Agnivo Roy

If you have been using a computer printer for sometime, one thing you should have wondered is “why do ink cartridges cost so much when printer costs are rock bottom?”. Perhaps you have debated the possible reasons yourself and might have concluded that it’s just an intelligent marketing and revenue generation strategy of the printer manufacturers. Yes, regular printer users all over the world are angry over the real high costs of original printer ink cartridges and laser toners, while the companies still go on pushing costly printing supplies.

The basic plan of the companies selling printers is like this: Just like ready-shavers with cartridge sets costing more than the original equipment, why not make the printer hardware price very low with marginal or no profit and extract huge sums of money by selling printing supplies like original ink cartridges? Users will need more cartridges than printers in the long run. So cartridges sell more than the hardware unit, resulting in healthy profits for the manufacturer.

The next target is to infuse some fear into the minds of the end-users and convert them to “loyal original cartridge users”. This is easily done by making warranty void if non-original supplies are used and floating around the idea that “any printing supply which isn’t original may damage your printer and result into bad quality prints due to their inferior quality”. This is completely a myth and almost all informed printer users don’t believe these statements. Moreover, I see many companies offering free home delivery, entry into lucky draws or petty gifts when you buy original printing supplies and cartridges.

Now let’s share an experience which clearly shows how low these big printer manufacturers like HP, Canon, etc. can stoop to sell their cartridges at premium. I have been personally using HP Deskjet printers for about 5 years now. They seem to change the printer models and cartridge numbers often and ink capacity (ml) of the cartridges falling with every newer model they release. So, the ink finishes more faster and you end up running to the store to buy more cartridges.

Almost every printer sold today comes with bundled cartridges which they call “complimentary”. Don’t be surprised to know that these cartridges have only a part of it filled and weigh a lot lighter than a normal cartridge. I think a 10ml capacity cartridge from HP has not more than 3ml ink when given as complimentary. Also, they have a sensing mechanism which detects complimentary cartridges and doesn’t allow printing off it even if it’s not empty or refilled.

Some of you would be surprised to know that a relative of mine refilled a HP 27 black cartridge more than 100 times for his high-volume printing needs at less than 10% cost of original cartridge per refill! Yes, if you use good quality refilling kits and follow correct procedures, you can reuse empty cartridges many times at the fraction of cost of an original cartridge. The main component of the cartridge is the print head. It can last many refills without noticeable degradation in print quality if correctly and carefully refilled.

For those who don’t want to get their hands dirty refilling cartridges can purchase compatible or re-manufactured ink cartridges. Compatible inkjet cartridges are generally from OEMs who make the same cartridges for the big brands and adhere to the same quality standards and specifications. Re-manufactured cartridges are professionally refilled original ink cartridges which have been discarded after a single use. Using inkjet refilling kits, compatible and re-manufactured cartridges can save huge amount of money in the long run in addition to being eco-friendly.  For people with laser printers, toner refills and compatible or refurbished toner cartridges is the way to go for great savings.

Lastly, if you’re convinced, looking for cheap compatible ink cartridges for your printing needs, then you can take a look at inkshop.co.uk website. They offer free UK delivery of ink cartridges compatible with printers from HP, Canon, Lexmar, Epson, Brother, etc. Also on offer are cheap laser toners, photo papers and refill kits. The customer testimonials suggest their printing supplies work great and save your hard earned money too.

So, start using eco-friendly compatible, re-manufactured ink cartridges and refills for your printer and save money too.