The responsibility of testing each and every aspect of the MSE product has been delegated to the employees. It is obvious that they take personal pride in their jobs. Yoel remembers a recent call he got at home late at night. "Our alarm and security company called me because it was 10 o'clock on a Saturday night and the alarm had not been turned on yet. I was a bit worried, so I drove over to find the lights on and members of our QC Team hard at work. They said they didn't want to go home until the problem was solved. I told them that I was impressed and also wanted a solution but not to stay too late and to go home to their families."

Once cartridge production gets rolling, the QC team continues to randomly pull cartridges from their finished goods for a battery of intense testing. MSE cartridges are subjected to everything from vibration and extreme temperature changes to humidity variations and pressure testing. For inkjets, MSE tests for bleeding, color matching, page yield and photo quality. "We never know where our products will end up," Yoel said. "Customers might keep the products in their cars somewhere in Florida in the middle of summer where the temperature and humidity is high. On the other hand, we ship product to Alaska where it is cold and dry. We try to think of every imaginable environment. It's almost like cartridge torture but in the end, I can sleep at night knowing that the product is working in the field."

The company's use of foam end caps, which are customizable to fit any cartridge style, has reduced product damage during shipping and is unique to MSE. The wooden molds for the foam were designed and engineered in-house, and allow MSE's packaging department to ensure that each cartridge is perfectly positioned and can withstand the rigors of shipping. Yoel does not hesitate to demonstrate his faith in MSE packaging by throwing cartridges high in the air, kicking them and even walking over them before sending them off to the QC Lab. "I like to see a reliable product that can make it safely to our customers," Yoel said. "I have to admit too, it brings out the kid in me."

The company's packaging is not only designed to protect the product. There is also extensive thought given to how to make the end users' handling of the MSE product more user friendly. MSE boxes are opened by a pull-tab. The cartridge is protected by static-resistant bags that also tear open easily. The box is re-sealable, and cartridges can be re-packaged for return by folding the flaps of the box without using tape. "I'd like to think that a ten-year-old can open our product without difficulty," Avi said. "We engineer quality and ease-of-use into every product we make."

While walking the toner production floor, Yoel stops to point out the labels on the cartridge packaging and how they are applied by hand. He points out that each label is placed exactly in the same spot and is perfectly level. "What if our customer looks at our package and the label is not even? What does that say about the product that is inside?" he said. Strategic Expansion

Assuredly, success has not made the staff at MSE a complacent group. The company has experienced considerable, one might say hyper, growth during the last five years, and with so many new projects in the works, and so much vision for the future, now is no time to rest.

Last year alone MSE released cartridges for 44 different engine types and has already released 25 new models in the first four months of 2004. As many in the compatible imaging industry can attest, the influx of different printers and cartridge models can make the decision of investing the time and resources to a new model risky business. Through research, marketing and customer feedback, the MSE teams closely watch the market for new models.