Cost of Printer Ink

Go to eBay and search for your printer model +cartridges.
Please let me know if you have any difficulties with this.
John Neilson
johnn31@bigpond.com

I have the new Epson printer and I love it. Apart from the ink lasting way longer as the ink tanks are large, the ink is very cheap to buy and simple to put in - open cap, lift tank seal and pour in!

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Our Epson Eco Tank printer still has a near full set of tanks after months of usage. The only drawback is that because it’s a water based ink, any prints that get wet basically lose all the information on them. One of my step-sons has a bus timetable I made for him and he left it in the front pocket of his backpack. One rain and that was the end of it. The page looks like it’s blank in places where the ink has washed cleanly away. Might have to invest in a laminater machine.

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CHOICE has just released a printer review (member content), including the annual ink cost and speed test.

Feel free to post any follow up questions here.

This is a comment on my own comment of July 2016. My Brother printer that cost $50 and which I have fed with ink from hottoner .com.au, has packed up. I found it always needed to be cleaned after printing 2 sheets of paper. Have decided to ditch it and by another cheapie and use cheap ink.

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For those interested, we’ve recently updated our printer review (member content). We also have a printer buying guide to help you navigate the various technical options and printer features.

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Years ago I bought a epsom printer and eventually It died on me for no apparent reason, some years later I watched a program on TV about built in obsolescence and there being demonstrated was a built in feature on an identical printer to mine that when the excess ink was deposited on an internal pad inside the printer a sensor would trip in and shut down the printer for good. That’s why I buy aftermarket printer ink.

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How does aftermarket ink not trip this switch?

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Your missing the point, the manufacturers need to make the ink affordable. It seems most printer makers try to recoup the cost of selling the printers cheap and then recoup the cost by insisting customers by genuine ink cartridges.
As far as I can remember you could only get the manufacturers printer ink for my old printer before it died on me.

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I get the idea that manufacturers almost give away printers to get you to buy their overpriced ink - it’s called the razors and blades model of marketing. I understand that you may get round this by buying third party ink and that many manufacturers try to make this as hard as possible to protect their profits. What I don’t understand is the relationship between that marketing strategy and the demise of your old printer and why the lack of third party ink mattered to its lifespan.

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They were trying to say as the printer already has a limited lifespan due to the ink sponge so having a printer that is able to use third party ink reduces the real cost of ownership for that limited lifespan. They, from my reading of their posts, were not saying it affected the length of life but rather just the cost of that life.

@archer_bryan

For a few printers it is possible to replace/clean the waste sponges and so avoid/reset the lock out switch. Just purely as an example see the following links, they should not be taken as recommendations of any business or system:

http://www.octoink.co.uk/categories/Waste-Ink-Solutions/Replacement-Pads/

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For what it’s worth, we’re STILL on the original ink that was supplied with our printer when we purchased it about 2 years ago. Haven’t even come close to needing to refill it yet. As previously mentioned, the ink is water-based though, so a small drop of water can completely destroy a print. Not suitable for photo prints, but for documents and non photo prints it suits us perfectly. Just wondering if the ink bottle refills will still be available to purchase when we do finally need to top it up. Might have to grab a few bottles just to make sure. Printer is an Epson Ecotank. Haven’t had a need to clean the nozzles on it so far either.

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… up and running for about 5 orbits before it needs more ink !! :wink:

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What I was meaning to say is why Should you to be loyal and buy genuine printer cartridges if some printer companies purposely build in their machines a device to shorten the usable life of the printer.

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We all know that upselling is a part of businesses for some industries, but Brother printer’s PR agency really laid it out in their email to us:

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I suggest more than a few PR agencies as well as brand / product managers for quite a few manufacturers have sent similar emails to their outlets, retailers, and service agents, in many, many industries.

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Here’s five things that cost less than printer ink:

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Only 5? With the possible exception of ‘Saffron’ I’d have thought it would be the most expensive thing by unit price in the supermarket or department store …

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Although not in the average supermarket it’s surprising there was not an Aussie wine comparison.
The 98, that’s 1998 Penfolds Grange Hermitage is on sale at Nicks Wine merchants for $10,788.

Even so that will get you a case with a dozen bottles or nearly 10 litres of blood red legal ecstasy.
Given the cost of printer ink should we be sharing a thimble with a ten course degustation as the ultimate symbol?

Unfortunately the feeling having just purchased a four pack of inks for the Brother is not quiet as pleasurable. Nearly enough to go alcohol free and vegan?

Apologies and respect to all non drinkers.

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I would anticipate that printer ink would not weight a far greater amount per litre than water which weights 1kg per litre, but even if it weights 5 times as much as water, it would still be less than the value of one kg of gold.

After reading an article regarding one of the drug seizures in Australia the other day, I was schocked to discover that after I calculated the claimed street value of the herion seized, that it was around $300,000 per kg, or about 6 times the price of gold.

Whilst the printer industry is robbing us blind, (unless you purchase aftermarket products), the illegial drugs industry is bleeding the country dry.

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