The Printer Shouldn’t Cost Less Than the Ink

Somehow it doesn’t seem right when you spend more to replace printer ink cartridges than the printer itself cost. In fact, many manufacturers sell the printer for less than the cost of the ink cartridges, knowing that their profits really come from the ongoing replacement of those cartridges.

I know one person who has his own personal system to circumvent this process. He purchases an inexpensive printer with the low capacity cartridge that is included in the initial sale. Then, when the cartridge is empty, he offers the printer for sale on Ebay and buys another inexpensive printer for his own use.

When you do purchase printer ink cartridges, it isn’t necessary to always buy a new one. Many companies offer refilled cartridges for substantially reduced costs. Interestingly, and economically, these refurbished cartridges compare favorably with brand new ones in the quality of the print they produce.

One other important point is to not go cheap on the quality of the paper you purchase. Obviously ink jet printers are not the same quality as a good laser printer, but high quality paper can bring them a lot closer in high quality appearance.

Another word of caution. Some manufacturers will void the warranty on a printer if new, exact model, printer ink cartridges are not used. But the fact remains… if the printer costs less than the cartridge anyway, who cares about the warranty.

Check out our site for some good buys on inkjet refills and paper products.