FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - GENERAL

Note: Much of this material is covered on our website under: Terms & Conditions

I am a Reseller...How do I get started?  If the state your business is in requires a Reseller’s tax permit, fax a copy of that certificate to (818) 772-1499.  If you would prefer to use our form,  press the Forms button and fax that completed form.  When you place your first order you will be assigned a customer # and a Customer Service Rep.

I would like to obtain a line of credit with you. What do I do?  Go to the Forms section and fill out our credit application and fax or mail to Unitone.  Credit verification takes a minimum of 48 hours.  Our Accounting Department will call you with confirmation. Upon approval, you will be shipped product up to your credit limit on a NET 30 basis. Unitone expects to be paid within 45 days.  Unpaid invoices at 60 days will result in credit hold.

How fast can I get product?  Unitone maintains a 10 working day supply of all common products and typically ships over 95% of all orders the same day received. The balance will ship next day.

How do you ship and who pays the freight?  We use UPS, FED-EX and common carrier.

Orders over $500 are shipped freight prepaid at our expense. You may also will-call any

product at our plant in Chatsworth, California.

What about empty core returns?  Over 70% of our clients purchase off the shelf and do not bother with core returns. If you customarily return cores you may do so and enjoy exchange pricing as reflected in our price guide.  Please return cores at your expense. After 90 days from inception of account Unitone will not accept further cores previously remanufactured by others as we never use them in either of our lines. As we also do not use any non-virgin cores in our Image Master line, returned Unitone cores can only be used as exchanges for purchases of our Diamondkote line.You may send cores in advance and they will be banked in your account for further use.You will also have 30 days beyond date of order to send in exchanges for credit.

What do we do if there is a failed or defective product?  Call your Customer Service Rep

and they will handle immediately.  If your client is out of toner we will most likely send

them a replacement overnight at our expense as well as an ARS label for the return of the

defective unit.  Please see that they include a test copy so that we can determine if the

problem is with our cartridge or with their printer. If the returned unit is not ours, you will

be charged.  For all other reasons, such as empty or a problem printer, you will generally not be charged, however the Rep will usually call you with details so that you can communicate with your client.

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - TECHNICAL

Can an unauthorized cartridge void my warranty?  The use of a rebuilt cartridge does

not void a warranty.  This is a violation of the Sherman-Clay Antitrust Act and other

legislation that forbids tying arrangements by OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufactur-

ers). If a defective non-authorized cartridge damages a printer during it’s one year warranty period, the OEM may charge for that maintenance, however this rarely happens. During the 16 year history of Unitone and many hundreds of thousands of cartridges, we have had no instance of an OEM’s repair bill being passed on to us for reimbursement.

Do rebuilt cartridges work as well as OEM cartridges?  They can!  The technology has been available to our industry for years.  It depends upon the corporate commitment of each cartridge Rebuilder to spend the money necessary to reach that level.  Unitone has done that and our fail rate for all reasons is about 1%, which is similar to the OEM. Many Rebuilders however opt for price advantage and this results in the withholding of critical parts and supplies which could have achieved that level of excellence.

What is ISO 9001 all about? Go to About ISO 9001 on our web page and you will find an overview of this remarkable quality system.

How does your technical approach to cartridge rebuilding differ from others?  Go to

The Difference on our web page and you will see what we have done over the years to differentiate our company from the competition.

What is the primary cause of cartridge failure?   The OPC (organic photoconductor drum) sustains the most damage of any part in the printer environment. The OEM version of this drum uses a softer polycarbonate than is used in the after-market industry and this results in lower impact damage to the harder surface of the Long Life Drums. This lower drum damage ratio then more than offsets slightly higher low mortality parts failure in the rebuilt cartridge. Please note that at Unitone the replacement of all high mortality parts is mandated by our Quality System.

Are all “defectives” the fault of the Rebuilder?  Over the years we have learned that over

40% of units returned as defective are either not ours, are empty, or are victims of operator error or poor printer maintenance and housekeeping. Only about one-half of our 1% fail rate is due to failed parts, shipping damage or cartridge technician error.

Who do we talk to about a technical question?  Merlin Graves is our IT Director and he

and his staff will be happy to work with you.  He can be reached at extension 217 or can