HP's "Reman Myths" Questionable

From therecycler.com:

"HP has released a set of what it calls myths about remanufactured toner, claiming that aftermarket cartridges “end up costing you more”

See the whole recycler article here.

In HP's set of what it calls "myths about remanufactured toner" the company states the following:

"Remanufactured cartridges do not save the consumer any money because of hidden costs. According to the OEM, the cartridges “may quit working, stranding toner in the cartridge”.

“Certain non-HP cartridges are more likely to fail out of the box, fail after installation, and may leak into the printer”

“The generic toner and aftermarket replacement components can create charging issues that impact performance.”

“print quality degrades, resulting in pages that are not fit for use”

“In fact, 94 percent of remanufactured cartridges sold will ultimately be thrown away due to the remanufacturers’ preference to work with cartridges that have never been remanufactured and the unavailability of recycling for non-usable cartridges and replaced parts.”

First off I would like to explain the difference between bargain cartridges and remanufactured cartridges as pertaining to how we here at Expert Laser Services remanufacture our cartridges.

Some of you may remember the "Drill-n-Fill" debacle of the 90s. During that time period there was somewhat of a boom in the remanufacturing industry and (not unlike MPS) everyone and their cousin was doing it.

Those who wanted to get rich quick would quite literally drill a hole in an empty toner cartridge, refill it with toner, seal the hole and then re-sell the cartridge...

These cartridges always have been and will always be junk.

However a true remanufacturing company such as us use a highly sophisticated process of rebuilding the entire cartridge.

First the used cartridges are fully dismantled. Any and all moving parts are recycled and replaced with brand new OEM quality PCRs, mag roll sleeves, wiper blades, doctor blades, drums... everything is replaced with brand new parts.

The cartridge is then reassembled to OEM standards with new toner, tested multiple times and then repackaged for sale.

Below I am going to debunk these claims. (Granted you may think I am biased because we remanufacture toner cartridges here at Expert Laser Services. However if you want to challenge the integrity of our product or test HP's claim for your self, come buy a cartridge from us and if your not happy we will gladly refund your money)

"Remanufactured cartridges do not save the consumer any money because of hidden costs. According to the OEM, the cartridges “may quit working, stranding toner in the cartridge”.

HP fails to tell you that the same risk is inherent with their OEM cartridges as well. There is always a small possibility with OEMs and remans that you may get a non-working cartridge. To suggest that the issue stated above pertains only to remanufactured toner cartridges is misleading at best.

I would also go on to say that remanufactures like Expert Laser Services will make good by replacing any defective cartridge free of charge.

“Certain non-HP cartridges are more likely to fail out of the box, fail after installation, and may leak into the printer”

A simple self test will prove to any consumer the amount of truth present within the above statements. If you buy a remanufactured toner cartridge from Expert Laser Services (or multiple cartridges for that matter) and test them against the statements above you will in the very least discover that our products will not reflect those "certain non-HP cartridges" as mentioned above.

“The generic toner and aftermarket replacement components can create charging issues that impact performance.”

If one is to do a little homework and speak with their local remanufacturer they will generally find that the replacement parts are equal in quality to OEM specs. And if your local provider does not use said parts you can easily find a provider who does via the internet.

“Print quality degrades, resulting in pages that are not fit for use”

Expert Laser Services uses brand new toner powder equal to the quality you can expect from an OEM HP Toner Cartridge.

“In fact, 94 percent of remanufactured cartridges sold will ultimately be thrown away due to the remanufacturers’ preference to work with cartridges that have never been remanufactured and the unavailability of recycling for non-usable cartridges and replaced parts.”

Here at Expert Laser Services we have proven, time and again that we can remanufacture toner cartridges to OEM specs 7-8 times per cartridge. That means every one of our cartridges is able to be used from full to empty 7-8 times before the cartridge is broken down and its components are recycled.

Before you buy into the content of any press release, white paper or literature of such...

Do your homework. You may be surprised at what you find.

A solution to Crowley's "waste lands"

While reading an article about managed print services at www.graphicartsonline.com I came across a quote from Ed Crowely of the Photizo group saying:

"Many companies have uncontrolled buying of printer supplies, says Crowley, resulting in "waste lands" of obsolete toner supplies crowding corporate closets."

"The ideal environment would have users having as much printing and copying capacity as they need with supplies being delivered only when needed," Crowley said. He noted that outsourcing an imaging fleet to a third-party managed print services provider, such as HP or Xerox, ends up "optimizing the imaging environment and optimizing document workflows."

With the concept of Crowley's "waste lands" in mind please check out the above video for the perfect solution to the "waste lands" problem.

HP fumbles toner cartridge recycling

When it comes to toner cartridge recycling HP is a funny animal. The moans and groans that come from said beast over the remanufacturing industry is laughable. Here is a snippet from a recent article from Recycler Magazines website entitled

"California’s ink cartridge recycling programme criticized"

Scott Canonico, Environmental Program Manager for HP said that used cartridges are worse for the environment because they are poorer quality and waste more paper.

"With that waste … any benefits of remanufacturing can easily be offset," he said. "That's why HP has stuck with a single use and recycling model – to deliver on our promise of quality and reliability."

This is funny when you read the rest of the article outlining the epic failure that is HPs ink cartridge recycling program, the article states:

The recycling program was designed to cut down on the amount of plastic and metals being sent to landfill. HP and state officials in California had agreed to ship used HP printer cartridges from state offices to Virginia (on opposite coast of the US) to be recycled.

According to The Sacramento Bee, only about 10 cartridges a year are recycled now using the program. More than 600 were shipped by California’s Department of General Services back to Virginia for recycling, but the newspaper says that none have left the agency's loading dock since March. Jim Butler, DGS' chief procurement officer told the paper that DGS is working on a more environmentally responsible purchasing contract requiring that all new state printers be compatible with remanufactured cartridges.

I find it funny that HP criticizes remanufactured toners as worse for the environment because they are poorer quality and waste more paper.

BS.

Here at ELS we have been remanufacturing toner cartridges for almost 20 years, and over 90% of our MPS customers opt for our remanufactured toners over OEMs for their machines. Our largest customers, companies, colleges or organizations that have 150-300 or more printers under contract can testify to the quality of our remanufactured toners.

you can see more about our green and earth friendly remanufactured toner cartridges here.

You wont find greenpeace spray painting hate mail on our roof. Can't say the same for HP.

Do we have a cartridge for that printer??

Happy Friday folks! Here is a funny little video for the purchasing department at your company.

Why recycle toner cartridges?

Below is a list of facts regarding toner cartridges. This list is intended to open your eyes to the harmful effects not recycling toner cartridges has on the earth. It is my hope that you will also realize how easy it is to recycle toner cartridges and how much money you can save by buying remanufactured toner cartridges.

· About 8 toner cartridges per second are thrown away in the US alone.

· About 70% of all used cartridges are trashed.

· Every remanufactured cartridge keeps 3.5 pounds of waste out of our dumps.

· Toner cartridges take hundreds of years to decompose.

· Remanufacturing reduces pollution of dumping and incineration of cartridges.

· Remanufactured toner cartridges cost 20-40% less than OEM toner cartridges.

· Remanufactured cartridges run equal to or better than OEM cartridges.

· Remanufactured toner cartridges are 100% fully recycled.

· Expert Laser Services will pick up your empty toner cartridges for FREE.

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