Compatible inkjet cartridges are a recent phenomena.
With the launch of the inkjet printer around 1990 the power of high quality printing was now available to home and business users.By removing the professional printer and replacing them with desktop inkjet printers the demand for injet refills was ready to soar.Inkjet printer manufacturers were excited by this development and saw possibilities of high profits from the large volume use of cartridges required to feed these hungry inkjet printers.At one stage, personal estimates of what one inkjet manufacturer was charging for ink based on the volume of ink in the cartridge, and cost per cartridge, was around $12,000 per gallon! As exciting as this was to the manufacturers of inkjet printers, it also aroused the interest of compatible inkjet cartridge manufacturers and a whole new industry was created. As there was such generous profits in the there was room for compatible inkjet cartridge manufacturers to invest in equipment and develop a range of generic cartridges to compete with the original manufacturers cartridges.