Author: Jane Wakefield Technology Correspondent
Which one of the consumer watchdog studies? It was found that branded printer inks are still "surprisingly" more expensive than third-party alternatives.
The investigation found that, in some cases, printer ink is more expensive than some champagne.
It suggests that the performance of non-branded ink cartridges is as good as or better than branded alternatives.
Manufacturers advise customers not to use third-party inks, and some even prevent them from doing so.
During the pandemic, home printers have become an indispensable toolkit in the home and are essential for working at home and going to school at home.
The regulatory agency surveyed 10,000 consumers who own inkjet printers, half of whom said they use the printer at least once a week.
It has done similar surveys in the past, and this year it concluded that there is still an "astounding cost difference" between its own brand and third-party ink suppliers.
It also found that 28 HP printers now use a system called "Dynamic Security" that can identify ink cartridges that use non-HP chips and prevent them from working.
Other manufacturers promote "approved," "original," or "guaranteed" ink cartridges on their websites and instruction manuals.
It confuses consumers, which one to say? . 56% said they would only use branded inks, and 39% avoided third-party inks because they were worried that their printers would not work.
But at the same time, people have similar print quality ratings for original and third-party inks, with 16 non-branded inks ahead of Brother, Canon, Epson, and HP.
Adam Frank, which one? Consumer rights experts said: “The cost of printer ink should not exceed a bottle of high-end champagne or Chanel No. 5.
"We found that there are many third-party products that perform better than their branded products, but the cost is only a fraction of that."
He added that deciding which ink to put in the printer should be a "personal choice, not a decision by the manufacturer of the printer."
In response, HP stated that customers can choose to use HP Instant Ink, a subscription service that can save customers up to 70%.
"HP provides customers with the flexibility to use original HP ink cartridges or third-party ink cartridges that retain original HP chips or circuits," it said.
Epson also highlighted its EcoTank printer models, which are said to have enough ink to print for three years, and the price of a replacement bottle is £7.99.
"Since non-original inks are not designed or tested by Epson, we cannot guarantee that these inks will not damage the printer," it added.
Brother said its own-brand inks are "higher quality," but customers can choose whether to use them or non-branded alternatives.
Canon stated that although third-party inks can be used on its printers, "internal technology is designed to work with our genuine inks."
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