Inkjet refills. Suggest a vendor for Lexmark?

[randypj]

It happens to be a Z45 Lexmark. It's for my poor college student niece. I got her the printer for grauation, but she's gotta buy her own ink.

Non-Lexmark cartridges, or syringe refill kits? I've had great luck using syringe refills on my circa 1994 Canon.

There are just so many vendors out there.

Any that y'all have had good luck with and have reasonable prices?

Thanks,
--Randy

 

[RatDog8102]

Good question. I just paid $35 for a new black cartridge for my z11!!:Q That's just $5 less than I paid for the printer.

 

[zepper00]

Yeah,
Unfortunately many people don't think about long-term cost when they buy an inkjet printer and Lexmark are some of the highest cost-per-page units. I have been a fan of printers that use separate ink tank systems as they are cheaper over time if you are a careful shopper and even cheaper yet if you refill the tanks with your own ink. I have used the "Universal Ink Jet Refill Kits" that have been advt on TV and they work fine (CompUSA, WalMart et al. stock them). They have a jumbo sized kit that gives the best value. If you really want to buy in bulk, there are several outfits on the web that sell large bottles of each color (pint, quart etc.). Really heavy printer users should look into these sources. I use much more black than anything so I buy both a black kit and a color kit.
Remember, standard head-in-cartridge units will usually stand for 5-10 refills so you should have a new OEM cartridge on hand at about the 5th refill to be ready for when the head finally goes TU. Also some of the newer printers have so-called "smart cartridges" that make it difficult, if not impossible, to use the refill kits.
There may be ingenious hacks around the "smarts" as computer folks are wont to do posted around the web. I haven't looked as the Xerox I have (bought new on clearance for less than $30) has separate ink tanks and works great with the refill kit mentioned above. Good luck.
..bh.

 

[randypj]

RatDog8102--I've got....aw, I can't remember, either a Z11 or 1101 Lexmark....can't remember.....whatever I got for ~$10 after rebate...long Hot Deals ago. My gf used it just a bit, so her company credit card bought me a new color and black cart for it recently. These were non-Lexmark carts at my local Walmart. I think they were ~$18 ea. So....you might wanna check Walmart. I don't use it that much, so it's not that big a deal for me. I also think the refill kits that zepper00 mentioned were available at Walmart.

Before I got the Z45 for my niece, I searched google and found that refills and generic carts are available for the Z45 from quite a few vendors. I just was hoping someone had found an online vendor they had felt was reliable.

Oh yeah zepper00, I know the importance of non-manufactured kits and carts. Way back in the day of Hot Deals....before your time....when I walked 10 miles to school....in the snow. people were buying numerous cheap Lexmark printers for $10 after rebate, and just using them for the cartridges. I was able to get 10 to 15 refills on my black Canon carts.....back in the day.

So.....anyone know of a reliable online vendor?
--Randy

 

[Rhombuss]

I bought the Z32 a while ago, and have paid ridiculous ink charges ever since . The printer has great quality in the text and coloured images, but the ink prices just can't justify keeping it in use much longer. I think I'm going to go for the Samsung ML-1250 soon.

About the ink refills, I got an email from an online store a few months back that sold lexmark refill ink packages at $6.99 per refill. Unfortunately, I lost that email to a reformat (forgot to backup - d'oh!) so I can't help you there, sorry!

 

[zepper00]

randyph et al.,
Oh, I doubt that there are many here actually before my time, as I have been messing with personal computers since 1979 and was a Senior member under my previous handle "Zepper". Something happened and I couldn't get my password to work and could never get a reply from any of the goons that are supposed to be herding this zoo. So I finally set up a new acct after not being able to post for a number of months.
And the off-brand Lexmark replacements are most likely just refilled and relabeled, used and cleaned Lexmark carts. Which of course may have already been refilled a number of times by their previous owners. There are lots of places where you can send your old carts and they will send you refilled ones at a "discount". Caveat Emptor (Buyer beware)!
.bh.

 

[Macro2]

Ditch the Lexmark and get a Canon 750 or at least a 520. The BCI-03 cartridges are easy to fill. Trust me. I've filled them all.

 

[Aquaman]

The Canon's BCI3's seem easy to fill but how often have you refilled? I remember when I had to refill an old BC01 cart........ you had to screw in a hole & after a while it was really messy and you could only refill the carts 2-3 times before the printing got screwed.

I've got the Canon S600 and for the price of all the original black & color carts I can get refills for all of them 8X over each.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[randomlinh]

if you get a newer canon (s520/750/820/900x) or epson, try weink or inkjetgoodies. They supposedly use the same ink (for the refills, the carts are pretty generic for everyone that sells the generic carts). Carts are generally good for 5-10 refills and easy to do. Altho, if you don't print that often, this method might not be such a good idea (maybe only for the black).

My old HP 832 lasted forever on it's economy cart (half full). And even longer on the full cart. Unfortunately, most of HP's newer printers use a cart that is around half of what mine uses, for the same price (altho, i think they've cut down the price on the very latest printers... still more expensive than what i paid).

As for the this lexmark.. there are many vendors, but they are generally pretty much the same, just support is different. I'd suggest remanufactured/capatible carts if they aren't too expensive. It's less of a hassle for your niece (i don't know her, but many of my female friends would not like to have to refill the carts themselves ). And if you do go refill, do what zepper00 said, after the 5th or so refill.. you should switch to a brand new cart.

Linh

 

[zepper00]

Hi All,
Just got back from doing a search because I'm getting old and forget stuff. I found what I was looking for-- One of the oldest and best ink jet refill companies is Computer Friends in Oregon. Their web site is: www.cfriends.com .

.bh.

 

[grrl]

Has anyone had a problem with the inks in the refill kits NOT being waterproof? I bought some ink (don't remember the brand) that printed fine but smudged terribly.

 

[Macro2]

RE:"The Canon's BCI3's seem easy to fill but how often have you refilled?"

Oh, just about 50 times PER color and I'm still using the original cartridges. I have another set of cartidges so I can continue printing without waiting.
Yeah, I print a lot.
Occasionally you get an air lock but a deep head clean cures that. Once you learn a couple of simple tricks, filling the canons is a breeze. I use the rubber plugs and do extra seal with silver aluminum tape you get at home depot that is used for sealing ac ducts. One roll that will last you the rest of your life, costs about 6 bucks. Never let empty cartridges lie around. Fill them right up and store them.
Even if you don't want to refill you can buy generic for 3-4 bucks off ebay. And I've had great luck filling those too.
If you do a lot of printing, don't waste your time on Lexmark. HPs are hard to fill too...buy I have seen some direct feed retrofits for them that seem to work well...but Canon is still the best...

Mac

 

[Macro2]

Grrl,
Canon "e" series ink is pigmented and supposedly water proof. I think it's only the black. It won't work in Lexmarks or HPs...

Mac

 

[Macro2]

Another good reason to get a printer that uses canon bci-03 cartridges is that they are transparent and you can easily see hw much ink you have left. Also you don't have to reset them to get the software to warn you they are low. HPs you have to reset and it's a pain. Even new HPs will tell you they are low wen they have 40% left.

Mac

 

[mastertech01]

I purchased two Z43 printers, one for myself and one for my daughter. Both of them had their cartridges go bad. If you dont use them a lot, for whatever reason the cartridges will ooze out the ink and solidify..looking like they are burned. Lexmark warrantied them, but I dont think I will get Lexmark the next time I get a printer. Two sets of cartridges doing this on two printers in about 6 months is too much hassle.

 

[zepper00]

I just bought another couple of Universal refill kits at a local store that carries a lot of "As Seen on TV" crap. They still work just fine on my Xerox C6. Probably work fine on Lexmark too (it's in their instructions).
.bh.