[Closed] Printer ink genuine or snide?

I've been using snidey stuff from http://www.choicestationery.com/?refid=19&gclid=CP3qp47l4rwCFeKWtAodQkYAGg for ages in my Epson printer, still giving good quality photo's.

I bought some from eBay and it works fine, although I get a window pop-up from HP each time I print a page.

I have used ink from a company called Prink for many years

Firstly in an Epson photo printer and latterly in a Canon Pixma.

No problems at all and never experienced any clogging or fading, chipped too so get the full amount from each cartridge

Using cheap stuff from eBay. Popup warning first time I printed with them, none since.

Snide stuff bought,

Twice the amount for less than one set of genuine stuff.

It can't be that bad eh?

The only problem I've had with the moody inks is that their colour-fast qualities are severely lacking - some pictures fade so badly, they look like Seventies Polaroids* after a year or so.

(*some of you may need to google/ask your parents what this means)

It's only for H&S risk assessments method statements for work generally.

No bothered if they fade after a few years.

Printers are so cheap! the money must be in the inks. I'm sure the inks are the same. Just a bigger mark up.

Ive never bought Genuine ink. Its a rip off, esp when you can get it so cheap online.

I found all sorts of issues with re-manufactured - some are not accepted as genuine, requiring me to press a button on the printer each time I print. One in ten just doesn't work. they do not last a long as the real deal.
I am back to buying proper ones in sales.

Slogo - Member
Printers are so cheap! the money must be in the inks. I'm sure the inks are the same. Just a bigger mark up.

I thought [i]everyone[/i] knew this! It's the razorblade principle; sell a handle and a couple of blades cheap, then charge the earth for the replacement blade cartridges.
It must be said, some genuine inks are very light-fast, Epson in particular are archive quality, virtually fade free for anything up to a century, apparently. I did see a test done comparing Epson, Lexmark, HP and Canon, using a high-power UV bulb in a darkened room, with an example of each printer with half of the print covered up, and left for a week.
The Lexmark faded by nearly seventy percent, the others less so, and the Epson showed no fading at all.
That's what you pay for if making prints for display, otherwise, it's not important.

I only use genuine inks if the prints have to last or the image quality/colour matching of what I'm printing is important. The aftermarket inks print photos ok most of the time but they can lack the vibrancy of the originals and that can really show in some images. I had to print some pictures recently of people illuminated by red light in a blacked out room and the cheap inks couldn't even make the people visible, what should have been bright red printed a murky dark brown.

Reliability wise I've not found aftermarket inks for my Canon Pixima to have any problems at all, with my HP I've only ever had faults with £30 genuine cartridges, cheap copies have always worked fine. Only keep the HP for scanning now, even with cheaper inks cartridges are just a wasteful ball ache - all the colours in one cartridge so if one is empty it won't print at all - refuses to print black only if the colour is empty too, won't buy an HP again.

[i]I found all sorts of issues with re-manufactured[/i]

+1

Yep, so when my last printer (4 years ago) needed new cartridges I bought a Kodak for the same price - cartridges far cheaper and seem to last just as long.