Remanufactured vs Compatible - What's The Difference?

Article updated March 7, 2023

When you're looking for a new printer cartridge, what do you usually do? If you're like most people, you probably just go to your local big box store and buy whatever ink is sold under the brand name of your printer. However, you may not realize that there are other options available to you that can potentially save you a lot of money. The big printer companies don't want you to know about these alternatives, but we do. The two biggest ways you can save big on printer cartridges are by buying compatible or remanufactured cartridges.

You may have heard of compatible or remanufactured cartridges before, but you may not be sure what the difference is. We're here to help clear that up for you! Read on to learn more about compatible vs. remanufactured cartridges.

Compatible printer ink cartridges are new cartridges that have been designed to work with a specific printer model.

Remanufactured printer ink cartridges are recycled printer cartridges that have been cleaned, refilled, and tested to ensure that they meet the quality standards of the original cartridge.

Both compatible and remanufactured printer ink cartridges can offer significant savings compared to buying new printer cartridges from the manufacturer. When choosing between compatible and remanufactured printer ink cartridges, it's important to consider the quality of the cartridge and the warranty offered by the seller.

In general, compatible printer ink cartridges offer the best value for money, but a remanufactured printer ink cartridge can be a good option if you're looking for a higher-quality cartridge or if you need a specific cartridge type that's not available as a compatible cartridge.

Let's dive in a little deeper to  learn more about the benefits of using compatible and remanufactured printer ink cartridges.

Compatible ink and toner cartridges are a popular choice for budget-conscious shoppers looking for high-quality ink at a fraction of the cost of original cartridges.

As mentioned earlier, compatible ink cartridges are third-party cartridges that are designed to work with a specific brand of printer. While they may not be made by the same company that made the printer, they undergo rigorous testing to ensure that they meet or exceed the standards set by the OEM.

In many cases, compatible ink cartridges can provide the same high quality printing as their more expensive counterparts, but at a fraction of the cost. For a business that does a lot of printing, compatible ink cartridges offer a great way to reduce printing costs without sacrificing quality.

In addition, compatible cartridges typically have a comparable page yield to OEM ink cartridges, meaning that businesses can get more printing done before needing to replace the cartridge. As a result, using compatible ink cartridges can be a great way to save money and increase productivity.

Many businesses are looking for ways to not only reduce their operating cost, but to reduce their environmental impact as well.

One way to do this is by using remanufactured ink cartridges. Remanufactured cartridges are recycled cartridges that have been cleaned, refilled, and tested to ensure reliability. They offer many benefits over new OEM cartridges, including lower prices and reduced environmental impact.

Remanufactured cartridges help the environment by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills by reusing printer cartridges that would otherwise be thrown away. Recycling printer cartridges in this way has the potential to greatly impact the environment for the better.

Approximately 80% of ink and toner cartridges are disposed of instead of being recycled. That's a total of over 350 million each year! And when an empty printer ink cartridge hits the landfill, it stays there for a LONG time. According to specialists, the entire breakdown and decomposition process may take up to 1000 years for empty ink cartridges

In addition, remanufactured ink uses less energy and resources to produce than new cartridges, further reducing their environmental impact. Ink and toner cartridges are made from a variety of materials that have to be mined, processed, transported, disposed of, and reused. These processes often produce harmful pollutants. Furthermore, one ink cartridge generates 4.8 kg of CO2 when manufactured. Toner itself releases roughly 3.2 kg of CO2 during its production process. This may appear to be a minor amount, but the monthly manufacturing volume for toner cartridges is approximately 200,000 units per month. This adds up to significant environmental impact over time.

Additionally, when you buy a new OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridge, you are buying something that had been manufactured using 2 to 5 pints of oil (ink requires 2 pints, while toner requires 5). Remanufacturing a cartridge instead of buying a new one avoids this waste.

Overall, using remanufactured ink cartridges is an easy way to save money and reduce your environmental impact without sacrificing quality or reliability.

Printing using aftermarket ink cartridges that don't sacrifice print quality or reliability is important not just for the business customer but for the consumer customer as well. The price of a toner or ink cartridge has an enormous impact on whether customers will purchase from brands like HP and Canon or opt to shop for ink cartridges at better prices elsewhere, such as Inkjets.com.

No. There is a misconception that aftermarket imaging supplies, whether compatible or remanufactured, don't offer the same reliability or match the performance or efficiency of the products from the larger brands, such as HP or Epson. There are even some who are concerned that aftermarket options would void the warranty on a printer.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is, the printer companies don't make the most money from selling a customer a printer. The printer brands make the most money by making sure that every page each customer prints is printed using their own ink.

The big printer companies make millions off of these lies, which keep 80% of the market paying exorbitant prices for ink.

In addition, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act protects you from being penalized by the machine's original maker if you use third-party cartridges. You have complete freedom to choose the cartridge you want to use in your printer at any time.

This means you don't have to be stuck in the cycle. It's easy to save big on ink, and we're happy to show you how.

So hopefully now you have a better idea of what the difference is between compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges and why they're better for both the environment and your wallet.

No matter which printer model you use, we have the right aftermarket ink for you.

We want every customer to shop with confidence, and know that every product we sell is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The product will perform exactly as expected, or we will quickly replace the item or refund the entire purchase price.

Customer service is incredibly important to us, and is what has allowed us to grow our business and become one of the leading compatible and remanufactured ink cartridge retailers on the web.

If you have any questions, whether it's about the price of an item, which product is best, or how to change your ink, feel free to contact us - we're here for you. It doesn't matter if it's before you checkout or long after you've purchased. At Inkjets.com, it's always easy to get the products you need at the prices you want, with the service you need.