subject: Compatible Printer Cartridges Versus OEM Inkjet Cartridges [print this page] Compatible Printer Cartridges Versus OEM Inkjet Cartridges
Buying inkjet cartridges can present a customer with a straight choice between compatible printer cartridges and OEM ink cartridges. Making the best decision may not be solely based upon cost but knowing what each type has to offer to best suit the individual needs of the buyer.
Buying printer supplies these days often means being faced a bewildering range of printer ink cartridges offered by a great number of well known brand names. The prospective buyer needs to know what their individual printing needs are likely to be in order to make an informed and sensible purchase.
The first hurdle is to understand the difference between compatible printer cartridges and OEM cartridges.
OEM cartridge stands for original equipment manufacturer cartridge and is an original cartridge manufactured by the original brand manufacturer such as HP, Dell, Canon, Lexmark, Epson, Brother, etc, and the printing quality considered the best.
Compatible cartridges are not manufactured by an original manufacturer, which may be remanufactured or new. They work the same way as original OEM cartridge. Their quality of print is the same or even better than the original cartridge.
Generally, OEM cartridges are offered at RRP ( recommended retail price) whilst compatible cartridges are priced at almost one-third or sometimes half the price of the original OEM cartridge. The best possible prices are generally now to be found when buying cheap inkjet cartridges online
However, there are details to look out for. Compatible printer cartridges will print an equal or even more number of pages than an OEM cartridge. This occurs because most of the time, OEM cartridges are not filled to capacity. A compatible cartridge, therefore, offers the customer a two-fold advantage, both reducing the cost per page and per cartridge.
Many high street outlets, superstores and online retailers can offer highly competitive discounts on compatible cartridges as they are not manufactured by the original manufacturer.
Using compatible printer cartridges will not invalidate the warranty of your printer although it has to be said that the cost of buying a printer is now so affordable that when a serious problem occurs outside of warranty, often buying a printer from new is now the norm rather than incurring possible high repair costs.
An additional consideration is that compatible cartridges , being remanufactured, means a longer period of prolonged recycling usage and could help reduce landfill.
