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A: Not unless any printer problems can be clearly tracked to the use of third-party inks. In the following explanation, we'll explode the myth of the voided warranty…

Simply put, printer manufacturers cannot legally void your standard printer warranty if you use third-party inks. In order to void your warranty they would have to go through a slew of technical and legal mechanizations to prove that it was the ink, and the ink alone, that caused damage to the printer.

Manufacturers can, however, contractually obligate you to use only their inks through an extended warranty agreement. In this case, the manufacturer is providing a service extension in return for the exclusive right to your ink business for only the extended period specified, which is usually an extra year. So, in reality, it’s not just a warranty, but a contract. Unless you have signed on to such an agreement, a standard warranty is not voided simply by the use of third-party inks.

The lesson here is to know what your contractual obligation is before you sign on to an extended warranty agreement. If an extended warranty agreement requires you to use the printer manufacturer’s ink or media exclusively, it should be understood that you’re actually paying for the warranty extension in the higher cost of OEM ink and media. And that’s just one of those risk-reward decisions we all make as business owners. But it’s better to know all the angles before you make those crucial decisions.

If you read your standard printer warranty closely, you will notice that the use of third-party inks in and of itself does not void the warranty, though this is usually qualified with some statement to the effect that if the ink caused the damage, the warranty is void. This is one of the most common myths in our industry, driven by industry technicians who are trained to protect the ink sales of their employers, the printer manufacturers.

It is highly unlikely that a third-party ink manufactured by a reputable company and backed by their own guarantee will damage the printheads. Plus, a reputable third-party ink manufacturer will cover a repair if a printer problem can be linked to the ink, so you're double-covered.

It should be noted, however, that a poorly-formulated ink that has not gone through the usual rigorous testing demanded by reputable companies can cause problems, mainly related to the final output of the image, from unwanted color shift to poor ink adhesion.

So there is an element of caveat emptor, in which you need to make sure that you're buying third-party inks from a reputable source, that the source has done extensive testing of the ink, and that the source is willing to stand behind the inks on the extremely off chance that the ink causes problems.

In LexJet's case, the ink solutions the company has formulated for the HP Designjet 5000/5500 series and Roland's solvent printers (LexJet ProSolvent Ink), meet and beat all of the above requirements. LexJet not only ensures that the inks will flow through the printer without a hitch, but that the inks are seamlessly interchangeable so that there's little to no interruption in workflow.

LexJet has shipped more than 25,000 cartridges with zero printer defect claims and a return rate of less than one percent, which is as good as or better than most OEM ink return rates.

You can bet that LexJet Inks, which have gone through the ringer before being released and have a proven history of spotless performance, are a perfect match for your printer. Any replacement ink that exhibits equivalent color characteristics and allows you to maintain the same media profiles is certain to work flawlessly in your printer.