PRINTER INK: WHICH IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
The right ink for your needs depends on what you printnt and how often. Daniel Booth ( (withwith some help from readers) explains your options
Own-brand inkjet cartridges
These are the cartridges sold by the company that made your printer. They tend to be more than twice as expensive as third-party alternatives (also called ‘compatible’ inks). This is true of both individual and combined-colour inks (see opposite page). To justify this, manufacturers insist it’s the only safe option, and that unofficial cartridges are poor quality and risk damaging your printer.
Some readers would agree with this, having experienced printer malfunction when trying third-party inks. Others have had no problems. Our view is that manufacturers’ warnings about unofficial ink are often overblown because the quality of prints is partly governed by your printer’s technical abilities. Own-brand cartridges are certainly designed to work best with your printer, but that’s not always the reality.
For convenience, though, they’re hard to beat. They are the comfortable default option, a bit like sticking with a savings account after the end of the bonus interest-rate period. You’ll know for certain that they’re compatible with your printer. Shop around and you might find something better, but that assumes you’ve got the time to research, and you know where to look.
Third-party inkjet cartridges
‘Third-party company’ is one of those terms that’s often bandied about but rarely explained. These firms aren’t the manufacturers of main products, but instead make (sometimes unofficial) accessories that work with them. In the case of printers, third-party firms make their own ink to work in models built by the likes of HP, Epson and Canon.
They’re almost always much cheaper. And we’re talking pounds, not pennies. You’ll find the perfect example at Stinkyink ( www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk), which sells the ‘PGI-570 & CLI-571’ cartridge multipack for only £20.99 (averaging just 0.62p per page, see image above left). These cartridges work with our current Buy It! recommend printer - the Canon Pixma MG5750 (see page 32). On the web page for this deal ( www. snipca.com/26734) Stinkyink boasts that it’s £51.20 cheaper than Canon’s official ink (which it also sells: www.snipca. com/26735, see image above).
To find compatible ink for your printer,
search for it on Stinkyink’s home page using the dropdown menus on the left. You’ll need to choose your printer’s manufacturer (Canon in our case), series (Pixma) and printer model number (MG5750). Other sites selling printer ink, such as Cartridge World ( www.cartridgeworld.co.uk) and Premier Ink ( www.premier-ink.co.uk) have similar search tools.
In our experience, the only things that typically print better using manufacturers’ ink are photos. For anything else, try using a third-party cartridge.
HP instant Ink
‘Printer ink is running low - please replace cartridge’. You’ll never again see this message if you sign up to HP Instant Ink, which sends you replacements in the post before you get to this stage. This is triggered by your printer telling HP, via Wi-fi, that you need more ink.
It’s free if you only print up to 15 pages a month. Above that prices rise to £1.99 a month for 50 pages (the Occasional package); £3.49 for 100 (Moderate); and £7.99 for 300 (Frequent). Unused print allowances can be rolled over to the next month. But print more than your limit and you’ll be charged (£1 for every 15 prints on the 50-page deal).
Not all HP printers work with Instant Ink - the newer it is, the greater the likelihood. For a list of compatible printers visit HP’S site ( www.snipca. com/26736), then scroll down and click ‘Is my printer eligible for HP Instant Ink?’.
Many Computeractive readers now subscribe to Instant Ink (see box right), seeing it as great value for money.
Individual-colour cartridges
Most inkjet printers use combined-colour cartridges (see next section). But some use separate cartridges for individual colours. Third-party versions usually cost under a tenner (like the magenta cartridge pictured above), so it’s a good value-for-money choice if you tend to print only one colour. It means you won’t waste money replacing colours you barely use.
Some printers let you add other colours to the standard four. A second black cartridge can be used just for text, while grey, light magenta and light cyan enhance the detail in photos. But you’ll only need these extra cartridges if you’re a professional designer or photographer.
Combined-colour cartridges
These ‘tri-colour’ packs contain cyan, magenta and yellow in one cartridge, and black in another. They are cheaper than individual-colour cartridges. Let’s visit Stinkyink again for an example. It says you’ll save £13.38 buying the ‘PGI-570 & CLI-571’ multipack (compared with buying them individually). But there’s a catch that can prove expensive. When one colour runs out, you have to replace the whole pack. But printers that use combined packs are cheap, so it’s a wise choice if you tend to run out of different colours at the same rate.
Refillable ink tanks
Long term, refilling your printer’s tank with ink may prove the best value. When you buy a refillable printer, you also get a couple of years’ worth of ink to keep you going. This sounds tempting, but bear in mind that they’re more expensive than other types of printer - around £250. So – as is typically the case with printers – upfront costs lead to savings over time. Canon Megatank and Epson Ecotank are the two main brands. They don’t always impress though. In our last review of a refillable, we gave the Epson ET-2600 (see Issue 506) three stars. In an upcoming issue, we aim to review a model from the Pixma G Series (Canon’s new refillable range announced in January).
Ink refill kits
If you’re prepared to get your hands dirty, you’ll make big savings refilling your cartridges using third-party kits. These contain bottles of ink, syringes and needles and, in some cases, even protective gloves (pictured left), though you’ll have to supply the paper towels yourself. The best kits also include drills to make holes in your cartridges, and stoppers to plug them. Prices are very cheap – you’ll find dozens of packs for under £10 on ebay and Amazon.