Third Party or Compatible ink December 23, 2005 15:07 by John Sollars

Using Third-Party Ink

One of the questions that frequently comes up is whether or not you should buy ink cartridges and from companies other than your printer manufacturer. Needless to say, when photo prints are involved, it's best to approach both with extreme skepticism.

First, lets identify different types of third-party inks.

Compatible cartridges come in brand-new boxes, often built in China; the same Chinese manufacturer may make cartridges sold under several US or UK brand names.

Remanufactured cartridges are Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) cartridges that are cleaned out, professionally refilled, and put back on sale. For most HP printers, remanufactured cartridges are the sole option because HP cartridges include patented print heads that are illegal for third parties to copy.

Lastly, there are refill kits, containing ink and needles for you to refill your cartridge on your own. Both OEM and third-party cartridge manufacturers proclaim that consumers should stay away from these if they're concerned with quality; professionally remanufactured cartridges are cleaned and sealed in a unique manner that is very difficult to follow at home.

Now, the problem:

On the one hand, printer manufacturers fervently declare how necessary it is to use only their brand when buying ink cartridges. (It’s no secret that cartridges are an important income source for printer manufacturers and vendors. E.g., if you purchase a printer worth £70 and spend £10 once a month on ink cartridges, then within a year you would have spent almost double the amount on ink than on the original printer!)

On the other hand, third-party cartridges provide you with a much less expensive option, but you are unsure of the print quality they’ll give you.

The Truth

Printer manufacturers develop printers, ink, cartridges, paper, and drivers to work together. Differences in ink chemistry can affect the colours you get, and this is far more likely to degrade a photo than enhance it. Differences in the ink's physical properties (such as a change in viscosity) can make a difference in how well the printer controls the drops of ink as they shoot out of the nozzle. Needless to say, this can also significantly affect image quality. Additionally, printers include something known as a ‘service station,’ which cleans the print head as needed. Quite obviously, the service station is designed for the vendor's ink and cannot compensate for differences in third-party inks.

A research done by PC World magazine found that third-party inks can save you money, and some produce prints are at par with the output of printer vendor inks. However, they also encountered third-party inks that produced poor-quality prints and clogged up printheads. They concluded by saying that although prints taken from third-party inks may look fine, none of the clone inks tested came close to matching the permanence of brand-name inks.

Concerning the question of warranty policies of major inkjet printer manufacturers, the mere use of a third-party cartridge does not annul the inkjet printer warranty. However, if the third-party cartridge causes the printer to break down, then this is not covered by the printer warranty. When selecting a generic-ink reseller you should check whether his or her own warranties for the ink products address this situation. Reputable third-party ink sellers usually repair the inkjet printer, but you should always confirm before a purchase.

Following are extracts from printer warranties of Hewlett Packard (HP), Xerox, Canon and Lexmark. Hewlett Packard "The use of a non-HP or refilled toner cartridge alone does not affect either your warranty or any maintenance contract you may have with your printer. However, if an HP LaserJet printer failure or damage is found to be attributable directly to the use of a non-HP toner cartridge, HP will not repair the printer free of charge. In this case, standard time and materials charges will be applied to service your printer for that particular failure or damage."

Xerox "For non-copy cartridge Xerox equipment, the warranty on the equipment will not be void if competitive toner or inks are used. If Xerox determines, however, that such competitive inks or toners are the cause of the equipment malfunction, the customer will be responsible to pay for the service costs including replacement parts."

Canon Neither does Canon prohibit the use of the third-party inks, nor does the use of third-party inks invalidate the product's Limited Warranty. However, Canon's Limited Warranty does not cover any damage caused to Canon's Bubble Jet products which is attributable to the use of third-party parts or supplies, including inks. The Limited Warranty remains in force for its life once that particular damage has been repaired.

Lexmark "Warranty service does not include repair, or exchange when the problem results from accident, disaster, misuse, abuse, non-Lexmark modification (including refilling or remanufacturing), improper storage, malfunctioning equipment or normal wear and tear. Character or page yield is also not covered by warranty service, as it is influenced by customer application, printer contrast settings, operating environment, printer condition and paper type."

The Bottom Line

Finding a reasonably priced substitute for brand-name ink can be a daunting task. Moreover, buying third-party ink online can be frustrating as well since some retailers' Web sites don't identify products by name, only by printer or cartridge compatibility.

If exceptional quality and print longevity aren't of paramount importance, you can save money using no-name inks, but not without spending a lot of time cleaning clogged printheads. Nevertheless, some users may find the savings justify the hassles.

If print quality, especially durability, is a principal concern, then you're better off playing it safe by gritting your teeth and shelling out for brand-name inks.