Some considerations about the supposed statistics:
1) very few people who buy new printers will use anything but the OEM
inks they came with. For those who use their printers only moderately,
those cartridges can last 6 months or more.
Often people will continue using OEM inks until their warranty runs out,
out of fear that the manufacturer may not honor the warranty otherwise
(whether true or not),. These people will often not bother posting to
newsgroups should their printer clog, but instead will just return the
printer for repair or replacement under warranty.
2) Further, printers, especially those with semi-permanent or permanent
heads, tend to clog after the first year or use, as ink builds up under
the head, or on the cleaning station, This is when people have switched
to 3rd party inks.
3) Some people using 3rd party inks refill their cartridges, and do so
poorly, or the cartridges are designed to make refilling correctly
difficult. Also, refilling adds addition risk of contamination of the
ink which may cause clogs, or foaming within the cartridge, which can
appear as a clog.
Use of proper hygienic refilling and other techniques, using the correct
(non-generic) inks, storing inks and using them within reasonable expiry
dates, and so on certainly eliminates many of the problems that can be
associated with refill inks and 3rd party formulations.
4) Some inks are garbage. Smart people will ask around on newsgroups
about which distributors and retailers can be trusted, offer good
warranties and customer support, etc. SOme inks will not provide the
same features as OEM. For instance some Epson inks are pigment colorant
based and yet "compatibles "may be dye or dye/pigment hybrids. ASK
before you buy. If you don't get a straight answer look elsewhere.
5) For some, buying 3rd party cartridges that are of virgin manufacture
may be a better choice than refilling or buying commercially refilled
cartridges. These may cost a bit more than the refills, but may be less
likely to cause difficulties.
6) Many OEM inks are made in the same factories with very similar
formulations as 3rd party inks. OEM inks have been known to also cause
clogging or fading, or other issues. In the majority of cases your
warranty is NOT revoked by use of 3rd party inks. The manufacturer has
the onus of proving the inks you used did damage the printer. If they
can prove it, go back to the 3rd party ink supplier and demand they fix
your printer! If they refuse, and you aren't at fault for poor
technique, publicize who they are to protect others from having problems
with that ink.
7) The most common problem I hear about with 3rd party inks is
mislabeling. This can include the wrong ink type in the bottle or
cartridge or even the wrong color. Although that's rare, don't rule it
out as a possible cause. Most 3rd party ink suppliers make or supply
many ink types and mistakes sometimes get made. In general 3rd party
ink suppliers will go out of their way to right a situation of that
nature should it occur.
8) OEM inks are usually good quality. They are quit costly and the
manufacturer directly approves of the formulation and puts their name on
it. Anyone who wishes to maintain use of OEM inks should be left to do
so without recrimination. Some inks cannot be replicated by 3rd party
manufacturers in terms of features or colors. People who by OEM inks
help supply the R&D and manufacturing costs of printers, and without
them, printers would be more costly, maybe even much more so. Remember
that.
9) We are lucky that in the current climate, each of us can find the
level of cost we wish to bear and make purchasing decisions based upon
our comfort and economic considerations.
Art
