My trusty old Epson 750 is struggling a bit and I'll need to replace it soon. Need one that uses generic carts and would be grateful for advice on good all round cheap basic replacement (mainly script with a few pix now and again)
Need new printer that uses generic ink carts
- Thread starter yottie
- Start date
Sponsored Links
Despite they're popularity I have never got on well with anything other than genuine cartridges, even with their added cost they are better value and the quality is better to boot.
Well, sorry but I do not agree at all. After the free carts that came with new printers have expired (Canon, and 2 Epsons) I have always used generics, I have seen very little difference, if any. More important is to use decent papers for anything to look its best. This is, of course a very old and continuing argument which appeared to be instigated and kept going by the rip-off original cartridge manufacturers some time ago. Perhaps your eye-sight is better than mine !
Fair enough, each to their own, I have tried replacement cartridges but just don't get on with them, they always run out much faster and produce very poor quality prints on a Fast Draft setting whereby my HP will produce perfectly acceptable quality A3 drawings with genuine cartridges on a fast setting yet the replacements require the standard speed and even then they are not as good quality.
The cartridges that come with new printers are never full BTW so if you are only getting the same lifespan from your replacement ones as the originals that came with the printer they are lasting less than genuine new ones would.
The cartridges that come with new printers are never full BTW so if you are only getting the same lifespan from your replacement ones as the originals that came with the printer they are lasting less than genuine new ones would.
Sponsored Links
Check out what the larger supermarkets (ASDA, Tesco etc) have on offer and then check out what a site like Cartridgemonkey charge for re-engineered carts for the printers on offer.
I always use Cartridge monkey for my HP Photosmart and they are fine and about 40 - 50% of the price that HP want.
I always use Cartridge monkey for my HP Photosmart and they are fine and about 40 - 50% of the price that HP want.
the epson sx range has a good range of compatible inks.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epson-Stylu...DBKW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311187427&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...rds=sx125+compatible+ink+cartridges&x=20&y=24
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epson-Stylu...DBKW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311187427&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...rds=sx125+compatible+ink+cartridges&x=20&y=24
Kodak printers are terrible, they have really cheap print heads that get blocked all the time, the ink is not that cheap and they are slow.
The ONLY good point i can see in them is the barcoded recognition that changes the configuration depending on the paper.
The ONLY good point i can see in them is the barcoded recognition that changes the configuration depending on the paper.
I always use 'Think' compatible cartridges from Choice Stationery. for my HP Photosmart. They are much cheaper than the originals and when I put one in I get a message on screen that a genuine HP cartridge has been installed. The photos I print are excellent.
If most of your printing is text, and mainly black and white, why not go for a laser printer? The Samsung ML1660 is currently available at Currys for £40 - yes £40. It comes with a part-filled tomer which should give 700 sheets of A4 printing, and replacement genuine cartridges (2500 pages) come in at around £45, but if you knwo what you are doing, you can refill them two or three times before the imaging drum wears out.
Look for the cheapest Canon printer that has separate carts for each colour - buying tri-colour carts works out expensive in the medium term.
Also consider if it's time to get a printer / scanner / copier - again, Canon is the make to go for IMHO.
AFAIK 7dayshop.com will supply 3rd party inks for all current Canon models at very reasonable rates - a complete set of Inkrite inks for my Canon MP620 is £18 (and you can get cheaper no-name inks for it), when I needed a new black in a tearing hurry and had to get one at Tescos it was nearly that just for the one cart!
My MP620 printer / scanner / copier does a surprisingly good job printing photos though I haven't tried it with B&W. It will happily feed a sheet of decent photo paper from the back though I wouldn't ask it to feed it from the tray.
If you are seriously interested in producing quality (e.g. neutral) B&W prints then look for a printer with a grey ink or inks. Printers with CMYK tend to produce colour casts, most often green or magenta.
And if your printing is nearly all text - documents - consider a cheap laser printer.
Also consider how you want to connect to it - USB cable, network cable or wireless - before buying. My printers (yes, more than one) all connect with a network cable plugged into a Homeplug device and I find that works really well and is far more reliable than wifi, and I don't have to have the printer within reach of the PC.
Also consider if it's time to get a printer / scanner / copier - again, Canon is the make to go for IMHO.
AFAIK 7dayshop.com will supply 3rd party inks for all current Canon models at very reasonable rates - a complete set of Inkrite inks for my Canon MP620 is £18 (and you can get cheaper no-name inks for it), when I needed a new black in a tearing hurry and had to get one at Tescos it was nearly that just for the one cart!
My MP620 printer / scanner / copier does a surprisingly good job printing photos though I haven't tried it with B&W. It will happily feed a sheet of decent photo paper from the back though I wouldn't ask it to feed it from the tray.
If you are seriously interested in producing quality (e.g. neutral) B&W prints then look for a printer with a grey ink or inks. Printers with CMYK tend to produce colour casts, most often green or magenta.
And if your printing is nearly all text - documents - consider a cheap laser printer.
Also consider how you want to connect to it - USB cable, network cable or wireless - before buying. My printers (yes, more than one) all connect with a network cable plugged into a Homeplug device and I find that works really well and is far more reliable than wifi, and I don't have to have the printer within reach of the PC.
Many printer manufacturers are introducing technology aimed at preventing the use of anything other than genuine “new” cartridges, showing fault codes when you to use refilled or remanufactured ones. They either won’t work at all or show incorrect ink levels & last just a few days; having tried two different suppliers of remanufactured carts for my HP, I’ve given up & now only by genuine ones.
Lots of 3rd party carts are now chipped - the Inkrite ones I use in my Canon are - so all that stuff still works. If you want to refil your carts then you need a resetter for the chip.
However I only use OEM ones in my big pigment ink printer.
However I only use OEM ones in my big pigment ink printer.
Ink is where the printer manufacturers make their money - the printers are often a loss-leader.
At least in the domestic/office market for A4 printers.
Do some research sometime into, for example, the cost and capacity of Epson Catalina ink cartridges, which are used in POS equipment, and weep, wail and gnash your teeth about what they could offer you if they wanted to.
In the meantime buy generic or refilled cartridges if they work for you.
And if you do a lot of printing look into continuous ink systems.
At least in the domestic/office market for A4 printers.
Do some research sometime into, for example, the cost and capacity of Epson Catalina ink cartridges, which are used in POS equipment, and weep, wail and gnash your teeth about what they could offer you if they wanted to.
In the meantime buy generic or refilled cartridges if they work for you.
And if you do a lot of printing look into continuous ink systems.
Sponsored Links
