Off-brand inks: think twice.(printers and cartridges)(Brief Article)

With digital-camera buffs shelling out about $50 to $70 for a set of inkjet cartridges from their printers' manufacturer, alternative suppliers are winning converts. Cartridges from office-supply stores, Web sites, and franchise operations often sell for about one-third less than the brand-name product.

However, when we bought more than 500 cartridges nationwide and produced more than 35,000 prints on three top-brand inkjet printers, the off-brand inks we tried weren't the bargain they seem. Even the cheapest trimmed per-photo costs only slightly: to 30 cents from 35 cents for a 4x6-inch print, for example. With others, the per-print cost was the same as for the brand-name inks, or higher. Quality and fade resistance were usually lower. Moreover, we received one or more unusable cartridges of most off-brands.

The bottom line: Use your printer's brand of ink and its best photo paper for excellent photo ...