Generic And Remanufactured Options When Buying Brother Printer Ink

2012-02-02

Brother printers come with a stipulation to use only Brother printer ink in the machines in order to guarantee print quality. The problem that printer owners face is the cost of replacement cartridges that are branded by Brother. This causes users to turn to generic and remanufactured cartridges because a non-OEM printer ink cartridge is much less expensive than the OEM version. Taking this route saves the user a lot of money on printing costs. This fact is especially noteworthy in an environment where the printer is under heavy use. However, pay attention to reviews of the ink because of inconsistent quality among generic manufacturers.

Printer ink from the original manufacturer is almost always going to be more expensive than its generic counterpart. The price gap between Brother printer ink and a replacement generic printer ink cartridge is enough to make a buyer switch to a less expensive option in order to keep costs down. There are two options available for replacement cartridges: remanufactured and generic. This is the point where it gets a little tricky in deciding what type to purchase and a little research is needed. Generic and remanufactured cartridges are two entirely different items; both have their own issues that the buyer needs to be aware of.

A generic printer ink cartridge is a copy of the original cartridge, containing ink of unknown formulation. The cartridge looks identical to the original Brother printer ink cartridge but has the name of the seller or manufacturer on it and not Brother. There is an unknown factor with the manufacturing quality of the cartridge itself that translates into a buyer beware issue. A generic cartridge of poor manufacture can leak all over the inside of the printer when in use, creating a mess that is difficult to clean up. Seek out sellers of generic cartridges that have good feedback and reviews from previous buyers. A seller that stands behind his product is not going to sell a cartridge that explodes in the printer.

Remanufactured ink cartridges are a form of recycling an original ink cartridge from the manufacturer. The seller buys old printer cartridges in bulk, then processes them to receive fresh ink. A remanufactured cartridge has all identifying marks of the original manufacturer stripped off and new ones put in their place. The ink that is inside is a formulation created by the company that has refurbished the printer ink cartridge. Ink formulations are different from maker to maker, an important distinction when it comes to making archival quality prints. Once again, do some research before a purchase is made.

Generic and remanufactured printer ink cartridges are an economical choice. No more wasting money with costly Brother printer ink.