How to Save on Inkjet Printing Costs

     Making the most of your ink jet printer dollar isn't as simple as just buying good quality low cost compatible cartridges (though that helps), it all starts with choosing the right inkjet printer in the first place. For instance, if you own a Canon i350 or their new iP1500 PIXMA printer, then you can replace both their BCI-24BK black and BCI-24CLR color cartridges with InkLot.com compatibles for just $6.90! Considering that the manufacturer's MSRP for either of these printers is just $49.99, you can see that it may well pay to discard your current printer - just a few cartridge replacements can pay for a new one in no time!

     For your convenience, we have assembled some advice on obtaining the most for your dollar with ink jet printers, showing you how to save money on cartridges as well as how to choose and where to buy the most economical printer. If you are interested in the hard facts, please read on...

GETTING THE MOST FOR YOUR MONEY FROM INKJET PRINTERS

There are 3 simple rules to observe if you want to obtain the lowest costs in inkjet printing:-

1. Never buy an H.P. or Lexmark printer.
2. Stick to Epson, Canon or Brother printers and be careful buying the very latest models.
3. Buy generic compatible cartridges from a reliable supplier, InkLot.com of course!

So let's expand and explain the reasoning behind these guidelines:-

Never buy an H.P. or Lexmark Printer
     There are two basic designs in use on ink jet printers, print heads built into the ink cartridge (when the ink runs out, you discard the cartridge and print head) or permanent print heads built into the printer used in conjunction with disposable cartridges that simply contain ink (ink tanks). HP and Lexmark have chosen the former design approach and Epson, Canon and Brother use the latter. All the printer manufacturers heavily patent their particular print head designs and these patents have made it virtually impossible for third party manufacturers to copy HP and Lexmark cartridges that include the print head. Consequently HP and Lexmark have a monopoly on their own complex cartridges and charge very high prices typically $30 to $40 each (black or color). They make excellent printers, but each time you need to renew the cartridges you are faced with a $60-$80 bill. (Note that most Dell printers are rebranded or special Lexmark models). About the only advantage of including the print head in the cartridge is that you automatically get a new print head each time you replace the cartridge. If you use the printer so infrequently that the ink dries out on the print head and causes a massive clog up, then renewing the print head along with the cartridge can be an advantage but it is an advantage that you pay for with a very high price. Also, each time you replace a combination print head and ink cartridge, you usually have to perform a time consuming interactive print head alignment (because the geometry of each print head is a little different). You can save a little with integral print head cartridges by buying recycled or refilled versions but often these are less than 100% reliable and because of the way the recycling and refilling market works, the savings are seldom dramatic (usually 2/3 the cost of a new OEM cartridge). Refill kits are another cost cutting solution that seldom give good results and can be very frustrating to use.

Stick to Epson, Canon or Brother Printers
     Epson, Canon and Brother have chosen a design strategy of using a permanent built in print head in their printers. In many ways a permanent print head can be more elaborate and much more optimized in design and performance than a disposable print head and this performance advantage is largely the reason they choose to design their ink jet printers in this way. Eventually the print head will wear out and the print quality will degrade but this usually takes a couple of years of heavy use. At that point is usually cheaper to buy a new printer and dispose of the old one although it may not seem to be the most logical environmental choice. Even though the ink is stored in simple tanks which are relatively easy for second source manufacturers to copy, these OEM's still charge high prices for their cartridges and promote their printers at or below cost in much the same way as razor manufacturers give away the razor and charge high prices for the blades. Disposable supplies are a big source of profits for these companies, over half of Lexmark's profits derive from the sale of cartridges. Alice Hill in Computer Shoppers "Hard Edge" column points out that on a volumetric basis, ink jet printer ink costs more than Dom Perignon vintage champagne (at $150 or more a bottle) and for ink which is typically 95% water, 4% glycerol (sugar) and less than 1% dye and isopropyl alcohol, this is plainly an absurd state of affairs. Along with charging high prices for cartridges, printer manufacturers and retailers are eager to sell ever more expensive "photo" printers that use multiple ink cartridges which are more costly to replace and are also adding identification chips to the cartridges that barely improve functionality but do increase the cost.

     Ink jet printers divide into 2 types, the basic "all purpose" or general purpose printers that use a 4 color system - black, cyan, magenta and yellow inks and "photo" printers that uses a 6 or more color system for improved color rendition - black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light or photo cyan and light or photo magenta. Despite the more limited color set, general purpose printers can give excellent results printing color photographs and are definitely the most economical choice for everyday printing of text and most color documents. Photo printers are more expensive to buy and operate, an extreme example is Canon's new top of the line $499 i9900 photo printer which adds red and green cartridges for a total of 8 cartridges (a complete cartridge set will cost you $95.60 at Canon's list prices). So the first rule is that unless you are especially interested in high performance photography, stick to general purpose printers and preferably to those that use just two cartridges - a black and a combination 3 color cyan/magenta/yellow color cartridge. These basic printers with 2 cartridges are getting harder to find but Canon has a good line including the i250 and i350 as well as their new iP1500 PIXMA that all use the BCI-24BK and BCI-24CLR cartridges (InkLot's price for both cartridges is just $6.90) and Epson has a few bargains such as the Stylus C44UX or C60 (InkLot cartridge price $20.90 for both) and the impressive CX3200 copier/scanner/printer 3 in 1 that uses T040/41 cartridges (InkLot price also $20.90). Some printers are specialized like Canon's miniaturized i70 and i80 designed for portable (laptop computer) applications which use tiny BCI-15 black and color cartridges with only 5.5 or 7.5mL of ink - they do not print very many pages compared to desktop printer cartridges. The best place to shop for lower cost printers is on-line, you will be lucky to find them on the shelves of office supply stores or computer stores who prefer to use their shelf space and advertising dollars to steer customers to more expensive and more state of the art models, they would much rather sell you a $299 photo printer instead of a basic $49 general purpose ink jet. For Canon printers visit www.canon.com , you can buy direct on their site or shop various Canon resellers on line. On-line retailers often offer small discounts from the Canon web site MSRP's that start at $49.99 for an i250, i350 or iP1500. Epson runs a clearance center on their site at www.epson.com and this usually features several bargains, most of their "refurbished" products are actually new. At present, a CX3200 all-in-one is $85 and a C60 is just $35. Be prepared to find some weird pricing anomalies in the clearance center, Epson's Stylus C64 which sells for $50 comes with four T0441-444 cartridges included that Epson sells for $60.76 - is this an inducement to throw away the printer when you need new cartridges? Brother specializes in multi-function machines - printer/copier/scanner/fax which can be a great choice in a small office (Canon also offers the MPAS series) and you can find information on their line at www.brother.com Brother only sells via retail stores (not directly on-line) and not all stores carry all models so check on the Brother web site for features, specifications, prices and which retailers stock which models before buying. Brother also makes a couple of ink jet plain paper fax only machines.

Buy generic compatible cartridges
     All of InkLot's compatible cartridges for these printers are brand new (not refills) and are manufactured in China with ISO9001 quality control in a 1,000,000 sq.ft. factory. Our supplier is one of the largest producers of high quality cartridges in the world and markets its products in over 60 countries. For your convenience we have summarized some of Canon's, Epson's and Brother's current printer models and cartridge replacement costs in the table below. As you can see, there are considerable variations in replacement cartridge costs depending on manufacturer and printer type - choose wisely!

Prices and model numbers shown are correct at 8/20/2004 but may change.

Note 1: Brother is currently offering $30 or $50 mail in rebates on these models.

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All brand names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders. INKLOT.COM makes reference to brand name inkjet cartridges only to provide a comparison. All of our products are guaranteed to perform the same as brand name inkjet cartridges and carry a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Liability under this warranty is limited to refunding the cost or replacing any inkjet cartridge found to be defective under normal use and service.