Why Ricoh Ink Cartridges Are So Expensive Off The Shelf

2011-06-01

While the price of printers has decreased dramatically over the past decade, particularly Ricoh ink cartridge printers, printer ink remains one of the most expensive items in the world. In fact, ounce for ounce, printer ink off the shelf is more costly than the finest champagne.

Printers are no longer relegated exclusively to large office facilities; as the prices of printers have dropped, people with home offices have been able to install printers rather than make a trip to the local copy store. Printers were once considered a luxury item for everyday home use but many people now have one or more printers and even use photo printers on a regular basis.

Ricoh is a prominent brand of printer well known for its quality of build and end product. As with other printers, the most costly part of the printing process is the ink. In fact, most printers cost much less than the price of the ink you will buy in a year if your printer is used regularly. There are many reasons for the high cost of ink that most consumers aren't aware of.

First, different brands and models of printers all have distinctive hardware in order to steer the consumer toward a certain type of ink cartridge. A cartridge can cost up to ten times as much as it costs to make it, which is generally about $3. The price is high because printers are usually sold at or below what it costs to produce them. While this doesn't seem to make sense at first, consider that most printer manufacturers realize as much as 50% of their profits from the sale of supplies that their printers need. Low printer prices allow the average person access to the equipment while high ink cartridge prices keep manufacturers' businesses healthy and growing.

Another reason Ricoh ink cartridges are so highly priced is because of the research the company conducts on a nearly constant basis. They are studying new innovations to make printers more user friendly, simpler to set up and operate and yes, even how to make printer ink more affordable. Making their cartridges unique so as to avoid their duplication by rival companies also involves costly research.

Many people have tried a cheaper off brand cartridge to replace their Ricoh ink cartridges but find that many times the results don't look as professional as they would like. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges routinely outperform third party cartridges in both quality and quantity of product produced. And while Ricoh or other OEM printer ink off the shelf is good for about two years or longer if stored properly, third party ink cartridges can dry out within a year.