The Truth About Discount Ink Cartridges - Comments Page 1

Bob:
Everything you say holds true UNTIL YOU START USING THE PRINTER FOR COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY!

Unfortunately, there are subtle differences in the inks that make the colors not-so-accurate. There are thousands of differences in the hues, and what is black for one ink is a shade of black for another. This is why people using their inkjets for color prints should never use anything but the manufacturer's inks.

Just an FYI! Bottom line: If you are doing color photographs, stick with the manufacturer's ink. If not, then the off-brand compatible inks are just fine!

I have bought the re-manufactured from 123 but get a lot of "not compatible" error msgs and have to send back. Not sure why the "not compatible" shows up and it is random.

I've used discount cartridges for years myself with very few problems.

I do enjoy the savings over the OEM product.

I have used Carrot Ink cartridges for years in my Canon printers, (and others), without incident, and the quality of the cartridges as well as the yield of them is at least equal to the manufacturers products. There have been a few times when they did not have a compatible cartridge when the printer was a relatively new one, but they don't take very long before they are available for most any printer that is made anywhere. I highly regard them and recommend them without reservation.

I've used compat cartridges since I first had a printer. Never any problems (apart from diy refills, disaster!) Only time I couldn't was for a Pixma printer that nobody made compats or recons for. I gave the printer away after a while (you couldn't replace one cartridge, always a fifty euro set.) and for virtually the same money as the Pixma cartridges I bought a Brother three in one. Brilliant, individually replaceable cartidges, cheap even from Brother, but pennies for compats. Never any problems.
I heard that Epson have sensors that can be difficult - so I've avoided them for years.
Good article, keep 'em coming

I have HP inkjet printers. Over the years I have used Carott Ink as a source for remanufactured cartridges. Every once in a while the printer will not recognize the Carott cartirdge. Carott has a procedure that you follow to fix the problem. So far it has worked for me. I see no reason not to use remanufactued cartridges.

Just purchased a new printer
Cheap chinese inks ruined my 13 month old Epson printer
Spent over $145.00 to save? $22.00.

Will folow Bob's updates in the future.

I get my ink cartridges from Amazon. The company is called Sophia Global Compatible and the ink is high quality and hasn't caused any problems with my computer. They look just like the original cartridges, too. The only bad thing is that they are made in China. I wish that they were made in America but the price is SO good, almost 70% off, so for now I have to buy these cartridges.

Great article, Bob. Thanks very much.

I used costco to refill the cartridges for my canon printer. They work fine if the printer will let them. However, you have to override the printer sending messages that the cartridges are empty. Sometimes I can override and othertimes the printer seems to succeed in stopping me. (I'm very techno phobic, so I'm sure its my own stupidity.) Will third party suppliers (rather than refilled ones) get around that problem? (I love your articles on all subjects!)

For a number of years I've been using CarrotInk.com for Epson, HP, and Brother printers. I'm a pretty heavy user and in 5 or 6 years and dozens of discount cartridges I had only one fail which was promptly replace at no charge. Guess we should be grateful for The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act!

I've always had good luck with Inksmile.com.

I have been really happy with SwiftInk.com. They are really nice too. I had just purchased about $50 in ink and my printer died. Had to buy a new printer. They allowed me to send all the cartridges back for store credit. No problems.

My granddaughter made a birthday collage for her dad it faded within a year! My daughter had taken photos of children at the local school and wonders how those prints made using the same discount ink cartridges lasted. Whether the printer can be damaged or not is one matter but I only use manufacturers cartridges (and their paper) for my prints. Many art students and perhaps artists who use these discount inks are at risk of losing their precious work.

I purchased non-OEM cartridges sold by a leading computer manufacturer - 2 out of 5 failed to work. I never had the problem with OEM replacement ink cartridges

I've used re-manufactured cartridges for at least 10 years with no problems. My printer won't display the ink levels with these cartridges,but that minor problem is more than made up for by the 60-70% savings over brand-name cartridges.

I brought in to and had refilled by Costco an empty printer cartridge .... WOW! What a HUGE disappointment: for one, the cartridge lasted through four (count em, 4) printings of a weekly one sheet of paper, front-to-back bulletin I publish for our church!!! So, I took it back, received my refund, and purchased the OEM cartridge (for way tooo much money!) After a time, and many other printings, we needed a refill and i figured: Costco can't be all bad, so I had it refilled there again. This time, the danged thing *exploded* inside the printer, which Costco so kindly offered to replace. My hubbs cleaned it and it's ok. Now, we're back to the way tooo expensive OEM cartridges again. I'm going to try one of those you suggest through LD Products and hope for the best! We don't need to purchase a new printer, ours works well, so I hope it continues to do so and this *experiment* will turn out ok.

I have had the complete opposite experience you have had. The results have not been adequate compared to the OEM. They don't last as long and sometimes don't work at all.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Your comment would be more useful if you mentioned what type of cartridges, and where you bought them.

Worse than receiving a threatening message, upon installing a self-refilled cartridge in my Lexmark X9575, the printer recognizes it is not a new Lexmark cartridge and prevents the printer from being used (continues to display the out of ink message).

I've used LD cartridges for years in my Epson Inkjet. The colors are fine. It's probably still more expensive per print than Walgreens or Wal-Mart.
Also their laser cartridges work fine in my Canon and Brother monocolor laser printers.