Static Control has also evolved into a great company with vision, leading the industry technically and with an infrastructure of talented and dedicated people that I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. This is my opportunity to say “thanks” for all the support, hard work and personal loyalty over the years to those people that I have not had the opportunity to speak with directly, since leaving Static Control at the end of January 2012.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the many “customers” without which no business can survive.  I have enjoyed the hundreds of customer meetings, trade show events and seminars around the world representing the company, assisting in driving the business forward and the industry forward since 1993. I will continue to help drive this industry forward in the future.

After 38 years in the imaging and aftermarket industry I intend to stay involved offering consultancy for clients in the Copier, Laser Printer and Ink Printer markets and accept a few non executive board positions acting in an advisory capacity.

For further information you can contact Steve Weedon at weedon.steve@yahoo.co.uk

Foxconn Technologies, one of the biggest manufacturers of products for HP, Dell and Samsung and other electronics companies, has announced on 18 February that it would raise worker salaries at its Chinese factories, reports The New York Times.

The manufacturing firm stated salaries would immediately jump by 16 to 25 percent to approximately $400 (€302) a month, with a reduction in overtime hours.

The announcement comes following mass criticism over working conditions, with labour rights groups stating the manufacturing firm push workers to endure excessive amounts of overtime in unsafe working conditions.

Foxconn has denied allegations that the workers are treated poorly, although the New York Times states that Apple has acknowledged that some suppliers in China violate Apple’s own code of conduct, including “child labour, forced overtime and unsafe working conditions and evidence that employees are sometimes exposed to hazardous and toxic chemicals” and has announced that the non-profit organisation Fair Labor Association would provide individual audits of its supplier companies, with the results to be made public.

However Avram Piltch, Online Editorial Director, LAPTOP, commented via the website: “Unfortunately neither raises nor inspections that double as photo ops will fix the system-wide problems that should bother us. By focusing their attention on Apple alone, both activists and press are minimising the scope of abuses that are much worse at non-Foxconn facilities.”

300 staff in a Microsoft Xbox 360 manufacturing plant and members of the campaign group China Jasmine Revolution recently threatened mass suicide following disruptions on wage demands.

US news service CNN has uploaded a video of explosives expert Sidney Alford recreating the ‘printer bombs’ previously utilised by terrorist group al-Qaeda.

Two printer bombs, deemed “amongst the most sophisticated devices every put together by al-Qaeda terrorists”, were dropped off at UPS and FedEx offices in Yemen and addressed to the US in October 2010 having been altered by Ibrahim al Asiri, noted as “chief bomb-maker” by CNN.

The toner cartridges had been emptied of toner and replaced with PETN, “a white powdery explosive which is difficult to detect”, with the explosives connected to a timer hidden in the printer circuitry.

CNN state that the intention was to detonate the cargo in planes “over the eastern seaboard of the United States, but the packages were intercepted in the UK and Dubai after a tip from Saudi intelligence”. If detonated, authorities claim the bombs had the potential to bring down the
planes they were travelling on.

Although the video featuring British explosives expert Sidney Alford reveals how the toner was replaced and of the printer exploding, “several critical steps” have been removed so as not to disclose how to assemble the bomb.

One of the toner bottles made from toner powder

Angus Carnie recently confirmed that he has managed to create cartridge parts and components with toner powder  using a casting process, and this latest innovation leads on from that into the manufacture of larger cartridge parts from waste powder.

“It has always been my intention to create actual parts or cartridge casings from the waste toner powder, as this seems the most logical route and forms a closed loop scenario,” Carnie stated.

“Also, from a carbon footprint point of view, the parts can easily be created on site, from the smallest remanufacturer to a global OEM.”

He added that transport of waste toner is the main issue for most manufacturers, and notes that if more companies begin to reuse the powder this should resolve itself.

“One of the biggest costs associated with disposal of toner powder is actually the cost of transport. There are some technical difficulties with certain parts, but in the main if the part is not moving then it can be made.

“Ultimately, I can foresee more and more parts being made from toner powder once suitable testing is completed.”

Carnie also elaborated on the production process involved in making the toner bottle from the powder, stating: “When you consider the ever-increasing cost of disposal and the increasing environmental restrictions on this material, the cost is very comparable.

“To convert large quantities of material will require an element of machinery but the way I have designed this process it works just as well for the small refiller to the largest manufacturer. I produced the shapes in the kitchen of my office!”

He also stated that he hopes in future that OEMs and larger manufacturers may look into and actively take part in powder recycling.

“There will always be customers [who]  for whatever reason are not interested in closed loop recycling. I know from my many years of experience that some refillers just do not care about recycling, and it may be a more convenient route to trade the waste toner powder with a OEM or large remanufacturer.

“However, the OEMs will embrace this process and use as a marketing opportunity.  I know [this] from the current companies that I am working with, [and] I am fairly confident a global OEM will be the first to announce zero landfill cartridges.”

Last year Angus Carnie also told The Recycler that he had managed to invent glue from waste toner products. You can contact him at angus.carnie@virgin.net.

Expert Laser Services MPS consultant and Adventures in Office Imaging blogger Nathan Dube has announced his attendance at Remanexpo Atlanta 2012, where he will be conducting a discussion on social media marketing success in the remanufacturing industry.

The talk, entitled Social Media Success in Remanufacturing, is due to take place on 9 May, the second day of the expo, at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

Areas of discussion include social media marketing, content generation, blogging, building brand awareness and getting real cash ROI and aims to provide inspiration to individuals yet to utilise social media in marketing.

Dube has also recently launched an ebook detailing his involvement in marketing for Expert Laser Services entitled Music, Mischief and Marketing: A Guerrilla’s Guide for the Creative Protagonist and offers “a detailed account of my exploits regarding the wild ride which has been my career in marketing”.

Remanexpo Atlanta 2012 is take place 8 to 10 May 2012 at the Cobb Galleria Centre and will serve the growing domestic market for the toner, inkjet and document printing remanufacturing industry.

Franck Toffa, CEO, MBP Group, has released a statement expressing optimism in 2012, coming on the close of the 2012 Remanexpo Frankfurt exhibition. Toffa remarks on the recent performance of MBP following the “combined effect of the economic crisis and remanufactured cartridges copies (clones) that invade[d] the compatible market”. As a result, 50 percent of the workforce at their Nantes Head Office have left and their Barcelona and Tangier sites have consolidated into one logistics warehouse.

“Until now, even with the business’ ups and downs, I have never experienced anything comparable during my 25-year career. 2011 was tragic for our group and its teams.

“This move marks a turning point: the departure of some of our employees, a number have been with us since the beginning of the adventure in 1991, is traumatic. Our new smaller team has recovered and it is now or never: the group could disappear if MBP France does not come out, with the fate of Spain and Morocco is also on the line.”

The statement from MBP notes that the facility in France is experiencing initial success, with noting the establishment of new balances and better efficiency and also celebrated the success of MBP Spain, formerly the GTA company, which was acquired at the end of 2010: “The work of the entire Iberian team was completed, despite the group’s difficulties: they managed to
finish the first year with profitability! We all have to follow this example for 2012.”

Ninestar has expressed its disappointment at the recent ruling from the USITC, which affirmed the fine levied on the remanufacturer as a consequence of the patent case with Epson.

The case was believed to have been the one settled last month, but The Recycler received new developments last week with the USITC’s affirmation of the fine given to Ninestar by the USITC.

Ninestar stated in a response to the case: “Regarding to the decision newly issued by CAFC which affirmed ITC’s fine, Ninestar feels disappointed at the result because they believe that it has a very good argument but CAFC does not fully consider it. Ninestar will go on with the case.

“The order has nothing to do with the long-running patent dispute between Ninestar and Epson which was settled a few weeks ago. The fine was imposed on Ninestar for its violation of the general exclusion order issued by ITC, while by the settlement of the dispute, Ninestar would, “without admitting any infringements”, and can continue to sell the legal remanufactured cartridges.”

IDC has reported that the western European hardcopy market has seen a decline in 2011, but adds that there is still optimism for growth in 2012.

The decline, tracked by IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, was seen in year-on-year shipments, which fell 2.6 percent to 8.1 million, whilst revenues fell by 10.7 percent from $3.8 billion (€2.86 billion) to $3.3 billion (€2.48 billion) in Q4 2011. However, business inkjets grew by 32.4 percent, colour devices grew by 8.4 percent, and high-speed inkjet grew by 13.6 percent, though consumer inkjet fell by 5.1 percent.

Business inkjet and laser shipments grew by 3.1 percent, whilst monochrome again fell by 6.4 percent with a total reduction in the laser market of 2.1 percent. Monochrome “remains twice the size of the colour market” but the gap between “is narrowing” and both “are beginning to feel some pressure from business inkjet products”, with the monochrome market falling by 12 percent.

In a national context, Germany saw a decline of eight percent to 1.86 million units shipped, with consumer inkjets falling by 14.4 percent, though business inkjet grew by 22.3 percent. The UK remains the second-largest market with 19 percent of all shipments and a growth rate of 1.5 percent, with business inkjet shipments increasing by a huge 57.5 percent in 2011 to help unit sales grow to 1.57 million, though consumer inkjets grew by only 1.4 percent, with overall growth of 3.8 percent in 2011.

France “was the best performing market” of the three nations in Q4 2011, with growth of 10.1 percent as well as shipment of 1.39 million units, with growth seen in inkjet, colour and monochrome laser. Business inkjets increased by 48.3 percent, whilst consumer inkjet grew by 10.1 percent as well. Overall shipments grew by six percent, and growth for 2011 was 1.6 percent.

Arnaud Gagneux, Director of IDC’s Western European Imaging Hardware Devices and Document Solutions group, stated: “2012 will be a key year for manufacturers and their channel partners. In the current economic climate consumers are turning away from printing at home while businesses are making sure that they can benefit from all the new features the latest MFPs and printers can offer.

“Documents are being digitized and workflows streamlined in an attempt by businesses to drive costs out of the business and increase efficiencies.”

The US Court of Appeals has affirmed the rulings of the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) against Ninestar’s continued importing of ink cartridges, failing to comply with exclusion and cease and desist orders.

The ruling as found on Leagle stipulates that “Ninestar US and Town Sky continued to import into the United States and to sell the ink cartridges that were subject to the [cease and desist] orders”, to whit Ninestar argued “that the International Trade Commission incorrectly found infringement by the Ninestar products, that the authority exercised by the Commission to exclude these products and to enforces its orders is in violation of the constitutional principles of separation of powers, and that the proceedings violated Ninestar’s constitutional rights to note, clarity, and a
jury trial”.

However the Court of Appeals “discern[ed] no violation of constitutional structure in the Commission’s authority to levy a civil penalty, and no violation of constitutional protections in the procedures followed and the penalty assessed” and affirmed the Commission’s rulings.

Ninestar and Epson had recently announced a settlement to disputes, in which Ninestar “without admitting any infringements” acknowledged Epson patents as “valid and enforceable” and would cease sales of the accused products, although may continue to sell legally remanufactured cartridges.

Indian sub-distributor Priyanka Computer Services is looking to take legal action against the OEM after it refused to collect or replace expired inkjet cartridge stocks.

According to CRN, the company says that the cartridges are worth Rs 8 lakh ($16,216/€12,197), which, whilst not a particularly large amount, is being pursued due to the OEM’s lack of response to the company’s inquiries.

The company added that HP’s representatives in the area ignored requests from customers of the distributor and continued to send consumables to Priyanka, increasing the backlog of expired consumables. Despite attempts to sell the cartridges in the open market before expiry, the company was apparently given no assistance by HP, leading to the impasse today.

HP cited policy reasons for not taking the expired cartridges back, despite its previous stance on recycling cartridges through shredding and deconstruction. Kishore Makhija, CEO of Priyanka, discussed with CRN his side of the issue.

“We have tried our best to redress the matter with HP. However, despite several interactions with them in-person and over email, they have failed to provide a solution. I have been stuck with a stock worth Rs eight lakh for the past couple of years. I am planning to now file a complaint for unethical business practices against HP under the MRTP Act, and also sue them for unfair business dealings.

“Being the biggest [distributor] for HP in the region, and also an authorized volume partner, we had to stock large quantity. However, the regional team (of HP) without forewarning us, transferred two big rate-contacts to another [distributor] saying that the customers were unhappy with our service. As a result we were stuck with the large stock.”

Makhija added: “We had hoped to sell it in the market, but HP’s strategy of introducing newer models every year with new cartridge technology did not help our cause. Also the local ASM did not help in liquidating the stock, despite repeated requests. None of the distributors mention the expiry date in the invoice, and hence you have to look at each pack, which is not possible when you are ordering in hundreds.

“Over the past couple of years, I have spoken to every level of IPG management on several occasions, and despite assurances to resolve the matter, nothing has happened so far.”

HP sent a communication to CRN to clarify its position, noting that “the reasons behind such a situation arising are justified” as “all cartridges have an expiry date […] our partners have a window of one to one and a half years to sell these cartridges”.