I have several inkjet and several laser printers used for different purposes. I have had a Canon inkjet for some time and find that non-genuine cartridges print OK even for photos HOWEVER the ink fades over time. That printer is used for notes used fairly quickly so fading doesn’t matter. I woke up to fading when I printed a calendar with photos and found it was fading 5 months into the year. I don’t like the way Canon does its little “profit dance” after every so many pages. I have an Epson that will continue to print without wasting ink for hundreds of pages.
The suggestion to buy a cheap b&w laser is a good one and I have never had a problem with the laser and non-genuine cartridges.
I did the maths on how much per litre printer ink costs if you buy it by the cartridge. You would be amazed. It’s well over $1,000 per litre.
Am a laser printer convert only black and white Brother HL1110 for our needs - works well Have replaced toner once in about 4 years (don’t do too much printing - only domestic needs) Last toner cost $16 - generic Ebay type no problems!
I sourced cheap carts from ebay for a Canon printer over 8 years until it died, not from a clogged print head. I replaced it with a Brother MFC-J4510DW. First 18 months was Brother ink (major sale bundled with the printer) and then from my previous ebay supplier. With the “ebay ink” about 90% used the black print head suddenly clogged 100% and would not clean (even manually using reasonably aggressive techniques and solvent) noting there is a chance it was actually an electronics fault as there was no degradation, only instant failure. The 4510 and an original XL ink set was about the same cost and I replaced the 4510 with an MFC-J4620DW for about the same dollars. My approach is saving dollars with generic carts; if you get “rewarded” with a terminal clog every year or two with low cost inks you can still be at deuce against buying original ink while upgrading to the most current technology - especially if the failure is during a sale.
Totally agree with this. Manufacturers are making exhorbitant profits on ink and cheaper brands for some reason are never as good, or they dont work well with the printers. Even if companies made printers that had very high capacity ink tanks (3-4 times bigger than currently) it would not add to printer price, the ink should be about the same price but we would get much longer out of it.
I think Epson has brought out a high capacity ink printer which doesn’t require cartridge replacements as such. Simply pour more ink into the container on the side of the printer. The printer is dearer but the ink works out a lot cheaper. It would be interesting for Choice to test this printer and calculate the cost of the ink, which is manufacturer’s original, and compare it with the cost of the ink in cartridges ie: the cost per ml of each. Some time ago I worked out the cost of ink in original cartridges to be well over $1,000 a litre.
I think the fact that some manufacturers actually chip their ink cartridges , although there is a work around , so you have to pay more than twice the price of a generic cartridge for an original is quite off putting .
A famous motor vehicle producer once said " Sell them the cars cheap but charge what you want for spare parts " I think the same applies with printers unfortunately .
@vax2000, I have heard that saying attributed to the indomitable Henry Ford, the version I read was he exclaimed "I would give the cars away free if they could only buy the parts from me’.
The inkjet printer industry has adopted that philosophy.
Like others here have already stated,
buy a cheap B&W laser and the toner can last up to 10000 pages on some models.
For scanning I use the mobile phone with a app and then print it if I need a photocopy.
Another neat thing about lasers is that even when the toner is low and a urgent job must be done pulling the cartridge giving it a vigorous shake and tap on a table will often get another 10-20 pages sometimes more of good printing out of it, so that homework assignment or important work can be finished without rushing out and having to buy an immediate replacement.
I find it astounding that over the past six years when I have bought two printers for home, on each occasion the seller told me that the printer I was buying had a full cartridge capacity cartridge included, therefore if I was going to consider the choice of buying new ink cartridges when they run out, perhaps it would be cheaper for me to simply purchase a brand new printer, which when the time came I did. The printer cartridges were far more expensive that buying the new printer!
Now with this in mind I find the whole idea of printer cartridge pricing as totally ridiculous, and indeed a complete rip-off.
It would be great if Choice can do something about the ridiculous price of printer ink. I read somewhere that is the most expensive substance in the world, gram for gram. I bought a Brother MFP laser printer about 10 years ago and only use Brother high capacity laser cartridges. I watch ebay and buy brand new Canon cartridges for about half the cost of elsewhere. Tried non-genuine laser cartridges and both times damaged printer and had to pay for repairs. The printer was not cheap, but I have saved the cost in printing over the past 10 years. Pages cost me about 2.5cents per page including the cost of all consumables. Next printer will definitely be another Brother!!
Over 15 years, I’m on my third Canon ink jet printer, have never had an issue with any of them.
Have always used generic inks, have had some compatibility issues in early years
The last 4 years I have purchased from “Ink Station” in Sydney, excellent service and excellent inks. I recommend them.
It is same with us, the 4 ink cartridge of our inkjet printer cost more than the printer itself! And I once opened a used ink tank out of curiousity, to my surprise that it contain a soaked up sponge with colour ink, instead of just ink in the cartridge. So, the idea of paying hundreds of dollar on new cartridge is just another money wasting.
I am wondering whether this empty ink inkjet cartridge can be recyclable?
Planet Ark - “You can drop off your used or empty laser and inkjet cartridges at all Officeworks and participating Australia Post, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Office National and Office Products Depot outlets. Inkjet cartridges, toner cartridges and toner bottles are accepted. This includes cartridges used in printers, photocopiers and fax machines.”
If you are really asking if you can refill, it is dependent on make and model. Some can be easily refilled but most newer ones also have chips that need to be replaced or reset for them to be accepted by the printer. The sponge is used as a metering device to control the ink flow rate into the printer, not just to take up space.
HP apparently have electronic use by dates built into their cartridges, a friend of mine took them to task and they sent him a pile of free cartridges all with use by dates that failed soon. This shouldn’t be allowed as their is no good reason why they should have use by dates unless, it has to do with drying. But event them you as a consumer don’t have any idea how long you will get out of them.
I use a high end photo printer that has 9 ink cartridges for a business so it gets a lot of use. At $320 to $440 dollars for a complete set of genuine cartridges it is rather expensive to use it.
I have recently found a system that uses inks that are made to be compatible and a refillable system that, unfortunately, has to use the original chips from genuine cartridges. What that means is that you have to have genuine cartridges that are new and unused, you have to remove the chip from them and place the chip into the refillable cartridge. This is a one-time cost (read waste). However, the upside is that you can order the inks from the USA (9 x 1 ltr containers - $1200 AUS), the refillable system is about $660 AUS. As I buy approx 6 sets of cartridges per year - do the maths, the whole thing pays for itself in just one year!
I believe that Choice should not only look into the price of ink but also into how the printer manufactures have tried to tie the users of their products to their highly overpriced inks. Also look into the way that they threaten to void your warranty if you use any other inks.
Sorry for the long rant, just my two cents worth.
There are now shops that refill (brand name) ink cartridges and sell them–bring in your empty cartridge (original brand), they keep it and provide you with a full one of the same type. Much cheaper than new cartridges and they use good quality ink. They also offer instructions for resetting your printer so it knows it has a full cartridge.
Try independent shops that specialise in ink cartridges.
Replaced my HP multi function printer with a Brother laser printer two days ago. The Brother scans, copies and prints high volume. We don’t need the high volume but are delighted with the purchase. Thanks for the comments on this page. We researched and followed your advice. Printing problems solved. We purchased a Brother HL-L2380DW from Officeworks for $199. This printer is so fast and economical. It’s now connected to my ipad, mobile phone, laptop and two desktop computers. This was a little more than we would have paid for the cartridges on the Hewlett Packard which is now going to be given away or scrapped. The HP had been in storage and only came out of its packaging 4 months ago. If anyone wants a rarely used double sided print multi function printer in the Campbelltown area of NSW call me on 4628 2528, its yours for the taking.
years ago my printer was used very week as I had a busy family , kids homework Uni assignments etc now it’s just used for the occasional boarding pass , travel documents etc , however every fortnight I run a test page to keep the printer alive ( as like humans if you don’t use it you loose it )
And I have not had a problem 2 years down the Trac my $ 50. Printer is still going yes the inks cost $ 75 to replace but hey that’s not too bad
