The litigation between ink-maker Collins Inkjet and Eastman Kodak continues in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and before a new venue as well: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In March, Collins Inkjet was awarded a preliminary injunction that would prevent Kodak from charging customers more to
On April 15, Memjet announced the launch of Aspen, a page-wide color inkjet print engine optimized for on-demand, high-quality label and commercial presses. The engine is capable of speeds of 225 feet per minute, full dot control, and flexible configurations for retrofitting printers with digital capabilities. The print engine is capable of integrating with existing
Following close on the heels of Apex Microelectronics’ announcement of new replacement chips for HP 364 and 564 ink tanks (see “Apex Releases Chips for HP Printers with Firmware Upgrade”), Ninestar has announced that it has updated compatible inkjet cartridges designed to replace the HP 564, 364, 178, and 862 series. HP rolled out its
The monochrome laser MFP market has improved both worldwide and in Western Europe in recent quarters. For example, International Data Corporation (IDC) reports that worldwide monochrome laser shipments grew 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, with most of this growth due to the MFP segment (see “Worldwide Hardcopy Peripheral Market Kept Growing in
Apex Microelectronics recently announced the availability of replacement chips for HP 364 and 564 series inkjet cartridges. Apex reports that HP recently updated the firmware utilized by the cartridges, thereby posing increased technical challenges for chipmakers developing aftermarket chips for use in remanufacturing the cartridges. Apex states that HP is directly installing new firmware on
Lexmark appears to have changed the license-agreement terms on Return Program (formerly known as Prebate) cartridges. The change in language indicates that after end users install Return Program cartridges Lexmark will use firmware updates to prevent the use of counterfeit and certain third-party cartridges. Previously, the license-agreement terms for Return Program cartridges read, “Please read
Print-Rite has jumped into the 3D printing market. On April 15, Print-Rite and Union Technology International (MCO) Co. Ltd. (UTec), Print-Rite’s global master distributor, announced the launch of Print-Rite’s first 3D printer. Both traditional printer OEMs and third-party consumable makers are keenly interested in the phenomenal growth forecast for 3D printing. For example, last summer,
On April 14, Xerox sent out a press release addressing the Heartbleed bug and its potential effects on Xerox hardware and software products. The bug, which has been major news over the last couple of weeks, is a vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library Version 1.0.1 to 1.0.1f. (If that’s Greek to you,
On April 14, Konica Minolta announced the acquisition of enterprise content-management (ECM) provider AMS Imaging. Warwick, RI-based AMS Imaging is “New England’s premier enterprise content-management solutions provider,” according to Konica Minolta’s press release, and the primary office location in Warwick will continue to support the New England, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut markets and
The attack of the clones continues, and sales of cloned cartridges are increasing in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Cheap, new-build, patent-infringing consumables are having a profound impact on the printer and MFP consumables market in that region, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), which recently released some second-half 2013 data from its Europe, the