Consumables are a staple sale for resellers, but there are OEM and generic consumables – how do resellers convince customers that the cheap option might not be the best and to opt for OEM products?
For many businesses, as costs have risen in recent months, their focus has been on saving money where possible. For some, changing from OEM consumables to generic versions can seem like an easy way to do this. Genuine consumables from OEMs are generally costlier than the generic alternative, but it can be a false economy.
There are numerous benefits of using genuine consumables over generic ones too, as Mark Newman, general manager – velocity and annuity channels at Xerox, explains. “Consistent print quality and maximum reliability are core attributed of genuine vs. generic consumables,” he says. “The formulas for genuine toner are painstakingly controlled to eliminate variation and this ensures consistent print quality over the life of the printer.
“Moreover, consumables are specifically tailored by the OEM for the specific printer model. Take, for example, the original manufacturer who uses a highly uniform toner particle size, shape and engineers other components in the printer based on this specification. This will enable maximum reliability and longevity, yet generic toner is almost always the opposite. This is due to highly irregular particle size and shape which causes it to act as an abrasive. As a result, over the course of several hundred prints it often causes damage to the receptor(s), transfer belt, and fuser. In turn, this results in rapid print degradation and failure of otherwise long-life components.”
False economy
This means that buying generic consumables could be a false economy. “The initial acquisition cost of generic supplies is certainly lower than genuine, but the total cost is often higher,” Mark says. “This is due to the damage that results to critical components within the printer. Aside from costs of component replacement and labour, there’s also the intangible cost of sub-standard print output whilst the printer was still operational. In addition to this, there is the cost of downtime from not being able to use the printer. Not uncommon, the cost of repairing the printer may exceed the replacement cost, thus there’s the financial cost and the time spent to replace the printer.”
Steve Pearce, group head of marketing at Kyocera Group UK, agrees. “It’s easy to be beguiled by the price of compatibles or counterfeit toner at the expense of the environment, health and safety and the device itself,” he says.
“These alternatives can damage fusing units and cut short the life of a printer or MFP. Customers spend more in the long-run as compatibles typically contain less toner. And we just don’t know what cheaper toner is made from: Is the toner toxic? Are straight to landfill materials used?
“Then there are hidden costs: OEM cartridges are typically patented to perfectly fit the product they are made for. Compatibles must modify that design leading to increased wear, more failures and poor imaging.”
Information
Despite this, customers are not generally well informed about the benefits of genuine consumables. “I genuinely don’t think customers think about toner – most see it as commodity – much like choosing a bottle of supermarket water over Evian or Perrier!” Steve says. “As such they forgo research – even though the benefits of genuine toner are present on Kyocera’s and many of our channel partners’ websites.
“Buying cheap is false economy. Today’s squeezed margins and procurement budgets mean even those in the know are turning to compatibles as a painful necessity – keeping fingers crossed that devices tick-over and quality issues such as light prints, vertical lines, toner that rubs off do not surface. Compounded by toner dumping and differing stated yields, the end user is often sold short.”
Reseller role
This means that resellers have a role to play in promoting the benefits of genuine consumables to customers. “Print quality and reliability are key,” says Mark. “But equally important are safety, sustainability and security. Genuine supplies are rigorously reviewed by OEMs to ensure they fully comply to all regulatory requirements – usually at a minimum – and will be harmful to people or the environment.
“Typically, safety data sheets for each individual SKU are posted to the manufacturers’ websites; this is something generic manufacturers never do. Unlike aftermarket brands, OEMs all offer collections programs to ensure that the collected supplies are either remanufactured or recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.
“Lastly, genuine supplies offer the very best security. The proprietary chip is tightly controlled by the OEMs and users are assured that there’s nothing on the chip which could compromise their network security. With aftermarket alternatives there’s really no knowing.”
Provenance and performance
Steve adds that choosing genuine is about provenance and performance. “You wouldn’t put generic oil into a sports car as you wouldn’t get the best out of it,” he says.
“Only Kyocera toner will provide the quality, low running costs and reliability customers expect from our devices. Resellers could build this into sustainability-led sales and marketing initiatives highlighting the energy savings and ecological benefits of sticking to genuine.”
Steve adds that Kyocera’s cartridges are 100% recyclable and are independently tested to output a specific number of pages, the volume expected to maintain low total cost of ownership. Again, this is not something that can be verified with generic consumables. In addition, OEMs such as Kyocera often have targeted ESG goals, and prioritise things like environmental conservation and workplace safety.
Manufacturer schemes for consumables can help to mitigate costs too, Steve says. “Working towards a sustainable future is so intertwined in Kyocera philosophy that our schemes are focused on mitigating environmental costs,” he says.
“Our Take Back Toner service enables customers to recycle used Kyocera cartridges via a free collection service where plastics and polymers are turned into recyclate for reuse in the manufacturing of new products.
“In the UK our Carbon Neutral programme extends the CO2 offset to consumables for every product in our range. Registered customers receive a certificate of authentication but undermine that climate protection investment if they switch to compatibles.”
