Digital cameras have rapidly gained acceptance as the main camera product that people now buy. The rise of the digital camera and the high quality home printers now available mean that we no longer need to rely on the traditional photo developer for our prints. It has become very much a shoot and print exercise for consumers without any delay or inconvenience that even a one hour developer means for us.
The ability to shoot our own pictures as many times as we like without having to worry about rolls of film together with the convenience that the home computer revolution has brought us has led to a huge surge in profits for ink manufacturers worldwide. These huge profits have in turn led to a massive range of genuine and substitute ink cartridge suppliers coming to the market while the quality varies enormously.
While home digital printing has lagged behind the sale and use of digital camera because of the concerns over print quality and the advent of easier digital print facilities at many outlets such as Wal-Mart, modern printers and particularly the printer ink that is used has improved enormously. Printer ink that is used for making prints needs to be of a higher quality than that used for straight text printing. This used to be monopolized by the printer manufacturers themselves with highly priced, high margin ink cartridges that had hard to replicate cartridge head mechanisms.
Canon, Epson, Lexmark and Hewlett-Packard are the top four brand name manufacturers who have used their position as printer manufacturers to make cartridge replication as difficult as possible in order to ensure tat consumers buy their ink. Many customers often wonder at the low price of a hi-tech printer but do not realize that the bulk of the revenue and profit that these manufacturers are going to make is not on the printer but on the ink that you have to keep buying again and again.
Third party printer cartridge manufacturers have started making a dent in this effective monopoly as the manufacturing technology becomes more widely available. Canon and Epson in particular have effectively contracted out manufacturing of a large range of their printer cartridges and have allowed clone copies to be manufactured under license. Hewlett-Packard has vigorously tried to restrict clone cartridge copying by legal restrictions and increasing the technical complexity of the ink cartridge and integrating the printer head with the cartridge body.
Despite the big four dominating the ink cartridge market at the moment their grip is slowly being released while the actual demand for photo quality ink cartridges is expected to continue to increase much as it has been over the last three years. The major consideration for consumers when buying clone ink cartridges is that the ink itself is good enough to produce the print finish and that they do not get short changed with a cheaper clone cartridge that does not in fact contain as much ink as the genuine cartridge.
Related Articles
Managing Ink Cartridge Imports From Overseas Suppliers
By: Michael Stollery | 17/07/2007 | Non-Fiction
Importing printer cartridges from abroad and the considirations you have to make
Buying Hp Printer Cartridges
By: Amber Scott | 05/07/2008 | Hardware
Are you looking for the best deal on HP Printer cartridges? When you get an HP printer, you know that you are getting the top of the line quality. HP makes many different types of printers, some that include scanners and copiers as well as photo printers. No matter what your printer needs, HP has a printer that is perfect for you.
Tips for Purchasing Hp Printer Cartridges
By: Amber Scott | 05/07/2008 | Hardware
Remember when it used to cost nearly $100 for printer cartridges for your computer printer? Today, printer cartridges are one of the few thing where the price has actually dropped. And you can save even more money when you purchase HP printer cartridges from an online vendor.
Laser Toner Cartridges
By: natisha | 08/03/2008 | Hardware
Laser toner cartridges are better than inkjet cartridges as they are faster and quality of printing is better. One can take out many print outs of the same quality unlike inkjet models which are slower in performance. The fusing process bonds the laser printer directly o the paper. It is an advanced printing technique.
Buying Lexmark Printer Cartridges Online
By: Amber Scott | 05/07/2008 | Hardware
If you are fortunate enough to have a Lexmark printer, you probably have wondered how you can save money on printer cartridges. No matter what type of printer you have, printer cartridges usually end up costing you quite a bit of money, especially if you buy them in a store. You are often better off to go elsewhere.
How To Get More Life From Your Black Ink Cartridge
By: Frank Bolsom | 01/03/2007 | Computers
Having a printer is great, but the costs for the ink cartridges can get out of control, especially for businesses that a large number of printers to purchase ink for. Having your office at home can be costly as well, as you will most likely be using your printer...
Printer Inkjet Cartridges
By: natisha | 08/03/2008 | Hardware
The printer inkjet has numerous tiny holes on the head of the printer head of the cartridge. When the print command is given the current moves along the metal and heats up the ink. This results in the heating and swelling of the ink. It melts and moves out in the form of droplets on the paper. The entire process happens within fractions and the print out is out in seconds.
Where to Buy Lexmark Printer Cartridges
By: Amber Scott | 05/07/2008 | Hardware
Looking for the best place to buy Lexmark printer cartridges? You may see some people selling knock offs of Lexmark Printer cartridges on some internet auction sites. Beware of these because very often they do not work. They look just like Lexmark cartridges, they pop into your printer just like Lexmark printer cartridges but they do not work. You might be attracted by a super low price, but you are not getting anything of value.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good soft ware for green screen ...
By: kenneth | 11-07-2008
what is a good soft ware for green screen photography
Men's Club or Support Group Needed in Columbia, SC
By: Errol | 09-07-2008
Where can guys meet and interact with other guys in or around Columbia, South Carolina? I'm married with daughters and my job keeps me around mostly women and children (elementary school teacher) - so I need a way to let loose with men. The problem is, I'm not a sporty guy, but more of an intellectual. A group of guys to play a card game like spades would be great - or a hiking group. I enjoy plants (bonsai, Ikebana, and terrariums).
How far apart should each photograph be on wall in ...
By: Thomas Stratford | 09-07-2008
How far apart should each photograph be on wall in the gallery? Community room in Library?
senior portraits ...
By: soccermom | 08-07-2008
When is the best time to take senior portraits? Before school begins or is it ok to take them in the fall?
I am looking for amateur Female Nude Models within ...
By: Rob | 07-07-2008
I am looking for amateur Female Nude Models within fifty(50) miles of Corning, New York.
I'm searching for photo's of parents jack nowling ...
By: bradybradyeast | 06-07-2008
i'm searching for photo's of parents jack nowling driver sue nowling pace car queen in the mid 1960's at indpls. speedrome
Q&A Powered by:
Technology 
