Branded printer ink like Canon, Epson, HP, Dell, Brother, OKI and Samsung is more expensive than Champagne. Maybe not as expensive in taste but in price is shocking. The difference in third-party ink manufacturers to the leading brands is very significant, hence raising the question why do consumers continue to use the branded cartridges even the numbers are falling every year.

A recent survey have explored printer user's opinions in the home and at work. Compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges perform as well or better than the branded cartridges. Proving the myth wrong that branded ink will run better in your printer and the printed hard copies are better quality then generic brands.

Highlighting popular model's numbers in Epson, Brother and Canon the third-party cartridges were ranging from 300% to 600% lower. Startling figures although these are specific examples but very much in line with the pattern of prices. The overwhelming majority of generic cartridges are lower than the matching branded ink.

It was also found that HP were introducing software into the chip recognising generic cartridges and stopping the prints from progressing. The other brands like Brother, Canon, Epson etc draw special attention to the third-party ink by notifying the user with display messages. This can be worrying for novice users and cause them to uninstall the cartridges.

In the branded manufacturers defense HP claim by even providing the option of original or generic cartridges installation gives the customer the choice. Also, the new bottled ink technology where the customer stores the ink in the larger bottles and refilling the printer when required. Epson are leading this technology with the widely used EcoTank printers. Buying the ink bottles will hold up to 5-10 times the amount of ink saving the customer the same in ink costs. Brother and Canon both claim that the third-party cartridges designed by third-party manufacturers differentiate from the branded parts and in some cases the printer will not recognised these causing problems in printing. Although this view is not consistent with customer feedback on the overall performance of compatible brands.