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General discussion

I'm sick of ink-sucking printers, buying advice needed

Mar 25, 2011 7:17AM PDT
Question:

I'm sick of ink-sucking printers, buying advice needed


I am so frustrated with printers and the amount of ink they now use, not to mention the cost of the ink. I don't do much scanning or printing in color and no faxing, so I don't need a high-end printer. I do a fair amount of grayscale printing each day. My problem is that the printers I have had in the past couple of years guzzle ink and use almost as much color ink as black ink, even though I am not printing pages in color. That was not the case in the past with my older printers. My color ink seemed to last forever. Not true, these days. Now that I have Windows 7, I haven't found a compatible printer that is efficient without costing an arm and a leg to operate. Can anyone give me any suggestions on what kind of printer I should purchase? Thanks.

-- Submitted by: Allison H.

Paper sucking ink --Submitted by: blmonster
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-7590_102-5106391.html

Money robbing printers--Submitted by: flrhcarr
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-7590_102-5106311.html

Inkaholic printers --Submitted by: Sidewinder34
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-7590_102-5106321.html

Why color ink runs out as fast as the B/W ink. --Submitted by: blmonster
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-7590_102-5106401.html

Laser, really?? NOT so fast. --Submitted by: jonsantacroce
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-7590_102-5106429.html

Thanks to all who contributed!

If you have any additional advice or recommendations for Allison, click the "reply" link below and submit away. If referring to product, providing a link to the product will be very helpful. Please be detailed as possible when providing a solution. Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Paper sucking ink
May 5, 2011 9:42AM PDT

Thank you for this info. I was unaware of this.

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ink sucking paper
May 6, 2011 3:32PM PDT
Grin Something that many of us, im sure weren't aware of. THANKS Cool
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Density issues
May 6, 2011 3:47PM PDT

That may explain why a friend's machine prints paper quite dark, but when he runs a CD through it, the printing is ridiculously faint.

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(NT) Paper sucking ink. what kind of paper, does it have a spec?
May 12, 2011 8:26PM PDT
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Useful Information
Mar 25, 2011 1:33PM PDT

A very useful information, and thank you very much
Dr. K. A. Rasheed

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Kodak?
Mar 25, 2011 10:44AM PDT

I've heard Kodak inkjets are cheaper than others because their electronic parts are not built in the cartridge. I have Canon inkjet for color (excellent quality, but very expensive ink, and Walgreens can't refill) and Samsung ML-1710 laser for b/w, it's at least five times cheaper per page. Also, for draft prints on inkjet I always use "fast" option.

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Kodak.Printer
May 2, 2011 1:00AM PDT

I own a Kodak printer and the black ink is only $9.99 a cartridge compared to $35.99 for Canon. It's a lot cheaper and it's a good printer. It is probably even cheaper in the U.S. so buy it and you will save a bundle.

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ink-sucking printers
Mar 25, 2011 10:44AM PDT

I have an HP Officejet 6500 but I use the Auto Refill System from inkproducts.com instead of HP or compatible ink cartridges. They have such systems for many kind of inkjet printers.

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Ink Sucking
Mar 25, 2011 10:46AM PDT

Received an e-mail from a friend and it showed an epson cartiridge. It showed an reset hole by the contacts. Use paperclip and reset. there not empty.

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Reset hole on Epson cartridge
Apr 30, 2011 7:02AM PDT

This is new information to me.....and very helpful Could you be a bit more descriptive. More recently I've noticed that I can still hear quite a bit of ink sloshing around in the cartridges even though the printer showed that there was less than 5%...and I was really pushing it to 0%. On one occasion the cartridge should have been empty, but it was evident that there was ink remaining. In my opinion, anyone purchasing a new printer should be sure that it uses separate ink cartridges for each color. I've found them to be more efficient....therefore, less expensive to use. .

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I'm sick of ink-sucking printers, buying advice needed
Mar 25, 2011 10:46AM PDT

With printers as cheap as they are today, I would suggest the following:
Go to a Professional Ink Cartridge Refiller. I used to buy the genuine replacement filler which cost an arm & a leg.However, I found cartridge refilling very economical and did not damage my printer. I don't know whether using Win7 would make any difference to your printer? but I found the Canon excellent. I use a Canon MP490 which has a scanner, photocopy, photoprints colour and black. It holds two cartridges, one black and the other has the colour. The colour is very good. I use Win XP Pro. Good luck.
Norman E.

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laser!
Mar 25, 2011 10:48AM PDT

I've a pal who repairs printers for a living. He says to get an inexpensive laser printer & don't look back. Compatibility with Win7 shouldn't be an issue and that info should be readily available when you're doing pre-purchase research. Good luck!

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Money Robbing Printers
Mar 25, 2011 10:53AM PDT

Yes, we've all come across that. The reason is printers use all of the colors to print black, along with black. Those who make them, get the money from the sales of ink.
You can go to a ink filling station, that will cut down the cost some. Or you could do it yourself, there are many places that sell refillable cartridges. I started using inksupply because they have the inks types, cartridges & "kits". But I've been filling my own since type writers were popular. A daunting task at first (ink/toner refilling), so pace yourself.
Additionally, I'd suggest a laser printer. If you're not looking for awesome graphics (graphics are NOT images/pictures), you can pick up nearly any printer to do the job. Look for the suppliers of the toner/ink first, to get an idea of what the prices will be for off brand.
I also agree to go with a monotone laser printer. One of the benefits of laser is that the ink won't dry out like inkjet inks. There isn't any tubes to feed, or heads to clog. The down side is the fuser needs to be replaced. Try picking up a second hand laser & see if it will work for you. If not, you can always re-donate it. Who makes a better cheapy printer? It can be a matter of taste or cost. The bottom line is what you want it to do? The lesser printers aren't going to produce quality & are subject to banding issues. I picked up a cheap printer for a quick project once & donated it quickly it was horrible, not even close to the dpi's claimed! One more thing about buying ink in bulk, they have a shelf life, so be careful. Finally, toggle your settings when printing draft. Many printers allow you to use a reduced amount of ink/toner, but not all of them allow you to reduce the dpi settings very low. Saturation, brightness & things of that nature add to the cost. Good prints cost ink/toner that's just how it is. Hope this helps.

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hp6500 doesn't use color inks as fast as black ink
Mar 25, 2011 2:29PM PDT

the HP6500 using the contuiuous feed inking definitely does not use up the colored ink as fast as the black ink. the continuous feed inking is also quite easy to refill as compared to refilling the actual cartridges which I had done with my old HP 820Cse and 6110 printers! HP and other printer makers must hate the folks who make the continuous feed inking products because they make the most $$$ from refill cartridges!

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Refiling is messy and not reealy cost effective.
Apr 30, 2011 10:11AM PDT

I have all Canon Pinters and have had any different Moels for over 10 years.The first were all in oe Color and 1 Black Cartridge. Since then I have purchased only Canon Printers that have individulal Cartridges, the first did not require a Chip and I would buy in bulk from a lot of sources and certainly not from Manufacturers or Office Supply Companies. I could get them for between 98 cents and $1.25 give or take a few cents. Later when the printers required Chips I foun Hundreds of Suppliers where I can buy an individual Cartridge or sets. Some use six Carts and the least 4. I pay a whopping $7.00 to about $12.00 for a set. Often free shipping included. Anyone who thinks that they can not save money this way does not know how to shop. I use www.froogle.com and select lowest price. The few times that a cartridge did not work I was sent a replacement or just replaced it and throw away the bad one. Most of those brand name cartridges are made in the same factory as the generic and some sell both the Canon and the generic with a considerable saving. The Carts I ave bought from he Manufacturers often are not full either, you can see the Sponge inside still showing whit instead of bein ully soaked.

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Printers with dedicated black reservoirs
May 1, 2011 1:19AM PDT

Some printers have 2 black ink reservoirs, a small one for color printing and a larger one for dedicated black & white. They use only that reservoir for gray-scale printing and don't waste the colors. Find one of those. My Canon P4500 is like that. Check the specs for others.

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Check eBay for decent Prices
May 31, 2011 7:00AM PDT

I had a Lexmark printer where the cartridges were NOT refillable, and they were tiny besides.
So, now that printer just sits there. I bought an HP 8500 with individual colors (C M Y K) and
specifically bought this unit because the cartridges ARE refillable. I also found a place thru
eBay where I bought two cartridges (black) for about $10 each ..free shipping. Check it out!

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You Found the Scam
Mar 25, 2011 10:55AM PDT

Allison, you have unearthed perhaps, IMHO, the biggest SCAM of modern day computing. Its so big its almost criminal.

Look here, and yes, the price per gallon is WAY down this page;

http://www.cockeyed.com/science/gallon/liquid.html

A low cost b&w laser printer bought on sale (and wait for a big discount) seems to be the only answer. Don't print color photos, however if you have to do a few of them, go to one of those machines in a supermarket.

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from the cockeyed link
Mar 25, 2011 11:19AM PDT

I found this little tidbit @ the very bottom of the cockeyed link "How much is Inside".

"My inside contact at Hewlett Packard told me about an updated printer driver that would allow me to print only with the black print cartridge, also known as the black pen. He told me that the usual grayscale settings would SEEM to be in black and white, but would actually be using up the color cartridge. "

http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/printer/printcart.html

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Inkaholic Printers
Mar 25, 2011 10:59AM PDT

Hi Allison;

We've all suffered to varying degrees with the same problem you have. I recently discovered that it would cost only $8.00 more for me to replace my entire Canon 310 printer than pay the price of replacing the ink cartridges alone. Despite the fact that the cartridges that came with the new one are only partly filled, the profit I made selling the brand new printer actually turned me a profit!

A really good solution to this nonsense, might be to replace the printer you now have with one of the Kodak models. I own 2 Kodak 5250s that perform flawlessly using a black cartridge @ $10.00 and a multi colored cartridge @ $20.00.

If you want your printer to output in black only, forget about any such settings that may be featured in the printer software and change the setting through the Windows Control Panel under Printers and Faxes.

Now if you really want to print on the cheap, download a little freebie called PretonSaver. Depending on how you set it, you can reduce your ink consumption by as much as 35% and beyond and still have readable output that's good enough for most household documents that have a short lifecycle such as bank statements and the like.

PretonSaver can be found at this link;
http://www.preton.com/pretonsaver_home.asp

My advice is going to cost you a coffee and a sticky bun Allison!

Best regards and good luck,

Ralph

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Warning: Possibly Malware
Apr 29, 2011 12:32PM PDT

"Now if you really want to print on the cheap, download a little freebie called PretonSaver. Depending on how you set it, you can reduce your ink consumption by as much as 35% and beyond and still have readable output that's good enough for most household documents that have a short lifecycle such as bank statements and the like. PretonSaver can be found at this link; http://www.preton.com/pretonsaver_home.asp"

This looked like a great idea to me, so I went to the preton site and downloaded the software. When I began installation, my Malware detector alerted saying the program was Malware. I immediately quarantined the program, then later deleted it. I don't know for sure if it's Malware, but I'm not going to find out on my computer.

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PretonSaver is 100% safe
Apr 29, 2011 8:08PM PDT
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PretonSaver is NOT a malware!!!
May 2, 2011 1:02AM PDT

It was tested by ESET and approved to be OK

Preton Support assured me that the SW was tested by all major AV software companies and found to be 100% safe and clean.

They have forward me an email from a specific Malware Researcher at ESET spol. s r.o. confirming this.

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No Malware on this download for me
May 11, 2011 6:23AM PDT

I have three continuously monitoring malware programs on each of my windows VISTA professional and home version computers. I have not received a report such as yours. You might want to try downloading it again, and/or contact the publisher to advise him.

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Less expensive printers
Apr 29, 2011 12:46PM PDT

The suggestion to use Kodak printers, because of their lower cost ink, is a good one. I have two -- one at home and one at work, and they work very well; and the ink is definitely a lot less expensive. The school where I work has bought at least another six of them to replace the much more expensive to operate printers we were using, and we have had no problems. I also use a small desktop laser printer for black and white text work; and that certainly costs less to operate than the inkjets.

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less expensive printers
Apr 29, 2011 5:37PM PDT

Your suggestion won't be left on deaf ears or blind eyes since I'm reading this. I will definitely take Kodak in consideration.

This article came at a good time for me. I'm at a crossroads with my printer. I have a Canon MP530 all in one. It replaced an HP 1210 all in one that died after a storm seven years back. I used this one in tandem with a Canon 2000. That was a fine printer, but it eventually died on me. Ink was inexpensive and you could also use the refill kits from the store or order them online. I use to print primarily from the Canon 2000 and only use the 1210 when I needed color. Then the companies got hip and placed chips in their ink tanks. Greedy.

I have been looking at a replacement for this printer but the cost of ink is a factor. I print rather a lot but not heavy. Mostly coupons, recipes when I need them printed, letters when I need to correspond that way or in writing as I try to dabble in that.

I'm not crazy about HP given the cost of that ink the last time I had one. It used that 56/57 but it took that refill ink easily. And this Canon that I have. It started printing a black streak down the back. I've cleaned the print head and all but it still does it. The pad inside needs to be changed, but I could by a new printer for that. I have learned one valuable lesson: Leave the duplex printers alone. They may save on ink, but the black streak isn't worth it.

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Yes, but...
Apr 29, 2011 9:54PM PDT

Most new printers come with only half filled (or less) ink cartridges.

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If we pass the word, Kodak Printers will rule.
Apr 30, 2011 1:21AM PDT

I've saved well over 70% by switching to Kodak printers, Kodak ink, and coated paper. Sam's Club often has 2 jumbo black Kodak ink cartridges and 1-2 jumbo color cartridges packaged together for under $45. I've bought the double jumbo black, double jumbo color pack for under $40 at several stores. Kodak printers also have settings that easily let you dial back your ink usage even more based on the item being printed. Kodak keeps their drivers upated so you can run them with Windows 7, Vista, XP, and even older Windows systems while still using up-to-date drivers.

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I also am a KODAK printer fan.
Apr 30, 2011 4:22AM PDT

The great thing about KODAK is that all printers use the same ink...until the new "C" models were introduced. The ink cost has risen in the last 2 years from $9.95 black and $14.99 color to $14.95 black and $19.95 color. The inks really do last longer (pages per cartridge) than any other.

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Inkaholic Printers
Apr 30, 2011 4:58AM PDT

I appreciate the advice about PretonSaver.

Until today I use printing in Gray Scales when I do not need high quality and color prints.

The Preton let me have both ways, savings and good prints when needed, with the same Printers I like.

However, I just run into a small problem: with my win7 laptop upon launching PretonSaver for the first time it cannot find the Internet access for activation, althought the connection is there (for the good reason I downloaded PretonSaver just seconds before!). Retry does not solve the problem.

I have to install, then quit and reboot in safe mode. Then I can activate it without problem.

Just to share the tip in case someone trip on the same issue.