*NEWS*ISO ENDS INKJET CTG CONFUSION

[Anonymous]

ISO ends inkjet cartridge confusion
Printer manufacturers finally agree new standard
Consumers
will be better able to judge the costs of printing thanks to a new
international standard for cartridge performance.Until now, printer
manufacturers have used a variety of ways to measure how many pages a
cartridge will print.This means that although it has been incredibly
cheap to buy some printers, estimating the true expenditure on
cartridges during a printer’s lifespan has been nigh-on impossible.Not
knowing has also made it difficult for consumers to decide which
printer is appropriate to their needs.In December 2002, the Office of
Fair Trading (OFT) criticised the four major manufacturers, Epson,
Canon, HP and Lexmark, over the lack of information available to
consumers about the longevity of inkjet cartridges and the true cost of
ownership.In its report it said this lack of transparency regarding the
price and performance of inkjet printer cartridges was unfair to
consumers.It said 78 per cent of consumers use only the cartridges
recommended by the manufacturer, which means expenditure on these
consumables over the lifetime of a printer can amount to more than
double the original cost of the printer.The OFT called on the industry
to devise a standard testing method for page yield and for these
results to be made available by retailers to consumers at the point of
sale and in promotional literature.It also said the cartridge
manufacturers should set up webpages where consumers can compare page
yield and estimate the overall costs.This standard was meant to be in
place by the end of 2003 but the OFT gave the industry additional
time.Finally, in December 2006, the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO), in conjunction with a consortium of printer
manufactures including HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark, approved new
standards for accurately measuring how many pages inkjet cartridges
would print.HP explained to Computeractive how it meets the new
standard. The company takes three printers of each model and nine
cartridges per cartridge model for each document yield test.Three
different document types, representative of consumer documents, are
used to determine three different yields: black text and graphics,
colour graphics and photo suite.Generally, all three document types are
tested on current printers, unless there are product limitations. These
test files are sent from a computer to the printer for testing.The
tests are carried out in controlled conditions. Printing during tests
is nearly continuous, with normal breaks for changing paper, and
temperature and humidity are controlled to reflect ambient home or
office conditions.OEMs were anxious to point out that using printers
differently can affect page yield.”Stop-start printing can affect yield
as the print heads use some ink in between printing jobs to clean the
heads,” explained Andy Forsyth, a spokesman for HP.But it still gives
the consumer an easier way to compare page yields, pointed out Chris
Law, for Lexmark.Lexmark told Computeractive the necessary information
will be available for printers released this year. HP said it planned
to provide this information for some printers already on the
market.There was no comment from Epson or Canon as we went to press,
however HP and Epson have set up an area on their respective websites
where consumers are be able to compare costs; Lexmark said its page
would be ready later this month.Also, when consumers buy an OEM
cartridge or printer, the box and cartridge packaging will give the
print yields so they can estimate costs they may have to pay for
printing over the lifetime of the printer

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February 6, 2007 at 10:29 AM