Discount Inkjet Cartridges: A Money Saver?

Should You Buy Discount Inkjet Cartridges?

It's hard to ignore the significant price difference between “brand name” ink cartridges supplied by printer manufacturers such as HP, Canon, Epson, Lexmark, and the “no-name” alternatives. Compatible off-brand, refilled or remanufactured inkjet printer cartridges typically cost 15 percent less than OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges at Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy and other physical retail stores that sell computer supplies.

Online, the deals are even more tempting. You may find websites selling discount inkjet cartridges costing 30, 50, or 70 percent less than brand-name goods. Nonetheless, many people shy away from buying refilled or remanufactured ink cartridges, for a variety of reasons.

There is a persistent rumor that using anything other than manufacturer branded OEM cartridges will void a printer's warranty. That is not true, at least in the United States. The 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C.A. 2302) forbids the conditioning of a warranty upon the purchase of any product or service "which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name."

In other words, your printer's warranty cannot be voided just because you used an ink cartridge from a third-party seller. That doesn't stop some vendors from trying scare tactics and other dirty tricks, though. More on that later...

Whether an off-brand compatible or remanufactured discount ink cartridge will perform as well as an OEM cartridge depends, of course, on how well it is made. A fly-by-night outfit may use inferior inks that don't produce vibrant, non-fading colors; skimp on cleaning print nozzles and other parts; or skip quality control testing to save money. Shoddy cartridges can leak and ruin the electronics of a printer.

Discount Inkjet Cartridge Suppliers

To find a reliable supplier of discount ink cartridges, try searching for your printer model online along with keywords such as "Epson compatible ink", "HP refilled cartridge" or "Canon remanufactured" inkjet printer cartridges. Look for suppliers who have loyal fans and have been in business for a number of years. Also look for warranties provided by suppliers. One supplier I've used is LD Products, which has been around for over a dozen years, and offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all products.

Here's a personal example: My HP OfficeJet Pro uses a cartridge which retails for $49.99. LD sells a remanufactured replacement cartridge for $8 that works beautifully. Print quality and page yield are the same as the OEM cartridge, and I save $42 (about 85%) on each one! For years, I was buying the expensive HP-labelled cartridges from an office supply store, under the false assumption that generic or remanufactured cartridges might not work in my printer. Of course LD also offers replacement ink cartridges for Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Lexmark and other popular brands.

If this sounds like a sneaky advertisement for LD Products, well, it's not. I'm just a happy customer passing along a tip, and LD doesn't give me any special treatment or incentives. I've also used 123Inkjets.com and found that their products and prices are generally great as well.

Amazon also sells inkjet cartridges from a variety of third-party sellers such as SPEEDYINKS, Greencycle, E-Z Ink, and others. I have no personal experience with any of those sellers, so I'd advise you to check the ratings and reviews before ordering. And again, look for a long-term track record. A boatload of glowing reviews and five-star ratings appearing all at once can be indicative of a dishonest paid review scheme.

The popular office supply store Office Depot also sells their own brand of laser toner and inkjet printer cartridges, which they say are manufactured using ISO-certified processes, and are made "to meet OEM performance standards." These ink cartridges are guaranteed compatible with the OEM branded cartridges in quality, reliability, and page yield. Office Depot, Staples and other office supply stores sell replacement cartridges for Canon, Dell, Epson, Hewlett Packard, Lexmark and many other printer brands.

Ignore the Scare Tactics

Printer manufacturers, of course, don't like it when people use compatible, refilled, or remanufactured ink cartridges. That's because they make more money selling ink than printers. Witness the $69 price tags on the Canon Pixma MG3620 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer and the HP DeskJet 2752 All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer. If entry-level printers like these do come with ink, it's a small-capacity cartridge.

Some OEMs have tried many ways to discourage consumers from buying discount ink cartridges, and have also tried to sue remanufacturers out of business. Generally, courts have upheld consumers' rights to save money with compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges. In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Lexmark, which was suing a company that sells refilled ink cartridges. That's legal affirmation from the high court that third-party companies have the right to continue selling refilled or remanufactured ink cartridges. So the best OEMs can do today is to try to scare you.

Some OEMs include software with their printer utilities that checks the "authenticity" of newly installed ink cartridges. If the software detects a remanufactured cartridge, a warning pops up on your screen telling you that the cartridge is not "genuine" and "may" damage your printer. If this happens, press the "I Like To Save Money and You're Not Scaring Me" button.

But sometimes OEMs take it to the next level. A while back, my HP printer displayed a message saying that all four of my (third-party) inkjet cartridges “appear to be damaged” and I could not print anything. HP had effectively locked my printer with a software update, in an attempt to force me to buy their cartridges. Fortunately, the nice folks at LD Products were willing to replace my cartridges. I have not had a problem since, but HP continues to warn about non-original cartridges and nag me to buy their inkjet supplies.

Personally, I've never had a print quality problem with remanufactured or compatible ink cartridges. (Years ago, I ruined a few shirts while trying to refill my own cartridges, but that's another story.) Using them is a great way to save money and recycle plastic cartridges. Some remanufacturers partner with local charities to collect empty cartridges, paying a bounty on each cartridge to the charities. That's a good way to spread the benefits of recycling around.

Try a Tank?

There’s one other option I should mention when talking about inkjet printing. The cartridge-free “tank printers” such as the $230 Epson EcoTank ET-2850. Epson says you can save up to 90 percent using their low-cost high-capacity replacement ink bottles, compared to the cost of ink cartridges. One set of replacement bottles is equivalent to about 80 individual cartridges. Each ink bottle set includes enough ink to print up to 7500 pages black, or 6000 color.

Epson was the pioneer in this field, but HP, Canon, and Brother also make tank printers. Check out the HP Smart Tank, Canon SuperTank, or Brother INKvestment Tank models.

Have you tried using discount inkjet cartridges, either compatible or remanufactured? I'd like to know your experience with them. Post your comment or question below…