Log onto Ebay and you'll find hundreds of sellers, willing to supply you with cheap ink cartridges that fit a range of different printers. These pattern cartridges may look like a Canon cartridge and may fit your Canon printer, but is this 'Canon Lite' ink cartridge a blessing in disguise or a ticking time bomb for your printer?

Some manufacturers specify that using non-branded ink cartridges will invalidate your warranty. So if your cheap ink cartridge does cause your nozzles to block up, the printer to stop working and result in much tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth, there's a good chance that the only response you'll get from the manufacturer is, "it's your own fault. Read the small print." So if you are going to switch to non-manufacture specified cartridges, do check that your printer warranty isn't affected.

You don't have to opt for cheap (and potentially printer killing) imitations of branded inks. By taking a few minutes to search online you should be able to find plenty of suppliers who carry the genuine article at reduced prices. If you're buying in bulk and your office manager has had the forethought to use the same kind of printers throughout the business, then that added buying power is going to drive the price down even further. Buy one genuine branded ink cartridge and the chances are you'll pay on or near the recommended retail price. Buy 100 and you can use this buying power to push the price down with your stationary company. So if you have the option of buying in bulk, do so. Printer cartridges are hermetically sealed so they don't have an expiration date. Stocking up can be a great way to save money.

Quantity can really make a difference to your price. But there are also plenty of bargains to hunt down if you're a low-volume user and special offers are always worth looking out for. A Google search for 'ink cartridges online' will generate hundreds of thousands of results, so narrow your search down to the specific model and make of your machine to make sure that you are not wasting your time wading through hundreds of incompatible cartridges. Printers are fussy ? a cartridge that's 'almost' the same as the one you're supposed to have won't fit, no matter how much you try battering it into place with the heel of your shoe. Because many generic cartridges are designed to fit a range of printers, make sure that your exact model of printer is included in the list to save yourself time, money and considerable shoe damage.

Buying branded cartridges is a guarantee of the quality of ink used. Canon cartridges are specifically designed to work with Canon printer nozzle sizes. A generic cartridge may fit, but the ink may be either thicker or thinner than the nozzles are designed to handle. The result? Pages with barely perceivable writing or alternatively, dirty black lines across your pages. So it's important to remember that just because the cartridge fits, does not mean that you're going to get the quality of printing that you expect, need or indeed demand from your printer. The insides of the cartridge are just as important as the case the ink comes in.

The best way to buy ink cartridges online isn't via a seller that, yes, offers you a cheap price but may not be able to supply you more than once, or has plenty of 'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' generic cartridges. Checking online will give you the opportunity to hunt down reliable suppliers with a proven track record (and not just 'good feedback') in providing customers with branded products at good prices. With the amount of work it does, your printer deserves nothing less than the best ink cartridges, so even if your warranty isn't invalidated by non-manufacturer recommended cartridges, it does pay in the long run to stick with what they recommend. It stops you getting ink all over the bottom of your shoe.