How To Save Money With Compatible Printer Inks
June 24th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Like many other long term owners of printers, over the years I’ve spent a fortune on printer ink. I even recall on one occasion I actually paid more for a replacement ink cartridge than I did for a bottle of good champagne. I always thought that as long as my printer kept printing then it was just another fact of life and there was little I could do about it so why complain?
Back then, on average, I paid anything from £20 to £25 for my branded ink cartridges because I simply didn’t know any better.
Although I’d heard of compatible ink cartridges, I didn’t really know enough about them to give them a try. I was a bit suspicious of them because the cartridges weren’t branded with a familiar name and I never gave it a second thought that they would be as good as branded cartridges. I even wondered if they might damage my printer.
Then one day, my partner came home with some compatible ink cartridges for my printer and although I wasn’t keen to use them I did. My existing ink cartridge was almost empty and I needed to get something printed so I cagily replaced the branded cartridge with the compatible, crossed my fingers and hit ‘print’.
I had visions of having to run out to buy a new branded ink cartridge or, in the worst case, a new printer and a new branded ink cartridge. The paper finally came out after what seemed to be an eternity and I was surprised to see that not only had my document printed as well as it ever had before, but my printer was still happily sitting on my desk, waiting for the next job.
I couldn’t believe it. The compatible ink turned out results that were just as good as with the branded ink I had previously spent a fortune on. At the same time, I was so happy to learn that the compatible cartridge had cost a tenth of the price I’d been paying and yet disappointed when I thought about all of the money I could have saved (and all of the champagne I could have had).
After sitting down and working on the figures, I’d come to the conclusion that I’d actually spent almost £500 on replacement, branded ink cartridges over the last 12 months alone. If I would have been using compatibles I would have saved an incredible 90% of my printing costs!
The next day, I went into work and told my colleagues all about what had happened and to my surprise two of them had also been spending more than they’d wanted on branded printer ink simply because they didn’t have enough knowledge about compatibles.
This inspired me to carry out research on compatible ink cartridges in order to find out the facts behind them; their advantages and disadvantages. I was astounded by what I discovered! Here are just a few of the things I found out:
- You can save between 60% and 80% on average from the price of a branded ink cartridge depending on the make and model of your printer.
- Despite the myths, compatible ink does not affect the warranty on your printer. By using compatible ink you’re cutting out a major profit source for the big brands so they may try to convince you that you can only use their own inks, but it’s actually illegal for them to void your warranty for using a compatible ink instead.
- Compatible ink provides the same number of printed pages as a branded cartridge.
- When buying your compatible ink, it’s always a good idea to ask the vendor if the cartridges are made to ISO 9000 standards. Ink made to these standards have the same amount of ink as original cartridges.
- Most compatible ink cartridges have a 24-month shelf life so you don’t have to worry about them spoiling in a short space of time.
Nowadays, I’m printing as much as I ever did, if not more. The great thing is that I’m spending less on printer ink, more on the enjoyable things in life and telling everyone I meet about the wonders of compatible printer inks!
Carla Weaffer was so won over by her experience that she started up her own business supplying and educating people about compatible printer inks. This article is brought to you in conjunction with Web Star Creations and is free to republish within the boundaries of the terms and conditions of the source. The content and resource box must remain unchanged and all hyperlinks active.
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Inkjet Printer Ink
June 21st, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
The type of printer ink to be replaced inside an empty cartridge depends upon the brand and model of an inkjet printer. Every brand and model is designed to work with a particular type of inkjet printer ink that is ill suited for other brands and models.
The inkjet printer of today is equipped to produce both color and black-and-white prints on the same paper. Color inkjet printer ink is available in a single-cartridge system or a multiple-cartridge system. In a single-cartridge system all the colors of printer ink are bundled inside a single cartridge. In a multiple-cartridge system different cartridges are used for different colors.
The printer ink may be either dye-based or pigment-based. Dye-based inks provide a wide gamut of color but have inferior fade-resistance and water-resistance properties. They also dry slowly compared to pigmented inks. Pigmented inks are far superior in terms of fade resistance; water resistance and drying time but do not provide excellent color. Pigmented inkjet color inks are more expensive than dye-based inks.
One of the important characteristics of any inkjet printer ink is its resistance to fading and water solubility. Besides, the ink should not bleed or dry up too quickly, but should produce sharp print quality.
Inkjet printer ink is manufactured both by printer vendors and third-party vendors. There are many types of inkjet printer ink, and each type of ink works well only with a particular brand of printer. Since all these printer inks are patented, third-party vendors develop their own printer ink to suit the various brands. But the manufacturers of original printer ink claim that Inkjet printer ink is very complex in its composition, so third-party Inkjet printer ink does not work with the latest advancements made in the printer technology.
Third-party vendors offer inkjet printer ink in new compatible cartridges, which are more or less equivalent in quality to the original cartridges. They also offer to refill used cartridges with Inkjet printer ink, and sell do-it-yourself refill kits.
The buyers should always be cautious of spurious and counterfeit inks, and therefore buy inkjet printer ink from reputable stores that are supported by the Better Business Bureau.
Printer Ink provides detailed information on Printer Ink, Printer Ink Cartridges, Printer Ink Refills, Inkjet Printer Ink and more. Printer Ink is affiliated with Inkjet Printer Cartridges.
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Printer Ink
June 18th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
There are as many varieties of printer ink as there are manufacturers. There is no standardization in the composition of printer ink. All manufacturers of popular brands of printers develop their own variety of printer ink, which works well only with their products. The formula of the printer ink is a closely guarded secret, and is patented by these manufacturers. Epson, Hewlett Packard and Canon spend huge amounts of money in developing their own brands of ink, which are supposed to give superior prints on any type of media.
Printer ink is either dye-based or pigment-based. Pigment-based ink is superior to dye-based ink, with respect to fade resistance and water resistance properties.
Once the cartridge in the printer runs out of printing ink, a replacement has to be looked for. The options are many. Along with the manufacturer’s printer ink cartridges, there are third-party manufacturers who sell their own brands of compatible cartridges. They also offer services like refilled printer ink cartridges, refill kits for self-refilling of ink, and remanufactured cartridges. Third-party printer ink is cheaper than the branded product, and a few produce good quality prints on par with the branded product.
Though third-party printer inks saves a lot of money, many problems have been noticed in its prolonged use. Manufacturers of branded printer ink claim that while prints created from a branded product last for a number of years, prints from third-party printer ink hardly last for a year. Also, the inks do not have the precise fluidity required to spray ink onto the paper. Third-party printer ink can hardly produce photograph prints that can last for more than 5 years. In addition to this, the inks purchased from them damage the printer by clogging the print heads.
If buying manufacturer’s ink is your choice then it is advisable to buy from an authorized dealer. Before buying, always make sure of the price of the ink from the manufacturer’s web site, and never be tempted to buy ink offered at a heavily discounted price. Observe the packaging for any telltale signs of a counterfeit product. While shopping online for third-party printer ink, ensure that it is a reputable site and provides all the information about its business policies.
Printer Ink provides detailed information on Printer Ink, Printer Ink Cartridges, Printer Ink Refills, Inkjet Printer Ink and more. Printer Ink is affiliated with Inkjet Printer Cartridges.
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