The most expensive part of buying an inkjet printer can be the ongoing costs, but there are ways to drastically cut ink costs.

A recent report by national consumer group Choice found that the ink-refill cost of some printers over three years can be many times more than the original purchase price.

The owner of online ink cartridge shop, Tsang, says savings of more than 50 per cent can be made by buying compatible cartridges.

Tsang says his own family has saved thousands of dollars by using compatible inks in their Canon printer.

However, he says while the cheaper inks are suitable for printing documents such as school work or business papers, when printing photos the more expensive original cartridges are a better option.
“For people who want to print good photos and want the colour to last, stick with the original,” Tsang says.
But even when buying the original cartridges, savings of up to 30 per cent can be made by purchasing online because the businesses don’t have as many overheads, he says.
Tsang says while some people believe using compatible cartridges can reduce the life of a printer, printers are so cheap to buy that the savings to be made buying the cheaper inks far outweigh the cost of replacing a printer every few years.

Choice tested five inkjet printers using refilled and non-genuine cartridges and found that savings of more than 50 per cent were possible and as much as 90 per cent if printing black only.
But Choice noted that some printers handle non-genuine inks better than others, with performance “sometimes very uneven, with the added nuisance of printers requiring multiple head-cleans at fairly regular intervals to produce acceptable printouts”.

“The key is to try to find the best replacement inks for your particular printer, not necessarily the cheapest, and for this you may have to try different suppliers,” the report found.
“In some cases, replacement inks can at first appear to be as good as using original inks, however, the downside is they may be far less durable and more likely to fade over time.”
Choice says it’s unclear whether the cheaper products can damage the printer but it “may be harder to claim repairs under warranty” if non-genuine inks have been used.
Michael, owner and manager of online store Ink Hub, says while some compatible ink cartridges can cause problems with printers, if consumers shop carefully they can make big savings without damaging their printer.

“Be careful where you buy them from and make sure you buy from someone with a good reputation that offers a money back guarantee,” Michael says.