E-Bay Printer Inks

technofan · 19-07-2005, 4:14 PM

Guys',

I use the Photobox website for my print requirements and they are terriffic. However, my printer recently ran out of ink, it is old and no longer particularly good at printing photos (EPSON PHOTO 870) it produces masses of horizontal banding, which despite all attempts to remedy still persist to this day. So I got some generic ink off of E-Bay. It was only £9.99 for 4 blacks and 2 colour

I was stunned

Only 4 years ago I was paying around £25 for a single cartridge

So I began to ponder...ponder..ponder..ponder..yes I'm still pondering....and here is my question which I regurgitate to the forum

Printers have evolved considerably since the Epson 870.....Ink costs made home photo printing far too expensive in the past; so is anyone out there using dirt cheap ink on a modern high quality photo printer and getting exceptional results?????

Cheers,

Pete.

mr jones · 19-07-2005, 4:47 PM

ive got a £90 (when i bought it - £45 now) HP PSC printer

the image quality is stunning compared to anything ive had before, however it still works out alot cheaper to get photobox to print them, especially at large sizes, i restrict my printing and get photobox to do it, much easier and cheaper!

technofan · 19-07-2005, 5:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr jones

ive got a £90 (when i bought it - £45 now) HP PSC printer

the image quality is stunning compared to anything ive had before, however it still works out alot cheaper to get photobox to print them, especially at large sizes, i restrict my printing and get photobox to do it, much easier and cheaper!

Yup I'm with you on Photobox quality and value, I just can't believe how cheap generic inks have become

RobertP · 19-07-2005, 5:15 PM

There is another downside to home printing (at least there was with HP - now got an epson)... dense black areas never seem to dry properly. Put the prints in a plastic covered album page - even after a few days drying - and the black areas stick and look odd.

I have a epson 200, lots of very cheap ink and some photo paper but I would never consider printing more than a one off. Too much effort for a result with problems.

Johndm · 19-07-2005, 5:24 PM

Canon i560 for me..

Does a good job, although I don't print many.

I always use top quality HP paper an real Canon ink, as had problems in the past with generic stuff

technofan · 19-07-2005, 5:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johndm

Canon i560 for me..

Does a good job, although I don't print many.

I always use top quality HP paper an real Canon ink, as had problems in the past with generic stuff

That must cost you a packet in ink John

Johndm · 19-07-2005, 6:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by technofan

That must cost you a packet in ink John

Yeah...but this year so far, I've only printed a dozen A4 size.

MartinImber · 19-07-2005, 7:06 PM

I have got a Canon printer and guess what Canon ink is cheaper than Epsom ink!

Peakoverload · 20-07-2005, 11:53 AM

I have a very old Epson Photo 750 at home which I used to use to print photos. The results were very good but the cost of printing was so high. I then started using Photobox and have not printed a single photo at home now for over 3 years as it works out to be so much cheaper using Photobox and the quality is better too. Now I used to buy Epson inks for my 750 but they cost a fortune and as I now dont print photos I just use generic inks which cost me just £1.99 for a black and £2.99 for a colour one. For day to day printing the quality is absolutely fine.

At work we just took delivery of a new Epson printer (cant remember the model number now (might be r200) which cost us £80 and takes 6 cartridges. To buy a complete set of Epson inks for this printer will cost us £60 a time!

£60 just for ink let alone the photo paper!!! Okay 6 seperate colour cartridges will last longer than one 3 colour cartridge but even so £60!! Who can afford that? I just dont see the point in printing at home anymore, the cost is just far too dear!

RobertP · 20-07-2005, 12:19 PM

I have the R200.

Printer cost £60.

Inks cost £9 for 2 full sets and 2 extra blacks (14 carts) At SVP

Although cheap they work fine and have chips that make them work with the same features as originals.

For business use the R200 is way too slow. OK when time does not matter but it you need a print in a hurry it will then decide to initialise for a while before printing.... and then they don't come off too fast.

technofan · 20-07-2005, 1:57 PM

So to summarise......generic inks for your letters printed at home and Photobox for the photos

Got a piccy of my youngest back from Photobox a couple of days ago, the quality is sooooooo pleasing

ASH1 · 20-07-2005, 3:25 PM

I have a Canon i9950 A3 printer. It's about £5.99 a cartridge from 7dayshop, and I need eight of them.

Saving for an inkflow system, much cheaper in the long run.

technofan · 20-07-2005, 4:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASH1

I have a Canon i9950 A3 printer. It's about £5.99 a cartridge from 7dayshop, and I need eight of them.

Saving for an inkflow system, much cheaper in the long run.

Is that where you buy 8 milk lorries fill them with ink and park them in the garden and pipe the ink through the window, thereby making savings through volume

ASH1 · 20-07-2005, 5:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by technofan

Is that where you buy 8 milk lorries fill them with ink and park them in the garden and pipe the ink through the window, thereby making savings through volume

You would have to have a big garden.

It's on a smaller scale than that, it's more like this.
http://www.fotospeed.com/fsdigital.htm

Radiohead · 20-07-2005, 5:45 PM

Canon i865 here and I've been using Jet-Tec ink for a couple of years. Very good indeed, and no problems at all. £2 per cartridge vs £9 for Canon.

Isn't printer ink the most expensive raw material in the world?