| How much will a $50 dollar printer really | | | | they see how fast their new printer uses up |
| cost you? If you factor in the cost of | | | | the ink. |
| replacement ink cartridges, it could be a lot | | | | |
| more. | | | | Almost nobody is aware of the true cost of |
| | | | operating these machines until the first or |
| Nowadays, when you stroll down the printer | | | | second time they need replacement cartridges. |
| isle, you might notice a few printers selling | | | | |
| for around $50. At first glance you might | | | | HP is now attempting to squeeze out the |
| think it's a great price, but is at a fair | | | | competitors by dominating shelf space with a |
| assessment? | | | | multitude of printer models. Most machines |
| | | | have the same general capabilities but the |
| Lexmark was first manufacturer promoting $50 | | | | more they have on the shelf, the less room |
| printers. The printer was a loss-leader and | | | | for competitors. Hewlett Packard hopes to |
| the sales of replacement cartridges | | | | attract people with their brand-name and low |
| subsidized the low initial cost. The cost of | | | | initial cost. |
| 1 set of replacement cartridges exceeded the | | | | |
| value of the printer itself. | | | | Once the consumer commits to their printer, |
| | | | HP will have a continuous stream of |
| A lot of people who never owned a printer | | | | replacement cartridge business for the |
| before, didn't realize what was going on. | | | | lifespan of the machine. It's in the |
| They never thought about the purchase of the | | | | supplies where they make their money. |
| new cartridges. Lexmark continued the same | | | | |
| approach but then lowered the volume of ink | | | | So here's the point… It is critical |
| in their cartridges. | | | | that you investigate the price of replacement |
| | | | ink cartridges before you purchase a new |
| Consider this: | | | | printer. Comparison-shop both the printer |
| | | | and cartridges at the same time. |
| One Lexmark 10N0016 OEM Black cartridge | | | | |
| retails for about $30 and will yield 410 | | | | A short list of printers to avoid are |
| pages at 5% coverage | | | | printers using the HP 21 and HP 22 ink |
| | | | cartridges. (these contain only 5 milliliters |
| One Lexmark 10N0026 OEM Color cartridge | | | | of ink) |
| retails for about $32.00 and will yield 275 | | | | |
| pages at 5% coverage | | | | PSC 1410 Series, Officejet 4315, Deskjet |
| | | | F340, F380, HP Fax 1250, HP Deskjet 3910, |
| It was commonplace to buy Lexmark printer for | | | | Deskjet 3940 Series, Deskjet 3915, Deskjet |
| $50 just for the ink cartridges, and throw | | | | 3930 Series |
| the printer in the garbage and just buy | | | | |
| another one. Hewlett-Packard has now | | | | Printers Using HP 92 and HP 93 ink cartridges |
| followed suit and is using the same strategy | | | | (5 milliliters of ink) |
| to takeover market share. | | | | |
| | | | PSC 1510 Series, PSC 1507, Officejet 6310, |
| Several new machines will enter the market in | | | | Deskjet 5440 Series, Photosmart 7850, Deskjet |
| July 2006. Many of which are cheap to buy | | | | 5440 Series |
| (starting at around $25.00), but can be | | | | |
| expensive to operate. Many of these new | | | | The only people who should consider these |
| cheap printers do not come with printer | | | | particular new HP printers, are those who |
| cables or both ink cartridges which entices | | | | print infrequently (less than 3 cartridges |
| users by lowering the initial price. | | | | per year). |
| | | | |
| Over the course of a few years however, the | | | | HP makes quality machines, however we |
| low cost of the machine will be overshadowed | | | | recommend simply seeking out a model that |
| by the large amount spent on replacement | | | | does not use the #21 and #22 or #92 and #93 |
| inkjet cartridges | | | | cartridges. Many more of these new HP |
| | | | printers will be released this month. |
| The inkjet cartridges that most of the new HP | | | | |
| printers use contain only 5 Milliliters of | | | | Another option is to look for a different |
| ink. In comparison, about 4 years ago the | | | | manufacturer such as Canon, Epson or Brother. |
| most common HP black cartridges contained 42 | | | | Their inkjet printers often get as good or |
| milliliters of ink. That's nearly 8 times | | | | better reviews from users. |
| more printing at about 1/3rd the cost (per | | | | |
| milliliter of ink). | | | | Again, check the cost of replacement |
| | | | cartridges, page yield or milliliters of ink |
| Some of the people who owned older machines, | | | | contained in the cartridge to be sure you are |
| feel they've been taken advantage of when | | | | getting a good value in comparison. |