HP Store Online - What is printer "Ink" made of and why are the cartridges so expensive?

What is printer "Ink" made of and why are the cartridges so expensive?

I think there must definitely be a way to make these things cheaper. You can paint a full car for a couple of hundred bucks but you have to pay $50 bucks for a tiny ink cartridge....nah its gotta be a scam.

Public Comments

If you have been reading about the millions of dollars the oil industry is making, regardless of the price per barrel of oil. Our gasoline here is near $3.00 per gal. Deep pockets--- short arms.
It is not the ink, it is the cartridge . The nozzles on the end are very complex and the better the brand the better the results and the more you pay. That is why the generic ones do not work as well. i saw a show about it and they asked the same thing .
Your right it is a scam. Thats why printers are so cheap, manufacturers make their money from the refills. look around for recycled cartridges. I found one that was half the price of an HP cartridge and it had more ink in it. If you do a lot of text printing then find a basic printer and fill the cartridge yourself with a black refill kit. Check out the links http://jettec.com/hp_refills.asp http://calidad.com.au/home.asp
Chester: Your gas is near $3.00 WOW that's cheap. Ours is closer to $4.00/gal.but then Humboldt County is the highest priced gas in the nation. Re the ink cartridges. You don't have to pay $50. First of all, I have used remanufactured for years and they work great. Secondly, do some comparison shopping. Go to Google and type in Froogle-they will give you the cheapest companies in every category and closest to your home.Bizrate is a good comparison shopper.