How Refilling A Printer Ink Cartridge Is Affected By Brand

2010-06-10

Companies often go through a number of elaborate processes to keep the cost of document printing down. This can include limiting the amount of paper available, to insisting that every copy in the company be double-sided. While the environment will certainly be grateful for such measures, they can also make a company far less efficient. One option which is overlooked many businesses, small and large, is the refilling of printer ink cartridges. Certainly, businesses are aware of this option, but many feel it is too expensive or that it can harm their printers. If the right service provider is found, not only can the service be of a reasonable cost, but there is almost no chance of damage to any electronic device. While it is tempting to keep the refilling of printer ink cartridges in-house, there are a number of factors that must be considered and can have potentially negative consequences. One of the most important is the printer ink brand.

Every inkjet and laser printer brand uses a proprietary blend of ink which only they produce. They do this to encourage the purchasing of their new brand-name cartridges every time one runs out of ink. Since these are often a substantial portion of the cost of the printer itself, it is often not cost-effective for a business to do so. In response to an obvious demand, imitation ink, which closely mimics the properties of the proprietary blends, has been created. This ink works almost as well as the OEM brands, but costs a significant amount less. It is this kind of ink that is used to refill most printer ink cartridges.

The difficulty lies in the fact that if the wrong ink is placed in a cartridge, even if it is for a different series of printer in the same brand line, is can seriously affect the functioning of the device. In addition, some brands feature an electronic chip which senses when the cartridge is out of ink and prevents it from printing again. These can be bypassed, but the success rate is not 100%. Some brand name manufacturers have gotten on board with the ink refilling process and offer cartridges that are easy to refill, but some believe that this is a violation of their equipment. It is for this reason that a careful and skilled ink refilling service must be used. By procuring the ink which most closely matches that of the printer brand, ink refilling can help to ensure that printer cartridges continue to print longer after their original supply of ink has run out, while using an ink close enough in composition to their original formulation that the quality of printing does not suffer.