Remanufacturer Reacts to HP SecuReuse Initiative

Remanufacturer Reacts to HP SecuReuse Initiative

I read with interest the article regarding HP’s announcement about providing its chips to remanufacturers in Western Europe. They are calling it the SecuReuse program.

I know that some are doubting the integrity of this program, and others seem confused. I must say I was delighted to hear this news.

As far as I am concerned, HP is one of the few OEM brands that is open to remanufacturing its toner cartridges. HP is dead against new builds and clones. They are not alone. Most of us who remanufacture cartridges are opposed to them as well.

I wish brands, particularly Pantum, Lexmark, and others that use Lexmark technology like Xerox, would allow their chips to be programmed for the remanufacturing industry, too. I wonder if it is because their parent company, Ninestar, is the biggest company with all its different subsidiaries in the aftermarket sector for toner and ink cartridges.

The Ninestar group invest heavily in the research and development of cartridge chips needed to remanufacture cartridges or manufacture new built cartridges for most printer brands, including HP, Samsung, Brother, OKI, and Canon.

However, they guard their own brands fiercely, and the aftermarket sector is unable to develop chip technologies for remanufacturing these cartridges.

We all know that Ninestar is a leading player in the aftermarket sector for ink and toner cartridges. They have developed some great products. And they are now an OEM, too. They have conquered the divide that used to separate OEMs from the aftermarket. I am the first to congratulate them for achieving this result.

However, when it comes to the chips, they behave more like an OEM than an aftermarket company with their Lexmark, Pantum and Xerox products, making it very difficult or impossible for anybody else to develop the chips to remanufacture their cartridges.

In my view, the industry is at a crossroads here in Europe. The Ambiente Expo in Frankfurt has indicated it is moving its office supplies exhibits to Dubai. This is probably because not many people come to the German expo looking for these products anymore. I have to admit I have not attended the expo for the last two years, as there are no new products on show, nor in the RemanExpo pavilion.

It seems Ninestar and its subsidiaries dominate the show. On my last visit, they had plenty of solutions available for other OEM printer brands but nothing to offer us remanufacturers for their own printing devices. Apart from the promised EU legislation on greener products for the office, maybe this is a reason why HP has picked Western Europe for its SecuReuse program.

Gabriel Kearney is the Managing Director of Select Cartridge, a professional ink cartridge refilling company based in Galway, a harbour city on Ireland’s west coast, facing the Atlantic Ocean. He runs his one-stop shop as a local businessman, providing end-users with printers and original or remanufactured consumables. He promises a printing experience second to none with a next-day delivery service anywhere in Ireland. As such, he is an authorised reseller for OKI Data, Canon, Lexmark and Brother, as well as stocking Epson, HP, and Samsung printers as well.

Related:

• HP to Introduce Initiative for Remanufactured Consumables
• Christian Pepper opinion: HP SecuReuse – “It’s a Trap”

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