by Alexander Darracott

Created on: July 22, 2011

People choose none genuine ink cartridges because of the cheaper price, but there are problems associated with these cartridges.  Some argue that such cartridges are as good as genuine cartridges if users are willing to experiment with the cartridges and with the quality of printing paper.  However, the problems that have been identified cannot be ignored.

Quality

The quality of none genuine inks are not as good as genuine inks, although the quality can also be attributed to the quality of paper being used.  Cartridges that claim to be universally refilled, meaning that they could work with any printer, are especially questioned in terms of their output quality.  The general advice is to ensure that the ink is compatible with the brand of printer being used. For text printing, there appears to be little difference between the two: this author has had experience of using both types of cartridges, and found very little difference, if any, between the two types.  Both instances involved good quality paper.

For photo printing, however, there appears to be a different story.  Test results have shown that images printed using none genuine cartridges are prone to colour fade, pixilation, grainy appearance and inaccurate proportions of colour. In fact, PC World teamed up with Rochester Institute of Technology to compare the quality of genuine cartridges to the quality of none genuine cartridges.  Their test results shows that the quality of none genuine cartridges is lower than that of a genuine cartridge.  There is, however, an argument presented by commentators that at times the quality of the paper can determine the quality of the output nearly just as much as the quality of the cartridge.

Reliability and integrity

Such printer cartridges are not as reliable as genuine cartridges, as some cartridges claim to run out of ink when there is still some ink left.  Also, there is a chance that the ink might seep out of the cartridges and clog up the print heads, which can lead to the printer needing replacement. Also, the integrity of the ink is low therefore smudges can occur and the ink can run if it comes into contact with water droplets.  Therefore unsuitable for mailing documents such as envelopes.

Manufacturers’ warranty

Ensure that the ink refill packs or the compatible cartridges will work with the printer and will not void the manufacturer’s warranty.  If the printer is damaged in any way and it’s known that the printer was not using either genuine cartridges or recommended compatible cartridges then there is likely not to be any refund or a replacement.

Such cartridges can be useful for some users, but for many they might not be.  It is very important to make sure that the ink being used is compatible with the printer, and to ensure that there are no leaks that could lead to damages and a void warranty.

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