Supplies

Genuine Toshiba Supplies

More frequently the question of using 'generic' or ‘compatible’ supplies arises as companies look to cut costs. Following are some important facts to know prior to considering generic supplies for your Toshiba products.

• Toshiba supplies are specifically designed to work in Toshiba products.
• All Toshiba products are vigorously tested prior to being distributed to dealer channels.
• Toshiba ensures the highest-quality product that will work best with your equipment.
• Many after-market suppliers label their products with "for use in Toshiba" or "compatible with" but may not be manufactured to Toshiba's demanding specifications and high quality standards.
• Non-Toshiba-compliant toners and developers may cause higher consumption levels, causing low toner yields, dirty equipment and poor copy quality.
• Toshiba cleaning blades are specifically designed to remove excess toner from sensitive drum surface. Improperly designed blades can damage drum and may result in improper image transfer.
• Fuser rollers are designed to deliver proper amounts of heat and pressure to the media. Any variance in the amount of pressure or heat can result in wrinkled copies and unfused toners.
• Your local authorized Toshiba dealer can help you find the right supplies for your Toshiba product.
• The Toshiba Quality Commitment Guarantee is void on equipment that uses generic supplies.
• Toshiba is only able to guarantee their equipment when it is maintained with original Toshiba supplies and parts.
• Because Toshiba supplies and parts have undergone such stringent qualification processes and are proven to work best with our systems, we are unable to guarantee the quality of the system without their use.
• Toshiba supplies and parts undergo stringent qualifications and are designed to work best with our systems. We are unable to guarantee the quality of the system without their use.

Buyer Beware – Fraud Alert 

Office Supply Scams are costing U.S. businesses an estimated $200 million a year. For this reason, Toshiba wants to bring more attention to these operations that are selling toner at inflated costs. The information below will outline the key tactics commonly used and share steps you can take to avoid office fraud.

COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
Most of these telephone solicitors will identify themselves to sound like a government agency or well known company or as your regular supplier without mentioning his/her company name. The invoice will most likely come from a “Distribution” company, different from the company that made the initial sales call.

KEY TACTICS

Pretender Scam
Caller pretends to be your regular supplier or in some cases, the manufacturer and falsely claims that prices are going up or other tactics of sale due to surplus, etc.

Phony-Invoice Scam
Caller gets an employee’s name and address so that your organization can be shipped and billed for unordered goods or services.

Gift-Horse Scam
Caller tricks an employee into accepting a gift—a free promotional item—with a passing reference to identify merchandise used and will send overpriced, unordered merchandise, followed by an invoice with the employee's name. Their intent is to make you believe you have to pay as a result of the employee's blunder.

Invoice Collection Scam
These scam artists will send as many invoices as it takes to get your money with invoices often stamped “Past Due”. They will in some cases resort to bogus collection agencies and threats of legal action.

Brush Off Scam
If an organization complains that they didn’t order the merchandise or that the price is too high, the scam artist will either 1. bully—state that they have a recording of acceptance or say that they will take you to court, 2. Negotiating—seller agrees to accept a lower price, 3. Charging for returned merchandise—seller claims to charge a restocking fee for returned items.

Steps to take to avoid office supply fraud

1. Know your rights 
If you receive supplies or bills for services that you didn’t order, don’t pay, and don’t return the unordered merchandise. Treat any unordered merchandise you receive as a gift. It’s illegal for a seller to send you bills or dunning notices for merchandise you didn’t order. It is also illegal for them to ask you to send back the merchandise if the seller offers to pay the shipping cost. Remember that a contract is nonbinding if the company misrepresented themselves to be your normal supplier.

2. Assign designated buyers and track your purchases
It is important to assign specific employees as buyers. Those buyers are the only ones that should be assigning purchase order numbers and ensuring that they are included on the invoice and bill of lading. They should also be responsible for sending a copy of the purchase orders to accounts payable.

3. Check all documentation before you pay the bills
Your receiving department should be checking to make sure that your purchase orders match the bill of lading. Brands and quantities should be checked closely and if it doesn’t match it should be refused. Bill of ladings should be forwarded to your accounts payable and further scrutinized.

4. Train your staff
Train everyone in how to respond to telemarketers. (ex: I am not authorized to place orders. If you want to sell something you must talk to _____and to get a purchase order). Establish a team of designated buyers, receivers and accounts payable reps and develop standardized buying procedures.

5. Report fraud
Report office supply scams to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC—www.ftc.gov - online complaint form) or toll free by phone at (877) FTC-HELP (382-4357), your State Attorney General, local consumer protection office or Better Business Bureau and your Authorized Toshiba Dealer.

How to identify genuine Toshiba supplies

The following link will share key check points to ensure you're getting genuine Toshiba parts and supplies.  It will highlight security features on authentic Toshiba supplies and provide contact information should you have any questions.

Genuine Toshiba Supplies

Toshiba is Environmentally Conscious

• Toshiba understands the importance of a better environment and has a strong commitment to the effective use of natural resources, reduction of energy consumption and environmental protection worldwide.
• Many of our toner and developer containers are now comprised of an average of at least 25% recycled plastics by weight. These black-colored containers signify recyclability and natural recycling.
• Many of our copier toner containers are marked with the proper recycling code for sorting at the recycling center and can be recycled locally.
• Toshiba offers a Toner Cartridge Recycling Program for our Toshiba printers. Under this program, the customer can return the empty cartridge for recycling using a prepaid mailing label contained in the box.
• It is our intention to recycle all Toshiba cartridges but presently some cartridges cannot be recycled using current processes. Please check with a local recycler to recycle or dispose of those supplies in the most environmentally-friendly way.
• Most Toshiba copiers use organic photoconductors which are non-toxic and biodegradable.
• All of our stands have a powder-coat finish which contains no solvents. This means that during application, no dangerous fumes are emitted, and any overspray from the powder is 98% reclaimed into the system.