The pause that refreshes; photo credit: Kathy Wirth
Among the world’s many intractable conflicts, one that probably won’t ever be solved in our lifetime is the issue of clone (“copycat”) non-OEM toner and ink cartridges and supplies, and one that appears to becoming increasingly problematic for makers of printers and copier/MFPs. This week’s news – and our own published test report – shows that more than ever.
On the one hand, around the world, but particularly in Southeast Asia, the making of clone toner and ink supplies has been a boon for many. These manufacturers of clone supplies promise customers that their clone toner and ink is as good as that of OEMs’ toner and ink, and is much more affordable than OEM toner and ink (sometimes branded under their own name, sometimes illegally branded under the OEM’s name). At the same time, most makers of printers and copier/MFPs have seen declining profits, and their reliance on their toner and ink revenue stream has become important than ever. Then of course we’ve seen even other players try to get into the game. For years, shady toner-supply characters have set up shop, cold-calling companies and fraudulently claiming that they’re the customer’s regular supplier of toner, and then locking them into toner-supply contracts, with toner marked-up up to 10-times the retail price (this week in California, for instance, one such operation – said to have netted some $126 million – was busted).
The printer and copier/MFP makers have responded on the legal front against clone toner and makers with patent-infringement lawsuits, while at least one OEM has cooperated – as Sharp has an alliance with Clover Technologies Group that enables Sharp dealers to purchase third-party toner cartridges from Clover. However, two big printer/MFP makers, Canon and Toshiba, have filed patent-infringement lawsuits against Katun Corporation for marketing clone toner supplies,
Our own testing experience with clone supplies has been mixed at best. Our testing of inkjet printers with add-on, third-party CISS (continuous ink supply systems) proved disastrous for the most part – we’re talking about ink splattering everywhere, ruined print-outs, and printer failure. Our recent testing of clone toner cartridges for use with HP printers was pretty much the same – from prints with weird color trackings, to the one set of clone toner cartridges that resulted in a loud grinding noise during printing. Of course, everyone wants a “deal,” and many customers will have to learn the hard way that perhaps clone cartridges aren’t saving them much if at all.
As for the clone versus OEM war, there’s still lots of money to be made in toner and ink supplies, and as long as people around the world continue to print, and as the global toner and ink supplies market continues to grow (expected to reach a value of over $33 billion by 2020 according to Technavio), we don’t see the conflict going away any time soon.
Office-Imaging News
- Samsung Adds New A4 Color Desktop All-in-One, Printer, with Dual 800 and 400 MHz CPUs – Read more here.
- 23 Charged in $126 Million Toner-Fraud Scheme – Read more here.
- Should You Buy Third-Party Toner Cartridges for Your Laser Printer? Our Hands-On Test Report Provides the Answers – Read more here.
- Epson EcoTank Inkjet Printers Take on the Antarctic – Read more here.
3D-Printing News
- Fuji Xerox and Keio University Professor Create Data Format for Multi-Color, Multi-Material 3D-Printed Objects – Read more here.
Other News
- HP Reportedly Set to Hike Pricing by 10 Percent in U.K. Following Brexit Vote – Read more here.
- China’s Orink Says New Factory Will Produce Some 1 Million Laser-Printer Cartridges per Month – Read more here.
- Copier Careers: Average Sales Manager Salary is $152,227, MPS ‘Bringing New Life’ to Industry – Read more here.
Acquisitions
- Xerox Said to Be in Talks to Acquire R. R. Donnelly & Sons – Read more here.
- Taylor Completes Acquisition of Staples Print Solutions; Staples to Shutter More Stores in North America – Read more here.
- DEX Acquires Sharp-Dealer Modular Document Solutions in ‘Largest Acquisition to Date’ – Read more here.
People News
- Kitajima is New VP of Canon U.S.A.’s Business Imaging Solutions Group – Read more here.
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July 2016
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