INK WITHOUT THE STINK (Inkfactory.com)

Member Name: stuleg

Product:	Inkfactory.com
Date:	11/10/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Easy to order

Disadvantages: None of note

They say there are two certainties in life - Death and taxes. But I think you can safely add a third, and that is that you will need a bank loan every time you buy an ink cartridge. As the owner of a Lexmark printer I find myself having to fork out £35 for a colour or £32 for a black cartridge respectively. How can the printer manufacturers warrant such high prices for a few pieces of moulded plastic and a couple of fluid ounces of ink?

Of course I've tried the alternatives, trying to refill the cartridges myself ended in tears. It is truly amazing how much mess a few drops of ink can make when handled incorrectly. I was washing my hands for days afterwards and there was a particularly worrying moment when the cat jumped onto the table amongst the mess and ended up with more dark patches on his coat than before, thank goodness it was black ink I was using and not coloured. Having said that, he was not at all impressed and ran every time I went near him for days afterwards. Since that day I have steered well clear of the whole cartridge self-filling minefield, believing it far better to leave it to the trained experts.

So with my black ink cartridge hovering on empty I decided to trawl the Internet for the cheapest cartridges I could find. A few sites offered compatible cartridges priced around the £20 mark, which was encouraging. Then I happened on a site called Inkfactory.com; the front page of the site looked welcoming and loaded quickly. I was offered all of the major makes of printer, from Apple to Xerox, so I clicked on Lexmark and a page appeared listing virtually every Lexmark printer model. Clicking on my model number took me to a page that contained both remanufactured and original Lexmark cartridges, I clicked on the remanufactured black cartridge button and was amazed that the black cartridge was priced at £14.66, a good £5 cheaper than any other site could offer.

Also listed was a remanufactured colour cartridge at an unbelievable £17.11, roughly half the price of an official Lexmark colour cartridge, now that's what I call a bargain. However, if the thought of using anything other than the original cartridge on your printer worries you the prices of these are also far cheaper than one might expect. An original Lexmark colour cartridge will cost you £28.20, a saving of £7 from the high street, while an original black Lexmark cartridge comes in at an amazing £23.54, which amounts to nearly a £10 saving. Add to this the fact that VAT and first class Royal Mail postage is included and the savings really start to look attractive.

Once a decision has been made about which cartridges to buy, you are taken to the checkout page where you set up an account. This basically consists of entering your name and address details and creating a password. The password feature allows you to check the process of your order and also speeds up any future ordering, simply enter your password and your entire ordering history can be checked and analysed.

Next, choices of delivery options are offered to you. As I have mentioned First Class Royal Mail postage is free and should take a couple of days, but if you need your cartridge desperately or on a Saturday a premium can be paid for the pleasure. £4.76 ensures next day delivery with Royal Mail Special Delivery while UPS will have your cartridge in your hand on a Saturday for £4.97. I opted for the free Royal Mail option and it took 2 days from placing the order to receiving the parcel.

The payment section is on the next page and you are given the choice of how to pay. All major credit cards are accepted as well as Delta, Switch and Solo debit cards. Also there are more payment options coming soon. It is also worth noting that the site is SSL Certified which mean secure online ordering, your card details should be safe here.

When my cartridge arrived it was in a small brown cardboard box, which was well packed with polystyrene chips. A Company called Alphajet makes the cartridge itself, which was presented in an airtight bag and without any ink leakage. Inkfactory.com recommend that you refer to your original printer documentation when installing the cartridge, which I did without any problems.

The actual printing was better than I thought it would be, although not quite up to the standards of Lexmark's own cartridges. However the more I used the printer the more the ink warmed up which improved the look of the finished printing, on the whole a satisfactory result.

*Returns

I have never had to return a cartridge so I cannot comment personally on the experience. However it looks to be an easy process, if you have a faulty cartridge you first need to telephone or email Inkfactory.com to obtain a Returns Authorisation Number. Then you simply return the cartridge to a Freepost address and you will be given a refund, credit or a replacement depending on which you'd prefer. The use of a freepost address is a nice touch and takes some of the hassle out of returning a faulty cartridge.

*Inkfactory.com Price Promise

Inkfactory.com are obviously a confident bunch, as their Price Promise shows. In it they say, "We do not expect you to find cheaper prices than ours and therefore want to hear from you if any of our prices are higher than those advertised by another UK competitor. In the unlikely event that you do discover a better deal within seven days of placing your order, we will refund DOUBLE the difference".

Summary: Risk free, cheap and good service - It's not every day you see that