IT Departments And How Printer Ink Cartridge Failures Waste Money

2010-09-29

A printer ink cartridge can be one of the most expensive and frustrating parts of an office's printer, both to the workers that use them on a daily basis and the IT departments that are forced to replace them just as often. A bad printer ink cartridge can cost a company a lot of money and time--and it's also a major annoyance for professionals that have much bigger jobs than simple printer ink changes and repairs to handle. This is why many IT departments insist that a proper, efficient IT strategy consists of smart, careful printer ink cartridge purchasing habits to cut down on the incidence of these low quality cartridges.

As one would expect, a failed ink cartridge immediately costs a business a bit of money. A bad cartridge can leak, which can ruin the delicate mechanisms inside a printer. Ink bursts are rare, but in large companies they can become more common, as large print jobs can overtax printers, creating an ideal environment for the breakage of faulty printer ink cartridges. Even if a printer ink cartridge merely runs out of ink early or becomes clogged with dried printer ink, it's a drain on a company's resources, as the ink will need to be switched out before the full capacity of its ink yield could be exhausted.

Failed printer ink cartridges waste a significant amount of time in addition to their other notable costs. IT departments are often called upon to switch out failed cartridges or to clear up many of the issues caused by a bad printer ink cartridge. The time spent on an average printer repair caused by an burst cartridge or other common ink problem can easily cut into an IT department's productivity, as it leaves less time for more important tasks that can directly translate to larger profits for a company. In fact, a bad ink cartridge's effect on an IT department's productivity can significantly outweigh the value of the cartridge itself, or even the printer that it was installed in.

When buying printer ink, a company should consult its IT department for recommendations on how much ink to buy. It's important to check ink cartridge expiration dates, especially when ordering in bulk, as cartridge expiration is one of the major causes of ink cartridge issues. Finally, companies should look for a reputable, low cost printer ink cartridge supplier that offers a guarantee. This is the best way to cut down on the cost of bad printer ink cartridges that break before they can be properly used. It also saves company IT departments time, which may be the greatest gain from a good supplier.