this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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I actually have a HP printer with instant ink. When it first launched it was great, there was a "free" tier that was like up to 10 pages free per month.
I don't print a lot but like having a printer for the odd job so that was ideal for me. Now and again a new ink cartridge would arrive and I just didn't think about it.
But they took away the free tier, so I've been on that £0.99 plan which is like 15 pages a month. I put up with it because it was convenient enough to not have to worry about ink, but I was still pissed off at the rug pull.
If they do raise the price in the UK, I'll just sell the printer and buy a new one that does super cheap ink.
Any recommendations out there?
Inkjet is pretty much terrible for anyone printing very little (more ink wasted on cleaning cycles than actually printing, high chance that the ink dries up regardless) and very much (stupidly expensive and unreliable).
If you don't need color, get a cheap b/w laser printer. Brother used to be one of the last good ones until they, too, decided to block third party cartridges via firmware updates last year.
If you can get an old, used, Brother laser printer for cheap, go for it - they were borderline indestructible and would print with any cheap toner.
Damn, and I thought brother was gonna keep riding out being good until the bitter end
Thats why I like ecotanks. Cant block a bottle.
The Epson printers with the non-serviceable waste ink pads and the software self destruct timer? Not sure how user friendly or "eco" those are.
Great idea, atrocious execution.
ET 4750 has a user replaceable waste pad. Which models don’t?
I have two Epson ecotank printers, one at home and one for small business. Not cheap, but the ink that comes with the printer lasts for years. That is at 30 pages a month or so. Avoid all inkjet printers with replaceable ink cartridges.
I have a Epson printer and the damn thing can only be setup through their official app, which requires location services to be enabled. It also refuses to print documents from any device that doesn't have the Epson app installed.
Never buy a printer without a USB cable.
My Epson eco tanks don’t need any app for setup or printing. What model is yours?
Epson XP 2150
If you don't really need color, just buy a laser printer.
if you need color, the epson ecotank line is great. they do also have a counter that stops the entire printer after around 18000 pages, but it can be reset with 3rd party software and a 10$ software key. the purge tank for cleaning the nozzle fills up, so just take it out, wash the sponge and reset the counter. idk if newer models still have that counter.
If you live in or near a city, taking a USB stick with the docs to print to a print shop is probably the best option if you print very little - you even just "print to PDF" at home and take only that file to have the flexibility to print just the stuff you want the way you want it.
Unfortunately that is not a workable solution to me, but I appreciate that it's the best idea for most.
I'm in the same boat. I lost the free plan because we had to print a lot more during homeschooling that made sense to go up a couple of tiers for a month. Been on the £0.99 tier since. Didn't mind it because we do still use it occasionally and one time the nozzels on cart dried up and it got replaced at HP's expense.
So I don't hate instant ink, but only at it's current price. If it gets jacked up I'll probably just buy ordinary carts and take my chances on it clogging again. I can still nip into the office if I need a one off print, this one is just convenient.
Edit: it's £1.49