Printer cartridge, stock, remanufactured, or refillable
- Thread starter Hoosier
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dhampton82
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Im use (i am assuming) OEM stock.
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I use HP inkjet cartridges
Most of the technology is in the ink itself - the printers are just paper movers... (HP has multiple patents on just the ink technology -- refilling their cartridges with bulk buy crap is like refilling your tank with leftover BC/wing air).
Stick with the OEM brand... There *is* a difference.
Stick with the OEM brand... There *is* a difference.
hoosier:Even laser printer?
Laser toner is a totally different technology. The paper itself is charged using a laser, which allows the toner, a fine powder, to adhere to the charged "characters" drawn with the laser. The paper and toner then pass thru a heating element which fuses (melts) the powdered toner onto the paper. It's a very accurate process, since the laser can pinpoint extremely high resolutions, however, while the toner is important, the technology of the printer itself is as important as the toner.
In inkjet technology, the cartridge actually sprays the liquid ink onto the paper. The technology creates the size of the droplets (HP actually invented new molecules to reduce the size of the droplets, and therefore increase resolution), the adherence of the droplets to the paper, without bleeding, and the ability to overspray multiple passes to create specialized colors to pantone accuracy. The inket creates a line at a time, while the laser (a page printer) charges a complete page before the toner is dispersed across it.
RonDawg
Contributor
BKP:
It's also well known, at least in the US, that printer manufacturers make more money on "consumables" like printer cartridges and paper than they do on printers themselves. In some cases, a replacement cartridge is 50% or more the cost of the original printer. That's especially true for the low-priced laser printers meant for the home.
Printer manufacturers for years have used the whole "Only buy from us, you'll have a horrible experience with someone else" line to keep their profit margins up. A few times, it's warranted, but usually it's not.
Although I only buy Epson cartridges, I do so because I use relatively few cartridges, and if I buy in bulk from Costco they're fairly priced. Normally they are ridiculously overpriced for the amount of ink you get. If I didn't have a source for fairly priced cartridges, I would be looking for a good remanufactured or refilled source.
If the printer is still under warranty, by all means use the factory cartridges as unauthorized ones can be used as an excuse to void the warranty even if it didn't cause the problem. But if it's no longer under warranty, I don't see why you can't use a third party source.
I agree Ron...
Here in Japan you're safe with Epson or Canon. Anything else and you rebought your printer after about three refills.
Never buy a printer without checking out what the refill costs are and comparing that over a decent period.
Here in Japan you're safe with Epson or Canon. Anything else and you rebought your printer after about three refills.
Never buy a printer without checking out what the refill costs are and comparing that over a decent period.
RonDawg
Contributor
Not only that Kim, but now that so many places (again in the US, don't know about Japan or Europe) offer high quality, low cost photo printing off digital sources, both self-serve and traditional clerk-behind-the-counter style, it almost seems pointless to use a home photo printer nowadays, especially if you have a lot of photos to print.
I very rarely use my Epson inkjet nowadays; my main printing is done off a budget Samsung laser printer. I would have gone through about 3 of the Epson's b/w cartridges for what that $200 Samsung printer has done for me so far, and not only is it faster but the text is more crisp. The only downside is that the Samsung only does b/w.
I very rarely use my Epson inkjet nowadays; my main printing is done off a budget Samsung laser printer. I would have gone through about 3 of the Epson's b/w cartridges for what that $200 Samsung printer has done for me so far, and not only is it faster but the text is more crisp. The only downside is that the Samsung only does b/w.
CheddarChick
Contributor
Canon...OEM best for printing pictures
But my model has individual color cartridges so you don't lose any ink due to one color running out.
But my model has individual color cartridges so you don't lose any ink due to one color running out.
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