Why doesn't HP recommend using recycled or remanufactured ink cartridges?
What's the real story?
The fact that HP lose money on ink sales and therefore won't recommend other ink suppliers would be naturally understood - however this isn't the whole picture. The issue, as we see it, is a little more complex:
1. Decreased ink quality
Ink quality differs between HP original ink and that of third party suppliers and remanufacturers. The ink moves through fine microscopic holes in the printhead which means that if remanufacturers make their "ink mix" too thick it clogs the printheads - or conversely if the "ink mix" is too thin, the ink moves through the printheads too quickly. Both reduce the life of the printhead and can also lead to ink leakage with possible damage of other components within the printer.
Sometimes third party inks don't embed into the paper the way that they should - causing customers' prints to smudge, fade or streak. We also see problems with RIDS assemblies (the tubes which carry the ink). There is no doubt that the exact agents which comprise the "HP ink mix" are very difficult for remanufacturers to replicate (and HP don't intend to make it easy for them after all!). HP actually design and engineer their Designjets in such a way so as to ensure their own "ink mix" works best. This mix varies according to each Designjet, and of course remanufacturers have a hard job keeping up with it all.
2. Increased wear and tear on the ink cartridge, with increased printer breakdowns
While the ink cartridge itself may look good to the naked eye, all cartridges contain electronic chips that wear out with use (a little like why the bank sends us replacement debit/credit cards). They aren't made to last forever. By re-using an ink cartridge the electronic chip gradually get worn and so a percentage of them will naturally fail. Such failures can usually be seen by the customer by way of problems such as seating issues (where the inks won't seat properly into the Designjet) or customers can complain of spurious electronic/system errors on their Designjet. In many cases we recommend that the customer switches back to HP original inks - which then resolves the fault.
3. Green issues
On the 'green' front, HP already has an excellent recycling programme in place, and many of their products are green. For example some HP ink cartridges already use up to 50-75% of recycled contents. While at first glance Recycled Cartridges appear to be the absolute 'greenest' option (since, of course, the complete cartridge is being reused!) this doesn't give you the BIG picture.
Given that a fair percentage of remanufactured ink cartridges fail (particularly if they've been recycled a number of times already), what do the remanufacturers do with these cartridges? are they recycled or do they go to landfill? Are they operating on par with HP in terms of recycling their own waste? What about their manufacturing and packaging techniques? How do they stack up under close scrutiny? HP believe that many aren't so Green when you look closely - which suggests to us that IF 'going green' is a priority for you, you should ask these questions.
4. Cost savings for the few rather than the many
If you are satisfied with the ink quality from the remanufacturer (i.e. it does everything that you and your customers need it to do) then for those of you with very high print volumes, where prints only need to be short term e.g. flyer printing, then the cost savings made on remanufactured ink versus the increased repair costs does, for some, create a viable argument towards using remanufactured inks. Our customers who do this are well aware of the higher repair costs ...and we know them well as we visit them more often!
However, most customers have average print volumes, or require top quality prints that are UV stabilised and water proof. In this case we find remanufactured cartridges are significantly less attractive due to the increased downtime, loss of print quality and increased repair costs.
Summary - the hidden cost of Recycled or Remanufactured ink cartridges
We could potentially make a killing (perhaps!) out of selling recycled or remanufactured inks - so why we don't do it? Quite simply we're an honest company. We can't advocate using Recycled Ink Cartridges when our own engineers are attending callouts to customers who use them. We see it as unethical practice and providing bad advice to our customers so we made a business decision not to sell them.
HP Ink Saving Programme
If you are using a lot of ink and looking for ways to reduce your ink bills, please contact us now for discounted ink. We work in partnership with HP and can provide significant cost savings on all inks for larger volume users on most current HP Designjet printer series (T and Z series printers).
