The Great ‘The Most Economical Printers’ Hunt

MSE_Martin · 7 October 2007 at 8:24PM

The Great ‘The Most Economical Printers’ Hunt

A £20 printer may be great; but if the cartridges run out after you print two pages and cost £79 a pop; it’s really not that good. So I want to tap MoneySavers feedback on the most economical printers around including both purchase, cartridges and other costs.

Best type of feedback

The more of the following info you can include the better

Name & model of printer:
How much did it cost:
Is it colour/b&w, laser or inkjet:
When you got it:
Roughly how long/many pages before you replace cartridges:
How much to cartridges cost:
Are these original cartridges, generic or refills (and do they work well)
Any more costs/details:

Remember if you’re going to get a new printer – use the Cheapest Online Shopping article for details on how to speedily find it for less.

barneydog · 8 October 2007 at 8:30AM

The most economical way to print with an inkjet is to use a CISS (Continuous Ink Supply Systems).

This is the one I use with my Epsom R220 (it came with 12 150 ml bottles of compatible ink, 2 of each colour) and cost £19.99.

Replacement ink costs £5.99 for 6 150ml bottles.

http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=1171&prepg=3

This particular model is currently out of stock at SVP but they are available at other retailers including Bigpockets or on E-Bay.

These systems are available for a lot of Epsom printers but are hard to find for other makes (I have seen them for some Canons as well).

If you do a lot of colour printing these are worth considering as it is the cheapest way to print.

dellboy102 · 8 October 2007 at 9:01AM

I did come across that but i've heard CISS is fiddly to fit, I actually use a HP laserjet which provides most of what I need but need a color printer for the occasional color prints, the problem i've had is the print heads keep drying up, has ruined 2 printers so far, an epson and a canon, I think this time I will go for a HP as there heads are built into the carts, if anyone could point me to which HP model has the most economical carts (dont use it much at all, maybe once every 2 weeks) would be appreciated as need to buy one soon!

shammyjack · 8 October 2007 at 1:22PM

I have a Brother DCP117C all in one print/scan/copy. Still available online for around £50, most Brother printers are good.

Refilling,
Mine takes the LC900 series carts . Before installing in the printer put black tape over the see through section of the cart, this fools the printer into thinking all the carts are full and stops problems later on .

I do not print photographs on my printer as it is cheaper to upload them to an online print service and have them posted to me so cheap re-fill inks are not a problem .

I buy black and the 3 colours from the local 99p shop, drill a hole in the top of the cart using the tool provided with the ink and refill using the supplied sringe while still in the printer . When done seal the top with supplied plugs or use selotape .

Total cost £3.98 for all 4 carts plus some left depending on the size of the refills .

shammy

dellboy102 · 8 October 2007 at 4:33PM

shammyjack wrote: »

I have a Brother DCP117C all in one print/scan/copy. Still available online for around £50, most Brother printers are good.

Any idea if the print head is built into the cartridge?

dc · 8 October 2007 at 6:11PM

dellboy102 wrote: »

Any idea if the print head is built into the cartridge?

Not as far as I know, I have two Brother printers with similar numbers and the ink is just in tanks and the print head is in the printer, like most Epsons.

johnts · 8 October 2007 at 8:59PM

Hi,

I have searched high and low and on previous threads for printers that are economical to use. Unfortunately, the cheapest compatible inks are suitable for printers that are no longer on the market and where the printer manufacturer has gone on to implement 'intelligent' ink canisters that are harder (and more expensive) to cater for by the compatible inks market.

I have just ordered the Canon PIXMA MP130 for £46.99 from Viking Direct.

http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/catalog/catalogSku.do;jsessionid=0000WetU0eAi2w_CNSVp3ARfZ3u:11g06oin9?id=mp130

This should be in short supply as it is no longer marketed through any other channel. The replacement inks cost 0.99 for Black & 2.50 for Black and colour from this website including P&P !!

http://www.phoenixdirectukshop.co.uk/acatalog/Canon_BCI24B-C.php?printer=478

Buy this through Quidco for a cashback .. It includes a scanner and photocopier as well !!

Cheers,

John

mascherano · 8 October 2007 at 9:06PM

Those Samsung ML laser printers that were discussed on here a while back- £40 to buy, £5 to re-fill. Excellent print quality, excellent economy

DenBo_4 · 8 October 2007 at 9:33PM

mascherano wrote: »

Those Samsung ML laser printers that were discussed on here a while back- £40 to buy, £5 to re-fill. Excellent print quality, excellent economy

Where did you buy this from? and how do you get such cheap refilling?

I have only got £25 to spend on a printer, is this feasible do you think

?

Thanks

Inactive · 9 October 2007 at 1:39AM

I would also suggest the Brother All-in Ones as being the best option at this time.

FRISKYVENUS7963 · 9 October 2007 at 8:05AM

i have a canon ip2000 cost me £30 and can get cartridges off ebay for £1 each ive had it for 2 years now,

The Great ‘The Most Economical Printers’ Hunt

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