Customer preconceptions regarding OEM and aftermarket ink is heavily unbalanced, states Rapid Refill franchisee Trudy Whitney.
Trudy Whitney, 
a Texas-based Rapid Refill franchisee, has lamented the preconceptions of quality between OEM and aftermarket inks from customers in an article for local McKinney news site TownSquareBuzz.
Although Whitney does not deny that purchases of refill cartridges can lead to disappointment – “Customers can rightfully be disappointed in print quality of a cartridge they purchased on an internet site or had refilled by a machine using generic inks” – she bemoaned a common fallacy that aftermarket inks are unable to produce the same, if not higher, quality prints than OEM cartridges.
“An inkjet cartridge properly flushed, atomised, spun to dry weight, and filled with the specific inks that meet all required specifications to OEM products will produce excellent copies and perform the same page count if not exceed those requirements the brand name manufacturers expect of their own products.”
Remarking on a suspected “psychological phenomenon” that customers address refilled or remanufactured products with increased scrutiny due to higher inquiry from aftermarket producers, OEM products often receive a measure of ‘good will’ from consumers who automatically accept an assumed standard of quality and expected returns policy.
However Whitney speaks on her experience of customers perplexed on how to evaluate aftermarket products: “I have had customers who snarl and weigh and shake products to death only to find out after they review the purchase receipt issued months or perhaps years ago that the cartridges performed just as well and just as long as an OEM.
“We have some very specific guidelines to follow to ensure quality and if you are still not happy, then I happily exchange or refund your money within a reasonable time period.”
Whitney will discuss printers and paper in subsequent TownSquareBuzz articles.