Industry Clicks on Biggest News Stories for June

Industry Clicks on Biggest News Stories for June 2020

Tens of thousands have clicked on the imaging news stories during the month of June on the RT Media website. Out of the 89 stories for the month, the top ten stories received more than half of the clicks.

The top 10 imaging news stories for the month (starting with the biggest) were:

HP’s Despicable Tricks Continue: HP released a new range of printer cartridges embedded with a chip that can trigger a firmware update in their laser printers. The firmware updates include security and quality enhancements but also have a lockout function. This lockout function stops users from using third-party or aftermarket cartridges in the printer. HP has done this before using the internet to secretly update the printer’s firmware. But now, an HP cartridge with the embedded chip can update the printer even without the user being aware. Consumers in coronavirus lockdown have taken their anger with HP to social media.
More Chinese Companies Go Public:
- Aster Graphics lodged an application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for its subsidiary. The new public company expects to be listed as Planet Image International Limited sometime later this year. In its application, Planet Image claims to be the second-largest compatible cartridge manufacturer in China with 13.2% of the international market.
- And China-based HG Technologies actually went public on June 23 with an issue of stock shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. HG is based in Hebei Province and develops and manufactures OPC drums and toner for laser printers and copiers.
India to Add Duties to Toners from China: A government department in India has recommended duties be added to all black, dry toners being imported from China, Malaysia and Chinese Taiwan. It follows an investigation requested by Pure Toners and Developers, and Indian Toners and Developers back in March. They claimed that cheap toners are being dumped into India making it impossible for local manufacturers to compete.
Print-Rite Pelikan Solutions closed its offices in Paris this month:
- European CEO Steve Weedon said the company had to adapt to market changes to better serve its customers. Other offices located in Hanover Germany and Nottingham in the UK will handle operations going forward.
- At the same time, Cartridge World France was appointed as an authorised distributor of Print-Rite and Pelikan branded printer cartridges in French-speaking regions.
COVID-19 Acts as a Catalyst for Better Customer Solutions: Paul Callow has teamed up with Lexmark in France to cut all the red tape for small to medium-sized enterprises. Callow claims he has found the holy grail when it comes to providing a completely new, hassle-free, fixed price, monthly agreement for printers and consumables.
Page Volumes to Decline: International Data Corporation claims worldwide page volumes from office and home devices combined will see a sharp decline in 2020. IDC says COVID-19 has changed where and how work is done which includes printing. The research and analyst company forecast total page volume will fall 13.7% from 3.2 trillion pages in 2019 to 2.8 trillion pages in 2020.
China Invests More into Printers: Despite flat sales of printing devices in the key US and European markets, one Chinese company is investing in what it sees as a dynamically growing market. Xiaomi released its new multifunction wireless inkjet printer into the booming Chinese domestic market this month. The device is priced at 70 US dollars.
Canon Makes 8 Requests of Amazon: Canon continued to file infringement reports with online e-commerce giant Amazon during the month.
- The OEM made no fewer than eight separate requests during the month to remove toner cartridges that allegedly infringe its patents.
- Listings were removed by Amazon in the USA, Canada, Turkey, the UK and Australia.
Amazon to Fight Fakes: At the same time, Amazon has set up a new Counterfeit Crimes Unit made up of former federal prosecutors, investigators and data analysts to fight counterfeit products on its website.
Magazine Reach Century Goal: According to Gustavo Molinatti, the five most important markets in Latin America are Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Peru.
- Based in Buenos Aires, Molinatti celebrated the 100th edition of the combined Guia del Reciclador and RT Imaging World magazine this month.
- The latest English language magazine features Static Control’s Chris Nichols on the front cover. This edition focuses on standards and testing and has a very important directory containing 55 standards related to printing and imaging supplies that you should know about. Look out for the hardcopy, but if you cannot wait, do what over a 1000 people did last month and download the magazine for free online.