CANON LASER PRINTERTONER CARTRIDGES FOR RUSSIA
PRINTS COMPARISON TESTSUMMARY REPORT

Release Date: 01/15/2015

Visit our Web Site at: www.allion.co.jp© ALLION JAPAN INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
1F,12F 3-20-14, HIGASHI-GOTANDA, SHINAGAWA-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN 141-0022
PHONE: +81-3-5488-7368 FAX: +81-3-5488-7369

Canon Laser Printer, Toner Cartridges for Russia Prints Comparison Test
Summary Report

Contents
1

Forward .................................................................................................................................................................... 3

2

Findings .................................................................................................................................................................... 3

3

Test Results .............................................................................................................................................................. 4

4

5

3.1

Packing/Unpacking Condition Assessment ................................................................................................. 4

3.2

Initial Assessment (assessment upon installation) ...................................................................................... 5

3.3

Toner Cartridge Yield Assessment ............................................................................................................... 6

3.4

Printed Character Quality Assessment ....................................................................................................... 7

3.5

Print Image Quality Assessment .................................................................................................................. 8

Overview of the Test .............................................................................................................................................. 13
4.1

Equipment Used .......................................................................................................................................... 13

4.2

Printing Conditions ..................................................................................................................................... 16

4.3

Test Procedures ........................................................................................................................................... 17

Important: Notes on This Report......................................................................................................................... 18

2

1

Forward
Allion Japan Inc. (below, Allion) conducted its first gas resistance benchmark test in June 2007, comparing prints
from inkjet printers using genuine and third party refill ink cartridges that had been subjected to a mixed gas
speed test. This test was followed by a series of various benchmark tests, including toner cartridge yieldcomparison tests, actual environment exposure tests, and usability tests, all from the viewpoint and conditions ofusers, implemented on ink cartridges sold in Japan and in overseas markets between 2007 and 2013.
This time, as a new experiment, we focused on laser printer toner cartridges. We examined the effects of using
two genuine Canon cartridges and third party black toner cartridges on the printer as well as the impact on printed
pages. The purpose of the test is to confirm to what extent reliabilities of genuine toner cartridges and third-party
toner cartridges are assured, by performing fair tests as a third-party verifier.
In the main text below, genuine toner cartridges are referred to as Canon toner cartridges or Canon genuine forshort, and a state of using third-party toner cartridges is referred to as third-party toner cartridges or third-party
for short. For identification purposes, Cactus brand toner cartridges are referred to as "Cactus," and Hi-Blackbrand toner cartridges are referred to as "Hi-Black."

2

Findings
The table below shows the results of prints comparison tests:
Assessment item

Canon genuine

CactusHi-Black

Packing/Unpacking
condition assessment

No problem

With toner dispersion

No problem

Initial assessment

No problem

Stain on the image

Stain on the image

Toner cartridge yieldassessment

Refer to the prints ratio on page 6

Printed character
quality assessment

No problem

Toner dispersion is foundaround characters

Printed image quality
assessment

No problem

Strong redness on thewhole
Change in hue

Toner dispersion is
foundaround characters
Pale hues
Streaking appears inprinting results

Notification ofremaining life

Notified

Not notified

Not notified

With Canon genuine, faults did not occur in any item. For Cactus and Hi-Black, it was confirmed that failuresoccurred in each test item. Details of failures are summarized below:(1) Toner was dispersed when the toner cartridge was unpacked (Cactus).
(2) Stainage occurred on the image during the initial printing immediately after the printer was unpacked(Cactus, Hi-Black).
(3) Poor reproductivity of hue as well as poor stability (Cactus, Hi-Black).
(4) Waste of prints may occur since no toner message is displayed, with the result that fade is not noticed(Cactus, Hi-Black).
Details of each item are described in the test results in the following pages.

3

3

Test Results
3.1

Packing/Unpacking Condition Assessment
Packing and initial product conditions were examined, when the Canon genuine, Cactus, and Hi-Black
cartridges were unpacked. For the packing conditions including the packages, no failures were observed
from any of the companies’ toner cartridges. As the packaging conditions were checked, Cactus toner(three cyan toner cartridges, two yellow toner cartridges) was dispersed on the cartridges. Similar failuresof toner dispersion did not occur with Hi-Black and Canon genuine.
The following shows images of the toner dispersion when the toner cartridges of Cactus were unpacked.
Cartridge

Cyan

Yellow

Cactus No. 1
Toner dispersion on the top
right partToner dispersion on the leftpart

Vertical and horizontal tonerdispersion

Dispersion was found in theprotection bag

Cactus No. 2
Toner dispersion on the top
left partToner dispersion on the leftof the front part

Cactus No. 3

Toner dispersion on the leftpart

Dispersion was found in theprotection bag

Toner dispersion on the top
left part4

Toner dispersion on the top leftpart

Initial Assessment (assessment upon installation)
When printing is performed by Canon Color Laser Pinter LBP5050 using each company's toner cartridges,a failure in which vertical regular interval stains on the image were generated occurred on prints using thethird-party toner cartridges. With Cactus, stains on the image were vertically generated at regular intervals
on the right ends of prints. With Hi-Black toner cartridges, red stains on the image were generated at
almost regular intervals at the center of prints (refer to examples of stains on the image on prints in thetable below).
This phenomenon failed to improve even after performance of recovery operations (calibration, color shiftcompensation, and cleaning twice) that are explained in the instruction manual. The phenomenon does notoccur with genuine Canon cartridges.
Note that, upon installation of Canon’s toner cartridges, no failures occurred in the printer (such as
impossibility of putting the cartridge into the printer, an unusual sound, etc.).
Examples of stains on the image on prints
Red frame part enlarged

Original data

Red frame part enlarged

CactusOriginal data

Hi-Black

3.2

Printing conditions:

●
●
●
●

Printer used: LBP5050, Driver version: Ver. 1.10
Paper used: Snegurochka (laser printer paper, A4)
Image used: ISO/IEC 24711: 2007 Criteria Chart
Print settings: Paper setting: Plain paper, Print quality: Normal, Color density:
Normal, Page layout: One page per sheet (Normal)

5

3.3

Toner Cartridge Yield Assessment
Under the following printing conditions, toner cartridge yields were compared until two black tonercartridges were emptied using Canon toner cartridges and third-party toner cartridges. In consideration of
discrepancies in the test results due to individual differences in printers, the test was conducted using two
printers for each company's toner cartridges. For the number of prints in the table below, the average prints
ratio of each color used with two printers until each company's two black cartridges were emptied arerecorded.
When a toner replacement error message is displayed from the printer side, the toner cartridges aretemporarily removed and shaken once. Then, when printing is performed after the cartridges are put backinto the printer again, an occurrence of fade, etc. is checked. If no fade occurs, printing continues until the
toner replacement error message is displayed again. Then at the point in time where the error message isdisplayed for the second time, the toner cartridges are shaken again. If fade still occurs on prints, it isdetermined that the toner is emptied, and the toner cartridge is replaced.
Each third-party's prints ratio when considering the number of prints of Canon genuine as 100%
Unit: %
Canon

CactusHi-Black

Black
100%
96%
95%
Yellow
100%
93%
102%
Magenta
100%
91%
110%
Cyan
100%
90%
95%
Printing conditions: ● Printer used: LBP5050, Driver version: Ver. 1.10
● Paper used: Snegurochka (laser printer paper, A4)● Image used: ISO/IEC 24711: 2007 Criteria Chart● Print settings: Paper setting: Plain paper, Print quality: Normal, Color density:
Normal, Page layout: One page per sheet (Normal)
The following results were obtained by comparing the toner cartridge yield test results.
When Cactus was compared with Canon genuine, Canon genuine was able to generate 4% to 10% moreprints than Cactus in all colors.
When Hi-Black was compared with Canon genuine, the result revealed that Hi-Black generated moreprints in magenta and yellow, however, in black and cyan, Canon genuine generated 5% more prints.
In addition, while implementing the toner cartridge yield test, when consumption of genuine Canon tonerreached low levels, a message, "Toner replacement is approaching," was displayed. Then, when the tonerreached the end of its life, a message, "Replace toner," was displayed. With each third-party toner cartridge,
however, since the printer did not display a message to replace the toner when the toner level was low, fadesometimes occurred suddenly. In addition, when the issue occurred, there was no message warning the userthat the cartridge was empty. This resulted in continued printing which leads to wasted paper.

6

3.4

Printed Character Quality Assessment
The toner cartridge yield assessments were administered under the following printing conditions, when
every 500 sheets were printed, a specific document (ISO/IEC 24711: 2007 Criteria Chart) was printed until
two black cartridges were emptied. Three positions of the print were checked under an electron microscope
to confirm occurrence of failures, such as blurred characters, toner dispersion, etc. For prints that wereprinted using third-party toner cartridges, toner was dispersed around characters, regardless of the numberof prints. For prints that were printed using Canon genuine, no failures were found.
Original data of the specificdocument

Red frame part enlarged

Canon genuine, red frame part
enlarged

Cactus, red frame part enlarged

Hi-Black, red frame part
enlarged

No failure

Dispersed around characters

Dispersed around characters

Printing conditions:

●
●
●
●

Printer used: LBP5050, Driver version: Ver. 1.10
Paper used: Snegurochka (laser printer paper, A4)
Image used: ISO/IEC 24711: 2007 Criteria Chart: Business Letter
Print settings: Paper setting: Plain paper, Print quality: Normal, Color density:
Normal, Page layout: One page per sheet (Normal)

7

Print Image Quality Assessment
The toner cartridge yield test was conducted under the printing conditions that every time 500 sheets wereprinted, a specific document (SCID image, N1A) was printed until two black cartridges were emptied toconfirm the printing quality. An issue resulting in a hue change was noted and this caused a loss to thestable tint in the prints. The occurrence of streaking on prints was confirmed when using each third-party
toner cartridges. The timing of the change in hue often occurs when the toner cartridge is replaced, whichindicates that hue may change by cartridge when a third-party's toner cartridges are used. For prints thatwere printed using Canon genuine, no failures were found.
PrinterNo. of prints

Canon

CactusHi-Black

After printing 500 sheets

After printing 500 sheets

After printing 500 sheets

After printing 2,500 sheets

After printing 2,500 sheets

After printing 2,500 sheets

After printing 4,700 sheets

After printing 4,000 sheets

After printing 4,000 sheets

Change in hue is notobserved.

Hue is reddish on the whole.
Hue significantly changed in
the last print, compared withthe first print.

Hue is pale on the whole.
Streaks are confirmed after
printing 4,000 sheets.

After printing
the first print

After printing
halfway

After printing
the number ofprints possible

Results

Red frame part enlarged

Hi-Black

LBP5050

3.5

8

PrinterCycle

No. of prints

Canon

CactusHi-Black

Hue is stable.

Hue changed at 2,500th print.
Strong redness on the whole.

Hue is pale on thewhole.

After printing
500 sheets

After printing
1,000 sheets

After printing
1,500 sheets

LBP5050After printing
2,000 sheets

1
After printing
2,500 sheets

After printing
3,000 sheets

After printing
3,500 sheets

After printing
4,000 sheets

Results

9

PrinterCycle

No. of prints

Canon

CactusHue is stable.

Hue changed at 1,500th print.
Color gradually becomes pale.

Hi-Black

After printing
500 sheets

After printing
1,000 sheets

After printing
1,500 sheets

LBP5050After printing
2,000 sheets

2
After printing
2,500 sheets

After printing
3,000 sheets

After printing
3,500 sheets

After printing
4,000 sheets

Results10

Hue is pale on thewhole.

Hue comparison after printing 500 sheets: The images are combined with Canon genuine on the left half,
and the third-party on the right half.
Canon genuine

CactusHi-Black

Compared with the genuine,
hue is reddish.

Compared with the genuine,
hue is yellowish.

LBP5050

Printer

Printing conditions:

●
●
●
●

Printer used: LBP5050, Driver version: Ver. 1.10
Paper used: Snegurochka (laser printer paper, A4)
Data used: SCID image, N1A
Print settings: Paper setting: Plain paper, Print quality: Normal, Color density:
Normal, Page layout: One page per sheet (Normal)

11

The toner cartridge yield test was administered under the condition that every time 500 sheets were printed,
a specific document (SCID image, N1A) was printed until two black cartridges were emptied. After that, a
specific document (a solid image) was printed to confirm stability of colors, and it was confirmed that thecolors are fixed on prints. In prints printed using the third-party toner cartridges, cross-contaminated colors,
uneven color, and streaks occurred, resulting in unstable tint. For prints that are printed using Canongenuine, the same failures did not occur.
PrinterNo. of prints

Canon

CactusHi-Black

After printing 500 sheets

After printing 500 sheets

After printing 500 sheets

After printing 2,500 sheets

After printing 2,500 sheets

After printing 2,500 sheets

After printing 4,700 sheets

After printing 4,000 sheets
Uneven color is confirmed after
printing 500 sheets. Yellow iscross-contaminated after printing
4,000 sheets

After printing 4,600 sheets

LBP5050After printing thefirst print

After printing
halfway

After printing thenumber of prints
possible

No change in hue isobserved.

Results

Streaks are confirmed
after printing 2,500 sheets.

CactusHi-Black

Red frame part enlarged

Printing conditions:

●
●
●
●

Printer used: LBP5050, Driver version: Ver. 1.10
Paper used: Snegurochka (laser printer paper, A4)
Data used: Solid image
Print settings: Paper setting: Plain paper, Print quality: Normal, Color density:
Normal, Page layout: One page per sheet (Normal)

12

4Overview of the Test
4.1

Equipment Used
In the comparison assessment, three companies' toner cartridges were tested with one printer (using up two
Black CRG per company). For the test method, two printers were used, and each printer tested tonercartridges of the third parties first.
 Printer used: Canon Satera LBP5050 (Driver version: Ver. 1.10)
Name ofmanufacturer

Printer ID

Canon genuine

1st machine
2nd machine

Serial number of theprinter
LYEA019454
LYEA501148

 Toner cartridges for Canon Satera LBP5050 (procured in Russian market)
Name ofmanufacturer
Canon genuine

CactusHi-Black

Color

Model number

Black
Yellow
MagentaCyan
Black
Yellow
MagentaCyan
Black
Yellow
MagentaCyan

CARTRIDGE 716 BKCARTRIDGE 716 Y
CARTRIDGE 716 M
CARTRIDGE 716 C
CS-C716BK
CS-C716Y
CS-C716M
CS-C716C
CB540ACB542ACB543ACB541A Sample pictures of the toner boxes
Canon genuine Black

Cactus Black

13

Hi-Black Black Number of Canon genuine toner cartridges used
Type of toner
BK
Y
M
C

1st machine
Two
Three
Three
Three

2nd machine
Two
Three
Three
Three

 Number of Cactus toner cartridges used
Type of toner
BK
Y
M
C

1st machine
Two
Three
Three
Three

2nd machine
Two
Three
Three
Three

 Number of Hi-Black toner cartridges used
Type of toner
BK
Y
M
C

1st machine
Two
Three
Three
Three

2nd machine
Two
Three
Three
Three

 Paper used for assessment (procured in Russian market)
Name of manufacturer

Name of paper

Snegurochka

Plain paper, A4 size

14 Data used: SCID image N1A, solid image (for printing of image quality assessment)
SCID image

N1A.tif* Japanese Standards Association, Graphic technology-Prepress digital dataexchange-CMYK Standard colour image (CMYK/SCID) JIS X 9201:2001

Solid image

Solid image.pdf
 Data used: ISO/IEC 24711 data (for printing of toner cartridge yield assessment), Business Letter (forprinting of document quality assessment)
ISO/IEC 24711: 2007 Criteria Chart

Business Letter

Spreadsheet

Newsletter

Slide* From International Standard ISO/IEC 24711: 2007
 Digital Microscopes
Name ofmanufacturer

Name of each part

Model number

KEYENCE

Controller
Lens
CasingVH-S30
VH-Z100W
VH-5500

15

Diagnostic

4.2

Printing Conditions
 Printer: Canon Satera LBP5050
 Software and setting conditions
Item of condition
Type of OS and its version
Applications and their versions

Printer driver version
Setting conditions of theprinter driver and theapplications

Standard value, details
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (Japanese version)
Adobe Acrobat Reader 10: Toner cartridge yield assessment,
document quality assessment
Windows Photo Viewer (Packaged with the above Windows OS):
Image quality assessment
Ver. 1.10<When assessing toner cartridge yield and document quality>
Paper setting: Plain paper
Printing quality: Normal
Color/density: Normal
Paper size: A4
Page layout: One page per sheet (Normal)
Printing application: Adobe Acrobat Reader 10<When assessing image printing>
Paper setting: Plain paper
Printing quality: Normal
Color/density Normal
Paper size: A4
Page layout: 20.3 x 25.4
Printing application: Windows Photo Viewer (Packaged with theabove Windows OS)

16

4.3

Test Procedures
4.3.1

Packaging/Unpacking Condition Assessment(1) Check conditions of appearance of the toner box.
(2) Take out the toner from the box, and take pictures of the toner cartridge when it is unpacked (thefront part, the back part, the top part, the bottom part, the right side, and the left side).
(3) Confirm whether toner is dispersed when unpacking.

4.3.2

Installation Condition Assessment(1) Check that the cartridge can be put into the printer.
(2) Check for unusual sound during printing.
(3) Check whether toner is dispersed.
(4) Check whether toner is deposited on the fuser.
(5) Check for a failure caused by the cartridges.
(6) Check for abnormal operation, such as an error signal from the printer, etc., during the printing.

4.3.3

Toner Cartridge Yield Assessment(1) Put toner cartridges of each color (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) into the printer.
(2) Print ISO/IEC 24711: 2007 Criteria Chart until each color's toner runs out (* fade image).
(3) If fade occurs, stop the operation to perform the recovery operation in accordance with the
instruction manual provided with the printer.
(4) If it is not recovered after performing the recovery operation, replace with a new toner cartridge.
(5) Print by following the above procedures until two black toner cartridges (guideline of the tonercartridge yield of 4,600 sheets) are emptied for confirmation.
* Judgment is based on "Examples of Fade (Fade of 3 mm or above)" shown in ISO/IEC 19752:2004"Information technology - Method for the determination of toner cartridge yield formonochromatic electrophotographic printers and multi-function devices that may contain printercomponents."

4.3.4

Printed Character Quality Assessment(1) Print until two black toner cartridges (guideline of the toner cartridge yield of 4,600 sheets) are
emptied for confirmation.
(2) Print the specific document every time 500 sheets are printed.
(3) Fix three positions around character to be assessed on prints, and compare quality of characters in
the image saved, under an electron microscope.

4.3.5

Printed Image Quality Assessment(1) Print until two black toner cartridges (guideline of the toner cartridge yield of 4,600 sheets) are
emptied for confirmation.
(2) Print the specific image each time 500 sheets are printed.

17

5

Important: Notes on This Report

This is an original report created by Allion Japan Inc. (Shinagawa, Tokyo) specialized in testing IT equipment tointroduce product benchmark tests.
Allion Japan Inc. is responsible for the above test result.
The copyright on this report belongs to Allion Japan Inc. Quotation or distribution of this report requires priorpermission of Allion Japan Inc.
<Disclaimer>
The report samples were obtained using products bought arbitrarily from the market. This report does not guarantee
results nor assume quality assurance on the products used in this test. Note that the test result may differ depending on
the test conditions and sample.
The readers of this report are responsible for their own judgment based on the result of this test and we will take no
responsibility for any secondary damage caused in any way by the use of this report.
For questions or opinions about this report or inquiries about tests, please contact Allion Japan Inc. below. Please let
us know of any requests for tests or questions. We accept opinions and questions about the test contents, but it may
take time to answer them.

ALLION JAPAN INC.
Takanawa Park Tower 1F/12F, 3-20-14, Higashi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan 141-0022
TEL: +81-3-5488-7368 (Extension: 500) FAX: +81-3-5488-7369
E-mail: service@allion.co.jp,
Web Site: http://www.allion.co.jp

18