| How much will a $50 dollar printer really | | | | past, are shocked when they see how fast |
| cost you? If you factor in the cost of | | | | their new printer goes through ink. |
| replacement ink cartridges, it could be a lot | | | | |
| more. | | | | Not very many people realize the actual |
| | | | operating costs of these printers until they |
| These days, if you go down the printer isle | | | | gone through a few sets of replacement |
| at your local office store, you may see a few | | | | cartridges. |
| printers hovering around the $50 mark. You | | | | |
| might think "Wow! What a great deal", but is | | | | HP's goal now is too own the market and |
| it all it's cracked up to be? | | | | squeeze competitors out of the picture by |
| | | | taking over retail shelf space with as many |
| Lexmark was first manufacturer selling $50 | | | | models as possible. Most have the same basic |
| printers. The printer was a loss-leader and | | | | features, but the machines they have on the |
| the sales of replacement cartridges | | | | shelf, the less space for competition. |
| subsidized the low initial cost. The cost of | | | | Hewlett Packard hopes to captivate people in |
| 1 set of replacement cartridges exceeded the | | | | with their reputation, and a low-priced |
| value of the machine itself. | | | | machine. |
| | | | |
| Many people who never owned a printer before | | | | If they can get the customer to buy their |
| didn't realize Lexmark's strategy. They were | | | | printer, they can rely on a continuous stream |
| so excited by the printer price that they | | | | of supplies for the life of that printer. |
| never thought about the cost of the printer | | | | |
| cartridges themselves. As time went on | | | | So here's what you need to know... It is |
| Lexmark continued their strategy and also | | | | critical that you investigate the price of |
| began to decrease the size of their ink | | | | replacement ink cartridges before you |
| cartridges. Their cartridges got smaller and | | | | purchase a new printer. Comparison-shop both |
| smaller and required more frequent replacing. | | | | the printer and cartridges at the same time. |
| | | | |
| Consider this: | | | | A short list of printers to avoid are |
| | | | printers using the HP 21 and HP 22 ink |
| One Lexmark 10N0016 OEM Black cartridge | | | | cartridges. (these contain only 5 milliliters |
| retails for about $30 and will yield 410 | | | | of ink) |
| pages at 5% coverage | | | | |
| | | | PSC 1410 Series, Officejet 4315, Deskjet |
| One Lexmark 10N0026 OEM Color cartridge | | | | F340, F380, HP Fax 1250, HP Deskjet 3910, |
| retails for about $32.00 and will yield 275 | | | | Deskjet 3940 Series, Deskjet 3915, Deskjet |
| pages at 5% coverage | | | | 3930 Series |
| | | | |
| It was commonplace to buy Lexmark printer for | | | | Printers Using HP 92 and HP 93 ink cartridges |
| $50 just for the ink cartridges, and throw | | | | (5 milliliters of ink) |
| the printer in the garbage and just buy | | | | |
| another one. Hewlett-Packard has now followed | | | | PSC 1510 Series, PSC 1507, Officejet 6310, |
| suit and is using the same strategy to | | | | Deskjet 5440 Series, Photosmart 7850, Deskjet |
| takeover market share. | | | | 5440 Series |
| | | | |
| Several new printers will enter the market in | | | | The only customers who should consider these |
| July 2006. Many of which are cheap to buy | | | | particular new HP printers, are those who |
| (starting at around $25.00), but can be | | | | print infrequently (less than 3 cartridges |
| expensive to operate. Many of these new cheap | | | | per year). |
| printers do not come with connection cables | | | | |
| or both ink cartridges which entices users by | | | | HP makes quality printers, however we |
| lowering the initial price. | | | | recommend simply seeking out a model that |
| | | | does 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 |
| low cost of the machine will be overshadowed | | | | printers will be released this month. |
| by the large amount spent on replacement | | | | |
| inkjet cartridges | | | | Another good option is to investigate other |
| | | | printer manufacturers such as Canon, Brother, |
| The inkjet cartridges that most of the new HP | | | | or Epson. Many times their inkjet printers |
| printers use contain only 5 Milliliters of | | | | will give reviews that are as good or better |
| ink. In comparison, about 4 years ago the | | | | than HP. |
| most common HP black cartridges contained 42 | | | | |
| milliliters of ink. That's almost 8 times | | | | The key point to remember, is to always take |
| more printing at about 1/3rd the cost (per | | | | into account the operating costs of the |
| milliliter of ink). | | | | machine you are considering -- not just the |
| | | | initial price. |
| A lot of people who owned printers in the | | | | |