[accesscomp] Fw: Why is Printer Ink So Expensive? Dan's tip for October 30 2013
- From: "Bob Acosta" <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "tektalk discussion" <tektalkdiscussion@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "access comp" <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:29:36 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: dan Thompson
To: dan Thompson
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 7:59 AM
Subject: Why is Printer Ink So Expensive? Dan's tip for October 30 2013
Why is Printer Ink So Expensive?
http://www.howtogeek.com/174232/htg-explains-why-is-printer-ink-so-expensive/
Printer ink is expensive, more expensive per drop than fine champagne or even
human blood. If you haven't gone paperless, you'll notice that you're paying a
lot for new ink cartridges - more than seems reasonable.
Purchasing the cheapest inkjet printer and buying official ink cartridge
replacements is the most expensive thing you can do. There are ways to save
money on ink if you must continue to print documents.
Cheap Printers, Expensive Ink
Ink jet printers are often very cheap. That's because they're sold at cost, or
even at a loss - the manufacturer either makes no profit from the printer
itself or loses money.
The manufacturer will make most of its money from the printer cartridges you
buy later. Even if the company does make a bit of money from each printer sold,
it makes a much larger profit margin on ink. Rather than selling you a printer
that may be rather expensive, they want to sell you a cheap printer and make
money on an ongoing basis by providing expensive printer ink.
It's been compared to the razor model - sell a razor cheaply and mark up the
razor blades. Rather than making a one-time profit on the razor, you'll make
continuing profit as the customer keeps buying razor blade replacements - or
ink, in this case.
Many printer manufacturers go out of their way to make it difficult for you to
use unofficial ink cartridges, building microchips into their official ink
cartridges. If you use an unofficial cartridge or refill an official cartridge,
the printer may refuse to use it. Lexmark once argued in court that unofficial
microchips that enable third-party ink cartridges would violate their copyright
and Lexmark has argued that creating an unofficial microchip to bypass this
restriction on third-party ink would violate Lexmark's copyright and be illegal
under the US DMCA. Luckily, they lost this argument.
What Printer Companies Say
Printer companies have put forth their own arguments in the past, attempting to
justify the high cost of official ink cartridges and microchips that block any
competition.
In a Computer World story from 2010, HP argued that they spend a billion
dollars each year on "ink research and development." They point out that
printer ink "must be formulated to withstand heating to 300 degrees,
vaporization, and being squirted at 30 miles per hour, at a rate of 36,000
drops per second, through a nozzle one third the size of a human hair. After
all that it must dry almost instantly on the paper." They also argue that
printers have become more efficient and use less ink to print, while
third-party cartridges are less reliable.
Companies that use microchips in their ink cartridges argue that only the
microchip has the ability to enforce an expiration date, preventing consumers
from using old ink cartridges.
There's something to all these arguments, sure - but they don't seem to justify
the sky-high cost of printer ink or the restriction on using third-party or
refilled cartridges.
Saving Money on Printing
On Monday November 4th, I will post a guide to buying the right printer.
Even though computer printers are relatively ubiquitous, you can't just go pull
one off the shelf and be guaranteed a great product. Ultimately, the price of
something is what people are willing to pay and printer companies have found
that most consumers are willing to pay this much for ink cartridge
replacements. Try not to fall for it: Don't buy the cheapest inkjet printer.
Consider your needs when buying a printer and do some research. You'll save
more money in the long run.
Consider these basic tips to save money on printing:
1. Buy Refilled Cartridges: Refilled cartridges from third parties are
generally much cheaper. Printer companies warn us away from these, but they
often work very well.
2. Refill Your Own Cartridges: You can get do-it-yourself kits for refilling
your own printer ink cartridges, but this can be messy. Your printer may refuse
to accept a refilled cartridge if the cartridge contains a microchip.
· 3. Switch to a Laser Printer: Laser printers use toner, not ink
cartridges. If you print a lot of black and white documents, a laser printer
can be cheaper.
· 4. Buy XL Cartridges: If you are buying official printer ink
cartridges, spend more money each time. The cheapest ink cartridges won't
contain much ink at all, while larger "XL" ink cartridges will contain much
more ink for only a bit more money. It's often cheaper to buy in bulk.
· 5. Avoid Printers With Tri-Color Ink Cartridges: If you're printing
color documents, you'll want to get a printer that uses separate ink cartridges
for all its colors. For example, let's say your printer has a "Color" cartridge
that contains blue, green, and red ink. If you print a lot of blue documents
and use up all your blue ink, the Color cartridge will refuse to function - now
all you can do is throw away your cartridge and buy a new one, even if the
green and red ink chambers are full. If you had a printer with separate color
cartridges, you'd just have to replace the blue cartridge.
black-and-color-ink-cartridges
· If you'll be buying official ink cartridges, be sure to compare the
cost of cartridges when buying a printer. The cheapest printer may be more
expensive in the long run.
Of course, you'll save the most money if you stop printing entirely and go
paperless, keeping digital copies of your documents instead of paper ones.
You are invited to a time of praise and prayer from 5:00 to 6:00 every Tuesday
held in the lounge at First Presbyterian Church 870 W. College Jacksonville,
Il. Come in the double glass doors by day care off of West Minster. Turn
right at the first set of double doors across from the coat closets. Go up
these stairs and turn left at the top.
The lounge door will be opened and welcoming you in to God's open house of
praise and prayer!
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