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WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU

For many years, printer manufacturers have kept customers in line by saying that if you buy anyone else's ink but theirs your machine warranty will be void. There is only one problem with those threats, they are against the law. You cannot tell people where to buy goods and control the price; it is a monopoly and is against the law in the United States. Until now you had to take my word for this but the following is legal precedent that has been set.

The first case was IBM vs. The United States and the Supreme Court held that IBM could not threaten customers with termination of their data processing equipment leases just because the users did not purchase supplies manufactured by IBM. Such practice constituted a "tying agreement" and was found to be in violation of the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Law.

The illegality of these practices was finally spelled out in a recent law.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act

United States Code Annotated, Title 15 Commerce and Trade

Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties, Section 2302 reads:

(c)	No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the commission if:
		1.	The warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and
		2.	The commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest.

The bottom line is the manufacturer of the printer you are using cannot void the warranty on your printer because you use a cartridge or refill kit manufactured by someone other than the printer manufacturer. This includes the use of compatible cartridges, refill kits, and remanufactured or recycled cartridges.

If it bothers you that they may still try to threaten you, consider the following option:

Use the original cartridges that came with the printer. When they are empty, put them in a plastic bag and keep them in a safe place until the warranty period is over. If you need to send the printer in for replacement or service, put the manufacturers cartridges back into your printer, so that the type of cartridges used will not be an issue.

SHOPPING FOR A NEW PRINTER

When shopping for a new printer be aware of the fact that some printers are more affordable than others. The printers that use Epson, Canon, Brother or Xerox cartridges are available in compatibles; "knock-offs" of the original. They are made brand-new and are always very affordable. When selecting a Hewlett Packard, Lexmark or Dell printer the cartridges contain a print head on every cartridge and are very expensive. The only after market cartridges available are recycled ones. It is an expensive process where the cartridges have to be cleaned and refilled. These cartridges are always more expensive to buy than a generic cartridge that can be mass-produced. Factor in the cost of replacement ink cartridges when shopping for a new printer.