Recently, a blogger wrote an enlightening post about how a person’s definition of “empty” is far different from that of a printer or ink cartridge. Many people know that some cartridges have chips in them that will not allow the printer to continue because it thinks it’s out of ink - even when it isn’t. Naturally, we’re quick to recycle, but are we being ripped off?
Here’s what the blogger had to say:
“I examined all three allegedly empty cartridges–cyan, yellow, and magenta. From the top to bottom, they measured 1 1/8 inches. There was still roughly 1/4 inch of fluid at the bottom of each one. That’s about a fifth of the cartridge’s capacity, so my loss in ink was roughly $2.25 per cartridge. That’s not exactly big bucks, but enough to make me feel like I was being scammed.”
The printer manufacturer - Brother, in this instance, had a logical reason:
“…regardless of what small ink volume you may see remaining in an ink cartridge when it needs to be replaced, we guarantee that the ink volume that was provided and ‘used’ meets this industry standard calculation. Any additional ink volume left in a cartridge at that time was not put into the rated yield calculation that is guaranteed by Brother.
“Importantly, there is a technical and performance reason for why the small amount of ink is remaining in a cartridge that is identified as ‘empty.’ It is necessary to keep some ink in the ink cartridge to prevent air from drying out and damaging the print head assembly.’ By doing so, the machine is protected and consistent print quality is ensured to satisfy the consumer.”
For more information, visit brother.com
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