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58 Comments
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paddy techPrinter ink really is a rip-off these days. It seems much more expensive than the printer itself.
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John W
Really? And how do you reach this conclusion?
A printer is basically a plastic box with a simple motor and slider mechanism. A printer cartridge has microscopically fine exit holes for the ink that are very accurately positioned, plus some sophisticated mechanism to eject just the right amount of ink at just the right time, plus some electronics to control it all.
Which do you think is the more expensive component?
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Lady Jane
my old dell printer finally broke down and I purchased a new Epsom. The inks are unable to be refilled at my local cartridge world,as they are microchipped and can only be binned! even my local ink collection bank wont take them (not green Epsom! ) I have spent over £100 in new inks in only six months I am not happy as am only print estimate of 10 sheets a week. Does anyone know a printer I can buy where I can refill the inks ( as much cheaper and eco friendly) ?
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On the subject of recycling used Epson cartridges you can return them to Epson free of charge – far greener than binning. You can apply to Epson for a free cartridge return envelope:
http://www.epson.co.uk/Explore-Epson/Environment/Recycling/Ink/1223287558928
Depending on the exact cartridges your printer uses you may be able to get remanufactured third party versions rather than refills – in our experience some third parties are better than others and some even work out more expensive than the branded ink when you work out the cost per printed page. At Which? we tried some ‘Think’ branded replacement T0791-T0796 Epson cartridges from Choice Stationery in an Epson PX720WD printer and they worked quite well.
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kagmack
Have just visited local WHSmiths and they have own-brand HP-compatible cartridges at +£12 less than HP Genuine model – worth a try? Anyone with experience of WHS?
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Aviation
SpiritFor the most part you are right. John W’s comment about printer cartridges being much more advanced than the printer is not actually the case at all. The cartridge in most printers does nothing more than hold ink and deliver it to the print head which is the bit that does all of the work he mentions – and comes with the printer itself ! HP used to give away their printers with other manufacturers computers simply because the printer itself is merely the vehicle that then requires you to purchase their costly inks ! I had one – unused – and gave it to the charity shop !
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Kelly FennMy mum went to Tesco the other day to buy a single replacement colour printer cartridge and ended up being tempted to buy a whole new printer! It was £80 for one printer cartridge, £60 for a higher spec, wireless printer with a couple of cartridges thrown in! Ridiculous…Sounds like buying online is a better way to go, but no good when you need to print the same day.
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Sean
RobertsYes, you’re better off buying a new printer than a new cartridge… It’s madness!
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No. Almost all printers come with ‘starter’ packs of ink that hold somewhat less than a standard cartridge.
Investigate the amount of ink in a starter cartridge (be warned, some makers are quite cagey about this!), the amount of ink in a standard cat ridge and do some basic sums. Replacing the whole printer is always a false economy.
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Absolutely. Agree with John W, you could be worse off buying a brand new printer if the cartridges supplied are low capacity ‘starter’ or ‘introductory’ inks. Starter cartridges are very common in laser printers, but are supplied with a number of inkjets too.
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Like selling loss-leaders at front of supermarkets, the low profit on a printer is to get your device-life business. All the complex technology is in the cartridge now – printer ribbons might not have been expensive, but were fiddley and the printer heads were relatively £100s, non-user serviceable and that often people bought new printers. Well your cartridge is the print head and delivery electronics and the piping and ink reservoirs.
InkFactory are a good source, particularly for recycled and you can send them your empties.
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David
LloydCartridge Shop is a firm that sells the cartridge I want at two fifths of the standard price.
I have bought two and am very pleased
David Lloyd -
Bill smith
I have refilled cartirdges for years now, is really easy to do. But don’t buy the cheapest ink.
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Rex
My limited research has shown that 7dayshop is cheapest for replacement cartidges for my Canon printer, both OEM and generic. They don’t charge postage and give excellent service, tho’ not always the fastest because they are shipping from the Channel Islands.
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Tiff Raw
I agree Rex, 7dayshop is the cheapest supplier I’ve come across, and I’ve never been let down by them. Unless another supplier has a lucrative promotion I always use them for my Canon cartridges.
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Brian Cox
Wonder what it is about Jersey? I’ve just bought a twin pack of original OEM black and colour cartridges for my HP Printer for £14.95, the average price for just a black! Firm called Cartridge King.
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Kevin
Likewise use 7Dayshop for original Canon stuff, had issues with 3rd party (not 7dayshop). Also 7dayshop do very cheap rechargeable batteries and never had an issue with 7Dayshop whether it be for ink or batteries. Not expecting to get any more batteries as rechargeable and have enough plus some spare, ink on the other hand… Delivery has always been 3 -5 days depending on when ordered but never longer.
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In August Which? gathered ink price data for branded cartridges from 7dayshop as well as a number of other online and high street retailers. 7dayshop proved one of the cheaper suppliers of branded ink, but Amazon can often be cheaper, particularly if you’re spending enough to qualify for free super saver delivery. For information, if the cheapest cartridge we find on Amazon is sold by a third party via Amazon and there’s a delivery charge, we take this into account.
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Ken
Beware buying a new printer , Most now only come with a starter ink cartridge which just about sets the machine uo and prints 20 or so pages , not a cheap option in the long run as you still need to buy expensive cartridges. best advise , Avoid Lexmark tied in products whic restrict oem cartridges , favour Brother printers , more expensive but wide range of 3 party cartridges .
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David Webb
Don’t buy OEM ink. There are some very good compatible inks on line [I can't tell the difference] On-line shops like Pricestorm and Internet-Ink are very reliable and quick
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I think it depends on the printer model. I’ve had so many compatible cartridges fail (usually not recognised by the printer) that I now pay the extra and will only buy OEM.
In one case, I bought a pack of three compatible cartridges and only one of the three worked!
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There is a failure rate with third party cartridges, in our experience some are more reliable than others. If you’re willing to take a chance on trying a third party cartridge you shouldn’t be left totally out of pocket if it fails. If the cartridge claims compatibility with your printer but fails to work, you should be able to get some money back or a replacement under the Sale of Goods Act, within a reasonable amount of time after purchase – if you’re willing to go to the trouble.
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David
HancockStaples give you £1.00 for each empty Ink Cartridge when buying new and their prices aren’t bad either.
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M SHELFER
Staples, Eastbourne have great staff who are so helpful for sales, and after-sales support. We get hp ink cartridges which are good prices and often have offers.
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nickyf
Jersey based companies 7 day shop and Indigostarfish supply Canon ink via Amazon. Postage is usually included if you already subscribe to Amazon Prime. Amazon may work out cheaper than buying direct- but it can vary. Comparing prices is worth doing at the time of purchase if you have the time. It may save a few pennies.
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Kishore
ShahOne of the main disadvantages of the online purchase is the postal delay & the postage; when you need to print prompt!! (and increases the true total cost of the purchase). As my usage is low and personal (rather than business) I tend to visit the local stores and look for the bargain!!
Incidently, I have been led to believe, PC World and Currys have merged to one company, although trading names are maintained.
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Vince
I have an Epson SX415 and I have tried compatables but not as good as orginals as anybody any ideas of getting cheap ink cartridges and what are the best buys
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Colin
7 Dayshop, Choice Stationary, Amazon, IJT
4 of the best I have found -
john
anyone who uses OEM’s must be totally mad.I purchase and use copies for my epsom SX650
with terrific resultsJohn
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Elizabeth
EvansI’ve consistenly found cartridgeshop.co.uk to be the cheapest for HP300 compatibles; their XL are very good value. Delivery is free and speedy.
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Bill
BullockI print photographs on an Epson Picturemate PM280. The quality is excellent using the Epson cartridge (3 colour combined). When I tried compatibles from inkworldwide.co.uk and refreshcartridges.co.uk the quality was not so good and the printer heads clogged. It took ages to clear the heads and I am loathe to try any other compatibles unless someone can recommend any. Genuine Epson cartridges were cheapest from Epson direct until recently. Now I get them from phoenixdirectuk.co.uk for £35. Has anyone found them cheaper elsewhere?
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carole
I too have tried compatibles , and as I continued to do so because they were cheap , I have learnt to my cost they ruined not one but 3 printers , they printed okay but inevitably did something to each printer that I could not sort out and as I had such a large amount of the inks in stock I stupidly continued to use them on each printer< ( I know I must have money to waste) but that is not the case, I now own a new printer this one is a kodak ESPc310 and the inks are one black and one combined colour cartridge, but they don't print many pages, and they are not cheap I do a lot of colour printing as I make my own greeting cards which is turning out to be a very , very expensive hobby for me ….
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Gilly
RobinsonAlways buy compatibles for my Canon MP610 and have only had two (out of 100+) that have failed – and these were ones where I tried to replace the chip myself. Now always buy chipped and am perfectly happy.
Can’t find compatibles for my HP Photosmart Wireless, though (promotion through Apple, when I bought my MacBook Air) – it came in at £20 (after manufacturer made its stated refund) and seemed a great deal (being wireless, which my trusty Canon isn’t). Anyone got any suggestions? Please?!
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Gordon
CraigI got one of the best deals I have ever had from The Cartridgepeople. Some £34 for a tesco size bag of Canon ink jet cartidges.
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Paul
Which have already said that it is best not to print photos at home.
Only use black for docs and use the phot online companies.
Let’s face it most of the stuff we print at home ends up in the bin anyway.
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BullockI don’t agree with Paul and have loads of albums covering a lifetime of photography. I print excellent colour photos at home for about 20 pence a piece which is the cheapest I can do them here in the Algarve. I get to edit and fix them in the convenience of my own home as well as the enjoyment of the final stage of my photography hobby, the printing.
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douglas
RobertsRealjet cartridges are good value for money supplied by INKredible.co.uk. I have a Cannon MP640. Some times have to push them in again to get them to recognise them. Recently had one that did not work at all recieved a replacement next day FOC.
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tytalus
Ink – What’s that?
When my Girlfriend (now wife) killed my old Epson photo printer in 2002 we moved to Colour Laser. The Konica Minolta was a bit pricey (about £350) but produced B&W docs in a couple of seconds (after a 20 second warmup), and near Photo Quality pictures in only 10 seconds!
And between a Masters Degree worth of reports, wedding stationary, 9 years of general printing and 2 years of photos of our son, we got through 3 B/W and 2 of each colour cartridge (about £50 each) before it finally died last year.
No refills, no blocked nozzels, little waiting, little noise; just lots and lots of lovely prints (at least about 10,000).
The new £150 Samung CLP 325 we brought as a replacement is a bit of a lightweight in comparison, but as prints are in the single pennies, and it’s quick. As for photo quality prints: I can still have fun editing photos, and then sendin them to the Tesco site to print and pick up with my weekly shop.
Ink is dead, but long live home printing!
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Melvin
Toner Cartridge – What’s that? ;)
I was just recently looking at the Samsung CLP 320 laser as it was on special offer on Amazon’s site, the Samsung cartridges were discounted too, but even after allowing for the lower capacity of the starter cartridges, due to the extortionate prices of genuine toner cartridges (other printer manufactures are no better), it would still have worked out a tiny bit cheaper to buy a spare printer, than buy a spare set of cartridges.
Welcome to the age of non-environmentally friendly, throw away when the toner runs out, laser printers.
Fortunately that model has been hacked, and there is replacement firmware, hardware mods and compatible toner cartridge chips available, any of which which can defeat the manufacturer’s measures to stopping you from refilling with sensibly priced toner.
My several year old black and white Samsung laser has no chips on its cartridge to prevent refilling or the use of compatible carts, and I’m still refilling and using the original starter cart.
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Jaytee
For John W (08/26/2011):
What you say may be correct for some printers, but in many cases the printer cartridge is simply an ink reservoir with a small vent and an absorbent sponge to regulate the ink flow: no jet holes, no ink ejecting mechanism, and no electronics. Please take a closer look, then rethink your argument.For Lady Jane (08/29/2011):
Don’t believe all that you’re told by your local refiller. Whilst I don’t know which model of Epsom (sic) printer you now own, I can assure you that chip resetting devices are available for many chipped cartridges. the one-off cost of a resetter is soon recouped by your savings when you reuse the empty cartridges. I have been resetting, reusing and refilling my cartridges for a number of years, and have had no problems yet (I currently own a Canon Pixma printer). If you’re buying a new printer look for one with separate cartridges for each colour (they can be refilled independently as they run out – the printer doesn’t stop if just one colour is empty), and avoid printers which have cartridges with built-in print head mechanisms (see above) as these are not designed for longevity. -
trefor
I have found that “Inkcycle” are best on price, speedy delivery. I am still using an old Epson printer and buy several black and colour at one time. No problens … yet!
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Bam Bam
COMET!! Stay well away from there online store…. total waste of time and not to mention mine. Ordered new cardridge online and recieved an email confirming delivery on Monday.. all well and good because in desperate need. However, never arrived!! Checked tracking to find out still processing my order. So I rang them, (once i managed to get through all the options which costs 10p min regardless), and was told the item was out of stock and they didn’t know when they were getting anymore. Never ever use them again… Viking are the most reliable for us and give free chocs too x
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Can any one help!! I do a lot of colour printing for business products and I seem to be forever buying ink cartridges. I have an HP PHOTOSMART C3180 which is great and I’v had for years without any problems. However I can’t afford to keep replacing the ink at the rate its going. Can anyone suggest a better, cheaper way for me to reduce my printing costs please x
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Les.
MarshallRegarding compatable printing inks, printers read from the black cartridge first, so always change the black ink cartridge with the same make as the colour cartridges. I use Jetplay ink cartrides at a maximum of £4 for the ‘set’ of one black and the three colours, in my Epson printer. The quality of the printing is okay and I haven’t had any blocked ink jets in over 12 months of using the Jetplay cartridges.
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DAWB
Having used IJT and Cartridge world re-filled cartridges for years successfully in my 3 year old Canon MP470 I now find the ‘print head not installed’ message occuring persistently when I load a new cartridge – even with a genuine Canon BG40. What to do?
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Spirit1. Either the prinhead is kaput, or hopefully not seated properly as a result of being nudged or dirty. Inkjet printers hate long periods of idleness. They can dry out and block both print head and cartridge.
2. Remove the print head – you can with a Canon – wipe the underside with some soft kitchen paper – and replace to ensure proper seating.
3. If still not working, it’s probably kaput. Can be easily diy replaced, but new printer may be cheaper.
4. However, you might try printheadhospital.com from whom you can buy a £12 kit to thoroughly clean the print head. If it doesn’t get your printer printing you get your money back ! Just cleaned my seven-ink i990 last night. Worked a treat. Good luck.
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maryam
i need help to by cheap ink for my printer hp officejet 6310ALL-in-one thanks
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Mike
O'NeillI use my Inkjet printers very heavily and so I am very aware of ink prices etc.
Your report does not show the type of cartridges possible or their contents.
For example an older HP using 363 cartridges does not have the option of an XL capacity option as with a 364 cartridge printer. At one time cartridges used to show the volume of
ink, even if only 3 ml !, but sadly that information is now hidden.
A great deal more information about what cartridges, capacities and refillability would be of much help in choosing a new printer. -
Brian
JonesI often use the Boots chemist shop for my refills & new cartridges—Very competitive prices.
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mr norman
linklateri have a Epson P50, which i have owned for about fifteen months when i was having trouble with it i mistakenly downloaded an update which was a mistake since then i have never been able to use compatible cartridges so epson must put some software which makes it impossible to use these cartridges, so i say beware when you try to save money using other cartridges so my problem is buy Epson cartridges at about 60£ which more than i paid for the printer so i can carry on using it, or dump it, i ve learnt a lesson not to buy Epson. nutty norm
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barry b
Try uninstaling the software and reinstalling.I always revoke updates.Why do you need updates for a printer?
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david
I use an epson for dvd/cd disc printing. using ink from stinkyink. The only problem I have with the printer is that if i turn it off. on restart it likes to go into head clean mode (takes 1/8 of the ink out of the 6 ink cartridges) this will give me 8 dvd or cd’s printed. I now leave the printer on 24/7 sometimes will as to clean heads but get a lot more out of it. use an hp colour 2550l for all other printing. chromecoat paper works for photos. buy laser colour printer price is less then two sets of 6 epson cartridges (under £100.00)look around. ebay shops.
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chris s
I use 300xl carts.I find ASDA own brand great value.Hps software is always trying to do updates.I refuse them as i suspect they are trying to force me to use OEM cartridges
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Just dont buy oem cartridges
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Trish
Can anyone offer me advice please. I am in the market for new printer, preferably £50 – £100
currently have an Epson (4 yrs old) I make cards so need a printer to take heavier gauge paper and ink not so expensive as the epson, this is a minefield – help. -
Anyone reluctant to use compatible inks because they think it might possibly damage their printer, should do a simple calculation:- how many sets of compatible cartridges would I have to use for the difference in price to cover the cost of buying a brand new printer.
I guarantee it won’t be that many, probably about two complete sets.
On top of that some compatible ink manufacturers provide a guarantee that they will replace your printer with an equivalent model if their product harms your printer.
If you want an inkjet to last, the most important thing is not who manufactured the ink, but to use it regularly – I’d recommend turning it on and printing at least one page every week, even if it is just a nozzle check – to prevent the ink in the cleaning pad and head drying and clogging the nozzles, or head. Ironically cheaper ink means you’ll be more likely to use it more often, and therefore spend less time, and waste far less ink running head cleaning cycles.
If you are worried about print quality, then buy a reputable branded compatible, it should meet ISO standards and also contain UV stabilisers, and you will more than likely be well satisfied with the results.
A set of genuine high yield Epson cartridges for my nearly new epson photo printer costs about £70, the equivalent Jettec carts cost me just over £16, that’s about a £54 saving per set. I haven’t noticed any difference in print quality.
If you are buying a new printer make sure compatible cartridge can be obtained for that specific model, if they’re not don’t buy.
Finally DON’T update the printer’s firmware – some manufacturers may try to push firmware updates on you which stops currently available compatible cartridges from working by blocking the compatible chips.
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lynne
I have refilled my canon MP495 CARTRIDGES but the black is still showing as empty and wont print can anybody help me resolve this. I have used Asda ‘s own ink refills for months in my last Canon until it died and they gave very good quality printing. Stuck now as new canon doesnt like the new ink.
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cliff
I bought ‘compatible cartridges for my HP printer from GH Stationers, Barry, online. After some initial print runs my printer decided the black ink was incompatible. Replacement was senty and again worked for a while until the same message was received and printer ceased to function. GH Stationers replaced both cartridges with genuine HP inks free of charge to compensate for four days loss of use of printer. I shall buy genuine in future but will continue to use GH
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Who sells the cheapest printer ink?
Some of us are reluctant to use the third-party ink, but buying OEM (original equipment manufacture) ink can get expensive. To help you save money we checked the prices at 9 different online stores at 5 times throughout the year just to see who is selling at what prices. You can see the results in the graphic above.
Who sells the cheapest printer ink?
Amazon.co.uk proved the cheapest by selling at 24% less than the average price, followed by Cartridgepoint at 18% below average. Online retailers were the cheapest overall, but generally buying online is a guarantee of a good price.
Who sells the most expensive printer ink?
Despite shopping online being cheaper in general, Comet’s online store had the worst record with printer ink selling for a massive 26% over the average price. Argos’ website and Currys were next but, at 9% each, were some way cheaper than Comet. On average, printer ink on Comet’s website cost nearly 50% more than on Amazon.co.uk!
Who sells the cheapest printer ink on the high-street?
With the exception of Comet, shopping online proved cheaper. But for those who prefer shopping in store, the cheapest we found was PC World. Its prices were 7% over the average price. The most expensive high-street store was Currys at 9% above the average price.
For more advice, read our free guide to how to save money on printing.