Paying an arm and a leg for printer cartidges

[CrosswordAddict]

Is anyone else fed up with paying out ££££s for printer cartridges?
Our printer is an Epson and the black + 3 colours would be £35 to replace. Even though I buy the cheap non-Epson ones from Tes-- it is still expensive to run. The whole thing won't print in black if ONE of the colours is empty, not even if the black one is still full.
I reckon it costs at least £20 a month to run but we need it for DCs homework etc.
Can anyone suggest a printer that doesn't cost a packet to run? Someone said Kodak, has anyone tried one out?

Go on ebay or do a google search for generic ones or refills

You wil need to rechip your printer too

try these people

here

look for "epson compatible"

dead cheap & free UK delivery too !!

any 2 refills for £11 here too

Look for companies that do refills.

Also lots of stores do their own versions of the branded ones and I reckon they last as long. PC World do them and so do the supermarkets I think.

Refills are fine, but not the Tesco ones; I think they half-fill them, as they run out more quickly than the others.

Kodak do one which is supposed to be really cheap to run, although it may cost a bit more to buy in the first place.

The HP printer we currently have used to guzzle the ink. However, I recently found that as I'm usually printing on ordinary plain paper I can select that paper type and choose 'fast draft' for the quality. The resultant quality is perfectly decent and the ink lasts about four times as long! So that might be worth a try. :)

Where ever you buy them from your printer will probably need a rechip

I have a laser, much cheaper to run

I have an epson & use inks from ebay - In fact the same ones Ashamedandconfused linked to. Fabulously cheap & work perfectly.

I didn't need to rechip my printer.

We tested the Kodak ones for MN a couple of years ago, and the printer cartridges are very cheap (around £18 for a double pack with both a black and colour cartridge) Does very nice printing too. IIRC C5's 'The Gadget Show' tested a whole load of printers to find the best based on print quality and economics and Kodak came out top (we get geekily excited when we own things that do well on the GS )

Ashamed and confused and loony Thanks for that, have just had a quick look at link. Will definitely try that next time. Have just bought from tes--- so will be ok for a while.

I have always bought Canon printers with separate ink cartridges. Had to get a new one recently - the ink tanks are chipped, and only 2/3rds the size of the old ones! Rip off (but still the best value over 3-in-1 cartridges). I get my cartridges off E-Bay.

I had a photo copier and was asked £100 for a refil. It seemed outragious. "Gabby"

PS Rip Off Britain strikes again

Buy a kodak esp 5, both colour and black combo for around 13 quid on amazon.

Is a scanner, copier and photo printer.

I love my Kodak! Ours is a printer, fax, photocopier and scanner in one. Didnt cost any more than other brand of same quality. I no longer have to think "do I really need to print that?"

Again, by setting your computer to print at 'draft' quality you can cut down your ink use substantially.

As an extra bonus, if you take 2 empty cartridges into Staples they knock £1 off when you buy 2 more. Plus as I have a student card (any student card, no need to be NUS) I also get 10% off too.

Refill them yourself, very very easy to do, PC world sells the ink.

PS I have a Lexmark printer and I can refill the black cartridge 4 x for less than £10

Epson. Says it all really. They are top bastards in the great ink rip-off.

Kodak has the cheapest ink I think - its one of their big selling points.

Try HP also as prices arent not too bad, but check to see if you can find supporting refil kits on their newer models. As people have said, you can get refill packs on ebay but many new printers have inteligent cartridges that know if they've been emptied (and so wont register as full again).

ccpccp, this may be an urban myth but I have been told that putting an empty chipped cartridge in the freezer for a while screws up the chip.

The cartridge refil shops can also disable the chip, so one refil at the shop and do it yourself from then on.

I have an epson, I've used almost a cartridge of black ink this week and have been printing on draft! I'm not happy but can't afford to replace it yet.

CHOICE STATIONARY....GOOGLE IT

I tested the Kodaj for MN aswell, love it, the black one has just cost £6.99 to replace.

But spell 'stationery' with an 'e' if you do

I've got an Epson scanner/printer and get my cartridges from a bloke on Ebay, have done for ages. I think I paid about £20 for a pack of 24 cartridges.

He has his own online shop too. Hornsea Inkjets.

The cartidges may be cheap but how long do they last??