What are Remanufactured Ink Cartridges: Costs and Benefits

Sometimes owning a printer can be pretty hectic. Even the most basic functions, like monitoring your printer’s ink levels, can be very demanding, so they can also be very expensive sometimes. Furthermore, the cost of managing and running a printer depends on the type of printer. 

There are many components and elements in the printer that can make it costly. One of the components that resulted in the price hike is the “Ink.” Printer inks can get very expensive. The whole printer business works on a razor-and-blade business model. 

The razor-and-blade is one in which the price of the main good is kept low and is sold at a loss, but the spare parts that are going to be used with it are sold with a heavy margin.

As we told you, printer cartridges can be really expensive due to the razor-blade strategy. However, there are remanufactured or refurbished ink cartridges that you can adapt to reduce the cost of printers. Let us proceed to the next section to learn more about them.

Remanufactured vs. OEM vs. Compatible Printer Inks

The cartridges are one of the most crucial components of the printer. These inks, if bought from the original manufacturers like HP, Canon, Brother, etc., cost like a diamond. Therefore, some alternatives are available in the market at a lower price point.

OEM Inks	Remanufactured Inks	Compatible Inks
OEM ink cartridges are manufactured exclusively by the original manufacturers. These cartridges are very expensive because of their high standard manufacturing standards.	Remanufactured or refurbished ink cartridges are locally manufactured cartridges. As you can tell by the name, some manufacturing plants locally produce these inks.	Compatible inks are third-party manufactured inks. They can be considered an option that lies somewhere between OEMs and remanufactured ink cartridges. Compatible ones are manufactured separately, unlike remanufactured ones.
They are manufactured with high-precision technology. First-rate raw materials are used in their production.	Despite their local fabrication, modern producers are using modern and reliable technologies. Various quality assurances are done for refurbished ink too.	In many printer users’ opinions, these inks perform better than refurbished inks. The key difference between these two is, in refurbished ink cartridges are basically recycled from the original ones, while compatible ink cartridges are freshly made from square ones that can fit in any printer.
All the quality checks are performed with the cartridge to confirm that there is no leak from the cartridge, the color balance and contrast of the ink, any damage in the body of the cartridge, etc.,	The refurbished ink cartridge has to pass several scrutinies. QAs (quality assurance) like abrasion tests and viscosity tests get terminated with the final product.	Compatible inks that are so similar that they are also known as generic versions of the OEM. These inks also go through several scrutinizing processes to maintain their quality.

You May Also Want to Know: In the abrasion test, the durability of printed inks is examined by rubbing and scrubbing. Printed samples are rubbed together to scrutinize the durability of the ink on the paper.Viscosity Tests: Viscosity tests examine how the ink reacts on the surface in terms of drying up. The viscosity tests are done by rotational methods and through the cups.

This was a basic introduction to all kinds of options that can be spotted in the market. Nowadays, it has become very difficult to differentiate between OEM or named inks and remanufactured ink cartridges. Thanks to modern technologies and quality standards maintained by the manufacturers. Now it’s time to discuss the pros and cons of remanufactured ink cartridges.

Remanufactured Ink Cartridges: Pros and Cons

In this section, there will be some brief information about the pros and cons of remanufactured or refurb ink cartridges.

Pros	Cons
These cartridges are 50% – 70% cheaper than the original ones.	These cartridges are manufactured locally and not officially by the manufacturer. Hence, there is a sense of doubt about the quality.
The inks come with good print quality.	This Pro is the con as well. It comes with good print quality but not as good as the original one.
Made from the recycling method.	—
Reduce the printing cost if compared with the use of original ones.	—

As you can see in the table, the cons are not much of a dealbreaker. However, these were some points that needed to be disclosed. Everything has its own issues and advantages, and so do these third-party cartridges. However, that does not mean that these issues can be neglected. Therefore, in this next section, we will confer some issues with aftermarket ink cartridges.

Common Queries with Remanufactured Ink Cartridges

Nothing in this world has ever been made perfectly; everything that exists or is invented carries its own costs and benefits. Likewise, these aftermarket products also carry some issues of their own. Let’s take a look at them: 

1. Reliability Issues

The first thing that comes to everybody’s mind after they hear the word “Remanufactured” or “Refurbished” is if there is any reliability issue involved.
This is a common concern that almost every printer owner has in mind. Well, the point is subjective for everyone. Some owners are satisfied with the fact that the price is less than half of the original one. 

We suggest that you perform some brief research from your side to satisfy each and every doubt that you are facing. However, there are some points that you should remember about these aftermarket inks.

These inks are made from multiple cycles of the recycling process. That means you never know how many times your cartridge has been recycled or how well the colors will come out.

We recommend you thoroughly check for any physical damage to the cartridge. Any physical damage to your ink cartridge may lead to leakage.

2. Page Yield

Page Yield is a unit that measures how many pages can be printed by one cartridge. Some users argue that the remanufactured ink cartridges are not made through a standardized process, which is why they are not efficient enough.

In reply to this statement, these cartridges go through multiple rounds of examination to match the caliber of the OEMs. These cartridges are tested against the industry standards, which are IOS/IEC 247-12. 

However, it is also true that they go through multiple cycles of the recycling process, which eventually lowers the quality and vibrancy of the colors. That is why we suggest you go with a well-reputed dealer of remanufactured ink cartridges.

3. Voids Warranty
Another issue that is raised by consumers is that these aftermarket cartridges void the warranty. If you ask for a one-word answer, then it is “no.”

There is no place where it is mentioned that refurbished printer inks void your printer’s warranty. For a fact, it is true that printer manufacturers like HP, Canon, etc. don’t like this practice of recycling their cartridges, as it clearly cuts through their potential profits, but there is no such rule that allows them to terminate the warranty period just because of the use of remanufactured ink.

Though there are some ways in which these printer brands avoid the use of recycled ink in their printers, That we will tell you in the next point.

4. Smart Chip Incompatible
The major issue and probably a user’s worst nightmare is the smart chip technology. Printer manufacturers install a smart chip in their OEMs to their originally manufactured cartridges to avoid the use of third-party ink in their machines.

That is why remanufacturers look for the original shell of the inks to get the chip installed in them. But cunning printer companies have introduced one more hurdle for them. The smart chips installed in the cartridges can be used only once.

The printer indicates and warns the user that the installed cartridge is a third-party product that can result in a lower user experience and may give wrong ink level readings.

This is a list of some major concerns that a user faces while opting for a refurbished or remanufactured product. Most of the time, the main factor that affects the decision is the price.

The price gap of 50-70% between the original and aftermarket concludes the decision. These issues in the list mentioned above do not contribute much to the final answer. 

But we have good news for you. There is one more way to save money on ink cartridges, i.e., an ink refill kit, that might already be on your next purchase list. Have you ever heard of it before? If not, follow the next section of the article.

Ink Refill Kit

Ink refill kits are available in many e-commerce stores, so you can check printer ink levels and refill them on your own. These are much more viable and budget-friendly alternatives to the OEM. The ink refill kits consist of 4 color bottles, one syringe, a pair of gloves, and a cartridge holder. 

A few easy steps to refill your cartridge

The ink refill can be done in a few easy steps:

1. Take your empty cartridge and find a hole in the back of the body. 

   

    
2. Fill up your syringe with the colored ink from the bottle. Insert the needle into the hole.

   

3. Inject the ink into the cartridge.

See, this is how simple it is to refill your ink cartridge. This was a brief introduction to the product. If you have reached this point, we hope you are now aware of almost every fact you need to know.

Closure

In the end, we can conclude that buying remanufactured ink cartridges is not a bad option. Keeping some points in mind, this can be a good option to save your hard-earned money. 

We hope that by reading this article, we might have cleared up the dilemma in your mind. Now you know the pros and cons, the difference between OEM, compatible, and remanufactured inks, and the common queries associated with them.

If you have a budget and prioritize quality over quantity, you can go for the original ones. On the other hand, if you are a professional and the volume of prints is high, going for the aftermarket inks would be a better option for you.

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