Perhaps you were recently designing your own personal computer for school or work on Dells handy online carousel. All the parts and options go where they are supposed too and a week or two later, magically, the brow box with blue letters shows up on your doorstep. But there is another option. Printers? Dell brand printers? Werent they a computer company after all? Many people just assume that it is absolutely natural that Dell, a longtime personal computer company servicing the consumer as well as small and large businesses would suddenly have complete lines of printer, ink, and toner. However, Dell has undergone a long road to get where it is today and understanding where they have come from and how is important to understanding and appreciating the product you buy from them as well as the other products their system inevitably suggests throughout their checkout process.
Dell, now ranked as the 41st on the Fortune 500 list, actually started in a dorm room—like many other tech startups that have gone big over the past few decades (groupon and bradsdeals for recent examples). In fact, as acknowledgement of his companies humble roots Michael Dell actually hosts a dorm-room startup summit for other aspiring low budget companies that hope to go big—and often do. Well, from the beginning PCs Limited did very well with its theory that marketing computers directly to consumers would better fit their needs. At first Dell used prefab parts from IBM but it wasnt long before he dropped out of school, received a large purse from his family, and started turning out his own custom computers. By marketing and trading directly to individuals using newspapers and magazines Dell, by the time its system was in place, made over 70 million dollars in a year. By going public and including overseas markets, Michael Dell was the youngest Fortune 500 CEO by 1988, only four years after its founding—an astounding feat backed up by the quality of the products Dell produces.
Dell was also a leader in internet distribution and marketing, selling its line of products over the web by 1996. Dell also acquired a number of other companies including Alienware, famous for its gaming computers. It was at this point and through present that Dell really broke into industries beyond simply computer hardware. They now produce TVs, servers, data, security, and more under one or another names, often using these companies to bolster their laptops and desktops, increasing the quality that Dell computers are famous for as well as backing up customer service and helpdesk solutions. Dell also produces a large number of inexpensive Dell brand printers and Dell ink cartridges which are marketed along with their custom computer lines. You can scroll a long list of these printers on their carousel while designing your personal pc or by searching the models. Also available, and aggressively marketed, are antivirus and computer security programs, games, computer applications, mice, and sound systems. Actually, by fragmenting every level of the computer and making your personal system more customizable, Dell has managed to increase its profits by selling everything piecemeal. The actual box of your computer may have one price, but the total at checkout after you add every necessary piece may be something quite different—and always higher.
Dell makes fantastic computers and has a long and notable history of doing so. However their printers are somewhat suspect. In truth, Dell printers are made by Lexmark but, remarkably, seem to be inferior quality compared to Lexmark and receive higher numbers complaints. Also, Dell has unique cartridges for their inkjets (as does just about everyone) but Dell ink has been rumored to be of inferior quality. Also the quantity seems to be lower compared to certain other brands and the refills are notoriously expensive. For instance, a replacement Dell 3110cn toner cartridge can run as high as fifty dollars on the internet. Because Dell runs such unique cartridges as well, finding non OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges can be frustratingly difficult. These cartridges are often sought after as they are much less expensive than the Dell brand toner packs. Also, refill kits are equally as difficult to find. However refill kits for the corresponding Lexmark cartridges will likely work very well for a lower cost, even if it is much more difficult to refill a cartridge than to simply replace it. It is important to note as well that Dell makes no claim to sell high quality picture-quality printers. Dell printers tend to be focused more for occasional, utilitarian text printing and therefore their inks will tend to be of lower quality. If you are looking for a picture printer it may be well to spring for a more expensive model from somewhere else.