Printer Ink News | Computers

By PrinterWizard
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Printer ink is one of the most expensive things that you'll run into when you set up your home office. Printer ink is more expensive than oil or vintage champagne. Printer Ink is made up of mixture of pigments and condensed surfactants, biocide along with fungicide, buffering agent, humectants & resin, de-ionized stream of water (May vary depending on the type of Ink).

The printer makers have been waging an all-out war against third-party vendors that sell replacement cartridges at a fraction of the price. According to a recent lawsuit, HP allegedly paid Staples $100 million to refrain from selling inexpensive third-party ink cartridges, although the suit doesn't make it clear how plaintiff Ranjit Bedi arrived at that figure. The companies have also turned to using the ink equivalent of DRM, the use of microchips embedded in ink cartridges that work with a corresponding technical mechanism in the printer that blocks the use of unauthorized third-party ink.

HP is currently the dominant company in the printing market, and a considerable portion of the company's profits come from ink. The tactics employed by the printer manufacturers to maintain monopoly control over ink distribution for their printing products have become increasingly aggressive. According to Wilhelm Imaging Research and other reviewers, if you are primarily printing photos, select the OEM cartridge. However, printing at the maximum quality more than doubles the cost per print, so make sure to check your printer setting before starting that big print run..

Printers actually use ink in the cleaning process, so wasted ink is one of the reasons why third-party inks can be as expensive as OEM ink on a cost-per-page basis. Printers are sold cheap, to attract shoppers; but ink is expensive, to make a profit. Printers are sold using the razor blade business model-the printers are dirt cheap, but you have to keep buying ink for eternity.

Although third-party and aftermarket printer ink is often less expensive, the overwhelming majority of experts say that if quality and reliability matter most, you should stick with the printer manufacturer's recommended ink cartridges and ink.

Quality Comparison I have personally tested thousands of both brand new printer ink cartridges and refilled or remanufactured printer ink cartridges and without a doubt the originals, produced by the printer manufacturer, are better in print quality. However, printing at the maximum quality more than doubles the cost per print.

If you print mainly text pages, aftermarket printer ink is fine. Everyone knows that printer ink is a swindle: they sell you the printer cheaply (or not so cheaply for higher-end professional models),then sell the colors - unremarkable commodities, let us not forget - at prices that would make a perfumer blush.

About the Author

Printer ink is a subject Alan Wilson has a great involved in, having over 10 years involved in the manufacture of printer ink for many applications.

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