Avoid $50 Printers Using Low Volume Ink Cartridges

How much will a $50 dollar printer really cost you?feel they've been taken advantage of when they
If you factor in the cost of replacement inksee how fast their new printer uses up the ink.
cartridges, it could be a lot more.Almost nobody is aware of the true cost of
Nowadays, when you stroll down the printer isle,operating these machines until the first or second
you might notice a few printers selling for aroundtime they need replacement cartridges.
$50. At first glance you might think it's a greatHP is now attempting to squeeze out the
price, but is at a fair assessment?competitors by dominating shelf space with a
Lexmark was first manufacturer promoting $50multitude of printer models. Most machines have
printers. The printer was a loss-leader and thethe same general capabilities but the more they
sales of replacement cartridges subsidized the lowhave on the shelf, the less room for competitors.
initial cost. The cost of 1 set of replacementHewlett Packard hopes to attract people with
cartridges exceeded the value of the printer itself.their brand-name and low initial cost.
A lot of people who never owned a printerOnce the consumer commits to their printer, HP
before, didn't realize what was going on. Theywill have a continuous stream of replacement
never thought about the purchase of the newcartridge business for the lifespan of the machine.
cartridges. Lexmark continued the same approachIt's in the supplies where they make their money.
but then lowered the volume of ink in theirSo here's the point… It is critical that you
cartridges.investigate the price of replacement ink cartridges
Consider this:before you purchase a new printer.
One Lexmark 10N0016 OEM Black cartridge retailsComparison-shop both the printer and cartridges
for about $30 and will yield 410 pages at 5%at the same time.
coverageA short list of printers to avoid are printers using
One Lexmark 10N0026 OEM Color cartridge retailsthe HP 21 and HP 22 ink cartridges. (these contain
for about $32.00 and will yield 275 pages at 5%only 5 milliliters of ink)
coveragePSC 1410 Series, Officejet 4315, Deskjet F340,
It was commonplace to buy Lexmark printer forF380, HP Fax 1250, HP Deskjet 3910, Deskjet
$50 just for the ink cartridges, and throw the3940 Series, Deskjet 3915, Deskjet 3930 Series
printer in the garbage and just buy another one.Printers Using HP 92 and HP 93 ink cartridges (5
Hewlett-Packard has now followed suit and ismilliliters of ink)
using the same strategy to takeover marketPSC 1510 Series, PSC 1507, Officejet 6310,
share.Deskjet 5440 Series, Photosmart 7850, Deskjet
Several new machines will enter the market in5440 Series
July 2006. Many of which are cheap to buyThe only people who should consider these
(starting at around $25.00), but can be expensiveparticular new HP printers, are those who print
to operate. Many of these new cheap printers doinfrequently (less than 3 cartridges per year).
not come with printer cables or both inkHP makes quality machines, however we
cartridges which entices users by lowering therecommend simply seeking out a model that does
initial price.not use the #21 and #22 or #92 and #93
Over the course of a few years however, thecartridges. Many more of these new HP printers
low cost of the machine will be overshadowed bywill be released this month.
the large amount spent on replacement inkjetAnother option is to look for a different
cartridgesmanufacturer such as Canon, Epson or Brother.
The inkjet cartridges that most of the new HPTheir inkjet printers often get as good or better
printers use contain only 5 Milliliters of ink. Inreviews from users.
comparison, about 4 years ago the mostAgain, check the cost of replacement cartridges,
common HP black cartridges contained 42 milliliterspage yield or milliliters of ink contained in the
of ink. That's nearly 8 times more printing atcartridge to be sure you are getting a good value
about 1/3rd the cost (per milliliter of ink).in comparison.
Some of the people who owned older machines,