Points are not printed – Newspaper Kommersant No. 69 (7514) dated 04/20/2023

The idea to abandon the mandatory use of Russian processors in printing technology caused controversy among market participants. Computer manufacturers, including Aquarius, are pushing for the requirement to be lifted, while the printer and microelectronics design centers believe that such a move will lead to dominance of Chinese products in the market. Russian companies have something to compete for: the size of the market for printers and MFPs in the Russian Federation is $1 billion, and, according to its participants, the segment will grow.

The scoring system for determining the level of domestic electronics again causes disagreement among market participants and regulators. Last week, ANO Consortium Printing Technologies (ANO KTP, it includes the manufacturer of printing equipment Katyusha Print, design centers Baikal Electronics, SPC Elvis, etc.) sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in which opposed the abandonment of the mandatory use of the Russian processor in domestic printing technology, Kommersant’s sources say. ANO, according to them, also insists that in order to recognize Russian printing equipment, it must work on domestic software and Russian consumables must be used in it. Maxim Vinogradov, General Director of ANO KTP, confirmed to Kommersant that the letter had been sent.

At the end of January 2023, the ANO VT association (it includes Aquarius, Yadro, etc.) sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a proposal to include printers and printing devices in the existing scoring system for determining the level of domestic electronics (Kommersant has it). This step involves the abandonment of the mandatory use of a domestic processor in this technique. Kommersant’s interlocutors, who are familiar with the discussion of the initiative, say that the idea was previously supported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. According to one of the sources, the corresponding decree should be published in September, and come into force in December. In ANO VT, “Kommersant” did not answer (see “Kommersant” dated March 30). The initiative of ANO VT, the interlocutors of Kommersant say, was also supported by a number of market participants. These are the Aquarius Group of Companies, which already produces printers and MFPs from the Chinese Pantum, as well as F + tech-Marvel, which plans to produce printing equipment based on Chinese Lexmark technologies.

The companies included in ANO VT have long been discussing the need and usefulness of the scoring system, confirms the president of the Aquarius Group of Companies, Vladimir Stepanov: “Now there is not a single device for printing in the register of radio electronics. This suggests that the requirements for the presence of a Russian processor do not correspond to the capabilities of the industry.”

The Ministry of Digital Development told Kommersant that ANO KTP, together with ANO VT, “are actively working on possible criteria for a scoring system for printing equipment”: “Proposals should be received this week. The issue of non-use of Russian processors is not being discussed.” The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not answer “Kommersant”.

The fears of ANO KTP are connected with the fact, the interlocutor of Kommersant in the electronics market assumes, that foreign manufacturers of printers and MFPs, in case of refusal from the mandatory use of Russian processors, will be able to increase their presence in the public sector using a point system: “They will organize a large-scale assembly of printers from their components, score enough points to be included in the register of Russian electronics and start supplying equipment to government customers under the guise of Russian.” According to Katyusha Print, the size of the printing equipment market in Russia is $1 billion, and it may grow in the near future. Also, in about a year, the state sector will begin updating the fleet of printing equipment, says Maxim Vinogradov.

Domestic manufacturers will be ready to present the first prototypes of printing devices on a Russian processor in 2024, Mr. Vinogradov told Kommersant. An interlocutor of Kommersant in a Russian computer equipment manufacturer adds that Katyusha Print, for example, has already invested in the development of Russian processors: “Refusing their mandatory use, in fact, will make these investments useless.” A source in one of the Russian design centers adds that the mandatory use of Russian chips in Russian technology “motivates design centers to continue development and look for opportunities to resume production.”

Nikita Korolev