HP Printer Ink (Page 2): You set a lot of money on equipment to make great pictures then why cut corners on the final product you show from all your work?

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

You set a lot of money on equipment to make great pictures then why cut corners on the final product you show from all your work?

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

UTEP65 wrote:

I use two (2) HP printers. Since retiring, I tend to pay more attention to costs. I have always bought OEM HP ink. Now, I am considering “refill cartridges” and/or “compatible cartridges”. They are much less expensive! Any thoughts?

I used to get mine refilled at a Office Depot or Staples. Used to save me lots of money.

george19

ELNikkor wrote:

I found the HP ink re-supply program to be inexpensive and convenient. It costs $15 per year and knows when to send replacement cartridges. (This is based on my using 50 or fewer copies per month. Increased use may cost more.)

Agree, although a big part of the cost is the type of printer.

V2volk Loc: St. Louis area

Have you looked into HP’s program to sent you cartridges as needed. You pay a set price per month based on the number of pages you print (you determine that). I use the lowest they have for $3 a month and I love it. Your printer does need to be newer with WiFi connection.

gsmith051 Loc: Fairfield Glade, TN

Dave H2 wrote:

Risking a challenge of Heresy, do all of your printing needs require color?
Folks in this post response mention Office Use and major ink costs. How about simple black and white laser printing? I have been using that approach for years for almost all routine printing not photographic. Simple and cheap. Toner cost is insignificant.

We found the laser works really well for a lot of office prInting and wireless Epson color printers connect from anywhere. I’ve tried third party ink in HP printers and it was a mess and costly with down time and money.

Toment Loc: FL, IL

Speaking from experience, be careful. It’s easier to use the real thing

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

UTEP65 wrote:

I use two (2) HP printers. Since retiring, I tend to pay more attention to costs. I have always bought OEM HP ink. Now, I am considering “refill cartridges” and/or “compatible cartridges”. They are much less expensive! Any thoughts?

Hp (don't know about others) can tell what kind of cartridge is inserted. If not hp (or a refilled) it will go nuts, giving you all kinds of errors and will not work (very easily) but, they can be made to work, but NOT WORTH THE HEADACHES. I would not use anything except HP ink.....

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

UTEP65 wrote:

I use two (2) HP printers. Since retiring, I tend to pay more attention to costs. I have always bought OEM HP ink. Now, I am considering “refill cartridges” and/or “compatible cartridges”. They are much less expensive! Any thoughts?

UTEP65, I hate to be the Salmon, swimming against the current, but I've had different results than what I've read from many responses. I've been an HP Printer user for many years and must admit, I have tried 'third party' inks from a couple places that left a lot to be desired.... but almost five years ago I discovered '499inks.com' and figured, 'why not?'

I made extensive comparison tests, color quality being the most important and found their ink to be as good or better than any I've ever used from HP, and the cost is much, much less. I've saved enough already to cover the cost of the printer.

The printer has been operating excellent with no clogs, or ill effects. I have an HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 and it works excellent while using ink from https://499inks.com/ In all this time (practically five years), I had only one cartridge that was faulty and 499inks.com was very quick to send another to replace the bad one, without the need for me to return the faulty one.

I, for one am sold on "other than factory ink" usage because of the cost difference. I print and mount many of my photos, except for the very large ones, and have not experienced any fading or deterioration of any sort, or damage to the printer so needless to say, I'm sold on https://499inks.com/

One of the main things that can cause 'clogs' in printers is the lack of use, sitting idle for long periods. My experience may be the 'exception', but I'm totally pleased with both... the ink and the service. Just my two-cents worth.
God Bless,
Papa Joe

BobPliskin

Best place I have found for HP inks is Costco. Always purchase the XL versions and take advantage of multi-pacs when you can.

bobforman Loc: Anacortes, Washington State

Took my large carts from Brother to Costco to be refilled and was informed they don't refill XL-sized carts. Checking to see if other refillers will do so.

charles tabb Loc: Richmond VA.

UTEP65 wrote:

I use two (2) HP printers. Since retiring, I tend to pay more attention to costs. I have always bought OEM HP ink. Now, I am considering “refill cartridges” and/or “compatible cartridges”. They are much less expensive! Any thoughts?

I use LD Products ink and haven't any problems with their ink.

www.ldproducts.com
Take a look at their site.

Charles

pdsilen Loc: Roswell, New Mexico

UTEP65 wrote:

I use two (2) HP printers. Since retiring, I tend to pay more attention to costs. I have always bought OEM HP ink. Now, I am considering “refill cartridges” and/or “compatible cartridges”. They are much less expensive! Any thoughts?

Yes! I have and HP printer. And I have tried off brand cartridges once! It really messed up my printer and I had a bear of a time getting the ink ports cleaned. Stick with the HP cartridges.

k2edm Loc: FN32AD

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Most ink jet printer carts have RFID chips which tell the printer that it is an OEM product. The refils may not work, or will not let you use all the ink.

or screw up your printer,........ they make their money selling the ink. they go to considerable trouble to ensure that their printers only work with their ink. dont try to save money with aftermarket ink, you will get burned... been dare, done dat....

Ed

jimvanells Loc: Augusta, GA

Keep in mind that the money HP makes is not from selling the printer. It's from the repeat sales of the ink! I have used HP printers for years but now I am switching to Epson Eco-tank printer.

I did have a Canon Mega-tank printer for 3 years and one day it quick working. The error code said the ink pad was full which shuts off the printer. A call to Canon's tech indicated that the pad could not be replaced and the printer was now unusable. CRAP I replaced it with an Epson because in the back of the printer there is a small screw which provides access to the ink pad. The pads are available on Amazon for $20 and should last 3-4 years depending on how much you print.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

Dave H2 wrote:

Risking a challenge of Heresy, do all of your printing needs require color?
Folks in this post response mention Office Use and major ink costs. How about simple black and white laser printing? I have been using that approach for years for almost all routine printing not photographic. Simple and cheap. Toner cost is insignificant.

Yes, laser printing is a great option and the printer that is in use the most. Ours is an older Brother duplex printer only that still runs great. Originally ran it with Windows 95 and happy to say it still operates on current Windows 10. Not wireless, but still on the network, it's accessible from all our pcs. Replaced the drum once over the years has jammed maybe a dozen times.

Anything not requiring color or fine detail goes through the laser. Fine detail means the laser will print fine lines more faintly than ink jet printing. Plus duplex printing save on paper.

Remember when the storage revolution was supposed to eradicate the need for paper? In our business, we still generate a ton of paperwork, hand drawings and notes. That's still a ton of paper we recycle after scanning the important stuff for digital storage.