Economical and environmental concerns change consumers’ buying
pattern.
Discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges invade
the market of OEM cartridges.
Discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges are in great
demand these days. Due to the drop in price, many families and
small business owners can buy an inkjet / photo printer for
under $100 and a discount laser printer for under $200.
Increased number of printer ownership means that there is a
larger aftermarket for printing supplies.
Nevertheless, consumers who bought a cheap printer would soon
find out that their spending did not end there, but rather have
just begun. For examples, many OEM laser toners are selling at
$100 a piece, the same price of an inkjet printer or one-half
of that for a discount laser printer. A family who print a lot
of color photos with their photo printer can easily spend more
than $100 on OEM ink cartridges in several months.
Think about
this, it is absurd that one would spend more on replacement
cartridges than on the printer itself in such a short period of
time. As a result, many consumers are looking for economical
alternatives to expensive OEM cartridges.
There are two main groups of discount ink cartridges and toner
cartridges in the market these days: compatible cartridges and
remanufactured cartridges.
Compatible cartridges are also
called generic cartridges. They are manufactured with the same
specification of name brand cartridges but without the brand
name. These cartridges are offered at one-half or one-third of
the price of OEM cartridges.
On the other hand, remanufactured cartridges are name brand
cartridges which have been through one cycle of service. They
are usually disassembled, cleaned, repaired and refilled before
releasing to the market again. Consumers who buy remanufactured
cartridges are not only concerned about the price, but their
benefit to the environment as well.
One consumer was quoted
saying “I buy the remanufactured cartridges because it is good
for the environment. The lower price is just a bonus”.
It is a well known fact that printer manufacturers cut price in
printers but maintain a very high profit margin from cartridge
sales. Instead of lowering the price of OEM cartridges to make
them more competitive, they use different tactics to ban the
use of compatible and remanufactured cartridges from
third-party manufacturers.
For examples, printer manufacturers
may install software in your computer that warns you of the use
of compatible cartridges as if they could damage your printers.
Some manufacturers incorporate smart chips into their
cartridges so that consumers cannot refill or recycle their
cartridges. Others have sued the third-party manufacturers of
printer cartridges or smart chips claiming that they have
violated patent technology.
Consumer advocates have pointed that that these tactics only
serve to protect the profits of printer manufacturers but
provide no benefits to the consumers at all. In fact, consumers
should have the freedom to choose the replacement cartridges
they use.
There are many compatible and remanufactured cartridges in the
market today.
Be a smart consumer, you should always compare an
apple with an apple. For example, some manufacturers produce
compatible cartridges without the smart chips. These cartridges
are usually cheaper than 100% compatible cartridges with new
replacement chips. However, compatible cartridge without new
replacement chip may have problem communicating with the
computer as the latter would think that the cartridge is always
low in ink. It is also wise to shop only with vendors who can
provide a good refund policy and extended warranty.
To learn more about different types of printer cartridges and
to see if they are available for your printer model, please
visit http://inkjets.4reviews.net/.
About The Author: Kwan H Lo is the owner of http://inkjets.4reviews.net, an online review site promoting high quality discount ink and toner cartridges.
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