Ink Cartridges: The Big Picture
Choosing the right ink cartridges for your printer is a big decision – and here’s why. First, you spend a significant amount of money for a good quality and reliable printer, obviously because you do not intend on buying a new one in the next several years.
On to the next step: buying the ink. You decide to go for original ink cartridges and are quite shocked to discover that they are much more expensive than you had anticipated. Thankfully, there are cheaper varieties that claim to be perfectly compatible with your machine; however, you are a tad skeptical.
Would choosing these over the OEM’s really be worth the savings? Or will it just cause problems later on? This article aims to provide a broader perspective on ink cartridges.
OEM or original equipment printer inks are on top, price-wise. Despite the fact that they can cost a pretty penny, many consumers continue to buy them because of the quality of the prints produced. The hefty price tag is a result of the superior quality of the cartridges themselves – all parts are brand new and manufactured by big name companies like HP and Epson.
Another contributing factor is the ink, which undergoes certain processes in the production stage that third-party inks do not. Moreover, some varieties from well-known brands have special characteristics that affect the quality of the prints.
To wit, photo inks are quite different from the standard ink cartridges because of the presence of certain chemicals responsible for producing clearer and more vibrant photo images.
Another distinction is the quantity of ink in the cartridge. There are ink cartridges made especially for high-volume printing, and are advertised as being more economical in the long run. Original version of these inks are not only expected to produce better results, but also more prints than their more inexpensive counterparts.
Next in line along the price range are compatible inks. These have also increased in popularity mainly because of the current global economic crisis. They are significantly cheaper than OEM’s but the prints they produce are noticeably inferior as well, at least to a discerning eye.
What makes the price lower also lies in the ink and the container – the cartridges are mostly recycled with some brand new components. Now while this makes compatible ink cartridges an eco-friendly option, it also makes them more prone to damage.
As was mentioned earlier, the ink does not go through the exact same rigid processes that OEM printer inks do. The black ink varieties are the most popular because of the low color quality requirements of text documents. Compatible color inks are different story, though, as their color accuracy and vividness just don’t measure up to OEM standards.
In last place are ink refills. These ink cartridges are the cheapest of the lot because the containers are made from literally old or used cartridges. To load them with ink, a hole is punctured through after which it is sealed once the refill is done.
Due to the somewhat haphazard manner of assembling these ink refills, ink leakage and explosion have occurred numerous times. The quality of the toner ink also leaves much to be desired as the results come out looking mediocre and hardly impressive.
It also tends to dry up a lot quicker than the first two ink types, leading to blockage in the cartridge. They are sold at half the price of OEM’s (even less), but would you really be saving money?
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