| Backbone TV |
NEW Geoweb video
|
|
|
| Thinking ink |
September 7, 2007 |
Name-brand printer ink and toner cartridges are expensive, but cheaper products could cost you more
By Gail Balfour
 You are presented with two similar products, but one is much less expensive. Obvious choice, right? But if those products are printer cartridges, the situation may not be so simple, and this is especially true if you buy printer supplies for a large company.
The cheaper option is a store-brand ink or toner cartridge labelled “remanufactured” or “reman” for short. Despite popular belief, these are not manufactured by a third-party company to use in an HP, Canon or Epson printer. They are name-brand cartridges that have been returned to the store by consumers for recycling.
Stores gather these empty cartridges, drill small holes in them, refill them with ink and repackage them for sale. Normally these store brands can be found in retail outlets like Staples and Future Shop right next to the more expensive manufacturers’ brands. The price of remans is certainly different, but are there any other differences? Anthony Faga says yes. The supplies category business manager with HP Canada in Mississauga, Ont., said it’s best to buy HP’s cartridges for an HP printer, despite the price.
For one thing, the electronics on printer cartridges are designed for one-time use and, if used repeatedly, they can create poor quality prints or cease working entirely after only a few print jobs.
Also, if you use an ink not designed specifically for your printer, it could leak into the mechanisms or stick to the print heads. And any damage caused by a reman cartridge will not be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty.
In fact, problems with store-brand cartridges result in many of the service calls HP receives, Faga said. “Customers walk into a retail environment and are told they can save money. If they get home and run into issues, they tend to think it’s the printer,” he said. “If you see banding or streaks (in your document) you aren’t going to call the ink company, you are going to call the printer company.”
Name-brand rip-off
But Pete Gibel, vice-president of merchandising for Staples Business Depot in Richmond Hill, Ont., stands behind his products. He can’t speak for other stores’ items, but said each cartridge his company collects is tested rigorously, cleaned thoroughly, filled with quality ink from a major supplier like Dupont and is 100 per cent guaranteed.
Contrary to HP’s claims, he said the cartridges can actually be used several times without a degradation in performance.
Units that do not pass Staples’ tests are disposed of environmentally, he added. What’s more, Staples is also giving back to the community every time customers bring in old cartridges. “We have drop-off areas in our store. We take a dollar for every cartridge and donate it to local schools. Last year we donated $422,000,” Gibel said. Bradley Hughes, research analyst, hard-copy peripherals market at Toronto-based IDC Canada, said the price of ink is an important consideration because much of a printer’s total cost is incurred after the initial hardware acquisition.
“Hardware companies have to make money on ink,” Hughes said. If everyone bought reman cartridges, hardware costs could increase, as these companies have to make a profit somewhere. Either way, he said, this ends up being bad news for the customer.
In response, some printer companies have released products that offer the best of both worlds—competitively priced printers that use less expensive name-brand ink. Kodak recently introduced an inkjet printer that is far less expensive to run than the competitors, with Kodak cartridges starting at less than US$10. In fact, Kodak is using this as its main competitive advantage in its new product marketing.
Hughes said most people go into a store looking for the most inexpensive printer, but savvy consumers may start factoring in the cost of operating the unit—especially if one printer costs only a few dollars more.
Hughes is not convinced the price of ink will make much difference in how most people buy printers, as this decision relies on how well informed customers are, and companies like Kodak have their work cut out for them.
|
|
|
| Green Innovation |
|
|
| Top 300 Issue |
 
|
| Gadget of the Week (Canadian) |
|
Pick the best 3G for you
RIM Blackberry Bold
Choosing the right smartphone is an important decision, and here’s the good news: while both the new iPhone and the Bold are excellent, the feel is entirely different, making it easy to choose.
more>>
|
| Gadget of the Week (Japanese) |
Sounds of Japan
Why record just the visual when you can capture the sounds as well.
more>> |
| Backblog RSS feed |
Click to subscribe  |
|
sponsored by 
