Agnivo Roy

The sales of original cartridges have been major revenue for printer manufacturers for many years. This pattern is changing recently. Despite the steep drop of printer price, the price of original cartridges (OEM) remains remarkably high. These days manufacturers make very little profit from the sale of their printers. They make profit on the replacement ink cartridges.

Many consumers are fed up with expensive original cartridges and look for cheap alternatives. As a result, compatible cartridges, refilling kits and remanufactured cartridges are becoming more popular than ever before.

A huge percentage of the printer cartridges sold last year worldwide was either compatibles or remanufactured cartridges. Remanufactured 500 million inkjet cartridges will save an estimated 4 million cubic feet of landfill space in one year. For owner of HP Epson, Canon, and Brother Printers are one answer is to use compatible cartridges. These are cheap and print quality is also good as ink is near original.

Compatible cartridges are also known as generic cartridges and are made by third-party manufacturers. They follow the same specification of OEM cartridges but are offered at one-half to one-third of the price of OEM cartridges. This gives them a distinctive advantage for bargain-hunting consumers.

Remanufactured cartridges are OEM cartridges which have been through one cycle of service. They are disassembled, cleaned, repaired and refilled before they are released to the market again. Remanufactured cartridges save landfill space and extra resources to produce new cartridges. These replacement cartridges are very popular among environmentally concerned consumers.

With compatible cartridges and remanufactured cartridges taking up market share, printer manufacturers are working hard to protect their profits. Some manufacturers have incorporated smart chips into their cartridges, making it difficult or impossible to refill the printer cartridges or to use compatible and remanufactured cartridges from third-party manufacturers, especially Epson (they are spoiling their market themselves, LOL).

On the other hand, third-party manufacturers are capable of overcoming this by providing 100% compatible printer cartridges with new replacement chips. Some companies also offer smart chip resetter or refilling services to their customers.

In conclusion, compatible and remanufactured cartridges are viable choice to cut printing cost. However, consumers should be careful when shopping for cheap printer cartridges. In addition to low price, they should compare the quality and compatibility of the printer cartridges. It is also prudent to shop with merchants who offer good customer support and extended warranty.

When looking for a reliable resource for cheap ink cartridges on the World Wide Web, your best bet is to rely upon an established vendor of these ink cartridges products that concentrates wholly on the sale of ink cartridges and closely related printing products. By selecting a merchant or vendor who focuses on these types of products you will be able to rest assured that you are dealing with a provider that understands what is being sold.