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I'm sick of paying $80 for the 4 ink cartridges at the stores, so I started getting refills at Costco, but they aren't great either. It seems 1/2 of the time, it's a hit or miss & the cartridge shows up as defective on the printer & it won't print, so you have to go through the hassle of bearing the Costco crowds/parking & standing in the long return line to get your money back.
I'm NEVER going to Costco again to get ink refills!
How do the rest of you get quality ink without paying an arm & leg?
I get my ink cartridges at Carrotink.com. They have great customer service and their products. They also send prepaid postal mailing pouches to make it easier to safely dispose of the old cartridges.
I found this company about 12 years ago and have never been disappointed. No, I don't work for them; just am a very satisfied repeat customer.
Hmm, I just checked both carrotink and ld products websites and their cost for my cartridges, both black and color, were more than Best Buy, where I have been buying since I purchased the printer almost 3 months ago. With the Best Buy rewards card I end up paying at least a dollar lower than that. I have found that cartridges don't seem to last long, especially the touted Xtra large cartridge. Except for my portable Canon Pixma i100, no printer seems worth it. Why are cartridges so expensive?!
If you do a lot of printing, it pays to get a "professional" printer that uses larger cartridges (or just bulk ink). My printer is an Epson Pro 4800 (16x20). Cartridges contain 220 ml, and I pay a discounted price of around $70 each, and this is for a high quality, long lasting Epson ink. The 13x19 desktop printer I used before used the same ink, but the cartridges only held about 10 ml each and cost around $15. Savings in ink more than paid for the cost of the printer (~$2000).
Prior to this printer, for large prints I used a 36" wide inkjet in which I bought the ink in bulk (500ml bottles) for around $100 per bottle, but its quality was only good enough for posters. (It cost $13,000 new).
I buy my ink from Atlex.com. They offer good discounts on OEM inks from several manufacturers. I've been buying from them for more than a decade and have no complaints.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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How much did you pay for the printer? Paying $80 for a $200 printer is not very cost effective. I have had terrible luck with refill cartridges, so when we buy a printer we will find the best 4-6 that suit us, then check out their ink prices. Our current printer is about $24 for a pack of one color, one black.
Hmm, I just checked both carrotink and ld products websites and their cost for my cartridges, both black and color, were more than Best Buy, where I have been buying since I purchased the printer almost 3 months ago. With the Best Buy rewards card I end up paying at least a dollar lower than that. I have found that cartridges don't seem to last long, especially the touted Xtra large cartridge. Except for my portable Canon Pixma i100, no printer seems worth it. Why are cartridges so expensive?!
Its where some manufacturers (maybe most) make their money on printers. I recall one printer (but can't think of the name) that sold new for less than the ink that came with it -- $50 or something like that. It was cheaper to replace the printer when the first cartridge ran dry, but most people just winced and bought the ink.
Its where some manufacturers (maybe most) make their money on printers. I recall one printer (but can't think of the name) that sold new for less than the ink that came with it -- $50 or something like that. It was cheaper to replace the printer when the first cartridge ran dry, but most people just winced and bought the ink.
OP back again. I have an HP OfficeJet 6700 4-in-1 machine. If only it wasn't for that ink!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangelag
Hmm, I just checked both carrotink and ld products websites and their cost for my cartridges, both black and color, were more than Best Buy, where I have been buying since I purchased the printer almost 3 months ago. With the Best Buy rewards card I end up paying at least a dollar lower than that. I have found that cartridges don't seem to last long, especially the touted Xtra large cartridge. Except for my portable Canon Pixma i100, no printer seems worth it. Why are cartridges so expensive?!
The 2 sites given above were both much better prices than what I've been paying at the stores!
Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk
...I buy my ink from Atlex.com. They offer good discounts on OEM inks from several manufacturers. I've been buying from them for more than a decade and have no complaints.
Thanks, I'll bookmark that site too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140
How much did you pay for the printer? Paying $80 for a $200 printer is not very cost effective. I have had terrible luck with refill cartridges, so when we buy a printer we will find the best 4-6 that suit us, then check out their ink prices. Our current printer is about $24 for a pack of one color, one black.
You're about right...$80 of ink for around a $200 4-in-1 machine for me. I've never ordered online from any of these companies, so I'll defintely try out the one(s) people listed here.
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