Laptops For Less Blog

The True Costs of Cheap Ink [Part 4]

To check out part 3 of this article, please click here. Kodak claims that their cartridges sell at a low price, and that their inks are colorful and as accurate as any other manufacturer’s inks. The team’s testing proves both of these claims. The inks were economical. Kodak inks sell at $10 for black, and $15 for color. This is the same price as a third party manufacturers cartridge refill. The Kodak ink cost per page was decent also. The costs are 2 cents for black, 8 cents for color, and 12 cents for photo.

The Kodak inks scored at the same level as other manufacturers’ ink in the print-quality tests. Kodak rated especially high in color glossy prints. Only Epson edged them out when it came to resisting UV and ozone.

Most printer vendors claim their cartridges install easily, are more reliable, and have fewer technical problems. The testers agreed. Most third-party ink sellers rebuild [buy, clean, and refill] used brand-name cartridges or resell cartridges from other manufacturers. So sometimes the time third-party products worked poorly, and OEM products worked just fine.

Keep in mind, reliability issues are not completely the third-party manufacturers fault. Some OEM put microchips in their cartridges and printers. This makes it more difficult for third-party manufacturers to reverse-engineer and design supplies that work. Perfect examples are Canon ink cartridges. Canon turns around printers every six to eight months and their computer chips make it difficult to replicate and figure out how to reset the cartridges.

OEM also make claims that warranty could be affected if you don’t use their branded cartridges. This is a scare tactic used to discredit third party products. Using a third-party ink cartridge does not void the warranty. The warranty typically voids only if the third-party product damages the printer. This makes sense. Just keep in mind if you’re buying your cartridge from a legitimate vendor they take care of these kinds of problems. Most of the time, they will either repair or replace your damaged printer. Keep that in mind when you get ready to buy from a dealer. Read the fine print.

So, what is the bottom line on printer inks? Well, it depends. You may find yourself a cheaper, third-party ink that performs just as good as or even better than a name brand product. Just remember that deciding between brand-name and third-party alternatives really depends on how you plan to use your print outs.

If you just do day-to-day printing and don’t need high-quality all the time a third-party ink is almost certainly the best choice. Let’s face it. Most of us don’t need the best ink cartridges money can buy. If you print out text documents, one-off documents, and plain-paper photos most of the time seriously consider third-party inks. Over the life of the printer you’ll save some serious cash.

If you want high-quality color photos that your family can enjoy for years to come consider buying OEM cartridges.

Read through this article series carefully and you’ll find the advantages and disadvantages of OEM and third-party printer cartridges. Make sure to read as much as you can about your printer and its cartridge replacements before putting your money on the line. One printer may be better off with OEM and another may be better off with third-party.

If you own a printer, you’ll eventually need to buy a replacement printer cartridge. You should buy it from a reputable online merchant who sells refillable cartridges or generic cartridges which are fully compatible with the manufacturers’ own brand replacements. LaptopsForLess.com has a huge selection of replacement cartridges in stock, at very reasonable prices [often a fraction of the cost of manufacturers’ own brand replacements]. We’ll even recycle your old printer cartridges for you!