German Magazine’s Cartridge Tests Accused of Omitting Leading Rechargers

According to the Recycler, German magazine Stiftung Warentest (translation: product testing organization) has released a series of test results on remanufactured and refilled cartridges offered by some aftermarket companies for use in Brother and Epson printers. Toner Dumping, a German cartridge retailer, notes that the magazine praised remanufactured cartridges, but failed to test cartridges sold by many leading aftermarket producers.

Toner Dumping found that the magazine did not test inkjet cartridges produced by Pelikan. Also, some manufacturers and companies that distribute  aftermarket products were included in the tests, but other remanufacturers were not selected. Therefore, the retailer says, it is wondering what criteria the magazine employed to choose sample cartridges for the tests.

Reporters note that Stiftung Warentest responded to Toner Dumping’s inquiries. The magazine explained that there were no Pelikan ink cartridges for the selected printer models, so they were not able to test those products. Plus, the prints from a manufacturer versus its distributor’s products demonstrated different levels of quality. Therefore, the scores for the testing of those products were different.

Regarding the selection of providers for the test, the magazine stated that due to capacity reasons, the number of brands tested and the quantity of tests run on these was limited. Also, they are continually dealing with the task of reflecting the market by evaluating just a few printer models.