Cheap printer cartridges that are kind to the planet: Introducing new age compatibles!

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It's been a long time coming but, for home and office printer users, a change has come at last. For years using a compatible printer cartridge was a coin toss as to its success. Too often it resulted in coin loss with poor quality printing or, even worse, a ruined printer.

But now, cost-effective compatible printer ink cartridges have made their presence felt on the consumer office supplies market.

What are compatible ink cartridges? In a nutshell, they're printer cartridges that are made by third-party printer supplies manufacturers rather than by big-name printer manufacturers themselves. Advancements in ink cartridge manufacturing means that today's Aussie consumers can experience a level of quality from third-party cartridges almost rivalling that of printer manufacturer-produced replacement ink cartridges.

Although 'generic' or compatible printer ink cartridges have been around for as long as we've had home and office printers, these new age compatibles do point to a monumental change in the third-party printer cartridge manufacturing industry.

Over the course of COVID-19 lockdowns, the global printer industry has seen an influx of compatible printer ink cartridges enter online office supply retailers, with these compatible cartridges being available at competitive price points and without any of the hidden nasties that accompanied the generic cartridges of yesteryear.

But how exactly are these modern compatible cartridges a cut above their older counterparts? How are they kind to the planet? And what innovations can be seen in the compatible cartridge manufacturing game to ensure that this high standard continues to be met over the foreseeable future?

One of the most notable developments in the world of compatible cartridge manufacturing is the acquisition of printer manufacturing plants and globally renowned printer manufacturers themselves. The acquisition of printer manufacturer Lexmark by Apex Technology and two other companies based in the Asia-Pacific region, was highly publicised in 2016, primarily because of Lexmark's position as a household name in the printer industry.

It was through the acquisition of Lexmark that Apex Technology and its subsidiaries gained access to printer cartridge manufacturing technologies that allowed them to develop third-party cartridges using the same design processes and in-built cartridge technology to ensure total compatibility with a wide range of modern smart printers.

Thanks to business acquisitions and the development of more high-tech cartridge manufacturing plants, the compatible cartridge manufacturers of today have far more resources at their disposal to ensure that their compatibles actually stay 100 per cent compatible, guaranteed.

In essence, the evolution of the production of compatible cartridges is likely to ensure that compatible cartridges maintain full compatibility with both present and future generations of home and office printers.

As compatible printer ink cartridges are made using resources, equipment, and infrastructure developed by renowned printer manufacturers, some compatible cartridge producers of today are actually able to create a third-party cartridge that matches the industry standards set by original cartridge manufacturers.

In other words, you can actually source compatible printer ink cartridges that are much more affordable than, yet match the print quality and reliability of, their name brand counterparts.

But what can you expect from these high-quality compatible cartridges? And how can consumers tell the difference between lower quality 'generic' cartridges from the expertly produced compatible cartridges that can be found across the market today?

Of course, doing a little independent research into the third-party manufacturer behind your compatible cartridges may help here. For Australian consumers, we recommend looking for any compatible cartridges produced by a company named G&G Ninestar.

A subsidiary of Apex Technology, G&G Ninestar uses authentic printer manufacturing equipment and processes in the production of their compatible ink cartridges, to ensure that all cartridge components, ranging from microchips to plastic casing, connectors, rollers and conductors, and ink blades, are all compliant with industry standards, and are poised to produce high-quality print jobs for all printer users.

Online Australian printer and print supplies retailer CartridgesDirect only stocks compatible printer ink cartridges that are produced by G&G Ninestar. CartridgesDirect have made a pledge to only stock compatible printer ink cartridges produced by conscientious cartridge manufacturers like G&G Ninestar to drastically reduce risks of consumers purchasing faulty generic cartridges.

Another major selling point for modern compatible printer ink cartridges is that third-party manufacturers can use high-yield cartridge manufacturing technology to produce compatible printer ink cartridges with higher page yields than their manufacturer-produced counterparts.

Although printer manufacturers already produce their own high-yield variants of standard printer cartridges, some compatible cartridge manufacturers produce nothing but high yield cartridges to get a maximum output at the lowest cost for users.

This not only reduces the frequency of replacing your printer cartridges but also drastically reduces the number of empty printer cartridges produced, many of which unnecessarily end up in landfill.

Speaking of cartridges being sent to landfill, one of the foremost criticisms of compatible printer ink cartridges from years past, is that these cartridges weren't able to be recycled through printer cartridge recycling schemes. Thankfully, this is no longer the case either! Why?

In the past, only printer manufacturers offered their own printer cartridge recycling schemes, as it was only these manufacturers who had access to specialty remanufacturing plants that were able to reuse depleted printer cartridges.

In the present day, however, printer cartridges can be recycled into a wide variety of different items, ranging from pens and plastic folders, to even being used in the construction of roads, bridges, and other civil infrastructure projects.

In the present day, you can recycle your compatible printer cartridges just as you would your manufacturer-produced cartridges. Compatible printer cartridges can be recycled by businesses and consumers easily through participating in cartridge recycling schemes such as those pioneered by Cartridges 4 Planet Ark and Close The Loop.

For maximum convenience however, online retailer CartridgesDirect can supply a postage paid satchel so that their customers can send their used compatible printer cartridges for zero waste recycling.

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With the innovations that we've seen in the world of compatible cartridge manufacturing over these last few years, it's safe to assume that printer manufacturers may even make their future printer cartridges less technical and more intuitive in their design, meaning we might see printer cartridge microchips disappear within our lifetime, amongst other needlessly technical components that are truly only there to ensure cartridge compatibility.

The rise of the ink tank printer may also do away with cartridges as we know them to be altogether, providing consumers with ultra high-yield ink bottles over traditional cartridges. Either way, the printer industry has well and truly been shaken, and all for the better, as the industry's sustainability continues to become a greater priority over the bottom line.

This means that not only will printer users be able to use their printers at reduced costs, but there are also chances that their printer use can grow greener if they print conscientiously and use the recyclable compatible cartridges that are available to them through retailers like CartridgesDirect.

Simply put, there's no reason why the use of some compatible printer ink cartridges shouldn't become a concrete practice of your personal and professional printing habits over the foreseeable future.