Amount of ink in printer cartridges?

[Victor]

Does anyone buy cartridges where the amount of ink is stated on the box?

I use HP cartridges and all it says on the box is that it will print "xx" number of pages then, in brackets, "actual yields vary based on printer used, images printed and other factors". What a totally useless statement. If I buy a bottle of beer, a tin of paint or a tin of beans the quantity is on the label. So, why not on cartridges?

[asperity]

To be fair it really does depend on font, font size, whether or not you are printing in bold, printing pictures/diagrams. I suppose they could give you the capacity in cc but that wouldn't really help. And, when you think about it, you are at the mercy of the fact that each printer requires a specific cartridge so you can only shop around suppliers to get a good deal.

[inky pete]

As Asp says, the volume of ink in a cartridge isn't particularly relevent. Some inks are thinner or have a less concentrated colour than others - that often makes them cheaper per cc, but means that the cartridge has been designed to use more of the stuff to get the same results.

 

And as you've noticed, any attempt to indicate how many pages a cartridge will print is affected by so many factors that it has to be fenced around with so many caveats that the statements become meaningless.

 

It is possible to accurately specify the quantity and vibrancy of pigment which the ink within the cartridge contains - but unless you're a professional printer and understand such things as colour gamut, chromaticity, the difference between RGB and CMYK, and the effects of the surface properties of different substrates, then that information is going to mean even less to you.

 

Imagine that you're painting a room, how many litres of paint is it going to take? That's going to depend entirely on how big the walls are, how much of them you're painting (how many doors and windows), what kind of surface you're painting onto (previously painted, wallpaper, lining paper, bare plaster), what colour the wall was before (are you covering a dark colour with a lighter one and will need three or even four coats), the quality of paint you buy (cheap stuff from Wilkinsons etc is like water, a decent Trade paint will only just pour), and how you apply it (brush, foam pad, roller, or spray). So to a large extent it's another "how long is a piece of string" question.

[Bazj]

Victor.... I use a programme called "inksaver".... it reduces the amount of ink used when printing. You can set the amount of savings you wish to make using a slider bar before each print job if you wish. That way if you are only printing out say a recipe or directions; you can set it to save more ink and print a lesser quality image. If you are printing a photo or similar, you can turn it off altogether for the best print job available.

 

Saves a good few quid over the years

 

http://www.inksaver.com/index.html

 

Baz

[Latchford Locks]

Well I am now completely confused.

My HP printer lasts around 3 months but there again I only use it once a day for maybe a sheet or two.

But I do notice my printer notifies me I am very low on ink levels well before I actually run out;

In fact I would say almost half of the cartridge was still full(judging on the print work I still get after the warning)

[Evil Sid]

you will usually find it is the black cartridge that runs low most often. can be a bind if you have one of those printers that have an all in one cartridge not so bad if they are individual cartridges.

 

the "genuine" ones for my printer costs around £40 per set but i can get "replacement" ones for about £12 per set. for what i use my printer for they are just as good as the "genuine" ones. (it was a bit annoying at the time i bought my printer to find that the cost of the ink was about twice the price that i had paid for the printer itself.)

[Bazj]

I have just had to replace my printer. I had an Epson all in one (scanner, Fax, printer) and always used genuine cartridges, but they were anything up to £70 a set; and I do a lot of printing..... I decided to use "copy" cartridges and the printer stopped printing certain colours up to the point where all but two of the colours were working.....

 

I'm not saying for certain that the copy cartridges were to blame but I only had problems when I did use them....... genuine ones only for me now!

 

But try that programme I put the link up for; it certainly helps to extend the life of the ink.....

 

do remember though that if you do not use your printer very often; the ink can dry out in the heads and cause blockages which can take a long time to clear and clearing the blockages will use an awful lot of ink in the cleaning and clearing processes. Try and do a test print at regular intervals if your printer isn't used that often

[Lt Kije]

I bought a kodak printer as the printer cartridges are cheaper, but having said that I think I am now buying more cartridges. Think the manufacturers have you all ways.

[asperity]

We just got a new colour laser printer for the ship, cost £220. It came complete with 4 toner cartridges (black, blue, yellow and red) which cost £70 each. It certainly appears to be cheaper to buy a new printer rather than replacement cartridges!

[Bazj]

What you will find Asp is that the toners or cartridges that come with a new printer have less ink/toner than the replacement ones you buy in many cases....

[asperity]

Well not in this case, though I do get your point. It's a Dell printer/scanner/copier and came with standard Dell cartridges which lasted as long as their replacements.

[Victor]

Thanks for all your replies and info.

Having checked the HP website, they confirm your comments.

They and most other manufacturers use an industry standard method of defining the page yields for each cartridge.

I will sleep easy in my bed tonight !!!!