Printer question ~ WWYD?

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Fred Wright

Fred Wright

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Staff member
Aug 7, 2006
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Delaware, USA
www.nwedj.com
Folks,

My printer is a 4-year-old Lexmark. It still works fine. Here's the issue ~ the damn ink carts are just too expensive. I was getting a dual pack of the #16 black carts in Sams for around $50.00 but they're no longer there. Was in Sams today looking for them and all they had was a three-pack ~ two black and a color for $72.00. :eek:

That's too rich for my blood. Gosh, the printer was only $35.00 at Wally-Mart.

By the way, we're not into the fill-your-own cart scenario. I don't use the color anyhow. My printing is all documents, shipping labels and the like. I don't need photo-quality printing.

I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions. Should I just replace the printer with one that uses less expensive ink carts? Or would a laser printer fit the bill? What brands and models would you recommend?

Thanks in advance. :)
 
It's a damn shame isn't it.

I had a karaoke gig a couple of weeks ago and needed to update my song books. I needed to reprint them along with new request slips. Since I was almost out of paper and ink, it was going to set me back over $100.

I ended up dropping off my flash drive at Staples and came back in an hour. They printed 5 books with 500 pages, hole punched them and printed/cut 500 request slips for less than $100.

Is that an option for you?
 
I'd buy generic ink for it, until it dies.

dealink.com

Oh, they say it will void your warranty, but after 4 years, on a $35 printer, do you care?

I use generics on a more expensive printer, and I'm quite happy.
 
That's the whole point of basically almost giving the printers away -- so you have to buy ink -- just like cell phones :sqerr:

I just get a new printer when they run out for the cheapies :)

A laser refill will usually cost you quite a bit more, so I mainly use my ink machines...
 
Fred,

Thats how they getcha. Lexmark and the likes aren't printer makers - their product is INK.
If you don't need a color printer, and your doing minimal B&W printing (sounds like it), then just buy the cheapest printer you can find (NOT DELL). Don't stock up on ink, because it does have a limited shelf life.

I've always used HP printers, and I have a laser multifunction printer - LJ3200. The toner isn't cheap ($62) but the cartridges last for ~3000 pages. I used to have a Color Laser Jet, but it was too expensive to run - I now take my color projects to the local copy shop.

-Joe
 
I have another thought on this. While I haven't bought one, I've been "this" close to buying a Kodak printer or all-in-one. They tout that their cartridges are <$15 each. It appears to be true. The all-in-one I was looking at is around $100
 
Fred, I have a lexmark also. The ink was costing me $30.00 for a cartridge of black ink. The local supermarket
started doing refills so I took my emty cartridge there and had it refilled for less than half than what I was paying before. I think Walgreens has this service also. Check out drug stores, and places like Staples, Office Maxx, Walmart etc. It's the only way to go. One other thing - don't wait to long to have it refilled, as it will dry out rendering it unusable. I put mind in a sandwich bag until I get to the place that refills it. And it's good to have two, one for a backup. Good Luck
 
Epson is one of the few that still make cartridges at decent prices, but they have been working really hard at removing the whole generics... Alot of them are trying that now...
I use an older canon, Inks are not even $5 bucks and an epson CX3810 which used inks which cost around $10... Its not easy now a-days to find a decent printer with affordable ink...
 
Get a free .pdf program to put all your documents into .pdf files then email everything. You can justify this to some people by saying "I just wanted to get the paperwork out to you as quick as possible". Or "in my attempt to go green, I am emailing documents when ever possible, yada, yada, yada.

Now you can buy a cheap @$$ printing and only use it when you need to.

Just a thought.
 
Fred doing tech support here - I just tell all my clients (over 2,000) when you need ink just go buy a new printer...

then you have new ink
 
DjDennis said:
Fred doing tech support here - I just tell all my clients (over 2,000) when you need ink just go buy a new printer...

then you have new ink
Click to expand...
The only problem I find with that is they don't put full cartridges in the new printers for that reason. The last Epson I bought has $hi! for ink in the box.

Do you know what brands would have full ink?
 
Buy $35.00 printer with ink. Run out of ink throw peinter away and buy another $35.00 printer, repeat as needed :D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Dj SVO thats what I tell all my Clients the same thing...

Ron thats why I am in Tech support because I do it all the time
 
I print my own karaoke books, and go through ink like crazy.

If, by not refilling, you mean at home, I agree. However, Walgreens will refill ANY black & white for $10, and color for $15. The drawback there is the refill is usually slightly less than ink than the original.

You can also get generics off of e-bay, OR


http://private.abacus24-7.com charges me 7.99 for quality generics for what would be $33 HP 15 blacks.
 
Hey all,

I was trapped in ink-printer hell for a long time. Then I realized, 98% of the stuff I print is B&W. So, I went an bought a Brother Multifunction lazer printer like this one:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202457473

Never looked back. A Brother compatable toner cartrage that yealds about 5000 pages is about $40 shipped.

So, if you can deal without the color, I would go that route...

Good Luck...
Lou
 
Lou the laser printers here are also very low to buy...

the cost of replacement laser cartridges are twice the cost of a new one

have a look here at what they sell locally

this is a laser printer:
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/48848dfd075aa574273fc0a87f9c0749/Product/View/XP0602

this is the replacement cartridge:
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/48848dfd075aa574273fc0a87f9c0749/Product/View/XM2002

now what would you do ??
new printer or new cartridge ?

oh now the injet printer:
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/48848dfd075aa574273fc0a87f9c0749/Product/View/XP4185

black replacement:
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/48848dfd075aa574273fc0a87f9c0749/Product/View/XM0780

color replacement:
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/48848dfd075aa574273fc0a87f9c0749/Product/View/XM0781

now add both cartridges ??


also have a look down the list....
http://search.dse.com.au/search?sessionid=48848dfd075aa574273fc0a87f9c0749&w=printers
 
Dennis, well if you are "down under" LOL...

I’m Brazilian, so if you speak my language, Ill just smile and give you a Vegemite sandwich.. LOL (Men at Work song reference, sorry couldn’t help it!)

Anyway, I see your point, however, how many pages are you going to get with an inkjet cartridge compared to a toner cartridge? Additionally, if that cartridge is only yielding 3000 pages, you might want to look into a different laser printer. My toner cartridge will give me about 5000 pages at $40 (generic, shipped)

My advice, invest in a nice laser printer that has high-yield generic cartridges available. Buy an ink-jet for those pesky color projects...

Lou
 
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