So I just went around town to see prices for ink for my Pixma ip4200. Printer cost me $99, ink refill will cost ~$120. I knos I'm not the first to be pissed off at this gauging, I just couldn't go ahead and but the cartridges, I'd feel so ripped off for some reason. My question is: are there any other option? I'm not found on refill kits, I've seen them gum up an old HP printer of mine. Are there good eBay stores that are reputable and sell for less even with shipping?

mwarney

Unfortunately, this is pretty typical for inkjet printers. It often costs more for the cartridges than it does for the printer itself. I learned years ago before buying a printer (or copier or Fax for that matter) to find out ahead of time what it costs to replace the cartridges. This may be a good time to review your printing needs and decide if you should invest in a higher quality printer with more functionality. At least you wouldn't feel quite so bad if the printer cost more than the cartridges.

ScottGem

This is not atypical, since manufacturers make more money on consumables. They almost give the printers away figuring they will make it back on consumables.

However, I would suggest you take a look at the HP 7360 before you spend money on replacement inks. The 7360 is faster than the 4200, printing a 4x6 photo in about 1/3 the time. It has a 6 ink system with 5 colored inks and black. HP's system uses a closed resevoir which wastes less ink than open systems like on the Canon. The 7360 also has a 3" LCD touch screen, memory card reader and separate 4x6 paper tray. It also reads video from the memory cards and allows you to freeze frames and print them.

A full set of the 6 cartridges goes for less than $70. You should be able to find the 7360 on sale for $159 during the holiday season.