Printer Cartridge

Printer cartridges are where printer companies make most of their profits. The big printer companies will often sell their printers at or below cost because they know that they can make it up on the back end selling replacement cartridges. This is the driving force behind their aversion to remanufactured and new compatible cartridges. It eats into their profits.

OEM cartridges are either made by the company that made the associated printers or by a company that has a special arrangement with them. There can be a number of different manufacturer/distributors for any printer company’s OEM cartridges. Since a tidy profit is already built into the price of OEM cartridges, you should never pay more than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

New compatible cartridges are available for many popular printers and they can help make a positive impact on your bottom line. New compatibles are built to the original product specifications and they usually work as well as OEM cartridges–except to the most discerning eye. The reason to purchase a compatible cartridge is to save money, not to try and improve over OEM print quality.

Compatibles are made for both inkjet and laser printers. Remanufactured cartridges, however, are usually for laser printers. These should have their vital moving parts checked and repaired or replaced before they are filled. Inkjet cartridges are simpler and there is not much to remanufacture so they are often just refilled, making these an incredibly cost-effective option. Nevertheless, these too should be quality checked since used cartridges do wear out after a few refills.