One of the most critical pieces of most home or office computer systems is the printer.  Coincidentally, it can also be one of the more expensive.  If you don’t agree, you must not have priced printer cartridges lately.  Technological advances in printing science have made it so you can easily and quickly produce pictures, brochures, documents, and on and on that rival those produced at most custom print shops.   How much does it really all cost, though?   Printer manufacturers have entered into a sly little game.  They’ve figured that most of us are shortsighted in our buying habits.  Prime example:  Lexmark printers.  You can get Lexmark printers for next to nothing, making them attractive additions to “bundled” computer system packages.  As a matter of fact, Lexmark essentially “gave” Compaq their printers to bundle with computer systems.   And don’t get me wrong, they print great.  But the designers of Lexmark printers have done something really ingenious, and really sly:  they designed their printer cartridges and then patented them, making it illegal for another company to manufacture cartridges for a Lexmark printer.   Their thought?  Give away the printer, but lock the buyer into a long-term buying relationship resulting in much higher returns.

 So who makes up this BLACK LIST of companies forcing you to cough up more money over time?  Two companies: Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark.  Their printers are very good, but too expensive to run.  And in the case of HP, not even very cheap to purchase!

 Rather than sit and wring your hands, I have an option to propose that will save you money and not cost you any problems in quality: buy a printer that has compatible cartridges available.  The top two in my mind that fit this bill are Epson and Canon.   I have two Epson’s at home, and one in the office, and their quality is unbeatable.  They are also cheap to run!  By using “compatible” rather than the brand name cartridges, you can save nearly half when you buy your cartridges.  And don’t be afraid of compatibles, many of them are manufactured in factories very similar to the originals (hint: what makes Pennzoil different from NAPA oil?  Is it more than a name on a box?).

 An excellent source of compatible ink cartridges that we buy from with complete satisfaction is Carrot Ink.  This company’s only income comes from selling ink cartridges, making them a leader in the business.  They have a very friendly website which will help you find the appropriate cartridge, and get it to you cheaply.  Their shipping is inexpensive, most times next day for $7.95, which is less than most of us can drive to Wal-Mart for.  For a time, they are offering customers free ink cartridges and free shipping!  They also sell an ingenious thing, Carrot Bunches, which are bundles of black and color cartridges, at extreme discounts.  And their cartridges work.  We haven’t seen any loss in print quality or longevity by using them.  If you’re looking for cartridges, check them out below:

What can you do if you have a Lexmark or an HP already?  Carrot Ink offers remanufactured cartridges for those printers.  One word of warning, they are sometimes finicky.  We had a hard time getting our remanufactured cartridges to start printing, because they had dried in shipping.  For my money, I’d bite the bullet and just get the brand name cartridges.  Carrot Ink offers them as well.