Remanufactured cartridges are top-quality!
March 7, 2013
Top-quality: Cartridges bought from an ETIRA-member are 100% reliable
Original cartridges are often more expensive per liter than vintage champagne…..
So why bother ?
You do not need to pay a fortune to get top-quality cartridges: if you buy from an ETIRA-member your are sure to get a top-quality product for a reasonable price.
For obvious reasons, some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s, our competitors) tend to argue that non-original cartridges are less reliable. But many independent studies, consumer surveys etc, published during the last few years prove that non-originals are as good as (and sometimes even better than !) the original product ! And this conclusion is logic: each ETIRA Member has his own certified product/service quality system. And often they also apply one or more of the schemes referred to below.
DIN
DIN is short for Deutsche Industrie Norm, the worldwide renowned German institute for standardization. DIN has elaborated several standards for remanufactured toner and inkjet cartridges. DIN standards 33870, 33871 and can be obtained from DIN, please refer to www.din.de.
DIN 33870 Information technology; Office machines – Requirements and tests for the preparation of refilled toner modules for electrophotographical printers, copiers and facsimile machines
DIN 33871-1 Information technology; Office machines – Requirements and tests for the preparation of refilled toner modules for electrophotographical printers, copiers and facsimile machines
Several ETIRA members apply DIN standards in their production process.
STMC
STMC stands for the Standardized Test Methods Committee. This global committee formed to find and promote standardized test methods for the printer cartridge industry. The test methods are used to evaluate toner printer cartridge performance. Standardized test methods make it possible to evaluate a cartridge anywhere and come up with the same test results no matter who tests it. Standardized tests do not specify how a cartridge must perform; they only measure it.
ASTM International (American Society for Testing and Materials), is an independent, organization of volunteers that work under very strict rules that force objectivity to write test methods. STMC and ASTM are not one and the same thing. The STMC has accepted several ASTM International test methods as well as ISO, ISTA, and ANSI test methods.
A company that is STMC certified is one that has had their employees successfully trained by an authorized trainer in these test methods, attests to using these test methods, and has purchased the correct test equipment.
Several ETIRA members have obtained the STMC-accreditation for their products.
Please click here for full details on STMC.
BLUE ANGEL
The Blue Angel is the first and oldest environment-related label in the world for products and services. It was created in 1977 on the initiative of the Federal Minister of the Interior and approved by the Ministers of the Environment of the national government and the federal states.
One label says more than a thousand words
The task which is associated with the Environmental Label is clearly defined: the Blue Angel promotes the concerns of both environmental protection and consumer protection. Therefore it is awarded to products and services which are particularly beneficial for the environment in an all-round consideration and which also fulfil high standards of occupational health and safety and fitness for use. Economical use of raw materials, production, usage, service life and disposal – all these factors are assigned a high importance. Products which are awarded the label bear the logo of the Blue Angel directly on the product whereby service companies use it on materials used to offer their services.
The Blue Angel environmental label is the property of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety. It is sponsored and administered by the Federal Environmental Agency and the quality assurance and product labelling institute RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e.V. All technical demands placed on products and services for the award of the Environmental Label are decided by the independent Environmental Label jury. The award of the Blue Angel is entrusted to the RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e.V. – with the participation of the Federal Environmental Agency and the federal state in which the manufacturer or supplier of the respective product or service has its registered office. The Federal Environmental Agency is responsible, among other things, for the development of requirements for the award of the Blue Angel – and the Environmental Label jury has its office in the Federal Environmental Agency.
Several ETIRA members have obtained the blue angel accreditation for their toner products. Please click here for the official website of the Blue Angel.
NORDIC SWAN
The Swan is the official Nordic ecolabel, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Swan logo demonstrates that a product is a good environmental choice. The green symbol is available for around 60 product groups for which it is felt that ecolabelling is needed and will be beneficial. These days, everything from washing-up liquid to furniture and hotels can carry the Swan label.
The Swan checks that products fulfil certain criteria using methods such as samples from independent laboratories, certificates and control visits.
The label is usually valid for three years, after which the criteria are revised and the company must reapply for a licence. In this way, we ensure that products better suited to the environment are constantly being developed.
The Swan’s requirements:
A product carrying the Swan label meets extremely high environmental standards.
• The Swan takes into consideration the product’s impact on the environment from the raw material to waste – i.e. throughout the product’s lifecycle.
• The Swan also sets criteria with regard to quality and performance. The product must offer at features which are at least as good as other similar products.
• To ensure that a Swan-labelled product is always at the cutting edge from an environmental point-of-view, criteria are revised repeatedly.
The criteria for toner cartridges can be found on the website of Nordic Swan.
Companies applying for a licence to use the Swan label must provide results from independent testing to prove that the criteria have been met.
Several ETIRA members have obtained the Nordic Swan accreditation for their products.Please