HP 38 Magenta Pigment Ink Cartridge in Retail Packaging Reviews

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This review is for HP Photosmart Pro B9180 photo printer using the HP 38 ink cartridges. The printer is great, the ink is great, but at $30 to $35 a cartridge, and 8 cartridges in the printer it was supposed to be cost effective to replace just the color that was depleted. The problem comes in the cartridge having an expiration date, the printer refusing to use and expired cartridge and no override being provided. About 6 months after the cartridge is opened the printer claims it is expired and refuses to use it anymore. So if casual printing of fine quality prints is the goal, expect to pay $250 to $500 per year to replace those ink cartridges.

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Five Stars because the HP 38 Magenta Pigment Ink Cartridge was shipped immediately and arrived promptly in good condition. If you use HP 38 ink in your printer, you must have all eight colors in the HP 38 series for your printer to operate properly, so price is a big consideration. Buying blind can cost you more for a complete set of inks, including more than one cartridge for the light gray and a couple of other colors that are used up faster than the others, than a new printer, and in fact I have heard of people that simply buy a new printer (of a different make) because it's cheaper than the inks. Amazon has a selection of vendors, but be wary I recently picked the lowest price for each color, mostly from one vendor, and when I went to check out I found that this particular vendor charged $9 per cartridge for shipping and handling, making them the most expensive vendor on Amazon.

I stock up on inks only occasionally. The trigger event is when the warning light on the printer for a particular color comes on, and I don't have that color ready to change. When that happens, I check out what I do have, flesh out what I need to have a complete set including two of light gray, light cyan, and light magenta, and order them all, usually on Amazon. I like genuine HP inks on Amazon because that's where the price, Amazon Prime free shipping, vendor reliability, and prompt delivery all come together. I need genuine HP inks because I have this printer for studio-quality color prints and I depend on it for my most-invested hobby, and I don't have the time or patience to deal with cartridges that require color re-calibration or don't provide the color fidelity that I expect of an 8-ink printer, or that don't last as long as HP 38 ink cartridges. One of the reasons that I selected this printer was the combination of quality prints, low cost per print, and long life of the ink cartridges, a rare combination.

I recommend genuine HP 38 inks to anyone with a printer that calls for these inks, and recommend Amazon.com as the first place to check for best price. You can depend on Amazon and their associated vendors to deliver the right product promptly every time.

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I seem to plow thru these often good response from Amazon on delivery yes the ink is expensive, but archival quality for professional pigment prints is worth it otherwise, dust off your darkroom equipment. The digital age is not going away.

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I haven't installed the new ink cartridges yet, so I can't comment on the ink quality. However, it is HP NIB ink and there should be no problem.

What really impressed me was the speed of delivery. I elected free shipping (4-7 day delay). I received the items within 36 hours of placing the order.

Lastly, the amazon.com ink store price was still cheaper than the HP direct 15% "preferred" discount.

Thank you.

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This is more a review of AMAZON's great service than the ink. If you own the HP B9180 then you simply Must use this ink.

My local photo stores and office supply stores simply do not stock this ink... and ordering from other online shops id "iffy" at best. With Amazon (And an Amazon Prime account) I get super fast FREE shipping and Amazon has not been out of stock yet.

Great service!~

James Hatsis