Printer Ink » HP Printer Ink
How To Save Money On HP Printer Ink
If you've had to replace an HP ink cartridge recently, you've probably noticed that they're usually one of the more expensive brands of ink on the shelf. You might be wondering why they're more money.
Well, one of the main reasons is that most HP printer cartridges have the printhead built into the cartridge instead of the printer. What this means is every time you buy a new ink cartridge, you get a new printhead with it.
Over the long term, this means you'll get more consistent quality because the printhead doesn't gradually wear out. Most other brands of inkjet printer either have the printhead built into the printer or have a separate printhead cartridge you have to buy every so often.
While it's nice to know you're getting the best quality prints over the life of your printer, it's still a little frustrating having to pay so much money every time you need new ink. With some models, you could buy a new printer for what you spend on a set of replacement cartridges.
And if you've had any older HP printers, you've probably noticed another thing - their new ink cartridges don't have nearly as much ink as the older ones did.
For example, the HP 45 black cartridge from several years ago held 42ml of ink. One of their newer models is the HP 27 black cartridge, which only holds 10ml. A quick check on Amazon.com shows the 45 priced at $26.88 and the 27 priced at $17.99. That's over four times as much ink for less than double the price. The same holds true for many other models - the 15, 56, 23, 10, etc. (the sheer number of cartridge numbers can be overwhelming!)
Fortunately, there are ways to save money when it comes time to buy HP ink cartridges.
One of the most common ways is by refilling hp ink cartridges. When your original ink runs out, you can buy refill kits for many of their models. These refill kits are usually much less expensive than the original cartridge, and they work fine for many models.
You do have to be careful, however. HP makes their money on the ink, not the printer, so they have come up with different ways to stop the cartridges from being refilled. If you have a newer model, you might not be able to find a compatible refill kit - especially for the color cartridge.
Another option for saving money on your ink is to use remanufactured HP inkjet cartridge. There are many companies who take empty cartridges and refurbish them - clean them up, refill them and test them.
In some cases these discount cartridges can be an even better deal than the original. Some original HP cartridges are what they call "economy" models - the cartridge is only partially filled with ink.
When these economy versions are remanufactured, they can be completely filled which actually gives you more ink from the same cartridge.
HP is probably the biggest brand of printer so there are lots of HP ink cartridge suppliers around. It pays to plan ahead and don't wait until you're out of ink to buy a replacement. If you buy it before you're out, you'll usually find the best deals online. And that's the case for every brand - Canon, HP, or Epson printer ink.
