Buying ink and toner - best place?

August 27, 2007 5:27 PM

What is your favorite place to buy toner and ink cartridges either online or in person?

I'm looking for a reliable and cheap place that sells ink and toner. I've done the messy do-it-yourself with syringes thing before and now I'm resigned to spending a little more so I don't destroy my house. The places I've seen online have all looked a little shady for my tastes so your recommendation will help allay my fears of identify theft. Thanks!

posted by roundrock to computers & internet (11 answers total)

Costco sells a variety of brands of cartridges in multipacks, but if you're not already a member it probably isn't worth it to join just for the ink. They do have the best price that I've been able to find, though.

If you're affiliated with an educational entity, you might want to check out Academic Superstore.
posted by puritycontrol at 5:34 PM on August 27, 2007

I usually buy whtever's cheap on dealink.com and have never gotten ripped off. Carrotink was my best experience with doing that. I would not buy ink on ebay again.
posted by jessamyn at 6:20 PM on August 27, 2007 [8 favorites]

My SO and I recently passed by a Walgreens that was offering refills for (I believe) $15/color or $10/black. We're not in need of refills at the moment, so I can't attest to the quality or service, but it seemed like a pretty good price to me.
posted by Ufez Jones at 6:20 PM on August 27, 2007

Okay, crap, nevermind. Jessamyn's link totally pwns my prices.
posted by Ufez Jones at 6:21 PM on August 27, 2007

I have used Inkdaddy and have never had a problem with them, plus they have pretty decent prices.
posted by govtdrone at 6:55 PM on August 27, 2007

I can't let this thread go by without mentioning LaserMonks. Real monks, real toner. Worth a look.
posted by amtho at 7:59 PM on August 27, 2007

Seconding LaserMonks. Decent prices and the profits go to worthy causes.
posted by calumet43 at 8:07 PM on August 27, 2007

For toner, I like Red Tag Toner. They clearly mark whether a toner product is original, generic, remanufactured, etc. Because of their surplus supplies buyback program, they often have unbeatable prices on toner if you're looking for toner for popular office printers.
posted by RichardP at 8:13 PM on August 27, 2007

The generic ink I get from supermediastore.com has always been perfectly fine, and is quite reasonably priced compared to the stuff you see in stores. I've never had to buy toner for personal use -- the last laser printer I owned went 8 years on the (well-used) cartridge I got with it -- so I can't offer a suggestion about that.
posted by majick at 8:55 PM on August 27, 2007

FWIW, I've bought refurb ink from PacificInk and it's been rejected by my HP PSC 1610 printer. I don't think that's the fault of PacificInk, but it's pretty fucking infuriating.

Any tips, by the way, on getting these sorts of non-namebrand cartridges to work in our printers? Or am I the only guy with these problems?
posted by rossination at 11:39 PM on August 27, 2007

Carrot Ink has been good to me. Quick shipping, usually free (they run frequent promotions), and they frequently have free cartridge specials (only for certain printers though). Good quality.
posted by MsElaineous at 5:56 AM on August 28, 2007