Q: What is remanufacturing of printer cartridges?
A: It’s reusing and refilling ink and toner printer cartridges so they can be used again. Used cartridges are collected from consumers and businesses, and sorted by remanufacturers. The cartridges are disassembled and cleaned, and any necessary replacement parts are added. High-quality toner or ink is added, and the cartridges are tested and packaged for distribution. Toner (powder form) is used in laser printers, and liquid ink is for inkjet printers.
Remanufactured cartridges contain high-quality components, and give excellent printing results. More than 3 million companies around the world already rely on these quality products for their printing needs. They trust the quality and reliability of remanufactured cartridges for their day-to-day printing needs as well as for their most important projects.
Remanufactured and compatible cartridges provide consumers an alternative to the often high-priced original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cartridges.
Q: How big is the printer supplies industry? What's at stake?
A: In 2002 almost one billion toner and inkjet cartridges were shipped worldwide, according to Lyra Research. This results in total cartridge sales worth almost $20 billion in 2002.
Plus, many printer manufacturers make the bulk of their money off of supplies revenue. Inkjet printers are often sold at sub-$100 or even sub-$50 prices, with the supplies marked up to make up the difference — the OEM cartridges can exceed $50 just for one item! Supplies are a bigger market than printers for many manufacturers. Last year, Lexmark's supplies revenue exceeded 50 percent of total revenue.
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. While we can never completely stop the cycle of cartridges entering the waste stream, we can at least stem the flow.
Remanufacturing matters. Every cartridge that we remanufacture is one fewer going directly to the 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: How do printer manufacturers thwart the aftermarket?
A: Many printer manufacturers seek to limit remanufacturing, using technological and logistical barriers.
For example, Lexmark has its Prebate program, which requires users to send their cartridges back to Lexmark, rather than allowing the user to have the cartridge remanufactured by a third party. Tactics such as this control the stream of empty cartridges, making it very difficult to remanufacture cartridges.
Some printer manufacturers also go as far as to insert technology to prevent the reuse of cartridges. Almost all of Hewlett-Packard's new printers use chips to control their cartridges' interactions with the printer, including data on the level of toner or ink still available. This means that a remanufactured cartridge without a replacement (aftermarket) chip will inform the user that the cartridge is empty, even when it is full! If a replacement chip is used, a display warns the user that the cartridge is non-HP and may void the warranty.
Lexmark takes it a step further. Many of its cartridges contain "killer" chips that disable the printer if reused! And printer manufacturers are adding increasing layers of technological complexity in attempts to thwart the creation of compatible aftermarket chips. All of this dramatically slows down the entry of the aftermarket, reducing competition and reducing consumer choice. It would benefit both the environment and consumers for the cartridges to be designed so that they can be reused more easily.
A recent lawsuit by Lexmark against a manufacturer of aftermarket chips, Static Control Components, has brought this issue to the forefront. Lexmark alleges that Static Control's aftermarket chips have violated Lexmark's copyright. In documents in the case, a Lexmark employee admits that the goal of the chip is to "prevent unauthorized toner cartridges from being used with Lexmark's" printers. The lawsuit isn't about preventing copyright infringement; it's about preventing competition!
Legislation is underway in many areas to make such barriers to reuse illegal. The Waste Electronic and Electric Equipment Directive recently passed in the European Union makes it illegal to sell electronic items, such as cartridges, that contain impediments to reuse.
Q: Why is consumer choice important in printer supplies?
A: Printer manufacturers have a stranglehold on the printer supplies industry (less than 20 percent of cartridges purchased in 2001 were compatible or remanufactured, according to Lyra Research). This means that consumer choice is severely limited. Remanufactured cartridges provide good value to consumers, as they are often up to 40 percent cheaper than new cartridges.
No car manufacturer would be allowed to require consumers to buy its own brand of gasoline. Consumers deserve a choice, and third-party suppliers and remanufacturers provide that option.
