Comments on: Ink Scam!

By: The Prius of Printers - Laser Printers « Technology on the Cheap

The Prius of Printers - Laser Printers « Technology on the Cheap — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:04:21 +0000

[...] your inkjet printer costs about 300 to 500 times the cost of gasoline, according to research by the American Consumer Institute. So if there was technology that would let you save ink in the same way that a hybrid car saves [...]

By: C Hawk

C Hawk — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:16:14 +0000

You shouldnt have to chose between printing and not printing based on the price of cartridges. If you spend more on ink than you do in food for a family of 4 there seems to be an issue.

By: Frank Murphy

Frank Murphy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:35:38 +0000

I use a Canon printer for photo, and use a lot of ink. I think that there are seven cartridges in the machine. Cartridges are about $10.00 each. I bought a refill kit from “The Printer Filling Station’. Easy to use, and saving $. All cartridges have been filled multiple times without a problem. I have also used “Laser Monks” for refill cartridges for my general purpose HP printers. Just don’t buy bulk until you try one or two.

By: The American Consumer Institute - » Reader’s Digest Interviews ACI about Potential “Back to School Savings.”

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:51:42 +0000

[...] http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/09/16/ink-scam/ [...]

By: steve

steve — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:10:47 +0000

Mike,

If have just proved that consumers are not getting enough information to make the right decisions about selecting a printer. You, unfortunately, made a mistake in your printer’s ink cost. The printer you selected has 4 cartridges. By just looking at the cost and yield for one cartridge, you have been misled into thinking that it is cheaper. It is not. All of these cartridges are in operation at the same time, to lesser degrees. In fact, the black cartridge runs as you print in color and they fire periodically even when idle to keep the head clean.

The printer you compared to this model has only two cartridges. So you are comparing $60 of ink in your printer to $20 of ink for the other. The correct way to do this is by weighting the cost per page for all of the cartridges used in each printer. Our analysis does this. While there are many factors that contribute to printer costs (the price of the cartridge, efficiency of the print engine), the more cartridges used in a printer, the higher the cost per page. Also, note that the cartridges that came with your printer will run out soon. They were slack filled to get you started. Now, with all that said, the printer you selected is better than most. And, you are correct, if you don’t print, you don’t save. To take usage into account, see http://www.consumercalculator.com for help.

I hope that helps the next reader

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:09:01 +0000

I just researched and bought an HP 6500 Wireless printer. Now, I looked at Kodak and their “cheap” ink, but page by page, the cost of the 6500’s cartridges were higher up front, but the price per page was so much less. This is the new marketing ploy… Because the average consumer is not going to spend hours like I did to figure out the cost per page to print. Even when the stores or manufacturers say how much each page is, it rarely jibes with the actual numbers you can get for yourself with a little research.
Now, I’m not promoting HP or the 6500… But for me, for my estimated usage and he type of usage, right now it was the best deal.
I have afl friend who’s dad designed for HP in the late 90’s. He actually told me that they toted around with the idea of desposable printers because the cost and problem is not the ink, it’s the ink cartridges and print heads. Basically, if you’re looking at one printer that uses , say, a #45 ink cartridge and it has a max dpi of 600… But the next one over has a dpi of 1200 but uses the same cartridge, they’re lying. It’s the cartridge that does all the work. And it’s those tiny little spray nozzles and parts that cost these companies so much. Another issue is them getting clogged. But now the inks are supposed to last longer in the cartridges and so they’re selling these “XL” cartridges. But if you only print 1 page a month, you’ll waste your money because all print cartridges eventually clog/dry up.
My point is, yes they rip us off.. But it’s our own fault for getting ripped off if we don’t do some research and find the best fit!!!

By: John S.

John S. — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:05:31 +0000

I see that many people have a gripe with this issue. But has anyone done any real research? The fact is that there ARE alternatives to overpriced OEM ink!

The alternative printer supply industry (Compatibles, remanufactured cartridges, bulk ink systems, etc.) is now over $20 billion world-wide. With billions in revenue, this industry is, in many cases, offering products that may surpass the quality of the brand name product.

One incredible solution is the “Continuous Ink Printer” brought to market by Sohojet. No need to replace cartridges - just pour in ink. Instead of paying $3,000 per gallon for ink, you pay about $100 per gallon.

All of these alternatives give you fantastic results at incredible savings.

Everyone should do two things:

1) Research supply costs BEFORE buying a printer.

2) Don’t upgrade to new printers until there is an alternative (Reman, compatible, or otherwise) on the market. Printer manufacturers often come out with new printers, and therefore, new cartridges in order to thwart the after-market. They know it takes time for companies to develop alternatives.

By following these two simple rules, you can reduce your printing cost by over 90%

By: Han Joverseon

Han Joverseon — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:22:58 +0000

I have an Epson inkjet printer. Not only are the cartriges ridiculously high but they cannot be refilled. Worse, the printer will insist on replacing both cartriges even if the color cartrige is still nearly full1!

By: nikki ty-tomkins

nikki ty-tomkins — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:25:29 +0000

Beware of HP Deskject printers. They are a scam. Not only do they supply tiny “sample” ink cartridges with their printers, they’ve rigged it so you can’t refill them, And the color cartrdige must be time-dated to expire. Because I don’t print in color and my cartridge is supposedly “empty”. To top things off, their program is as nasty as any online virus. A hateful “ink level’ screen appears every time I switch on my printer … which reminds me each time that my unused color cartridge is almost empty. Not only are they scamming me, they’re reminding me every day that they’re scamming. Hateful program. I hope enough people wake up to this noxious cheating and boycott them. I’ll never touch a HP again.

By: steve

steve — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:50:18 +0000

Constance …
Check out http://www.consumercalculator.com …
it will give you ideas for finding a printer that has the lowest ink cost