| Are those $50 printers really worth it? If you | | | | about 1/3rd the cost (per milliliter of ink). |
| factor in the cost of replacement ink cartridges, it | | | | Many people who have owned older machines, |
| could be a lot more. | | | | feel abused when they see how quickly their new |
| Nowadays, when you stroll down the printer isle, | | | | printer uses up the little cartridges. |
| you might notice a few printers selling for around | | | | Virtually nobody takes into account the true cost |
| $50. At first glance you might think it's a great | | | | of operating one of these machines until the first |
| price, but is at a fair assessment? | | | | or second time they switch out the printer ink |
| Lexmark was first manufacturer marketing $50 | | | | cartridges. |
| printers. The printer was a loss-leader and the | | | | HP now is trying to own the market by |
| sales of replacement cartridges subsidized the low | | | | dominating retail shelf space with many different |
| initial cost. The cost of 1 set of replacement | | | | printer models. Most models have the same basic |
| cartridges exceeded the value of the unit itself. | | | | features, however the more they can offer - the |
| Many people who never owned a printer before | | | | less room for competing manufacturers. Hewlett |
| didn't realize Lexmark's strategy. They were so | | | | Packard hopes to entice people with name |
| impressed by the printer price that they never | | | | recognition and low initial cost. |
| thought about the cost of the printer cartridges | | | | Once the customer buys the printer, they will |
| themselves. As time went on Lexmark continued | | | | have the customer's replacement cartridge |
| their campaign and also began to lower the size | | | | business for the life of that printer. The BIG |
| of their ink cartridges. Their cartridges got smaller | | | | money is in the supplies. |
| and smaller and required more frequent replacing. | | | | So the lesson here is this… It is critical that you |
| Consider this: | | | | investigate the price of replacement ink cartridges |
| One Lexmark 10N0016 OEM Black cartridge retails | | | | before you purchase a new printer. |
| for about $30 and will yield 410 pages at 5% | | | | Comparison-shop both the printer and cartridges |
| coverage | | | | at the same time. A brief list of printers to avoid |
| One Lexmark 10N0026 OEM Color cartridge retails | | | | are printers using the HP 21 and HP 22 ink |
| for about $32.00 and will yield 275 pages at 5% | | | | cartridges. (these contain only 5 milliliters of ink) |
| coverage | | | | PSC 1410 Series, Officejet 4315, Deskjet F340, |
| It was commonplace to buy Lexmark printer for | | | | F380, HP Fax 1250, HP Deskjet 3910, Deskjet |
| $50 just for the ink cartridges, and throw the | | | | 3940 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 is | | | | milliliters of ink) |
| using the same strategy to takeover market | | | | PSC 1510 Series, PSC 1507, Officejet 6310, |
| share. | | | | Deskjet 5440 Series, Photosmart 7850, Deskjet |
| Several new machines will enter the market in | | | | 5440 Series |
| July 2006. Many of which are cheap to buy | | | | The only people that should buy these particular |
| (starting at around $25.00), but can be expensive | | | | new HP printers, are those who print infrequently |
| to operate. Many of these new cheap printers do | | | | (less than 3 cartridges per year). |
| not come with connection cables or both ink | | | | HP makes quality machines, however we |
| cartridges which entices users by lowering the | | | | recommend 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, the | | | | cartridges. Many more of these new HP printers |
| low cost of the machine will be overshadowed by | | | | will be released this month. |
| the large amount spent on replacement inkjet | | | | Another good option is to investigate other printer |
| cartridges | | | | manufacturers such as Canon, Brother, or Epson. |
| The inkjet cartridges that most of the new HP | | | | Many times their inkjet printers will give reviews |
| printers use contain only 5 Milliliters of ink. In | | | | that are as good or better than HP. |
| comparison, about 4 years ago the most | | | | The key point to remember, is to always take |
| common HP black cartridges contained 42 milliliters | | | | into account the operating costs of the machine |
| of ink. That's almost 8 times more printing at | | | | you are considering -- not just the initial price. |