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First for Service & Value since July 1993
How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off When
Buying Ink and Toner Cartridges
- and be kind to the environment!
A user’s guide to buying ink and toner for your printer
Contents
1)
Introduction
2)
An introduction to ink and laser printers
3)
Types of ink cartridges
4)
Types of laser printer cartridges
5)
Refilled and compatible ink cartridges
6)
Remanufactured and compatible laser cartridges
7)
Page Yields – How many pages you should get from each cartridge
8)
Avoid being ripped off
9)
Tips on looking after your printer
10)
Products & Service Guarantee
11)
Environmental Guarantee
12)
Testimonials
By David Hickman
August 2007
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
1
1
Introduction
This guide has been published by Second Image Ltd to help inform and educate computer
printer users. I have written it because I strongly believe in an informed market. If you, the
consumer, know about and understand the issues surrounding the products you use, you will
make more informed and better buying decisions.. Your comments and suggestions are
welcome. Please send any feedback to [email protected]
Second Image has been in business since July 1993 providing computer printer related
supplies and services to customers in the greater Wellington region from Levin through to
Upper Hutt. Through use of the internet the company now supplies printers, printer cartridges,
paper and related products to customers throughout New Zealand. Two printer technicians
provide service within the greater Wellington Region as required.
I am an owner of Second Image, in partnership with my wife, Carol. I have worked in the
business since we purchased it in January 1994.
My experience includes personally remanufacturing toner cartridges and refilling ink
cartridges as well as repairing and servicing laser and ink printers, multifunction devices and
fax machines. The hands on experience of pulling toner cartridges to pieces, rebuilding them
and trouble shooting any faults has made me a much better printer technician than I would
otherwise have been.
The focus of the business on printers, cartridges and paper, and nothing else, means that I,
along with other staff at Second Image, have developed a wide and varied knowledge and
understanding of printers and printing issues. I am happy to share that knowledge and
experience as are the rest of the people at Second Image.
Of necessity this publication is fairly general and, when talking about printers, does not
address the specialist printers available such as dye sublimation photo printers and wide
format printers.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 give you some general background on ink and laser printers and the
various types of cartridges they use.
Chapters 5 and 6 discuss refilled and compatible ink and toner cartridges and the various
options, as well as the environmental and economic benefits of reusing and recycling laser
cartridges.
Chapter 7 explains Page Yields and how you can tell how many pages you should get from
each cartridge. It also explains how to compare the cost of running different printers and
where you can get information on cartridge capacity.
Chapter 8 details some common rip offs and traps in the ink and toner cartridge recycling
world and gives you a set of guidelines to follow when buying these.
Chapter 9 gives you some commonsense tips for look after your printer while Chapters 10, 11
and 12 give details of the guarantees provided by Second Image and some testimonials from
customers.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
2
2
An introduction to ink and laser printers
The primary difference between ink and laser printers is that ink printers physically write to
the paper using fluid ink while laser printers use electrophotography (a combination of static
electricity, a laser beam and dry toner powder) together with heat and pressure to produce a
printed page.
Ink printers are generally more expensive to run than laser printers but because of their lower
initial cost and the fact that colour is standard makes them an attractive choice for individual
consumers. Ink printers tend to produce superior photographs, particularly on specialised
photo paper, although photo paper for laser printers is now available and the photographic
images from modern colour laser printers is now excellent.
The use of heat by laser printers to melt the toner powder into the paper means that users need
to be careful when using specialised media such as photo paper or transparencies. This is
because, depending on which printer is being used, the fuser temperature can exceed 220
degrees Celsius. Material that is not made to withstand such temperatures will melt in the
fuser, potentially causing an unnecessary and expensive repair.
Commercial users need to undertake some careful investigation when considering the
purchase of a new colour printer. This is because the price of colour laser printers, with very
good quality output, has dropped to where they compete with the more commercial ink
printers.
Likewise home users also need to consider whether or not they need colour. If colour is not
needed then an inexpensive (under $180) black and white laser printer may suit them better
than an ink printer.
In summary, laser printers are generally more expensive to buy than ink but are faster and
cheaper to run. You need to consider any special printing needs you may have – photos –
double sided printing – quantity of printing – before you make a decision. If you are
uncertain seek advice and opinion from someone with expertise in the field. Be careful, many
sales people in computer stores are only interested in selling the item their employer has on
special this week. That item may not be your best choice.
Those readers with a more detailed technical interest can find a lot of information on the
internet by typing “ink printer” or “laser printer” into Google. One of the best sites we have
found is www.howstuffworks.com
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
3
3
Types of ink cartridges
There are two types of ink cartridges; ink tanks (which supply ink to a printhead built into the
printer) and printhead cartridges which have a printhead as part of the cartridge. Some ink
tanks are paired with a user replaceable printhead.
Ink tanks are supplied predominantly by Brother, Canon and Epson. Hewlett Packard has
used them for some years, coupled with a user replaceable printhead, in their higher end
business class printers. Recently, Hewlett Packard has introduced ink tanks to a range of
lower and medium priced printers and multifunction devices. The print heads in this range are
not user replaceable.
Printhead cartridges are supplied predominantly by Hewlett Packard and Lexmark although
Canon has reintroduced this type of cartridges for its lower priced printers and multifunctions
devices.
Machines that use ink tanks nowadays have at least four cartridges; black, cyan, magenta and
yellow. The next step up is five cartridges with the addition of a dedicated photo black and six
cartridges is becoming increasingly common with the four primary colours plus light cyan
and light magenta.
A number of higher priced printers have eight ink tanks and, depending on the manufacturer,
you may find an additional black or perhaps red, green or blue and, in at least one case, a
gloss cartridge for a shiny finish.
Printers that use printhead cartridges use only two at a time. For everyday use there is a black
cartridge with a tri colour (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow) cartridge. For printing photos the black
cartridge can often be replaced by a tri colour photo cartridge allowing the printer to use six
colours.
The main advantage of using ink tanks is that you only need to replace the colour you have
run out of. The disadvantage is that the printheads (which are built into the printer) can be
prone to failure through under use and, in some cases, adverse environmental conditions.
The main advantage of using printhead cartridges is that each time you change a cartridge you
change the printhead and, if you do get printhead problems, you can just change the cartridge.
The disadvantage is that you can run out of one colour in the tri colour cartridge and not use
up the other two colours thereby not getting full use of the cartridge.
A perceived advantage for ink tanks and disadvantage for print head cartridges is the upfront
cost of the cartridges with ink tanks being much cheaper. However, a careful analysis will
show that the cost per printed page is comparable across all ink delivery systems, and all
makes of printers. This is a reflection of the intense competition between manufacturers.
You can lower your printing costs by using compatible and refilled ink cartridges and these
are discussed in Chapter 5.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
4
4
Types of laser printer cartridges
There are two systems of consumables used in laser printers:1. An all in one cartridge containing both the toner and a photo sensitive drum.
2. A system comprising a separate toner cartridge and a drum unit which are replaced
separately at different intervals.
The all in one cartridge will be familiar to users of Hewlett Packard and Canon and some
Lexmark laser printers. Hewlett Packard, being the largest printer manufacturer in the world,
has spread the use of this type of cartridge far and wide.
It is simplicity itself for the user as there is only one consumable and therefore only one thing
to change. And it makes trouble shooting very easy. If your laser printer has an image defect
change the cartridge. If the defect goes away the problem is in the cartridge, if it remains the
defect is in the printer. Even with modern HP and Canon colour laser printers systematic
trouble shooting can be done by changing each of the four all in one toner cartridges.
The separate toner and drum combination is used by a number of manufacturers including
Brother, Epson, and Oki. Under this model a toner cartridge fits into a drum unit and while a
toner may yield (say) 3,000 pages the drum could yield (say)12,000 pages. This system
causes confusion with many users not realising that they put the toner cartridge into a
replaceable consumable, i.e. a drum unit. This confusion is the result of poor information
being provided at the time of sale and is not the fault of the user.
While competition between manufacturers keeps the cost of printing comparable between
similar models the disadvantage of the separate toner/drum model is the cost of the drum
where, at the end of the drum life, a user may be faced with a drum replacement cost which
exceeds the original cost of the printer.
The two industry heavyweights in colour laser printers, Hewlett Packard and Oki, use the
different systems. HP use all in one toner cartridges while Oki use a separate toner cartridge
and drum for each colour. Other manufacturers use different systems for colour. Brother, for
example, uses four toner cartridges and a single image drum.
When considering colour lasers it pays to carefully check the cost of consumables as this is
more complex than with black and white printers. For example, in a colour laser printer, both
the transfer belt and fuser unit are consumables items and must be factored in to any
calculation of the cost of printing.
Again, you can dramatically reduce costs by using remanufactured and compatible cartridges
which are discussed in Chapter 6.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
5
5
Refilled & compatible ink cartridges
You can significantly reduce the cost of printing by using compatible cartridges, refilled
cartridges and ink refill kits.
The Ink Tank cartridges are freely available as compatibles, usually manufactured in Asia.
You can get ink tanks refilled but new compatibles can be supplied at the same price as, or
less than, a refill.
Some of the Print Head ink cartridges, where patents covering the print head have expired, are
also available as compatibles. Otherwise they are either commercially refilled or do it yourself
ink refill kits are available.
If the Print Head cartridges are commercially refilled they must be individually tested by the
refiller. Random testing is only reliable where the starting point for each item is identical, as
with new products. Used cartridges provide differing starting points and therefore potentially
different results even if they are all treated the same.
Because refilled cartridges have a higher failure rate than originals you should only buy these
from a supplier you trust and preferably one who has a clear replacement or refund guarantee.
Ink refill kits are available to those who wish to gain the biggest price advantage. The best ink
refill kits are really easy to use with two provisos. First the refiller must read the instructions
before starting the refill. Second, the user must be happy about doing the refilling. Refilling is
more about the refiller's attitude than aptitude. A person who is nervous or unhappy about
refilling should not buy a refill kit.
The quality of ink refill kits varies widely. The kit should have comprehensive instructions, a
clip to hold the cartridge while you are filling it and the necessary ink and tools to enable you
to fill the cartridge correctly. Refill kits are not complex but you should stay away from those
that do not fit the above criteria.
These options give you a wide choice as to how you obtain your printer ink.
On the subject of third party ink and cartridges, in a stunning result for aftermarket ink
suppliers, a recent (April 2007) test carried out by the authoritative technology review website
www.TrustedReviews.com has found that inks supplied by third party suppliers produced
better quality results than inks supplied by printer manufacturers.
In spite of printer manufacturers claims that print quality may be impaired if consumers use
third party consumables in their printers, the test panel found the opposite. According to the
author of the report:“Our panel preferred prints produced with ink from a third party provider over those
produced with manufacturer’s own products.”
Another key finding was that across all four brands third party ink and paper combinations
won more top scores than prints produced with original brand inks and papers.
Visit http://www.trustedreviews.com/printers/review/2007/04/21/The-Inkjet-Investigation/p1
to read the full report.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
6
6
Remanufactured and compatible laser cartridges
There is a lot of confusion within the computer printer industry about the terms
“Remanufactured” and “Compatible”.
For the purposes of this publication they are defined as follows:“Remanufactured” cartridges are original used cartridges which have been disassembled and
all old toner cleaned out. Components are replaced as required and the cartridge is refilled
with new toner, reassembled, tested and packaged for sale.
Drum units used in the two part system can be included in this definition although they are
not strictly remanufactured as the worn drum is simply replaced with a new one.
“Compatible” cartridges are new cartridges made by a third party supplier.
Remanufactured toner cartridges are very environmentally friendly. This is because the best
form of recycling is reuse of the original product. Reusing toner cartridges reduces the use of
oil and the creation of greenhouse gases.
A single toner cartridge can take up to 1 litre of oil to make. The plastic is not biodegradable
and some estimates put the life of a cartridge in a landfill at thousands of years before it
finally breaks down. Another study has claimed that each kilogram of toner cartridge plastic
manufactured creates 6 kgs of greenhouse gases.
Regardless of the accuracy of these claims it is clear that toner cartridge plastic is bad for the
environment and that the use of remanufactured cartridges helps by reducing the number of
original cartridges made.
In addition to the environmental benefits using remanufactured cartridges is good for the New
Zealand economy.
This is because most cartridge remanufacturers are small to medium businesses providing
local employment and using local goods and services wherever possible. While it is true that
most of the components used in remanufactured toner cartridges are imported those items
which can be are sourced locally. Examples include packaging, labelling, and couriers.
In addition, local remanufacturers conserve foreign exchange through import substitution and
provide consumers with a choice of product which they would not otherwise have.
Consequently, using remanufactured toner cartridges makes good sense from the point of
view of both the environment and the economy.
Of course there are also substantial cost savings for the user and, when cartridges are fully
guaranteed, there is no risk.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
7
7
Page yields
How many pages you should get from each cartridge
The number of pages a cartridge will print is, of course, determined by the amount of ink or
toner on the page. The industry standard measure is 5% coverage – that is 5% of a standard
A4 page will have ink or toner on it. This standard makes it easy to compare the relative cost
of printing from different printer cartridges.
For example a black Hewlett Packard C6656A or No 56 ink cartridge is rated to yield 450
pages, it retails for $35 so 1 page costs 7.78 cents. A Hewlett Packard Q5949x black laser
printer cartridge is rated to yield 6,000 pages and retails for $243 so 1 page costs 4.05 cents.
The refilled/remanufactured versions of the above two cartridges sell for $23 and $170 so that
the per page cost drops to 5.1 cents and 2.83 cents respectively.
Remember, these yields and costs are at 5% coverage and your printing will almost certainly
be anything but 5%.
Comparing the relative cost of running different types of printers is now easy. If you can’t
find the page yield of a particular cartridge from your manufacturer’s web site try searching
on www.whatcartridge.com which is a cross referencing site – you enter your printer model
and they tell you the cartridge(s) it uses. Click on the cartridge and you will get more details,
including yield. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for use the contact form on
www.second-image.co.nz and we’ll get the information for you.
Most laser printer users can find out how many pages they get out of a toner cartridge simply
by printing a Printer Configuration Page. Among other things this page tells you how many
pages the machine has printed during its life. If you print a Configuration Page each time you
change a cartridge simple subtraction will tell you how many pages the cartridge has printed.
After you have done this three or four times you will know what is “normal” for your usage.
Some business ink printers also provide page counts while the more modern laser printers can
often print a Supplies Status Page which will also estimate how many pages are left in the
cartridge based on your recent printing history.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
8
8
Avoid the rip offs
Safely use alternative ink and toner cartridges
Ink
The major issue is ink quality. And the only way to test quality, from a previously unknown
supplier, is to put the cartridge in your printer. Because of the small market in New Zealand,
and the relatively low value of each item, ink cartridges do not attract the same level of
fraudulent activity as they do in larger markets overseas. Nevertheless, there is poor quality
ink available so it pays to ensure that you buy from a trustworthy supplier.
Refilled print head cartridges should be tested individually and there should be a test print
included with the cartridges. Random testing is only reliable where the starting point for each
item is identical, as with new products. Used cartridges provide differing starting points and
therefore potentially different results even if they are all treated the same.
Refill kits should have comprehensive instructions, a clip to hold the cartridge while you are
filling it and the necessary ink and tools to enable you to fill the cartridge correctly. Refill kits
are not complex but you should stay away from those that do not fit these criteria. Remember
that when refilling ink cartridge the golden rule is “Fresh is Best”.
In general terms it is usually better to buy refilled ink cartridges from a supplier who is
directly involved in refilling rather than one buying refilled cartridges from a wholesaler.
There are a number of reasons for this. The first is that a refiller’s stock is more likely to
consist of recently filled cartridges and they will only stock cartridges that they know have
worked well after refilling. Also a refiller will be able to fill your cartridges for you – an
important consideration for cartridges where empties to refill are in short supply.
Laser
The bad news is that there is greater risk for the end user when buying laser cartridges than
for ink. The good news is that there are enough “good” operators in the market to eliminate
the risk.
Because it is easy to enter the remanufacturing business, and because supplies are readily
available, there are always inexperienced and/or poorly trained operators entering the market,
tempted by the higher price of laser cartridges and the apparent high margins.
These same factors also attract the fly by night and rip off merchants who are only out to
make a fast dollar.
The problem is that when laser cartridges are not remanufactured properly, with the
replacement of key components when required, they will usually work for a short time before
they fail. Because there have been no parts replaced the seller has made a high profit, the
customer has been ripped off and is unlikely to try remanufactured cartridges again and the
genuine remanufacturer, who does a good job, is left trying to sell to an audience who don’t
believe that the product works or is good value.
Another, rather nasty, practice is to short fill the cartridge so that the toner runs out before the
components start failing.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
9
Some companies sell remanufactured cartridges over the telephone, as if they were branded
originals at or above the price of original cartridges. The customer usually doesn’t know or
understand the difference.
If you follow a few simple rules you will avoid these traps and use alternative ink and laser
cartridges without risk:1. Know your supplier
If you are buying off the internet take a little bit of time before your first purchase to check
the supplier out. Read their guarantees, people profiles, testimonials etc. Ring their 0800
number with a casual enquiry. Sign up for their newsletter. You should soon get a feel for the
way they do business and what level of trust you can place in them.
2. Don’t be seduced by price
It is easy to “save” a few dollars and get a bad buy. The remanufacturing industry is very
competitive and most genuine remanufacturers will be selling laser printer cartridges within a
few dollars of each other. As a rough rule of thumb a remanufactured laser cartridge should
sell for around 30% less than the RRP of the original product.
With ink cartridges there may be a difference of one or two dollars but the inks may be as
different as water and glue. Remember, if you buy poor quality ink tanks then you have the
problem of flushing that ink through and out of the supply line and print head.
3. Don’t buy from a telephone “Cold Call”
There are some very successful telephone selling companies in New Zealand whose sales
scripts are extremely hard to resist. They generally concentrate on selling remanufactured
cartridges at or above original branded prices.
For example a remanufactured laser cartridge sold by Second Image for $90 was offered to a
customer at the “special” price of $198 while the original branded product only costs $130.
They also try to sell in quantities of five cartridges or more and to sell repeat monthly orders.
Calls from these companies are often preceded a few days earlier by a telephone “survey”
asking about your printers, use of consumables etc. This is to set up the sales call. The easiest
way to deal with these companies is to say “No thanks” and hang up. Or, if you prefer, just
say “I can’t buy from a new company without referring to my boss”.
4. Know what you’re signing
Some companies ask you to sign and fax back an order confirmation that they have faxed to
you. Be careful. These sometimes contain an authority for repeat orders. In one extreme case
that we are aware of a relatively junior staff member signed such a document and five toner
cartridges started arriving each month when the customer only used one or two every three
months. This issue took a lot of time and effort to resolve as the seller insisted that they had a
valid legal contract.
5. Make sure that your rules are clear
Many businesses delegate the purchase of consumables to one staff member. Make sure that
the buyer understands the limits of their authority. If you limit buyers to a list of approved
suppliers then any proposal to change a supplier must be considered by a more senior person
without any pressure from the seller.
Because they know that the buyer is usually not spending their own money telephone selling
companies will often offer petrol vouchers and lotto tickets as an inducement to the buyer.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
10
9
Tips on looking after your printer
Site it in the right place
If you can, place your printer where there is good air flow around it, out of strong light,
particularly direct sunlight, and away from other major office equipment.
Strong light, especially sunlight, can have two effects on laser printers. It can increase the
operating temperature to the detriment of your printer and light can "leak" inside the printer
affecting the quality of your output.
Remember that toner is being fused into the paper at a temperature of around 220 degrees
Celsius so the inside of your printer is already very hot. Static electricity from other
equipment, such as large photocopiers and certain types of heaters, can cause print quality
problems.
If your ink printer is in direct sunlight you run the risk of the print heads drying out. While
this may not be too serious for users of printers with print head cartridges, as they can just
change the cartridge, users of printers with built in print heads may find the heads irreparably
damaged and be faced with buying a new printer.
Keep your printer clean
Much damage done to printers comes from an accumulation of dirt and debris. Many
electronic failures begin with a dirty printer. Every time you change a cartridge clean out the
inside of the machine with a lint free cloth to remove toner, ink and paper dust.
Ink printer users don’t touch the carriage bar. That’s the shiny steel bar in some printers that
the print head assembly moves back and forth on.
Don't neglect the outside. Laser printers in particular attract a lot of dust because the printing
process uses a lot of static electricity so clean under and around it.
You can buy a can of compressed air for blowing the dust out of the inside of the printer. It’s
advisable to do a little manual dusting before using the compressed air.
Cover your printer when it’s not in use, which will help keep the dust out.
Use good quality paper
It's hard to save money on paper!! Cheap paper tends to have a high clay content making it
susceptible to swelling (and causing paper jams) in humid weather and in winter. The clay is
more abrasive causing greater wear. Find a good quality paper that you are happy with and
ignore the specials on paper brands you've never heard of. You will save yourself many paper
jams and almost certainly some costly service calls. Go back to Rule 1 – Know your supplier.
Have it serviced annually.
This particularly applies to printers used in business as they are more heavily used than
printers at home.
If you maintain your printer well then a professional technician should be able to service your
machine in 30 to 45 minutes. An annual service and clean will set you up for a trouble free
year.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
11
10
Guarantee
We promise to keep you printing – whatever it takes!!
Second Image believes that all customers deserve a friendly, ZERO RISK
Guarantee!! That means all our products and services are more than 100%
guaranteed! When it comes to repairs we are an industry leader as we
guarantee parts and labour for 12 months.
If you suspect your printer is not performing properly, due to products supplied
by Second Image, we will replace any item supplied by Second Image that is at
fault or provide you with a full refund. Replacement or refund is your choice.
We know that a very small percentage of remanufactured cartridges will fail
prematurely. That is part of the nature of the business we are in. And that part of
the process we have no control over. But, if this happens to you, Second Image
will immediately replace the faulty cartridge at no extra charge to you.
We want you to be a happy and satisfied customer. Please tell us if any of our
products do not deliver to your expectations and we will fix the situation to your
satisfaction, even if that’s the part we have no control over!!
When it comes to repairs we are an industry leader as we guarantee parts and
labour for 12 months. All parts are covered except the fuser unit in your laser
printer. (That’s the hot bit that melts the toner into the paper.) The manufacturer
only guarantees your fuser unit for 3 months. We’ve decided to double that so
that fuser units supplied by Second Image are guaranteed for 6 months.
Also, provided we can get any parts needed, your ink or laser printer will be
repaired within 2 working days of receiving the repair or it’s fixed for free. If
we can’t get the parts you’ll know as soon as we do – and you’ll know exactly
what time frame we’re working to. If this happens we’ll lend you a printer or,
if you can email it to us, we’ll print your stuff for you.
We promise to keep you printing – whatever it takes!!
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
12
11
Environmental Guarantee
In the interests of Environmental sustainability Second Image
guarantees :1. That 97% or more of the waste generated by Second Image being in business
is reused or recycled. None of this waste is sent to a landfill.
Waste covered by this clause includes; paper, cardboard, glass and plastic
bottles and containers, scrap metal and polystyrene. Packaging material is reused
where possible.
2. That Second Image customers are actively encouraged to return empty ink
and toner cartridges for reuse and recycling.
3. That at the end of its life Second Image will take back for disposal through
reuse or recycling any product sold by the company.
4. That all laser printer and fax toner cartridges that can not be reused by Second
Image are sent to other remanufacturers for reuse or recycling.
5. That all unusable ink and toner cartridges, and all printers to be disposed of,
are recycled through an OEM recycling programme.
6. That Second Image actively participates in industry initiatives to reduce waste
and to promote the use of reused and recycled products.
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
13
12
Testimonials
The following are a sample of comments received from customers.
As a business consultant / mentor I take a particular interest in the way business contacts run their businesses.
When I find someone, such as yourself, who consistently goes out of their way to make sure clients get what
they need, including value for money, I stick with them.
I have high expectations when it comes to computer needs. That is why yours is one of a handful of computerrelated businesses which I recommend to people. I appreciate your efforts to answer my sometime unusual
questions (especially when it comes to non-Microsoft issues).
When I think of Second Image, I think of consistent quality products and service. That could be because I
primarily deal with you, but knowing a little of your approach to business, I would expect the rest of your team
to respond as consistently as you do. Of course expecting others to match the depth of your personal knowledge
is a tall ask - but it's never been an issue for me.
Phil Astley
Temperton & Associates Limited (Chartered Accountants)
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.temperton.co.nz
Cellular 021-529 846
We're most impressed with your prompt service provided...nothing ever seems a problem for Second Image that
you won't deal with. Your range of products is always readily available to us, and you have a wide range such as
toners ink etc. We require, and always get a prompt turnaround if we require taking our hardware off the
business premises...and the added extra of a 'sweet treat' is appreciated.
We have no hesitation in recommending Second Image to any prospecting partner.
Todd Zaner, Operations Manager, Kapiti's Beach FM, 04 296-1399
Neill,Cropper and Company Limited in Wellington, have purchased two printers and printer accessories together
with remanufactured ink and toner cartridges for use in printers, faxes and photocopiers from Second Image Ltd,
for perhaps as long as eight years or more. We have found their products and the advice they have given, to be
sound and reliable. Their deliveries are same day or the following day by courier in most cases. We regard them
as a company that maintains a professional and cordial approach to the business we transact with them.
R. M. McKillop
Neill, Cropper and Company Limited
Troup House, 3 MacDonald Crescent, Wellington
P O Box 27456, Marion Square, Wellington
Tel: 04 3849800 Fax 04 3849801 Mobile 0274 446207
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
We at Lambton Property Management Ltd are more than happy to provide a reference for your company and the
work you do for us. We have found your company to be courteous and extremely efficient. The range of
products is fantastic and delivery times are quick and very reliable.
The in-depth advice you offer has helped us make many purchasing decisions which for a small business are
crucial to get right. Thanks to Second Image we have saved large amounts of money and time.
I am happy to supply a reference verbally if required.
Shayne Thurston
pp: Lambton Property Management Limited 04 384 8893
Further testimonials are available to view at: http://www.second-image.co.nz/second-image-testimonials.html
0800 243 852
16 Ihakara Street, Paraparaumu, Kapiti 5032 – P O Box 395, Paraparaumu 5254
Phone 04 902 3735 – Fax 04 902 6734
www.second-image.co.nz – [email protected]
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