Is there such a thing as cheap printer ink, and if so, where can it be found? The good news is that printer ink, despite traditionally being quite expensive doesn't actually have to be if you do your homework. First and foremost in order to keep your printing costs down you need to purchase the right kind of printer for your needs. Buying a multi-functioning laser printer will mean the price of printing per sheet will be higher than if you buy an inkjet printer. Laser printers do have their place, but this is mostly in large offices where large volumes of paper are printed everyday and speed of printing is important. If you only print occasionally then a straightforward inkjet printer will be perfectly adequate for your needs and will have lower ongoing running costs and ink costs.
Often people choose a printer based on the initial outlay, but this is a mistake. The way to purchase a printer is to base it on the price of the ink cartridges. When you buy a printer, it is almost as if you are signing a contract with the manufacturer because you are locked in to buying a particular type of ink cartridge during the printer's lifetime. Because of this, you should choose the printer based on the value for money of the printer cartridges as this will be an ongoing cost. When looking for the price of the cartridges, there is another trap that many fall into. The yield price is the important figure - the number of pages that can be printed from a particular cartridge. Often just the price of the product is compared but this figure does not provide an accurate picture. One cartridge may be 25% cheaper than another, but if that same cartridge only prints half the number of pages than the other one does then it does not work out cheaper, in fact it works out to be25% more expensive. Be aware of this pitfall, it is one that many fall into.
When it comes to saving money on the cartridges themselves, the best place to look is online. When it comes to shopping, online virtual stores nearly always work out cheaper than visiting your local shop. The reason is a reduction of overheads. The savings made on overheads such as rent, electricity and property taxes are passed onto the customer which makes purchasing things such as ink cartridges much cheaper. It is also possible to find cartridges online that are missing their box or have damaged packaging in some way. These are often offered at a fraction of the price of the same product with perfect packaging. Special or one-off bargains such as this are not always available in high street shops.
Online shopping does involve shipping costs, that is just a fact of life. As an incentive however, many online stores offer free shipping on order values higher than a certain amount. Take advantage of an order like this. With printer ink, you are always going to need more in the future so why not buy in bulk and save on the shipping costs. There may even be an additional saving to be had when ordering in bulk. If you are looking to purchase a printer, always search online first. This way you can compare a variety of prices, makes, models of printer and compare ink cartridge prices too. That will ensure you end up with the very best value for money possible.
Shopping online gives you access to cheap printer ink, cheaper in comparison to that found on the high street anyway. It also enables you to compare prices of printers, so whether it is Epson bx300f cartridges you need or dell 922 ink cartridges, or a printer itself, head online first.