Questions and thoughts pop up every once in a while when shopping on the Internet. We are always interested in you opinions and thoughts so please tell us what you’re thinking. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) at Customer Support. Question categories are found in the left menu.
General Questions
Assurance and guarantees
- Will the use of compatible cartridges ruin my printer?
- No! KMP products are manufactured under strict control. The performance and reliability is at least as high, if not higher than the original product. If you receive a broken cartridge, KMP will replace it or give you all your money back. Also KMP guarantees that their cartridges will not damage or lower the performance of your printer or copying machine. If by any unlikely circumstance the product should come to damage your printer or copying machine, KMP will compensate for the reparation costs, however, only to the present market value of the machine. The guarantee does not include possible loss of income due to the damage of the printer or copying machine.
The guarantee is not valid if the cartridge hasn’t been used according to KMPs’ instructions, or if the cartridge is damaged, or if the printer instructions have not been followed.
Read more about KMPs’ terms of guarantee…
Finding a Product
- How do I find the product I’m looking for?
- By searching
There are several ways to find the product you are looking for. You can search by printer model, article number, manufacturer or by typing in any keyword.
By search trees
You can also use the search tree to assist your searching.
On your left, on the home page for printer equipment, you will find a purple navigation field. In this field you can find different alternatives for ink cartridges and toner. Click on any of these alternatives and a list of manufacturers will be presented.
Click on one of the alternatives, for example HP.
On your right, a window will be opened that displays a number of printer types, click on the desired printer type (for example Deskjet) and a new list will be displayed where a number of printer models are shown.
Choose the model you’re using, to see cartridges that can be used for the chosen printer.
Ink Cartridges
- How do inkjet printers work?
- Ink cartridges are ink containers used in inkjet printers. A small colour emitting nozzle travels back and forth over the paper, and emits colours on the addressed points. When one strip is coloured, the paper is feed forward where upon the next strip is coloured. There are two methods used in inkjet technology. The colour is either dropped on demand, or continuously jetted. In both methods, the drops are charged and directed by electrical fields, in order to hit the right spot. Drop sizes vary between manufacturers (Canon, Epson, HP, Lexmark etc) but are usually around 10 micro meters in diameter.
- Are ink cartridges perishables?
- Both ink cartridges and toner have an expiration date. At the printer equipment department all products expire two years after production. For OEM-products the markings vary significantly between manufacturers. But generally it can be said that the chances of receiving an old item are very low, made sure by our strict purchase demands.
On KMPs’ products, production-date and -location are stated. By adding two years to the production date you get the expiration date. The production date is either stated directly on the product or on label set on the product. The marking consist of 5 numbers, for example 520.33. The first number 5 tells what year the product was made. The two following numbers (22) state the production week. The forth number (3) tells what day of the week it was produced. And the fifth number (3) tells which factory it was made at.
So, the expiration date of an item marked 520.33 is Wednesday in the twentieth week of 2007 (2005 + 2).
- What is a photo cartridge?
- A photo cartridge is an ink cartridge that contains pigmented ink. There are photo cartridges for both colour and black, depending on the printer brand. Photo cartridges are found in some photo printers; in these, the option is given to change from regular dye ink cartridges to photo ink cartridges.
- Which cartridges offer the best print-quality?
- KMPs’ products are equally as good as the originals, and they are definitely cheaper. So why not try KMPs’ products the next time you change your ink cartridges or toner. With their low prices and advantageous guarantees, you have nothing to lose.
KMP
- What is KMP?
- KMP AG is a leading manufacturer of equipment for printers, copying machines and faxes. The head company is located in Eggenfelden, Germany. Their products are manufactured in several European counties such as England, Germany, Italy, Poland and The Chez Republic. None of there production is in Asia. KMP was founded in 1988 and have around 500 employees all around Europe. KMP carry a certification in Quality Management Systems, DIN EN ISO 9001:2000. This testifies for high reliability. ISO 9001:2000 is an internationally renowned standard, and an influential quality assurance. The ISO 9001:2000 standard puts pressure on management responsibility, resource handling, product development, analysis and improvement.
- Why should I choose KMP?
- KMP stands for the highest quality at the best prices. When you buy a KMP-product you can save more then 50% of your printing expenses, without sacrificing quality. KMP products are strictly controlled and have won several test awards throughout the years. As an assurance, KMP offer advantageous guarantees for their own products as well as for your machine.
- How can KMP offer compatible products at such low prices?
- The most crucial factors are the manufacturing expenses and where the profits of each respective manufacturer are placed.
An Original Equipment Manufacturer receives little or no profit for their printers. Instead they rely on their customers to each buy printer equipment for a value of 150-740 £ a year, covering all expenses and giving a profit of 60-80%. In order to meet these profits the prices of consumption material, such as ink cartridges, has to be so high that it weighs up to the losses caused by the low earnings from printer sales.
Since KMP only develop consumption materials, under their own patent, their profit structure isn’t as complicated as a OEMs’. KMP has a high quality control and cost effective production that presents high standards, and relatively low prices.
- Is the quality of a KMP product as good as the original?
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The answer is yes. A number of test rewards through the years have proven that KMP can even outdo OEM-products in quality, reliability and price. Read more about KMPs’ test awards… Or go to www.kmp.com.
What ensures high quality are KMPs’ own research and development sections where they have chemists and engineers that help create components included in their diverse product series. For example, they develop and produce the ink for the cartridges, the toner powder for laser cartridges, plastic details and the high tech micro chips. They even develop the necessary machines for production and distribution. KMP exclusively use their own patent solutions and can therefore offer advantageous guarantees. For example KMP guarantees that their products are 100% compatible, and will not ruin your printer
Much of KMPs’ production is fully automatic, which even guarantees the highest production standards and the best quality. All production standards put high demands on both method and result. For exam
Originals and Compatibility
- What is an original product?
- An original product is a brand name product manufactured by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). OEM examples are Canon, Epson, HP (Hewlett-Packard) and Lexmark.
All products that are manufactured by OEM’s are companies that develop and sell there own printers, and are original (OEM) products. The OEM’s set the standards for their own products and specify their own quality- and reliability- demands.
- What is a compatible product?
- Compatible products are produced by other companies than the OEM, and can be used instead of the original product. Compatible products can be made to meet the quality demands of the original product, and in some cases be better than the original product. Compatible products commonly are less expensive alternatives to OEM-products.
- What’s the difference between a compatible product and a pirate copy?
- Pirate copies and compatibles are often and wrongfully named as the same thing. I4s all about patent and ownership rights.
Pirate copies are illegal copies of the original patented product. And there are compatible products that are not copies but products manufactured under their own legally defendable patents.
KMP produce all their compatible products under their own patents, and do not release any illegal items onto the market.
Toner
- How does laser technology work?
- Toner is a powder cassette used in laser printing. A laser printer is built upon the so called xerographic process. This process begins with a static-electrical charging of a round drum. Further on, a laser beam moves over the drum and discharges the spots that are, or are not to be printed. The drum turns, and thanks to the charge, colour partials are fixed on the drum. Then, the paper is charged to a higher static level than the drum, and when the paper passes through, the toner powder is moved from the drum to the paper. In order to fix the powder on paper, it is heated and pressed. The toner is burnt into the paper at a temperature of around 200 C°.