BristolUK

Almost three years ago I bought a new printer/scanner.

Our existing one was out of ink and the offer price on this new one was almost the same as the cost of a new ink cartridge. Given the new one was wireless and came with ink anyway, I decided to get the new one.

My printing needs have reduced from as many as 100 sheets a year to about 2 and maybe something else every 5 or 10 years.

I just needed to print something for the first time in nearly a year and the cartridge has dried out.

It needs another cartridge @ $25. I made a joke about buying another printer.

But then I looked and for $12 more (another offer) I can buy a new wireless printer (same make - HP) which doubtless also has an ink sample that would meet several years need (if it didn't dry out).

But the cartridges for this new printer are $17, a saving of $8. This means a new printer could cost $12 more than the ink for the current printer but I more than get that back 2 cartridges later and then spend less money with each subsequent cartridge.

This way of thinking reminded me of the reason for buying the last one, except that one had the bonus of stepping up.

But isn't this just crazy that it's much the same cost to buy a new printer as ink for a current one?

Anyone else have this predicament?

Yorkiechef

No, because like many, I save it to a flash and print them at work.

scrubbedexpat091

I bought a laser printer a few years ago for $99, still on the original toner cartridge, it says 3,000-4,000 sheets, but 3 or so years in and still printing, we maybe print 10-20 sheets per year.

Mr Bean

Refill at Costco if they're compatible

Partially discharged

Somehow I don't think a customer who prints 2 sheets a year is the prime customer base that the printer and cartridge companies are going after.

With that low level of use wouldn't a flash drive and using the printers at the local library or Staples work.

Yorkiechef

Cough...yes erm, that's what I meant.

But buying a Bitcoin maker and running that at work I mean the library, that would be dishonest! Err, more dishonest....

BristolUK

Presumably you've not told the IT department? That was a massive NO in my experience back in the UK. Dismissible.

I used to do that from Staples/Office World in the UK.

Agreed. But it's only in the last year I've realised the massive drop in use.
Either would involve $5 by bus and take an hour. Given the weather for 4 months of the year that's a fair effort for a couple of sheets and I still have two working printers, one of which is still newish.

Do those copy machines in Shoppers take a thumbdrive? That would be better.

But better again would be an ink cartridge capable of printing how ever many sheets actually doing so.

My step daughter thinks that just printing something every now and then would prevent it going dry. The $25 cartridge is supposed to do 190 sheets.

Could I just waste, say, a weekly printed sheet to keep it ticking over and get four years worth of two sheets? That would be okay.

magnumpi

I buy black ink only, I change the black cartridge and leave the colour one dry, I then set to print in monochrome

Any pics I have I have them done at Walmart

BristolUK

All useful suggestions but none of it changes the basic premise that regardless of how much printing is done, it's possible to spend less buying a new printer than replacement ink cartridges.

Had my printing needs remain unchanged I would still be faced with the choice outlined in the first post.

scrubbedexpat091

I used to do that when I worked in a hotel. Now no access to a computer or printer at work.

dave_j

The answer is generally no.
When a printer dies, I look on ebay to see where I can buy the cheapest batch of ink cartridges that fit Epsom machines, then I look on google to find which printers will use the cartridges then I look at Craigslist for the cheapest secondhand printer that fits the bill. I did buy a new one a few months ago but only because I had a load of cartridges with no home and a new one cost little more than a used one.

The one truth I've learned to live with is that the one time you really need a printer is the one time it won't go. So I've got two of them.

Yorkiechef

Calgary libraries allow 75 back to back or single sheet prints per month per library card. No charge. When Mrs Y was back at University here in Calgary, this became a very useful resource.

Davita

As a snowbird, and keeping two homes, it was always a problem when the printer ink had dried on return to either home.
I found by immersing the print-head in boiling water and drying on tissue till I saw some ink leak out, then re-installing and doing the printer-cleaning process, it worked every time.

scrubbedexpat091

That is generous of them. Vancouver Libraries charge 20 cents a sheet for basic black and white single sided, and 30 cents for double sided. Color printing is 0.75 each for single and 1.00 for double sided.

mikelincs

We have done that several times but you do have to be aware that the cartridges that come with the printer are NOT fully filled, usually around 60% only.now we've settled on a printer that does just what we want and we get cheap refill cartridges.