Following a two-year campaign, the New Jersey Assembly has recently passed legislation requiring ink cartridges to display the estimated number of pages it could print, reports NewsWorks New Jersey.

New Jersey State Assemblyman Paul Moriarty introduced the legislation in June 2010 requiring ink manufacturers to label ink cartridges, with Steve Pociask presenting information on the issue. Pociask stipulated that manufacturers needed to improve product labelling to inform consumers towards good buying decisions.

Pociask’s research claimed consumers were spending too much on ink as manufacturers did not disclose the cost of printing before they purchase a printer, citing in some cases the cost of the printer may only be 10 to 15 percent of the lifetime ink cost of owning and using a printer.

Moriarty commented “Printer ink could possible be more expensive than Dom Perignon Champagne or the most expensive Paris perfumes because you get less than an ounce of printer ink in those cartridges and yet sometimes you’re paying $50 (€37) for less than an ounce.

With the bill passed, NewsWorks speculated that it was “unclear whether ink makers would comply with this mandate to keep selling in New Jersey. In the past, electronics companies have bristled at tailoring products to individual state regulations.”

Independents office products dealer RJ Young has acquired several Ricoh direct branches in Huntsville, Alabama; Columbus, Tupelo; and Gulfport, Mississippi, with President Chip Crunk providing an interview with The Week In Imaging.

Crunk remarks that the dealer was made following “a long, long process” following his approaching [Ricoh’s] Kirk Yoshida, although the affair was delayed due to the announcement of the IKON acquisition.

The locations were chosen as “[RJ Young] already have offices in today. We kind of went from a second and third-tier vendor and are now a dominant player in all of those markets”.

When queried on managerial differences, Crunk stated “our sales rep income is based on profitability, which is a little bit different than the way they do it where it’s based on revenue. Our objective is to be involved with the communities in those marketplaces and do what we can to continue to grow in these markets.”

The Week In Imaging remark that the acquisition “represented a huge win for the independent dealer channel, a channel that has long been a slow-moving target for manufacturers looking to bolster their direct channel business.

“This news takes everything we’ve seen to date on the acquisitions front and twists it around like a pretzel. Imaging an independent dealer acquiring manufacturer’s direct branches? It’s as if we’ve just landed in Bizarro World.”

ITVar News has published comments from three printing industry veterans from Canon, HP and Epson on wireless printing solutions.

Jalaj Roy Choudhury, ITVar, makes mention of the opportunities wireless printing can provide, stating “seamless mobility can drive new business processes that take advantage of point-of-transaction printing to improve worker productivity, labelling accuracy and responsiveness to customer needs”.

Notable in the discussion is that all three OEM spokespersons were universally positive about wireless printing, each seeing Wi-Fi as an enabler of business solutions.

VP Sajeevan, Director of CSP Division, Canon, stated: “We need to understand the space of wireless printing solutions. Basically there are two divisions – one is business and the other is consumer space. In the business space, network printing is coming in a big way. Whereas in consumer space consumption for HOME offices are catching up with the growing internet usage. So Wi-Fi have an added advantage in this space, as people are using tabs, laptops, smartphones, so it becomes easy for them to fire a print from these devices […] People using Android or Apple application based phones are moving towards cloud printing. Wi-Fi is the buzz word in the industry these days.

“In mobile printing users need a convenient method of printing. People should not struggle to fire off a print. So Wi-Fi will play an important role in this, as it means anytime, anywhere printing.”

These sentiments were shared by Praveen Kumar, Country Category Manager of Volume Laserjets for HP IPG, who stated that the education sector was picking up on wireless printing, with students quick to adapt to smartphone technology.

Finally, Ram Prasad, Deputy General Manager of Consumer Products at Epson, added: “These days’ people are using personal devices like laptops, tablets, smartphones which creates a need for the Wi-Fi […] But this is still in a nascent stage […]Mobile printing not only saves time but also saves networking, wire and the most important feature is the portability.

“ It saves money and time as well. We have applications like AirPrint for the popular smartphones, iPrint for the Apple products, Google Print using Google Docs for Cloud printing and also Epson email printing: here a person can fire a print anytime and from anywhere.”

A number of aftermarket companies have begun embracing smartphone technology, including TonerMan, whose app was recently demonstrated to great popularity at Remanexpo Frankfurt 2012. (http://www.therecycler.com/posts/remanexpo-2012-day-three/)

Digital news digest Dubai Update has reported on the economic recovery of Dubai in 2011, citing a review of economic indicators of customs, air travel and hotels. Dubai customs data reveals a jump in trade of 24 percent for the first six months of 2011, while hotel guest numbers rose by
11 percent to 6.64 million for Q1, 2 and 3 2011. Airport figures show that passenger throughput increased to 46.28 million, rising by 7.8 percent during the first 11 months.

Dubai has also ranked highly on a number of economic studies, including being named “Midele East City of the Future” in FDi magazine, scoring a perfect 100 in infrastructure and financial centres catagories; and being named the top ranked financial centre in the Middle East in the Global Financial Centres Index. Dubai was also ranked among the global top 10 business locations by CB Richard Ellis.

The Middle East printing industry is predicted to experience growth, with Ahmad Bin Hassan Al Shiek, Chairman of the Printing and Publishing Group, foreseeing a five percent growth in 2012 on the back of technological advancements. A number of OEMs have also reiterated their dedication to the Middle East, including Canon and HP.

HP have offered a cashback scheme for customers purchasing two or more from a selected range of laser toner cartridges in a single transaction if purchased between 6 February to 31 March.

Utilising the tagline “It’s more than toner, it’s a toner cash back”, customers are required to complete and return an online form, along with proof of purchase.

The range include CE505A, Q7553X and CC530A-3A and cashback amounts range from £30 ($47/ €35) to £140 ($220/ €167). The offer is only available to private end users and business customers in the UK and Northern Ireland, and claims where the products purchased will be resold or rented to a third-party are ineligible.

However Alan Castro, LaserCare Anglia, expressed reservations at the scheme, which is a continuation of one earlier in the year: “For HP to offer a cartridge cashback scheme says a lot about the considerable impact of the aftermarket products on HP’s sales of toners because if you manage to successfully complete the rather tortuous claim-back procedure, the savings appear to be worth having, assuming of course you are an end user who always buys originals.

“If however the end user is used to buying cheap compatibles then this scheme won’t change much but genuine UK remanufacturers, who might normally charge near to the wholesale price for their products, should be very aware that when you do the calculations on what an end user
would pay for this select list of cartridges under the scheme, you may find your products to be more expensive.”

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

The company's booth at Remanexpo 2012

On the company’s website, Automation System noted that there was “less presence of manufacturers of machinery and technology” due to the fact that there are “only a few producers in Europe [that] can provide excellent quality products at competitive prices”.

The company noted that this meant there were “few competitors” for its machines, and in turn it was able to “bring to the world stage the unique quality” of its own machines, including the Air 2 and Dose Toner machines for extracting toner dust and bottling toner for remanufacturing.

Automation System added that the show allowed it to present its “quality and technological innovation” which gave a “largely rewarding” result for the company. It added that Remanexpo “got inside the heart of a difficulty world economic situation”, and “was able to return to a small exigent and heterogeneous audience [of] companies prepared and ready to supply the need of growth”.

The company’s thoughts on the show concluded with the mention of keywords “that remain clear in mind after Remanexpo 2012”, including “reliability”, “technological innovation” and “certified quality”.

Automation System is the latest company to report its success at Remanexpo Europe 2012, with MSE and DCI/Jet Tec giving positive feedback on the first outing in Europe for the show in its new guise.

Kodak has announced plans to exit the digital camera business by Q2 2012, as the bankrupt printer manufacturer and inventor of the digital camera attempts to cut costs, reports Reuters.

Kodak has stated that the decision will result in “significant” job losses, with the majority of the 400 people in camera research, development and marketing based in Rochester, New York. Pocket digital cameras and digital picture frames are among products no longer sold. Kodak will offer the brand available for other camera makers to license, and spokesperson Christopher Veronda states that several have expressed “significant interest”.

The move marks further cost-cutting measures as the company aims to focus on the printer market. IDC analyst Christopher Chute commented: “The printer initiative took over (in the last decade), and they took their eye off the ball in the camera and camcorder space.”

Although remaining in the top three digital camera makers in the world up to 2006, Reuters comments on Kodak’s performance in the printer market means it lags sixth in the world although was the only brand to grow in the double-digit percentage range in the last two years according to research from NPD Group.

NPD analyst Stephen Baker elaborated on the pressure from investors to dedicate focus on the printer market, as margins are higher for products including printer ink cartridges, and are
purchased more frequently: “As a business entity, their focus was always on consumable businesses, and rethinking how you can sell (camera) hardware that only sells every few years is a very different kind of business. Getting out of a market that’s declining rapidly… is probably a good idea.”

It is estimated that US camera sales have fallen by 20 percent between 2010 and 2011. Kodak have stated that the company intends to honour all related product warranties, and provide technical support and service for its cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames.

Canon Chairman and CEO Fujio Mitarai

Hindu Business Line reports that the company is “betting on the rising income of [the] middle class” in India, and whilst there are currently no plans to develop manufacturing units in the country, the OEM is already looking to set up call centres to gain a foothold in India, and software development is already based there.

In 2011, Canon reported revenues of over $45 billion, and the OEM asked the Indian government to “take steps to improve infrastructure” to “help encourage foreign players” in setting up manufacturing bases there. In the previous year, Canon’s sales in India reached Rs 1,260 crore ($255.8 million/€192.7 million), with this increasing to Rs 1,525 crore ($309.6 million/€233.2 million) in 2011, and by 2015, it hopes to earn Rs 2,280 crore ($462.8 million/€348.7 million) in 2012.

Fujio Mitarai, Chairman and CEO of Canon, stated: “India plays an important role for Canon as a market. Currently, it accounts for less than 2 per cent of Canon’s global revenues but we expect it to grow to 5 per cent.

“I will go back to Japan and tell my team to look into the possibility of setting up a global call centre here. There are no plans to set up a manufacturing unit in India but if business grows and sales picks up then we will consider it.”

Canon recently announced that it would be opening 300 outlets in the country, an announcement foreshadowing the OEM’s intentions in India.

The inkjet refill system manufacturer has partnered with US electronics chain Fry’s Electronics to offer its refill systems to consumers.

Retail Inkjets Solutions (RIS) has confirmed its new partnership with Fry’s Electronics will be rolled out to all stores across the United States in the first quarter of 2012, with customers simply needing to bring in empty cartridges to the stores’ Service Departments to get them refilled while they shop.

Fry’s Electronics stores are designed as retail electronics outlets for “hi-tech professional[s]”, and the company noted that they tested other cartridge refilling equipment before choosing RIS’ systems, with RIS adding that a recent study by Quality Logic concluded that its refills delivered “10 to 20 percent more pages than a new cartridge”.

RIS added that the expansion into Fry’s stores “may signal the resurgence of retail on-site inkjet refilling, which got off to a quick start and then stagnated after poor quality issues surfaced”.

Jeff Staat, Director of Service Operations at Fry’s, stated: “Once we found a solution that delivers like-new quality, it was an easy decision to offer this service to our customers.

“RIS was the winner, hands down. With more relevant cartridges especially single colour tanks, sales jumped dramatically once we installed the RIS InkCenter.”

Cecilia Gonzales, CEO of RIS, added: “Our page counts and print quality provide customers with the like-new experience they expect, setting RIS apart from competitive refill solutions. Customers love the quality and the savings they get at Fry’s and have responded by becoming repeat refillers.”

Actionable Intelligence’s Charlie Brewer noted that “the fact that Fry’s is going all in for refilling indicates that the category may have finally overcome its initial problems and Fry’s feels it has found a quality solution”, adding that “Fry’s wouldn’t invest in this market without proven customer demand”.

RIS has installed its refill machines in a series of other establishments and universities over the past few months, including deals with New York University, the University of Wisconsin and Utah’s Brigham-Young University.

Image attributed to LayerWise

A 3D printed jaw has been transplanted onto a patient in what is said to be the first operation involving a printed joint.

The BBC reports  that the jaw was manufactured from titanium powder, which was heated and fused together by a laser beam “one layer at a time” as with normal 3D printing, with the transplant itself carried out in June 2011.

The 83 year old patient had developed a bone infection that would have required reconstructive surgery, which was said to have been “risky” due to the patient’s age. Instead the part was manufactured through specifications and then printed in a few hours by 3D printing company and metal-parts manufacturer LayerWise.

The operation took four hours, with a ceramic coating added to the transplant before it was attached to the patient’s face. The woman was able to go home four days later, and was able to speak and swallow within a day of the operation. The manufactured jaw weighs 107g, a third heavier than the jawbone, but doctors said she should “find it easy” to get used to the extra weight.

Ruben Wauthle, Medical Applications Engineer at LayerWise, stated: “Once we received the 3D digital design, the part was split up automatically into 2D layers and then we sent those cross sections to the printing machine.

“It used a laser beam to melt successive thin layers of titanium powder together to build the part. This was repeated with each cross section melted to the previous layer. It took 33 layers to build 1mm of height, so you can imagine there were many thousand layers necessary to build this jawbone.”

Dr Jules Poukens of Hasselt University, who led the surgery, noted: “Shortly after waking up from the anaesthetics the patient spoke a few words, and the day after the patient was able to swallow again. The surgery time decreases because the implants perfectly fit the patients.

“The new treatment is a world premiere because it concerns the first patient-specific implant in replacement of the entire lower jaw.”

Waulthe added: “The advantages are that the surgery time decreases because the implants perfectly fit the patients and hospitalisation time also lowers – all reducing medical costs.

“You can build parts that you can’t create using any other technique. For example you can print porous titanium structures which allow bone in-growth and allow a better fixation of the implant, giving it a longer lifetime.”

“There are still big biological and chemical issues to be solved. At the moment we use metal powder for printing. To print organic tissue and bone you would need organic material as your ‘ink’. Technically it could be possible – but there is still a long way to go before we’re there.”