07/12/2023

Printer Ink is a Scam

Here’s how to spend less

Recently, I needed to replace the ink on my HP inkjet printer. Four little name-brand HP cartridges of yellow, blue, red and black cost me $123.

Ounce for ounce, that's more than the price of Dom Pérignon champagne. Yet the actual ink in each cartridge likely cost about $2 to manufacture, industry insiders tell me. Americans are wasting some $10 billion each year on name-brand ink they could have refilled for less, according to the Public Interest Research Group.

But you can fight back. Printer companies push a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt about using anything other than their own supplies. So I tested a few alternatives on my own popular printer, an HP OfficeJet Pro, from aftermarket cartridges to ink bottles you re-inject with needles. I even tried making my own ink in the kitchen — major mess alert. (I tested ink not laser toner, a market that isn’t quite as awful.)

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.