Had A Heart Attack Today.......

[petrochemist]

My dad once brought me a 'nearly new' Epson printer (unused but with no ink). When I checked the replacement costs for a set of six Epson inks was considerably more than the new cost of the printer. However I discovered their Inkjet printers are supplied with special low capacity cartridges, which means you don't get as much as you would with a full set of replacement inks. I couldn't justify the price of OEM inks so got some third party ones on line (something like £6 for a set rather than £87!). They worked reasonably so now the only time I use OEM inks is when a fault forces me to buy a new printer. My budget inks have often run out without warning half way through a page, but quality paper is not so expensive that I can't live with that disadvantage.

 

[GerryDavid]

.......... after needing some ink for my printer.

Holy crapoly! It was $52 last summer. Now it's freakin' $89!!!!!!!



Is it just cheaper to buy a new printer instead?

I have a brother all in one inkjet printer for my model releases and contact forms, I pay like $1 a cartridge on amazon for their non name stuff. Works great for me. It does clog faster than the brand name stuff though, I dont use the colors that often and those clogged on me in no time. When I didnt use the printer for a couple of weeks during my move, I had to clean it out till it worked again.

I use to use a laser printer that you could refill yourself and that worked great until the drum got to dirty and the price to replace it was more than the printer itself, so I just went with inkjet.

All my photos get sent out to a pro lab, im not even touching that with a home printer for the price we pay the pro labs.

 

[chuasam]

Not printing photos... printing biz stuff like invoices, statements, contracts, envelopes etc.

oh just write it off as an expense. It doesn't work out to very much once you amortise it over a eyar.

 

[480sparky]

oh just write it off as an expense. It doesn't work out to very much once you amortise it over a eyar.

Write-offs are fine. But one needs the cold, hard cash up front to spend in the first place.

So yestiddy, I punched up for a new printer.

 

[unpopular]

Not printing photos... printing biz stuff like invoices, statements, contracts, envelopes etc.

two words: laser jet.

 

[480sparky]

Not printing photos... printing biz stuff like invoices, statements, contracts, envelopes etc.

two words: laser jet.

Two more words : expensive and slow.

 

[unpopular]

Not printing photos... printing biz stuff like invoices, statements, contracts, envelopes etc.

two words: laser jet.

Two more words : expensive and slow.

While the printer itself is more expensive, the ongoing cost is far, far less. One $90 05a cartridge will print around 2000 pages. Third-party cartridges are also available for a fraction the price, if non-OEM is your thing.

I have a printer similar to this one:

HP LaserJet P2035 Printer HP Official Store

There is a version intended more for consumers that actually will print a bit faster (closer to mine):

HP LaserJet Pro 400 Printer M401dne HP Official Store

"Slow" though isn't something I've heard to describe laserjet. Certainly you can get inkjet printers that can print as fast as a lower-cost laserjet. But I don't think you'll get one that prints faster, and I don't think it'd cost any less.

 

[benp2k6]

@480sparky - Yeah everyone is right laser is the way to go if you print at least 500 pages (one ream) a year. You mentioned "expensive and slow" but that is inkjet, not laser..

Generally speaking the more you spend on the printer the less you will spend on ink. A good $300-$400 laser jet is very fast and extremely efficient with ink. One I had, I swear I put 3,000 pages through it before it needed a new black. I choose not to print color very often for the sake of ink costs.