Have you experienced any problems or noticeable color inferiority with replacement (or problems with your printer or printheads)?

I would suggest only using ink produced by the company who manufactured your printer. I've tried a couple of 3rd-party "name-brand" replacement ink cartridges. The colors just weren't as vivid, and they tended to bleed a little more. I typically print a lot of photos, though. For just general printing, they would probably be fine. I never had printer problems as a result of using 3rd-party replacement cartridges.

I tried using some generic ink for my old Epson Stylus Photo 890 printer. For the most part, the color was the same (black was a little less consistent), but within a month my printer was shot. The nozzles got all screwed up and repeated nozzle cleanings did nothing for it. I know Epsons have a bad reputation for nozzle clogging, but this went way beyond that. The printer was printing beautifully prior to that without a single maintenance issue arising. Then I start using the generic ink and before I could finish off the cartridge my printer was kaput. My results may be on the extreme end of the spectrum (Epsons because of their specialized ink system are less tolerant of other inks), but I wouldn't recommend using the generic inks regardless.

What brand of printer do you use??

I have a Lexmark Z45 and have been using the same printer cartridge now for a year by re-filling...

I can state for a fact that different companies offer different grades of ink to refill with...

From the cheap stuff sold under the "UNIVERSAL" brand in many stores to the mid-grade Stratitec Inkjet Refill Kits sold at many 'SamsClubs".

I use ink from CompuBiz Inkjet and the black is black and the yellow is yellow... I hate to say this but I get better/brighter colors than from a 'NEW Lexmark' cartridge.

--David