiveness during the past 18 

years and maintains Mito's advantages in 

the highly competitive market. 

What about the IP? 

Independent intellectual property is 

the essential precondition for long term 

development and a core competence for 

the company. The company has put the IP 

development as its core focus. But it is not 

just about collaborating with the top law 

firms in America and Europe. It is about 

having an experienced IP team throughout 

the research and development process. 

Mito successfully designs their own 

patents to ensure quality and stability 

and ensuring the non-infringement 

requirements of OEM's essential patents. It 

is crucial to supply patent-safe products and 

Mito successfully designs their own patents 

to ensure quality and stability and ensuring 

the non-infringement requirements 

of OEM's essential patents. 

guaranteeing a reliable patent solution 

for all customers. 

Bring on the robots! 

Or more correctly, bring on the automated 

production lines. At the moment, Mito 

has automatic production lines for Brother 

and HP products. Automation reduces 

labour (human) interactions, shortens the 

production cycle, improves production 

efficiency and delivers a stable and 

consistent product quality. 

The Dinglong advantage 

At the earliest stage of new products 

development, the Dinglong supply 

chain kicks in to give Mito some unique 

advantages. Using the in-house material like 

toner powder, chips, rollers and plastic shells 

to control critical components' quality from 

the raw material and ensure the products 

meet the environmental requirements. 

Automated production lines often 

require customised materials. The group 

supply chain supports and meets the 

requirement, leveraging in the advantages 

of the independent R&D and the leading 

automatic production technology. 

The last word from Wendy 

"The mission has not changed and there 

are no secrets other than remaining focused 

on delivering the industry's best colour 

toner cartridges." ■ 


March 2021 

35

FEATURE 

Amazon prices rise as tax 

authorities close VAT loophole 

UK tax authorities (HMRC) have closed a VAT loophole that will see Chinese products 

sold on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay rise by 20%. 

Effective from the 1 st January 2021, online 

marketplaces now have to account for 

the VAT paid on products, sold to UK 

consumers, on their platforms by thirdparty 

sellers. The online platforms are now 

required to deduct the 20% tax at source. 

HMRC made the change amid growing 

concern that thousands of mainly Chinese 

sellers were evading the tax by using shell 

companies and fake VAT numbers to sell 

products in effect tax-free. 

Over recent years, the UK Parliaments 

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has 

been critical of HMRC's response to the 

online VAT fraud problem costing UK 

taxpayers more than £1 billion ($1.35 

billion/ €1.12 billion) a year. They also 

criticised Amazon and eBay, and their 

smaller rivals had continued to "profit 

from people who are defrauding the 

British taxpayer" while failing to address 

the issue of VAT fraud adequately. 

In the main, such fraud occurs when traders 

based outside the UK fail to charge VAT 

A 

E 

R TICL see UK businesses having to follow 

the same rules as companies in 

the U.S. and elsewhere. 

• The changes apply to businesses that 

sell more than €10,000 ($12,200/ 

£9,000) of goods annually to EU 

consumers. 

• The EU will abolish the exemption 

for goods under €18 ($22/ £16) 

resulting in all goods having VAT 

charged from 1 st July. 

They also criticised Amazon and eBay, 

on goods and services sold in the UK via 

online marketplaces. 

For now, UK based businesses supplying 

UK consumers will see some non-UK 

competition disappear as 20% tax is 

deducted. 

All change across the EU 

from 1 st July 

Then it gets tougher again from the 1st 

July 2021 when all non-EU Businesses 

that sell to EU-based consumers and will 

and their smaller rivals had continued to 

"profit from people who are defrauding the 

British taxpayer" while failing to address 

the issue of VAT fraud adequately. 

FEATURED 



• Non-EU retailers will have to register 

for VAT in just one EU country, not 

all 27. If you have a physical presence, 

such as an office or warehouse, 

in other EU countries you will also 

need to register there. 

• Orders under €150 ($182/ £135), the 

charge can be levied by customs or the 

postal couriers and not collected by 

the retailer at the point of sale. The 

downside is that a surcharge is applied 

to either the retailer as the sender of the 

goods or the customer as recipient. 

• The amount of VAT depends on the 

applicable VAT rate in the destination 

country. It follows that there are 27 EU 

countries, so there are 27 different VAT 

rates. Add to that further complication 

that goods eligible for VAT do vary 

country to country. 

Once registered, merchants must file a 

tax return detailing the sales and VAT 

Once registered, merchants must file 

a tax return detailing the sales and VAT 

due for each country. The payment must 

accompany the return. 

due for each country. The payment must 

accompany the return. The EU will 

establish a universal system to file returns 

for all countries where a company is not 

registered. A separate return is required 

for registered countries. 

Editorial Opinion: If you run your 

own e-commerce site getting the pricing 

and correct classification of goods, so 

the correct VAT rate is assigned will be 

"challenging" to say the least and mean 

you will need a VAT expert on hand. 

The likely result is that It helps local 

merchants over foreign competitors, 

but consumers could end up paying 

more. Retailers who have focused on 

providing better service at competitive 

prices are likely to see profits eroded 

with new administration and taxes 

and driving them to use the online 

marketplaces such as Amazon and 

eBay, who can manage the VAT 

and in doing so, increase their 

dominant market position. ■ 

Unused and unwanted 

empty cartridges? 

OHANA 

TECHNOLOGY 

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

1. 2. 3. 

Contact us to arrange 

delivery, either by phone 

or email. 

We sort your cartridges, extracting 

everything of value and arranging the 

correct recycling of everything else.* 

* Cartridges of value will be sold on your behalf 

through our global network. 

Settle up with you and send 

you all the waste transfer 

documents for your records. 

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


March 2021 

37

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 

EUROPE GM Technology, New 

Products, Cartridges 

EUROPE IR Italiana Riprografia, Cartridges, Graphic-Jet, New Products 

GM continues 

to broaden 

toner range 

The latest releases from GM 

Technology are its R-OEM version 

of Canon’s EXV 54 series toner 

cartridges. 

GM has released R-OEM versions 

of Canon’s EXV-54 toner cartridges. 

The range includes all four colours and 

come with page yields of 15,500 pages 

for the black and 8,500 for the colour 

cartridges at 5% coverage. 

These latest additions are now 

available to order and are for use in 

Canon IR Advance C 3025 i/ Canon 

IR-C 3025 i/ 3125 i and Canon 

imageRUNNER Advance C 3025 I 

type of machines. 

Zoltan Matyas, GM Technologies 

Director of International Business 

Development said: “Since last year we 

have been receiving strong demand for a 

true OEM equivalent solution from the 

market. Apparently other aftermarket 

solutions for this Canon engine don’t 

hit the OEM performance benchmark 

the market needs. 

“It has been a challenge to bring this 

product to the market due to the lack 

of empties. 

To provide an answer to the strong 

need we opted to start manufacturing 

with a new hopper instead of a reused 

OEM one like we usually do. 

“This decision will allow us to 

continue to reuse OEM toner powder 

and until sufficient OEM hoppers 

enters to our collection network we 

can secure consistent supplies to 

our distribution partners. This is an 

important addition to our growing 

Canon range and it’s a great OEM 

alternative to cost sensitive and circular 

economy focused MPS customers.” ■ 

For more information on the above 

and other product 

lines within the GM 

Technology product 

portfolio, please scan 

the QR code. 

IR Italiana Riprografia highlights 

latest new products 

The Italian company announced new compatible toner cartridges for use in 

various Sharp devices, Utax and Epson. 

IR Italiana Riprografia has expanded 

its products range with new compatible 

monochrome toner cartridges for use in 

Sharp MX-B350P devices. These new 

cartridges come with page yields of 30,000. 

Also added were compatible toner 

cartridges for use in Sharp MX-M316N 

machines boasting a page yield of 27,500. 

One of the latest announcements from 

the company is highlighting the new 

addition of compatible toner cartridges 

for use in Utax P-C2655W devices which 

come with page yields of 4,000 for the 

black cartridge and 3,000 for the colour 

cartridges. 

IR Italiana Riprografia also took 

the opportunity with that latest 

announcement, to highlight that 

compatible toners for use in KYOCERA 

ECOSYS M5526CDN devices with a page 

yield of 4,000 pages for the black and 3,000 

for the colour cartridges, are also available. 

IR Italiana Riprografia also added to its 

Graphic-Jet products range. This latest 

addition were compatible cartridges for 

use in Epson Workforce AL M320DTN 

devices. These cartridges come in three 

yield versions, 2,700, 6,100 and 13,300. 

The company is proud to say that 

the cartridges provide not only “OEM 

equivalent print quality,” but also “100 

percent compatibility” with OEM 

products, as well as “significant savings” 

over the OEM. The toner cartridges also 

offer MSDS in compliance with REACH. 

Additionally, the cartridges were 

produced “in a certificated environment” 

including the ISO 9001:2015 quality 

management system certificate; the ISO 

14001:2015 environmental management 

system certificate; and the ISO 

45001:2018 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 visit IR 

Italiana Riprografia’s 

website by scanning the 

QR code. 



ASIA Ninestar, G&G, EverBrite, Ink 

Ninestar introduces re-engineered EverBrite inks 

The company has announced the release of their re-engineered EverBrite durable pigment inks used in various print 

applications. 

EverBrite is Ninestar’s durable pigment 

ink brand and the formulations have 

been re-engineered adjusted to meet the 

needs of the different office, home and 

art user groups to deliver safe and reliable 

ink products, the company said. 

Commenting on what’s new about the 

optimisations the company has made, 

Jarek Yang, Senior Product Manager of 

Ninestar, explained: “The optimised 

formulation of EverBrite inks complies 

with RoHS, Reach, Pops and PAHs 

standards. With no volatile substances, 

the ink will not produce any harmful 

emissions or irritating odour in the 

air When users stay at home, it has no 

impact on indoor air quality and their 

body health” helping users to safeguard 

personal health especially during the 

pandemic.” 

Yang added “The ink is ultraviolet 

proof; it brings colour prints that will 

not fade under reflection of light. This 

helps users keep their prints for several 

decades, resulting in less waste of 

resources.” 

“We have extremely strict quality 

control. First, the raw materials of the 

ink are imported from world-recognized 

leading suppliers; in the manufacturing 

and processing of ink, we tested 14 

control parameters, including physical, 

image and stability control parameters, 

for two times. To provide best quality, we 

do the trial and error every day according 

to user’s habits. More importantly, we 

keep good track of the product source 

in case there are any quality problems,” 

he commented. 

The re-engineered EverBrite inks are 

now available for G&G ink cartridges 

and G&G ink bottles. ■ 

For the abovementioned 

EverBrite inks 

or any other of Ninestar’s 

product range, please 

scan the QR code here: 

ASIA Apex, Chips, Remanufacturing, Reuse 

Apex releases new 

replacement chips 

The latest arrival in Apex’s product portfolio are replacement chips for use 

with the Xerox C7000/C7025 series printers. 

In June 2017, Xerox launched the A3 

colour printer VersaLink C7000/C7025 

series in the United States. Powered 

by Xerox ConnectKey Technology, 

the OEM says that it comes with 

superior reliability and exceptional 

print quality and is ideal for small 

to medium-sized workgroups with 

demanding print needs. 

Apex says its latest replacement chips 

area “first-to-market” solution and offer 

“consistent performance” and are “easy 

to install in recycled cartridges”. 

This latest range of replacement chips 

are for use in Xerox VersaLink C7000, 

Xerox VersaLink C7020/C7025/C7030, 

Xerox VersaLink C7020/C7025/C7030, 

Xerox VersaLink B7025/B7030/B7035 

and Fuji Xerox DocuCentre-VI C2271/ 

C3370/ C3371/C4471/C5571/C6671/ 

C7771, Fuji Xerox DocuCentre-VII 

C7773/C6673/C5573/C4473/C3373/ 

C3372/C2273, Fuji Xerox ApeosPort- 

VI C2271/C3370/ C3371/C4471/ 

C5571/C6671/C7771 and Fuji Xerox 

ApeosPort-VII C7773/C6673/ 

C5573/C4473/C3373/C3372/C2273 

devices. ■ 

For more information on the above 

or any other of Apex’s 

range, please visit their 

website by scanning the 

QR code. 

ASIA CET Group, Toner, Cartridges, 

New Products 

CET expands 

products range 

CET Group Co.,Ltd. has expanded its 

range with products for use in various 

Konica Minolta Bizhub devices. 

The latest addition to CET’s range are 

CMYK sets of replacement toner cartridges 

that replace the TN321 toner cartridges. 

The cartridges come with page yields of 

27,000 for the black and 25,000 for the 

colour cartridges and are for use in Konica 

Minolta Bizhub C224/284 and 364 devices. 

Also available for use with cartridges for 

that machine are bulk toner for all four 

colours and toner in bottles. Carrier and 

compatible waste toner cartridges are also 

available. ■ 

For more information 

on the above and more 

products from CET, please 

scan the QR code. 


March 2021 

39


ASIA Mito, New Products, Cartridges 

Mito highlights new solutions 

Now available are replacement toner cartridges for use in various HP Color LaserJet devices. 

The latest products added to Mito’s 

product portfolio are remanufactured 

colour toner cartridges for use in HP 

Color LaserJet Managed E55040, MFP 

E57540dn and MFP E57540C devices. 

Mito said in its announcement that the 

newly released MTHE-W9060/1/2/3 

cartridges are remanufactured toner 

cartridges in replacement of HP 

w9060/1/2/3MC cartridges which 

are an upgraded version of HP CF360 

series cartridges. The remanufactured 

cartridges come with page yield of 16,000 

for the black and 12,500 for the colour 

cartridges. 

Another announcement was for 

replacement toner cartridges for use in 

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M554dn, 

555DN/555x, 578f/578DN /578C/ 578 

devices. The cartridges come with page 

yields of 5,500 for the black and 4,500 

for the colour cartridges and are available 

in high yield versions of 13,000 for 

the black and 10,000 for the colour 

cartridges. 

Mito said that that due to the Dinglong 

Group supply chain integartion the 

company “ensures premium quality” 

and its cartridges offer “excellent 

performance” come from “self-developed 

patents” and “eco-friendly materials”. 

These latest cartridges also come with 

a “specific Chemical toner formula with 

great colour reproduction and high 

resolution” the company explained. ■ 

For more information on the abovementioned 

products as 

well as Mito’s full range 

of products, please visit 

their website by scanning 

the QR code. 

ASIA HYB Toner, Fuser Units, Remanufacturing 

HYB announces new remanufactured fuser units 

In recent weeks, the company has been steadily adding to its range of remanufactured fuser units, including the latest 

additions of remanufactured fuser units for various HP, Kyocera, Konica Minolta and Xerox devices. 

One of these latest new products added 

to HYB’s range are a remanufactured fuser 

unit for use in Kyocera Fs-1100/1300D 

devices, rebuilt from OEM shells. Also 

added were remanufactured fuser 

units for use in HP LaserJet Enterprise 

600/601/602/603 devices. 

The company said about the launch: “We 

produced the products aiming to deliver 

outstanding quality, dependable results, 

effective cost control instead of 100% high 

cost you paid for the genuine products. 

“HYB insists to offer finished 

Photoconductor Unit, Fuser units based 

on rebuilding of OEM shell in order to 

maintain stably high quality and high 

precision of fitting and functioning 

in the printers or copiers.” 

HYB Toner also announced the addition 

of remanufactured fuser units (fuser 

assembly) for use in Xerox DocuCentre-V 

2060/3060/3065 and DocuCentre-V 

C2260/2263/2265 machines. 

The company also released 

remanufactured drum units for use in 

Konica Minolta Bizhub 552/652/C452/ 

C552/C552DS/C652/C652DS devices. 

The black drum unit comes with page 

yields of 200,000 and the colour drum 

units come with page yields of 100,000 at 

5% coverage. 

Another one of the newly launched 

remanufactured fuser assembly units is for 

use in Kyocera Fs-1024MFP/1124MFP/103 

0MFP/1130MFP/1035MFP/1135MMFP/ 

1120D/1320D/1370DN devices. 

Also launched were remanufactured 

fuser units for use in Kyocera ECOSY 

M2040dn/M2135dn/M2635dn/ 

M2635dw/M2540dn/M2540dw/ 

M3640idw/M2735dw machines. 

One of the latest additions to HYB 

Toner’s product range is a remanufactured 

fuser assembly unit for use in Xerox DC 

286/236/336/2005/2055/305/2007/300 

7 and Xerox Workcentre 5222/5225/5230 

devices. HYB said the products “is one 

of the presented products made in HYB 

remanufacturing factory in Zhuhai.” The 

company added: “It was professionally 

engineered and configured to perform 

the high quality printouts for your Xerox 

machines.” 

Also now available are remanufactured 

fuser assembly units for use in Xerox 

P4510/4500/OKI B710/B720 and Epson 

N3000/M4000 devices. ■ 


on the above and other 

products from HYB, 

please visit their website by 

scanning the QR code. 



EUROPE WISEE, Empty Cartridges, Collection Point, Terminals 

SRDi launches WISEE, a smart terminal for the 

collection of ink cartridges 

Fully developed within the company of La Boissière des Landes, the terminal is also equipped with Artificial 

intelligence named Alis'IA. 

Each year, 46 million inkjet cartridges 

are sold in France and 85% of them are 

thrown in the household garbage despite 

their harmfulness to the environment 

(lead, copper, plastic ...). 

Faced with this strong ecological 

challenge, the company SRDi, specialists 

in the collection, processing and 

distribution of empty ink cartridges, 

imagined an intelligent collection point 

called WISEE. Equipped with artificial 

intelligence, the WISEE terminal detects 

the model and status of the empty ink 

cartridges dropped off to see if they can 

be reused. 

Checking these criteria, the terminal 

estimates their value and pays it either in 

vouchers or a donation to an association. 

While the environmental benefit of this 

device is obvious, its economic interest is 

also one of its main assets. By distributing 

vouchers, the company hopes to see 

an increase of its supply of empty ink 

cartridges. 

“We were looking for a concrete and 

lasting solution to encourage consumers 

to deposit cartridges in collection 

equipment provided for this purpose. 

We then had the idea to design a 

connected terminal that allows to 

promote in a very direct way their ecogestures. 

Moreover, thanks to this device 

we know its filling rate and thus optimise 

our travel,” explained Jean-François 

Jacques, Development Director of SRDi. 

Installed in all partnered supermarkets, 

this unique collection point distributes 

vouchers to consumers or offers them 

to make a donation up to the amount 

displayed at the association of their 

choice. The amount of vouchers or 

donations will vary depending on the 

model and condition of the cartridge 

deposited. 

SRDi company was created in 2005 by 

Pierre-Marie Coutand. She is based in La 

Boissière des Landes, in Vendée. For more 

than two years, SRDi has been working on 

the WISEE terminal devices, an efficient, 

intelligent and secure solution, to collect 

empty ink cartridges individually from 

end users. WISEE was created by the R&D 

centre of SRDi and is manufactured by a 

specialised French company. 

“WISEE is one of the only mass 

distribution devices that will allow 

consumers to earn the money. For us it 

is important to value economically every 

eco-gesture and of us associated with the 

causes that drives us (the League against 

cancer, Institute Curie, etc.). So this 

initiative supports the purchasing power 

of households and also allows associations 

to advance in their struggles or research,” 

added Jacques. 

A patent is pending for this unique 

device and unique in the world. ■ 

To find out more about 

the WISEE terminals, just 

email by scanning the 

QR code. 

NORTH AMERICA CIG, New Products, Cartridges, Postage Metres 

CIG adds to postage cartridge range 

Latest additions to Clover Imaging Group’s (CIG) product range are two new models of ink cartridges for use in postage 

metres. 

Under its ecoPost brand, CIG has added 

two new compatible replacement red ink 

cartridges for use in Quadient (NeoPost) 

IX3 and IX5 devices. The non-OEM 

red ink cartridge for use in Quadient 

(NeoPost) IX3 postage metres boast a 

page yield of 17,000 and the cartridge for 

use in Quadient (NeoPost) IX5 devices 

comes with page yields of 19,500. 

CIG commented on the launch: 

“Get the first true OEM alternative for 

Quadient IXINK357 and IXINK57HC! 

Designed in-house using IP cleared HP 

compatible cartridges and backed by 

Clover’s 100% Performance Guarantee!” ■ 

To learn more about 

these and other products 

from Clover Imaging 

Group, just scan the QR 

code here: 


March 2021 

41


GLOBAL Katun, Eco-Friendly Line, Remanufacturing 

Katun showcases exciting 

new solutions 

Katun launches an exclusive first-to-market toner and waste toner container 

made from more than 95% recycled plastic and releases new products for North 

American dealers. 

Katun has announced a new 

sustainability “break-through” range of 

“first-to-market” toner and waste toner 

container made from more than 95% 

recycled plastic products. 

The first products offered in Katun’s new 

line of Eco-Friendly new-build products, 

are colour toners, for use in Konica 

Minolta Bizhub C364/284/ C224-series 

devices (replacements for OEM part 

numbers TN321K, TN321C, TN321M, 

TN321Y) and a waste toner container 

for the same machine line (equivalent to 

WX-103). 

These products are available to order 

from the Katun Online Catalogue now. 

Katun commented “When it comes to 

the environment, Katun’s policy is to “do 

the right thing.” It applies to its local and 

global communities, especially in the safety 

of its products and how the company treats 

the environment.” 

“We actively participate in the circular 

economy – by selling remanufactured or 

refilled imaging supplies and machines 

that provide our dealer and distributor 

customers with high quality, cost-effective 

replacement parts.” Wherever possible we 

make “every effort to offer eco-friendly 

options across services and programs to 

allow customers to make “green” choices.” 

Katun Corporation announced the 

introduction of several high-quality 

Katun Performance products that are now 

available for purchase for North American 

dealers. 

The company said that its Katun 

Performance colour toner cartridges 

for use in Lexmark CS 310/317 and 

CX 310/317 machines provide OEMequivalent 

yields and image quality. Katun 

added: “These products provide vibrant 

colour and have been manufactured 

in facilities that have earned the ISO 

9001:2015 quality management system 

certificate and the ISO 14001:2015 

environmental management system 

certificate.” 

Katun has also introduced replacement 

colour toner cartridges for use in Ricoh 

P C600-series devices. “These products 

provide vibrant colour, OEM-equivalent 

yields and outstanding performance and 

are backed by the Katun Performance 

warranty. Ricoh dealers purchasing this 

colour toner set will realise significant costper-page 

savings and increased profitability 

on these machines,” the company said. 

Replacement CMYK drum unit chips 

are also now available for Konica Minolta 

Bizhub C450i and C3351-series machines. 

Katun products may be ordered by 

email, phone or via the Katun Online 

Catalogue – the one-stop Internet 

resource that allows registered customers 

to locate and order thousands of Katun 

products while viewing real-time 

information about their orders and 

accounts. ■ 

To find out which products are now 

available in your market, 

customers can access the 

Katun Online Catalogue 

by scanning the QR code. 

GLOBAL Pantum, Global Elite Series, Printers, A4 

Pantum launches new 

Global Elite series 

Pantum has launched the Elite Series, which the company says is a premium 

product series available globally consisting of six models that range from single to 

multi-function printers. 

Among the new series, the BP5100DN is 

the first to hit the markets, beginning in 

Russia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North 

America. Followed by other countries and 

regions. 

Pantum explained that as one of the 

fastest machines in Pantum's current 

A4 product line, the new BP5100DN/ 

BP5100DW delivers the ultimate 

productivity and an unrivalled 

performance, with high-speed printing 

of 40 pages per minute (PPM) for A4 

paper and 42 PPM for letter. The first 

page output is achieved in less than 6.9 

seconds. 

Moreover, it offers capacity with the 

maximum monthly print volume reaching 

80,000 pages, boosted by a powerful 

60-page multi-functional paper tray and 

automatic duplex printing. The machines 

have a separate drum and toner cartridge. 

The Elite Series' BP5100DN/ 

BP5100DW models also are usable with 

Pantum's characteristic one-click driver 

installation technology enabling users 

to set them up with a single click of the 

button. Printing itself is easily executed 

and can be done from a smartphone, via 

the Pantum app, Air print, or Mopria. 

Plus, the models boast a silent mode to 

ensure a quiet and undisturbed work 

environment. 

As such, Pantum describes it as 

particularly suited to small and mediumsized 

enterprises, enterprise workgroups, 

and government users. ■ 



ASIA Print-Rite, Thermometer, PPE, Cartridges 

Utec announces new products 

The latest arrival in Utec’s product portfolio are replacement drum units for use in various Canon devices and a newly 

designed “no waste IP safe” compatible cartridge for use in various Samsung devices. 

In one of its latest announcements, 

Utec highlighted the new addition of 

compatible drum units for use in Canon 

imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5030/ 

C5030i/C5035/C5035i/C5235/C5235i/ 

C5240/C5240i/C5235A/C5240A and 

Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE 

C5045/C5045i/C5051/C5051i/C5250/ 

C5250i/C5255/C5255i devices. The 

compatible drum units are available for all 

four colours. 

Also announced was the addition of 

its newly designed “no waste IP safe” 

compatible cartridge which has been 

designed so 100% of the toner can be 

used. Utec explained that with its “unique 

patent designed Toner Recycle System” 

there will be no waste and “up to 100% 

toner usage with each cartridge cycle.” 

The cartridges come in a compact 

design with “1 cartridge and 2 toner refill 

bottles” and come with three times the 

page yield than from a single cartridge. 

These “no waste” design cartridge are for 

use in SAMSUNG Xpress SL- M2022/ 

M2022W/M2070/M2070W/M2070F/ 

M2070FW devices. 

Print-Rite showcased its new “IP-Safe” 

design and trademark for its compatible 

brother toner cartridges. The RW2 design 

is highlighted on the box specifically to 

represent that the cartridge inside has the 

“IP-Safe” RW2 design inside. 

Available compatible models are 

TN-420/450, TN-630/660, TN- 

730/760/770, TN-221/225, TN-223/227, 

TN-2220/2280, TN-2320/2380, TN- 

2410/2420/2480/2421, TN-241/245 and 

TN-243/247 series cartridges. 

Print-Rite also recently launched the 

battery operated non-contact gun style 

thermometer as part of its range of PPE 

products. The non-contact thermometer 

is ideal for easily monitoring health status. 

The non-contact thermometer gun 

has a measuring range of 32°C ~ 42.5°C 

(89.6°F ~ 108.5°F) and measures a 

person’s temperature in 0.5 seconds. The 

device has a high definition backlight 

display and beep measurement tips. 

It’s multiple functions and a 0 - 100°C 

measuring range make the device suitable 

for measuring body temperature, room 

temperatures, objects, milk, food, bath 

water etc. 

Measurements can be taken between 

3-5cm ensuring a safe, clean, no contact 

measurement that is quick and accurate 

and completed in just 0.5 second. 

Measurements are accurate to ±0.2°C 

(32.36°F) and is switchable between °C 

and °F measurements. 

The device requires 2 AAA batteries 

and has a 32 memory capacity and a 

settable alarm point and has an automatic 

shut off feature if the device is not 

used for 15 seconds. The buzzer can be 

switched on or off. 

The package contents 1 x thermometer 

and 1 x English User Manual. ■ 


on the above-mentioned 

products and more, please 

scan the QR code. 


March 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: 

Meeting new clients and partners at our 

network meetings! 

A strong fight against clever chips, unfair 

patents, waste transport rules etc.! 

PR-work to tell the world about remanufactured 

cartridges and why they are good for both 

consumers and the environment! 

Promotion of top-quality remanufacturing 

(standardisation)! 

Join our business Code of Conduct, and sell 

more cartridges thanks to our logo! 

Meeting 60 top remanufacturers already 

members of ETIRA... 

ETIRA brings the remanufacturing Industry 

together. Be part of the family! 

Haydnlaan 13, 4837 CS Breda, 

The Netherlands Tel: + 31 6 414 614 63 

info@etira.org 

www.etira.org 

ETIRA: WORKING FOR ALL REMANUFACTURERS AND PARTNERS 


March 2021 

45

NEXT ISSUE 

April 2021 

Issue 341 

Right to repair 

provisions of the 

EU Green Deal 

and Circular 

Action Plan 

ISSN 2045 - 2047 (PRINT) MARCH 2021 EDITION 340 PUBLISHED 25 FEBRUARY 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 

errors as soon as possible. Corrections appear on 

the relevant web page and/or in the magazine 

and significant corrections are collated in our 

corrections and clarifications column. 

To complain or advise of a correction please visit 

our “How to Complain” web page at: 

www.therecycler.com/about-us/how-to-complain/ 

We are a member of the Independent Press 

Standards Organisation and commit to abiding to 

the Editors’ Code. More information about IPSO 

and the Code is available at www.ipso.co.uk 

Bureau Office – Germany 

Stefanie Unland 

t. +49 (0) 2582 991 0701 

e. s.unland@therecycler.com 

Contact us: 

www.therecycler.com 

news@therecycler.com 

@RecyclerMedia 

RecyclerMedia 


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


March 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 340

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