[Anonymous]

QualityLogic Completes Worldwide Reliability Comparison Studies for Inkjet and Color Toner Cartridges
Study Compares OEM Supplies to Refilled/Remanufactured Brands From North America, Europe, and Asia
MOORPARK,
CA — 04/2006 — QualityLogic (www.qualitylogic.com), a leading
provider of QA and QC test tools and services for the imaging and
telecommunications industries, today announced the completion of two
studies comparing the reliability and quality of original HP print
cartridges to refilled/remanufactured ink and color toner cartridges.
These studies were commissioned by HP and executed by QualityLogic in
its test labs.
The results of the inkjet study showed that nearly
one out of six refilled cartridges were either dead on arrival or
failed prematurely. Seventy percent of refilled cartridges exhibited
reliability problems compared to only 2% of HP cartridges. Common
problems were leaking cartridges, cross contaminated colors, and
cartridges that printed no pages. In addition, the tested refilled
cartridges averaged more than three times the number of low-quality
pages than the HP cartridges, when looking at the percent of
low-quality pages printed for each brand.
The results of the color
toner study showed that when combining all problem categories, an
average of 80% of all tested remanufactured color toner cartridges
exhibited reliability problems, compared to less than 2% of the tested
HP cartridges. HP’s original cartridges also printed more than four
times the number of high-quality pages than the average of all tested
remanufactured cartridges, based on pages randomly sampled.
“This
QualityLogic study reveals the striking difference between original HP
supplies and alternative brands — using data based on a thorough,
independent analysis of inkjet and color laser print cartridges,” said
James Mater, QualityLogic president and CEO. “The QualityLogic team
conducted extensive testing, and meticulously analyzed and compiled
results using more than 800 ink and toner cartridges and printing more
than 700,000 pages.”

Testing Methodology
QualityLogic
procured all printers, paper, and HP print cartridges through standard
retail channels. Refilled/remanufactured print cartridges were obtained
through multiple retail channels where possible or directly from the
manufacturer.
Test pages were designed by QualityLogic using popular
application packages from Adobe, Corel, and Microsoft to achieve a
balanced representation of printing samples.
Cartridge print quality
and reliability for each brand were determined by inspecting printed
pages to determine the print quality (PQ) of the page. Each page
inspected was rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being “best”) to
determine the PQ level of that page. Pages classified with a PQ level
of 4 or 5 were considered “high quality” and pages classified with a PQ
level of 1, 2, or 3 were considered “low quality.”
HP color toner
cartridges were compared to 12 brands of remanufactured color toner
cartridges for the HP Color LaserJet 4650 (Q3668A) printer. A total of
376 remanufactured cartridges and 52 HP cartridges were tested. Brands
tested were from North America (6 brands), Europe (5 brands), and Asia
Pacific (1 brand).
HP inkjet print cartridges were compared to 13
brands of refilled inkjet print cartridges for the HP DeskJet 6122
(C8954A) and HP PSC 1350 (Q3501A) printers. A total of 390 refilled
print cartridges and 50 HP print cartridges were tested. Brands tested
were from North America (8 brands), Europe (4 brands), and Asia Pacific
(1 brand).
For more information or to see a complete copy of the
test report, go to
http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/inkjet/ink_refill.html ?jum
pid=reg_R1002_USEN
About QualityLogic
QualityLogic Inc. provides
leading-edge QA and QC test tools and services for the imaging and
telecommunications industries. Its tools and services are used for
conformance, performance, and interoperability testing — from
low-level firmware testing to high-level multi-tier application
testing. QualityLogic’s target markets are companies that develop and
market printers, multifunction peripherals, Telephony/IP
products/services, and client-based/mobility software.
QualityLogic
partners with leading technology firms to develop new and enhanced test
solutions for emerging technologies. It executes certification programs
for several Microsoft products including Pocket PC, Smartphone and
others
QualityLogic’s fax testing tools are used by companies that
develop fax machines and build the network infrastructure equipment to
handle fax traffic, and the carriers that run these networks.
QualityLogic’s fax tools customers include AT&T, Alcatel, British
Telecom, Cisco, Ericsson, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel and others. 

[Author]

April 21, 2006 at 11:46 AM