Keeping printer ink costs low.

[Doug in NC]

I just purchased 4 toner refill kits for my hp2000c printer (at $16 each), what do you do to keep printer ink costs low? Do you buy at the local office supply paying full retail price, or have you found a good online discount seller? Does anyone sell re-filled toner cartridges for printers?

I used a black refill kit before, on a different printer. The only problem I had with it was that quality was a little inferior to retail cartridges purchased new. Also, the ink tended to run all over printed pages until about the third page was printed. :?:

Doug

 

[Dee Dee]

Can't wait to see the replies you get to this...I'm running into the same problem. Have tried Priceless Inkjet for discounted refills, good price but the ink quality is inferior. Like what you described it is runny for the first couple of pages and not as sharp looking as the brand name refills.
I'm stashing some money aside to buy a $2000 color inkjet (forget the brand) similar to one that an appraiser buddy has. He says in the long haul it's cheaper because the big color cartridges last forever before needing to be replaced. The photo pages are awesome...very sharp and bright.

 

[TC]

My printing costs have been slashed by about 90% since I started sending everything PDF. I bought a new color printer last year and kind of regret it, I mainly use it for personal use now.

tc

 

[Jeff Horton]

Here is a suggestion that I am about to do. Buy your cartridges on Ebay. I have a freind that is a big time dealer on Ebay. She was just telling me last week that she was buying hers on there for about half what it was locally at Wally World. I have not looked yet to see if they have my printers cartridges so I can't speak from experience.

Just remember to check the feedback on the seller and deal only with the ones with good ratings.

 

[rpayne]

I don't know Doug, but $16 for the refill sounds pretty good to me. I have the 2000c also and have been paying around $35 (each color) for the HP version. I do a lot of PDF also, but I find that I still have to print a fair amount.

I have been looking into the low end color lasers which are pretty cheap, but the consumables on those are priced pretty steep (even though they last a lot longer).

I thought about going with two printers, an inexpensive color ink jet and a black and white laser, but the switching back and forth may be to much trouble.

 

[Liz South]

I also have an HP 2000. Use it solely to print the photo pages. Use my workhorse laser printer for all other printing including, printing items off the MLS etc and all non photo pages of the reports. (I still keep a hard copy of all work performed) I know this takes some time, but it is so nice to be able to pull files out, and have all my data right at my fingertips. When I consider that I am using the HP 200 only for printing photos, the cost of consumables drops considerably.
Switching between printers is no hassle in fact in alamode you can specify one printer as your photo printer and another printer as your text printer.
I have purchased some refills on the internet, but some have been less than the best, so I figure why not use the best.
Liz Southworth

 

[Ben Vukicevich SRA]

For the last time. It's not hard to beat HP.

Take a look. It's been running for over 2 years. No problems. Eats bulk ink for HP's.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/118432...44888jbhfncCYtM

Black ink costs less than $60 per year ($5 per month) versus $110 a month for black laser cartridges.

Everything is printed through the HP 2200, appraisals, correspondence, MLS comp print-outs,whatever. All laser prnters are retired. No copy machine either.

Ben

 

[TC]

The 2 printer system is definitely the way to go. I have a 10year old Pansonic laser that is a workhorse and the HP 2000 that is strictly used for photos. I always pay the extra for name brands, had some bad experience purchased recycled toner cartridges. I don't keep a hard copy in the file, just the floppy, trying to go paperless.

tc

 

[Will Granger]

Doug,
I tried refills several times with poor results. I have an HP970Cse inkjet. I used an HP laser along side it, but I would sometimes forget which one to switch to when printing and would waste paper and time. The inkjet does everything for me.
The laser broke and I threw it away. PDF is the answer to ink and it sounds like eBay is the answer to $$. I think I'll look at eBay in the future. I concentrate on making money and not on expenses. That seems to work.
I've been ultra busy the last few weeks and unable to forumbulate. It has slowed down now so I can get back on and chat a bit. I actually have had to go through forum detox. Dear God it was bad! I think I'm adjusted now and can stay away when I need to. I trust you are well and prospering. That's what we are supposed to do...like my pansies out front in the winter weather. :wink: Have a great evening!!

 

[David S. Roberson]

Ben,

What kind of Frankenstein's Monster printer contraption is that? Didn't you describe it on the old board? It looks kind of messy; is it? Where do you get the hardware & information to set it up?