How To Avoid Overspending On Printer Ink Cartridges

2010-12-02

As anyone who regularly uses a printer knows, replacing printer ink cartridges is a continual necessity and devising ways to minimize the chance of overspending on printer ink is an ongoing concern. There are several ways this can be accomplished, some of which will be discussed here. These may be familiar, although it's not uncommon for people to have preconceived notions about some of them, particularly about the use of 'generic' printer ink cartridges.

Generally speaking, a typical computer printer is a relatively inexpensive item to buy. Printer manufacturing is a highly competitive industry and the units produced are normally sold with very little profit margin for the maker. The real money made in computer printers lies in the ongoing replacement of printer ink cartridges.

It's the same business model that's used in the diabetes monitoring industry. Suppliers actually give away free glucose monitors to diabetes patients who promise to purchase their necessary future supplies from them. The monitor is only a one-time purchase item, whereas the supplies used by the monitor need to be replaced every month thereafter. It's a similar situation with computer printers, although they are too expensive to produce to warrant giving them away for free, they are usually sold at very attractive prices.

The most common way of overspending on printer ink is to do exactly as the manufacturer wants you to do and only use OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges in your machine. As long as consumers continue to pay the inflated prices charged for these original cartridges the manufacturer will make the back-end profits hoped for when they sell their printers so inexpensively. Some manufacturers will even go so far as to state that the use of any ink other than those from the manufacturer will void the warranty.

While many people believe that the use of generic printer ink cartridges may void their printer's warranty, there are U.S. consumer laws that make this illegal. In actuality, the only way a printer manufacturer can make their warranty dependent upon your using their specific cartridges is if they supply them to you free of charge.

With that in mind, one way to keep from overspending on printer ink cartridges is to use a generic, compatible cartridge instead of the OEM version. These can be bought at a fraction of the cost of the original equipment. Another way is to use re manufactured cartridges. These are OEM cartridges that have been recycled and then refilled.

You can also make sure to set your printer for the quality of print required. The draft setting, if appropriate, will save ink. There are also specific 'eco-fonts' that use less ink.