HP is attacking the aftermarket with new market research data

HP has announced the results of a report produced by Quality Logic Inc. (ordered again by HP), which revealed that, presumably, the use of remanufactured cartridges incur twice as much troubles for laser printers in total costs than if the printers are on original cartridges.

The independent testing laboratory Quality Logic Inc. lead a study in the Asia Pacific region to compare the total amount of costs necessary to properly use a laser cartridge. The tester presented the data coming from 2500 small businesses in the region, which includes all information about reliability and page quality.

According to the results of the testing company 1 in 4 of all remanufactured cartridges failed to produce good quality prints and only 1 in 3 pages printed on a remanufactured was acceptable for use.

According to an HP representative in Thailand, small and medium businesses can see immediate cut in expense with remanufactured cartridges, but in the long run the difference will be quickly eroded and customers will incur twice as much costs on maintenance and repairs.

Quality Logic Inc. tested the cartridge reliability and page quality distribution of HP LaserJet toner cartridges for the HP LaserJet 2300 and HP LaserJet 4350 printers. The final outcome of this study is:

> 9.7% of remanufactured cartridges failed prematurely.
> 15.3% had 50% or more pages of limited or no use.
> 25.3% of prints on remanufactured cartridges were of limited use : not for external distribution.
> 3.8% of prints on remanufactured cartridges were of limited use: not for use at all.

RechargEast: This first study in the region ordered and sponsored by HP revealed just exactly what the ordering company wanted to hear and deliver to the local markets. Unfortunately, the study does not give concrete details as to the criteria, print-environment conditions and the state of printing devices as well as all other important factors for a test. The study does not give any information about the brands of the used remanufactured cartridges. Neither is there any information whether remanufactured cartridges were just refilled or remanufactured ones. All these gaps can only prompt to the fact, that the study is a tool to be used in the harsh competition war on the market of imaging supplies, which HP is gradually losing in Asia to the aftermarket.

Probably, the economic crisis, falling demand and increased prices for OEm cartridges in the region made the US printer giant look for some other means to sway the local public's attention from cheaper aftermarket products.

Key words: HP, remanufactured, cartridges, aftermarket, Asia

HP plans to boost sales of MFUs to small and medium businesses in Asia

According to Hewlett-Packard, the current financial crisis can create a huge demand for multifunctional printers. The company recently launched three new LaserJet MFPs to help small and medium enterprises manage their operations anchored on productivity, cost-efficiency and flexibility.

The HP LaserJet M1319f is currently the company’s most affordable monochrome printer. It has four-in-one features of print, copy, scan and fax. This unit can print 18 to 19 letter sized pages per minute or a maximum count of 8,000 pages monthly. It can reduce or enlarge images from 25 percent up to 400 percent.

The HP Color LaserJet CM1312 has the same highlights as the previous model, plus an energy-saving feature called instant-on technology that prints the first page faster when it detects the system is near low power mode. It has a network connectivity using a high-speed USB (universal serial bus) 2.0 port.

For companies needing high volume printing and imaging requirements, the HP Color LaserJet CM 2320n can print 20 to 21 colored pages per minute or up to 40,000 pages a month. Its software is compatible with Windows, Macintosh and Linux and has built-in Ethernet for faster networking. This model does not have a fax feature.

According to the company's representative in Philippines, for instance, the company will continue its marketing aggressive campaign for MFPs. HP is looking at the specific need of industries to successfully cater all market segments and see if it can launch more printer models in the second half of 2009.

Source: Businessmirror.com.ph

Key words: HP, Asia, Philippines, market, printers, MFUs