With printer prices falling, Why are ink prices still expensive?

My printer cost me $39 and my replacement cartridge cost me $49. Surely that can’t be right?

Every where you look today retail shops are selling discounted printers at reduced prices, some even as low as $39. With printers at record low prices you would think ink cartridges would fall in price also. Well they haven’t, ink has become one of the worlds most expensive commodities.

This has made consumers angry and annoyed at the price of replacement ink cartridges, which has lead to resentment towards Brand manufactures and rightly so. It has become an increasingly expensive grudge purchase, as much as putting petrol in your.
What has this all lead to? Well consumers are now being tempted by third-party substitutes, which cost considerably less, up to 70% less.


“If you were to buy blood from the Red Cross it would set you back just 40 cents a ml. Where as a HP black ink cartridge costs 71 cents a ml”

No wonder people are turning to the cheaper option.

The printer supplies industry charge low prices for your printer, then hit you with expensive cartridge replacements, they make hefty profits on the sale of cartridges. The manufactures sell consumer printers at cost and even sometimes at loss, they then rely on the sale of ink cartridges and paper to subsidize the relatively low cost printers. Replacing your ink cartridges can cost you as much as buying the printer in the long run.
All these higher costs have given birth to the aftermarket ink and toner business. Third party manufactures have refilled and remanufactured cartridges and developed compatible cartridges at a third of the cost of originals and offered an alternative to higher priced originals.

What are the solutions?
Purchase compatible cartridges and remanufactured cartridges. They are a great way to save money and also help the environment. The prints are of high quality and at a 3rd of the cost of originals, the savings are great. Third party manufactures have also done extensive research to ensure their products are of the highest quality and reliability.
Try a professional refill service. www.greenfrogink.com.au refill black ink cartridges for $10 on highly specialized machines with high quality ink. By refilling your cartridges you can save a considerable amount of money, up to 70%. Cartridges will average between 5 and 8 refills, with some getting as many as 12 or more before their life spans are exhausted. Plus the refilled cartridges have much more ink, some even double the amount of ink. The prints will be just as good as the original cartridge and there is plenty of recycling benefits.

If you print in large volumes consider buying a laser printer. Laser toner cartridges are more expensive initially but print price per page is lower as low as 2 cents per page compared to 15 cents for ink cartridges. Inkjets printer cartridges offer low initial costs with the best photo quality, but higher printing costs in the long run.

For business, monochrome lasers are your best choice for offices, as the cost is the lowest and replacing a toner cartridge involves only purchasing the black toner instead of all 4 colours.

Third option is a continuous-ink system which promises significant cost savings. It is a great solution for mass printing customers, such as designers, graphics works, imaging shops and busy offices. How does it work, its easy. Large bottles sit in a container next to your printer and administer ink continuously via small hoses into special cartridges, the ink flows from external ink tank to ink cartridges .You just purchase bulk ink and just fill the bottles and you then have a continuous supply of ink which is much cheaper.


These are just some cost saving ideas that can help reduce your cost of printing and stop you from pulling your hair out at the thought of replacing your printer cartridges.



To find more information or to save on the cost of printing visit http://www.greenfrogink.com.au/
Author : T.Douglas
Green Frog Ink

Printer ink supplier with over 2500 products to choose from, originals, compatibles, remanufactured and refilled, from HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, Lexmark and many more. Toners, ink cartridges, fax rolls, drums everything you need for your printer at discounted prices.

Should you buy a genuine or a remanufactured toner cartridge?

This all depends on the type of printing you will perform and your budget. Since most original cartridges are more expensive than a remanufactured cartridge people opt for the cheaper version. But is this necessarily the right choice. If you are in need of producing fine graphics and presentational work then I would choose an original cartridge as this option will provide you with a high quality print which was specifically designed for your application. If you just need to print invoices or copies of work then a high quality remanufactured cartridge should do the job just fine plus you will save about 50% and more on the cost of buying an original.

The cost of a cartridge shouldn’t be the only thing that makes you choose between an original or remanufactured. The consistent quality of the cartridge the reliability and performance should be other factors that you should consider.

Choosing the cheapest cartridge usually brings with it added problems. Because these cartridges are of poorer quality, they can cause printer problems like leaks and poor print, which adds up to more costs. This is a result of empty cartridges being recycled too many times, worn parts not being replaced or just new parts which are of low standard.
Look for companies that remanufacture cartridges to a high standard and use quality ink instead of universal ink and have done extensive research and development. They will be a bit more expensive than your cheapest remanufactured option but you will be getting a superior product.

Another problem with cheap cartridges that produce poor text and graphics can also fail to deliver on the recommended page yield turning your cheap cartridge into an expensive cartridge. That is why a good quality inkjet cartridge and toner cartridge costs more to produce and is therefore reflected in higher costs, this is even more evident in toner cartridges, as they are even more complex and have many parts that need replacing due to wear and tear.
If you are running a business, cartridge reliability can take up a large amount of your time and workers time and result in lost production which costs you money. Not to mention the cost of repairs and replacing the cartridge. Choosing the right cartridge should reflect your working needs and your print requirements, sometimes the lowest priced option is not the best value for money option.
You want a quality cartridge that will perform day in day out and not a cartridge that will quickly deteriorate because of its cheap parts. You don’t want to be left with a half full cartridge that doesn’t work. Most people only print because they have to and not because they want to, getting stuck in the middle of an unfinished print job once is one to many times.
If you choose carefully, you can find a product at a reasonable price that will meet all of your printing requirements. If you just print occasionally a remanufactured cartridge will do just fine. If you print many pages day in day out then an original will be your best option. When choosing a remanufactured cartridge make sure it comes with a warranty and that you buy it from a reputable dealer at http://www.greenfrogink.com.au/ we offer an alternative to original products at discounted prices, like compatible cartridges, remanufacture cartridges and a refilling service.

Next time you choose a cartridge remember that there are lots of cartridge options out there and making the right choice depends on your budget, print requirements, reliability and quality. Don’t choose the cheapest cartridge you find, then again you don’t need to buy the most expensive also. Buy the product that you are happy with and will give you the results you are after.

Author: Green Frog Ink
http://www.greenfrogink.com.au/ has a wide range of inkjet and toner cartridges to suit most budgets and if you cant find what you are after we are more than happy to help.

Cartridge recycling- Why not donate them instead?

Office materials that normally end up in the bin like toner and inkjet printer cartridges can be recycled – why not donate them instead?

Throwing away used printer cartridges sends them to landfill sites where they become part of our nation’s growing waste problem, as they slowly break down, chemicals can leak into the surrounding soil and pollute our land and waterways.

We need to recover the non-renewable materials that printer ink cartridges are made of. Up to 97 percent of the materials that make up a printer cartridge can be recycled or reused if taken care, which helps reduce the impact on our environment and resources.

By recycling your empty cartridges you are helping conserve natural resources, Saving money and helping create local jobs, and you’ll be helping the environment at the same time. By recycling them, you protect the environment and your future.

There are many benefits to recycling your empty cartridges and its so easy to do. Next time you head for that bin in your office, why not donate the cartridge and do something good with them. It doesn’t cost you anything to go green.

Some Printer Cartridge Facts:

1. More than 1.1 billion inkjet cartridges are used annually around the world - laid end to end this would be 129 times as long as the Great Wall of China

2. Each discarded empty laser printer cartridge adds approximately three pounds of waste to our landfills

3. The plastic used in a typical cartridge is made of engineering grade polymers and is expected to take up to 1000 years to decompose

4. More than 30 million inkjet cartridges are dumped each year in the UK (1800 tonnes) - the same weight as 18 Blue Whales

5. Over 375 million cartridges are thrown in the bin every year in the US. This amounts to roughly 11 cartridges being disposed of every second. If you put all these cartridges end to end they would cover a distance encircling the earth over three times.