Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)
This seems to sum it all up! Of course the card carrying members of the
AfterMarket Club will not agree with most of what is said here. 🙂
We found that third-party inks can save you money, and that some produce
prints on a par with the output of printer vendor inks. But we also
encountered third-party inks that produced poor-quality prints and
clogged up printheads. The impact of generic inks on printer warranties
is ambiguous. And if you frequently print photographs, you should steer
clear of these inks: The prints might look fine, but Wilhelm reported
that none of the clone inks he tested came close to matching the
permanence of brand-name inks.
Third-party vendors have already grabbed more than 16 percent of
cartridge sales, Forrest says, and that percentage is growing. Printer
vendors contend that third-party inks can cause myriad problems--some of
which, they say, may surface only after prolonged use of the
generics--ranging from poor print quality and durability to printer
damage. Third-party vendors counter that printer companies simply want
to scare consumers out of straying from the branded inks, which the
third-parties claim are overpriced in order to subsidize the
artificially inexpensive printers.
In general, most of the third-party inks printed text on plain paper as
decently as the printer manufacturers' cartridges did . Results weren't
as good for high-resolution shots on the printer vendors' long-lasting
photo papers, but four out of the nine aftermarket brands we
tested--Amazon Imaging's ink for the Canon, G&G's ink for the Epson, and
Carrot Ink's cartridge and InkTec's cartridge-refill kit for the
HP--yielded prints of comparable quality to those made with printer
manufacturer inks. Of the clones, only the OA100 inks for the Canon
produced photos significantly worse than those made with a brand-name ink.
But some inks, even those that made good-looking pictures, didn't always
work well. All three aftermarket black inks for the Epson C82--OA100
(purchased from PrintPal <http://www.printpal.com/welcome.html>), G&G
(from Computer Friends <http://www.cfriends.com/>), and the no-name ink
whose package had only a rainbow logo (also from Computer
Friends)--plugged up the printhead nozzles so quickly and consistently
that we had to abort some of our tests. But the color inks from these
three companies all worked well in the Epson printer. (We bought a
fourth brand of aftermarket ink, Print-Rite, for the C82 but dropped it
from our tests, as the printer wouldn't install any of the cartridges.)
Clogs and Messes
Several OA100 cartridges purchased from PrintPal, most notably the black
and cyan, frequently plugged the nozzles on the Canon S900's printhead,
causing wide blank stripes in documents.
The HP DeskJet 3820's cartridges integrate the printhead and ink supply
in one unit that can't be replicated legally, so third-party vendors
simply refill used 3820 cartridges. A Printek cartridge we bought from
PrintPal had no ink in the magenta tank, but we were able to complete
our quality and yield tests with other cartridges. Wilhelm was unable to
print all four colors satisfactorily with any of the Printek cartridges
from PrintPal, but was able to test the same brand of cartridges from
another vendor, Top Inkjet <http://www.topinkjet.com/>.
We also tried refilling our own HP cartridges with an InkTec kit that we
bought from Print Country <http://www.printcountry.com/>. What a mess!
It dripped ink everywhere, but when we finally refilled our cartridges
the ink made decent-quality prints. At Wilhelm Imaging Research,
however, the prints produced using the kit were so poor in quality that
Wilhelm did not test them for permanence.
And it was in permanence that third-party inks fell short.
Do-it-yourself refill kits offer the greatest savings, if you're willing
to brave the messy refill process
Often, aftermarket retailers buy prepackaged inks from
manufacturers--many of them in China--which makes it difficult for the
retailers to know exactly what they're getting. But some third-party ink
companies do exercise direct control over their products. Gary Miller,
Amazon Imaging's sales vice president, says his company makes its inks
and uses cartridges made of polypropylene, a high-quality material that
printer vendors use, instead of cheaper plastics that can damage the ink
if it's stored for several months.
*********************************************************************************************
Buying third-party ink online can be frustrating. Some retailers' Web
sites don't identify products by name, only by printer or cartridge
compatibility, so getting a steady supply of an ink you like can be a
challenge. Computer Friends, whose generic inks are unidentified on its
Web site, sent us G&G ink to fill most of our initial order for Epson
C82-compatible ink but completed the order later with a different brand.
*********************************************************************************************
Worth the Risks?
In the meantime, judging from our experience, finding a reasonably
priced substitute for brand-name ink can be a risky business. If top
quality and print longevity aren't of paramount importance, you can save
money using no-name inks--but you may have to spend a lot of time
cleaning clogged printheads. Still, some users may find the savings
justify the hassles.
If print quality--and especially durability--are a top concern, however,
you're better off playing it safe by gritting your teeth and shelling
out for brand-name inks.
This seems to sum it all up! Of course the card carrying members of the
AfterMarket Club will not agree with most of what is said here. 🙂
We found that third-party inks can save you money, and that some produce
prints on a par with the output of printer vendor inks. But we also
encountered third-party inks that produced poor-quality prints and
clogged up printheads. The impact of generic inks on printer warranties
is ambiguous. And if you frequently print photographs, you should steer
clear of these inks: The prints might look fine, but Wilhelm reported
that none of the clone inks he tested came close to matching the
permanence of brand-name inks.
Third-party vendors have already grabbed more than 16 percent of
cartridge sales, Forrest says, and that percentage is growing. Printer
vendors contend that third-party inks can cause myriad problems--some of
which, they say, may surface only after prolonged use of the
generics--ranging from poor print quality and durability to printer
damage. Third-party vendors counter that printer companies simply want
to scare consumers out of straying from the branded inks, which the
third-parties claim are overpriced in order to subsidize the
artificially inexpensive printers.
In general, most of the third-party inks printed text on plain paper as
decently as the printer manufacturers' cartridges did . Results weren't
as good for high-resolution shots on the printer vendors' long-lasting
photo papers, but four out of the nine aftermarket brands we
tested--Amazon Imaging's ink for the Canon, G&G's ink for the Epson, and
Carrot Ink's cartridge and InkTec's cartridge-refill kit for the
HP--yielded prints of comparable quality to those made with printer
manufacturer inks. Of the clones, only the OA100 inks for the Canon
produced photos significantly worse than those made with a brand-name ink.
But some inks, even those that made good-looking pictures, didn't always
work well. All three aftermarket black inks for the Epson C82--OA100
(purchased from PrintPal <http://www.printpal.com/welcome.html>), G&G
(from Computer Friends <http://www.cfriends.com/>), and the no-name ink
whose package had only a rainbow logo (also from Computer
Friends)--plugged up the printhead nozzles so quickly and consistently
that we had to abort some of our tests. But the color inks from these
three companies all worked well in the Epson printer. (We bought a
fourth brand of aftermarket ink, Print-Rite, for the C82 but dropped it
from our tests, as the printer wouldn't install any of the cartridges.)
Clogs and Messes
Several OA100 cartridges purchased from PrintPal, most notably the black
and cyan, frequently plugged the nozzles on the Canon S900's printhead,
causing wide blank stripes in documents.
The HP DeskJet 3820's cartridges integrate the printhead and ink supply
in one unit that can't be replicated legally, so third-party vendors
simply refill used 3820 cartridges. A Printek cartridge we bought from
PrintPal had no ink in the magenta tank, but we were able to complete
our quality and yield tests with other cartridges. Wilhelm was unable to
print all four colors satisfactorily with any of the Printek cartridges
from PrintPal, but was able to test the same brand of cartridges from
another vendor, Top Inkjet <http://www.topinkjet.com/>.
We also tried refilling our own HP cartridges with an InkTec kit that we
bought from Print Country <http://www.printcountry.com/>. What a mess!
It dripped ink everywhere, but when we finally refilled our cartridges
the ink made decent-quality prints. At Wilhelm Imaging Research,
however, the prints produced using the kit were so poor in quality that
Wilhelm did not test them for permanence.
And it was in permanence that third-party inks fell short.
Do-it-yourself refill kits offer the greatest savings, if you're willing
to brave the messy refill process
Often, aftermarket retailers buy prepackaged inks from
manufacturers--many of them in China--which makes it difficult for the
retailers to know exactly what they're getting. But some third-party ink
companies do exercise direct control over their products. Gary Miller,
Amazon Imaging's sales vice president, says his company makes its inks
and uses cartridges made of polypropylene, a high-quality material that
printer vendors use, instead of cheaper plastics that can damage the ink
if it's stored for several months.
*********************************************************************************************
Buying third-party ink online can be frustrating. Some retailers' Web
sites don't identify products by name, only by printer or cartridge
compatibility, so getting a steady supply of an ink you like can be a
challenge. Computer Friends, whose generic inks are unidentified on its
Web site, sent us G&G ink to fill most of our initial order for Epson
C82-compatible ink but completed the order later with a different brand.
*********************************************************************************************
Worth the Risks?
In the meantime, judging from our experience, finding a reasonably
priced substitute for brand-name ink can be a risky business. If top
quality and print longevity aren't of paramount importance, you can save
money using no-name inks--but you may have to spend a lot of time
cleaning clogged printheads. Still, some users may find the savings
justify the hassles.
If print quality--and especially durability--are a top concern, however,
you're better off playing it safe by gritting your teeth and shelling
out for brand-name inks.
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