Issue #0927 is dedicated to another brief look at significant recent activity in the battle by printer manufacturers to protect their intellectual property. Hewlett-Packard and Epson are involved, with Epson being the target in two cases rather than the aggressor. Issue #0927 comprises three articles: ; ; . – END –
Issue 0927/1 – Epson has settled out of court in a class action, brought by customers in Canada, alleging that Epson was guilty of “depriving the Class Members from fully benefiting from the Epson Inkjet Cartridges they purchased”. Perhaps a grey area, Epson has taken the swift, but costly, exit route by offering all Epson inkjet customers a compensation package, while not admitting any liability. But, was the class action justified? What was Epson actually guilty of?
Issue 0927/2 – In an intriguing retaliation, Green Project Inc., a Californian-based ink and toner cartridge recycler, recently issued a countersuit against Epson America Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp., alleging “trade secret misappropriation and trespass” while denying Epson’s allegation against Green Project of patent infringement.
Issue 0927/3 – In a mass lawsuit, Hewlett-Packard has filed a complaint against a total of eleven third party supplies manufacturers and resellers in an attempt to block the importation and sales of ink cartridges and other related items into the US. Hewlett-Packard alleges that the items infringe patent protection on its intellectual property.
Issue #0926/2 – Not only has Samsung pushed up its colour print speed capability, to place a colour printer firmly into the fast colour laser bracket capable of serving the corporate environment, but it has done so with cost characteristics that blow most competitors out of the water. In addition to the Samsung CLP-770ND, this 30-35ppm colour laser printer market segment has recently seen a number of new machines – Canon iSENSYS LBP-7750Cdn, HP CLJ CP3525dn, Kyocera FS-C5400DN, Lexmark C736dn – compared here.
Issue 0926/1 – Related to the recent article , Hewlett-Packard admits that the traditional hardware sales model will no longer work and that the company must do whatever it can to access pages rather than printers. It is the migration from analogue to digital that has prompted this reappraisal of the marketing approach needed but why has the electronic age actually resulted in a rise in the number of pages being printed when we are told that we are supposed to be expecting a paperless environment?
Issue 0925/2 – You know how you receive lots of emails containing special offers for this and that? Just received is a mail containing 18 offers! This isn’t what is extraordinary though – 12 of the offers (two-thirds, 67%) involve printers and no less than eight printer manufacturers are represented. These are Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Konica Minolta, Oki, Xerox. — END —
Issue #0925/1 – Making the most significant announcement in some time, Hewlett-Packard revealed plans earlier this week to enable a more thorough Managed Print Services (MPS) offering – through an extended alliance with Canon for use of MFP hardware, which finally plugs the yawning gap in Hewlett-Packard’s printer and MFP hardware line-up, and the creation of a range of on-board MFP solutions designed to streamline and enhance the digital workflow in the enterprise.
Issue #0924/1 – As Xerox’s revolutionary, yes revolutionary, solid inkjet A3 MFP arrives in Europe, Xerox is keen to get the message across that the ColorQube 9200 series will save customers money, save the environment and be good business for its channel. We take a look at why it is revolutionary and why it is set to invade organisations that have never previously embraced Xerox hardware.
Issue #0923/2 – Mid-speed 4-function A4 mono laser MFPs are surprisingly few and far between, with the majority of products sitting below 30ppm. Samsung has introduced two new devices in the 30-35ppm range but only the SCX-5635FN is fully available in Europe at this point. Most of the competitors in the class are also recent introductions: Brother MFC-8880DN; Dell 2335dn; Hewlett-Packard LaserJet M3035xs MFP; Lexmark X364dn; with Xerox’s Phaser 3635MFP/X still being less than a year old.
