Office supplies distributor Acco will partner with Ingram Micro to bring the range of Peach compatible printer consumables to IT resellers.

The first shipment of the products – compatible inkjet cartridges for HP, Canon and Epson printers - went out to retailers in January. Acco will to supply the office supplies and mass merchant retailers, but will rely on Ingram Micro’s reach in the IT channel.

“In IT, we step back a bit and promote the product through Ingram,” Acco national marketing manager, Mark Griffiths, said.

Peach consumables offer savings of up to 60 per cent of the retail price of their OEM counterparts, with much higher margins for resellers, Acco said.

To help allay fears about using non-OEM consumables, the distributor will also offer a 100 per cent money back performance guarantee.

The cartridges use Swiss inks and are made from new parts that are not refilled or remanufactured. Peach general manager for Asia, Rolf Hess, prefers to describe its products as “real alternatives” rather than compatibles.

“Our real alternatives for Canon and Epson printers feature a ‘universal system’ whereby four of our Epson alternatives replace 10 Epson cartridges; six of our Canon alternatives replace 16 Canon models,” he said. “This helps the retailers by reducing their inventories and investments and at the same time it proves that our products are not copies.”

Between 40 and 50 products from the Canon, Epson and HP range are available.

Last year, Acco conducted a series of focus groups to guage awareness of the issue amongst end users. The study showed most consumers don’t even know that compatible products exist, despite the success of third-party manufacturers such as Calidad.

OEM vendors such as Epson and HP go to great pains to encourage consumers to use original product, and are constantly developing new technology to counter the influence of compatible technologies.

Griffiths said ACCO will launch a consumer campaign in March to educate end users about compatible consumable products.

“There are a couple of things that are different about Peach,” Hess said. “One is the quality of the packaging and the look of the product on retail shelves. We’ve spent a lot of time and effort to make sure it is clearly branded and understandable.”

The packaging was a major decision in WC Penfold’s decision to stock the product, he said.

“But it is also a global brand – Peach is sold in Europe, South Africa, North America and Asia,” Hess said. “I think historically, one compatible brand wins out in the market and that’s where Peach has the advantage. It adds to the value of the whole brand and it’s an easy product to sell, because it is well supported and well known.”