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What is remanufacturing of inkjet
cartridges?
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How big is the printer supplies industry?
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How does remanufacturing help the environment?
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Can a remanufactured inkjet cartridge damage my printer?
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Do remanufactured inkjet cartridges print like the
OEMs?
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Most printer manufacturers and dealers advise customers to use only original inkjet cartridges. Why?
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How many times can my inkjet cartridge be refilled?
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Do you recommend the use of Universal Refill Kits?
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How much money can I save by using remanufactured inkjet cartridges?
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Why do prices of inkjet cartridges vary so much among remanufacturers?
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If
your remanufactured cartridges are so good, why do
you sell Genuine cartridges?
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What is the shelf-life of your remanufactured
cartridge?
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Do
you have a warranty on your cartridges?
Q: What is remanufacturing of inkjet
cartridges?
A:
Remanufacturing of inkjet cartridges involves a
series of specific procedures used to process empty
cartridges, so that they can be reused for printing.
Empty
cartridges are collected from end-users, sorted,
inspected for defects, cleaned, evacuated, refilled with high quality inks, tested for
print quality, sealed, and packaged for resale.
Remanufactured inkjet cartridges offer consumers and
businesses an alternative to the high-priced original
cartridges.
Q:
How big is the printer supplies industry?
A:
In 2002 almost one billion toner and inkjet
cartridges were shipped worldwide, according to Lyra
Research. This resulted in total cartridge sales worth
almost US$20 billion in 2002 alone.
Q:
How does remanufacturing help the environment?
A:
Every
year, more than 300 million plastic printer
cartridges end up dumped in landfills in the United
States and around the world - almost eight
cartridges are thrown away in the United States
every second, industry sources say.
Not
only do these discarded cartridges take up landfill
space and pose a risk to soil and groundwater
quality, but the production of new cartridges
requires significantly more resources and energy
than remanufacturing used cartridges.
Every
cartridge that we remanufacture is one less going
directly to our landfill. For every remanufactured
cartridge purchased, it's one less new cartridge
that needs to be produced, saving it from entering
the waste stream and from draining the planet's
natural resources.
Q:
Can a remanufactured inkjet cartridge damage my printer?
A:
It is highly unlikely that a remanufactured
cartridge will ever damage your printer. Most printers are
designed with the circuit board located near the back of
the printer away from the cartridges.
In the
worst case scenario, even a leaking cartridge will not
damage your printer. The ink
will be collected in the ink reservoir of the printer.
Further, most
respectable inkjet remanufacturers offer a 30-day
money-back warranty on their cartridges, and offer to
repair your printer if it is determined that their
cartridges damaged your printer.
Q:
Do remanufactured inkjet cartridges print like the
OEMs?
A:
As with any product, various quality levels can and
do exist. The inkjet remanufacturing industry is no
different. However, reputable companies produce
cartridges that match, and in some cases exceed the
quality of the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer).
Always
make sure that the company you decide to purchase
remanufactured cartridges from is highly reputable,
offers a money-back guarantee, and can show you actual
photo-quality prints using their remanufactured
cartridges.
Q:
Most printer manufacturers and dealers advise customers
to use only original inkjet cartridges. Why?
A:
The printer supplies industry is a
multi-billion dollar market. Most OEMs
(Original Equipment Manufacturer) make the bulk of their revenue
from selling their inkjet cartridges.
OEMs
practically give away their inkjet printers for less
than US$100, some as low as US$50, knowing they will make huge
profits when those consumers need replacement cartridges.
Remanufacturing companies that produce OEM-quality
inkjet cartridges have taken, and continue to take
market share from the OEMs.
As a
result, some OEMs have taken drastic measures to protect
their market share.
Lexmark,
for example,
has attempted to misuse U.S. copyright law and the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to lock out
remanufacturers from their supplies market. The United
States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Lexmark
was wrong in this case.
Hewlett
Packard, on the other hand, has repeatedly and publicly
acknowledged our right to exist and fairly compete in
its supply markets. HP Senior VP of printer supplies,
Pradeep Jotwani, recently stated the following:
1.
Lexmark was wrong to try to use DMCA in this case.
2. HP would not be following down this path of
using chips as a lockout device.
3. There should be a place (in the market) for
those companies that sell remanufactured cartridges and
kits for ink jets.
4. Customer choice governs the buying decision
between new OEM or remanufactured cartridges.
5. HP consciously makes sure that it's cartridges
can be reused.
Q:
How many times can my inkjet cartridge be refilled?
A:
Generally, inkjet cartridges can successfully be
refilled between 5 to 8 times. We usually advise
customers to replace their cartridges after 5
refills.
However,
with proper care and handling, a cartridge may be
refilled many more times. In tests done in-house on an
HP45 cartridge, we were able to get 24 consecutive
refills before the printhead of the cartridge became
worn.
Q:
Do you recommend the use of Universal Refill Kits?
A:
We do not recommend refill kits sold by others
because we do not know the quality of the inks they use
in their kits. Further, "Universal" inks are a complete
waste of time and money. There is no one ink can be used
on all printers.
Ink is the
most important ingredient used in inkjet refilling. If
all other procedures are good, but the ink quality is
poor, the cartridge will fail.
We produce
our own refill kits in-house which contains the same
OEM-quality inks that we import and use ourselves.
Q:
How much money can I save by using remanufactured inkjet
cartridges?
A:
On average you should save no less than 50%, and as
much as 75% depending on the particular cartridge
compared to OEM prices.
Q:
Why do prices of inkjet cartridges vary so much among
remanufacturers?
A:
As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for."
There are many cheap, poor quality inks, especially "universal" inks,
available on the market. Many so called remanufacturers
think they can just purchase a universal refill kit and
they're in business. Wrong!
Manufacturers who use poor quality inks can charge lower
prices just to get the sale. However, the unknowing
customer, who just looks at price, ends up losing. They
experience problems like clogging, streaking, off color
prints, and leaking cartridges. They eventually get
little usage, if any at all, from the cartridge and have
to end up buying a new one.
Sooner,
rather than later, that remanufacturer is out of
business. My advice is, always buy from a remanufacturer
with a proven track record.
Q:
If your remanufactured cartridges are so good, why do
you sell Genuine cartridges?
A:
We advise our customers to have their cartridges
refilled up to 5 times. After that, they should get a
new cartridge and start the process of 5 refills again.
The reason
for this is that although some cartridges can be refilled a few more times, the average
customer will not care the cartridge well enough to get
many more refills. So in order to prevent breakdown of
the print quality during printing, we stipulate a change
after 5 refills.
We carry
genuine cartridges as a service to our customers.
Q:
What is the shelf-life of your remanufactured cartridge?
A:
Our remanufactured cartridges should be used within
3 months of purchase.
Q:
Do you have a warranty on your cartridges?
A:
Yes. All our cartridges carry a 30-Day Money-Back
Guarantee. In the unlike event one of our cartridges
does not perform properly, return it within 30 days of
the purchase date, and we will exchange it, or refund
your purchase price.
Further,
if it is determined that one of our cartridges damages
your printer, we will repair your printer at our
expense.
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