Any alternative to cheaper HP 818 cartridges..?

[akc185]

Hello,
This is my first post to this forum, though I am following this forum from a quite long time.
I run coaching classes and need to take paper printouts on daily 3-4 copies of test and then send it for xeroxing.
I have HP F4288 Deskjet.
And its getting costlier as I need to change cartridge every 2 months or so. I do refill cartridges but its impossible to keep record of refill like when to refil and when not. and many times it gets dry (i.e. empty) and then useless (even after refilling)
So do we have any cheaper alternative than HP 818?
Or should I switch my printer something which is more durable and reliable to use..?

Regards,
Er. Ankitkumar Chheda
Maharashtra, India

 

[qwertydude]

If you know you need to refill every two months it's really simple, refill it every month. It doesn't hurt to just top off the cartridge. It really hurts to let it run dry.

 

[akc185]

Sorry, but i think i got misinterpreted..
I need to change the cartridge only. I mean i need to buy new one every two months apprx

 

[qwertydude]

Why would you need a new cartridge every two months though? I have hp carts that have refilled more than 20 times that are almost two years old. At work our cheap HP really gets used much more than what you're using it for. I should be more specific. Letting the cartridge run dry is what's leading to their premature deaths. As long as you never let them run dry and you use them on a regular basis they almost never break, in fact almost all the HP carts I've needed to throw away were specifically because they ran dry and wouldn't take a refill but a known good cartridge just being topped off rarely fails. They're quite a bit more durable than HP lets on but they'll burn out like any thermal print head when run dry.

 

[akc185]

Thats the problem. I only refill when they stop printing.
But how to guess , when to refill. Coz over refilling will also lead to premature death.

I normally print two column LEGAL size papers. 3-4 pages daily

 

[qwertydude]

I over refill all the time, as long as you drain the excess you'll be fine, it certainly is less harmful than burning print heads out due to ink starvation. Basically I fill to the top til it overflows and then blot the excess on the print head out onto a thick pad of folded paper towel. It takes upwards of a few dozen blots but you know you're good when the ink no longer spreads out across the print head after blotting it, it's easy to get the hang of it. Also after filling it you need to tape over the holes with scotch tape, try to cover all the serpentine path and only leave the end of the path to the open air. This prevents the ink from drying out in the cartridge and causing flow issues. Over filling also has the convenient side effect of increasing the usable ink volume, one of the old strategies HP was notorious for was under filling a cartridge with full size sponges. Basically what do you have to lose by changing your refill strategy? You replace your carts a lot already, more so than I do and I over fill my carts every time and they've lasted 2 years so far with no signs of quitting any time soon. Just remember to drain them, not because your cart is in any danger but it'll make a mess inside your printer if they drip.

 

[akc185]

Thank you very much "qwertydude"
The information you provided is gonna help me a lot and save my money.
Is there any way to find how many pages (of LEGAL size) will print if I use HP 818 / HP 60 cartridge?
It was written 200 pages or so on the wrapper of the cartridges but definately it goes down in around 10-20 pages..
So is there any way with I will be able to guess that on one refill I can print upto these many number of pages of LEGAL size?

 

[qwertydude]

Well since you know your cartridges kept running out every two months just simply refill on the first of every month. An absolute way of knowing would be to buy a pocket jewelry scale and weigh the cartridge when empty and weigh a brand new or freshly refilled one. Then you can guess how much ink is left in the cartridge just by weighing it. I've gotten pretty used to the ones at work and can tell when they're running low just by taking it out and feeling how light it is.

Oh and page yields are a really varied subject. A standard black and white page is said to only be 5% coverage but I find in reality it could be much more if there are monochrome images. I've also tried to see how much an hp 98 cartridge yields when printing a solid black page. I can tell you the answer is not much. It ran out in only 7 pages or so.

 

[akc185]

I think this will be good information. THANKS A LOT 'QWERTYDUDE'