Remanufactured Printer Ink

Remanufactured ink cartridges are ink cartridges that was used by a consumer then refilled by a third party company. The refilled ink cartridge is then marketed for other buyers to use.

These ink cartridges are said to produce results that are at par with OEM branded ink cartridges. OEM stands for “Original Equipment Manufacturer,” and when used in ink cartridges, it pertains to brands like Canon, HP, Epson and other well-known ink and printer companies.

Remanufactured ink cartridges are cheaper options to the branded inks since the latter are known to be expensive. Some OEM branded ink cartridges are priced at a quarter of what a new printer costs that is why more and more users are considering remanufactured inks.

What third party ink refilling companies do is to collect empty or nearly empty ink cartridges. For those with some ink inside, these cartridges are flushed out with a solution to totally empty its contents. The emptied cartridges are thoroughly cleaned then filled with the same type of ink that the particular brand uses. This is to ensure that the quality of ink would be the close to, if not the same, as the OEM brand of the cartridge. A machine that ensures proper pressure and ink flow fills the cartridge to make sure that no leaks would occur when the refilled cartridges are used. Then a test print is done to see the print quality of the ink. Finally, the refilled and tested ink cartridges are given one final check then packaged in boxes for delivery in various office supply stores.

The remanufactured inks in the market is covered by 100% guarantee that promises consumers that they would have the same quality as OEM branded inks. Some would even include a warranty to cover your printer, to assure buyers that using remanufactured cartridges will not damage your printer, contrary to what OEM ink cartridge and printer companies claim.

OEM Vs Remanufactured Ink Cartridges

There are a number of articles on comparison between OEM and remanufactured ink cartridges. Of course, the comparison varies, depending on where the article comes from. If you were looking at a comparison from an OEM branded ink company like HP or Canon, then all attributes would be to make remanufactured inks look like a waste of money. On the other hand, comparison done by remanufactured ink makers would convince you that their product is as good as the OEM branded ones at a fraction of its price.

First things first, why is there a need for remanufactured ink cartridges? OEM branded cartridges often cost an arm and leg. The high cost of these cartridges are said to be justified by the high quality assured by the brand, often branded items are regarded as superior than generic ones. However, for personal or non-essential printing like printing drafts, using OEM branded inks is too expensive. This is the target market of remanufactured ink companies.

Before, most remanufactured inks are refilled by humans, as opposed to branded ones that are assembled by machines in big factories. Nowadays, remanufactured ink companies have invested to machineries to ensure good quality and reduce human errors.

Now as to deciding whether to get remanufactured or OEM branded ink cartridges, buyers are advised to evaluate and to assess their need for their printer matters. For home use or minor office use where the quality of ink is not that critical, then remanufactured ink may suit their needs. However, for a company whose business lies on the printed output, requires high quality and consistency of printouts; then it may not be safe risk their products with remanufactured inks. While remanufactured inks have gone through quality checks before they reach the market, they are still regarded as inconsistent, thus it is not prudent to put your important business forms and other printed matters to risk. Problems that may arise from using remanufactured inks include occasional inferior print quality, smudges and poor color compatibility. This would lead to companies spending more from reprints than what they saved from buying remanufactured ink cartridges.

Print quality

Print quality refers to the overall appearance of the printed output. It is often the gauge of consumers when deciding whether to get remanufactured or stick to OEM replacement inks. Nowadays, majority of ink buyers accept that remanufactured inks have similar print quality as their OEM branded counterparts.

Page Yield

Page Yield pertains to how many pages you can print with just one ink cartridge. Most remanufactured ink cartridges claim that their products may have more ink than the branded ones, hence can produce a higher page yield. To be sure, buyers are advised to check the volume of ink contained in remanufactured cartridges and compare it with the branded ones.

Warranty

Remanufactured cartridges companies often offer warranty with their product as a form of replacement or a full refund should buyers encounter problems with their cartridges. Thus, it makes consumers more enticed to try out these types of inks, thinking that it would be a “win-win” situation for them. They would save from buying a cheaper ink cartridge and in case of defects or problems; they can get their money back!

What makes these companies confident with a money back guarantee is the numerous quality checks and testing that their products have to undergo before shipment, as well as quality certifications that these products have.

Quality testing

As said previously, remanufactured ink cartridges undergo a series of tests to check their quality and performance before shipping. These tests are patterned after OEM ink cartridge companies' standards to ensure that they would be at par with the branded products. However, this does not apply to all remanufactured inks. Quality of remanufactured ink varies from one company to another, thus, buyers are advised to shop around for the best remanufactured ink cartridge that will suit their printing needs.

Environmental concerns

Patronizing remanufactured ink cartridges are said to be a way of helping save the environment since the old cartridges are recycled instead of piling up and adding to our daily trash. The cartridges are made up of non-biodegradable products so recycling, refilling and reusing them decrease plastic trash significantly than buying new OEM cartridges.

Take note that remanufactured cartridges are different from compatible cartridges. The compatible makes use of new plastic molded in cartridges instead of refilling old ones; hence the compatible cartridges contribute to our plastic trash the same way as buying OEM cartridges.

There are 5 main benefits of using remanufactured printer ink cartridges:

Over the years, the properties of remanufactured ink cartridges have greatly improved from the time that this particular trade has been started. Although, most consumers still think that these inks would not surpass the quality of the branded kinds, improvements and stringent quality control in remanufactured ink plants may assure consumers that they are working further to achieve the excellence of branded inks. Knowing these, more consumers will appreciate and support the use of remanufactured ink cartridges, not only

To summarize, the benefits of using remanufactured ink cartridges are as follows:

1. They are far cheaper than OEM ink cartridges, thus consumers will be able to save more money for other important expenses.

2. Most remanufactured ink cartridge companies offer a limited money back guarantee, which convince more buyers who were initially hesitant to try these types of inks. Offering warranties means that the company is confident that there would be no defects or problems encountered by the consumer with their products with normal use.

3. The quality of remanufactured ink cartridges is at par with branded ones, even surpassing the latter.

4. The print quality and page yield of remanufactured inks are comparable with OEM ink cartridges.

5. Using remanufactured inks enable consumers to contribute to waste reduction, thus helps the environment.