Printer Cartridges

[brianwaring]

Can someone tell me why printer cartridges ars so expensive and why replacement non genuine do not hold as much ink

[sft42]

That's exactly where the companies make their money from and unless you need very high quality prints i would recommend a canon or epson printer as the cartridges for their cheaper models only cost �3 for black and �4 for colour. As for refills not holding as much i haven't found them to be that much different from the real thing but if you do why not try the JR refill system. you buy the ink and put it in yourself the biggest savings are to be had from this method.

[bluedolphin]

I use the refill your own option and get 3 times the amount from it at a much cheaper price. It reminds me of buying new batteries every time when you could be using rechargeables.

[Pinotage]

Currys were recently selling a cheap printer at �29.99, which seemed a bargain. But checking their stock of replacement ink cartridges I found the cartridges cost more than the printer.

[Cactus]

If your printer is new, you're better off sticking to the genuine cartridges at least until your warranty has run out. If anything goes wrong with your printer, and it's found to have a "generic" ink cartridge in it, your warranty is invalid and you're stuck paying to have it repaired yourself. I have an Epson printer, and the cartridges for mine are about �15 each from a company in the Channel Islands. I only use genuine cartridges now as i've had some bad experiences with generic ones. The black isn't as black, the colours are a bit washed out, and they have a tendency to block the print heads. I had my printer apart in about 20 pieces not long ago, just to get it working again. (it's over 2 years old, so warranty had expired anyway) Now i've put genuine Epson carts back in it, it works perfectly. This doesn't mean i agree with their pricing policy though, i think they're vastly overpriced for what they are. But if you want your printing to look the best, i guess for now you have to pay the premium.

[Janetx]

Canon (and possibly others) also now has a date chip on cartridges so that you can't refill them.

[Cactus]

Janetx - some Epson ones do too. I think that's extremely naughty of them. If you don't care if you void your warranty, and you want to use 3rd party ink then why shouldn't you?

[boviner]

look on the net some firms are offering four colour and four black cartridges for twenty five pounds,

[Gordon Rix]

JR ( no, not John Ross from Dallas but those nice people from Rainham, Essex) can supply a "Zap it" kit to overcome the date chip on some Epsom and Canon cartridges. Available from Maplin Electronics and all good computer consumable suppliers, that definately excludes Currys, Dixons, PC world (let 'em sue!)

[henry Tomlin]

WHERE IS THE CHEAPEST PLACE TO BUY INK CARTRIDGES FOR AN HP PHOTO SMART PRINTER