Customer Experience Research

Customer Experience Research HP LaserJet users who have used non-HP toner cartridges July 2012 For distribution in North America

Executive Summary The study was commissioned by HP to examine the experiences of 2,043 monochrome and Color LaserJet business users in the United States. In order to qualify for participation in this study, users must have had experience using both non-HP cartridges as well as Original HP toner cartridges in their LaserJet printers. This was required so that users would be in the best position to make comparative judgments about the performance of each cartridge type. Overall, the research found that users are far more likely to encounter problems when using non-HP cartridges instead of Original HP cartridges. The study also confirmed that both the frequency and relative severity of problems encountered are greater when using non-HP cartridges.

Study Objectives: The study objectives were to uncover and quantify the impact of LaserJet printing problems attributable to using non-HP toner cartridges. Specific areas assessed include: •

The impact of the problems and how it affects user productivity and contributes to the hidden cost of using nonHP cartridges

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Number of people impacted by a problem

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Printer downtime due to a cartridge caused by a non-HP cartridge

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How much time is spent dealing with poor print quality and problem cartridges

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How problems are resolved

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The most common brands of non-HP cartridges customer use

Study Methodology

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Research was conducted using an online survey in the United States.

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Research is based on 1009 HP monochrome LaserJet users, and 1034 HP Color LaserJet users. All respondents must have had experience with using both Original HP and non-HP toner cartridges in the past 12 months.

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Surveys cover office users ranging from micro to enterprise. Respondents from business sizes include: Business Size

Monochrome

Color

1-9

33%

19%

10-999 1000+

56% 10%

62% 19%

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Data for the HP monochrome LaserJet users collected from July through August 2011. Data for the HP Color LaserJet users collected from October through December 2011.

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Questions were also asked about problems encountered (type, frequency, and severity) with Original HP toner cartridges to establish a baseline.

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Statistical testing was conducted at 95% confidence level.

Major Study Results Overall the study found that 424 of 1009 users of monochrome HP LaserJets and 575 of 1034 users of HP Color LaserJets reported problems caused by a non-HP cartridge. The problems spanned a range of print quality issues, increased printer downtime, and premature failure, as well as increased rates of cleaning and repair. The findings include: •

56% of HP Color LaserJet users and 42% of HP monochrome LaserJet users who use non-HP toner cartridges experience problems with those cartridges.

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Using non-HP toner cartridges instead of Original HP LaserJet toner cartridges in an HP monochrome and Color LaserJet printer doubles the chance of a printing problem.

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54% of HP Color LaserJet users and 40% of HP monochrome LaserJet users who use non-HP cartridges have a problem with print quality.

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31% of HP Color LaserJet users and 17% of HP monochrome LaserJet who use non-HP toner cartridges experience printer downtime as a result of cartridge problems.

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20% of HP Color LaserJet users and 22% of HP monochrome LaserJet who use a non-HP toner cartridge experience cartridges that fail, leak, or run out of toner prematurely.

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Nearly 1 in 10 HP Color LaserJet users and nearly 1 in 10 HP monochrome LaserJet users who use non-HP toner cartridges end up with a damaged printer that requires cleaning or repair.

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58% of HP Color LaserJet users and 63% of HP monochrome LaserJet who experience a printing problem with a non-HP toner cartridge end up using an Original HP LaserJet toner cartridge to get the job done.

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75% of HP Color LaserJet users who have a problem with a non-HP toner cartridge turn to an outside company or other external resource for help.

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A third of HP Color LaserJet users pay to use an outside print shop due to printing problems caused by nonHP toner cartridges.

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74% of the HP Color LaserJet users and 76% of HP monochrome LaserJet users who experienced problems with non-HP toner cartridges had print-quality problems that were disruptive to work.

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Nine out of 10 HP monochrome and Color LaserJet users who have problems with non-HP toner cartridges say poor print quality is among the most disruptive.

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85% of HP monochrome LaserJet users who suffer printer damage caused by non-HP toner cartridges lose use of their printer for an average of 25 hours. 73% of HP Color LaserJet users who suffer printer damage caused by non-HP toner cartridges lose use of their printer for an average of 24 hours.

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Among the survey participants, an average of 6 persons were impacted negatively when the mono LaserJet printer went down and 22 persons were impacted negatively when the Color LaserJet went down from problems associated with the use of non-HP cartridges.

Overall, the research findings from this study were consistent across a wide range of users in small, midsize and large companies. Users are far more likely to encounter problems using non-HP cartridges than Original HP cartridges in their monochrome LaserJet and Color LaserJet printers. Problems included poor print quality results, premature or outright cartridge failures, and damaged printers caused by leaking cartridges. These problems range from being moderately inconvenient for a single user to impacting an entire workgroup when a networked printer completely fails. The result is lost productivity, increased maintenance and higher repair costs Non-HP brands that were used most often in the monochrome and Color LaserJet printers include (respondents could select multiple responses):

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Percent of respondents who used these brands in the last 12 months…

Non-HP Monochrome Cartridge Brands

(28%) (21%) (20%) (13%) (11%) (14%) (10%) (8%) (8%) (7%) (7%) (6%) (6%) (6%) (5%) (5%) (4%) (4%) (3%) (3%) (15%)

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Office Depot Office Max Staples Cartridge World Lexmark IBM Quill Dataproducts Elite Image CTG Innovera MSE Nukote Xerox PageMax Pitney Bowes Print Master Rhinotek Premier (Supplies Network) Westpoint Other / Don’t know

Non-HP Color Cartridge Brands

(32%) (27%) (26%) (18%) (14%) (15%) (13%) (8%) (7%) (6%) (6%) (6%) (5%) (5%) (5%) (5%) (4%) (4%) (4%) (4%) (14%)

Office Depot Staples Office Max Lexmark IBM Cartridge World Xerox Elite Image Dataproducts Innovera CTG Quill PageMax Pitney Bowes Print Master Nukote Westpoint Rhinotek Premier (Supplies Network) MSE Other / Don’t know

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About the Author David Rocheleau has a wide range of experience in the printer and media industries. At Lyra, Rocheleau was responsible for research direction, execution, and delivery for Lyra’s Consulting Group. Prior to 1996, Rocheleau was director of marketing for Communication Papers at S.D. Warren Company and was a founding member of the Digital Printing Venture Group. He has held positions in the printer division of NEC Technologies, OKI Data Corporation, and Bonneau Associates.

About Photizo Group Photizo has been at the forefront of the industry transition to a services-based business model. Photizo conferences and publication (Industry Observer 360) offer a way for the broader industry to learn about becoming an SLC, and they provide a meeting place for the key players in this transition. In addition, Photizo Group’s consulting and market intelligence services provide the guidance and metrics to accelerate companies’ transition to an SLC model and to reduce their risk in making this transition.

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