Q. Are USPS products “authorized” by Pitney Bowes? |
A. USPS products are approved by the US Postal Service for use in Pitney Bowes meters. No authorization by Pitney Bowes is required. The
ink and characteristics of printed indicia (the stamp) is specified by the US Postal Service and USPS products obviously conform to these specifications. |
Q. Can I replace a Pitney Bowes cartridge directly with a USPS product? |
A. Yes. There are no “changeover” issues when going between the brands. |
Q. Will using these products void my warranty? |
A. No. Your postage meter warranty is protected under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act of 1975. This act prohibits manufacturers from
voiding a product warranty due to the use of third party supplies (specifically under the tie-in sales provision of the Act) unless the Manufacturer
provides supplies at NO CHARGE to the consumer. Further, Pitney Bowes sells a broad range of replacement cartridges for HP, Canon
and other brands of printers. Their products enjoy the same Federal protection relative to your warranty. It would be a contradiction if Pitney
Bowes did not apply the same protection to alternative supplies for their postage meters. |
Q. Will the USPS products perform like the OEM? |
A. Yes. All USPS products are manufactured to provide equivalent yield as compared to the OEM. They are approved for use by the US Postal
Service and meet all requirements for printing valid, readable postage. Only the OEM and USPS brands have been directly tested and approved
by the Postal Service. |
Q. Is there a warranty on USPS products?
|
A. Absolutely. USPS products are fully backed by a Performance Guarantee.
Further they are supported by a Money Back Guarantee if you are
not entirely satisfied. |
Q. Does this warranty cover any potential damage to my
meter?
|
A. Absolutely. If it is shown that a USPS product has caused a failure
of the meter, the cost of repairs will be refunded. This does not apply to
printheads in meters where the printhead is a user replaceable consumable,
such as the DM500 or DM1000 series. |
Q. Are these products quickly available if I run out of ink?
|
A. Absolutely. Some USPS products are stocked in national office supply
retailers. Others are available with a maximum of 3 day delivery.
|
MailStation and MailStation 2
(NPTK700 cartridges)
|
Q. Do you have the version of the 797 cartridge that works in the mailStation 2? I ordered
the wrong cartridge at one time and it was a real hassle! |
A. Absolutely. The USPSK700 cartridge functions in BOTH the original MailStation and the MailStation 2. You
will never receive the wrong version of MailStation cartridge with the USPS brand.
|
PersonalPost, MailStation and MailStation 2
(NPTE700, NPTK700 cartridges)
|
Q. I have had some cartridges that did not give me the stated yield. They ran out too fast. Does the USPS cartridge
last longer than the Pitney? |
A. All USPS cartridges have slightly MORE ink than an OEM to ensure maximum yield is achieved in all usage situations.
However: Ink usage in these meters is controlled by two factors. One is the number of indicia you print.
This is actually the lesser of the two factors, as you could print 3 to 4 times the stated yield with a new cartridge if
you simply ran that number of letters through after installation. The main factor in yield for these models is the
amount of time a cartridge is in the machine. The meters “autopurge” the printhead on a timed basis, and a typical
purge will consume vastly greater quantities of ink than simple indicia printing. So yield is a matter of the number
of indicia printed and the time the meter is idle. This creates a yield variance over several cartridges. That is why
the OEM states the yield in both number of indicia OR 3 to 4 months.
|
PostPerfect
(NPTB700 ribbons)
|
Q. Sometimes my meter says I am out of ink (ribbon) when there is a lot of ribbon on the supply spool. Do USPS
ribbons have the same issue? |
A. This is typically caused by the counter in the meter being out of sync with the supply of ribbon in the
cartridge. Both USPS and Pitney Bowes ribbons have a clear section on the end of the roll, and the meter has a
light switch that trips as it shines through this clear section, indicated that the ribbon is exhausted. This switch
ensures that all the ribbon has been used. However, the meter also has an internal counter that works in conjunction
with this switch. If the counter is “off ”, a premature Ink Out situation occurs. Unplugging the meter
for a minute or so should cause a reset of the counter and allow for continued use of the remaining ribbon.
|
DM500 through DM1100
(NPT500, USP800) |
Q. Will using USPS brand cartridge affect my Service Contract? |
A. Yes. Although the validity of your warranty is legally protected when using USPS products for these meters, your
On Site Service Contract prohibits the use of ink brands other than the OEM. You may want to assess the cost value of
using USPS brand cartridge and terminating your On Site Service Agreement. Our product warranty covers you for any
damage caused by USPS products, so your cost in this situation would be any regular maintenance and/or repairs. Our
warranty does not cover the user replaceable printhead when it is within the stated print life limits. Printheads in the
DM500 through DM1100 series meters are classified by the OEM as a consumable. |
