Before we start, what is the difference between Genuine/OEM, Compatible and Remanufactured / Refilled?

Genuine/OEM

Genuine/OEM also called Original are toners manufactured by the same company as your printer. For instance, Genuine HP Toner is a toner manufactured by HP for an HP printer.

Compatible

Compatibles are brand new cartridges manufactured by a third-party. They have no affiliation with the original manufacturer of the printer.

Remanufactured / Refilled

Remanufactured / Refilled are original cartridges, which have been used in the past. Many companies will buy these empty cartridges, clean them, and refill them.

In this article, we will not address Remanufactured and Refilled Cartridges. For more information about it, we will address them in a future article.

The Print Quality:

Images:

If the primary usage of your printer is for images, original cartridges are the way to go no question about it. All original cartridges are designed to print with a high accuracy, sharp results, and long lasting picture.

Text:

When printing text you will not get same brilliant, sharp prints as you would have had with original cartridges. In addition, compatible prints deteriorates after a while leaving you with washed-out text. Original cartridges, on the other hand, will definitely provide you with sharper more professional looking prints that will last for much longer.

This is what one of our customers wrote: " I will use this company as original hp toners in the future. The refill did not do a good job."

Cost:

True, compatibles are cheaper then original, but keep in mind it is cheaper for these reasons. 1) The ink has a tendency to dry out over time, and could potentially harm your printer. 2) The printing quality of compatible is not the same as genuine. It has brightness and sharpness issues. 3) Papers printed with compatible toners does not last as long as original would and will deteriorate over time. 

Conclusion:

Should you use genuine or compatible ink cartridges? The choice is yours but from our experiences, originals are the way to go providing you with outstanding quality and reliability.

I hope that you enjoyed this article, and have a good idea what is right for you.