These days with everyone opting for Compatible Ink Cartridges over generic ink cartridges, a lot of ink supply manufacturers have mushroomed over the Internet, who promises to provide genuine compatible ink cartridges. However, there are many who have been suspected of supplying inferior quality ink cartridges, thus duping the consumers. This is the reason that is creating an apprehension in the minds of many printer users to buy ink cartridges online.

It is absolutely critical for the customer to buy carefully, taking a lot of things into consideration before going ahead with the ink cartridge purchase. Otherwise, one might end up purchasing a fake ink cartridge. The problem with fake Inkjet Cartridges is that they not only they produce very shoddy prints but more importantly cause harm to the printer.

Fake ink cartridges look very similar to genuine ink cartridges  though they do have certain flaws either in their packaging or in the cartridge itself. Most of the times, just by taking a good look at the packaging one can ascertain whether it is real or counterfeit. Generally, small details such as spelling errors or slight abnormality in the packaging can point out the clue about the ink cartridge’s genuineness. Pricing is another thing that could be a good clue as well. If the pricing of the ink cartridges are suspiciously low then there are chances that they are not genuine.

Also, fake cartridges do not last for too long and the whole time produce very inferior quality prints.  Most fake cartridges have the tendency to dry out faster unlike genuine cartridges. Added to this some also have a bad effect on the printer head as they leak, pop, spit and cause blots. This seriously damages the printer.

If such problems are found with the ink cartridges, it would be wise on the part of the printer user to get rid off the fake cartridge as soon as possible.