Using non oem printer ink

[memory]

What is the deal with using non oem ink for printers? Is it harmful to printers? I hate to spend a fortune on genuine ink when when I can get non oem for so much cheaper.

I have a Brother J825DW and I can get a 10 pack of black and color for $14. If I were to buy a 10 pack of genuine Brother ink, I would probably be spending $100 or more. I really don't need a 10 pack, just used that as an example. I don't print that much.

Sorry if this has been asked before.

[kleinkinstein]

Millions of prosumers buy non-OEM on Amazon all the time. I have for years. Just check the reviews and keep your cash in your pockets.

[bononos]

I don't think theres a problem if you stick to the better oem brands. I've been drilling and filling for years without any problems.

[FrankSchwab]

I got a continuous inking system from http://cisinks.com/ a couple of years ago. I'm now on my second refill set, and love it.

In my HP Officejet 6500, the color cartridges contain about 8 ml of ink, and the high-cap black cartridge contains about 32 ml of ink. A full set of cartridges costs about $70.

A CIS system costs about $75, and comes with 4x75 ml of Ink. A set of four 100 ml ink refills goes for around $30. That's 10 times the ink for half the price! I calculated that I would have spent close to $1200 on ink cartridges over the last two years, instead I've spent $150 or so. Never had a clog either, although I did have a bit of ink mixing the last time I refilled. Ran 30 or 40 sheets through the printer (using about 1% of my ink) and cleared it right up.

It's so nice to not have to even think about printing costs.

[jhansman]

I used to use them all the time until the print head on my Canon AIO crapped out. Fortunately, it was one day before the warranty ran out, so they sent me a new print head and I've been using Canon inks since. Pricey as hell, and I don't know for sure if it was the third-party inks that killed it or not, but I don't want to risk it either.

[Vinwiesel]

Back when I had an HP inkjet, I ran half a dozen refills through the original cartridge before it died. The refills were no worse than OEM regarding clogging, and other inkjet problems.

[memory]

I went ahead and bought some non-oem ink. The only reason I asked is I had a cheap Canon printer that quit printing, it would go through the motions but the page was blank. I thought maybe the ink was the problem. Maybe being a cheap printer didn't help either.

[corkyg]

HP cartridges can be refilled about 3 times with no visible effect. After that, it can get nebulous - HP DeskJet printheads are in the cartridge - with genuine OEM carts, you get a new print head with each swap. Canon and others have permanet printheads, and thus can be refilled ad nauseum.

[VirtualLarry]

For Brother printers (I own several, and sold one to a friend), I use the G&G Branded Generic ink that you can get at www.meritline.com . Generally pretty cheap, sometimes goes on sale for even cheaper or with a bundle with free photo paper.

Haven't had a problem with the generic ink, in fact, it worked better than some genuine Brother ink, that happened to sit on the shelf for a long time at Staples.

[Slammy1]

I actually worked on HP's patent case. There are definite differences, some advanced features cannot be added to OEM due to patent infringement. I'd say for regular use, OEM should be fine but for professional printing you can see differences.

Sorry for being vague on the actual differences, just not sure how open I can be.

[Revolution]

Originally Posted by corkyg

HP cartridges can be refilled about 3 times with no visible effect.

I did refill my HP 818B for 3 times without any problem.
Sadly that OEM cartridge was very small(5ml) which was come with my printer.
So,I think I could not able to save much money from that.

[memory]

Another question, will using non-oem ink void the warranty?

[dave_the_nerd]

Non-OEM usually work fine. I try not to be too surprised if they are defective or run out faster, but even with that I still save money.

[bigrash]

I use cheap non-oem brand ink all the time. Don't notice any difference.