Using remanufactured printer toners costlier

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine unit of HP has abandoned its previous marketing strategy to sell original printer cartridges and toners. Instead of warning users that HP printers would break down if they used remanufactured supplies, the company has now begun to emphasize that remanufactured printer cartridges and toners are costlier to maintain. “Based on research, remanufactured products are actually a lot more expensive in the long-run because of poor quality and other hidden costs, apart from the fact that they are not friendly to the environment," Giovanni Sabio, HP Philippines supplies market development manager, said in a recent media briefing. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that use remanufactured cartridges are likely to incur 31-percent more in total costs than if they were to use original HP monochrome LaserJet toner cartridges, Sabio said, citing findings of an HP-commissioned report from QualityLogic Inc. The “reliability comparison study" showed that remanufactured toner cartridges tested had reliability and page quality issues. One in four of all remanufactured cartridges tested exhibited reliability failures and almost one in three pages inspected were not acceptable for all uses. “SMBs who think they can achieve cost savings by choosing remanufactured cartridges are making a mistake by not factoring in the hidden costs from reprints, replacement cartridges, and additional labor costs from having to diagnose and fix printing problems," Dave Jollota, CEO of QualityLogic, said in a statement. The report was also careful not to call the remanufactured cartridges as “recycled" products. Original HP toner cartridges were found to have reduced environmental impact as these contain 84-percent less carbon dioxide in reprinted pages compared to remanufactured cartridges. Moreover, four out of five remanufactured toner cartridges are thrown away after use “because remanufacturers have such a strong preference for virgin empties [cartridges not previously remanufactured]," HP said, citing industry research firm InfoTrends. Moreover, “many remanufacturers avoid, and some even refuse, to collect their own-brand cartridges for recycling," the report said. - GMANews.TV