Printer cartridges comparison: original and third-party cartridges (Stiftung Warentest)
Original printer cartridges and cheap foreign ink have had to prove their print quality in a comparison by the Stiftung Warentest. While many printers did not accept third-party ink cartridges in 2014, there were no failures in the 2018 test. In the best case, you can save an impressive 80 percent if you use foreign ink.
Printer cartridges compared: Brother printer prints at half the price
"Brother swallows all inks" was the conclusion of Stiftung Warentest 2014. In the new test (08/2018) all ink cartridges from other suppliers could also be used. An ink cartridge is even as good as the original:
- Stiftung Warentest checked the original and foreign ink with a Brother MFC-J625DW. The price per original cartridge is approx. 23 euros. With an overall grade of 1.8, the Agfaphoto cartridge achieved the same grade as the original for 16 euros.
- Outstanding at Brother is the ink level measurement: the cartridges have no electronics, the ink level is measured through a viewing window. So the printer does not notice whether it is an original or a cheap refilled cartridge. Instead of annoying warnings and error messages, you save up to 50 percent on ink costs. It is cheaper to refill yourself.
- Peach ink is cheaper than the test winner - 80 percent savings are possible here. The print image with black writing does not quite match the original with the ink, but is convincing when it comes to photo printing.
Shop recommendation for Brother ink cartridge LC-229XLBK black
€ 21.79
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Epson printer cartridges in the test: cheap is not worth it?
For the inexpensive Epson printer Epson Expression Home XP-432 (and similar models) you also get cheap foreign cartridges with a good print quality:
- The KMP foreign ink with the grade 2.4 is hardly worse than the original (2.1) and the best alternative. You save 20 percent on black ink and 40 percent on colored ink.
- However, the original cartridge provides a slightly better typeface and is light and water resistant compared to KMP ink. If you want it even cheaper, you have to accept significant losses in quality. A bargain comes from Ink Swiss, for example, but is only "satisfactory".
Shop recommendation for Others Replaces C 13 T 29914010 Epson Ink 29XL XL Black
€ 10.99
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HP cartridges are only mediocre - even the original
Third parties had a hard time at HP: the cartridges have a special printhead that is protected by a patent. This is why other manufacturers cannot replicate the cartridges, but only clean and refill them. In the meantime, however, the printers also accept all foreign ink cartridges that Stiftung Warentest has tested:
- In the product test, the experts checked the print quality of an HP Officejet 3830 with a 302 XL cartridge. The KMP alternative again performed best with 50 percent savings in color and 40 percent in black ink (grade 2.8). The original is not much better with a grade of 2.7.
- The print quality of texts is somewhat poorer with the KMP cartridge, but it is smudge-resistant. However, the original failed in the wipe test. The KMP ink fades quickly when exposed to sunlight, according to Warentest.
- The tested Officejet 3830, however, is a real ink-eater. It is therefore better to pay attention to a printer with low ink consumption when purchasing.
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Canon: Little savings - poor quality
Canon also uses an integrated print head with a patent, but the cartridges from third-party suppliers worked without any problems in the test:
- In the test with the Canon Pixma MG5750 and the Canon PGI-570 PGBK XL ink cartridge, the Armor 565 achieved the best price-performance result with a grade of 2.8.
- However, no foreign ink can match the original: the very good print quality gives the original ink a grade of 1.8.
- The Armor cartridge does not save much compared to the original: you can reduce only 20 percent of the printing costs.
- You can read all the details for a fee at test.de.
Shop recommendation for Canon CLI-571 / PGI-570 PGBK / C / M / Y / BK 0372C004 black black cyan magenta yellow
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Conclusion: The quality of the printer cartridges is mixed
- Depending on the printer, you can save up to 80 percent with foreign ink. However, the quality of the printouts suffers in almost all cases.
- At Stiftung Warentest, no third-party provider was always able to assert itself at the top: for some, KMP was the best alternative, for others, KMP did poorly. We therefore recommend that you select the test winners by printer manufacturer.
- Since Stiftung Warentest only considered individual cartridges in the test, consumer advocates missed a few bargain tricks. In our purchase guide for cheap compatible printer cartridges, we have collected all tips. There we also show what you have to do in the event of an error message.
Tip: With the right online shops, you can save even more with foreign ink. In our shop comparison, we present the cheapest online shops for printer ink.