Demystified: Original Printer Cartridge Vs Refill Ink

This is an age-long question – should we buy a new ink cartridge or go for a refill? While the companies want us to buy a new one every time the ink cartridge finishes, there are times when going for an alternate method yields better results. There are numerous printer manufacturers present in India. HP is the most popular brand and is leading the Indian market with over 50% market share; Canon is in the second spot with over 20%, followed by Epson and Samsung (Gartner report).

However, what most people do not know is that the printer companies do not make much profit by selling a printer, the real profit lies in the printer ink business. A customer will buy a printer once in three to five years; however, they buy ink cartridges/refills two to three times in a year. The companies’ research extensively to provide customers with best inks and at the same time, try to keep the costs low. The deskjet printer segment has come a long way. If we look back, the inks offered by these companies half a decade ago were quite expensive to acquire. But now things are changing and the companies are offering cheaper yet efficient inks that last for longer.

So, how much does it cost?
The market for refill inks has been quite forceful since a long time. One can get a three colour deskjet refill from places such as Nehru Place in Delhi for as low as Rs 90. Many opt for this because it does not cost much. However, the original inks prices are coming down gradually to lure the customer back to original inks.

HP says they have introduced high yield cartridges priced between Rs 475 and Rs 546. These inks give you over 1,500 pages and do not harm the printers. As a third option, there are Chinese ink tanks available in the market as well. These are not as cheap as the refills but are not as expensive as the original cartridges, they are somewhere in between. However, we do not suggest you go for them as the print results are very poor and in many cases they destroy the printers.

What are the perils of refill ink?
This is by far the most important question one can ask before opting for a refill ink. The bright side of opting for a refill is the price. They are inexpensive, but it does have a set of flaws attached to it. If the cartridge is not refilled by a professional, the ink tank might start leaking in the printer and obliterate it from further use.

Another point one has to consider is that the refill inks will never give you the same results as an original ink cartridge will give you. Even if you print at the best settings it will not be great. At times the cartridge or the printer might just reject the refilled ink cartridge. The printers are programmed to recognise the original and duplicate inks.

Though 95% of the times the printer will let you print with the refilled cartridge, the desktop software will not show the ink levels and other related features. Hence, you will never know when you have to again go for a refill. You will come to know once you start getting a blank print or a print with one missing colour. Talking about which, at times when you go for a refill the printer ends up using one colour more than the other. Again, one cannot track, which ink is low as the software will not show the ink levels.

How many times can I refill the cartridge before buying a new one?
Ideally one can refill the print cartridge three times before throwing it away. The ink cartridges are not built for prolonged use and sometimes a kept original ink also goes bad. Wear and tear sets in after couple of months of use and one can see the chip behind the cartridge going bad. As a result, the printer is not able to detect the ink tank and you will not be able to print.

Verdict
With the prices of original inks coming down drastically users are able to print three to four times the amount of pages they can with a refilled ink. If you look at the costs, refilling a tank four times will still be cheaper than buying one original cartridge. However, one has to look past the costs here. Using an original ink will keep the printer safe and elongates its life. The users will be able to see ink levels and would know when to buy a new one.

But the most important factor here is the print quality. With original inks users can get the best print quality, which is not possible with a refill. Today as opposed to five years ago, going for an original ink makes more sense than going for a refill, as it gives you both safety and quality. If you do not care about the print quality and are one of those who replace the printer every two years, you can go for a refill. But make sure after every two to three refills you buy an original ink cartridge and throw the old one away.