I’m so glad that I hardly use my old HP printer as printer ink cartridges cost a ridiculous amount. It’s a well known fact that most printers are sold at cost (”give away the razor and sell the blades”) so that they seem attractively priced, only for consumers to be stung with expensive cartridge costs. Some cartridges costing up to $100 each for a measly 20ml, making printer ink one of the most expensive liquids on the planet.

As a consumer there’s not a lot you can do to avoid contributing to the $21 billion ink cartridge replacement. You could try and buy cartridges from independent manufacturers, despite the efforts of the big printer manufacturers like Canon, Epson etc who tend to sue these companies for alleged patent violations. Not surprising when you consider what’s at stake - Analysts say ink and toner supplies made up more than 50% of fiscal 2004 profits for the HP, although they brought in less than a quarter of the company’s $80 billion in sales.

One site that sells Printer Cartridges for up to 75% off is www.inkshop.co.uk, who have just purchased this review. Inkshop.co.uk is very well laid out with hotlinks on the homepage to the main ink cartridges. There’s even a ink&toner refill service for even bigger savings.

Many cheaper Ink Cartridges are available on the site that provide identical quality to expensive brand-name cartridges. Don’t believe the claims from printer manufacturers that Printer Ink from 3rd parties is inferior. I’ve had no problems with independant cartridges in the past. The only mistake I think I made was buying too many, as I have a funny feeling the 3 cartridges I have in my cupboard will be no good by the time I get around to using them.

Even though I don’t use my printer that often, I have been contemplating getting a new one as I can’t get the scanner to work with Vista. At the moment I have a HP 2210 All-In-One which is 5 years old now. Any recommendations for a combo scanner/photocopier/printer? I don’t really need a fax anymore - I probably only send one fax per year now.