Inkjet Printer running costs - who's the best

Time for me to get a new all in one. Who's the best in terms of running costs?

I've used HP for years, not for ink prices but because I like the front paper load method. I could sacrifice that aspect and try another brand if it ment much cheaper running costs in the long term.

My uses are general all round home user, including the odd HQ photos.

Edited by deleted (Thu 11-Mar-10 13:11:04)

Hard to say I guess as it depends much on the use to which it's put. I've tried most of the main makes (Epson, Canon, HP) and find HP not only better, but cheaper in the long run. Epson seem cheaper as the ink costs less, but an Epson ink cartridge is gone in a flash, whilst the HP ones on my Photosmart 2575 seem to last forever and are cheaper in the long run............

Edit: Typo

Edited by Garyilka (Thu 11-Mar-10 16:18:56)

Epson, but don't buy their genuine cartridges places like scan computers ,and some online places sell non genuine at a fraction of the cost

No doubt lookalike carts have improved, but I still remain nervous, having had to replace an Epson printer years ago after using a cheapo cart. I warned my son - naturally he ignored me and had a similar experience.

For my Canon I buy the real thing but shop around for the best price - which usually means online ordering the real thing from the Channel Islands. Still far more expensive than a lookalike though. I never go near PCW!

But of course straightforward printers are as cheap as chips to replace now, so it's up to you.

In reply to a post by spranglebolt:

No doubt lookalike carts have improved, but I still remain nervous, having had to replace an Epson printer years ago after using a cheapo cart. I warned my son - naturally he ignored me and had a similar experience.

For my Canon I buy the real thing but shop around for the best price - which usually means online ordering the real thing from the Channel Islands. Still far more expensive than a lookalike though. I never go near PCW!

But of course straightforward printers are as cheap as chips to replace now, so it's up to you.

For epson, i've tried jet tec and also phoenix direct for replacement carts - only seen 2 failures over a 10 year period! Thats the cartridges not the printers btw

It depends how serious you are. I currently refill my Canon cartridges (£50 Canon multi-function printer) with bulk ink via syringes and use generic 20 for a £1 paper. The prints will last me out and look as good as others. If you want best quality prints it's probably best to post the question in the photography forum.

I'd go with Canon. Their ink carts are now chipped but they are still easy to refill. Buy refillable cartridges and bulk ink and you're done and dusted. When you buy OEM ink carts, you are effectively paying anything up to £2,000 per litre. Bulk ink costs around £80 per litre. Go figure.

HP imo.

The heads in Epson aren't very good with cheap inks, they block easily. I've had to strip out epson heads several times and leave them in paint stripper overnight. The carts need rechiping too. If you find a good ink supply though, Epson seem to lend themselves to continuous ink systems more than other brands.

HPs have the head built right into the cartridge, so even if you trash a head with crappy inks, you can just get another. The heads last for 10 or more refills from what I've heard. There's no chips to worry about and the printers don't care if the cartridges are used. You just have to be careful to get the right inks. The colour and photo cartridge use normal, cheap dye based ink, whilst the black and greyscale ones use expensive pigment inks. Pigment heads will get ruined with dye ink.

I tried all the low cost printer makes when I started out in 1999, which always without exception resulted in dried up cartridges. A very expensive and frustrating time ................ until I had the opportunity in 2005 of purchasing an ex-Ford Motor Co Hp Laserjet 4000M (takes a replaceable toner, that has at least 100 times more capacity than the average cartridge). These copiers are like Rolls Royces, they are built to last, and the toner never dries/clogs up (and appear to last for years, if not used regularly for high volume printing). These units probably cost around £500 new, but can be picked up for as low as £50 secondhand. The replaceable toners are priced around £20. These printers also take a stack of A4 paper, so you are not messing about with constantly feeding paper, as with a "shoe-box" model printer.

I have a canon printer. Chose it because it is well spec'd for a reasonable price. I use non canon replacement inks which come pre-chipped and cost me £15 for a full set.