Ideal for printing in your home office
In some truly titillating tabloid news, printing at home hit the headlines recently; ‘quit sending millennials things to print at home, …We don’t have a printer. [We’ve] been surviving on secretly using our work printers for years”, the poor, printerless person implored.
Indeed, it seems that millennials are using local copy shops with that crazy, reckless abandon they’re so often charged with. Yep, you can add ‘printing’ to the list of reasons we can’t afford a house, alongside avocado and takeout coffee. But whilst a print shop or printer lease may seem cheaper than investing in a home printer, and certainly more convenient than asking your dad to print and post every time you need a copy, this isn’t always the case.
If, like us, you’ve found yourself in a bit of a pickle trying to print at home during lockdown and want to make things easier for yourself, you might be thinking about buying a printer. But what about the cost of printing at home we hear your cry? Well, we have just the thing. Whether you’re looking for cheap ink for HP printers or are wondering how to save money printing on your Inkjet, read on; here’s 4 tips for buying ink for your printer, IDEAL for printing in your home office.
DON’T BUY BRANDED
First things first- never buy branded. Switching to cheap non-branded ink cartridges can slash your home printing costs immeasurably, and it’s even been reported that buying generic ink cartridges can save you up to 90% on ink costs, so say the experts.
According to some maths done by the good people at Good Housekeeping (who are those experts we just mentioned if you’re wondering), branded printer ink is more expensive than a bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and Dom Perignon Champagne. It’s important to ask yourself; how much is a blacker shade of black really worth to you?
Big brands like HP and their HP cartridges are renowned for not offering good value, with many customers feeling irked by the fact that they’re buying cartridges for exorbitant prices but with no apparent added value.
However, many of us are drawn into believing the advertising that tells us original ink is the best. Global printer brands like HP dominate the advertising that we all watch and take as gospel The truth is far more straightforward; ink does not need to be ‘original’ to be good, and you do not have to pay more to get a high-quality product. Lapis lazuli pigment, scorpion venom or horseshoe crab blood this ain’t; and you shouldn’t have to pay through the nose for acceptable quality.
READ REVIEWS
But surely they won’t be as effective, we hear you chime? We hear your concerns about third party cartridges not being compatible with your printer and your worries about ink leakages and poor print quality. However, we’re here to assuage those fears.
Indeed, replacement ink cartridges don’t actually have to be the same brand as your printer; simply search for ‘generic’ or ‘compatible’ printer cartridges online and assess the associated reviews online to make sure they are, truly, compatible with your printer’s exact model. It’s a certainty that other budding home printers will have had a similar experience, and many will have offered their opinion on the web so you don’t make a similar mistake. Seek references from your peers, rather than Big Ink intent on you buying their premium-priced product, before moving forward.
CHECK YOUR WARRANTY
That doesn’t mean that your printer ink purchasing should be totally Gung-ho and frivolous. Before you start searching Google for ‘cheap ink cartridges’, it’s wise to check if your printer’s warranty covers such adjustments and assess the terms and conditions associated with using generic cartridges carefully.
If your printer is still in warranty and working perfectly, then it might be sensible to use the manufacturer’s ink. You wouldn’t want to invalidate the warranty by using generic (though usually compatible) ink cartridges.
That said, warranty on electronics, especially extended warranty, often comes with so many caveats, premiums and additional fees that it may be financially smarter to risk forgoing the warranty and just buying cheaper ink.
That is a calculation only you can make, but considering most printer warranties only last for a year, as standard, it’s more than likely yours has already expired, anyway.
If you do end up with incompatible ink cartridges, companies like Sell Toner exist to take them off your hands, helping you claw some of the money back on your purchase in the process.
LOOK FOR COMPANIES WHO SPECIALISE IN ONE OR TWO BRANDS
Say you needed to buy a 903 XL for HP and you started your online search. You will be inundated with results that promise to be the cheapest or that will deliver to you the quickest, and like that, you’ve been blinded by superlatives and have parted with your money without even thinking. This kind of impulsive purchase isn’t wise.
Instead, when conducting your search, it’s a smarter move to opt for a business that specialises in just one or two different printer brands; this specialisation usually leads to more authoritative knowledge about cartridges which will safeguard your printer. Do not buy replacement ink from a company that sells hundreds of different products, as a rule.
THE BOTTOM LINE
There we have it; a few golden rules on printer ink purchasing which should stand you in good stead for the foreseeable future.