Computer ink and ink cartridges are the most widely purchased and stocked item in any computer store. The demand for both black and color ink cartridges is higher than ever before and has led to a consumer frenzy of buying. The market for supplying ink to computer owners is lucrative to the tune of billions of dollars per year - yep it's really worth that much. Hard to believe that something so humble as the inkjet printer could be worth so much to so many eh?

Compared to other printers inkjets are not necessarily the cheapest to run but are capable of producing the type of results that appeal to both home and business users. Inkjets are, of course, also used by businesses simply because of their ease of use, ability to produce cheap color output and are free of the mess associated with replacing toner. They're also far easier to maintain which makes them more popular with office workers.

The major OEM brands tend to dominate the computer ink and inkjet market with HP, Epson, Canon and Lexmark taking the largest share of the profits in this market. These sales are built purely on the company name and not necessarily on the actual value of the product; but this is true of so many markets today.

Once you look outside the OEM products produced by the above companies you're then in the territory of the compatible manufacturers. They appeal to the family more so than anything else because of the significant cost savings in their products. Many of these companies produce inkjet cartridges and refills at up to 80% less than those produced by HP, Epson, Canon and Lexmark. For cash strapped families or even small businesses these types of discounts are hard to argue with.

Many consumers worry about the implications of using "unbranded" ink in their printer but the technology and processes used by the compatible companies are on a par with those of the main cartridge manufacturers. Also bear in the mind that no printer manufacturer can refuse to honor your warranty even if a compatible cartridge were to leak inside your printer. They'd love to enforce this if they could but it's basically illegal to do so.

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