Editing Brother Refresh EZ Print Subscription Service (section)

=====Case study=====
[[File:MFCL2710DW EZ-Print.png|thumb|500x500px]]
To investigate Brother's claim for their purported savings in the '''EZ-Print''' program, we used the listed legal disclaimer as a basis for the setup:

#Mono Laser Printer: '''MFC-L2710DW''' <small><ref>[https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl2710dw MFC-L2710DW Overview]</ref></small>
#Highest Cost Plan: '''Power Plan'''
#Standard Yield Cartridge: '''TN730''' <ref>[https://www.brother-usa.com/products/tn730 Brother TN730 Product Detail]</ref>

======Notes======
The Brother "Power Plan" includes:

*'''Credit $30''': for add-ons only
*'''Bonus Toner''' Eligibility: once only
*'''Drum Replacement''': undefined

It should also be noted that:

*the credit applies to any consumable or additional page cost outside the plan limits, '''not''' subscription cost.
*bonus toner is supplied once and as a 'back-up' in case the 'plan' replenishment does not arrive on time.
*drum replacement is not specified by Brother as to availability, frequency or supply discretion. In the case study here, the MFC-L2710DW requires a '''DR730'''<ref>[https://www.brother-usa.com/products/dr730 Brother DR730 Product Detail]</ref> drum unit which Brother states has a life-span of 12,000 printed pages.

======Printer======
The Brother printer chosen is the MFC-L2710DW. The rational for choosing this model for the case study are as follows:
*it is one of the most popular machines and has the highest number of reviews on the Brother eligibility list page.
*it has a sub $400 price point and is listed as eligible for the EZ Print Subscription program.
*it has parts and consumables readily available from a variety of sources.
*it is suited to a home / small office environment and has: automated duplex printing, a large 250 sheet tray capacity, wireless, ethernet or USB connections, 32 page-per-minute print speed and has a 50-page capacity automatic feeder to copy or scan documents.

======Analytics======
Market analysis shows that laser printers are the most popular machine for everyday printing:
*the average home office / small office user prints '''3.4 monochrome pages per day''' <ref name=":0">West, McDonald (July 20, 2018) [["2015, 2016, & 2017 User and Device Printing Statistics"]] ECISolutions.com. Retrieved February 8, 2025</ref>
*[https://www.consumerreports.org/ Consumer Reports.org] reports their subscribers print a median of '''33 monochrome pages per month''' <ref>Pinola, Melanie (2024) [https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/printers/are-printer-ink-subscriptions-worth-it-a4050339657/ "Are Printer Ink Subscriptions Worth It?"]. Consumerreports.org. Retrieved February 8, 2025</ref>
*monochrome printing now makes '''up to 80% of total print jobs''' in a home or small office environment. <ref name=":0" />
*color printing has '''decreased in use by 34%''' over the 3 year period measured. <ref name=":0" />
By comparing the user data against the claim of cost-savings and stipulations in methodology from Brother, it is clear the scenario is one in which the choice given by Brother in '''no way matches a real-world situation or printing habits of the user'''.<ref>[https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/images/0/0a/Brother_FY2012_New_Product_Lines.png Brother FY2012 NPD]</ref> Furthermore, Brother engages in a purposefully misleading comparison when they state that the saving is based upon ''"average cost per page of eligible like standard capacity cartridge"'' for they must compare identical products as only genuine Brother cartridges are supplied in the program.

======Assumptions======
To create a more realistic comparison we set rules to give the end-user a more reasonable, flexible and real-world choice when investigating print pricing. In our use case:

*the end-user keeps the printer for a minimum 12 months.
*the subscription is maintained for a minimum 12 months.
*the end-user runs a small office and prints 15 times the average page rate (6000 pages-per-year)
*the end-user has a broader choice of consumables.

======EZ Print cost comparison matrix======
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Brand
!Yield
!Price
!Pages
!Cartridges
!Total Cost
!Page Cost
!Generic Lockout
!Internet Required
|-
|'''Brother'''
|Brother
|1200 +-
|$24.99
|6000
|5
|$299.88
|$0.050
|Yes
|Yes
|-
|'''Staples'''
|Brother
|1200 +-
|$47.99
|6000
|5
|$239.95
|$0.040
|No
|No
|-
|'''Office Depot'''
|Brother
|1200 +-
|$47.99
|6000
|5
|$239.95
|$0.040
|No
|No
|-
|'''YB Toner'''
|Generic
|1200 +-
|$18.95
|6000
|5
|$94.75
|$0.015
|No
|No
|-
|'''True Image'''
|Generic
|1200 +-
|$19.50
|6000
|5
|$97.50
|$0.016
|No
|No
|}

======False or misleading claim======
As the above data illustrates, Brother's claim that the program can '''"save the end-user up to 50%"''' is purposefully misleading. They do this by using the following methods:

#'''Scenario manipulation''': Brother creates a situation where the user runs with the service for only a month, ending the program before the billing cycle before or prior to the auto-replenishment alert.
#'''Comparing different programs''': this is a clear misrepresentation. Here Brother relates Pay-Per-Page to Pay-Per-Cartridge, a false and misleading comparison. The matrix shows us that the Brother price is roughly half that of the next supplier, but here the user '''owns the cartridge''' bought from Staples and only the '''rents the ability to print a certain number of pages''' from Brother.

We note also that should the end-user run with the program for a year, then the Brother program is the most expensive option for printing.

======Brother EZ Auto Reorder cost matrix======
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Brand
!Yield
!Price
!Pages
!Cartriges
!Total Cost
!Page Cost
!Generic Lockout
!Internet Required
|-
|'''Brother'''
|Brother
|1200 +-
|$43.19
|6000
|5
|$215.96
|$0.036
|Yes
|Yes
|}
''<small>NB: Brother only listed here. All other competitor data remains identical to the EZ Print Cost Comparison Matrix.</small>''

======Validated claim======
The EZ Auto Reorder subscription offers the end-user a '''10% discount''' on cartridges while they are enrolled in program. This reduces the cost-per-cartridge by $4.80 when the product is supplied directly from Brother.