Toner News Mobile › Forums › Latest Industry News › *NEWS*THE SEARCH FOR CHEAPER INK
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AnonymousInactiveThe Search for Cheaper Ink
Third-party inkjet cartridges may have a poor reputation, but one retailer is promising high quality for half the price.
Caboodle
Cartridges storefront Gripes over high-priced ink cartridges have
spawned an entire cottage industry of fly-by-night refill companies,
do-it-yourself cartridge refill kits, and dozens of Web sites that sell
no-name-brand cartridges
More recently, big names like Office Depot
and Staples have gotten into the act, putting their own discounted
brands on store shelves. These cartridges generally cost 10 to 15
percent less than printer manufacturers’ cartridges. But a retail
outlet selling even cheaper refilled cartridges may be coming soon to a
strip mall near you.
In contrast to the many Web sites that hock
refilled cartridges, Caboodle Cartridges operates retail outlets.
Thirty-five franchises have opened thus far, most of them in the San
Francisco Bay Area, though stores are operating in at least eight other
states.
In an effort to undersell the big retailers, Caboodle
Cartridges sells its remanufactured cartridges for roughly half their
original cost. You can lower the price even more by exchanging spent
cartridges for a credit of $2 to $4.
This all sounds great, but I
have a few concerns. What if the cartridge damages my printer? How good
is the ink? Also, I’ll have to run a special errand just to get ink
cartridges, instead of being able to pick them up while I’m shopping at
Costco or an electronics store.
The Lure of the Storefront
I’ve
never entrusted my old inkjet printer to refilled cartridges from an
online outlet; I’m too afraid of damaging it. When the only recourse is
sending an e-mail or pinging a Web site for help, I pass. Office Depot
and Staples are well-known brands, and they earn credibility because
they have retail outlets. Following that logic, I’m inclined to trust
Caboodle Cartridges.
Caboodle Cartridges President Daniel Wencel
said that his company’s cartridges deliver print quality and page
yields comparable to the original manufacturers’, and that the company
will replace a customer’s printer if it’s damaged by a malfunctioning
cartridge.
The company’s ink has not been tested for fade resistance
by a third party such as Wilhelm Imaging Research, which conducted
testing for our September 2003 story, “Cheap Ink Probed.” In tests for
that story, we found that third-party ink cartridges could make
high-quality prints on glossy photo paper, but that their fade
resistance was substandard: Photos printed with inks from Amazon
Imaging, Carrot Ink, and others averaged a dismal 2.2 years of fade
resistance. These inks may save you some bucks, but they won’t save
your memories.
If you mostly print documents on plain paper, you may
not care that your glossy photos could fade quickly. But if you do, I’d
await independent fade test results before buying from Caboodle
Cartridges.
Take Note
Coupons for Cartridges: Staples announced
on September 19 a recycling program that rewards customers with a $3
coupon for each ink or toner cartridge they recycle at a store
location. The company either remanufactures the cartridges as Staples
brand items, or recycles them. The coupon can be used for any in-store
or Web site purchase through Staples. -
AuthorOctober 29, 2005 at 10:16 AM
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