All Hail The Cheap Printer Ink Cartridge



Posted: Friday, September 25, 2009

by Mark Bartley

Every office, whether that's a multi-national trading room or a lone freelancer's paper-strewn desk
at home, has a printer. Printer ink cartridges can be frighteningly expensive. As the price of printers has dropped, it would be natural to assume that the price of ink cartridges would also fall. But to understand why the recommended retail price of ink cartridges is so high, it's important to understand the psychology behind selling printers (yes, there is some). If you take care of your printer, it'll last you a good few years. Clean its heads regularly, don't force the 'wrong kind of paper' through it and prevent your children from thinking it's a toaster and pushing slices of bread into it and it should last you at least five to six years. This isn't going to make the printer manufacturer any money so they build in what is commonly termed as 'planned obsolescence' into their machines. They will, eventually, fail. And the quickest way to kill a printer (apart from with a large hammer) is to use the wrong kind of ink.

So, to ensure that the consumer parts with at least some hard-earned cash during the interim five or six years life span of the average printer, the manufacturers make sure that they make a sizeable profit margin from 'printer consumables' and that means the humble ink cartridge. Hence, the horrific prices of manufacture recommended cartridges.

This form of market manipulation has been a bone of contention for years, particularly as the price of printers dropped from hundreds of pounds to fifty quid for a decent home printer. A cheap printer now will cost you the same as two ink cartridges at full recommended retail price. When you look at it like that, the numbers don't stack up. So bowing to public demand, and thanks to the all-conquering Internet, stationary suppliers have started cutting the price of ink cartridges and many companies now produce generic, 'patterned' cartridges designed to fit the best-known printers but at a fraction of the cost.

Is the saving worth it? Cheap printer ink cartridges can constitute a considerable saving in your annual stationary budget and only the most foolhardy would now consider buying a printer ink cartridge at full price. But before you rush out and stock up on cheap printer ink cartridges, do your homework first. If you use a cartridge that has not been recommended by the printer manufacturer, it can invalidate your printer warranty. Printers are designed to cope with specific types of ink, and cheap, slightly thicker ink could quite easily clog the delicate nozzles on your Epsom or HP printer. No amount of crying or pleading will melt the heart of a manufacturer who has been denied his profit margin because you chose to use an unbranded ink cartridge and it's damaged your printer.

But there are ways around the problem. Searching online for reputable stationary suppliers gives you the chance to buy the right (as in recommended by the manufacturer) printer ink cartridge and still save some money. Large stationary companies have one thing that the consumer doesn't have bulk buying power. The sheer quantity of printer ink cartridges they order from the manufacturers drives the price down and, in an age of intense business competition, that saving is passed onto the consumer. It means that you can buy branded printer ink cartridges (and extend the life of your machine as well as keeping your warranty intact) at a greatly reduced price. So it really is a case of all hail the cheap printer ink cartridge!

Selecting the correct printer ink cartridges can avoid damage to your printer. Branded office stationary products can cost more, so Mark Bartley reviews the pros and cons of going down the branded route for printer cartridges.
Mark Bartley is a well respected writer on consumer affairs and a customer champion. He has experience in several industries including travel, finance, retail and leisure. He seeks to provide useful information from an unbiased viewpoint and helps people understand complicated market areas and find the best deals or services available.
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