HP

[ian2280]

as far as printers go my partner and i have been through a fair few of them from hp , canon ,etc.
we have found the same thing as a lot of people the printers are resonably cheap but the ink cartridges are sometimes close to either half the cost of the printer or pretty close to the cost of the printer itself.
but the one brand we have found pretty good is the brother range of printers.
we have a brother dcp-150c at the moment and are quite happy with it mainly because the cost of replacement ink cartridges are pretty well priced .
the average cost is about $15 but the most we have seen them is about $20 and that is for black or color.
so if anyones looking into getting a new printer or multifunction printer maybe check them out.

[vp1959]

Looking at the marketing tactics employed by computer printer manufacturers, we can all be thankful that car manufacturers don't own the oil companies

[frerrick]

I am not sure you should be blaming HP for the cartridge woes you are having. All makers of printers have the same theory these days I have found - low product price, and high consumable price.
I have used HP printers now for some years, having used at various times, Canon, Brother, Epson, and Lexmark.
I now have 3 HP printers on the go, a psc 1200 all in one; Laser 1000; and a 2605DN laser which will print both sides of the page.
The offspring has a deskjet and also a CD label printer, both by HP.
We purchase generic consumables for all of the printers (except the 2605DN) and have no troubles with them.
Although the replacement HP ink cartridge may be dearer, you can shop around and get cheaper prices at different places, quite often there are specials, and there is always ebay. Cartridge World is another source of cheap ink cartridges as well. Also, if you deal repeatedly with the same business (such as a specialist ink and printer business {Toner Action; Cartridge World}), you can build up a good client/business base which may assist you to get better deals as well.
However, for all of the above, from the point of view of reliability and user satisfaction, HP (for me) wins every time, and I am a fussy sod when it comes to office equipment.
frerrick

[gmax]

It's not hard to do a little research before buying a
printer. I prefer epson printers, i buy generic cartridges from ebay for about $3.00 each.
HP cartridges have always been expensive.

[blubarb]

Yes, also watch out for the HP ink pak (provides ink cartridges and photo paper for around $70) these turn out to also be half filled! Give them a miss, also give HP and any other company that employs these cheap and nasty revenue raising tricks. Goodbye HP.

[Feral]

[Reply for Hewlett-Packard thread] I have just bought an ultra el cheapo HP F2180 All-In-One after finally getting totally fed up with the lousy (and expensive) ink cartridges for my Lexmark printer. Went to Harvey Norman expecting to pay something in three figures for a new printer and amazingly this was marked $69. I asked for it and was told there was a special on and it would be $48. "Use this URL for a $20 cash-back" the salesman said. So the all up cost was $28. The printer was great though the software didn't work for the scanner (no worries - could still use the Lexmark for scanning). Knowing about the short life of starter ink cartridges I went via Google and got a pair of cartridges, courier-delivered, for $50 all up. A week or two later panel appeared, unbidden, with an update for the software. All told the purchase wasn't too bad though if I had read this thread first I'd have probably bought a Canon.

[Titan]

You can blame Gillette for the current marketing methods of printer manufacturers. They learned a long time ago that if you virtually give away the razor, but design it so it only takes Gillette blades, they can then charge what they like for the blades! Clearly the price you pay for an inkjet printer is very low, so they have to make money on the replacement cartridges.

This is not to let HP off the hook. About 8 years ago when all-in-one printers were new, I purchased one of their Officejet 635s - colour printer, fax, copier, scanner, phone - for just under $1,000 (the going price back then). It worked fine - for 18 months when it incurred a fundamental fault in it's electronics and refused to perform any of the 5 functions - I couldn't even make a phone call! Of course it was out of warranty. I rang their service division (an independent contractor) who informed that they have a flat rate of repair of $220, regardless of the fault and what it costs them to fix it. By this time, the price for the same model had fallen to under $600. I refused to pay nearly half the cost of a new printer to have the old one repaired after only 18 months. After MUCH argument they relented and repaired it for me for only $110, but it took some doing. The printer soldiered on for another 12 months or so before it finally died and I avowed to never buy another HP printer. I bought a Canon which lasted a lot longer. Having said that, I have recently bought a HP Officejet Pro K550 (on the recommendation of the salesman for it's economical use of ink) and am generally happy with it, except it will not allow you to network it with a wireless print server (unlike my Brother laser) - you have to purchase HP's own wireless module! Seems they always get you somewhere down the line...

[Grumnut]

I now use a Canon all in one. My previous canon (printer only) still had the original cartridges, and I'ld used it for 5 years. The new ones do throw up lots of cranky messages, but you just ignore them.

[mwato79]

Don't forget that alot of new printers these days come with what are called 'complementary' inks, which is a fancy way of saying half full. None of the manufacterers will admit to it but most do especially the cheaper printers. Otherwise why buy a new Black & Colour cartridge when you can just buy a new printer with these at almost a cheaper price.

Be aware that they are making a loss on the printers themselves but make up for it on the consumables.

[Section52]

I don't know about your model of printer but some models of chipped cartridges for canon printers can be refilled. You get funny messages about about being empty but just ignore them. Talk to your local cartridge refiller and possibly get a chip resetter for a few $$. Look on Ebay. Good luck.

[aussie_josh]

I have purchased one of those HP all in one printers, as im a student they seemed good vaule as they were less then $100, however, what they dont tell you when u purchase these is that the ink cartridges used in these last for about a week, they are ridiculously pathetic, and at about $25 per black cartrdge it has turned out to be an expensive buy. and of course HP has inserted chips so you cant have them refilled, making you purchase there products. to anyone out there in the market for a printer, spend the extra money and get a better printer from a better brand ! NOT GOOD ENOUGH HP !