i dont get this

[Russian Doll]

went to get my printer some new ink today....i have a lexmark as it was on special offer.....the ink would have cost me 25 to 30 pounds to buy...but i can buy a new printer with ink for twenty......im putting my old printer on freecycle but it just really got my goat

[red]

yeh - we had similar experience with an old printer.. something not right in the world....

[Thomzo]

It's not right, the ink cartridges that come with the new printer will only have a fraction of the amount of ink that you get with a replacement cartridge. So although it seems to be cheaper to buy a new printer, in fact you will end up spending more as a full cartridge will last a lot longer and cost you less in the long run.

If you want to upgrade your printer anyway though then go for it.

Cheers
Zoe

[Annpan]

Can't you get cartriges refilled?

I hardley ever use my printer (always thought that was the point of computers and the internet ) But I have even seen injector kits that you do yourself... wouldn't that be cheaper??

[Thomzo]

Yes, you can refill or there are places where you can buy recycled ones. Personally I haven't found them to be all that good but maybe someone else has found a better supply of them.

Zoe

[Russian Doll]

Can't you get cartriges refilled?

I hardley ever use my printer (always thought that was the point of computers and the internet ) But I have even seen injector kits that you do yourself... wouldn't that be cheaper??

i design my own knitting patterns on the web...but i cant read a pattern of the computer...so i need to print it off......i didnt realise the cartridges that came with the printer had lower ink though..thanks for that

[Silver Ether]

Yep the ones that come with the printer contain less ... and I have never had any luck with refills... in facr refills wrecked a couple of my printers in the past.

Also watch out for the so called compatibles as they often dont contain as much ink as the proper ones and the quality isn`t all that good either.

We own a Lexmark too ... and while the ink costs a lot its the best and most reliable we have had.

Depending on how much ink you use ... Staples do a loyalty type card thing... so you can get a little discount ... cant remember amount, how much you have to spend etc ... but I always get a couple of quid off...

Still vexing though

[Muddypause]

I had a Lexmark until the ink became too painful to replace. It doesn't help that that Lexmark ink cartridges have an integral printhead, so that you have to buy some precision engineering with every cartridge. I tried the refill kits for a while, but it wasn't really a success.

So I bought the cheapest Canon printer I could find for about £25; it's fine for my needs. Although it became obsolete within a month of me buying it, I can still get non-original cartridges for it. Never had any problem with Inkrite cartridges; they are a pound or two each from any one of a billion online ink suppliers. At that price I tend to buy 20 or 30 cartridges at a time, so that the printer doesn't become useless straight away if they should stop making the cartridges.

[mrsflibble]

I've never had any luck refilling cartidges, but i used to use generic ones rather than name brand... and now i have a semi-proffessional printer which has cartridges which have little microchips on them and i dont want to run the risk of ruining a really fabby printer!!

when i first got my computer it was an essex LEA one 'cos i couldn't walk for most of my first year of uni (back injury). i think i annoyed them 'cos i specifically requested not to have a lexmark printer and insisted on them either giving me an HP (the only other option on their scheme) and a separate scanner. their thing at the time was to give a lexmark scan and print all in one combo. they got me HP ones though so i was happy.

i also asked not to have a laptop and for them to build me a desktop computer so that at a later date i could upgrade it if needed. 4.5 years later my frankestein's pc is still going strong. it took them 2 months to complete an order which usually takes 2 weeks, but I got everything i asked for.

and each time i upgrade something, the old one either goes to a friend, freecycle or charity.

[Thomzo]

Someone told me that Wilkinson's website was doing a BOGOF offer on HP cartridges a while ago. It's probably worth watching them to see if they do another one.

Zoe

[wulf]

Printer ink costs more per ml than fine champagne!

If you only do a little printing and need colour, you just have to live with it, on the grounds that the cost is less when you spread it out over several months. If you print quite a lot then it is worth thinking about what kind of printing you do.

If your printing can all be monochrome, then a laser printer may be a better deal. I have an old one that was being thrown out at work about 3-4 years ago. For the printing I do (between 3-20 sheets a week and generally towards the bottom end of that) it is fantastic. A cartridge lasts me a very long time and it isn't susceptible to the drying out problem that can affect under-used inkjets.

If you do a lot of high quality colour printing, then there are kits that hook up ink reserviors to your printer. They are quite expensive to set up and wouldn't be worth it for small amounts but, if you need regular colour output I suspect that a quality printer and a system like that would probably pay for itself over a year or two.

Wulf

[mrsflibble]

it also costs more weigh for weigh than rocket fuel.