Printer ink is one of the most expensive things in the world in terms of when you break down how much it costs per millilitre. Printer ink is the most expensive of all printer equipments. A survey by Kodak has revealed that almost half the people in the UK think the cost of printer ink is a rip off. As much as 60 percent of the ink contained in a typical inkjet cartridge is wasted, when printers ask users to throw away half-full cartridges, according to research commissioned by Epson. I also despise the games inkjet manufacturers play to get you to replace cartridges that may still have ink inside. Some customers and industry analysts charge that inkjet companies are using their influence to unfairly distort the price of replacement ink cartridges and shut out off-brand competitors.
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.
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.
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.
You can save ink by selecting a lower-quality mode for printouts that are for ‘internal’ use only. When determining quality and value you must align your expectations accordingly. It is easy to see that there is a terrific cost savings to buying remanufactured printer ink, that being said, you must balance quality expectations with the price.
We wish there was some complicated reason like it costs a lot of money to produce or something like that, but the truth is that printer ink is so expensive because manufacturers can make it that expensive. “Official” printer ink is more expensive than heroin, but instead of competitive pricing, they go hand in hand with RIAA’s marketing folks (read: more competition equals pricier products). A solution to the rising cost of printer ink is to buy “generic” brands of ink instead of the original brand of your printer