| There's no denying that the cost of printers is low | | | | printer cartridge. A great way to bring down your |
| - unbelievably low, as a matter of fact. You can | | | | cost-per-page is to choose a less expensive |
| find brand-name photo printers for under a | | | | option to replace your laser toner or inkjet ink. |
| hundred dollars, and workhorse laser printers for | | | | The two least costly options are compatible ink |
| under two hundred dollars. Color inkjet printers | | | | cartridges and re-manufactured ink cartridges. |
| remain a bargain, starting at around a hundred and | | | | Before you listen to the hyperbole from printer |
| twenty-five dollars. If you're not careful, though, | | | | manufacturers that say that compatible and |
| what you save in the purchase price of a printer | | | | remanufactured cartridges will ruin your printer or |
| goes down the drain when you have to buy | | | | produce inferior quality printed pages, ask yourself |
| replacement toner cartridges or ink cartridges. | | | | this: Don't printer manufacturers have an |
| When deciding which printer to buy, it pays to | | | | enormous economic stake in making sure you |
| determine the cost per page printed. That cost is | | | | buy their brand name printer cartridges? Of |
| calculated by the cost of the cartridge you use. | | | | course they do. They sell their printers at such a |
| Let's say, for example, that you purchased a | | | | low cost precisely because they know that you'll |
| black and white Brother Laser Printer for $150 | | | | need replacement print cartridges, from which |
| and an HP color inkjet printer for $150. A new | | | | they make huge profits. |
| Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) toner | | | | Compatible laser toner and ink cartridges are |
| cartridge for the Brother printer costs about | | | | made and sold by companies other than printer |
| sixty-five dollars and will print about 2,500 pages. | | | | manufacturers. You can find reputable toner and |
| The black ink cartridge for the HP only costs | | | | inkjet cartridge sellers online who take pride in |
| about thirty dollars. Great deal, right? No, because | | | | providing products that meet or exceed the |
| the black ink cartridge will only print about 800 | | | | specifications set forth by printer manufacturers. |
| pages. The Brother cartridge will give you a cost | | | | Compatible cartridges will work fine in your printer, |
| per page of a little over two-and-a-half cents, | | | | and won't void your printer's warranty. Essentially, |
| whereas the HP cartridge ups the ante to | | | | they consist of a previously used casing with all |
| three-and-three-quarters cents per page. That | | | | new parts and new toner or ink. Similarly, |
| may not sound like a lot, but over the course of | | | | re-manufactured cartridges are previously used |
| printing the equivalent of ten cartons of paper, or | | | | and refilled with toner or ink, but are rigorously |
| 50,000 pages, you'll pay $625 more for the HP ink | | | | tested to ensure their quality. |
| than you will for the Brother toner. | | | | The bottom line is that toner is the hidden cost of |
| But what if you're not in the market for a new | | | | any printer purchase. Why pay for your printer |
| printer, and are churning out page after page with | | | | time and again by paying premium prices for OEM |
| the printer you now own? Chances are, you're | | | | cartridges when you can save up to 76 percent |
| paying a premium price for that Original Equipment | | | | of the cost by buying compatible or |
| Manufacturer LaserJet toner cartridge or inkjet | | | | re-manufactured cartridges? |