OPINION: Accreditations and benchmark standards
January 12, 2022
UK-based ECS stresses the importance of products with proper accreditations and standards to all dealers and retailers.
UK-based Effective Consumable Solutions (UK) Ltd (ECS) comments that as “the long-term effects of the pandemic become clearer, a large majority of businesses are switching to the use of remanufactured toners for their main product lines in order to combat the financial impacts incurred over the last two years.”
“This move makes perfect sense, as high quality remanufactured toners usually cost anywhere around 1/3 of the price of an OEM cartridge without sacrificing anything in terms of quality, performance or reliability.”
ECS makes the point that while this is the case for its own products, not all remanufactured products fit this description. The UK remanufacturer therefore encourages new and existing buyers of remanufactured products to ensure their cartridges meet all industry standards, benchmarks and requirements as well as that they are remanufactured by a company who hold relevant accreditations.
ECS feels that every remanufacturer should have accreditations relating to their industry and products, as this shows dedication to providing exceptional performance, credibility and the company’s commitment to meeting their customers’ minimum quality expectations.
The UK remanufacturer also suggests that products of a high standard should always have the ETIRA Certification mark, meaning the product is made in line with ETIRA requirements which include:
- ETIRA Membership
- All remanufactured products have a core derived from a virgin or non-virgin cartridge, manufactured by the original manufacturer of corresponding printer/copier
- All empty cores that are not suitable for remanufacturing are fed into a proper and legitimate raw material recycling process in line with EU waste hierarchy rules
- All repairable empty cores are remanufactured in-house
- All cartridges correctly labelled as remanufactured, repaired etc. with no OEM affiliation other than product names intended to show compatibility.
- A correct and proper remanufacturing process, whereby each product is evaluated and inspected for its ability to be remanufactured successfully, with all parts being cleaned and replaced where necessary
In addition to these accreditations, ECS also produce their remanufactured toners in line with a number of other standards and benchmarks, which they also recommend dealers, retailers and resellers to look out for on their search for the perfect product.
These include:
- ISO 19752 – B/W Toner – Measuring Cartridge Yields
- ISO 19798 – Colour Toner – Measuring Cartridge Yields
- ISO 29142 – Product Standards for Cartridges
- ISO 8887 – MADE – Design for manufacture, assembly, disassembly, and end-of-life processing
Additionally, ECS itself holds ISO9001, ISO14001 and ISO27001 accreditations and highly recommend that your provider of toner cartridges holds at least an ISO 9001 certification, which specifies the requirements for a quality management system; demonstrating the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. Without this qualification, ECS feels, products should not be trusted to perform to the standards that you expect, particularly in key areas including yield, quality, performance and functionality.
The company concluded: “While ECS holds all of the above-mentioned accreditations and adheres to strict criteria during their remanufacturing processes, not all remanufacturers do.” The remanufacturer suggests that consumers ensure that “any product you buy is fully certified and that the producer of your products are fully accredited in order to avoid any disappointment in products that don’t meet your requirements.”
Editor: What do you think, is it all about cheap and cheerful, or is there a place in the market for quality remanufactured consumables that consumers can rely on?
Categories : World Focus
Tags : Accreditations Cartridges ECS Product Quality Remanufacturing Standards
