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CARTRIDGES
24
| p2p Magaz i ne | Spr i ng 2013
01732 759725
manufacturing are one reason why HP sees
remanufacturers as the lesser of two evils.
The risk to end users
Clearly, clones pose a threat to OEM
suppliers. But what about end users?
What are the dangers they face in using
compatible supplies that are often
marketed and/or branded by reputable
retailers?
One is print quality. As you would
expect, HP has plenty of research showing
the superior performance of OEM
originals. However, the same studies (e.g.
QualityLogic 2010 research commissioned
by HP) reveal little difference between
clones and remanufactured cartridges.
Another is the enviromental risk.
Opponents of clones, like Faessler, point out
that they have no recycling value and tend
to be used once and then sent to landfill.
He said: “It’s very unlikely a small reseller
will take back clone cartridges and the
remanufacturing industry won’t use these
cartridges. They don’t know if the clones
infringe patents and replacement parts do
not necessarily fit clones, as a clone is not a
precise one-to-one copy of an original.”
In an unexpected (perhaps unintended)
endorsement of the remanufacturing
industry, Faessler added that clones/
compatibles were bad for business:
“Where illegal products are sold, they
damage local industry as a lot of
remanufacturing is done locally,” he said.
European compatibles
Despite HP’s warnings about clones, there
are clearly many compatibles of high
quality that do not infringe HP patents.
Indeed, European manufacturers of
compatibles that act within the law and in
compliance with the highest environmental
standards are just as damning of Asian
imports as HP, even if they have a much
narrower definition of a clone.
While HP draws no distinction
between a clone and a compatible
cartridge, a company like Armor, which is
both a remanufacturer of OEM originals
and a manufacturer of new compatible
cartridges, defines a clone as a new-built
unit sold as a remanufactured cartridge.
In other words, its definition is limited to
cartridges that are sold fraudulently.
Underlining this point it draws a
parallel between the scandal of horse
meat being sold as beef and the sale
of clones as remanufactured cartridges,
arguing that both practices demonstrate
the importance of traceability.
In a press release, it stated:
Horsemeat
instead of beef. Could we ever have
imagined such an outrageous revelation
about what we eat? And now our
confidence as consumers has been
completely crushed, the impact has been
felt in the farthest reaches of the beef
industry, and nobody, manufacturers
and distributors alike, has escaped the
consequences.
The notions of traceability, transparency
and reliability have all been severely tested.
Hasn’t the printer consumables sector been
afflicted by exactly the same problem?
Booths were raided by customs officers
at the REMAX trade show, and yet, are
people properly aware of the inherent risks
associated with using clone cartridges?
If distributors choose to buy from
resellers and other distributors of products
imported from Asia, and then sell these
products as private label products, there
is a genuine risk to the brand name and
to the company’s financial health. The
company could find itself controlled or
under suspicion of fraud at any time.
This is a good argument for Armor to
make because it moves the question from
whether you use an OEM, compatible or
remanufactured cartridge to whether you
can trust the company you are buying from.
This is equally relevant for the
channel and consumers, as one thing the
horsemeat scandal shows clearly is that
buying from a trusted distributor/retailer
is no guarantee that they themselves
have not been duped. Some of the dodgy
clones shown by HP to
Pen To Paper
were
from highly reputable brands.
For end users, buying from a brand
you trust is a good start, but according
to Faessler you must also use your nous.
“Know who you are dealing with and use
your common sense: if the prices are low
they are low for a reason,” he said.
...continued.
If prices are
low they are
low for a
reason
30 years old and still going strong
This year marks the 30th anniversary of DCI, the
recycling and remanufacturing company famous for
its Jet Tec brand of compatible and remanufactured
inkjet and toner cartridges.
Founded in 1983, the company originally produced
typewriter cassettes before launching its Jet Tec brand
of inkjet consumables in 1996. Since then, the range has
been extended to include remanufactured mono and
colour toner cartridges.
All research, development, tooling and manufacturing
is done at the company’s factory in Boston, Lincs which
has the capacity to produce 2 million compatible inkjet
cartridges, 700,000 remanufactured inkjet cartridges and
100,000 laser toner cartridges each month.
In 2005, DCI set up The Recycling Factory to collect
and recycle used mobile phones, small gadgets and printer
cartridges; and in 2008 established Purple Gossip, which
sells refurbished mobile phones as an affordable and
environmentally responsible alternative to new devices.
The company has achieved a string of environmental
accreditations including ISO9001, ISO14001, OHSAS
18001, FSC certification and Blue Angel and Nordic Swan
accreditation for its remanufactured toner products.
www.jettec.com