HP respond to criticism

HP has suggested that companies who refill and resell ink cartridges compromise quality and provide a false economy.

The company reacted to claims that the printer industry is a “rip off”, by stating that in terms of its output, HP inks provide excellent value for money.

A HP spokesman said: “Refills may be cheaper, but the ink won’t be of good quality and it could constantly clog and stop the printer working. If you wanted a half-page draft, maybe it would be viable, but otherwise it provides no value for money.”

“Our argument against claims that our ink is more expensive than the best champagne is that the bulk of HP research development goes towards formulating the ink. A big chunk of the price is paying for the quality you get. You can buy cheaper, but the quality won’t be there.”

The company invests millions of Euros a year into ink technology and takes up to four years to develop cartridges.

“Inks are formulated specifically to work with HP printers, meaning the level of quality and reliability cannot be matched by the unofficial versions that do not fully understand the technology in our printers. For this reason, brand awareness is very important”, the spokesman added.

With 250 million empty cartridges dumped in landfill over the last decade, HP’s one-use cartridge was also lambasted as carrying no environmental considerations, another claim the company refutes.

“The cartridges are designed to be recycled rather than re-used. We have an active recycling scheme, with the money this raises put back into the business to push the standards even higher.
“All cartridges are designed with the environment in mind and end-of-life a key consideration during manufacturing. We have changed the design considerably over the last ten years so there is less impact on the environment.”

While HP suggested there was room in the market for both themselves and those who refill ink cartridges, their own brand integrity is the main concern along with providing customers with a quality ink product.