Before you know it you have completely emptied the ink cartridges in your new printer. You take a trip to your local electronics store to restock on some new ink cartridges. Your mouth drops to the floor when you see the price of new brand-name cartridges. You are amazed as you see a new printer on sale cheaper than it would cost to buy your new ink cartridges. Disgusted, you leave the store without your new cartridges.

This is a story that happens over and over every day. I have to admit that I have actually bought a new printer cheaper than what it would have cost to buy new cartridges. I threw the barely used printer in the garbage can. One was donated to a local school. Yes, I have done that more than once.
After doing this a few times I finally found a place to buy remanufactured or refilled ink cartridges. I was elated. Finally, I could keep my printer. Remanufactured ink cartridges are very affordable. They also perform just as well as new cartridges.

But I've Heard That Alternative Cartridges Can Void My Printer Warranty?

Not true at all. Consumers are protected from printer warranty voiding by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. This is merely a scare tactic used by some printer companies.

4Inkjets Provides Affordable Quality Ink

If you get sticker shock when you shop for new printer cartridges, you should go online and check out 4Inkjets, an online ink supplier. At 4Inkjets you will find remanufactured or refilled ink cartridges for your printer at a fraction of the original cost. It is great. Remanufactured ink cartridges perform very well and generally, you can save 30-50% off the cost of a new ink cartridge.

4inkjets is a great online store providing all your remanufactured ink cartridge needs. It can help you keep your sanity (in today's struggling economy) and your new printer.

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 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.

Follow these buying guidelines and you will be ensured quality results from your remanufactured ink cartridge.

Remanufactured ink cartridges provide a great cost-effective alternative to buying original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cartridges from the printer producer. Recycled cartridges are disassembled and cleaned, replacement parts added and the ink refilled to produce these cartridges. There are factors to take into consideration when choosing this option, and certain brands and practices will achieve better quality than others.

During the course of remanufacturing printer cartridges, the cartridges are rebuilt by hand meaning they must be checked for any errors following this. Some manufacturers do not test their cartridges due to the costs involved, and for this reason may not be a reliable choice in case of errors in a cartridge. This may not only affect the quality of printout, but also the correct functioning of your printer. It is also extremely important that the components used in the remanufactured cartridge are of high quality: if they are they will provide excellent quality printouts, though the components required will vary according to different printer models.

1. Check The Page Yield

One of the most important considerations when purchasing a remanufactured cartridge is how much you can print before it runs out of ink, otherwise known as the "page yield". The standard test of the yield of a cartridge is by noting how many pages can be printed at 5% page coverage. Some remanufactured cartridge companies may only quote the OEM yield, or will not quote a yield for their cartridge at all, so it is important to be wary when looking at this information.

2. Does The Manufacturer Produce Specific Models For Your Printer?

Check to see if the remanufactured cartridge seller uses one toner across all printer cartridges or different toners for different models. The toner used will work differently according to the model, and often the yield will be improved when a toner is used to match an individual printer model.

3. Verify Page Ink Density Is Up To Standards

You will also want to make sure that the quality of your printouts are up to standard, where the density of the ink will measure how dark text will be printed. This should normally fall between the range of 1.3 and 1.6, though this number should only be formulated after a number of cartridges have been tested and you must make sure that the manufacturer does so.

4. OEM Brand Labels Should Not Be Present

Importantly it is illegal to leave the OEM brand on remanufactured cartridges, so check that the cartridges are labeled correctly and informatively, letting you know exactly what you are purchasing and which models the cartridge is for.

Bear these factors in mind and there is no reason why you will not achieve top results with a remanufactured cartridge.

Where Can I Find Remanufactured Ink Cartridges That Meet The Above Criteria?

Carries a wide selection of remanufactured ink.

Conforms to strict remanufacturing standards to deliver quality ink products.

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.

ISO 14000 Standards Protect The Environment

Similarly, the ISO 14000 environmental standards set an internationally accepted set of practices for environmental quality throughout the supply chain. ISO 14000 certified companies constantly work to limit the impact of their production on the environment, and seek out ways to streamline the impact of their by-products and factories. Since recycled and remanufactured ink cartridges allow for re-use of previously used cartridges, they can potentially cut down on environmental waste and landfill material, extending the life of the original materials. Purchasing recycled ink can provide ecological as well as economic benefits, and finding an ISO 14000-accredited supplier further ensures that both of those goals will be met.

Which Printer Ink Suppliers Are ISO Compliant?

4Inkjets - Their compatible and remanufactured cartridges are manufactured in an ISO 9001 compliant factory. Because of this, they offer a 1-year moneyback guarantee that their printer supplies will match or exceed brand-name counterparts.

123Refills - 123Refills also stocks a wide variety of ink cartridges that are certified ISO complaint, and provide a similar moneyback guarantee.

Both set of ISO standards share the same basic framework in focusing on quality throughout the supply chain from beginning to end. Nearly all classes of products and companies can obtain ISO-certification which is application independent, but has a particularly important use in improving transparency in the case of 3rd party products such as recycled ink. Just as the brand name on an OEM cartridge signals a level of reliability, so does ISO certification imply a level of standards for 3rd party ink solutions.

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.

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.