HP slates ink-refill device

[ed^chigliak]

Printer users risk failure rates of up to 30 percent if they refill ink catridges using a new Singporean device, according to HP - but device maker Inke disagrees

http://www.inke.com.sg/home.asp

Does this mark the begining of the end for HP's overpriced and over engineered print cartridges. Anyone got one? I suspect HP is just full of sh1t and the Inke device is excellent.

Ed^

[SilentDeath]

Well it appears the device all it does is refill cartridges, which can be done manually. I wouldnt bother with it unless you use up a lot of ink.
HP's results could be of normal refilling, or from the device. As the results have no context I would definatly say ignore them.

[directhex]

both are right.

substute inks are rarely of the same grade (printer inks are designed to not dry in air, but dry on contact with paper, most substitue inks are prone to drying in air & are slower to dry on paper), but the cartridges ARE overengineered - i pay £6 per black & £12 per color for official cartridges for my canon, and if i need new print heads (which are built onto the HP carts) i can get some with black & color carts included for under £25.

[SilentDeath]

Also when ink drys it will block up the cartiges/print heads making them useless, I assume. my printer is a laxmark one, its annoying that they dont make ink only cartriges as they all have print heads and cost loads.

[turkster]

Well they might be expensive but in my experience HP cartridge/printers are nearly always crystal clear whcih is more than can be said for some other cartridges/printers.

I presume HP ink nozzles hava limited lifespan and pushing them too much beyond that could result in dubious prints? Hence refilling is bad?

[Rythmic]

Hmmm, spoke to a friend who works for HP about this a few months back. He said that the cartridges cost very little to produce indeed - cause they have huge economies of scale. They cost approx 5 cents for a black and 7 cents for a colour - including the R&D budget for the next developments. Thats why they can afford to sell printers so cheap, because they figure that if the person buys at least one set of cartridges, they've paid for the real cost of the printer. This is also why the bundled cartridges that come with new printers are about 1/4 - 1/3 as full as the replacement cartridges.

When you consider the cost of new printers nowadays - it's unlikely that HP is the only one doing this...

[turkster]

Man thats lethal 5 and 7 cent!!!

Saying that i alsways wondered hgow they could charge so little for the very accurate and complex mechanical parts inside your average printer.

[Jonny M]

Hmm but how much are Inke carts gonna cost . . .

Could be a false economy.

Just buy Canon printers

Edit: Hex, where do you get the Canon carts from?

[Stoo]

ink4u was pretty cheap last time I tried them (original carts too)

I need to get a new inkjet actually, gonna save for the Canon i990.. prints full colour A4 photos in approx 37seconds

[ed^chigliak]

The price of HP ink cartridges is so insane that people are starting to consider a HP inkjet printer as a diposable commodity. That has to be very very wrong. What is good for HP is not good for the environment or consumers wallet. If inke can offer a practical alternative then HP will be forced to atleast review cartridge prices. To add further insult to UK customers HP choose ignore the exchange rate and prefer to simply replace the $ sign with a £ sign. HP you are a bunch of @!""*-!@ !"^**!(! and no amount of advertising on TV will change my opinion.

When purchasing a new printer I choose my ink cartridges from the print-rite range and then find a printer to fit around them. I can't always buy the latest model with this method but it has always worked out to my satisfaction. All but one printer is Canon and the HP printer remaining I will switch to the Inke system.

The Canon i990 is well worth saving up for.

Ed^