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Cheap Ink Cartridges: Does Your Printer Use Them?

When you purchase a printer, you probably do not give much thought as to whether cheap ink cartridges will fit that printer. After all, the printer comes with a set of color and black and white ink cartridges and, like most people, you aren't looking months into the future when you need to buy fresh ink supplies.

There is a real trend in inkjet printer marketing these days to sell printers at really low prices but sell expensive ink cartridges to replace the ones you have completely used. This means that a really low printer price, when averaged with the cost of the ink over time may not be a very good deal at all.

There are cheap ink cartridges which fit top-quality inkjet printers and you should do 'reverse shopping' when it comes to buying printing hardware for your home or small office. Let's say you have a choice between two printers of equal capability. One retails for $59.95 while the other sells for $89.99. If the ink refill for the $59.95 printer costs $45 dollars for a set of color and black and white ink cartridges while the printer which sells for $89.99 will accept cheap ink cartridges which cost only $12.99 each for color and black and white, you are far, far better off to pay slightly more for the printer that uses the inexpensive ink refills.

When you think of cheap ink cartridges, you may associate that term with inferior products. With ink refill products, this is not the case. Even name brand refills have a wide range of prices. After market remanufactured products cost even less. Some ink cartridges can even be refilled at home using an ink refill kit.

All too many people have fallen into the problematic situation of buying a printer from someone who posted it on eBay for pennies. If, however, they failed to obtain prices for the ink cartridges and find out how cheap or expensive they are, they may experience a bad case of sticker shock once they go to the office supply or super store to purchase ink. Even when ordering online, cartridges for some printers are much cheaper than for other printers.

Make your printer shopping a two-step process. First, look for a printer that has all the capabilities you need and that produces the quality output you desire. But don't pull out your checkbook or credit card yet. Shop for ink for that printer. If there are cheap ink cartridges available that fit the printer you want, then you are making a good choice for a printer that you can afford to live with for a long time. If, on the other hand, you find the ink refills are expensive and you'll become annoyed at the price each time you must purchase a cartridge, keep shopping. There are lots of printers out there that are affordable which accept cheap ink cartridges and you'll be much happier with your purchase.

About the Author

Mr James has owned The Cartridge Specialists (Melbourne) since 2004 selling ink, toner, fax rolls etc & regularly writes articles about his industry

Author Profile: ajames

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