I wish I had an ink well

[Fastpedaller]

Our latest 'we can't buy it anymore' moment........ We've always bought the XL ink cartridges for our Hewlett Packard printer. They have 12.5ml of ink ...... the standard cartridges (at about 90% of the price) only have 5ml. HP has stopped selling the XL cartridges, and it appears to be an attempt to force us into buying a new printer. I'm sure HP (like all companies these days) claim they're great for the environment. HP state their cartridges are made from 80% recycled material - but decide to not fill them any more than 5ml.
Anyone with an oil well is worse off than anyone with an ink well these days.
Printer ink is a big con.

 

[Alex H]

Why not to buy an HP printer (other retailers are available)

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/19/hps_ceo_spells_it_out/

TLDR: HP's CEO spells it out: You're a 'bad investment' if you don't buy HP supplies

 

[winjim]

Get replacements for my Canon from Stinky Ink for a fraction of the price. Not sure how they are for photo quality but for general printing they're fine.

See also razors and cartridge blades. Same business model.

 

[fossyant]

Just get cheap 'copy' cartridges and factor in that the odd one won't work. We did this until the old HP printer broke, and bought an 'instant ink' HP, and don't worry about it. £2.99 a month for ink.

 

[Fastpedaller]

I tried a 'pattern' cartridge once in our previous Cannon printer.......... It immediately sounded like a cannon as the print head tried to smash its way through the side of the machine! That led to immediate printer replacement. Needless to say I've been reluctant to try anything but genuine cartridges since that experience.
BITD I used to refill our epson with ink just by putting it in a hole in the cartridge top - great until the machine got to its 'squirt counter limit' and packed up completely. Epson users in US were trying to take a group legal action about it, but I don't know what became of it.
They have so many software barriers in place to compel the user to 'roll over and pay'

 

[Electric_Andy]

I also buy the XL cartridges (305 XL). I'm afraid to use any of the compatible ones in case it locks the printer up. In the old days the only issue with non-brand ink was you didn't get a low ink warning. Not sure if that is still the case?

Instant ink is looking like a better plan for us, as my partner does quite a bit of printing. Having said that, my S/S did a lot of colour printing the other day and used 2 entire cartridges...£32. The colours didn't look that great either so I doubt cheaper ink could be much worse.

In case anyone wants to know, £2.99 a month is just for starters, depends how much you want/intend to use:

 

[Electric_Andy]

I also forgot to say. I needed to print a contract the other week but our printer was low and it doesn't do double-sided.

I took it to the local library. 43 pages x2 copies....£17. Perhaps I should have printed one copy and photocopied it, but not even sure if that's any cheaper (as toner is expensive too)

 

[alicat]

We did this until the old HP printer broke, and bought an 'instant ink' HP, and don't worry about it. £2.99 a month for ink.

Slightly off-topic but HP Instant Ink is now £3.99. I wish I had known about the impending price rise before I bought my last printer...

 

[Drago]

Soon you won't be able to buy a printer. You'll only be able to rent one on subscription for a monthly fee.

Mark my words well, everything short of food and clothes is going that way.

 

[winjim]

5 pack of genuine Canon cartridges: £64.34

5 pack of compatible cartridges: £11.99

Hasn't bricked my printer yet.

 

[presta]

nn

Printer ink is a big con.

That's why I don't have one. I do my prints in the library.

I took it to the local library. 43 pages x2 copies....£17. Perhaps I should have printed one copy and photocopied it, but not even sure if that's any cheaper (as toner is expensive too)

Prints 20p, copies 10p at my library.

Soon you won't be able to buy a printer. You'll only be able to rent one on subscription for a monthly fee.

Mark my words well, everything short of food and clothes is going that way.

The ink is effectively a subscription. I saw a BMW advertised which required subscriptions to unlock all the toys like heated seats & cruise control etc. I added up the total for all the options, and it came to more than £8000 a year. I was brought up with the ethos that if you buy good quality products they'll last you a lifetime, which seems laughable now.

 

[Oldhippy]

My HP tank printer full set of ink around £40 a year and I print a lot of documents and posters.

 

[MontyVeda]

printer ink is a legitimate scam. I rarely use my printer and when i do, the new cartridge i put in it last time is virtually empty

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

SOme inkjet printers have a facility that runs a very small print - using a "very small" amount of ink ever few days as long as it is switched on so that the head don't dry up and block

i.e. as long as it is switched on it will gradually use up the small amount of very expensive ink that you have paid for - even though you are not doing any printing
If you leave it switched off to stop this then the ink dries in the head and the printer is useless

CLEARLY the manufacturer can be trusted to make sure the amount of ink used is the ABSOLUTE minimum
of course

Inkjet printers are great - as long as they are used a reasonable amount - if they are left unused for long period then they can be a menace

 

[fossyant]

Slightly off-topic but HP Instant Ink is now £3.99. I wish I had known about the impending price rise before I bought my last printer...

Yep, that's what I'm paying now. We've enough with that level as there is some 'carry over' in print allowance.