Printer ink question
Printer ink question
Hi everyone
Is buying ink from eBay or Amazon, possibly not original, okay? Are there any guidelines or personal choices involved? Thanks for asking.
This situation is largely driven by greed from printer manufacturers.
They almost offered away printers because they realized they could earn significantly more profit, pushing you to purchase ink from them.
They implemented various measures to stop third-party ink purchases.
If you follow their marketing claims, it seems they aim to guarantee print quality.
They assert that the heads have a limited lifespan.
None of these companies actually produce the ink themselves; they all source it from manufacturers in China.
You can find ink that matches or even surpasses the quality offered by some printer brands.
The real challenge lies in how printer makers try to block third-party vendors by embedding electronics in cartridges that restrict usage to a set number of pages, regardless of ink availability.
We have been relying on aftermarket carts and drums for quite some time. We need to identify specific brands that actually refill or refurbish the "OEM" components, as there seems to be a kind of DRM (if that's the right term) embedded in the printer that doesn't work with all off-brand refills. The main problem we face is when the ink cart is marked as empty before it really is. Sometimes we can remove it, shake it around, and put it back in use, but other times it won't accept it and we have to throw away a partially full cart.
I’ve been using an HP Office Jet Pro 9015 printer. It used ink cartridges quickly, especially the individual ones. I tried saving color cartridges by printing only black, but that didn’t work—black can actually be produced by mixing other colors. I also faced issues with a neighbor who had the same model but also experienced ink problems; she couldn’t use my cartridges either.
Over time, full sets of ink cartridges became quite expensive, often costing over $100 at big box stores. Normally, with regular use, I’d go through a set every 7 to 8 months. But lately, the interval has shortened even though I tried to save ink.
I signed up for the automatic ink renewal service at $6.99 per month, which comes to about $84 a year. My original cartridges, which were sent directly to me, are still in good use after several months, and no replacements have been needed yet—though they might be nearing it according to the printer’s status updates.
The monthly fee applies only if I print 100 sheets or fewer. If I exceed that, the charge increases by $1 for every 10 extra pages. This has happened a few times, making me wonder about the accuracy of page counts. At around 100 pages per month, that’s roughly three pages a day, which is far below what I actually print. I can raise my monthly allowance by another dollar or two if needed, but that’s uncertain.
In short, I’m sticking with OEM cartridges so far, saving money compared to buying from stores and avoiding potential risks with low-quality ink. I’d recommend checking the manufacturer’s offerings for refill options and paying attention to your printing habits. Using third-party inks might not be worth it unless you’re sure about what you’re getting.
Hi. I was talking about that printer (check the link). It went for recycling, so I bought a Brother Laser color printer to replace it and it still doesn’t require new cartridges, which is cheaper. Question – Canon Pixma MG5350 with B200 Error I’m seeing a B200 error on my Canon Pixma MG5350, it says TURN OFF. I called Canon after installing the software, thinking they might stop using the printer. They offered me a 20% discount on a new one, which was a joke. I tried it a bit more and... forums.