Generic Ink, Branded Ink or Refilled Ink

Should you replace your Printer Cartridge with a generic ink, branded ink or even a refilled ink cartridge the next time It runs out?

Has your printer cartridge run dry again? Now you know why that fancy looking printer was so cheap in the first place. Printer makers don't make their money on the printer but on the ink cartridges that are needed to run them. And if you are printing anything of any size or quantity, you will happily (or more likely...unhappily) go through a few cartridges in a couple of months. Given that the Brand name cartridges are so expensive this can make printing out materials from your PC a costly business.

But there are alternatives, namely Generic ink brands and refilled Ink. What is the difference between the two and which is better?

Generic Ink Brands

Generic ink brands are new cartridges but they are not made by the makers of the actual printer. The Generic brands makers are still reputable companies but they have no connection with the printer makers. They are a sort of competition in effect. In most cases these generic brands work on a few different models of one brand of printer or even across different brands in some cases.

The printer makers will usually claim that the generic brand is inferior to their own cartridge. Well they would, wouldn't they. After all they want to sell you their printer cartridge.

Some of the claims they will make are that the Generic brands don't last as long.

Another issue is that the reproduction is not as good because the generic brand uses different inks.

They also claim that the inferior ink can lead to blockages and malfunctioning of the printer.

In most cases this is not the case, maybe the genuine article will last a bit longer but since it probably costs three times as much, this is a minor point.

Another point to consider is that if your printer is under some kind of warranty then it will probably be void if you uses generic products on it. But since these printers are so cheap, most people would rather get a new printer than claim the warranty.

As already mentioned, the main advantage of a generic brand is that it is cheap making printing more affordable.

An even cheaper alternative is the refilled ink

Refilled Ink

Refilled ink cartridges are basically old cartridges that have been refilled with some kind of ink – refurbished cartridges if you like. They are usually even cheaper than generic brands. You can even purchase a machine and do it yourself if you like.

The main problem with refilled inks is that you really don't know the quality of the ink being used to refill your cartridge or if it is completely filled. It's pretty much down to the person doing the refilling. If they are new to refilling, they could be still learning the task or they might be deliberately skimping on the task to save money or time.

Like with many things in life, you get what you pay for. As far as your next cartridge goes, going for the generic brand is probably the safest option. They are generally more reliable than the refill option but slightly more expensive but they are also a lot cheaper than a brand cartridge.

Posted By david on 11th October 2012

Updated : 11th June 2018 | Words : 554 | Views : 3557