printer in jet cartridge question

[mom-from-missouri]

These has to be a cheaper way to keep printer ink in my printer. I have a HP and it takes #56 for the black ink. The cheapest I can find, is a generic for $14. I bought one today-have never tried generic before, but I was not going to pay the $18-$24 that various places want for name brand. When I first got my all-in-one printer,scanner, fax....I could get the ink for $9.99.

Does anyone know if these can be refilled?
Does anyone know of a chain store that has a trade in policy or rebate or something to help bring down the price? (Right now my used up cartridges I give to school to recycle for cash). We use about 1 a month, and I only print when necessaary.

I tried to get them on line, but had one bad experience and the company never backed up their product, so am hesitant to try it again. Then I used 123 inkjets for awhile, but their prices have gone up to higher than the generic one, then there is shipping on top of it.

[tinapbeana]

some models can be refilled, but check your owner's manual using a refilled cartridge may cause issues with any warranty you may have left. also, staples gives i think a $3 rebate for bringing in used ink jet cartridges. if the rebate is good for generic ink, your price just went down to $11....

[Broken Arrow]

Depending on your needs... it may be worth buying a new printer.

I know, it's insane! And yet, inkjet inks are extremely costly. Take a look at the following graph, taken from an entry in Gizmodo:



It's common knowledge that printer manufacturers make money not through their printers, but with their ink. Classic razor / razor blade business model.

If you want to go cheap, Brother makes perhaps the most cost-effective printers out there. For example, their monochrome laser printers cost less than any other laser printers and most inkjets! It is also capable of producing black and white prints that is almost 1/10th of what it would cost to do the on an HP inkjet!

Color laser printers are still kind of pricey though. For photo prints, I like Canons. I have a mid-range Pixma, and although it's an inkjet, prints per page is still typically lower than HP's AND all of their printers are built for individual ink tanks. No wasting ink like HP's consumer line.

[mom-from-missouri]

my printer warrently is already out. We actually have about 4 printers in the house, but this is my favorite, as it does photo's, fax and flat bed scanning. It is about 4 years old. At the time, it had one of the cheapest ink cartridges out. We also have another HP and 2 cannons that just do black only.

[dossin1]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

I tried to get them on line, but had one bad experience and the company never backed up their product, so am hesitant to try it again. Then I used 123 inkjets for awhile, but their prices have gone up to higher than the generic one, then there is shipping on top of it.

Was it Inkjet Superstore.com? If not, give them a try, I found pretty good prices. I use Lexmark which is $27-32 for the black cartridge in the stores, but I got generic for $14. Even with s/h it was still under $20.

[poundwise]

I'd recommend checking into 123inkjets.com.

I'd also recommend shopping them through a rebate site like Ebates or Mr Rebates.