[PCWorld]

Post your comments for The Best Deals on Printer Ink here

[Tinman1957]

Which is why I refill my HP carts myself....

[Kadidelhopper]

What's with the lack of a "no" choice on these articles? Tired of all the true feed back?

[Kadidelhopper]

You say the average cost for color is 10.4and Kodak's is 9.5 and that is "well below" read you own articles.

[taxwizz]

I tried the replacement inks from a BIG manufacturer on my HP 8500. It recognized the non-HP product, and very quickly the print heads all jammed up. Even the use of real HP heads would not fix them. Result? New printer...NON HP.

Aftermarket co told me that this has been a problem, and happily refunded my money.

Both they and I believe that HP puts a "poison pill" in their software to guard against aftermarket ink.

Sounds like Restriction of Trade to me. Is that illegal?

[LauraHeltonBrandley]

taxwizz, on 06 April 2012 - 04:47 AM, said:

I tried the replacement inks from a BIG manufacturer on my HP 8500. It recognized the non-HP product, and very quickly the print heads all jammed up. Even the use of real HP heads would not fix them. Result? New printer...NON HP.

Aftermarket co told me that this has been a problem, and happily refunded my money.

Both they and I believe that HP puts a "poison pill" in their software to guard against aftermarket ink.

Sounds like Restriction of Trade to me. Is that illegal?

I have no problem using replacement ink for my officejet 5610. I bought my ink from 123 Inkjets. No problems with it at all plus I have a Canon Image class drum/ink all in one toner cartridge. Sam's sells this one for 65.00 and I purchased it for 44.00 from 123 inkjets. Have had no problems with it either.

[larjo]

For the individual, refilling your own cartridges is certainly the way to go and refilling Canon cartridges is the most reliable and HP the worst.

[ssweitzer]

Some Costco's do ink refills. I got some done in Gaithersburg Md. They were probably the cheapest way to go other than doing it yourself. The printer knows when the cartridge is out of date and it tells you so, even when the ink has just been refilled.

[ssweitzer]

Some Costco's do ink refills. I got some done in Gaithersburg Md. They were probably the cheapest way to go other than doing it yourself. The printer knows when the cartridge is out of date and it tells you so, even when the ink has just been refilled.

[Zuke]

Kadidelhopper, on 03 April 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

What's with the lack of a "no" choice on these articles? Tired of all the true feed back?

It shows up on mine. Currently 32 No's to 207 Yes's.

[oliverrp]

This is OK as far as it goes. But "Best Deals In Printer Inks" leads me to believe that indie refills will be mentioned.

[bigbear639]

Refiling your own is a waste of both time and money. I have use aftermarket inks for over 10 years without a problem on my Canon Printers. Just 2 days ago I needed to buy some more ink for one of my printers. One single Cartridege for a Canon w/chip costs From $35.00 and up. this printer takes 4. Kodak costs $68.50 plus tax and shipping.

Other printers use 5 to 7 carts some with chips.

I used froogle nad found the best price this time at amazon a set of 6 carts 3 Black and 3 Color cost $4.69, I ordered 6 sets, shipping was free. with a discountof almost S20.00 using points from my Amazon Card the total came to $7.69. I have 4 Canon Printers of varios models as it becomes more difficult buying the same model aftera year or two. My Computers are in different locations and I prefer letting friends or family using anothr computer to print on one connected to that one. Yes I can use Google Print to send and print on another printer.

I bet that you can't find refill kits that cheap. I have tried the refill route back in my WEBTV days. Messy and time consuming.

[GreggSheehan]

There are other factors that need to be weighed into this discussion. I've been doing cost comparisons for years and when I work out a cost/page for printing (be it inkjet, laser or colour laser) I always factor in the capital cost of the original printer together with the consumables (including drums etc if applicable) over it's estimated useful life. By doing it this way it has shown me that the capital cost is a very small part of the total "cost per page" and therefore you may as well spring for a $500 colour laser rather than a $50 inkjet. Then you will be able to save on some of the ongoing costs (if you choose wisely).

[madagascarjoan]

why no comment on generic, works w model? I've been using them for years and seems to be working fine; huge savings.

[taylor1277]

i want everyone to know about Kodak,you may go to the store and think the prices are cheap.But Kodak doesnt tell you that if you turn of the printer it still uses ink.Its printers make the ink evaporate over a certain amount of time.And also if you want to just print black and white,you still have to use a color cartridge,the black cartridge isnt really black its charcoal.You have to find all this out on their website.They dont disclose this to you on the box.I bought an ESP 5 printer and thought i was saving money.Sure maybe that i dont have to buy 4 cartridges or they arent 39.99 a piece.But if i dont use the printer,i think the ink should still be there when i go to use it.Well guess again.You can find all this hidden on their website.

[ThomTel]

The 'Best Deal' is to STAY AWAY from HP Printers altogether!!!

I have been through 5 HP printers in the past 3 years. I have used more ink 'testing' them to try to get them to be (stay) recognized by my computers, than they're worth! I don't think any printer could, ultimately, cost me as much as the HPs...

[JC69]

I have an Epson TX120 with a continous ink system and i´m very happy printing photos for the family with an estimated cost of 0.1 cent for B/W text and 0.5 for each photo printed (full page of color)

[kwells]

We have been so frustrated with inkjet printers and their high cost that we throw away the printer when it runs out of ink. We have tried and tried to keep them going for more than a few months but they always fail to recognize the new cartridges or the refilled ones or the print starts to streak or miss (blank spots) or they display some sort of error message.

We wait until a printer goes on sale for $40-60 and buy several. When the ink runs out, we install another and junk the empty one. It's a real sad commentary on the industry, but I have literally spent a thousand dollars on ink just within the past year or so trying to keep them running. It is cheaper to replace the unit entirely. We don't see any other option.

I just ordered a new one today from Amazon for under $60. We have two printers in a pile ready to go out (less than a year old).

It used to be that you could purchase a printer and it would literally last for YEARS. Not so any longer.

[ging2001]

Quote

I tried the replacement inks from a BIG manufacturer on my HP 8500. It recognized the non-HP product, and very quickly the print heads all jammed up. Even the use of real HP heads would not fix them. Result? New printer...NON HP. Aftermarket co told me that this has been a problem, and happily refunded my money. Both they and I believe that HP puts a "poison pill" in their software to guard against aftermarket ink. Sounds like Restriction of Trade to me. Is that illegal?

Same here!!!! Ruined my 400$ HP Photosmart Printer:((