How do printer manufacturers thwart the aftermarket?
Many printer manufacturers seek to limit remanufacturing, using technological and logistical barriers. For example, Lexmark has its Prebate program, which requires users to send their cartridges back to Lexmark, rather than allowing the user to have the cartridge remanufactured by a third party. Tactics such as this control the stream of empty cartridges, making it very difficult to remanufacture cartridges. Some printer manufacturers also go as far as to insert technology to prevent the reuse of cartridges. Almost all of Hewlett-Packard’s new printers use chips to control their cartridges’ interactions with the printer, including data on the level of toner or ink still available. This means that a remanufactured cartridge without a replacement (aftermarket) chip will inform the user that the cartridge is empty, even when it is full! If a replacement chip is used, a display warns the user that the cartridge is non-HP and may void the warranty. Lexmark takes it a step further. Many of i
