The Facts About Printer Warranties
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty
Act of 1975 states:
“No warrantor of a consumer product
may condition his written or implied warranty of such
product on the consumer''s using, in connection with
such product, any article or service (other than article
or service provided without charge under the terms of
the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or
corporate name.”
(Click here for Clayton
AntiTrust Act)
This means the OEM cannot, as a condition
of the warranty, require the use of their cartridge.
While using another brand of cartridge
can not completely void your printer warranty, the printer
maker does not have to repair damage that is caused
by another brand of cartridge.
However, the remainder of the warranty
still applies. Only damage that is specifically caused
by use of another brand of cartridge is exempted.
The Federal Trade Commission requires
that warranties be readily available to purchasers of
items costing $15 or more. They may be provided with
the item, or kept nearby where they are displayed.
Yet, few of us know the real terms of
the warranties on anything we own.
The International Imaging Technology
Council and its members want you to know about your
printer warranty - especially as it may apply to toner
cartridges.
Here are the most relevant excerpts to
the full warranties:
Brother
“This warranty does not cover:
(1) Physical damage to this Product;
(2) Damage caused by improper installation, improper
or abnormal use, misuse, neglect or accident (including
but not limited to transporting this Product without
the proper preparation and/or packaging);
(3) Damage caused by another device or software used
with this Product (including but not limited to damage
resulting from use of non Brother-brand parts and Consumable
and Accessory Items);
(4) Consumable and Accessory Items that expired in accordance
with a rated
life;
(5) Problems arising from other than defects in materials
or workmanship;
and
(6) Normal Periodic Maintenance Items, such as Paper
Feeding Kit, Fuser and Laser Units.”
Canon
“This limited warranty covers all defects encountered
in normal use of the Product and does not apply in the
following cases:
(a) Loss of or damage to the Product due to abuse, neglect,
mishandling, improper packaging by you, alteration,
accident, electrica lcurrent fluctuations, improper
use, failure to follow operating or maintenance instructions
in, or environmental conditions prescribed in, Canon
USA’s user’s manual or other documentation,
or services performed by someone other than a Canon
USA repair facility or ASF. Without limiting the foregoing,
dropping the Product, scratches, and abrasions will
be presumed to have resulted from misuse, abuse or failure
to operate the Product as set forth in the user’s
manual or other documentation for the Product.
(b) Use of parts or supplies (other than those sold
by Canon USA) that cause damage to the Product or cause
abnormally frequent service calls or service problems.”
Dell Computer Corp.
“This limited warranty does not cover:
Software, including the operating system and software
added to the Dell-branded hardware products through
our factory-integration system, third-party software,
or the reloading of software.
Non-Dell branded and Solution Provider Direct products
and accessories.
Problems that result from:
External causes such as accident, abuse, misuse, or
problems with
electrical power.
Servicing not authorized by Dell.
Usage that is not in accordance with product instructions.
Failure to follow the product instructions or failure
to perform
preventive maintenance.
Problems caused by using accessories, part, or components
not supplied
by Dell.
Products with missing or altered Service Tags or serial
numbers.
Products for which Dell has not received payment.”
Epson
“This Agreement excludes those services listed
below. Customer agrees to be billed at Epson’s
standard rates if excluded services are necessary to
restore Product to working condition and to pay such
charges upon receipt of invoice. Services excluded from
this Agreement are:
Service to address any damage caused by using improper
packaging materials, improper packaging and shipping.
Service to address any damage caused by using unsuitable
inks or ink delivery systems in the Printer.
Service to address any damage caused by use of non-Epson
inks, ink cartridges or media.”
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Will using a remanufactured
cartridge void my warranty?
Have you ever heard that using a remanufactured toner
cartridge will "void your warranty?” Next
time a repair technician says that, tell them to put
it in writing. Chances are he won't. Why? Because it
can be illegal to require a consumer to use specific
supplies in order to maintain a warranty.
You have the right to use the supplies of your choice!
Printer manufacturer warranties state that the use
of third-party supplies alone does not void your warranty.
Warranties are only voided if the cartridge actually
caused the damage. Under these circumstances, the
cartridge remanufacturer will repair it.
Click the company name below to view their warranty.
Apple
Brother
Canon
Dell
Epson
HP
IBM
Lexmark
Panasonic
Samsung
Xerox
Hewlett-Packard Inkjet Printers
“For HP printer products, the use of a non-HP
ink cartridge or a refilled ink cartridge does not
affect either the warranty to the customer or any
HP support contract with the customer. However, if
printer failure or damage is attributable to the use
of a non-HP or refilled ink cartridge, HP will charge
its standard time and materials charges to service
the printer for the particular failure or damage.”
HP Laser Printers
“Warranty does not apply to defects resulting
from (a) improper or inadequate maintenance or calibration,
(b) software, interfacing, parts or supplies not supplied
by HP, (c) unauthorized modification or misuse, (d)
operation outside of the published environmental specifications
for the product, or (e) improper site preparation
or maintenance.”
Kyocera Mita
“5.1. Support does not include any of the following:
…
5.1.6.6. damage caused to the Product by the use of
any consumables which are not genuine Kyocera Mita
consumables or by the use of any connectivity or other
options, accessories or products of a third party
which are not Kyocera Mita approved;”
Lexmark
“Warranty service does not include repair of
failures caused by:
Modification or attachments.
Accidents or misuse.
Unsuitable physical or operating environment.
Maintenance by anyone other than Lexmark or a Lexmark-authorized
servicer.
Operation of a product beyond the limit of its duty
cycle.
Use of printing media outside of Lexmark specifications.
Supplies (such as ink) not furnished by Lexmark.
Products, components, parts, materials, software or
interfaces not furnished by Lexmark.”
Samsung
“Non-Samsung laser print cartridges: If a non-Samsung
print cartridge is found to be the direct cause of
printer failure or damage, Samsung will not cover
the repair related to that non-Samsung cartridge.”
Xerox
“Xerox shall not be obligated under this Agreement
to:
1. Repair damage resulting from attempts by personnel
other than Xerox
representative to install, repair or service the product
unless directed
by a Xerox representative;
2. Repair any damage, malfunction, or degradation
of performance resulting
from improper use or connection to incompatible equipment
or memory;
3. Provide any application software support or service
involving
application hardware;
4. Repair any damage, malfunction or degradation of
performance caused by
the use of non-Tektronix/Xerox supplies or consumables,
or Tektronix/Xerox
supplies not specified for use with the particular
product.”
These are manufacture "general warranty"
statements. Different nations and states may have
specific laws that impact upon
them.
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