Ink for my Canon MX310 runs around 24 bucks for 13 mL of ink. A little math reveals that each mL costs around 1.80, or an astounding $1,800/liter.

Ink is part a higly lucractive business for the printer manufacturers called captive-product pricing. Companies like HP, Epson and Brother make very small margins on the sale of their printers because they make back their profits selling compatible ink.

Any profitable brand name lures counterfeiters and fakers. Similar to the infamous trickery associated with fake Coach bags and Rolex watches, there’s been a recent assault of fake printer ink cartridges.

These fake ink cartridges are far more insidious than a fake Rolex watch, however, when you consider that these counterfeit ink cartridges are prone to leaking, explosion, illegibly smudged pages and ink jams. This often puts consumers out of not only the cost of the fake ink cartridges, but the cost of a new printer after their old one is ruined.

These fake ink cartridges end up in our stores after being manufactured in China, the Philippines or Malaysia, places with cheap production means. They are generally distributed to midsize ink cartridge dealers who unwittingly sell them to consumers. The use of midsize ink distributors makes the sales very difficult to trace, especially when an individual has trouble with a counterfeit ink cartridge and wants to track down the source.

Relatively infrequent in the United States, authorities in Latin and South America estimate that current counterfeit ink cartridge penetration on the market is around 50%. The values in the US are more along the lines of 5%.

The best way to avoid this plague is to buy from a licensed distributor or a reputable third-party distributor. They usually sell recycled and refilled OEM cartridges. Their margins are lower and aren’t necessarily branded, so the counterfeiters aren’t making fakes for them (not yet at least).

If you got brand name ink at a significant discount, you should check the packaging and ink cartridge itself for anything that looks out of the ordinary like misprinted labels or weak seams.

Try inkcartridges.com for good deals on cheap ink cartridges.

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Computer Hardware & Accessories