"Compatible" Printer Cartridges

[pbelliard]

What are some thoughts on Compatible Ink Cartridges for photo printers. They are cheaper than manufacture Ink Cartridges, but will they decrease the quality of the prints? Anybody have any experience with compatible Ink Cartridges?

 

[Enkrypted]

I cannot speak for all printers, but for my Epson C82, I use compatible cartridges and I notice a slight quality decrease, but I don't print that often so it doesn't bother me.

I also believe that the quality will vary depending on where you get your cartrides. I get mine from PrintPal.com

Enkrypted
A+

 

[BaudKarma]

Consumer Reports (

http://www.consumerreports.com

) has an article this month on 3rd party ink cartridges. I didn't read it that closely, but I got the impression that their tests found that quality varied pretty widely from brand to brand. It might be worthwhile to track down a copy of that issue and check out their ratings.



I try not to let my ignorance prevent me from offering a strong opinion.

 

[pbelliard]

Thanks for the input

 

[eyec]

if you use Lexmark - you are stuck with Lexmark, but that is not a bad thing because their cartridges are of good quality. besides they use an ink level "chip" to monitor the ink level and if you try to refill or use 3rd party cartridges they give mixed if not impossible printing.

 

[felixc]

On my old HP812C, a black refill worked fine. But the color ones were a nightmare. The ink was too thinned that it was leaking out of the printheads and emptying themselves in the printer. A good mess. You have to try, but I'd stay away from the kits that have a list of compatible printers that fills a whole page for the same bottle of ink.