Article Written By: Kathryn Dawson
There are some ink cartridges that are cheaper than others, and also some types of cartridge that offer better value for money than others. First of all it is important to look at the different types of printer available and how this affects ink prices and printer cartridge prices.Inkjet printers are cost effective machines suitable for both home and office use. They come in a variety of styles ranging from the quite basic for use in the home, to multi-functional and extremely advanced that are more suitable for office environments. Often they can be equipped with other capabilities such as scanning and photocopying. They use less ink than other types of printer making them a good place to start if you are looking for a printer with reasonable ongoing costs. Photo printers are a third type of printer available on the market. These are primarily for printing photographs and pictures. It is possible to print photos from other types of printer but nothing provides as good a quality as photo printers for this purpose. Photo printers need high quality ink and specialist paper ideally too which makes them more expensive than the others in terms of ongoing costs. They can go through high volumes of ink which makes the cost of replacement ink cartridges high. Finally there are multifunction printers available. This was touched upon earlier but worth mentioning again. Printers can also be photocopiers, faxes and scanners - something that is very popular in small offices. Because of the multi-function usage however they can burn through ink very quickly indeed. Although they are available in inkjet models, the high volume of ink that gets used can increase the overall price of ink considerably.It is possible to keep costs of ink down in other ways. Purchasing original equipment manufacturer cartridges is the most expensive route to take. OEM cartridges are those produced by the same manufacturer of the printer for that specific model. It is possible to buy compatible printer cartridges which are much cheaper. These are generic cartridges built for compatibility for a large selection of makes and models. Be aware however that sometimes fitting these types can be problematic. It is also possible to send your cartridge away to be refilled and re-built so it can be used again. Eco-friendly yes, but time consuming and you have to trust the ink has been refilled completely to the top.So the answer to the question of is there is such a thing as cheap ink cartridges is yes, so long as you choose the right type of printer for your needs and do your homework when it comes to cartridges. By taking into consideration all the items outlined above, you can find yourself with an excellent printer that is fulfilling your needs whilst not costing a fortune in ongoing running costs.
This Article Has Been Published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 and Read 206 Times