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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Ink Jet printers. I have an HP printer and it is great. Nothing wrong with it. but here is the problem. The ink prices have gotten way out of control. $100 for 3 colors and a black. Probably go through 2 refills a year so that now can be $200 just for ink. My question is I see these Cannon printers with the refill Tanks. Are they the answer and is the quality there. Or I will open this to other recommendations for ink refills and or new printer with good quality and cheaper way to refill ink. thanks. Now I would like to hear from fairly newer buys and not some 20 year old machine that no one can get any more anyway. They have to be good quality to print labels and photos on photo paper also. Thanks. PS maybe you might also know some place where HP ink refills are cheaper. They are all running the same places that I have looked under all the big name vendors.
 
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Hello John. For years I had HP Inkjets and one of the reasons that the HP cartridges are more expensive is that the print head is integral to the printer (or used to be anyway). Some time ago I switched to a Brother Inkjet where the ink was just the ink, cheaper, but eventually I started having problems that I think were the print heads. Eventually, I switched to a Canon Color LaserJet and really love it. I spend between $50-$75 on Toner maybe every 9 months or so.

BUT... it depends on what you are doing with it. I don't print photographs, the laserjet at this level just can't do what the Inkjet does. For all day to day printing, it is great. I used it for maybe 5 years as my primary printer for work (before retiring).

When I did have HP Printers, Costco was almost always the least expensive option for ink.
 
d_bondi said:
Hello John. For years I had HP Inkjets and one of the reasons that the HP cartridges are more expensive is that the print head is integral to the printer (or used to be anyway). Some time ago I switched to a Brother Inkjet where the ink was just the ink, cheaper, but eventually I started having problems that I think were the print heads. Eventually, I switched to a Canon Color LaserJet and really love it. I spend between $50-$75 on Toner maybe every 9 months or so.

BUT... it depends on what you are doing with it. I don't print photographs, the laserjet at this level just can't do what the Inkjet does. For all day to day printing, it is great. I used it for maybe 5 years as my primary printer for work (before retiring).

When I did have HP Printers, Costco was almost always the least expensive option for ink.
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Thanks. What is happening now is HP has the ink market cornered so that no matter where you buy ink it is the exact same price. Costco does not even carry many inks any more including mine. Since the Pandemic and the wars going on with Russia, the supply chain for the very minerals used to make inks is limited thus causing the rise in prices. Also the refills use microchips in the containers and they are in demand as we all know about the chip market. Will they ever come down, who knows. Using aftermarket suppliers is a crapshoot as far as I am concerned but am will to listen to any help.
 
We switched to an Epson EcoTank printer for the reasons you stated, ink prices and the short life of the cartridges. The actual printer cost more, but the ink is cheap and lasts a very long time. We've had it probably three years now and have not had to refill it yet, all the tanks right now are still about 3/4 full. Quality of print is excellent.
 
I bought one of the printers with the refill tanks a couple years ago. I think it was an epson ecotank. I love it, I'm still using the original ink that came with it. I wouldn't even think about buying a printer with the ink cartridges after using the refill ones.
 
I used an Epson EcoTank for years and it was great but just died one day. I switched to the HP smart tank a couple years ago and feel that the print quality is a little better, but not much. I use the scanner feature a lot and the HP interface and scan quality is much better.

We print quite a bit and I only refill it maybe 1-2 times a year. Before the ink tank printers, we were going through standard ink cartridges on a monthly subscription and barely making it the month.
 
I have an HP printer that I use all the time. HP has a special program where they will provide you the ink for a very reasonable monthly fee. They monitor your ink levels and send you refill cartridges when you are running low. There are various levels of usage and your rate will depend on how many pages you print a month. There is a carry over from month to month if you don't use all your allotment, but if you go over there is an additional charge. Sometimes I do go over my set number but the cost is still reasonable. They also have the same type of deal on printer paper but I don't use them for paper. For more info on the program, Google HP Printer Ink Subscription.
 
The problem we've always had with ink jet printers was that the inks would dry and clog. Went 5 years or so without a printer at home, printed maybe 5 pages a month at my office for personal use (with permission)--retirement took that option away, and added the need for a home scanner.

A few months ago picked up a HP Laser Tank, 2604sdw. Scans, copies, prints, and toner is currently relatively cheap. The wi-fi is convenient, and in general we're okay with it for the $200 it cost. Only real issue is that the paper we had here at home is cheap, and this printer doesn't seem to feed it consistently--jamming about every third sheet. Grabbed a thin stack of Hammermill paper when i stopped in at the office a few weeks ago--no jams, so i'm thinking i'll just buy a ream of good stuff. I'm thinking we'll print less than 150 pages/year--so the 2.500 pre-loaded toner should last a while. Seems like i sign & scan documents more than we print--really great for that.

One of the things i've come to miss most about work is our IT team. Print issues, computer issues, cell phone issues--i spent 10 years just calling "Alex" (our main tech) and he fixed or walked through the fix in minutes. "Alexa" is not even close to a good substitute for "Alex". Good luck!!
 
FWW We also had a bad experience with our one and only color ink jet printer. Didn't use it a lot, the b/w laser printer did just fine. However, there were times we wanted to print in color. Print head dried up.
We purchased a Brother color laser printer. Excellent print quality. Daughter used it for her Masters. 12,000 pages + printed and it's still going. It became obsolete years ago. Zero complaints.
 
We replaced our cartridge inkjet printer with an Epson EcoTank from Costco. It is nice to be able to look at the frontside and see the actual ink levels. Ink is ink. It will use the same amount of ink per page regardless of the source... cartridge or tank.

Our only problem we ever had with cartridge printers is with using refills or generic cartridges, so we only use genuine OEM inks.
 
A few (as defined by 15 or more ;)) years ago, one of my friends did an analysis of ink jet printers and replacement ink cartridges. He found it was cheaper to buy a new ink jet printer when the ink ran out rather than buying the replacement cartridges as the cost of the replacements kept rising while the cost of the printers kept falling. I now use a color laser which has more cost effective cartridge replacements.
 
Refill tanks seem to be the better way to go today for printers. You are just buying the ink instead of the whole proprietary plastic cartridge that syncs with the printer digitally. I will go tankless when I eventually see the need for another printer.
 
I had an HP ink jet printer for many years - it worked well, but as you noted, genuine HP ink cartridges are wicked expensive, and non-HP aftermarket cartridges are problematic. I tried Staples house brand cartridges - they didn't work, and the Staples customer service person I spoke to about it said that they really didn't recommend them!

I think this is just another case of the classic Gillette razor story that they teach in every marketing school - sell a reasonably good razor at a very attractive price, and then make your money by selling proprietary (patented) replacement blades at exorbitant prices.

I finally bit the bullet and bought an Epson EcoTank printer. It's a bit slower than the HP, but it works reasonable well and it's a three-in-one machine - printer, copier and scanner. It's a tank design that you fill using bottled ink. I've had it for more than a year, and so far I'm still working on the original ink fill. Wife and I do opt to use draft mode printing for almost everything thing, so that stretches the ink out a bit. The model we bought connects via WiFi, and set up could not have been easier. You do need to use a smart phone for the set up My only complaint is that the LCD screen is tiny - about 1" square - so it's hard to read. But the only time I really need to use the screen is if I'm using it as a copier, or if something goes wacky.
 
Wow this is just what I thought. Seems the Epson eco tank gets good marks for ink use. It is a known fact that HP sells good printers for cheap because they make their money with ink refills. It was not so bad a couple years ago but as I stated for reasons beyond control they have skyrocketed. Now I do not know what to do. I do not use inks that often but would like to have them handy when printing labels or photos. I do need printer, scanner, copier and fax ability so now my question which model is most reliable and is there ones to stay away from? Thanks.
 
jttheclockman said:
Wow this is just what I thought. Seems the Epson eco tank gets good marks for ink use. It is a known fact that HP sells good printers for cheap because they make their money with ink refills. It was not so bad a couple years ago but as I stated for reasons beyond control they have skyrocketed. Now I do not know what to do. I do not use inks that often but would like to have them handy when printing labels or photos. I do need printer, scanner, copier and fax ability so now my question which model is most reliable and is there ones to stay away from? Thanks.
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I think I remember HP got in trouble for having their ink cartridges hard coded with expiration dates, so even a perfectly good ink cartridge wouldn't work.
 
I've been using an Epson Ecotank for a few years now. Got tired of having to buy new (hp) cartridges every time I wanted to print something. The biggest downside to the ecotank is if you only use it occasionally the print heads need cleaning. I recently discovered there is a deep cleaning, that I needed to use just a few weeks ago. Still have not had to buy more ink.
 
KenB259 said:
I think I remember HP got in trouble for having their ink cartridges hard coded with expiration dates, so even a perfectly good ink cartridge wouldn't work.
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You are correct. Then a whole bunch of work arounds showed up. That is where that chip comes into play.
 
carlmorrell said:
I've been using an Epson Ecotank for a few years now. Got tired of having to buy new (hp) cartridges every time I wanted to print something. The biggest downside to the ecotank is if you only use it occasionally the print heads need cleaning. I recently discovered there is a deep cleaning, that I needed to use just a few weeks ago. Still have not had to buy more ink.
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My HP goes through that too when I do not use for a certain period of time and then I have to wait for it to go through the process before it prints. Like I said it is a great printer but it is the inks that doubled in price to use. Not sure what I am going to do but for now I will print in black ink.
 
We have had an HP printer for several years now. Did (still do) the HP ink program. We don't print as much as we used to, so are currently on a program that is about $6.50/month. not sure when we changed cartridges last, but figure the fee is about what we would spend a year. I think this lower fee is set up for 100 pages a month? Would have to check. Thought about canceling last time after I put new ink in, but if I did they can turn off the cartridges so that's when we switched to this lower fee.
 
John

I have an Epson ET2850 that has served me well. It is a three-way machine - printer, copier and scanner. It's not a fax per se, but there are workaround solutions to do faxes. The problem with faxes is that so few people still use that technology - only doctors and lawyers. (Wonder what the commonality is?) If you still have a fax modem and phone line connected to your computer, Windows will let you set up the fax modem as a 'printer'. The last time I bought a computer, I asked about a fax modem and was told that they are still around, but you have to purchase them as extras and then have them installed. An even easier solution is to just scan the document and save it as a pdf that can then be transmitted as an e-mail attachment.

The only serious negative I've heard about the Epson Eco-tank line is that a few people have reported difficulties in cleaning the ink jets after long idle periods. I can understand that, but ours is rarely idle for very long. If we are home, something gets printed every day or so, so that only idle period would be if we are away for a few weeks and that would be very usual. That's one of the advantages of the HP design - since the ink jets are physically withing the ink cartridges, you replace them every time you put in new cartridges, whereas with Epson, they are permanent parts of the printer itself and may have to be periodically cleaned.
 
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