Are printer ink cartridges a scam? Why they are so expensive and how you can spend less - A Guide.
Inkjet technology is by no means cheap to implement, a fact that printer manufacturers claim is the reason why brand-name ink is expensive, as it has been specially formulated for high performance on matching brand-name printers.
Printer ink is known to be one of the most expensive liquids on the market, and the assertion is made worse by the fact that a great quantity of the precious ink that’s paid for never really makes it onto a printed page. A lot of it goes into routine maintenance tasks like cleaning printer heads, typically when the printer is starting up or after sitting idle for a while.
Some printers are more economical than others in this regard, so some due diligence and research by a user contemplating a purchase is imperative, as a less efficient model can set one back significantly in terms of the general cost of ownership. This can be especially costly for intermittent users.
One option might be to consider reservoir-type printers (ink-tank printers rather than ink-jet printers) that are significantly cheaper to refill, lowering the total cost of ownership. An even better option could be going with models that do not use ink.
Most printer companies dissuade users from using alternative ink cartridges that might be cost-effective out of fear and doubt about whether the alternatives would work or even damage the printer completely. But alternative ink cartridges can actually save on costs substantially, with barely a noticeable difference in print quality.
One hack to maximize ink economy and usage could be by turning off automatic updates, which, while usually a good idea for tech products, might be abused by printer manufacturers to ensure their printers are incompatible with cheaper third-party ink and cartridges, a fact that they might conceal by claiming that updates are meant for overall device and system security and functionality. This is not to say that the claim is false, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Razor and Blade business model
The razor and blades business model is where one item is sold at a significantly low price, or sometimes given for free, so that a complementary consumable good or supply can be sold to the purchaser at a higher price, often on a regular basis, thus raking in profits on these secondary purchases. It’s almost like a loss-leader model, but the catch is the complementary purchases that are required for the original product to continue working.
Printer manufacturers use this business model, particularly with inkjet printers, where the printer itself is sold at a very low price, sometimes at what seems like a loss, and then get to recoup the money and profits all over through the sale of ink refills and cartridges.
In some cases, an ink refill can cost as much as half the price of a new, similar printer.
Business-wise, it’s not in the ink manufacturers’ best interests to help a user economize on ink, as the more ink is used and depleted, the more refills they sell. And over time, the price of the printer pales in comparison to the cost of ink and cartridges.
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A low-ink notification or flashing light on a printer doesn’t necessarily mean the cartridge is out of ink. A lot of times, the remaining ink in the cartridge could still print a considerable number of pages. The microchip can also ‘tell’ the printer to stop printing if one colour runs out, even if the other colours are still full.
Some printers, when printing in black, use a small quantity of cyan ink as well, which is claimed to give the black a nicer shade. This means that as the black cartridge is depleted, so is the ‘colour’ cartridge, even if it’s not being selected for use, thus requiring replacement when one colour is depleted.
Additionally, much of the ink in a cartridge can be wasted when the printer is running maintenance cycles, which typically require the printing of a page or two of text and images, according to Consumer Reports.
Printer manufacturers invest a lot in ensuring that third-party ink manufacturers do not make and sell after-market ink or do ink refills by embedding microchips in the ink cartridges that come with the printer. Or with brand-name ink cartridges.
These microchips, embedded ostensibly to ensure the quality of print and track when ink levels are running low, prevent compatible after-market third-party ink and cartridges from working on the printer.
Ink subscriptions
While ink subscriptions, like the HP Instant Ink subscription plan, can be convenient and can help users avoid being stranded when they suddenly run out of ink, they can also prove to be costly in the long run, as that’s how most manufacturers make their money.
Signing up for the subscription program ensures new ink is mailed or available whenever a user is running low. For users who print regularly, this could even be a great convenience and even a money saver, as long as the user stays within a prepaid monthly allotment of pages printed.
The scary downside, especially for irregular users, might be steep. As it’s a subscription, a user pays whether they use it or not. Additionally, since manufacturers have to remotely monitor printer usage and ink levels, missed payments might even cause the printer to lose the ability to print. This sort of makes the manufacturer the owner of the printer, rather than the user.
Recycled compatible cartridges
While less costly, aftermarket cartridges, which are just old cartridges sent in for recycling, might and do work, though the chips have to be reprogrammed to keep printers rejecting them on a second use. Printer manufacturers prefer to have only costly brand-name cartridges work on the printers and go to great lengths to have their printers reject third-party refills and cartridges.
Compatible after-market cartridges or refill programs can be less than half the cost of brand-name cartridges, with barely a noticeable difference in print quality. Unfortunately, some printers, when they detect compatible but third-party cartridges, can cause the printer to clam up and become unresponsive. This can sometimes be resolved by doing a reset, but it can be an annoying waste of time. Some users have discovered a hack where disabling automatic printer software updates can be a workaround to prevent a printer from rejecting other compatible cartridges.
Additionally, it’s imperative that a user perform due diligence on aftermarket cartridges and refills before purchase and installation, as some can provide significantly inferior print quality or even damage the printer if incorrectly re-manufactured or refilled. One way is to look for customer reviews on such cartridges.
It’s almost always a bad idea to go with the option of a DIY cartridge refill, as it requires a little bit more skill and the necessary tools or equipment for everything to go smoothly.
Ways to conserve ink
Whatever the printer model, maintenance cycles, which do use ink during these tasks, can’t be altered. But these cycles can be reduced in a number of ways:
Leaving the printer powered on all the time avoids triggering the maintenance cycle each time it’s powered on. The power usage of a printer in standby mode is very minimal, so general costs would still be lower.
Printing in draft mode for less critical tasks uses less ink and decreases the cost per page. High-resolution images, especially in bulk, use up the most ink, and depending on volume, it can be several times cheaper to use commercial printing services.
Laser printers: These use toner rather than ink, which is way cheaper, though the upfront cost of a laser printer is definitely higher. For applications that require mostly bulk text and document printing, this would be the most cost-effective option in the long run.
Model options
Some specific printers tend to be cost-effective, though this can be subjective based on a number of factors. They tend to cost more upfront but are significantly cheaper to run and own due to cost-effective refill options. Of course, this can be subjective, as prices tend to fluctuate and uses differ from user to user. Some models include:
While the above are ink tank printers, which are more cost-effective than inkjet printers, a better option would be laser printers that use toner rather than ink.
More Resources:
Medium: Laserjet vs Inkjet Printers
YouTube: AustinMcConnell – Ink Cartridges
Slim Bz Techsystems : Nairobi, Kenya
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