- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
HP Still Supplying Xerox With Reman Toner.
Xerox Chinese ‘Everyday Toner’ on Life Support after Ninestar Ban.
HP and Xerox are two legendary names in the printing industry, both competing and cooperating in a complex business relationship.
Three years ago, Xerox stopped working with Clover, a US-based company that produced high-quality remanufactured toner for Xerox. Xerox decided to open a bidding process for its aftermarket toner supply, and the main contenders were HP and Ninestar, a Chinese company, along with others like Katun. HP won the bid by offering Xerox very low prices for its A4 toner line, and this contract is still active today, with HP supplying Xerox with 98% of its aftermarket toners. To be clear, these HP toners that are supplied to Xerox are not remanufactured, they are brand new OEM toners made by Canon for HP, sold for around the same price as remanufactured goods.
This was a hard blow for Clover, who chose not to participate in the bidding, as the prices were too low to be profitable and Ninestar was a tough competitor with its cheap clone toner that could sell for as little as $2 each. HP created a WHITE box product for Xerox’s toner line, and it seems that Xerox wisely choose to deal with HP rather than a Chinese state-owned company for its A4 printers and managed print services. Distribution Management (formerly Supplies Network) and tech data got the distribution deal for these HP White box toners, and they were sold and distributed through Xerox Business Solutions (formerly Global Imaging Systems) to all it’s dealers and resellers.
Xerox’s Chinese ‘Everyday Toner’ line is currently on life support, and it is unclear if Xerox still uses these banned products, even though some OEMs have claimed to stop, some still do. The remaining toner products (2%), mostly for copiers, went to Katun (owned by Taiwan’s GPI)
The irony of all this is that HP is a direct competitor of Xerox in the A4 printing sector, yet it still provides Xerox with these toners, even though it is undercutting its own A4 market share. Xerox on the other hand has so many personal and financial problems that maybe ‘toners’ are the last thing on its mind. All this raises’ questions after question on the survival of print, let’s hope that these two iconic companies get it together.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.