What's the HP equivalent to Dell printer cartridges?

October 3, 2005 8:01 AM

What's the HP equivalent to Dell printer cartridges?

Apolologies if this has been asked before, but I searched and couldn't come up with anything. Also, searching on Google just gave me pages and pages and pages of where I can order print cartridges.

My mother recently purchased a Dell, and it came with one of their free basic printers. She asked me to set it up for her (easy peasy). It comes with a couple of "trial" ink cartridges, which I suspect are going to die after she prints a few pages. Since she's job-hunting and printing her resume, she kinda needs to be able to print more than that.

It seems like you can only get the Dell cartridges online. So, my question: what's the HP equivalent? The black cartridge is labeled "P/N N5878" and the color is "P/N N5882". Is it as simple as the cartridges I need are the #78 from and #82 from HP? (Please, let it be that simple!) I mention HP because every office supply store has a wall of about a bazillion HP print cartridges. Or, do I really have to order these from Dell?

Obviously, I'd much rather go and buy them today from somewhere than wait for them to be shipped, especially since I live an hour away and won't be back here for at least a few weeks - talking my mom through changing a print cartridge over the phone (as super-simple as it is for you and me) will be painful, and I'd rather just have it set up for her so it's ready to go and easy for her.

posted by socialdrinker to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Dell printers are actually rebranded Lexmarks. Unless my information is outdated, though, you can't use the equivalent Lexmark cartridges in the Dell-branded printers.
posted by Coffeemate at 8:05 AM on October 3, 2005

Staples and Office Depot sell remanufactured (refilled) cartridges that are compatible with the N5878 and N5882 (aka the T0529 and T0530).
posted by zsazsa at 8:23 AM on October 3, 2005

Supplies for Dell printers is very much a classic "Give away the razor, charge for the blades" deal. We have a few of their laser printers at work that they practically gave to us, but when that first toner runs out, we've got no choice but to ring up Dell and order a replacement. And Dell can control the price since they are more or less a monopoly. On the upside, their toners are a full replacement of toner and fuser, which makes maintenance a lot easier.

For the most part, you can't cross company lines when buying ink/toner for printers. Although, you usually can find a cheap generic alternative online (on preview, zsazsa has a good suggestion).
posted by GreenTentacle at 8:25 AM on October 3, 2005

Generaly, printer ink cartridges are not interchangeable between brands. There is no international standard for them which all manufacturers adhere to. As stated above, every manufacturer wants to get you buying THEIR ink because that's where they make all their money, so naturally inter-compatibility is out of the question. You can often buy cheaper generic brands for just about any printer online, but that doesn't really address the fact that what you want is to be able to buy them at the local store. Take heart. Even if you had an HP printer, within a year's time your local store would probably stop stocking the ink for your unit (in favor of newer ones) and you'd still be out of luck ;)
posted by scarabic at 9:12 AM on October 3, 2005

Thanks zsazsa, I checked out 2 of my local Staples, but they're sold out (no Office Depots in my 'hood). I'm gonna order the Dell ones for my mom (just so she don't have to bother going to the store), and attempt to talk her through installing them over the phone this week. If that fails, she's gonna have to go back to having my sister print her resumes at work for her (once her trial cartridges run out, of course), and I'll install the new cartridges for her when I'm back here toward the end of the month.

And (this is just me whining here) when did companies stop providing cables for their printers in the box? I should start a printer company - when all is said and done, this free printer that she got with her computer is going to cost about $65 to get started (the cartridges at Staples were about $28 each, and I paid $9.99 for a cheapo retractable usb cable).
posted by socialdrinker at 1:30 PM on October 3, 2005

just so she don't have to bother going to the store

Errrrr....doesn't. Whoops. Sorry.
posted by socialdrinker at 1:42 PM on October 3, 2005