The cost of all-in-one printer cartridges usually comes close to the cost of the actual printer.

Walk into your local office supply store, and you'll find a large wall of brand-new printer cartridges along with a corresponding guide of how to match your exact printer with the proper cartridge. In addition to the wide array of selection, you'll often find the prices on these new cartridges are quite high; in some cases, with rebates and specials, some brand name printer cartridges will exceed the initial cost of the printer itself.

Increasingly, printer models come with options for printing, copying and faxing, which increases ink use as the versatility of the printer grows. Many of these all-in-one models have a low initial price point, which the brand names recoup by charging high prices on the necessary frequent ink refills – the combination uses of an all-in-one printer can lessen the life cycle of your ink, requiring your to purchase more frequent refills. In order to take advantages of improvements in printer hardware while maintaining your supplies budget, you should look at generic and remanufactured printer cartridge options.

Numerous Alternatives Exist To Brand-Name Cartridges

For nearly every major printer brand from Hewlett Packard to Brother, you can find low-cost generic ink cartridge alternatives for your printer. While name-brand refills can be quite expensive and cannot be purchased in bulk, the generic printer cartridges have a lower per-unit cost, which can be further decreased when you buy in volume. This can be especially useful for small businesses looking to control inventory and office supply costs in an uncertain economy. Often times, you can purchase multiple remanufactured print cartridges for the same price as a single brand new refill would cost you in the stores.

Shop Online For The Most Savings

Since generic cartridges are fully compatible with printers, make sure that you are buying that proper refill that matches up with your exact printer model. Often times, there will be multiple releases of the same printer model, so pay close attention to the full model number when ordering your generic ink, and contact the ink seller in case of any questions. By shopping around and reviewing prices, you can often save over 50% of your printing costs relative to purchasing full-price retail cartridges at your local office supply store.

One word of warning - not all ink suppliers online can be trusted. Make sure to choose a printer supplies retailer that is trustworthy, such as 4Inkjets, and you'll be set to enjoy cost savings and quality products.

Your printer software may not be reporting accurate ink levels.

Is Your Printer Software Telling The Truth About Ink Levels?

Often, there will be software bundled with your printer installation that can send false messages as to the status of your ink cartridges. For example, certain printers may state a cartridge as empty just because it has been in the printer for a certain period of time. There may be perfectly good ink left in the cartridge that your printer is not allowing you to make use of, so there are a number of hacks you can try to prevent this waste. You can do a simple search online with your specific printer make and model to find hacks that users have provided. Alternatively, you might want to check that there is no unwanted software causing these restrictions and uninstall them.

Just Add Water To Revive Your Cartridge

When you find that print quality is deteriorating but there is still ink left in the cartridge, there is a simple trick you can try to unblock the nozzles and improve print quality. Remove the cartridge and place it in water for a few hours.

After removing it, gently blot it dry and leave it to dry in a safe place overnight. Put it back in your printer and see if the quality of your printouts is improved. You can also try using your printer software’s nozzle check feature which keeps the ink wet in the nozzles. Though it uses a small amount of ink, it is a cost effective way of keeping the cartridges printing well.

Reset Your Ink Cartridge's Chip

You may be able to get a chip resetting device from online auction sites such as eBay. This chip is something you will need if you are planning to refill ink cartridges on your own. A simple search will yield a number of results for your particular make and model and save you a lot of money in the long run.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can save money by keeping track on the ink you are using and the ink that is still available. You should also read packaging carefully to make sure that you are getting a good amount of ink and a good deal.

HP Viviera Brand Ink

As anyone who owns a printer knows well, printer ink is expensive. But exactly how expensive is it compared to other high-priced liquids?

A Gizmodo reader did a graphical comparison of the prices per milliliter for various liquids (HP #45 black ink being one of them). I was personally fairly surprised to see the results.

Is printer ink more expensive than a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne? What about gasoline, or even the price of human blood?

Read this news story to find out!

Your right to buy and use alternative printer ink cartridges is protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

A common fear of consumers thinking about purchasing remanufactured ink cartridges is that their use will render the printer warranty void. Many brands of printers include messages that pop up after insertion of a remanufactured cartridge claiming that your warranty may become void, though these messages are primarily there to encourage loyalty to the original manufacturer’s brand (OEM) cartridges rather than stating the legal implications of using alternative cartridges.

The truth is that the use of remanufactured printer cartridges will NOT void your printer warranty. In fact, it would be illegal for printer companies to revoke warranty based on type of cartridge used. As a consumer you have the right of choice when it comes with refilling the ink for your printer, which means you are not obligated only to use OEM cartridges.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Protects Consumers Against Warranty Voiding

Legally, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a law that states that
“No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name”.

How The Act Protects Consumers' Right To Purchase Alternatives

The only exception to this rule is when the product would not function correctly without the product or service of the manufacturer, which is not the case with printer cartridges, or if a Commission finds that it would be in the public’s interest to include related products or services into the warranty, which is also not the case with printer cartridges.

In fact it is within the public’s interest to provide a range of purchase options. Not only does this leave the consumer with much better value for money (where they can sometimes cost 50% less than the OEM cartridge), but it is a much better option for a wide range of reasons. The environment benefits from the fact that more cartridges are being reused instead of sent to landfill, as well as the fact that fewer cartridges need to be produced from scratch. These reasons reduce the carbon footprint of the consumer choosing such cartridges.

Further Reading On The Act (Warning: Legalese Ahead)

If you are interested in learning more about the Magnuson-Moss Act, check out these references from Wikipedia: Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and Cornell Law School: Magnuson-Moss Act.

In short you should not be put off by any warnings from a printer manufacturer that the use of remanufactured cartridges will void your warranty. When printer manufacturers warn against factors such as inferior ink quality or poor yield of the cartridge they are usually attempting to keep customers loyal to their own product, therefore making more money. In actual fact, it is perfectly legal and possible to find great quality remanufactured cartridges for any printer model.

Compatible ink cartridges provide significant cost savings.

A great way to save on your printing costs is to utilize compatible ink cartridges rather than full-price brand name ink. Original Equipment Manufacturer, or OEM, ink is found in office supply stores and sold by the original printer manufacturer in glossy boxes at a high price. Usually, you will hear claims about how OEM cartridges are of the highest quality and will produce better results than any competitive products. In truth, however, compatible cartridges can produce a high quality of output at a much lower cost basis than brand-name manufacturer ink, if you purchase them from reputable online suppliers.

OEM cartridges do often come with warranties and guarantees, but it's much more likely that any defects will occur due to the printer hardware than with any ink refill. The relatively high frequency of cartridge replacement will mean that you'll likely use up your ink before you have any mechanical problems with the cartridge itself; in the rare cases that there is a defect, you will be able to tell upon your first print from the cartridge, and, in those cases, you can usually just exchange the product.

Buying Compatible Ink Makes Sense

Even when OEM ink supplies have a longer life, when adjusted for per unit cost, compatible cartridges are still much less expensive. For example, a black ink OEM cartridge for the HP Officejet 7210 printer currently retails for $22.99 in office supply stores. Online, at retailers like 4Inkjets or 123Refills, a compatible black cartridge can be had for almost three times less, at only $9.95, a savings over close to $13 per cartridge. The savings only multiply when one considers the need to replace separate color cartridges.

Buy Cartridges From An ISO-Compliant Supplier To Ensure Quality

Original manufacturer claims about better quality are often overstated. Contrary to any of these claims, compatible cartridges are capable of working well with nearly any printer model, in nearly any printer line by meeting level of standards required by the printer manufacturer. Simply buy from a retailer that complies with ISO manufacturing standards like 4Inkjets, and you will be safe.

Rest assured that your compatible ink clears the bar needed for working with the printer, and if you buy the right cartridge for your model, you should be able to get great results at a lower price. Additionally, compatible cartridges can often be purchased at bulk discounts that are not available for original OEM products, which are sold at high retail prices.

When choosing your next cartridge, keep in mind that there a number of alternatives to high OEM ink prices, and compatible cartridges can be found for most printer models at affordable rates.

"Razor and blades" business model

The reason why OEM cartridges are so expensive stems from the razor and blades business model of printer manufacturers. This business model focuses on a cheap initial investment (in this case, the printer), but makes the user continually invest in expensive refills. Overall, there is no difference between OEM cartridges and the compatible version, the only distinguishing factor being the marketing involved. The large printer companies scare customers into buying their cartridges by threatening damaged printers or voided warranties.

There is almost no difference between the manufacturing processes of compatible and OEM cartridges and the warranties are comparable as well. Is it worth it to use an aftermarket cartridge brand though? Yes, it certainly is when the cartridges can cost about 80% less than the OEM versions. Compatible cartridges also share a shelf life identical to their OEM counterpart.

Be careful in choosing a retailer

The only drawback to compatible cartridges is the research involved. When selecting the right aftermarket cartridge, the first step is to match up the printer model with the right refill. Second, depending on the printer, determine if you want a larger capacity cartridge or original capacity.

Lastly, remember to carefully choose the right aftermarket manufacturer, or you could wind up with a bad cartridge. Bad cartridges could suffer from a number of problems, including poor quality, poor or off-color ink, or a short shelf life. Once all of this research is done, remember to choose a reputable online retailer like 4Inkjets with a good price on the replacement you want.

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.