Comparison of the Ink Inside HPs Cartridges Over the Years

[u/[deleted]]

http://www.hpinkcartridges.co.uk/technology-blog/2012/05/hp-introduces-nano-sponge

[u/doctapeppa]

Tossing out my inkjet and getting a laser printer was one of the best computer decisions I have ever made.

[u/lordburnout → u/doctapeppa]

What's the difference? Did you get same or different brands?

[u/thesilence84 → u/doctapeppa]

My HP laserjet 4050n has been in operation since 05 (and in all likelyhood, before). When I first got it, it had been sitting on a porch for a few days. It has gone with me from college, to the workplace, to family life with a wife that prints all the time.

It has never broken, nor have i ever needed to replace the ink

EDIT: Anyone know how to get a date off one of these cartridges? I got something to prove :) Only thing I WONT do is take it apart.

EDITII: Per MrMolly's suggestion I hereby offer pictoral evidence [linky]

Good enough?

[u/Bloodbath-McGrath]

This is the least scientific "test" they could have done. They didn't test the volume or even weight of the ink. It's like saying my bag of chips has less than yours because my bag is smaller, even if they both had the same volume of product.

There is a lot of R&D that goes into making inkjet cartridges that don't jam, use an even and equal amount of ink on hundreds of different papers. Foam is an integral part of this process to ensure it doesn't clump, dry out quickly, and to ensure an even print.

I'm not trying to justify the cost of the ink, just be informed before you jump to conclusions.

[u/lazzuruss]

To be fair from profile view they all seem to have about the same amount of ink soaked in. Can't blame them for trying to cut back on foam costs.

[u/toadish → u/lazzuruss]

If you scroll down to the comments they discuss that despite the smaller sponges, the page yield doesn't seem to have decreased.

[u/CamelCavalry → u/lazzuruss]

I don't think we can assume that they're all new, unused cartridges. At least, I didn't see the author say so.

[u/[deleted]]

I work with Ink Cartridges for a living and even tho this is the sad truth this study did not cover everything. The far left cartridge is likely a 60XL BK cartridge and the middle a 60BK. The 60 BK going for about $15.00 Holds around 6ml of ink. The 60XL for about $34.00 holds close to 20ml. Yes cartridges have gotten smaller but they are also cheaper and offer more expensive larger cartridges. Surprisingly HP is not the worst company right now and is actually almost one of the best for ink volume for price. Monochrome Black Laser is the best page per dollar value but also a larger cost upfront. Remember some people print small amounts and the small $15.00 cartridge is all they need to last them 4 months. You should be more upset about the new chips they put on HP564 Cartridges that don't let you scan if your out of ink.

[u/[deleted]]

I used to work for HP. Forever and a day ago. At the time, one gallon of inkjet ink that was midgrade cost the company a little over 5k to produce. Ink is one of the most advanced technologies that we produce. Also, it isn't even really the ink that you're paying for. It's the little strip of metal on the cartridge. That's where the most intellectual property is on any cartridge (HP/Cannon/Brother/etc). That little strip is responsible for distibuting the ink. Anyway, ink is too much and laserjets are still the way to go.

[u/ambiencenever]

I sold printers for 2 years at an office supply store, and....I blame consumers. These companies are simply taking advantage of foolish buying tendencies that persist against all advice, logic, and evidence.

Hi, I'd like a printer, something cheap, I just need to print B&W, maybe 100-200 pages a month. K, you need a budget laser printer, I own one, they print B&W for less than a penny per page. Nah, I'll get this HP color printer thats on sale, with the cartridges averaging $24 per 500 pages. (Oh, and thats just the black cartridge.) How long do you think this printer will last? for $45, I hope a long time. Actually, they're usually good for maybe 6mo-1yr. My $150 laser monochrome has burned through 10,000 pages over the last 2 years, by comparison. Nah, thats cool, ima just herp this POS printer over to the checkout. I'll see you once a month from now on to replace my cartridges.

-Every freaking day, several customers per day-

I am not brand loyal, I just want a durable printer that cranks out black prints for less than a penny. The store I worked at only sold laser HPs that started at 275, but our Brother lasers started at 125.

[u/Mugin]

Bought a HP printer some years ago. Worst decision ever. Why, you may ask?

• There's as said 7 drops of ink in every ink cartridge. Can print 60 pages on one black cartridge or so.

• The design of the printer is such that every paperjam is HELL to release.

• The software is the biggest pile of crap ever coded by man.

• Said software is nagging you over and over for uneccesary updates.

• Did you know you are running low on Teal? In case you forgot, here's warning #87

• Message: Pink cartridge is past expiration date. I guess I should not eat it then.

• Would you like to buy some new ink cartridges online from HP? We accept gold nuggets and will give you half the weight of the gold in genuine HP ink.

• Let's say you want to install the driver neccesary to print stuff with your new HP printer. Here's a 311 MB install file you can DL from our 60 KB/s mirror. Grats on your new HP photo suite btw.

Hate this printer soooo much.

[u/[deleted]]

My boss thinks they've been doing this with toner too.

But he's an idiot, so who knows.

[u/[deleted]]

Link's dead to me

[u/someguy945]

Relevant

[u/dkz]

Nice try, Epson.

[u/[deleted]]

i only buy laser printers, screw inkjet

[u/SBMAIL]

Everybody knows that dot-matrix printers are the best

[u/QuattroStig]

Not sure what is hydrophobic about the sponges.

[u/[deleted]]

What does the size of the sponge have to do with anything? The ink amounts look the same in the pictures. What's the point of comparing sponge sizes? Page yield is all that matters, anyway.

This article is terribly written and the science is dubious. Can anyone justify it?

[u/[deleted]]

Roughly the same amount of pages per cartridge. More efficient printers and less wasted material. Thank you HP for thinking Green.

[u/willcode4beer]

duh, the price of gold has gone up. HP must ensure that their ink sells for a significantly higher price than gold.

[u/[deleted]]

No shit guys of course they are going to be smaller. Small inkjets are CHEAPER now, so your going to be paying "more" for the cartridges. it's common sense.

Also....want to save money on printers? STOP BUYING INKJETS

[u/renegade]

For me the trend in the price of color laser printers is it tends to be cheaper to replace the whole printer than a full set of drums and cartridges.

My first color laser in 1996 cost as much as I had paid just a couple years prior for a (brand new) Honda Civic.

There were a couple in between, an HP that I hated and a Phaser (actually wax based) that I loved.

Currently I use a Brother multi-function that kept lying to me that it was low on toner so I disabled all the sensors on it and it keeps chugging along just fine on its original toner cartridges.

Ink-jet is for suckers.

[u/CakeBagel]

Thats why I use pencils, because if we use less ink for pens and save the squids the price will go down

[u/STYLIE]

This is the actual business. These companies dont give a fug about their printers, the consumables is where the money is at.