Printer Ink

[SA Bill]

Like Richard just a little while back, I was in the market for a new printer. Ended up with an Epson Artisan 700 combo unit. Works pretty well but I haven't really pushed its limits on printing photos. With various school projects, maps etc. we were out of most inks in a month or so. Went to Office Max and bought a 5 pack of the colored inks + a large capacity black...a complete set of inks for this printer. Total cost was just under $80.00! That's half the cost of the printer, which came with a full set of inks. Soooo....does that mean the printer was really only about $80.00 and the ink that came with it was the rest of the cost? Guess so. Doesn't really matter because we all know that the inks are where the companies make all of their profit from a printer sale.
  Bill

[RichardM]

Ayup, I paid $150 for mine and around $80 for my first ink refill set. Seems to go with the territory.

A few years back my mother-in-law's old printer ran out of ink. I quickly discovered that the newer printers cost about the same as the ink for her old printer. So, she got a new one. I set it up and did a few test pics. It then sat there unused for about 6 months. What happened when she finally tried to print? You got it...the ink nozzles were dried up and jammed. Fortunately her brother bought her a new HP printer for Xmas just about that time, so I didn't have to mess with it. I now try to print a picture whenever I'm at the house (maybe once a month) so her new printer and its ink won't suffer the same wasted fate.

[dkerr24]

Don't buy ink carts retail.  I always buy mine off various internet sites and they are usually 50-70% less than retail.

Just note that some are refurbed carts.  I've used both new and refurb and they work about the same in my HP Photosmart C7100 printer.

[RichardM]

I found that the Epson website had the best prices for the Claria inks. Most of the usual online ink merchants weren't carrying the Epson Claria inks, or wanted way more for it. Digging through my receipts I got the high capacity color 5-pack plus the high capacity black for $87.33, delivered free two days later. I think that price may have been after a 10% off discount code I googled up, in addition to the already free shipping.

[homerboy2u]

I have bought from 123 inkjets.com in the past. Maybe they could be of help. I have not outsource for a better price yet.

 I also get offers from iowaink.com ,but have never bought from them so far.

[BigBendHiker]

Don't buy ink carts retail.  I always buy mine off various internet sites and they are usually 50-70% less than retail.

Just note that some are refurbed carts.  I've used both new and refurb and they work about the same in my HP Photosmart C7100 printer.

Yep.  I get my HP printer cartridges from one of the sellers on Amazon.  Even with shipping, much much cheaper than buying them locally...

[SHANEA]

I don't know - I get a pretty good deal at the local Staples.  Have a business black/gold card with them.  Get x% off, get y% refund back every month, get Z amount for every cartridge I recycle and I help out the local economy by keeping people in jobs.  Also get all kinds of freebies every month and discounts on paper and other consumables.   

[East Texan]

Most new printers come with ink carts that are not full.  I guess that way they can keep the printer price low.  IMHO they should give you the printer since you're locked in to their ink.

I have an Epson 2400 and would not use any other ink than Epson because of fear of clogging the inkjets.

I get my ink direct from Epson - 8 carts at about $14.00 each.  At least they will deliver it FedEx overnight for free.

Photography is almost as expensive a hobby as golf!

[Terlingua50337]

This is just my 2 cents worth. Junk in junk out. Cheap inks or refills..... depends on what you want to do with the print. I'm all Canon.... camera, lenses, printer (Pro 9000) and papers. Do the inks cost a lot? yep but there is no substitute for quality. I used to have an Epson that I refilled the cartridges on..... images suffered. No consistency.

[RichardM]

I picked up an Epson Claria Hi-Capacity Color Pack at Office Depot today for $54.99 + tax. They also have the black hi-cap for $17.99. That was a lot cheaper than anyone else, including the Epson site. I did find one site selling refurbished/refilled and possible off-brand "equivalent". No thanks, went for the quality instead.

[Ray52]

This is just my 2 cents worth. Junk in junk out. Cheap inks or refills..... depends on what you want to do with the print. I'm all Canon.... camera, lenses, printer (Pro 9000) and papers. Do the inks cost a lot? yep but there is no substitute for quality. I used to have an Epson that I refilled the cartridges on..... images suffered. No consistency.

Terlingua I also own a Pro 9000.  Where do you buy your replacement ink ?

[Terlingua50337]

I generally buy at Frys. They move a lot of ink and its usually a buck or so cheaper than Bestbuy or WMart. I may be wrong but to my way of thinking the more they move the "fresher" the ink is. I use that same thought when I buy diesel fuel, I tend to go to the high volume dealers.