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This month, the Vibrant Ink "printing cheapskate" review focuses on new, popular, wireless multifunction ("MFC") and laser printers. We'll help you choose printers that will not only perform well, but will do so at the lowest cost per page - or per photo. We show you the per page operating costs for each model, using both original manufacturer and alternative supplies. Printer prices are taken from recent ads published by national retailers. All "per page" calculations use "industry standard" page yields.
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Epson WorkForce and NX400 MFCs |
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 Epson plays "catchup" this year with several new machines which print, scan, copy and even fax, including the inexpensive Stylus NX400 PSC [$49.99] and new wireless Epson WorkForce 600, 38 ppm, printer, scanner, copier, fax machine [$149.99].
Epson's Workforce series and NX 400 MFCs use Epson T068120 black cartridges (245 page yield) [$16.99] and T069220 Cyan, T069320 Magenta and T069420 Yellow cartridges (350 page yield)[$12.99 each] for a cost per page of $.16 to $.18 or more.
Vibrant Ink's new ISO 9000 quality manufactured compatible VI-691 series cartridges [$5.95 each/$24.99 package of five (2 black, one each color)] lower the cost per page to $.08.
Buy Vibrant Ink Supplies for Epson WorkForce and Stylus NX 400 Multifunction Printers
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HP PhotoSmart Wireless Multifunction Printers |
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 HP offers several new wireless multifunction printers this season, including the HP Photosmart C7280 Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax [$209.99] and the Photosmart C8180, with a built-in CD burner [$319.99]. Look for HP MFCs, PSCs (printer scanner copier) and photo printers using the six-cartridge HP02 'Smart Chip' modular ink delivery system. A full six cartridge refill for these machines, with the HP02 10ml black, dye-based ink cartridge (480 page-yield)[$17.99] and 5 separate HPO2 3.5-5 ml color cartridges (350 page yield)[$9.99 each], costs $67.94 for a cost per printed page of $ .19.
Vibrant Ink's H02 'Smart Chip' compatible double-yield cartridges contain twice the ink of the original HP brand. They reduce the per-page cost on HP printers such as the PhotoSmart C7280 by more than half, to less than $.07 per page, without sacrificing print quality.
- Individual cartridges ($12.99 Black/$8.99 Color)
- Set of six ($48)
- Twelve-pak ($92)
Buy Vibrant Ink H02 Compatible Cartridges
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Brother Wireless MultiFunction Printers |
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 Brother continues to expand its multifunction offerings with the wireless, network ready Brother MFC790CW Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax [$139.99]. This economical MFC uses Brother's low yield LC61 cartridges (450 pages black, 325 color), [$22.99 black/$10.99 color] or high yield LC65 cartridges (900 pages black, 750 color)[$24.99black/$13.99 color] for a cost per four cartridge "set" of $66.96. and a per page cost of about $.09.
Vibrant Ink's new IS 9001 certified generic compatible VI-B61 black, cyan, magenta and yellow ink cartridges cost $4.99 each [8 for $32], for a cost per page of about $.045, half the cost of the cheapest Brother alternative. These low cost compatibles lower the cost of running this inexpensive four-color MFC to a range which is comparable to most black and white laser printers.
Buy cartridges for the Brother MFC790CW
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New HP LaserJet Printers--Deal or Steal? |
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HPs small black and white laser printers provide crisp, professional-quality, black and white text and monocolor prints. The cost of these laser printers continues to go down. However, HP's new "P series" laser printers use toner cartridges with half the yield of cartridges for earlier models, yet sell for the same price. This doubles the cost-per page.
The new HP Laserjet P1006 black and white printer [$99.95] uses the CB435A toner cartridge (1500 pages)[$64.99 at hp.com], for a per page cost of $.04.
Vibrant Ink's "Cartridge Technologies" brand CT-CB435A compatible toner cartridges hold 25% more toner than the original HP cartridge (2000 page yield)[$45.99], lowers the cost per page by half, to $ .02. Include one of these economical cartridges with your gift of a new $99.95 HP LaserJet P1006 printer, to provide inexpensive black and white printing for the entire year.
Buy Supplies for HP's LaserJet P1002, P1003, P1005, P1005, P1006, P1009 Printers
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Cheap Laser Printers--Deal or Steal?
