I know there are cheaper versions of the ink you can purchase for HP Printers but I have found the overtime the other inks create a problem for the print heads so while HP is expensive it pays in the long run
One of the things about buying ink is not to run out when you're printing important documents for a special project. I have had this happen and I have had to purchase ink at another store. This became frustrating with a new purchase because I was only able to finish the project running out of ink almost immediately.