Compare Ink Cartridges

Original Equipment Manufacturer Cartridges

The original company that makes the printers also manufactures these cartridges. These are very reliable and give the best quality of prints. They also give more number of prints. Another advantage is OEM cartridges come with a warranty. Eventually they are actually the most economical especially if quality of prints is your requirement!

A major disadvantage is that OEM cartridges are very expensive because the company claims to invest heavily on special design from the ink to the plastic casing that holds the ink and companies like HP and Lexmark have patented their inks and printheads.

However unless you absolutely require the kind of exceptionally good quality of prints provided by these inks it is advisable you consider buying a compatible or remanufactured cartridge.

Compatible Cartridges

Manufactured by a different company than the original, the companies claim that their products are as reliable as the original and give as good a print quality too most claim to be ISO 9001 certified. They remanufacture the cartridges so that you can replace your ink without needing to buy a branded version. So if your printer is made by Canon and typically uses Canon ink cartridges it is possible to use a Canon compatible cartridge.  The important thing is you save a lot of money as compared to the original almost 50% with these recycled cartridges.

However if this cartridge ruins your printer due to a defect, your printer’s warranty is usually annulled and you have to pay the service and part replacement charges incase you consider repairing your printer.

Remanufactured Cartridges

These are original used, empty cartridges. With remanufactured ink cartridges the old non-working parts are replaced, the cartridge is cleaned and refilled with new ink and thoroughly tested. One advantage here is you get more ink in your cartridge as compared to the original because most OEMs do not fill their cartridge to the total capacity.

They may or may not give optimum results and there is neither warranty nor replacement! Remanufactured or refilled cartridges may fail 70 to 80 percent of the time in their first attempt or they usually do not give as many prints as the original or as promised by the remanufacturing company.  

Refilled Cartridges

When your cartridge runs dry either you can refill it at home using a refill kit, which can be a messy option or ship it to refilling company. Refilling a cartridge at home is done by injecting the liquid into the empty cartridge and using it. Refilling companies claim to have expensive machines that have a reliable refilling procedure. There is a limit to the number of refills with refilled ink cartridges though. Again, there is no reliability where the quality or the number of prints is concerned and it goes without saying you do not get a warranty.