Inkjet Wholesale News aims to provide updates on the latest significant occurrences in the field of printing. Whether it’s the launch of a new technology or volatility of market prices, we’ll be here to give you the lowdown on what happened, when it happened, and what it means!
New IOT Samsung Printers Launched By OEM in Collaboration with Amazon
Despite what the majority of people may think, Internet of Things or IOT is quite an old concept. The concept was first conceived way back in 1982 even though the term only came into being at the turn of the last century in 1999. IOT, in case you don’t know about it, refers to a network of smart devices capable of communicating with the internet independent of any human intervention.
The benefit of IOT is that your device will do the thinking and remembering for you when it comes to basic and mundane elements of your life like ordering groceries, turning on and off appliances so they’re available preheated or precooled just when you need them, or even ordering replacement toner for your printer so that your print projects aren’t interrupted.
Each of those examples is currently active in the world with the last one being the most recent. Printers that order their toner as and when it is needed have just been launched by Samsung in collaboration with Amazon and its Dash Replenishment Service or DRS. In the case of the new IOT Samsung printers, the models that support Amazon’s DRS include Samsung SL – M2885FW, SL – M2835DW, CL – 480FW, and CL – C430W. Each of these new IOT Samsung printers can now be found on Amazon.
What this basically means is that if you own any one of these new IOT Samsung printers, then you’ll find your device actively monitoring toner levels inside it. Moreover, just when toner is about to run out, these new IOT Samsung printers will place an order for replacement toner with Amazon without any involvement from you.
It is also very easy to activate Amazon’s DRS on the new IOT Samsung printers. All that an individual user or business needs to do is use the Samsung Mobile Print app to sign up for Amazon Dash Replenishment. An alternative method of doing the same is by using the Samsung Easy Printer Manager. Users will also have the option of selecting which toner the printer ends up ordering automatically which provides them with control over their expenses and applications.
With respect to the tie-up between Samsung and Amazon, Andrew Sivori, Samsung Electronics America’s Vice President of CE – IT Product Marketing, said that the Original Equipment Manufacturer is using this opportunity to ensure that their “valued customers never experience lost time or productivity due to an empty toner cartridge”.
The combination of the new IOT Samsung printers and Amazon DRS is a good one particularly if you consider how annoyed printer users get when their printers run out of toner just before a major, time sensitive print project. Integration of new IOT Samsung printers with Amazon DRS will completely eliminate a situation where the printer will be empty.
The Amazon DRS is, itself, being touted as a good step towards the realisation of IOT concept. The program from the American ecommerce giant was launched in April last year but only became serious last October. It was in October, 2015 that the device ecosystem of Amazon DRS grew to be considered significant through the addition of devices such as a General Electric smart washing machine, a few Brother printers, and Gmate Smart glucose monitors.
The concept of Amazon DRS requires direct cooperation from OEMs, so the capture of Samsung is another feather in the cap of the ecommerce giant. The service essentially offers a one click or automatic ordering system. This means that OEMs have to either incorporate a physical one click button into their devices to give their users this option or incorporate a specific Amazon API within the software for their devices.
US Government Support for Impression Products’ Appeal Revealed
About six months back in September 2015, news broke out that a small aftermarket manufacturer, Impression Products, had decided to take on one of the giants of the printing industry – Lexmark. It was a fascinating battle because it epitomised the widely loved concept of David vs. Goliath. However, apart from the classic charm inherent in the battle, the case took on importance in the coming days because of its nature and the kind of precedent it would set.
We reported on the relevance of the case between Impression Products and Lexmark at the end of October, 2015. Last month and despite what it meant, however, Lexmark won the case with a positive ruling from the US District Court of the Southern District of Ohio. As is the case with most such patent infringement cases that have far-reaching ramifications, Impression Products is now expected to appeal the ruling in the US Court of Appeals.
The interesting aspect, however, is that even before Impression Products files its appeal; it has supposedly received a vote of support from none other than the American government. As per Paul Devinsky of McDermott Will & Emery, the US government has “urged” the US Court of Appeals to reconsider the earlier judgment against Impression Products.
While Impression Products has received this latest vote of confidence from the US government, it hasn’t been without other heavyweight support. During the earlier case, Impression Products received strong support from globally significant corporate organisations such as Dell, Intel, and Google along with mainstream media bigwig New York Times.
All this support is going to stand Impression Products in good stead because, according to the lawyer handling its case, Ed O’Connor, they will definitely be appealing the case. O’Connor is on record as having said he “vowed to appeal”.
The case against Impression Products was filed way back in 2013 and referred to “illegal importation” of infringing remanufactured and cloned cartridges.
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