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The expense of Printer Ink
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Printer ink is one of the most expensive things that you'll run into when you set up your home office. Printer ink is more expensive than oil or vintage champagne. Printer Ink is made up of mixture of pigments and condensed surfactants, biocide along with fungicide, buffering agent, humectants & resin, de-ionized stream of water (May vary depending on the type of Ink).
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.
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.
Quality Comparison I have personally tested thousands of both brand new printer ink cartridges and refilled or remanufactured printer ink cartridges and without a doubt the originals, produced by the printer manufacturer, are better in print quality. However, printing at the maximum quality more than doubles the cost per print.
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
About the Author
Printer ink is a subject Alan Wilson has a great involved in, having over 10 years involved in the manufacture of printer ink for many applications.
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