Photo printers > Discount Ink Cartridge, Toner Cartridge

Discount Ink Cartridge, Toner Cartridge

by: Kwan Lo

Economical and environmental concerns change consumers? buying pattern. Discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges invade the market of OEM cartridges.

Discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges are in great demand these days. Due to the drop in price, many families and small business owners can buy an inkjet / photo printer for under $100 and a discount laser printer for under $200. Increased number of printer ownership means that there is a larger aftermarket for printing supplies.

Nevertheless, consumers who bought a cheap printer would soon find out that their spending did not end there, but rather have just begun. For examples, many OEM laser toners are selling at $100 a piece, the same price of an inkjet printer or one-half of that for a discount laser printer. A family who print a lot of color photos with their photo printer can easily spend more than $100 on OEM ink cartridges in several months. Think about this, it is absurd that one would spend more on replacement cartridges than on the printer itself in such a short period of time. As a result, many consumers are looking for economical alternatives to expensive OEM cartridges.

There are two main groups of discount ink cartridges and toner cartridges in the market these days: compatible cartridges and remanufactured cartridges. Compatible cartridges are also called generic cartridges. They are manufactured with the same specification of name brand cartridges but without the brand name. These cartridges are offered at one-half or one-third of the price of OEM cartridges.

On the other hand, remanufactured cartridges are name brand cartridges which have been through one cycle of service. They are usually disassembled, cleaned, repaired and refilled before releasing to the market again. Consumers who buy remanufactured cartridges are not only concerned about the price, but their benefit to the environment as well. One consumer was quoted saying ?I buy the remanufactured cartridges because it is good for the environment. The lower price is just a bonus?.

It is a well known fact that printer manufacturers cut price in printers but maintain a very high profit margin from cartridge sales. Instead of lowering the price of OEM cartridges to make them more competitive, they use different tactics to ban the use of compatible and remanufactured cartridges from third-party manufacturers. For examples, printer manufacturers may install software in your computer that warns you of the use of compatible cartridges as if they could damage your printers. Some manufacturers incorporate smart chips into their cartridges so that consumers cannot refill or recycle their cartridges. Others have sued the third-party manufacturers of printer cartridges or smart chips claiming that they have violated patent technology.

Consumer advocates have pointed that that these tactics only serve to protect the profits of printer manufacturers but provide no benefits to the consumers at all. In fact, consumers should have the freedom to choose the replacement cartridges they use.

There are many compatible and remanufactured cartridges in the market today. Be a smart consumer, you should always compare an apple with an apple. For example, some manufacturers produce compatible cartridges without the smart chips. These cartridges are usually cheaper than 100% compatible cartridges with new replacement chips. However, compatible cartridge without new replacement chip may have problem communicating with the computer as the latter would think that the cartridge is always low in ink. It is also wise to shop only with vendors who can provide a good refund policy and extended warranty.

To learn more about different types of printer cartridges and to see if they are available for your printer model, please visit http://inkjets.4reviews.net/.

About The Author

Kwan H Lo is the owner of http://inkjets.4reviews.net, an online review site promoting high quality discount ink and toner cartridges.

How does your printer work?

by: John Sollars

Most people have used printers at some stage for printing documents but few are aware of how it works. Printed documents are arguably the best way to save data. There are two types of basic printers Impact and Non-impact.

Impact printers, as the very name implies means that the printing mechanism touches the paper for creating an image. Impact printers were used in early 70s and 80s. In Dot Matrix printers a series of small pins is used to strike on a ribbon coated with ink to transfer the image on the paper.

Other Impact Printers like Character printers are basically computerized typewriters. They have a series of bars or a ball with actual characters on them, which strike on the ink ribbon to transfer the characters on the paper. At a time only one character can be printed. Daisy Wheel printers use a plastic or metal wheel. These types of printers have limited usage though because they are limited...

How does your printer work?

Photo printers > How does your printer work?

Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

A piece of advice for printer shoppers out there. Have a good look at the spec of the one you are choosing. You do not know it but you may be buying a LED printer instead of a laser one.

Laser and LED (Light Emitting Diode) printers have co-existed for some time now. In fact, most users are not able to distinguish between the print qualities of these two. Because of the closeness, stores and even web sites are categorizing LED printers as laser printers.

However, there are some inherent differences between the two.

When using a laser printer. Laser printers have a revolving cylinder, called a drum that is given a positive electrical charge. When you send an image of a document or a picture to the printer from your computer, the printer uses a low level laser beam to "draw" the image on the drum using a negative electrical charge.

As the drum revolves, it passes...

Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

Photo printers > Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

Create Flash Slide Show from Your Photos

Create Flash Slide Show from Your Photos

by: Lisa Janice

Wondering how to surprise your wife for her birthday or your anniversary?

How does a Flash animation of all of her favorite photos, complete with a musical background sound?

Flash SlideShow Builder (developed by Wondershare) is a fun and easy-to-use utility to create stunning Flash slideshows, complete with music, text, photo motion & transition effects and many selection album templates. With this slideshow software, you can take your favorite digital photos, and easily turn them into amazing Flash photo album in minutes to share your special memories with your friends and family.

There are many benefits for you to create a great presentation that can be cherished over and over again.

1. Create Stunning Flash Slideshows

You may have taken a lot of digital photos of different occasions with your digital camera. Looking at the still photos is fun already, why don't...

Create Flash Slide Show from Your Photos

Photo printers > Create Flash Slide Show from Your Photos

To Use or Not To Use Posters

To Use or Not To Use Posters

by: Viojieley Gurrobat

Posters have been used since the 19th century to advertise new products. Since then the use of posters as promotional materials for opera shows and any major events have been widespread. Today, aside from being great advertising materials they are also used to communicate messages or announce any upcoming events.

For any business enterprise, posters are a great help in marketing a product or service. Aside from offering large visual image, posters are also an excellent means of information that is apt for introducing your products and services. The different formats available in poster printing allow them to be used in large or small scale and for indoor or outdoor campaigns.

But increasing profit means increasing sales through less spending. But you are probably wondering, doesn?t poster printing cost much? They used to. But with the combination of hardware and software automation,...

To Use or Not To Use Posters

Photo printers > To Use or Not To Use Posters

Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

A piece of advice for printer shoppers out there. Have a good look at the spec of the one you are choosing. You do not know it but you may be buying a LED printer instead of a laser one.

However, there are some inherent differences between the two.

As the drum revolves, it passes...

Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers

Photo printers > Distinguishing Laser from LED Printers