HP Photosmart 7550 - cost of ink

[Steve Pfister]

I've got an HP photosmart 7550 that I've had for a year or so. I'm
trying to investigate the alternatives for replacing the ink
cartridges at the lowest possible cost.

I've tried buying refurbished cartridges, which is fine sometimes, but
I've had problems.

I've also tried a refill kit, but even a cartridge that shows up on
the printer as being nearly empty doesn't seem to want to refill (ink
spurts out almost immediately, no matter how slowly I tried to fill
it). These are cartridges that were used recently... are original HP
cartridges not really refillable? Is there a guide anywhere to
refilling cartridges? Are there good alternatives to official HP
cartridges?

At the cost of new cartridges, I'm starting to not be able to afford
to use my printer...

Thanks!

 

[Dave C.]

I have a photosmart using black #56 and tricolor #57. I just started
refilling them using bulk ink, and I am on my second fill. It takes a
little technique to get it right, but it sure is cheaper that new
cartridges.

 

[xNokia3390x]

I've got an HP photosmart 7550 that I've had for a year or so. I'm
trying to investigate the alternatives for replacing the ink
cartridges at the lowest possible cost.

I have a Photosmart 7350. I'm still on my original set of cartridges from
January of 2003. I figure I've printed around sixty 4x6's and five 8x10
pictures. Not bad I'd say. I buy only new OEM HP cartridges. I've been
stocking up from:

CompUSA (special sale) - around $18/photo, $16/black, $27/color
Sears (w/ $5 off coupon) - $20/photo

I dunno, I feel like if I'm paying for the HP photo paper, I might as well
get good ink. How much have you been paying for ink?

 

[Steve B]

I quite often refill when the ink shows low on the status monitor and a chamber
only takes 1-3ml. There is still loads of ink left when HP's monitor is on the
low side. On the other hand it's a good time to refill.