Buying Ink Cartridges Online

The International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, sets quality standards for various manufacturing processes. The ISO standard is comprehensive and touches on each aspect of the supply chain from raw source materials all the way to end-user delivery. While product defects are inevitable, the goal of ISO is continued improvement to limit any problems and constant work to improve the quality of outputs.

Buying an ISO-certified ink cartridge helps ensure that, while you are saving on your ink refills, you are not sacrificing quality standards.

Look For Ink Suppliers That Comply With ISO 9000 Certifications

The most common set of standards is the ISO 9001 standard which certifies a level of quality in manufacturer business operations, output improvement and product compliance. Ink manufacturers that are ISO 9000 certified have met a level of inspection quality that ensures quality control procedures; make sure to look for the ISO seal, especially when purchasing remanufactured ink cartridges as a safeguard for quality.

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Since the cost of a brand new ink cartridge can be high, especially when new cartridges are made available in stores only through the original printer manufacturer, you might want to consider a remanufactured ink cartridge. These cartridges can cost much less, and will be fully compatible with your printer. By purchasing a refilled or remanufactured cartridge, companies will take original empty cartridges and refill them with the original level of ink. Additionally, some remanufacturers will reverse engineer the entire print cartridge to produce a new container and fill it with ink.

Where To Buy Remanufactured Cartridges

When purchasing remanufactured ink, make sure to buy from a qualified producer and double-check to ensure that it will be compatible with your printer. The most common brands of cartridge from companies such as Dell, HP and Canon are readily available in these formats, you are less likely to find Epson options because of their use of proprietary electric technology. Since most brands use a common heat-transfer inkjet technology, most mainstream models have alternative options from full price, store bought ink refills.

A wide variety of quality online providers (some shown below) can match up your exact printer with a substitute cartridge at a fraction of the original price. Additionally, you can often find compatible remade toner for use in laser printers at a much reduced cost when compared to buying an entirely new toner. You can also send back your original units for a discount to many of the refill companies, further saving you money on your ink costs.

Qualified Remanufactured Cartridge Suppliers

#1. 123Refills

123Refills uses a high-quality remanufacturing and testing process on all their products. Customers are protected by a no-risk 30-day guarantee. Over the years, 123refills has grown into a major player in the ink business mainly by positive customer word of mouth.

#2. 4Inkjets

All 4Inkjets remanufactured cartridges meet and exceed strict ISO manufacturing standards. In addition, your purchases are protected by a 1-year no questions asked moneyback guarantee.

Overall, buying reconfigured ink can save you a lot, especially when compared with brand new, store bought ink options. Compared with buying your own refill kit, buying an entire compatible cartridge can be easier and, when you are buying for a small business, requires less manual work to replace multiple printer sources. Despite warnings from printer producers, well-made remanufactured cartridges can be fully compatible with your printer, as long as you properly match up your exact model number. Also, these options are fully legal and can provide a high quality source of affordable ink that will save you on your printer costs over the years.

A frequent question of those new to buying ink deals with the difference between alternative ink options (remanufactured and compatible) and the term OEM. I'll do my best to make the differences clear here:

OEM cartridges

Standard brand-name ink cartridges that you can buy at your ordinary Staples, Office Depot, etc., are referred to as original equipment manufacturer (abbreviated as OEM) cartridges. These types of cartridges are made by the original manufacturer of your printer. OEM cartridges are by far the most expensive option. Before I did my research, I used to believe that buying OEM was the only way to go. On to the alternative options...

Remanufactured cartridges

Remanufactured cartridges are made out of the exact same parts that OEM cartridges are. How it works is first people send their used cartridges in to be recycled. Remanufacturers then thoroughly clean the cartridge print heads and then refill them with premium ink. Lastly, a testing stage involving pressure and an actual printing run is performed to make sure everything is fine, and the cartridge is repackaged and ready for use.

Compatible cartridges

Compatible ink cartridges are effectively the generic counterpart of OEM cartridges. These cartridges are considerably cheaper than either OEM or remanufactured cartridges; however, quality and performance certainly can be a concern. When purchasing compatible ink cartridges, it is important to select a supplier that conforms to industry ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards.

Luckily for you, I've had my fair share of experience in buying compatible and remanufactured ink online, so in some coming posts I will recommend the retailers I have had success with. I will also show you who to stay away from, and why.