Comments on: Does anyone know a good printer that does NOT use ink cartridges with embedded chips?

Question: Does anyone know a good printer that does NOT use ink cartridges with embedded chips?

m94402 — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:21:41 -0800

Does anyone know a good multi-function printer (print/copy/scan) that does NOT use ink cartridges with embedded chips?

Most printers today use ink cartridges that have embedded chips so that you have to buy the expensive OEM cartridges.

I am tired of paying $60 a set for my Canon MP530 cartridges. I know that you can buy non-OEM ones and then transplant the chips. But it's messy and my printer fails to recognize the non-OEM cartridges frequently.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:38:25 -0800

Have you considered laser? The upfront is higher, but it's a significantly lower total operating cost, and it should last pretty much forever (in computer terms). I'm liking Brother's offerings right now. I've been using a DCP-9040CN pretty heavily for the past 9 months, and haven't had to change the ink yet.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:19:12 -0800

My new HP M2727nf printer/copier/scanner/fax has changed my life. It is the best thing ever.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:54:08 -0800

The xerox solid ink models not only don't have chips, they don't even have a cartridge as such, just hard wax like blocks of ink that are 100% consumed by the printer (minus a packaging wrapper). The 8560 is fax, scan, print, copy and starts at $1500.

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Sat, 24 May 2008 03:08:07 -0800

If you budget roughly what printers used to cost, rather than what they cost today, you will probably easily find one that doesn't stiff you on ink. The only reason low-end printers are so cheap these days is that the manufacturers are all using them as loss leaders; what they're actually making their money on is selling Ink. Blame Lexmark - they started it.

That said, even a top-end inkjet is going to cost you far more to run than a color laser.

By: schwa

schwa — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:44:43 -0800

I don't know if they have chips or not. But Kodak printers don't seem to be using the razor blade model any more. Their replacement cartridges are priced very sanely, ~$10 for a black cartridge. I imagine the printers are priced a little bit more to make up - but with so many models I can't really tell.

By: gjc

gjc — Sat, 24 May 2008 07:58:15 -0800

My experience is that almost all printers have some kind of chip in their cartridges these days. Canon's site shows that the carts are available separately, so you are already ahead of the game on that front.

One thing that I've noticed is that the "professional" or quasi-professional lines of printers cost a bit more in the beginning, but are much saner on ink prices.

Break it down to per-page costs to see if it's really worth it to change to a different machine.

By: tybeet

tybeet — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:59:19 -0800

I have an HP F4180 and, while the cartridge has an embedded chip you can apparently still inject ink into the cartridge itself with a medical syringe and bottle of black ink. I've been doing this for the past 6 months with no leaks, and no problems aside from the software Ink meter reporting incorrect levels.