Article DetailsCheap Ink Cartridges and Toner |
| Cheap Ink Cartridges and Toner Are you really saving money when you purchase compatible ink cartridges and why do the printer manufacturers tell us not to use them? First let me say that having been involved with inkjet printers and in the ink cartridge retail business over the past 10 years that compatible ink cartridges have come a long way. Im sure we can all remember the early days of having the big old chunky Canon BC-03 etc refilled by our local ink store, bringing it home and having it leak all over your hands while installing it and then being dissapointed at both the print quality and the longevity of the ink cartridge. Next a company named Calidad came onto the scene offering a cheaper priced alternative that was still of a fairly low quality compared to the Genuine cartrige. I guess that most people got their first impressions of compatible ink cartridges through either Calidad or Cartridge world which is perhaps why many people now days shudder at the thought of compatible inks. Now days however the quality of compatible ink cartridges has become so high that they are outselling many of the genuine products by up to 80%. People often ask us why compatible ink cartridges are so cheap compared to the genuine OEM ink cartridges. Basically the large companies such as Canon,Epson,HP,Lexmark etc. sell their printers at cost or below cost. They do this knowing that they will generate a much larger profit from selling their brand of inks which are redicuously overinflated. So when anyone wonders why there is such a big difference in price between the genuine and compatibles this is one of the main factors, greed is obviously another. The big guns such as Brother,Canon,Epson,HP and Lexmark are constantly changing their ink cartridge designs and chip types to try to keep one step ahead of the compatible market. When you are closely involved in the industry you realise just how sneaky they are. Epson would definitely lead in this area as they are constanly changing the printers (even within same models) to reject the compatible cartridge so that people are forced to buy the genuine ink cartridges. Canon are also bad for this, constantly changing and developing complex microchips which are very hard to duplicate. It really is a HUGE scam and the printer companies should be ashamed. One of the most common tactics that these large companies use is to con the user into believing that once they use compatible ink cartridges in their printer that the warranty becomes void......WRONG by law this is illegal ! The Australian Consumers' Association Choice Magazine has undertaken a survey into the use of compatible cartridges and spoke to Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Canon and Lexmark. They were informed by all companies that the 'printer warranty would NOT be affected by the use of compatibles or refilled cartridges'. In fact in Australia it is illegal under the Trade Practices Act for a printer manufacturer to require a consumer to use a particular brand of ink or cartridge. The brand of cartridge, ink or paper you purchase is your decision. I have sold tens of thousands of compatible ink cartridges over the years and have NEVER heard of a printer being damaged ! Companies such as Brother brag about their "Inobella" brand of inks. Let me tell you this that Ink Hub has sold tens of thousands of compatible Brother ink cartridges and we never have anything but positive feedback. We use several Brother Printers to do our invoicing and print brochures and I must say that their is NO difference in print quality between a $7.00 Brother LC-57 and a genuine $20 cartridge (also the $7.00 compatible contains double the amount of ink). Epson also boast of their "Dura-Brite" inks however the tests we have conducted show very little (if any) in vibrance and print quality. Let me summarise by saying this. Going back several years ago compatible ink cartridges were a poor quality alternative to the Genuine OEM ink cartridges (I quite openly admit this). However the modern day Compatible ink cartridges are now all made to equal or exceed the print quality, compatiblity and life of the Genuine product. They represent a big saving and they dont leak, clog or damage your printer (despite what the printer manufacturers have told us in the past). |