Understanding Why The Cost Of Printer Ink Cartridges Is Often So High

2011-04-08

The computer printer ink market has become a multi-billion dollar industry and its competitive nature is evidenced by the fact that an Internet search on the words 'printer ink' delivers nearly two and one-half million websites in reply. Printer ink cartridges are utilized by nearly every business in existence and in many homes as well. Buying a good quality printer has become very reasonable these days, while the cost of keeping those printers operating with the purchase of replacement ink supplies continues to be an expensive, ongoing proposition. As a result, many consumers are looking for ways to lower costs in this area.

Buying printer ink involves a list of options from which users are able to choose. There are also ways of using printers that will affect the relative costs of these operations, such as font settings that use less ink and printing with the printer set on draft rather than high quality. Finding out how to accomplish these ink saving steps can easily be learned through online sites offering this information.

The choices involved in buying printer ink are a little tougher to navigate than those involved in changing printer fonts or print quality settings. OEM printer ink cartridges for example, which are recommended for use by original equipment manufacturers, may at first look like the most expensive option because the cost of these cartridges is usually significantly higher than the cost of the various third party compatible units so readily available. Further study, however, reveals that the purchase of a brand name replacement cartridge, while initially higher, may in fact be a better value in the long run.

OEM printer ink products are made expressly for use in specific machines and there is a great deal of research and development that goes into the manufacture of these high quality products. The world's largest printer manufacturer is also the world's largest printer ink producer. One reason for this is that they strongly recommend that users of their printing devices only utilize their branded printer ink replacement products in order to maximize their equipment's functionality. Some, however, believe this is just a ploy to ensure their ongoing high-volume sales of ink supplies and will turn to the use of cheaper, off-brand cartridges in order to pare their printing costs. Others follow the manufacturer's advice and use only OEM printer ink cartridges.

Recent independent testing has shown that OEM cartridges are capable of producing as many as 65% more copies than compatibles or refilled units. This brings the cost per copy down substantially. Quality and reliability are also proven to be much higher with OEM replacement cartridges, saving both time and expense during printing operations.