Article last updated March 7, 2023

 

Compatible printer ink cartridges and toners are so good now that most people will only notice that you save money. This guide will tell you everything you need to know to save money without sacrificing quality.

The first thing to do is learn the terms. A genuine printer ink cartridge or toner is one that was made by the company that made the printer. For example, if your printer is made by Epson, an Epson cartridge would be a real printer cartridge. Genuine printer cartridges are often marked with an OEM, which lets you know they are real (Original Equipment Manufacturer). On the other hand, a compatible cartridge or toner is not made by the company that makes the printer. Instead, an outside company like Inkjets.com makes it.

You may hear the term "remanufactured cartridges" when learning about genuine vs. compatible cartridges. Unlike genuine or compatible cartridges, which have never been used before, remanufactured cartridges have been used, returned, cleaned, and refilled to make a "new" cartridge. A remanufactured cartridge is often still called a "compatible" cartridge, even though it has been changed.

 

How good are compatible ink cartridges?

Price

The price is the main difference between original print cartridges and toners and compatible ones. This is because well-known brands have high costs that they have to pass on to the customer, like marketing and branding. These costs aren't paid by makers of compatible products. This means that they can charge much less.

The best thing you can do, though, is to find out about the company that makes the compatible cartridge before you click "buy." Even more so if the price is too good to be true. Check their Facebook and Trustpilot pages to see if they seem like a company you can trust.

 

Quality

So why do people still buy OEM toners and cartridges? The way people see it is one of the main reasons. People often think that their own brand is better, but that's not the case. The results show that compatible cartridges often print just as well as original cartridges, but they cost much less.

Your printing quality doesn't have to get worse as the price goes up. Compatible cartridges are a cheap way to print. The average office worker prints 10,000 pages a year, so switching from original ink and toner cartridges to compatible ones can save you a lot of money.

 

Having trouble using compatible ink cartridges?

People often think that using compatible cartridges will hurt your printer or the warranty on it. But if your machine breaks or stops working while it is still under warranty and you are using a compatible cartridge, you have the same right to technical help as someone who is using a real cartridge.

If you can't get compatible cartridges to work, there could be a number of reasons...

Cartridge protection is turned on: Some printers have "cartridge protection" turned on, which means that any compatible cartridge won't work. This is a feature that can be turned off, making it possible to use a compatible cartridge.

The cartridge wasn't put in the right way: There is a small chance that your printer's ink cartridge wasn't put in right. Just lift the cartridge cover, make sure the cartridge is in place correctly, close the cover, and try again.

Need to reset the printer's internal memory: When you put a new cartridge in your printer, it should automatically recognize it and reset the printer's memory so that the full ink and toner levels are shown. If this hasn't happened, the memory will need to be reset from the inside.

As was already said, trying to save money on printing shouldn't mean sacrificing the quality of your work.

 

Make sure you visit InkJets.com for the best prices on compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges.