We have used CityInkExpress a number of times for our HP Envy 4500 Printer and Continuous Ink System.

We have telephoned them for advice as to which ink to purchase (as our printer is a little old) and have been very happy with their recommendations in terms of suitability, efficiency and cost.

We have found their service both responsive and reliable and are more than happy to use them again and recommend them

I have been using CityInkExpress for some years now for all my ink refill requirements.

I find the online service (ordering and payment) easy, the delivery is fast and the ink is great.

Many thanks CityInkExpress, I look forward to placing future orders and continuing to produce quality prints for my clients.

Your CISS is absolutely amazing!!

I purchased your CISS and ink solution for my HP Officejet 5740 and couldn’t be happier!!

It was easy to install, I was up and printing within minutes of watching your video on YouTube.

With 2 children, I was spending hundreds of dollars a year on HP ink at Staples knowing we were getting ripped off, no more!!!

I recommend this product to everyone!!!

Today we have a fantastic review from Luke for his HP Photosmart 6520 CIS system. If you'd like to be entered in our monthly prize draw, and receive a discount on all dye and pigment ink purchases, send your review to reviews@cityinkexpress.co.uk

As a degree student I often find myself printing large documents so that I may easier refer to past course work. The price of cartridges for my HP Photosmart 6520 was taking a heavy toll on my already tight budget. After some internet research I stumbled upon the subject of continuous ink systems and CityInkExpress appeared to be a well rated supplier in the UK.

The unit itself came with detailed instructions and where I saw ambiguity the accompanying YouTube video for this model was a massive help. After a somewhat complex fitting procedure I was able to achieve the original standard of prints I observed with manufacturer cartridges. So far the unit has operated reliably for over a year now, saving me a lot of money with my heavy printing habit. I would recommend this product to any other students out there in the same position.

Here at CityInkExpress, we are often asked for advice on which printer model would be best for our customers. In this blog post, we hope to shed some light on the sometimes bewildering array of options available in the market.

Toner or Inkjet?

Traditionally, businesses have always chosen a laser printer over an inkjet because of the reduced running costs involved with a laser printer. That is no longer necessarily the case, and many small or medium businesses (SMBs) are taking advantage of the latest business inkjet offerings from the various printer manufacturers, with real-world print speeds of up to 22 pages per minute. Fitting a continuous ink system can often be cheaper than using toner cartridges, and the reduced startup costs are very attractive.

Which Printer Manufacturer?

Generally speaking, Canon produce the printers most suited to photo printing, and many of their models are able to handle cardstock up to 300GSM (grams per square metre).

Epson produce fantastic all-round printers, and their small-in-one printers from the Expression range are well suited to families on a budget.

Brother printers are relatively fuss-free, cheap printers suited to a variety of uses. Whether you are a small business looking to print invoices, or need a printer to handle your children's homework, a Brother printer may well be the way to go.

How Much to Spend?

Budget is a concern for most people, and we will always do our best to meet all of your requirements, but as with everything you get what you pay for. We can help you find a professional quality photo printer, or a high-speed printer for invoices, for under £100, but there will be a trade-off in terms of other functions. Ideally, you should look to buy a printer which does everything you need it to, and nothing more. That way, you won't be spending money on a function you won't use.

There is also another key point to consider when buying a new printer: running costs. One of the cheapest printers currently on the market is the Canon iP2850, starting at around £30 plus VAT. If you need a basic printer for occasional use, it may well be the way to go, but the cartridges can cost £25 a set, and will only last for around 180 pages. Clearly, printer price isn't everything.

You're Not Helping. Which Printer Should I Buy?

Alright, back on topic. You need a printer, and you don't know which one. There are too many to choose from, and you don't know how to narrow it down. The easiest way to choose a printer is to ask yourself the following questions:

• How much do I want to spend?
• Do I need a scanner/copier, or just a printer?
• Should the printer be wireless? Will I want to print from my phone?
• What kind of things will I be printing? Is it for card-making, invoice printing, photo printing, or a mixture of everything?
• How much printing will I do?
• Will I need to print double-sided?
• Do I want to print in A3, or just A4?
• Is there anything else I want the printer to do, or any other features I would like (e.g. printing onto CDs, fax capability, or a rear tray for cardstock).

If you can answer most of these, we will find the printer for you. Here are some examples of printers which we might recommend for different uses^*:

"I just want a printer. For printing."

The Epson WF-3010DW is a fantastic little printer. It is completely lacking in bells and whistles, which means that the money goes to producing one of the best small printers on the market. At 9.2 colour pages per minute (or 15ppm in black and white), with automatic duplexing and wireless functionality, and a 250-sheet paper tray as standard, the WF-3010DW punches well above its weight in terms of print quality and speed. If you want all of this and a scanner as well, you would have to spend twice as much on the printer!

"I need something cheap with a scanner to print the kids' homework, and occasional photos."

Epson's Expression small-in-one printers are ideal for light use in a home environment. The XP-225 is the cheapest currently on offer, and for just £45 you can have a USB printer/scanner/copier capable of handling all types of printing.

"I need a printer for the office, as cheap as possible. I mainly print invoices."

Brother's all-in-one printers offer a very competitively priced option for small businesses or home offices. With prices from £75, the DCP-J4110DW is a real workhorse. With print speeds of 16 pages per minute, and the option of occasional A3 printing as well as a scanner/copier, many businesses should look no further than Brother's J4000 range of printers. For larger offices, the J5000 series is well worth a look, as they are more suited to heavy use.

"I want a professional-quality photo printer, but I don't want to spend any money."

The Canon Pixma iP7250 was made for photo printing. For just £60, you can have a wireless printer with a maximum print resolution of 9600*4800 dpi, and capable of handling cardstock up to 300gsm.

"I would like a printer for heavy use in the office."

This is a request we get a lot, and there are plenty of options to choose from. Whether it's Epson WorkForce Pro range, Canon's new MAXIFY printers, HP's OfficeJet Pro or Brother's J5000/6000 range, there is a huge range of inkjet printers available for SMBs. Different prices and print speeds, along with other options such as fax and double-sided scanning, enable you to find the perfect printer for your requirements.

"I don't like any of those. My needs are different."

That's not a problem. Drop us an email to admin@cityinkexpress.co.uk and we'll find a printer/CISS combination to suit any environment.

^*Prices and current models are correct as of 29/01/2015. Links provided are to printer bundles, with a CISS and 100ml bottles of ink included in the price.

The LaserJet 1000 series from Hewlett-Packard was a line of black and white laser printers designed with fast, efficient printing in mind. These models were extremely popular among businesses and corporations, and while HP have now discontinued the LaserJet 1000 series, the printers are still being used in homes and offices all over the world.

Speed is one major advantage that laser printers have over inkjet models. If you need to print a massive, multi-page document, you’ll find that a laser printer gets the job done much faster – you won’t even have to wait for the ink to dry! Being unable to print in colour, the LaserJet 1000 printers obviously aren’t much use when you need to print photographs or images, but if you’re printing out business documents or ten-thousand word dissertations, something like the LaserJet 1320 is absolutely perfect.

Of course, the continued use of LaserJet 1000 appliances means that there is still a demand for LaserJet 1000 toner. If you still use one of these printers – and why wouldn’t you? – you’re probably well aware that, in spite of the  fact that the printers themselves are no longer widely available, compatible toner cartridges are still exceptionally easy to come by.

And if you need more toner for your LaserJet 1000 printer, you’re already in the right place! Here at City Ink, we sell a wide variety of HP toner products, and regardless of which HP printer you use, you’re sure to find the right cartridge at a very reasonable price.

If you've opted for a snazzy Hewlett Packard (HP) printer then we can't say we'd blame you. A firm contender in every race within the printing world, HP are printer giants that won't be leaving any time soon. But how can you get the best out of your HP printer? With so many different ink cartridges and toner cartridges available it can be difficult to get to the bottom of what will simply make your printer work in the way you need and want it to.

The aim of this blog post is to quickly give you the lowdown on what is avilable for your HP printer and which of these options is best for you, so that is exactly what we hope to do! If you need any further guidance please don't hesitate to get in touch. We're on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ too - just give us a nudge and we'll be happy to help.

1. HP Ink Cartridges

Now we're sure that your standard ink cartridges are the printer ink you're most familiar with. You get 4 - black, magenta, cyan and yellow and different levels of each combine to make any colour you could ever want in the whole world, which is quite magical really. What isn't magical, however, is the price that ink cartridges are. For a full replacement set you're looking at upwards of £55, which is a large whack of money to pay every time your ink runs out on top of the £100 or so you already paid for a printer! One option which you'll see by clicking on 'HP Ink Cartridges' is our range of refillable dye ink options. These are ink cartridges with a twist, and allow you to manually refill the ink (which comes with the purchase) - saving you that hefty cost. We've got lots of videos on doing these sort of things, so perhaps a little tricky at first, with our guidance you could save a lot of money. We'd perhaps recommend that either your standard ink cartridges are the best choice for the very rich (ha!) or those who will print only very occasionally. 

2. CISS for HP Printers

Continuous ink supply systems are one of our specialities here at City Ink Express. Your ink cartridges come attached to a lovely ink tank which is filled of the printer blood which makes your work come to life on paper. This is a much cheaper option if you're looking at printing a lot - and again, we've got lots of handy tutorials to help you input this fantastic little CISS system to your HP Printer. One of these continuous ink systems can save you up to 80% on your printing costs which is so important if you're printing a lot of stuff. 

3. HP Toner Cartridges

Toner cartridges are the cousin of your standard ink cartridge, and essentially are provide your printer ink in a powder form as opposed to the gooey stuff that gets everywhere and stains! Toner cartridges are most often found in laser printers, so if you have an HP laser printer then a toner cartridge will be what you'll need. Luckily for you - we have them by the bundle ready for you to replace quickly and cheaply at any time! 

4. HP Printer Bundles 

If you're yet to purchase your HP printer but you know that you want to, or if you know your old printer is on his way to the big PC World in the sky then you might need one of our HP printer bundles. With a HP printer bundle, you can choose the HP printer model from the list available (different printers vary in price of course) and it will come fitted with a CISS system so you can print to your heart's content! The beauty of our HP printer bundles? You get a great printer, a full continuous ink system which will save you stacks of cash on your printer and we'll set it up for you - so you have literally no work to do. So what are you waiting for?

Operating in more than 170 countries – and for over 70 years – it is fair to say that Hewlett Packard (or HP) has quite the pedigree when it comes to printing! As such, you would expect them to offer an all-encompassing range of printers that offers its technological solutions to both the home and work environments – and the good news is, they do!

As we have mentioned already, HP has a fantastic range of printers to meet your various printing needs, so all you need to bear in mind is what exactly you’re going to be using the printer for, and then buy the device accordingly. HP have a range of InkJet printers, Laser printers, as well as a range of Photosmart printers which specialise in photography printing – though the other ranges are more than capable of bringing your holidays snaps to life!

HP also has DeskJet models which are aimed at the home office market – these are a great compromise between their home-use printers, and the ones aimed at heavier office-use.

HP printers frequently visit the ‘best buy’ sections of consumer magazines so their reputation for making quality printers is well deserved! HP is a solid contender all along the board with winning printers in a wide range of categories, both in pricing and printer type.

If you like the sound of Hewlett Packard then why not think about purchasing one of our ravishingly reasonable HP printer bundles? This truly is the most cost-effective solution to the perfect printer!