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Ink Jet Printer Expenses

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(@thomas-smith)
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I have a Canon IPF610 24" wide printer. The print head died in it last week. Had to buy a new one at $640. I did not realize that a piece of plastic the size of a pack of smokes could cost that much. I also had to buy a new maintenance cartridge ($65) and a magenta ink tank ($70) before it could complete the setup of the new head. Pretty expensive day.

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 5:06 am
(@plumb-bill)
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That's pretty steep considering a brand new HP-T120 runs ~$1,000. I love mine and it saves a good bit on ink compared to the 450c. I checked before purchasing it, the T120 printhead is supposed to last the life of the machine.

The 450c was a very well made plotter, though.

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 8:22 am
(@thomas-smith)
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How expensive is the ink for that HP?

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 8:25 am
(@plumb-bill)
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It's a "fuzzy math" type of thing. Maybe I just think it uses less because it holds twice as much. Compared to the 450c the color cartridges cost more. 90% of what I print is black or greyscale, color is nice when needed, though. A 450c 40ml black was $25 and I can get an 80ml black for the T120 for $50. I swear it's working out to be cheaper, though. But maybe this rough winter just had me printing less 🙂

For the 450 I used to buy refilled cartridges from a seller on eBay named Inksmile. Great service, fine product and they were a lot cheaper.

The T120 has no printhead on the cartridge the way the 450 did. I'm sure HP changed this to maximize profit on the ink sales, but really it should enable refilling the ink myself since it's just a box 'o ink. We'll see. I'll probably try within the next month. I see refill kits on eBay.

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 8:56 am
(@thomas-smith)
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They sound more suited to what I would use it fore. Like you, i very rarely use color. The Canon is a real nice printer, but is just pricy to run. I think it is more suited to a larger company. I am thinking of maybe buying one like yours and selling my canon.
Thanks for the info.

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 9:30 am
(@scott-mclain)
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If you have one. Cartridge World is half the price of Staples.

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 9:31 am
(@ufsurveyor85)
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Has anyone looked into a refill kit for their plotters? I went online and bought a kit for about $50 and use it to refill my little desk printer. I have easily saved myself a couple hundred dollars in cartridges.

 
Posted : March 25, 2014 6:46 pm