Tonerpartner, an online seller of printer ink and toner, advertises almost as eloquently as Aale-Dieter at the Hamburg fish market: “Customers can save up to 80 percent,” namely “through compatible products with 100 percent print quality”. So: If there is a Canon printer next to the desk, for example, the ink cartridges or toner cartridges do not necessarily have to come from this same manufacturer. A number of other providers have paint dispensers in their range at significantly more favorable conditions. It remains to be seen whether they really always offer the same quality and functional reliability; the often enormous price differences compared to the brand factories even justify a certain residual risk.
How does the market phenomenon come about in the first place? A common theory leads them back to mixed calculations by the manufacturers. Network-capable inkjet color printers, for example, can be had for less than 100 euros. Such prices can only pay off if the expected profits from the business with ink cartridges are included in the overall calculation. Marketing experts call this lock-in, i.e. a kind of customer loyalty under the gentle pressure of purchasing hardware at tempting conditions. The principle is not new. According to the legend from the early days of capitalism, John D. Rockefeller had masses of kerosene lamps distributed in China free of charge from 1870 onwards, which his Standard Oil Company then supplied with the necessary fuel. That made the man a millionaire. Gillette is another good example: Anyone who buys the handle of a wet razor from this brand always feels a touch of resentment when they buy the fine five-point blades in the drugstore. Because the prices for these utensils are almost prohibitive.
Customer loyalty through cartridge recycling
The business with non-brand printer supplies is like a balancing act on the tightrope of civil law. Third-party manufacturers have to be meticulous about making sure that their products fit the printers and still don’t infringe any patents. Lawyers are therefore just as important in these companies as development engineers. Conversely, the printer manufacturers try to defend their customer loyalty – among other things, with reasonable services such as cartridge recycling: Still usable copies are refilled and offered at more favorable conditions. But HP also fights hard. What happened? Automatic firmware updates fed in via a network connection suddenly paralyze a number of printer models from the manufacturer, often during operation.
The measure is based on an HP concept called “Dynamic Security”. The software on the devices checks whether the ink cartridges or toner cartridges used come from our own production. If this is the case, they can remain in the printer, even if they are refilled copies. In addition, the HP color memories carry tiny chips in the housing, with which they identify themselves as legitimate accessories. If they fail to provide evidence, the firmware stops operation and explains the process on the display: “This printer is only intended for the use of new or refilled cartridges that have the appropriate HP chip.” The models are currently affected, among other things Officejet 7740 and Officejet Pro 6970; for some older printers produced before 2016 there should be ways to circumvent the exclusion of third-party products, for example by reinstalling older firmware. However, the manufacturer’s service pages point out that future updates could also close such loopholes. is this legal
Frustrated customers have tried to find out with class action lawsuits in America, Australia and Italy. After all, there are professional users who have already purchased a large supply of toner that is worthless after the update. And is HP policy legitimate? The manufacturer sells the competitive lockout as a quality assurance measure, but that’s an overly transparent argument. Apparently, this is about customer loyalty with coercive measures. Whether King Customer wants to go along with it, he can decide the next time he buys a printer. There are manufacturers who maintain more liberal practices. And it’s probably legitimate if the choice ends in favor of a model with a different brand name on it.