Major printer manufacturers such as Lexmark, Epson, HP or Canon would never recommend that consumers use generic cartridges or refill kits as an alternative to purchasing their expensive printer cartridges. It’s an obvious fact that they would lose money if they did. So in an effort to discourage consumers to avoid buying anything but their cartridges, they have launched an attack on third party companies who offer compatible cartridges or refill kits for about half the cost.
The claims against generic cartridges or refill kits vary widely. Some of the things that they are trying to get consumers to believe in regards to this include:
- Generic cartridges or refill kits are inferior to name brand ones
- Generic cartridges or refill kits have inferior ink and will give the poor print quality
- Generic cartridges or refill kits can damage printers, and their use can void the warranty
One printer manufacturer is taking it one step further by suing other companies in an effort to stop them from producing these generic or compatible cartridges. The other popular manufacturers, even though they also disapprove of the so-called third-party companies, are just standing by and not being as persistent. But they are worried about the fact that these third party companies are cutting into their profit margins and hitting where it hurts, in the pocketbook.
Ink cartridges and not printers are the real moneymakers for these top printer manufacturers. Think of the printer ad the cake and the cartridges as the icing on the cake. Printer manufacturers sell their printers at extremely low prices just to get them back end business, replacement cartridges. Once a consumer buys a printer, they know that it won’t be long before a replacement cartridge will be needed, that’s where they hope to get the most bang for their buck!
In reality, there is nothing wrong with generic or compatible replacement cartridges. They work just fine in printers and provide no difference in wither print quality or printer performance. They have been used by businesses and the general public for quite a long time and at a considerably lesser cost.
With the advent of these compatible products on the market, businesses that are in business for the sole purpose of buying used cartridges to resell to third party companies who will refill them and resell them to others. Instead of trying to go through the sometimes-messy process of refilling the cartridges on your own, these companies will buy used, empty cartridges and sell them to be refurbished for resale.
You actually make money back by selling your old, used-up cartridges to them. In turn, you can also buy these refurbished cartridges from them for a fraction of the cost of the brand name products of similar compatibility. Many of these resellers will offer a guarantee with the cartridges if they don’t work in your printer for any reason. They will, in some cases, give the consumer a full refund.
