All About Ink Cartridges

Ink cartridges are the most disposed part of any inkjet printer. These small plastic cases store the ink that is used to print out text documents and colored images. Once the ink is used up, this is replaced with a new cartridge.

Ink cartridges are the most disposed part of any inkjet printer. These small plastic cases store the ink that is used to print out text documents and colored images. Once the ink is used up, this is replaced with a new cartridge. Unfortunately, OEM ink cartridges distributed by the printer manufacturer can be quite expensive.

Kinds of Ink Cartridges

Currently, there a number of different inkjet printer cartridges available in the market today:

OEM ink cartridges. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. These are ink printer cartridges that are distributed by the printer companies who have manufactured the printer model that you use.

Generic ink cartridges. Generic ink cartridges are manufactured by third party companies. That means, these ink cartridges are manufactured by companies other than the printer manufacturers. Generic ink cartridges are also known as compatible ink cartridges. Remanufactured ink cartridges. These are ink cartridges also have been manufactured by companies other than the printer manufacturer. Unlike generic ink cartridges, these ink cartridges are made from recycled cartridges.

Refilled ink cartridges. Refilled ink cartridges are not sold in computer stores or office supplies stores. Instead, the user either fills up their already used printer cartridge with ink with the use of ink refill kits or sent to refilling companies to have the printer cartridge refilled.

Advantages of Alternative Ink Cartridges

Printer users have begun switching to generic, remanufactured and refilled ink cartridges over OEM printer cartridges due to a number of reasons:

Cost. These printer cartridges are relatively cheaper than original printer cartridges. The difference of the prices may be as much as 50% lower than OEM printer cartridges.

Availability. Some printer cartridge brands are hard to find, such as printer cartridges for Dell printers. Generic and remanufactured printer cartridges, on the other hand, are a lot easier to find. The same holds true with ink refill kits that are used to refill already spent cartridges.

Disadvantages of Alternative Ink Cartridges

Printing Quality. Because alternative choices for ink cartridges use generic ink tints and colors, there is a possibility that the quality of the print out is not be as high as those printed out using printer cartridges that have been manufactured by the printer companies.

Possible Damage to the Printer. Remanufactured and refilled ink cartridges used already spent cartridges for holding the ink. Because these cartridges already have worn out parts, there is a higher risk for the ink to leak out if the remanufacturing or refilling process is not done properly, causing damage to the entire printer.

Alternative Ink Cartridges and Printer Warranty

One of the major concerns of printer users in using generic, remanufactured and refilled ink cartridges is that the printer warranty may be voided. This is not true. Printer consumers are protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act. This law states that under no circumstance can a printer manufacturer void the warranty of a printer unit for using generic, remanufactured or refilled ink cartridges.

This Article is written by John C Arkin from MyOfficePortal.org the contributor of Office Supplies Information & Resources. More information on the subject is at All About Ink Cartridges, and related resources can be found at Printer Ink Cartridge FAQ.