From testing many third party inks on different brands of printers, I have not found any 3rd party ink that can perform the same as the printer manufacturers inks. Even though it may appear that you save money on the cost of the ink by using a 3rd party, in the long run it may cost you more and you may have to replace your printer. One of the most important things to consider is your printhead because on many HP printers the heads are part of the cartage so when you replace the print cartage you are also replacing the heads, but if you have an Epson the heads are part of the printer. From all 3rd party inks I tested in my Epson photo printer I ended up with clogged heads. According to Epson technical support if your printheads are blocked, its cheaper to replace your printer, so if you have an Epson or a printer where the heads are part of the printer you should consider that the 3rd party ink can destroy your printer. If you have a printer where the printheads are part of the print cartage then there is very little risk of damage, your real consideration is the print quality.

• Print cartages from the printer manufacturer costs more but quality and performance are guaranteed.
• Some 3rd party inks can be up to 50% cheaper.
• There is no guarantee of the printing quality from the 3rd party inks.
• Which print paper is compatible with the 3rd party inks? This is something you will have to work out.
• With 3rd party inks blockages seem to be more common.