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Epson talks tough on compatible cartridges
June
2007 Epson is planning to sue the makers of compatible ink cartridges
after blaming two thirds of its printer returns on the cheap ink
sellers.
The
printer firm plans to clamp down on the compatible cartridge makers by
enforcing its patents. It says the steps are necessary to protect both
its income stream and consumers’ printers.Low-cost ink offers greatly
reduced costs per printed page, with the price drop particularly
noticeable for photos, where authentic inks can set you back over £1
per print. But Epson’s Intellectual Property manager, Iain Friar, says
‘everyone knows you get what you pay for’, and that ‘no-one ever bought
a compatible because they thought it would be higher quality.’Friar
insists there is a ‘risk of damage’ associated with ‘any non-Epson ink
cartridge’, and claims that although printer warranties are invalidated
by the use of compatible ink cartridges, Epson was honouring them on
machines which failed after their useHe claims that Epson’s approach
‘is one of education’, and ‘steps are taken to make sure that the
customer understands’ that compatible inks are to blame for failed
hardware.Robert Clark, Epson’s Director of Inkjet Business in Europe,
says 67 per cent of returned printers in Europe had been using
compatible ink cartridges, adding up to what he called ‘unreasonable
service costs for Epson and none for the third party
manufacturer’.Epson insists that it is taking a ‘very even-handed
approach’ to tackling the compatible cartridge maker. Epson ‘never
makes frivolous complaints about [compatible ink manufacturers]’, says
Friar, and was an ‘innovator’ that didn’t waste time in court ‘unless
it was necessary’.
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