Customer Experience Research HP LaserJet users who have used non-HP toner cartridges July 2012 For distribution in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa
Executive Summary The study was commissioned by HP to examine the experiences of 2,100 monochrome and Colour LaserJet business users in seven separate countries in Europe. A total of 300 participants in each of seven countries in Europe participated in this study. Participants were drawn from the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Poland and Turkey. In order to qualify for participation in this study, users must have had to have 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 the 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 non-HP 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 on-line survey in native languages for 7 countries among business users: Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
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Research is based on 1050 HP monochrome LaserJet users, and 1050 HP Colour 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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300 samples were taken from each country of which 150 were for monochrome LaserJet users and 150 were for Colour LaserJet users.
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Surveys cover office users ranging from micro to enterprise. Respondents from business sizes include: Business Size
Monochrome
Colour
1-9 10-99
16% 30%
14% 22%
100-499
22%
29%
500+
32%
35%
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Data for both the HP monochrome LaserJet users and Colour LaserJet users were collected from November 2011 through January 2012.
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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 459 of 1050 users of monochrome HP LaserJets and 552 of 1050 users of HP Colour 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: •
53% of HP Colour LaserJet users and 44% 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 Colour LaserJet printer doubles the chance of a printing problem.
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51% of HP Colour LaserJet users and 42% of HP monochrome LaserJet users who use non-HP cartridges have a problem with print quality.
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23% of HP Colour 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 Colour LaserJet users and 17% 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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1 in 10 HP Colour LaserJet users and more than 1 in 20 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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59% of HP Colour LaserJet users and 39% 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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80% of HP Colour LaserJet users and 65% of HP monochrome LaserJet 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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22% of HP Colour LaserJet users pay to use an outside print shop due to printing problems caused by non-HP toner cartridges.
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61% of the HP Colour LaserJet users and 54% 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 Colour LaserJet users who have problems with non-HP toner cartridges say poor print quality is among the most disruptive.
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71% of HP LaserJet users who suffer printer damage caused by non-HP toner cartridges lose use of their printer for an average of 40 hours.
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Among the survey participants, an average of 13 persons were impacted negatively when the mono LaserJet printer went down and 22 persons were impacted negatively when the Colour 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 Colour 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.
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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.
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