Press Release: High quality remanufactured cartridges from Pitney Bowes Batsumi offer environmentally-friendly value for money

As part of its mission to provide tailor-made solutions to the mailstream industry , Pitney Bowes Batsumi Enterprise supplies only the highest quality products. One product line which is finding increasing favour with customers is the range of JetPrint printer cartridges remanufactured by Royce Imaging Industries.

“Pitney Bowes Batsumi became a distributor for JetPrint remanufactured cartridges in 2008, after identifying the distinct benefits to customers and the environment,” says Thokozani Gumede, Pitney Bowes Batsumi Managing Director.

“We believe in aligning ourselves with professional and reputable distributors,” says Royce Imaging’s General Manager, Natalie Oliver. “Pitney Bowes Batsumi met all our criteria and the relationship has been beneficial to both companies. We have seen increased brand awareness from our perspective, which ultimately benefits the customer’s pocket and the environment. For Pitney Bowes Batsumi, the benefits include the ability to offer its customers a reliable, cost-effective and environmentally-‘friendly’ printer cartridge alternative.”

Oliver points out that the remanufacturing process is performed in accordance with international Standardised Testing Methods Committee (STMC) standards. STMC is a quality measurement for monochrome printer cartridges. The measurements include page yield, average density, solid density, back-grounding and waste toner.

“To date the SABS has not implemented a quality standard for the testing of remanufactured printer cartridges, so in order to provide our distributors and their customers with a high level of quality assurance, we opted to become the first South African company in our field to apply for certification to attain the STMC standard,” Oliver explains.

STMC uses certain ASTM test methods, such as ASTM F 1856 for yield, and ASTM F 2036 for image density and background. These test methods are used to evaluate a finished cartridge in comparison to another cartridge, typically an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) cartridge. “JetPrint cartridges will not be released until they meet or exceed OEM specifications,” adds Oliver.

Gumede is enthusiastic about the environmental ‘friendliness’ of the JetPrint remanufactured cartridges. “Every time a JetPrint-branded cartridge is remanufactured, the carbon footprint per cartridge is reduced by approximately 2.5 kg of CO2 emission and 3 litres of crude oil. By introducing our customers to the JetPrint cartridges we are all positively contributing to the drive to ‘go green’.”

The typical used printer cartridge weighs about 1.5 kg and is composed of 40% plastic, 40% metal and smaller percentages of rubber, paper, foam, and toner. The plastic is made of engineering-grade polymers and takes at least 1 000 years to decompose. “However, approximately 97% of these combined components can be recycled and reused, which has a hugely positive effect on the environment,” says Oliver.

In addition to the reduced pollution levels achieved by recycling a printer cartridge, the process also ensures that there is a drastic reduction in the depletion of the natural resources used to make new cartridges. For every kilogram of new material used in remanufacturing, 2 to 4 kg of virgin materials are actually conserved.

Oliver says that, dependent on the condition of a cartridge sent in for recycling, it can typically be remanufactured up to four times, however Royce Imaging prefers to reuse a casing only once. In addition, because Royce Imaging remanufactures its JetPrint cartridges locally, the knock-on effect for job creation is substantial.”

Royce Imaging offers a two-part warranty on its JetPrint remanufactured printer cartridges. “Firstly, we guarantee the quality of the cartridge based on STMC standards. Secondly, we guarantee that our cartridges will not incur any damage to the printer in which they are being installed,” says Oliver.

Gumede explains that when a printer cartridge is empty, customers return them to Pitney Bowes Batsumi in their original packaging or in a cardboard box. “We then send the cartridges to Royce Imaging and they are evaluated to determine the feasibility of remanufacturing.

“Quality is of the utmost importance to us, so the manufacturing control mechanisms and standards employed at Royce Imaging give us the ultimate assurance. This is applicable, because only those empty cartridges which meet internationally-accepted standards are suitable for remanufacturing; and because the products that we are supplying to our discerning customers will provide them with a cost-effective solution, based on our own high quality demands,” Gumede concludes.

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About Pitney Bowes Batsumi Enterprise

Pitney Bowes Batsumi was formed in 2008 in association with global mailstream company, Pitney Bowes South Africa, and is a highly-rated Black Economic Empowerment company ( Level 1 BEE-rated), supplying Pitney Bowes consumables such as print cartridges and envelopes to the South African market; and other Pitney Bowes mailstream products and solutions, with the support of Pitney Bowes South Africa, who have 89 years experience in the mailstream industry.

Batsumi is black majority-owned by 51%, with Gumede owning 26%, Rewards (Gumede’s other co-owned incentives company) having a 25% stake, and Pitney Bowes South Africa owning the remaining 49%.

Editorial Contact:

Kendal Hunt Managing Director Kendal Hunt Communications PR and Media Liaison Agency
Tel: 011-462-6188 or 082 823 6533
Email: kendal@kendalhunt.co.za