Last week we talked about the cheap laser printer, today we are going to talk about cheap printer ink. The cost of manufacturer brand printer cartridges is a hot topic amongst those that own both inkjet and laser printers. The need for lower cost printer ink solutions has created a market for compatible and remanufactured cartridges. It’s also created a market for less expensive manufacturer brand cartridges.

When you head out to your favorite search engine and search for ‘cheap printer ink‘ you may not know exactly what you are looking for. Compatible cartridges . . . Remanufactured cartridges . . . Manufacturer brand cartridges. All you know is that you want something that costs less than what you would pay HP, Epson, Canon, or Lexmark for one of their cartridges. So, what exactly could  you end up with, and should you buy it?

Any time you can get a manufacturer brand cartridge for what you feel is cheap,  you should do it. Why? Because you are going to get the best print with manufacturer brand cartridges. There are quite a few who won’t agree with me, but it’s true. Printers are manufactured with certain preset, and unchangeable, calibration settings. The settings are set for printing with manufacturer brand inks. Based on that fact alone, you will get better print outs using manufacturer brand cartridges. Vendors of compatible and remanufactured cartridges will tell you that their ink is the same as the manufacturer brand inks. Don’t believe it. By law they can’t be. Manufacturers hold patents on their ink formulations, and patents prevent others from copying the formula. Even though the formula can’t be the same, it is possible for vendors of remanufactured and compatible cartridges to say their cartridges print the same as a manufacturer brand cartridge, but this is just an opinion and subject to the person viewing the print out.

To me, a search for cheap printer ink means you are looking for compatible or remanufactured cartridges. You will definitely save some money using these cartridges, but should you use them?

Cheap printer ink is fine for general use printing, but if you need color accuracy because you are printing something you consider important or official you should go with the manufacturer brand cartridge. You are going to get a better looking print because your printer is designed to work with manufacturer brand inks (mentioned above). All the printer color profiles are based upon the manufacturer ink formulation.

The bottom line . . . if perfect color is important you need a manufacturer brand cartridge. If not, go with the cheap printer ink. You won’t damage your printer and you will save some money.

People like to save money, not matter what they are purchasing, so I often get folks that want to know where they can buy a cheap laser printer. I guess there are two ways to look at cheap. A cheap laser printer can either cost very little or be made with very little quality. I usually assume that one would rather buy the laser printer that costs very little versus buying the one that has low quality. Skimp on quality and you are asking for a whole lot of trouble, not matter how little you paid. Remember, you get what you pay for. That said, let’s talk about the cheap laser printer and how we can get our hands on them.

The least you can expect to pay for a laser printer, from a mid to large sized retailer, is between $300-$400.  At this price point you are going to get a single color (black) printer with some pretty slow print speeds (20 or fewer pages per minute). Don’t expect to get any scanning/copying functions, duplexing, wireless connectivity, or direct printing from USB type devices. You can expect a moderate duty cycle, the maximum number of pages the printer can print per month, in the 40,000 page range. There are some very reliable printers in this price range (HP Color LaserJet CP2025n, HP LaserJet P2015dn, Samsung SCX-4100), so even if you aren’t cheap and are just on a limited budget you’ll be able to get a quality printer.

Did you know that laser printer prices range from free to as high as $5000.00? How can the range be so large?

For you cheap laser printer seekers free is the ultimate, right? If you can get it for free you are a happy camper! To find a free laser printer you are going to have to spend some time looking around. Free laser printers are going to be found on Craig’s List or at liquidation sales. To find liquidation sales you are going to have to scour the Internet or newspapers for public postings. What you save in money you may spend in time. Still, it is very cool to be able to say you got yourself a free laser printer.

Okay, let’s get back to cheap. If you look on comparison shopping web sites you will often see a range of a few hundred dollars for any one type of printer. The same $300-$400 printer we mentioned above can be found online for between $200 and $575. Huh? If I can go to a mid to large sized retailer and get it for $300-$400, how can it be found online for $200-$575? That’s the power of the Internet. We’ll ignore the $575 part because that’s just not cheap enough. But the $200, now I’m saving at least $100.

The lesson? If you are cheap, check the Internet. You are bound go find the laser printer you want for a lower price than you would pay in a store. There are some trade-offs, but we are just talking about saving money so price is our only determinant.

Get out there and get yourself a cheap laser printer. Search the Internet, search the newspapers, look for store closeouts, or ask  your friends. Bottom line is that you’ll be spending some time researching this purchase in order to find the best deal, so be prepared. Good luck!

Do inkjet cartridges explode? If you listen to some customers you would believe they do. If you listen to me you’ll see that the inkjet cartridge can give the appearance of having exploded, but it really does not.

In the 11+ years I’ve been doing this the exploding inkjet cartridge call is one that I get a few times a year. The rationale that I’m about to share usually falls on deaf ears when I explain it. Why? Because I’ve got a customer on the phone with ink on the inside of their printer. The last thing they want to hear is me telling them they are wrong and the cartridge did not explode. They want to hear how everything is going to be taken care of.

So, take the time now to read this post. It will save us both a lot of time and energy if you feel your inkjet cartridge exploded inside your printer.

I am going to focus on HP brand cartridges and remanufactured HP cartridges because almost all complaints stem from this type of cartridge. Ah, we’ve already got a trend! Additionally these reports are happening with older HP printers and older model HP inkjet cartridges. A second trend!

The design of the older HP printers includes an absorbent pad that captures all of the ink drops that the printer uses. The pad helps clean the print head of every inkjet cartridge that has ever been installed in the printer. Besides collecting ink drops each time a new cartridge is installed, the pad also collects ink from a rubber wipe (think windshield wiper) that wipes the cartridge each time you start a print job.

After a few years the pad reaches the limits of what it can absorb and ink begins to overflow from the sponge and the tray the sponge sits in. The ink then forms a pool under the printer that goes unnoticed until someone moves the printer. Picture the reaction to a pool of ink under the printer. Most assume that the inkjet cartridge exploded, not that it leaked. So very few know that mechanics of the inkjet printer that they would never guess the absorbent pad leaked and there is nothing wrong with the cartridge.

The next time you find a puddle of ink under your printer and get the urge to pick up the phone and tell everyone that your inkjet cartridge exploded, take a minute and remember what you have read.

1. Cartridges don’t explode!

2. Although unlikely, cartridges can leak. Talk to the company you purchased your cartridge from. They will be able to help you.

3. Check your printer. If it is 3-4 years old, it may be the cause of the the ink puddle.

If you have any ideas to share about exploding inkjet cartridges please take a minute to share them. Thanks!

Last week HP announced a national shortage of its CE285A toner cartridge. This toner cartridge is used in the HP LaserJet  P1102W and LaserJet M1212 printers. The popularity of these two printer models are driving the cartridge shortage.

The P1102W is an entry level monochrome laser printer, while the M1212 is a multifunction machine. Both printers are reasonably priced, as is the CE285A toner cartridge. It retails for $67.95 and will yield up to 1,600 pages.

The next time you come across one of these cartridges you may want to see if you can find a second as well. HP has made no commitment as to when they might be able to address the shortage.