| Printer cartridges can cost quite a bit of money these days, and the cost reduction of compatible or recycled printer cartridges can dramatically reduce your overall printing cost by up to 70%. Unlike other consumables like CD-Rs and floppy disks, printer cartridges are engineered to match the printers for which they are designed for. These performance and compatibility requirements may make you think twice about saving money on a compatible printer cartridges. Therefore, a little research may save you cash because, while manufacturers encourage you to use their own-brand consumables, compatible printer cartridges are available for most printers.
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Printer Cartridges
Buying OEM printer cartridges is like buying designer clothes. You are paying for a name when other companies make an alternative which is as good or better. Printer cartridge manufacturers, for example Epson, HP and Canon, produce printer cartridges which are about 3 times the price of Easyinkz quality printer cartridges.
Re-manufactured Printer Cartridges
These are basically printer cartridges that have been refilled with ink. The reason for doing this is that HP, Lexmark and some of Canon printer cartridges have been patented by the manufacturer. The re- manufactured printer cartridges are stripped down to component level and then ultra-sonically cleaned, put back together and then refilled with ink.
The Cost of Printer Cartridges
The cost variation between compatible printer cartridges and re-manufactured printer cartridges is quite different. Compatible printer cartridges do not have a print head attached to the printer cartridge so it is only a storage compartment for the printer ink. With re-manufactured cartridges, there is a lot of work involved in cleaning them and refilling so the printer cartridge price is far higher. They also have a printer head attached to the printer cartridge.
The advantage of having the printer head attached to the printer cartridge is that every time you replace a cartridge the print head gets replaced but the downfall is that the printer cartridges are far more expensive. With Epson printers, the print head is in the printer which makes the printer cartridges far more affordable but if the print head fails for some reason you may need to buy a new printer.
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