Enormous cost of Ink/Printer

[JohnNews]

Sean:


Dell recently entered the Multi Functional Printer (MFP) market with a $399
monochrome laser.
They have clearly stated that they plan to make back their money on the
Ink/toner.

This is a popular practice. How can consumers get around the enormous cost
of printer ink or toner ?




Thanks,
John.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Unless you use cheap replacement inks, there really is no way. You should
examine all printers carefully before purchase. The most economical
printers use separate ink cartridges/tanks for each color, so that if one
color (usually magenta or photo magenta) runs out before the others, you do
not waste the remaining cyan, photo cyan and yellow, but just purchase a
single cartridge of the color you require, rather than dump the inks that
are still left when you have to purchase a tricolor cartridge.

It's called marketing! It's one of the reasons why some printers are much
cheaper to purchase than others. ALWAYS look at the cost of replacement ink
BEFORE deciding on your final purchase.

You may be interested in this article from the BBC News website... although
prices here are in British pounds, it's an enlightening article about the
REAL costs of printing!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3626373.stm

 

[Chuck]

Don't buy it is the simplest way!
Instead, find a multifunction printer that uses ink or toner kits that are
also available from third party suppliers. I'd check a local office supply
store like office depot for availability of the third party supplies before
buying.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

But do remember that in the United States, using generic ink
cartridges/refills may invalidate that nice year's guarantee that comes with
every new printer.

 

[Chuck]

Then option one applies! (My favorite!)
However, if you buy a printer (as an example) from office depot and use
their house brand refills, I don't believe you will have a warranty problem.
There are other solutions that involve keeping a set of the OEM
tanks/refills/toner around with ink/toner remaining in them.