Do the inkjet cartridges you sell make your business a target for an OEM lawsuit?

Beware…Recent industry reports advise the OEM’s are cracking down on products coming into the USA from over seas (Hong Kong/China) by filing complex lawsuits on anyone distributing “compatible” inkjet cartridges that infringe on IP and/or other ink patents held by the respective OEM.  These lawsuits, while annoying for large retailer chains that have the backing to challenge the claims, could be catastrophic to the future of any small to medium size office products dealer, service provider, or imaging supply distributor.  Filing lawsuits are nothing new for OEM’s, they have large legal departments devoted to protect their interests that can and will leave any privately held company tied up in costly legal procession for several years.  Not only will this have a severe effect on a business’s cash flow, but can also cause damage to it’s account base who can lose faith in your entire product line even though only the inkjet portion may be compromised.

Be smart…The successful business will seek suppliers who have invested the necessary resources to avoid these lawsuits entirely.  The inkjet market is a large lucrative opportunity where you can realize nice annual profits.  The OEM’s also rely on the supplies segment to compensate their razor-blade market strategies with large profit gains (approximately 50-70%MM).  Performance demands placed on the OEM’s by their share holders continue to drive the protective barriers that includes the lowering of pricing so they can keep the supplies market to themselves.   This is forcing many resellers to fall into the trap of sourcing inkjets either directly or through a distributor of overseas product.  Make sure the product you stock doesn’t come from a supplier where their product may compromise your business.  The OEM’s will come after you, sooner or later.

…Select PTi™ Products PTi™ recognized this lucrative opportunity early on and was a pioneer in inkjet cartridge manufacturing.  All of our remanufactured inkjet cartridges are produced in our state-of-the-art facilities in the USA.  Today, we continue to be a leading supplier of high quality inkjet cartridges to customers’ world wide.  Our processes are registered and use patent free components and inks.  Quality is our highest priority and we utilize 3rd party testing facilities to certify that our products are comparable to OEM cartridges in terms of page yield and print quality.  The dedication to our manufacturing processes as well as the attention we have on a stringent quality assurance program ensure PTi inkjet cartridges are best remanufactured products available on the market so you can capture the higher margin sales and sell with confidence.

”Established in 1990, Printing Technology Inc. (PTi™) is an industry-leading manufacturer of color and monochrome toner and inkjet cartridges for laser printers, fax, and copy machines as well as MICR supplies. PTi™ has more than 150,000 CPM capacity for laser cartridge production and 300,000 CPM capacity for inkjet production.  PTi’s state-of-the-art operational infrastructure utilizes strict AQL standards and is STMC certified.  PTi dealers have a choice between PTi™ and QIP™ branded compatible products, or PTi's “High Resolution” line of compatible toner products and generic inkjets.  In addition to these, several generic packaging solutions are available so PTi dealers may brand their own product lines with PTi’s private label program which is available at no additional charge.  PTi offers its customers over 900 compatible imaging supply items and provides a complete outsourcing solution with custom packaging, marketing support, and blind drop shipping.  PTi distributes to more than 60 countries