Printer Ink

Best printer ink and cartridges

You can read more below about the relationship between a manufacturer's printer hardware, ink cartridges and paper, and how the work together. But in short, the majority of reviewers say you'll get the best quality if you stick with OEM printer ink and paper. This is especially true if you are printing photographs. However, if you aren't picky, or aren't generally printing critical documents, most experts say some third-party inks are just fine and they are certainly less expensive.

In every test, reviewers were able to identify third-party inkjet printer inks that produced prints that looked just as good as printouts with OEM inks from Canon, HP and Epson. In some cases, panels of viewers thought the prints made with third-party inks looked better. Yet, most reviewers are reluctant to recommend third-party inks because of the risks. In most cases, if printer damage is caused by third-party inks, the manufacturer won't be liable for repair to your printer, even if it is under warranty. Fraud is also a concern. While reviewers say most third-party cartridges work fine, most reviewers also experienced occasional problems with some cartridges that either wouldn't fit into the printer or wouldn't print.

Reviewer tests reveal two indisputable advantages to OEM cartridges: they are more reliable and prints will last longer. Reviewers cite chronic difficulties with third-party ink. In many cases, testers had to run the printer's cleaning utility before getting them to work. Printers actually use ink in the cleaning process, so wasted ink is one of the reasons why third-party inks can be as expensive as OEM ink on a cost-per-page basis. HP and Lexmark cartridges have built-in print heads. They will build up ink with repeated refilling, and quality will deteriorate, or the printer won't print. Print heads in Epson and Canon printers are below the cartridges. If they become gummed with ink, the printer will require service. The reliability issue with aftermarket ink is perhaps the biggest benefit of OEM cartridges from Canon, HP, Lexmark and Epson.

According to Wilhelm Imaging Research and other reviewers, if you are primarily printing photos, select the OEM cartridge. The big three manufacturers (HP, Canon and Epson) all make archival inks for their middle and higher-end photo printers. Epson's UltraChrome K3 inks, HP's Vivera inks and Canon's ChromaLife inks are all rated to last nearly 100 years or more without fading.

Third-party inks are not made to endure. One Wilhelm test shows that photo-paper prints made with Island Ink-Jet's Canon-compatible cartridges, as well as HP cartridges refilled with Office Depot and Staples inks, only last a few months before changing quality. Wilhelm's comprehensive tests evaluate photos in real conditions, including under glass (framed) and in photo albums. After a 2006 study, Henry Wilhelm concludes, "If one includes print permanence as an important aspect of ‘overall product quality,' then the aftermarket photo inks and media we looked at in this study fall far short indeed."

However, if you're not printing photos and aren't concerned about longevity, third-party printer ink is often just fine. But costs savings often aren't dramatic. Consumer Reports attempts to calculate print costs and compare differences. Editors cite surprisingly small differences. Off-brand inks only offer small savings, they say. In an older test, PC World reached the same conclusion.

Because reviewers are all testing printer ink with different printer models, it's hard to make sweeping judgments about which third-party printer ink works best in the most printers. In tests at TrustedReviews.com, Cartridge World inks produce the highest average scores, so Cartridge World ink stands as the best all around alternative to OEM ink. However, reviewer Simon Williams reports that prints with OEM ink fared nearly as well with the testing panel.

Neither Which? nor PC World test Cartridge World inks. The brand performs well in all other review tests. Reviews indicate that its HP ink is very good and Cartridge World ink is a viable alternative for all printer brands. Cartridge World is a franchise operation with more than 400 stores in the U.S. Cartridge World does not sell ink online, but the Cartridge World website includes a store locator. This company refills empty OEM cartridges, re-selling them as remanufactured ink cartridges. We found little consumer commentary about Cartridge World, which is probably good news, considering the size of the operation. We found a couple of articles that recommend Cartridge World on price alone, which are lower than OEM brands, and lower than store-branded printer ink from Staples and other office supply chains.

Caboodle Cartridge is a smaller franchise operation with about 60 locations. We found no reviews of Caboodle Cartridge ink, and again, few customer opinions or reactions. Caboodle guarantees its cartridges won't damage your printer, however.

CarrotInk.com ink cartridges perform particularly well in reviewer tests. Carrot Ink is an online ink cartridge dealer based in Texas. The company earns a very favorable review from Gizmo Richards' Tech Support Alert, a technology blog. Ian Richards likes the website and policies, except he would like to see free shipping, which is sometimes offered by competitors. He has little to say about print quality, however.

In PC World's older test, Carrot Ink cartridges produced output that was comparable to HP cartridge print quality. In his ViewOnline.com review, Todd Hewey concludes that Carrot Ink cartridges are the best value, producing nearly equal quality to HP cartridges. In a newer test, prints from Carrot Ink cartridges nearly equal the quality from Epson cartridges in an Epson photo printer. Carrot Ink inks produce at least good results in all reviewer tests.

Carrot Ink claims it has a 100% satisfaction guarantee and "no-questions-asked" return policy. One study cites cost savings of 10 to 15 percent with Carrot Ink cartridges over OEM ink cartridges.

PrintPal.net is controversial as a business. The company's printer ink quality draws mixed reviews, performing very well in some tests. However, a high percentage of customers express a variety of complaints. At ResellerRatings.com, several customers accuse PrintPal of fraud and we found disgruntled customers in other forums as well.

The three national office supply chains all offer their own brand of ink, either in cartridges or as refills. Consumer Reports is the only source to provide a formal review. Ink from all three chains is tested and they were competitive with OEM inks in some cases, but not others. In cases where photo quality matched OEM ink photo quality, editors say that the store-brand inks produce inferior text quality. Staples, Office Depot and Office Max all sell their house brand cartridges online. Each chain has recycling policies as well.

Although we found no other full reviews, user reaction to the store-brand inks is predominantly negative. Without meaningful documentation, other reviewers think the store brands are a poor value. For example, Neil Slade says, "Cheap ink sold in places like Office Depot [and] Staples… is not good at all." He says color quality is inferior. Instead, Slade uses G&G ink in Canon printers. Slade concedes that Canon ink is slightly better, but he believes G&G ink is a much better value.

G&G ink also produce good results with an Epson printer in PC World's 2003 test. G&G ink is produced by a Chinese company, Ninestar Technology. It is one of the companies sued by both HP and Epson for patent infringement and may have recently changed its ink formulations. The company has appealed a ruling in favor of Epson. Customer reviews of G&G ink at Amazon.com and elsewhere are mostly unfavorable.

In summary, most reviews say that although they are more expensive, you can expect the best reliability and quality from OEM ink. However, if you use large quantities of ink, or aren't that concerned with print longevity, third-party ink cartridges from Cartridge World or Carrot Ink get more consistently good ratings in testing and are less expensive than OEM ink cartridges from Canon, Epson or HP.

New Kodak printers with cheap ink

The printer market has long been dominated by Hewlett-Packard. The company still sells almost half of all inkjet printers. Epson and Canon claim much of the remaining market share. Lexmark, a budget brand that debuted in the 1990s, now has a double-digit market share. Other experienced technology companies have been unable to successfully compete with these three. However, Kodak is using cheap ink as the sales strategy for a line of inkjet printers introduced earlier this year. Prices for its black cartridges (*est. $10) and color cartridges (*est. $15) significantly undercut the competition, and rival prices, at CarrotInk.com and Cartridge World.

The Kodak EasyShare 5300 (*est. $150) multifunction device is widely reviewed. PC World's Danny Allen says the Kodak 5300 is expensive to buy, but as cheap to use as Kodak claims. However, printing at the maximum quality more than doubles the cost per print. Allen says print quality is pretty good.

Popular Photography's executive technology editor Michael McNamara says Kodak's claim of 4 x 6-inch color prints at 10¢ each is hyperbole. For low-quality prints, he reports the cost is about 11.5¢ each. That's still considerably cheaper than competing printers, but he doesn't see the value. McNamara says using the more expensive Kodak paper to get "lab quality" raises the cost to more than 35¢ per photo, which matches what Allen reports in PC World's review.

McNamara compares the Kodak EasyShare 5300 with comparably priced printers from Epson, HP and Canon, and concludes that the Epson Stylus Photo RX580 (*est. $155) produces the best print quality and is the best value. The Kodak is not particularly competitive with other comparably priced printers in any area.

HP now offers multiple cartridge options for most of its inkjet printers. The company has introduced Standard, Value and Specialty inkjet cartridges. The Wall Street Journal reports that new, cheaper printer cartridges from HP, Kodak and others aren't really cheaper, they're just smaller, so it's worth comparing the actual amount of ink.

Issues with manufacturers and cartridges

Cartridges made by (or for) the printer manufacturers are expensive. They are also proprietary and technologically complex. Cartridges contain electronics to communicate with the printer and the printer driver (the software that enables your computer and printer to communicate). In a paper for The Society for Imaging Science and Technology, Hue Le says, "Ink chemistry and formulations not only dictate the quality of the printed image, but they also determine the drop ejection characteristics and the reliability of the printing system." Additionally, manufacturers work to match printer ink characteristics to specific papers. Simon Williams of TrustedReviews.com explains, "Most papers are built up from several different layers of material, some of which absorb ink, some prevent it [from] spreading and others maintain the gloss in a photo print."

The three-part system of printer, ink and paper hasn't been successfully cloned, according to reviewer tests. Even people who think prints with alternative inks are equal to or better than prints from OEM inks agree that the prints look different.

Printer manufacturers have been fighting aftermarket ink in several ways. HP, Canon and Epson have been filing patent infringement lawsuits all over the world. So far, they have been completely successful. Suits are resulting in settlements in which the aftermarket ink producer agrees to change or cease what it is doing. This is an indication that these companies have created products that are at least very similar to the original ink cartridges.

As independent ink manufacturers are regularly and gradually being forced to change their ink formulations, your past experience with a particular brand of aftermarket cartridge or ink may vary from your future experience. Print-Rite, a major aftermarket brand, settled with Epson. Epson prevailed against eight aftermarket ink brands in November 2006. HP settled with InkCycle in one lawsuit. In another, All Media (InkAndBeyond.com and other brands) agreed to stop patent infringement practices. InkTec, a Korean company that exports ink (InkTec and other brands) throughout the world, also conceded in response to a lawsuit. Other suits are unresolved.

If the printer manufacturers don't eliminate or greatly reduce competition through legal action, a new technology called CryptoFirewall may slam the door against competition. Cryptography Research, an independent company, is producing CryptoFirewall chips that will be available early in 2008. The chips use complex encryption technology that will read codes in OEM cartridges. If the carefully disguised codes are not detected, the printer won't print, essentially forcing consumers to buy OEM ink cartridges. However, refilled cartridges might still work.

Risks of alternative inks

OEM cartridges have planned obsolescence. They are not made to last long enough to survive repeated refilling, although they often do. That's an ugly strategy from consumer and environmental standpoints, but consumers attempting to beat this system should understand that cartridges are not made to be reused. According to experts, cartridges that are described as "remanufactured" are usually just refilled.

Printer manufacturers initially implied that use of aftermarket ink would violate printer warranties. They have subsequently backed down from that strategy, but damage caused by aftermarket ink will violate warranties. Of course, this is only a concern if your printer is still covered by a limited warranty. HP will not honor its warranty for breakage caused by non-HP, refilled or expired ink cartridges. Epson won't cover damage that's attributed to any non-Epson component. Canon and Lexmark policies are similar.

Counterfeiting is rampant when it comes to ink cartridges. Experts say that if you find a great online deal for OEM cartridges, you should avoid them. The odds are high that they are counterfeit knock-offs. Be wary of cartridges sold through online auctions. In addition, always check the expiration date on OEM cartridges (printed on the box). According to a PC World article, the cartridges are programmed not to print after that date.

Important Features: Printer ink

Reviewers say the following about shopping for inkjet ink:

• Avoid ink refill kits. They are the cheapest option, but reviewers say they are too messy. The risks are not worth potential savings.

• Stick with OEM cartridges for the best reliability. If time is more important than money or you can't afford to risk damaging your printer, OEM cartridges are safer.

• Recycle or reuse your empty cartridges. The printer manufacturers will accept used cartridges for recycling, but you'll have to pay postage. Office supply stores have good, but often-changing policies. The chains will give you a store credit or other consideration. Stores with refilling machines will refill your empty cartridges. Some communities have regular or periodic programs for recycling cartridges.

• Aftermarket inks make the most sense for multifunction machines and lower-end inkjets. TrustedReviews.com tested inks using multifunction machines, and aftermarket inks produced the best results. In tests using dedicated photo printers, aftermarket inks were less competitive.

• Use manufacturer archival inks for a long print life. If you want permanence, tests show that archival inks from Epson, Canon and HP will produce much longer lasting prints than those from regular OEM inks or third-party inks.

• Use OEM inks for the best photo quality with photo printers. While reviewers say aftermarket inks are just as good in a few cases, they are never better. Cartridge World refills of HP cartridges may be an exception. However, in nearly all cases, using the manufacturer's ink and paper will ensure the best, longest lasting photo prints.

• If you print mainly text pages, aftermarket printer ink is fine.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of picks	Brand (OEM brand)	Distribution
10	OEM printer ink from the original manufacturer	Online and retail
3	Cartridge World	Store locator: http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com/
2	Carrot Ink	Online direct: http://www.carrotink.com/
1	1-inkjet.com	Online direct: http://www.1-inkjet.com/
1	G&G	Many online retailers
1	Staples	Staples stores and www.staples.com
1	PrintPal	Online direct: http://www.printpal.com/

The TrustedReviews.com review recommends third-party inks – at least for print quality. All other reviews recommend the printer manufacturers' inks, along with alternatives. According to reviews, all aftermarket inks work better in some printers (or brands of printers) than others. Cartridge World printer ink is the most reliable of alternative inks. Carrot Ink is also generally recommended and is available online. Cartridge World only sells through its franchise outlets.

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