Printer cartridges - value for money

greenwich

I'm about to buy a printer, just for casual home use. I'll get a multifunction (print/scan/fax) thing. There's a huge choice but I can't find any information to let me compare which printers waste a lot of ink and which ones are economical. I don't want to buy a printer which will require lots of expensive ink cartridges. Any ideas if this kind of information is available?

I'm looking at HP Deskjet F2180, C4180 and F4180. Not sure which to choose. Any experiences? I've found some reviews on the web.

A lot of multifunction printers seem not to have flatbed scanning, i.e. you have to feed the paper in, so you can't scan books and magazines. Something to watch out for.

ormus

check out someone like choicestationery for (possible) generic cartridges first, before you buy a printer.
generally speaking, HP cartidges cost more than say Epsons.

mattogier

I bought an epson 6 colour printer 18months ago and then got a bulk ink system / continuous ink system (CIS) - a reservoir connects to the printer via a series of pipes and a set of special cartridges.

It cost about the same (on ebay) as a full set of Epson made carts BUT I only spend about £6 a year on ink bottles - and I do A LOT of printing of letters and photos.

Whatever you get - try and get one that can take a CIS or at least check ink costs as some very cheap printers have very expensive carts!