Compatible cartridges?

double_dutchy

Hello,

I have an HP ENVY 5032 Printer which I'm quite happy with. 

I used to pay for HP's "instant ink", where you subscribed for a fixed amount each month and they sent you cartridges whenever you needed them,  but jumped ship when they doubled the price. so I bought some genuine cartridges earlier this year.

It now seems that the black cartridge at least is nearly out and I was considering buying compatible cartridges from cartridge people.com who seem to have some good reviews.

In the past I bought some compatible cartridges which I couldn't get to work at all (probably too cheap!).

Anybody have any advice/views on compatible cartridges? I'm a relatively low user - probably printing no more than 300-350 pages a year

Neil_Jones

Don't have HP printers but never had a problem with compatible cartridges for Epson printers, HP tends to be a bit more picky.

Though low usage may indicate you may be better off with a small black and white laser... if that's the bulk of your printing.  A toner may last a thousand pages, and you won't have "dry up" issues either.

Martyn_H

Neil_Jones said:

Don't have HP printers but never had a problem with compatible cartridges for Epson printers, HP tends to be a bit more picky.

Though low usage may indicate you may be better off with a small black and white laser... if that's the bulk of your printing.  A toner may last a thousand pages, and you won't have "dry up" issues either.

I'm a big fan of laser printers as I had a lot of problems with Epson compatibles drying out. I seldom have any need to print in colour. I've not had any problems with HP compatible toner cartridges from the supplier I use.

Grumpy_chap

double_dutchy said:

Hello,

I have an HP ENVY 5032 Printer which I'm quite happy with. 

I used to pay for HP's "instant ink", where you subscribed for a fixed amount each month and they sent you cartridges whenever you needed them,  but jumped ship when they doubled the price. so I bought some genuine cartridges earlier this year.

It now seems that the black cartridge at least is nearly out and I was considering buying compatible cartridges from cartridge people.com who seem to have some good reviews.

In the past I bought some compatible cartridges which I couldn't get to work at all (probably too cheap!).

Anybody have any advice/views on compatible cartridges? I'm a relatively low user - probably printing no more than 300-350 pages a year

If you are a low user, I agree the "instant ink" is unlikely to represent good value.

If you are buying cartridges, how much per year do you hope to save with the compatible rather than branded cartridges?
You mention that you have had a poor experience in the past with compatible cartridges.

I have only used compatible cartridges once - they had a fault and spewed ink all over the inners of the printer so I ended up having to fork out for a complete new printer.  I may have been just very unlucky.  It certainly turned out to be a false economy for me.

double_dutchy

Grumpy_chap said:

If you are buying cartridges, how much per year do you hope to save with the compatible rather than branded cartridges?

Thanks Grumpy

I've taken the plunge now and gone with cartridge people. I've paid £40 for large black and colour cartridges. The genuine ones cost £52 but are smaller (even the so-called XL ones) so overall I expect to pay about a third of the price.

Cartridge people say that the cartridges should work as genuine ones do, except they may not show the correct ink levels. They also promise to repair or replace your printer should the cartridges cause a problem. I haven't tried them yet, as the old ones haven't yet run out, but it will be interesting to see whether that guarantee is required and whether they will actually honour it!

TELLIT01

For low or intermittent use I would suggest moving to laser too.  I gave up on inkjet when I seemed to be using more ink for head cleaning than printing, associated with the ridiculous price of the replacement ink cartridges.  I don't need colour so it was a total no-brainer for me.

spile

While I echo the comments and recommendations about a solid mono laser, for colour I can definitely recommend the Epson EcoTank printer. It is reliable and the bottles of link last us a couple of years.