Quality

    Q-Connect cartridges offer outstanding quality and reliability and stand out from other alternative cartridges in the market.

    So what makes our cartridges different? Q-Connect cartridges are manufactured in top class engineering facilities with revolutionary processes used throughout the production cycle. Every production phase, from the breakdown of the original cartridge through to packaging, is overseen by experienced quality assurance auditors who test and analyse performance against established benchmarks. All Q-Connect cartridges are tested off the production line, meaning we can guarantee 100% post testing of every single cartridge before it leaves the facility. You won’t be disappointed!

    Q-Connect are constantly reviewing emerging technologies and applying them to meet stringent standards, because we want to exceed our customer’s standards too.

    Warranty

    Q-Connect ink and toner cartridges carry a fully comprehensive 2 year warranty. In the unlikely event of a product malfunction, Q-Connect will offer an immediate refund or replacement. In addition, should a machine be damaged due to the use of a Q-Connect cartridge, independent engineers are on hand to assess the printer and provide engineers reports to determine if printer replacement is required.

    Product Quality

    Q-Connect guarantee that the print quality of its cartridges will match that of the OEM equivalent. This is possible due to the state of the art R&D laboratories that they’re produced in, and the adherence to strict industry criteria such as ISO 9001:2008 and STMC certifications.

    Product Performance

    Q-Connect want you to be as impressed with your last print as you are with your first, that’s why original cartridges are used, that have only been used once, to ensure the components inside are of top quality and able to sustain lifetime performance.

    No risk to printer warranty

    Using a Q-Connect cartridge WILL NOT void the warranty on your printer. It is illegal for a printer manufacturer to stipulate what brand of cartridge to use. If an OEM manufacturer tries to tell you otherwise, they are misleading you. A manufacturer cannot void a printer warranty because a user exercised their right to choose their preferred brand of printer cartridge.

    Page coverage

    Environmental conditions

    Printer age and condition

    Media type

    Font face type

    Composite black (the use of 3 colours to make black)

    Under printing (the use of colour toner to help produce a darker black print)

    Excessive calibrations – some printers self calibrate every time they are switched on

    Draft mode or Eco-mode printing

    Page Yield

    Q-Connect use two industry standard ISO test protocols, to determine the page yield of its cartridges. In previous years, the computer printer industry struggled with wildly diverse claims of page yield. OEMs would use different size fonts, paper sizes, density settings and media making it impossible for end users to qualify or compare yields. Cost per page comparisons were unreliable. Since then, two new industry standards have been introduced, ISO 19752 for mono laser cartridges, and ISO 19798 for colour.

    By adhering to these industry standards, Q-Connect are able to set a benchmark, guaranteeing that all its cartridges will meet or exceed the page yield of the original product.

    The number of pages you can print from a cartridge is highly dependent upon what you are printing. The page yield that Q-Connect publish is the ISO standard of 5% coverage of an A4 page. In reality, documents rarely have exactly 5% coverage and therefore in real life, cartridge yield can differ for each customer depending on their printing requirements. For instance, a full colour background results in page coverage of almost 100%. A 6k page cartridge would be empty after 300 prints. A blank version of the same file with no background would produce a page coverage of approximately 10%, seeing cartridge life increase to 3k pages, ten times more.

    EMEA has seen a significant increase in the importation of new build/new compatible cartridges. These cartridges are often clones of the original or marketed as remanufactured products, thereby often likely to infringe on OEM patents.

    Download The Q-Connect Toner Cartridge Page Yield Flyer

    Intellectual Property

    Intellectual Property (IP) allows people to own the work that they create. There are four main types of IP rights which can be used to protect a persons innovations or creations – patents, copyright, trademark and designs.

    Patents protect the features and processes that make things work.

    It is based on this IP law that we are now seeing OEMs becoming much more aggressive in protecting their intellectual property and pursuing those companies blatantly infringing their patent claims.

    So where does Q-Connect stand on IP?

    • Q-Connect respect OEM patents and rights ensuring all products are IP-cleared
    • Q-Connect products are guaranteed to meet or exceed OEM performance
    • All resellers are fully indemnified against product IP litigation

    A. OEM Cartridge

    New cartridge which is produced by the original printer manufacturer (OEM) and sold under the same name.

    B. Remanufactured Cartridge

    Used OEM cartridge that has been recycled. Parts are cleaned and/or replaced with the toner refilled. The cartridge is therefore ready for another use

    C. New Build/New Compatible Cartridge

    Newly manufactured cartridge that is NOT produced by the OEM, but by a third party, and sold under a third-party trademark.

    D. Counterfit Cartridge

    Newly produced cartridge that is NOT produced by the OEM, but by a third party, and sold under the OEM brand name.

    Compliance and Certifications

    In today’s modern world, we use products everyday to enhance our lives and make day to day living easier. We take it for granted that these products are safe to use, yet many of them have to potential to pose a threat either to our health or the environment. For these reasons, product certifications are essential, to ensure that products have passed performance and quality assurance tests, and meet certain criteria’s and safety conformities.

    Q-Connect cartridges conform to the following compliances:

    REACH

    REGULTION ON CHEMICALS

    The purpose of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through a better identification of the inherent properties of chemical substances.

    EUROPEAN ECOLABEL

    ESTABLISHED IN 1992

    The purpose of this compliance is to promote products and services that are kinder to the environment, from raw materials right through to product distribution and packaging.

    CE

    EUROPEAN CONFORMITY

    A mandatory conformity mark for all products sold within the European Economic Area. This mark signifies the product meets all the requirements of the applicable EC directives.

    AMES

    AMES TEST

    A screening test used to identify chemicals that affect the structure of DNA. A positive AMES test indicates a chemical inclusion with the potential to cause a mutation that could lead to cancerous cells.

    ROHS

    RESTRICTION OF CERTAIN HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

    A European Directive aimed at restricting and controlling the use of hazardous substances in the production of new electrical and electronic equipment.

    WEEE DIRECTIVE 2012/19/EU

    WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE

    A compliance which promotes the re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in order to reduce the waste quantity disposed of and to improve the environmental performance of the economic operators involved in the treatment of WEEE.

    ISO/IEC 19752

    MONOCHROME LASER

    An ISO standard method for the determination of toner cartridge yield for monochrome laser devices.

    ISO/IEC 19798

    COLOUR LASER

    An ISO standard method for the determination of toner cartridge yield for colour laser devices.

    DIN 33870-1/2

    QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REMANUFACTURING PROCESS

    Defines the quality requirements for the remanufacturing process of toner modules and appropriate test methods.

    Q-Connect have key certifications that demonstrate its commitment to quality and environmental responsibility. Find out more about these below.

    ISO 9001:2008

    QUALITY IN THE MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES

    Objective is to establish a system to improve quality and reliability covering everything from design and development through to product distribution and services.

    ISO 14001:2004

    INTERNATIONAL SPECIFICATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

    The international specification for an environmental management system (EMS).

    SWAN ECO LABEL

    GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL CHOICE

    The purpose of this standard is to reduce waste and assure quality. Products that have the Swan logo are a good environmental choice.

    THE BLUE ANGEL

    ENVIRONMENTALL FRIENDLY

    A German certification for products and services that adhere to stringent requirements on environmental, health and usage aspects.

    STMC

    STANDARDISED TEST METHODS

    A Global committee formed to find and promote standardized test methods for the printer cartridge industry.

    OHSAS

    HEALTH & SAFETY

    Companies with this standard implement best practices in conjunction with its own country specific health and safety legislation.