HP Tries to Explain Why Printer Ink is So Expensive

[Marcus Yam]

It's a lot of money for a little liquid.

HP Tries to Explain Why Printer Ink is So Expensive : Read more

 

[JOSHSKORN]

Everything is too expensive, not just printer ink.

 

[phoenix777]

tip to save ink: change printing options to fast draft. (I personally can't even tell the difference)

 

[the last resort]

the problem lies not in how much you get, but in how much is left after it is "empty". Has anyone ever cracked one open? Over half the ink is left, its unbelievable.

 

[fusion_gtx]

It really is kind of sad when buying a new printer is cheaper than purchasing new ink for that printer. Of course it's ridiculous that print manufacturers put "Start Cartridges" in to begin with. To the average customer it looks like a great deal but in reality you'll get 20+ pages before you're going to the store spending more on ink than you did for the printer.

 

[joytech22]

I like my Inkjet printer, its reliable and iv'e had it since 2006, still runs like new and prints the same as it used to.

I think the price justifies the quality.

 

[Hellbound]

I simply do not buy this explanation. This reminds me of my son who is a diabetic. His glucose testing meter was actually given to us by his doctor, but the test strips cost $80 for a month supply. The doc says they make little off selling the machine, but make tons more on the test strips.. Its the same with printers. The machine is expected to last a while, but the ink "will" need replacing.

 

[jubalhharshaw]

Don't you refill the used cartridges in USA? Refilled cartridges cost 1/4 the price of a new one in Brazil. Almost everybody do it here and it works well.

 

[cookoy]

R&D includes how to restrict using refills on their printers.

 

[micr0be]

i think its all marketing strategies to increase revenue, since once u are enticed to purchase a cheap printer your stuck with the obligatory expensive ink cartridges.

i'd like to think of it as a free dose of heroine without the side effects.

 

[haunted one]

The worst part is when you can't print in black and white if the color cartridge runs out. And now, with the integration of the 3 primary colors, if any ONE color runs out, you need to replace the color cartridge even if the other two colors are at higher levels.


What would I like? Separate cartridges for each color (and not more expensive) and the ability to print if even one cartridge runs out.

 

[jubalhharshaw]

Interesting. Here we buy the refilled cartdriges at shops. There's refilled cartridges for almost all printers at very low prices and not only HP printers. There's also Epson and Canon that sell their ink cartridges with costs very lower than HP. Those who don't like to use refilled cartridges usually buy their printers. We have also kits to mod the printers to add bigger cartridges that are refilled by hand that are even cheaper for those who print a lot. And that for allmost printers too.

 

[Guest]

6 years a go I bought a Kyocera 1010 laser printer. I'm still using the toner cartridge that came with the printer.

 

[killerclick]

Paperless office.

 

[thrust2night]

I'm not sure why they spend $1 billion a year in ink research and development when the existing ink technology works great. What really is a problem though is different types of ink toners that are required for hundreds of different models of printers.

Why can't ink toners for laserjet printers be standardized so that the market is not flooded with hundreds of models? Same goes for deskjets. I'm sure that would save a lot of money for HP (from a manufacturing standpoint) and make toner purchasing for businesses easier and less painful.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Ink jets aren't worth it. They create way too much e-waste, as most people see that a new printer is less expensive than a replacement (or whole replacement set) of ink jet cartridges, so they get rid of their old printer a buy a whole new unit. The old printer is "recycled" by being shipped overseas and dumped in a foreign landfill.

 

[LMF5000]

If you want cheap ink for inkjet printers, you can fit a continuous ink system. Just look up "CISS" on ebay. The CISS ink for my Canon Pixma iP1800 costs about €22 per 400 ml. In other words, a volume equal to one black cartridge's worth of ink costs about 75 cents (instead of the €18 it costs in the shop).

 

[drowned]

Inkjets are total scams for people too dumb to spend the upfront cost of a laser printer. I get 3000+ black and white pages out of my $80 laser for $30 a cartridge (generic)...no way any inkjet can compete with that.

FYI to some saying "refill your cartridges". It's not worth the effort. They design their cartridges on purpose such that they won't spray down any more ink once you get past X pages printed, regardless of the amount of ink left.

 

[intesx]

Another thing that almost everyone overlooks, and I can't ever remember seeing an article about, is that cheaper printers often use more expensive inks. But it doesn't look that way at first glance.

For example, a $30 printer will probably use the cheapest cartidges on the shelf. Look like a great deal... cheap printer AND cheap ink. But the reality is, those cheapers cartidges are about half the price for less than half the ink. So they are ultimately more expensive.

A $200 printer uses the more expensive cartridges but the cartridges cost only about twice as much but have nearly 3 times the ink.

In the end the more expensive printer with the more expensive cartridges ends up being the better deal assuming you keep the printer for a few years and print a moderate volume.

 

[JonathanDeane]

Its all a scam the same as the razor blade company's have been doing for years.

 

[ta152h]

I'd rather see HP drastically cut their research and price for the ink because of it. It's not like existing inks are so bad, nor that we've seen big advances in ink technology.

The money seems poorly spent, and a cost consumers aren't benefiting from.

 

[kelemvor4]

I got a big aftermarket tank attachment for my Epson Artisan 810. So far I can't tell the difference between the ink it has in it to the original epson ink. Glossy photos, professional documents, printed cd's, even iron-on stuff. It's indistinguishable. I think HP and Epson are both blowing more than a little smoke up folks' buttocks here. Ink cartridges a money making scam, plain and simple.

 

[nforce4max]

Not surprised know that HP ink cost more by volume than human blood which says a lot, like gas this to is a scam!

 

[Cwize1]

Anyone not using a laser printer for everyday black and white printing is rather stupid. The cartridges might be expensive but they have ridiculously large yields.

I actually picked up a Samsung Color dual sided laser for $250 AU (after cash back). Now that was an awesome deal.

 

[lancelot123]

Same here Wraith556. Got my laser printer back in 2003-2004. Using the same toner. Problem with laser (at least at the time I bought mine) was that the printers were expensive as hell. The plus is that the toner is cheap and lasts forever.

Need photos printed? Go to Walmart.