Lexmark Ink Cartridge

Compared to other major printer manufacturers, Lexmark is a relative newcomer–having been founded in 1991. In the years since, though, they have worked extraordinarily hard to to gain market share and make up for lost time. By all accounts, they have been very successful since they are now included in the top four manufacturers of products for the business and personal printing markets.

Lexmark uses cartridge technologies similar to those used by HP, Canon, and most of the other major printer manufacturers. The inks are also quite similar. The major differences between cartridges have more to do with size and shape than with anything technological. For this reason, it is quite easy for third-party companies to produce replacement cartridges.

Though no printer manufacturer likes the prevalence of remanufactured or compatible cartridges (preferring that consumers would use only OEM cartridges), Lexmark took it a step further. They started including chips that render a printer incompatible with any but OEM cartridges. That particular practice has since changed through litigation, but some of the affected printers are still in use.

Remanufactured cartridges are a great cost-effective alternative if they are thoroughly quality-checked (for cracks, for wear on moving parts, and for printing capabilities) before purchase. The majority of reman and new, compatible (manufactured generically to OEM specs) cartridges work nearly as well as new, OEM cartridges. The right cartridge supplier can cut your printing costs considerably, so these options are definitely worth looking into.