Why Buy Original: The Millennial Lesson for Businesses

Written by Ivana Laskodyova, Consumables Product Manager at OKI Europe Ltd.

Alex Jahanbani

September 10, 2019

The millennial generation is renowned to for its savviness when it comes to parting with its money. Businesses can learn a lot by following the millennial generation’s lead when it comes to getting the best return on investment, whether ordering essential office supplies or contemplating more significant purchases.

Millennials are known to be the most brand-loyal generation, favouring trusted brands and willing to spend more on a product from a renowned brand that is known to deliver quality. According to statistics from Elite Daily and CrowdTwist, just over half (50.5 percent) saying they are extremely loyal or quite loyal to their favourite brands.

When it comes to choosing their favourite brands, 80 percent of millennials will keep coming to back to a brand or product that they like (Edelman research) and more than half (52 percent) will judge brands on quality over price (IRI research). Further research from JD Power concludes that millennials are most likely to make a purchase decision based on value for money across virtually every product category.

When it comes to purchasing essential supplies such as printer consumables, businesses are faced with a variety of third party options. Often available for a lower price than the original item produced by the device’s manufacturer, businesses should adopt the attitude of the millennial consumer and ask themselves, are third party products really worth the risk?

Original vs Third-Party

Quality is the key driver for millennials preferring to buy products from renowned brands. The same ethos can be applied to print consumables. In the same way that a pair of counterfeit Levi’s jeans won’t provide the same quality, durability or longevity as the genuine article, a third-party print consumable such as an ink or toner cartridge will not provide the same quality, performance of output as the genuine item that has been developed alongside the intended device and manufactured by the same supplier.

OKI’s Original Consumables are designed and crafted alongside OKI devices to deliver the best possible performance. The harmonious compatibility between OKI devices and consumables cannot be replicated by third-party consumables introduced to printing operations, no matter what promises are made by the third-party supplier.

This has been proven in tests by industry-leading independent research analyst and testing firm KeyPoint Intelligence Buyers Lab who compared the performance, image quality, reliability and yield of genuine OKI Original Consumables versus three third-party compatible cartridges. The testing concluded that devices using OKI Original toner cartridges performed flawlessly while devices using toner cartridges from a third-party supplier did not perform so well in comparison.

Clear Outcome
During the testing, the printer using third-party toner cartridges was susceptible to various error messages which impacted the device’s performance, requiring it to be frequently turned off and on again. In a real-world business scenario, this device downtime would be detrimental to workplace productivity, delaying the printing, copying or scanning of documentation while distracting the user from their duties.

Other issues experienced by technicians testing third-party consumables against OKI Originals included third-party cartridges found to be leaking and contaminating devices and the workspaces around them. In some cases, third-party consumables were also found to be ‘dead on arrival’, having been shipped with a defect and found to be unusable when unpacked.

In terms of print quality, the third-party consumables offered noticeably poor print quality with dull colouring, patchiness and dark blemishes evident on printed materials. In comparison, OKI Originals Consumables were found to deliver better print yields, higher and more consistent print colour and quality with absolutely no spillage on delivery and no damage caused to devices.

Into the Void

It’s only natural that after investing in a new device, a business will want to protect its warranty. While the testing revealed that third party consumables are detrimental to the device’s functionality, this could potentially also void the OKI device’s warranty if the third-party consumable is found to be the cause of any damage. Businesses can ensure their warranty remains protected by purchasing the OKI Original consumables specially crafted for their devices.What’s more, businesses are becoming conscious of their carbon footprints in reaction to the growing consumer demand – especially among millennial consumers – for more brands to operate more sustainably. Third-party products are not guaranteed to be recyclable whereas OKI collects and recycles 98 percent of OKI Original Consumables.

Whether working to ensure print costs are kept within or budget or protecting their green credentials, businesses can achieve both simply by ensuring they are purchasing consumables designed and crafted by the manufacturer of their chosen devices.