The expense of Printer Ink
Printer ink is said to be the most expensive substance on the planet, often costing thousands of dollars per litre. Printer ink is a $32 billion market worldwide. Printer ink is pricey no matter where you shop.
Cartridges contain electronics to communicate with the printer and the printer driver (the software that enables your computer and printer to communicate). Cartridges use a sponge to hold ink, by overfilling you wet the upper portion of the sponge causing the ink to want to flow upwards, away from the print nozzles. Cartridges made by (or for) the printer manufacturers are expensive.
Printer manufacturers have become very aggressive in attempting to maintain their grip on the aftermarket for printer cartridges. Most manufacturers are using their “green” credentials with their return of used cartridge policies to stop empty ink cartridges getting into the hands of remanufacturers. By doing this they are able to maintain the high prices they charge without the fear of low cost competition.
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.
According to Wilhelm Imaging Research and other reviewers, if you are primarily printing photos, select the OEM cartridge. In cases where photo quality matched OEM ink photo quality, editors say that the store-brand inks produce inferior text quality. In tests using dedicated photo printers, aftermarket inks were less competitive. However, in nearly all cases, using the manufacturer’s ink and paper will ensure the best, longest lasting photo prints.
After a 2006study, Henry Wilhelm concludes, If one includes print permanence as an important aspect of overall product quality, then the aftermarket photo inks and media we looked at in this study fall far short indeed. SO once again if printing photos, stick to the OEM cartridges.
Name brand printer ink is much more expensive compared to compatible and remanufactured cartridges (refilling your own cartridges is the most cost efficient). But the manufacturers of original printer ink claim that Inkjet printer ink is very complex in its composition, so third-party Inkjet printer ink does not work with the latest advancements made in the printer technology.
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