Digitalization and sustainability have become an indivisible binomial.
To obtain sustainable printing, it is not enough to raise awareness in business and industry; society must also be aware of the importance of the term ‘sustainable brand’, which implies knowing under what conditions the product has been manufactured and with what materials. To this end, public administrations must be responsible for informing society and taking measures in this regard, so that society finds other motivations apart from the quality/price ratio of a product. Certain NGOs and citizens’ groups are already making efforts at the educational level, but there is still a long way to go before people are aware of and can become adequately involved in the maintenance of the environment. We must reach the point where consumers, before buying a product and looking at the price, look more closely at whether its manufacture avoids the emission of hazardous substances, and that it has been assessed and approved by experts and independent institutions.
The so-called digital transition and ecological transition are practically omnipresent on institutional and legislative agendas, and the main industrial players at national and international level take it for granted that one revolution cannot take place without the other. Analyses made during the confinement confirm that the most sustainable mobility is that which is not produced, recommending taking advantage of the benefits offered by technologies to foster teleworking and increase remote management and service delivery models.
Automation, driven by artificial intelligence and IoT connectivity, is one element that opens the door to much more efficient mobility models in this sector.
Source:Nubeprint
Managed print services will see a recovery in the next few years.
The market was negatively impacted with the emergence of COVID-19, but strict regulations imposed to reduce plastic waste and efforts to reduce operating costs are expected to drive growth in such services. Large enterprises have been the primary demand for managed print services, and demand is growing among small businesses and consumers.
The global managed print services (MPS) market generated $30.91 billion in revenue in 2019, and is projected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2% from 2020 to 2027, according to Grand View Research. Meanwhile, the SME segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR from 2020 to 2027. This may be associated with the changing trend of smaller organizations towards subscribing to managed print services, as well as the increased ease of access to such services, such as with the Nubeprint app that allows the end customer to activate the subscription service for consumables replenishment from mobile.
In 2019, the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) segment dominated the global managed print services market. Increasing demand for MPS systems in government, IT, telecom, education, and retail organizations is expected to drive market growth.
Adoption of MPS can help reduce local printer requirements, analyze printing needs, replace inefficient devices, extend the life of efficient ones, automate supply delivery, reduce or even eliminate single-use cartridges, and enable remote operations. In addition, the growing need to reduce energy consumption and provide customizable solutions is expected to generate demand for such services. These services have access to email, ERP systems, and cloud-based repositories. In addition, features such as higher performance, lower prices, reduced physical footprint, and increased productivity are expected to fuel the growth of such services.
Source: Grand View Research, Nubeprint
The chip crisis prevents MPS service providers from automatically managing printer cartridge replenishment.
The chip crisis is causing an adverse effect on the office printing industry. The manufacturer Canon announced that it has started to market some print cartridges without the functionalities enabled by the chips because the appropriate electronics are not available. One of these features is the ability to know the level of consumable remaining in the cartridge at any given moment. In cost-per-copy contracts and in consumables replacement subscription services, information on the remaining toner level is crucial. When this information is not available, the supplier (service provider) does not know whether or not to send a cartridge, preventing it from fulfilling the services contracted with its customers.
To solve this problem, Nubeprint has implemented Virtual Level Sensor (VLS) technology. Thanks to this unique Nubeprint technology, the supplier knows in real time the level of the cartridge. VLS supports computerized cartridge replenishment management: The supplier sets alert thresholds; alerts are automatically notified in order to initiate the consumables shipment process.
Any Nubeprint customer of Enterprise and Zero 2020 and later versions can have VLS technology or request activation by contacting info@nubeprint.com
Source: Tonernews.com, Xataka.com, Nubeprint
The demand for subscription services in printing has skyrocketed and is now a reality.
The survey of business users of different sizes reveals that 40% of respondents have an automatic ink/toner delivery service and another 43%, who do not currently have one, would be interested in obtaining one. Fifty-two percent of respondents from smaller organizations have a subscription, compared to only 27% among larger companies.
The data points to a development of two speeds in moving to hybrid work, where small and medium-sized companies are moving more quickly than larger, less agile companies. The former is more proactive in addressing security issues and provides more support to home workers, who in turn report higher productivity than their counterparts in larger companies.
Employees in larger companies feel less productive than their SME counterparts, which is of concern because this group is the most likely to continue working from home in the future. It may be due to the fact that larger companies have larger work teams that need more support to collaborate effectively. It may also be due to having more legacy processes, which makes it difficult to digitize as quickly as in smaller, more agile organizations.
If large enterprises want to succeed with hybrid work, they must act with urgency to better control and automate the provisioning of supplies for their workforce and provide better support for the remote workforce.
There is a great opportunity for print equipment and supplies distributors to offer customized services to new hybrid organizations to help them transition safely and cost-effectively from face-to-face to hybrid work. An automatic consumables replenishment service enables the remote worker to maintain productivity. The client company perceives it as a cost control service tailored to its specific needs.
Source: Quocirca, Nubeprint
We are entering 2022 and with it positive expectations regarding the end of the pandemic caused by Covid19. However, the confinement is not only not over, but has been aggravated by the arrival of a new variant of the virus. Despite this, some business niches have adapted and even increased their sales. Such is the case of home printing equipment, which, with teleworking and distance learning, has consolidated a market that requires smaller devices, but just as efficient as those used in companies.
Over time, people have become more accustomed to new ways of doing business from home and this includes working with printing equipment that allows them to visualize their files in a wide and detailed way. This is how home printing has become established and adapted to the needs demanded by the market in terms of efficiency, utility and savings.
There are still some work sectors for which printing is essential, and that is why there is a need for home equipment that has the same fidelity as the devices in the office, and with similar services that avoid the distractions caused by their maintenance. Similarly, print cost control must be maintained in teleworking equipment. This is already being done with offers of automatic replenishment services in which printers are monitored at all times with the Nubeprint mobile app.
Source: Nubeprint
From an environmental point of view, original and alternative consumables have the same carbon footprint.
From an environmental point of view, original and alternative consumables have the same carbon footprint.
Today’s customers want products to be green, affordable and high quality but committed to a positive impact on society and the environment. The paradox occurs in the face of a lack of user awareness and maliciously encouraged by the industry that seeks to confuse concepts such as originals, clones, remanufactured, refills and pirates.
If we ask a group of printer consumables buyers how they would define an “original” product, the immediate response is that it is a product that is “new and of the same brand as the printer”. But that is not necessarily the case, because major brands such as Lexmark, Xerox and others have return and remanufacturing programs, and sell their product as original regardless of whether it is new or remanufactured.
Brands launch anti-piracy schemes using terms such as: consuming non-original products causes damage to printers that will not be covered by the “brand warranty”.
A clone product is an alternative but it is also new and spends the same carbon footprint as a new original in its production, and here the brands are right to be careful in the use of their patents because the supply does not have the same quality standard and can effectively damage the use of the printers. In addition to the damage generated by substandard manufacturing, many clones do not live up to the performance they claim to have.
To ensure the highest sustainability, remanufactured or remanufacturable cartridges should be used. This is the understanding of legislation in France, Italy and the Balearic Islands in Spain.
Source:Imprime Verde, Nubeprint
The shortage of semiconductor chips in the market has created new opportunities for the printing channel.
The global shortage of semiconductor chips will persist until mid-2023. This was driven by the Covid-19 pandemic that has led to increased demand for smartphones, laptops, printers and tablets to support remote work, as well as consumer demand for home technology. This has been joined by massive new demands for chips, most notably the automotive industry. All this has put immense pressure on factories, leading to demand outstripping supply.
According to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales were $45.4 billion in the month of July 2021, a 29% increase over the July 2020 total.
This upward trend is likely to continue due to ongoing post-pandemic digitization, 5G and WiFi 6 upgrade cycles to the wireless market, and the need for more advanced chips for applications such as AI and machine learning along with cloud computing. The continued rapid growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is a heavy burden on the chip market struggling to return to full supply capabilities.
The printing industry has already been hampered by office closures that have seen print volumes decline significantly. Chip shortages are creating more uncertainty in the market, with many OEMs reporting the impact on their financial statements. Like many industries, print manufacturers have been using alternative supply routes and re-engineering devices to meet customer needs. Beyond chip shortages, the industry also faces challenges related to material availability, labor shortages, blockages and logistics.
Limited chip supplies are putting pressure on margins and, predictably, prices are rising; according to The Wall Street Journal , printer prices have increased more than 20% in a year.
In an already challenging business landscape, how can MPS and print material suppliers in general best handle supply chain disruption?
As some workers return to the office, organizations may be looking to change the size and type of their printer fleets to support a more flexible, hybrid workforce (meaning one that works from both the office and home). Hence, extending current MPS contracts can only be a short-term solution.
There is always a risk that, as companies evaluate the office space they need, lower print volumes on fewer devices will become the new reality. To this must also be added the need for printing by home workers, without which the productivity of some jobs is being seriously affected.
However, the industry has long needed to transform into something that goes beyond the change of equipment. The chip shortage should be seen as an excellent opportunity to consider how to build value-added solutions and services around hardware that can pave the way for customer relationships focused on higher-value service over the long term. This is also driven by the growing demand for sustainable solutions, including the use of equipment based on its functional life (and not on contractual criteria or other whims).
In these times of scarcity, we are experiencing a boom of companies offering refurbished equipment. While their opportunity is based on the simple fact of having stock to meet a demand, it should not escape our attention that the incorporation of this equipment in a company favors the fulfillment of its sustainability objectives. Consequently, those MPS companies must learn to manage the growing value of having printing resources in a market where demand far outstrips supply.
Moving print to the cloud is another opportunity for the industry. It allows the company to minimize dependence on new print servers and its benefits go beyond hardware. A cloud print infrastructure minimizes the IT burden, reduces costs (financial and environmental) and can help an organization better manage and monitor print security.
The new organization of work in a hybrid environment brings the opportunity to sell work-from-home specific equipment and in turn the opportunity to manage their needs along with that of office-based equipment. Only by demonstrating to the customer company that telecommuting printers are under the same tight cost control will they agree to provide remote printers to the workstations that need them. Clearly, this is possible with Nubeprint’s distributed monitoring ecosystem that can be activated from the teleworker’s smartphone.
Sustainability in printing is also a factor that creates new opportunities around printers (extending their useful life) and consumables (facilitating their circular economy). Some legislations already recognize this. Italy, France and the Balearic Islands (Spain) have been the pioneers. But many other countries are preparing their legislation. And practically all major companies include it in their Sustainability, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) objectives.
Source:SIA, RTM World, Nubeprint
Paper made from stone instead of trees was developed 20 years ago, mainly for offset printing, but a new improved version makes it suitable for office and home use; this paper uses mainly stone powder, no trees or water are required and only a fraction of the energy invested in other paper manufacturing processes is needed for its production, thus drastically reducing CO2 emissions and eliminating poisonous chemicals.
As a result, the paper is cheaper to produce and is better for the environment than conventional paper products.
Stone paper is 80% calcium carbonate, a substance that is much more abundant than trees and is also a common by-product of carbon-consuming industrial processes. The other 20% is polyethylene.
Stone paper uses HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic, the extreme efficiency of this minor component reduces the total fossil fuel consumption of paper production and completely eliminates wastewater and trees from paper production. The plastic component is actually the key to its extreme sustainability.
These two ingredients make the paper waterproof, non-toxic, tear-resistant, soft to the touch and bright white without any chemical bleach. The base material is photodegradable, which means it reverts back to calcium carbonate in 6 months under direct sunlight, is highly recyclable and is easier to remove ink than regular paper.
It can be mechanically recycled and incinerated without producing high emissions or ash. Incineration of stone paper leaves only calcium carbonate for later use in other industries.
Source:Pebble Printing Group, Nubeprint
Covid-19 has forced IT (information technology) teams and
business leaders to rethink where and how their employees will
work. With the new normality already in place, but challenged by
the Delta and Omicron variants, many organizations are still
trying to determine what their future hybrid work model will
look like; recent survey data from the International Data
Corporation (IDC) shows that stability and geography will define
the balance of future work strategies.
Globally, physical offices are still expected to be the dominant
location for work, as organizations are in a more stable
environment, but are not free from contagion. However, the mix
of office, remote, out-of-office and field workers is expected to
vary from region to region. Workers in Asia/Pacific, for example,
are more likely to opt for physical office space as a primary
workplace compared to the United States and Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA). In EMEA, where a much higher
proportion of respondents (27%) prefer to work from home or
remote locations as their primary work location.
Working primarily within office facilities, while a dominant
option, will be part of a hybrid mix that will adapt to new and
unforeseen challenges of organizational, political, social and
health instability.
Another important aspect of these hybrid work strategies is the
effort to achieve “experience parity” i.e., an employee
experience where the hybrid workforce ensures that all workers
interact safely with corporate resources in a consistent context
across all locations; it is popular knowledge that most
organizations have not yet achieved parity of experience; nearly
half of the companies surveyed by IDC indicated that their
hybrid work technologies, policies and processes were “in
progress” with most key resources available to remote
employees. This confirms that providing print resources to those
teleworkers who need them is an unfinished business and a
significant opportunity for the print industry.
Investment in digital and work transformation technologies is in
line with organizational imperatives around enhancing the new
business normal and increasing employee productivity.
Source:IDC, Nubeprint
Sustainability drives the shift to a subscription-based consumables supply model?
The prestigious BlueAngel label that certifies most printer manufacturers joins the trend towards extending the actual life of printers. A scenario in which fewer and fewer printers will be sold, because they will be used longer, is getting closer and closer. Hence, subscription-based consumables supply services are all the rage. Any dealer or wholesaler that wants to survive will have to offer this service as it is the only way to ensure the future and recurring sales of their customers.
Sustainability is more than recycling. It implies an attitude of prolonging the use of the goods we buy for the maximum number of years. This condition is now part of the new criteria that the BlueAngel environmental label [https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/] has incorporated for printer manufacturers to earn the right to use it.
Until recently, the approach to tackling the environmental problem caused by an unsustainable consumer economy was to collect and recycle as much as possible. But as this system has become more efficient, collecting an increasing proportion of waste, it has become clear to everyone that the volume of waste is so enormous that the cost of processing may become a new problem per se.
The question then arises: do we really have to waste so much, and does waste not hide a problem of consumer attitude? If not, how is it that our grandparents bought only one washing machine in their lifetime, while we replace this appliance every 5-7 years?
The approach must change, and indeed it is changing. The European Commission itself is pushing for re-use. Governmental organisations are making a communication effort to make us all aware of our responsibility to extend the actual lifetime of goods, bringing them as close as possible to the lifetime for which they were designed.
The well-known and prestigious BlueAngel label has just announced that it is joining the trend. To this end, it will now require printer manufacturers to explicitly communicate the expected lifetime of their products.
The aim is to reduce waste and the method to achieve this is to extend the actual life of the printers. The following immediate consequence can then be expected: revenues from hardware sales will decrease drastically. All players whose business depends heavily on printer sales will see their survival affected. This partly explains why manufacturers are pushing hard for subscription-based services in printing. Services such as HP Instant Ink. The subscription signed by end-customers guarantees the manufacturer a recurring revenue through cartridge sales. By the way, sales that no longer go through the manufacturer’s traditional channel.
Manufacturers know that the transactional sales model is finished (for many reasons) and are making a big effort to gain as much market share in the shortest possible time for their new subscription services. HP recently announced that its HP InstantInk business is already valued at USD 500 million and has signed up 10 million customers!
In this new business model, the OEMs have decided to dispense with their distribution channel. Distribution will be the first victim as their customers will be directly owned and controlled by the manufacturers. Dealers and wholesalers still have time to react or they will have to prepare to abandon printing.
The channel must fight back with its own service offer for its customers. And this means taking a definite step towards monitoring all the cartridges and printers they sell to their customers. Today, monitoring does not require any technical knowledge. Anyone can activate a monitoring service from the Nubeprint app on their own mobile phone as long as they are given the activation code by their supplier. This technology is available to any dealer for as little as €0.03 per printer. Time is running out for dealers and wholesalers. They just need to make the decision before their customers make the decision for them and go directly to the manufacturer.
Source: Nubeprint
