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The success of any business falls on its ability to control costs. When it comes to controlling costs appraising functionality and value for dollar it is important, especially for devices such as copiers, scanners and printers.

Office supplies such as these require routine purchases and their costs can add up. Printer ink might be among some of the biggest costs for your business’ this season. Particularly if you design and print your holiday marketing content in house.

If you rely on a lot of printed materials for your marketing expect a spike in your office supply budget this year. Original printer ink is expensive. In fact, in some cases it could be more expensive to buy ink cartridges than a new printer.

Types of Inks

There are essentially three types of printer inks in the market: generic, re-manufactured and branded ink. Branded ink is also called original equipment manufacturer (OEM) ink. Generic ink is often marketed at much lower prices than brand inks. A generic ink might be sold at $15 compared to a $65 branded ink – providing an enticing 4-fold in savings.

Coming close to generic ink are re-manufactured or refurbished cartridges. If your business is environmentally conscious using recycled cartridges reduces your carbon footprint and does not consume additional manufacturing resources. You will find that refurbished ink cartridges offer prints that are very similar to new OEMs at a fraction of the price.

Good refurbishing manufacturers make sure to use only the very highest quality supplies, equipment and procedures. This ensures all of the cartridge parts are cleaned and refitted properly prior to being placed in refurbished ink cartridges.

Inexpensive ink can deliver on the quality you want provided you know your ink printer and supplies. Knowing the supplies you have can help you get the right print jobs without busting your budget.

Cheapest Places to Buy Printer Ink Online

Online retailers have the best line of printer ink covering more brands and types of ink. While some retailers have a large selection, it generally limited to new printers. And their price is generally much higher than online retailers.

If you are looking to save money on ink for your printer, here are 10 of the cheapest places to buy printer ink online.

123inkjets

123inkjets offers both OEM and remanufactured cartridges carrying brands such as EPSON, DELL, HP, Canon and others. In addition, it offers a wide variety of printing supplies including paper, printer accessories and 3D printing materials.

With its large inventory and variety of payment options including PayPal and Amazon Pay, 123inkjets is a good candidate to source your print-related products. The company offers free shipping for orders above $55 and delivers within 3-5 business days.

499inks

499inks claims it has ink cartridges that sell for just $4.99. It also claims to offer savings up to 50% or more off the original brand printer inks. This includes a 1-year satisfaction guarantee- something to consider if you are on a tight budget.

499inks offers a live chat customer service representative to respond to questions about your account.

4inkjets

If you are looking for an alternative low-cost cartridges you might consider 4inkjets. It touts that it provides its customers and businesses with alternative printer supplies that provide professional results at an affordable price. They provide cartridge replacements, refill kits, and other printer supplies.

4inkjets offers a variety of secure payment options, coupon deals and codes to apply at checkout to get even deeper discounts.

Amazon

Amazon, the behemoth of online purchases has an extensive selection of printer inks. It offers a large variety of branded printer cartridges along with price comparisons.

If you have Amazon prime, then you also have a quick delivery service to your advantage.

Best Buy

Best Buy, offers a wide array of printer ink and accessories from some of the leading brands in the industry. The platform provides customer ratings, price comparison pricing and physical stores if you need more help.

A free membership lets you earn points with every dollar you spend. This comes in handy for discounts and other perks. By joining the Best Buy Rewards program, you receive a $5 reward certificate with every 250 points you earn. This stretches your dollar to make more purchases.

Carrot Ink

Carrot Ink offers remanufactured and compatible ink and toner cartridges. Their compatible and generic cartridges claim to save you up to 75%. They offer popular brands such as Brother, Canon, Dell, Samsung, and others.

They boast of an impressive 300,000 plus positive customer reviews. And besides offering cost-effective alternatives to OEMs they are also eco-friendly.

Clickinks

Clickinks carries a large selection of printer ink cartridges, fax ink cartridges, laser toner, photo paper, and other office supplies. They provide both OEM ink cartridges and brand replacement ink cartridges.

In addition to the low prices, the company has a buy 2 ink cartridges get 1 free policy along with a customer loyalty points program.

eBay

eBay provides a wide range of selection for all your ink and accessory needs. It provides a ranking system of best-selling products and you might get lucky and get a bargain in your bids.

Like Amazon, eBay offers access to a worldwide market place, security and vetted vendors. The selection might be overwhelming, but if you find the right supplier you can save a considerable amount.

Inkcatridges

This vendor offers free shipping on all orders within the United States. This comes in handy for making bulk purchases without having to worry about shipping costs.

Inkcatridges offers a selection of original and compatible printer ink and toner cartridges from popular brands. It provides a two year 100% satisfaction guarantee. It stocks other products such as paper and cables making it easy to purchase your supplies from one store.

Inkgrabber

InkGrabber has 135 brands of cartridges.  These include both OEM and remanufactured cartridges. The company provides discounts on OEMs with delivery between 3-7 business days.

After your purchase, it provides a cash refund if you return an unopened or defective cartridge within 90 days.

Takeaways

As long as businesses use paper as part of their daily operations, printers and the ink they need will be part of the process. The downside is printer ink is a recurring expense and they are not cheap. The companies on this list provide an alternative to buying your ink from local retailers.

Shopping online can save you money and time. Not only when you make the purchase, but also when you get your product. If you don’t have to go to the store and get free shipping, it is one less thing you have to worry about.

However, there are some risks if you buy from an online vendor you are not familiar with. There are many vendors that offer to be the cheapest place to buy printer ink online. Be very wary when choosing a remanufactured or generic printer ink. Though they offer to keep your budget and your printing needs low, they do come with risks. They don’t always deliver on the quality prints they promise.

You will need to research whether it is compatible to your specific printer. Through your research you can identify which vendor offers the best price and quality.

Brands

But does going cost-effective translate to a better choice? The answer is yes and no. You can find as many options on generic printer ink as name brands. But some generic brands can come at the expense of not bringing in the quality prints you desire. For one, you will need to make sure that the particular ink cartridge is compatible with your printer. Second generic inks have relative less UV tolerance than OEMs as they are mainly water-based.

Branded ink comes with a guarantee for the crisp quality finish in your prints- ergo their high dollar value. Other ink can come with a marginal quality finish but more or less do serve the function. You will, however, need to make sure that the vendor for your generic ink has a good reputation and delivers on its promises.

One way you can hedge your purchase is by reading online reviews.

Online Reviews

Looking through customers’ review to see how other buyers have vetted the product is one way to protect yourself. Don’t let the lure of a bargain blindside your due diligence. Also look at their return policies and whether there are any hidden costs in your purchase.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “10 Cheapest Places to Buy Printer Ink Online” was first published on Small Business Trends