Printer ink minefield

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  • poppasmurf_bewdley
    poppasmurf_bewdley Posts: 5,909 Forumite
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    tempus_fugit wrote: »
    20 sheets? I pay £1.99 as well but I get 50 sheets a month plus a maximum carry-over of 50 sheets, so a possible 100 sheets in some months. It's good value IMO as I got the cartridges last year and the shop bought ones would have run out by now and cost me £40-£50 to replace, so it's another vote for Instant Ink from me. :)

    My error! You are correct, it is 50 sheets per month. Way more than I think I'll ever need. But it's good to know that for £1.99pm, my printer is 'ever ready' with enough ink on hand whenever it is needed without the hassle of searching Ebay, etc, for reasonable ink supplies.
    "There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock
  • stripeyfox
    stripeyfox Posts: 474 Forumite
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    poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »
    My error! You are correct, it is 50 sheets per month. Way more than I think I'll ever need. But it's good to know that for £1.99pm, my printer is 'ever ready' with enough ink on hand whenever it is needed without the hassle of searching Ebay, etc, for reasonable ink supplies.

    Yeah this is it for me too. As I said, it may not be pound for pound the cheapest option but it saves the hassle of going to buy them or order them and having that "lumpy" £50 shellout which is always likely to come at the "wrong" time.
  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,349 Forumite
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    edited 31 October 2019 at 2:12PM
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    I never buy original cartridges. I buy refilled cartridges on ebay for between 10% and 30% of the originals. I also sometimes get them refilled at a local refill shop for about 50% of the originals. 1 have been doing this for about 20 years and must have saved £1000's.

    Over the years I have had problems with about 5% of the cartridges and only once had a problem that could not be resolved fairly quickly.

    I find one of the biggest problem with refills is that their ink level indicators rarely work. So you have to time your order carefully so that you pretty much always have a spare cartridge On the few occasions, I have run out of ink without having a spare, I have bought remanufactured cartridges from my local Tescos. They are about half the price of originals and I have never had a problem with them.
  • dipsomaniac
    dipsomaniac Posts: 6,739 Forumite
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    Mistral001 wrote: »
    I never buy original cartridges. I buy refilled cartridges on ebay for between 10% and 30% of the originals. I also sometimes get them refilled at a local refill shop for about 50% of the originals. 1 have been doing this for about 20 years and must have saved £1000's.

    Over the years I have had problems with about 5% of the cartridges and only once had a problem that could not be resolved fairly quickly.

    I find one of the biggest problem with refills is that their ink level indicators rarely work. So you have to order enough that you pretty much have a spare. On the few occasions, I have run out of ink without having a spare, I have bought remanufactured cartridges from my local Tescos. They are about half the price of originals and I have never had a problem with them.

    Brought back so many bad memoriries
    "The Holy Writ of Gloucester Rugby Club demands: first, that the forwards shall win the ball; second, that the forwards shall keep the ball; and third, the backs shall buy the beer." - Doug Ibbotson
  • dipsomaniac
    dipsomaniac Posts: 6,739 Forumite
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    Mistral001 wrote: »
    1 have been doing this for about 20 years and must have saved £1000's.

    HP ink is 1.99 per month (50 pages per month) = 480 for 20 years. the refill companies must have been paying you 1000's to take their products off their hands��:-)

    Once set up all you have to do is pick the cartridge up off your door mat, store until needed & install
    "The Holy Writ of Gloucester Rugby Club demands: first, that the forwards shall win the ball; second, that the forwards shall keep the ball; and third, the backs shall buy the beer." - Doug Ibbotson
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,156 Forumite
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    edited 31 October 2019 at 2:45PM
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    The four HP Instant Ink packages (for retail customers) are:-

    Free - 15 Pages/month

    £1.99 - 50 Pages/month

    £3.49 - 100 Pages/month

    £7.99 - 300 Pages/month

    I use HP Instant Ink and I find it works very well. I think it's probably cheaper than buying individual cartridges as long as you estimate your usage reasonably well (although the roll-over allowance helps with that).
  • missile
    missile Posts: 11,689 Forumite
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    edited 31 October 2019 at 3:17PM
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    stripeyfox wrote: »
    Yeah, I use HP Instant Ink too. I don't do loads of prinitng (or if I do need to I do at work!) but it's handy to have at home for occasional use. I think my plan is £2.99/month for 100 pages and you can roll some of them over if not used. As you say, they send new ink as and when needed and an envelope to freepost the old ones back for recycling.

    I have no real idea if it is "cheaper" or "cheapest" but £3 a month is fine by me - don't have to worry about running out, buying the right cartridges etc

    Me too.

    Previously I used refilled cartridges and found most produce poor quality printing.
    "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
    Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:
  • justaquestion
    justaquestion Posts: 737 Forumite
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    poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »
    I'm surprised nobody has mentioned HP's Instant Ink scheme.

    I only use my printer very sporadically, and having bought it on a deal from Amazon (a Deskjet 2600) for the amazing price of £15, I first got the first three months of ink for free, and now I pay the grand total of £1.99 a month via my credit card.

    For this I get to print up to 20 sheets of A4 a month. New ink cartridges are sent to me before they are needed, so unlike before I never run out of ink.

    All this for less than £25 a year! I really don't think it can be beaten.

    There are other scheme for those who need to print more.

    £25 a year for occasional printing, I wouldn't even want to pay that (Oh I know I'm a skinflint, but don't mind saying that since this is a money saving site)

    I have a few Epson printers one a old one sx 200 and get about 12 cartridges for £5.99 off ebay, the other one an xp 322 similar deal off ebay.

    So far seem to print ok.
  • Mistral001
    Mistral001 Posts: 5,349 Forumite
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    edited 31 October 2019 at 4:47PM
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    dipsomaniac wrote: »
    HP ink is 1.99 per month (50 pages per month) = 480 for 20 years. the refill companies must have been paying you 1000's to take their products off their hands��:-)

    Once set up all you have to do is pick the cartridge up off your door mat, store until needed & install

    Exactly the same as getting refilled cartridges off ebay. You just have to lift them off your door mat and install. You do not even have to send the old ones back if you do not want to. A few clicks on ebay is all that is required to order them. Takes only a couple of minutes.
  • lindens
    lindens Posts: 2,870 Forumite
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    I have ruined 2 printers using "unofficial ink" so my current printer is also an HP and I also use their Instant ink programme. best thing ever. ink posted to your door.
    You're not your * could have not of * Debt not dept *
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