The True Cost of inkjet printers

[Buckocaster51]

Having just put (another) set of 933 cartridges in my HP Officejet 7110 Wide Format ePrinter, I am wondering what the actual cost of printing with it is.

I am thinking maybe $85.00 per page.

Hoooot Hoooot

 

[KevinB]

Well, isn't that the reason that the printer only originally cost about $160? They knew they'd get you on the cartridges.

I can remember buying a LasetJet IIP in 1990 and that thing cost about $1,400 for the printer alone. The P1102W LaserJet I use today cost under $100.

 

[Jamie Black]

I got an inkjet printer last December for $37.00. I figure the final cost should be around $789.99. :neutral:


Sent from my Apple Interocitor using TDPRI

 

[Mr. Lumbergh]

I like Canon printers for that reason; the IP8500 I still have may have been more when I bought it, but refills are $15 for each cartridge rather than the $40 each on the Epson it replaced. A brand, BTW, I will never purchase again.

 

[soulman969]

Yep Every time I put two new cartridges in mine it's like buying the printer all over again. I should probably replace it but the damn thing is like a Timex watch. It refuses to fail. It's going on 4 years old now and it has had a lot of use..

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Are folks buying new ink cartridges or getting the existing cartridges refilled?

I use to go to this place called Philip MacArtridge. Such a wee bonny Scots laddie.

 

[rcole_sooner]

I went color laser several years ago and never looked back. I got another nice all-in-one HP color laser for $179 last year (gave our old laser printer to our son). Both of them just hook up to the network and can be accessed by anyone on the network.

Always ready to print. Never dried out ink to worry about no matter how long between printing.

The new one scans and does color copies too. Don't use the fax as we don't have a land line.

However, the replacement toner cartridges will cost more than the printer. They do contain way more toner than the cartridges that come in the printer, but "Wow!" is they expensive.

 

[Ash Telecaster]

Got a laser jet years ago. It was pricy but the cartriges last forever. Definitely worth it.

 

[CharlieO]

I don't do a lot of printing at home for my real estate business, because I can usually use the laser printers at the office. Still, I have somehow managed to average about $350 per year for ink for my home printer. and yes, I have gotten caught in the Epson trap. I bought a Workforce printer a few years ago, and it had a new cartridge size that was not available from the refillers or generic suppliers.

I finally have gotten away from the Epson inks. I just received a shipment of 20 generic cartridges that cost $20 on eBay. Even if that lasts only 6 months, I'll be happy.

 

[Ironwolf]

I have a Brother B&W Laser printer in which the cartridges seem to last forever (and are not expensive to replace) and I have an HP OfficeJet 8600 Pro for general color printing; it's ink lasts a long time as well, and, for an HP inkjet, isn't that high priced.
I also have an Epson R200 photo printer for which 6 new ink cartridges cost me about 80$ on Amazon and a recently acquired Canon Pixma 100 wide format photo printer with the 8 new cartridges costing a little over $100 dollars. I expect the photo printers to have a higher operating cost than the production devices. Actually with the new SMB inkjet printers from Epson, HP, Canon and Brother, the per page cost of standard printing is less than the cost with the equivalent laser printer and, if you are willing to use a non-branded or refilled ink cartridge (just make sure they are from a reputable supplier and you are willing to void any warranty remaining on the device ) it is cheaper still.

This, however, is not the case with photo printers. Firstly there are no laser printers that can produce a high quality photo print, so here we talk exclusively about ink jet types. The ink costs are relatively high, but then the printers themselves are more expensive as well. Generic or refilled inks are not a good idea with these devices, since the formulation is never exactly the same and, in my experience, never looks as good as the manufacturer supplied product. The durability and lifespan of the prints is usually not as good either.

Finally, when discussing basic home printers, you are, in many if not most cases, financially better off replacing the entire printer rather than the ink. But you do have to weigh that against the ink volume contained in the "sample" cartridges that ship with the device vs. the cost of new "full" cartridges vs. the cost and availability of generic/refill cartridges.

While photo printing is always pricy, non-photo printing is always an expensive proposition initially, but it doesn't have to be once it is time to replace your consumables.

 

[Uncle Joe]

I rarely print anymore. Normally only for printing, signing, scanning and sending. I bought a new HP black 910 today after running on empty for a month. The scans became illegible when the black went too light. $15.99.

 

[MrTwang]

I use an Epson printer and get non-Epson cartridges from Ebay.

They work fine and the last lot I bought a couple of weeks ago were £14.99 for 40 cartridges (that's 8 sets).

Each set probably doesn't last as long as a genuine Epson set but the real deal (around 16 times more expensive) certainly doesn't last 16 times as long.

 

[stratofortress]

I purchased an HP printer about 6 months ago and inside was a card to join the HP ink club..
Runs me 4.99 a month and the printer tell them when to send me another cartridge..
Told the wife she can print all she wants...

happy wife
happy life

 

[omahaaudio]

You can buy a b&w HP LaserJet Pro P1102w for less than $150 ($90 from Amazon)

Amazon.com: HP LaserJet Pro P1102w: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HkDMBwRCL.@@AMEPARAM@@41HkDMBwRCL

and a replacement toner cartridge will cost you around $55.

One cartridge will print around 1600 pages for a per-page cost of 3.5 cents.

I have an earlier model (HP1012) that has been happily printing away for around ten years. I keep an inkjet printer for the once-every-250 pages that I really need to be printed in color.

 

[KC]

if what you do is text, the mighty mighty laser is the only way to go. Bought a color laser a while ago for cheap -- a Canon? HP? -- and when the first cartridge ran out I discovered that a new set of cartridges would cos double the initial price of the printer. So I gave it away.

I would like to have a decent photo printer, though. Opinions?

 

[unixfish]

Having just put (another) set of 933 cartridges in my HP Officejet 7110 Wide Format ePrinter, I am wondering what the actual cost of printing with it is.

I am thinking maybe $85.00 per page.

Hoooot Hoooot

Only $85? Either you got an amazing deal, or you need to check your math.

 

[Ironwolf]

I would like to have a decent photo printer, though. Opinions?

That depends on how much and what kind of photo printing you want to do. If you won't be printing anything larger than 8x10, 8 1/2x11, A4 or 8 1/2x14, Canon and Epson have several multi-purpose 6 color printers that do an outstanding job for under $150 dollars. If you are looking for large format photos, 13x19 or B3, you will need one of those companies' higher end printers. Epson's Artisan 1430 6 color (about $300) or Canon's Pixma 100 8 color (about $500 this is the one I have) are both exceptionally good. Both companies also make higher level semi-pro and pro wide format printers, with the prices increasing $200 to $300 per level.

My only real caution is to stay away from HP printers for photography. They really do not make the grade. And mind you I work for HP printer development.

 

[KevinB]

You can buy a b&w HP LaserJet Pro P1102w for less than $150 ($90 from Amazon)

Amazon.com: HP LaserJet Pro P1102w: Electronics

and a replacement toner cartridge will cost you around $55.

One cartridge will print around 1600 pages for a per-page cost of 3.5 cents.

I have an earlier model (HP1012) that has been happily printing away for around ten years. I keep an inkjet printer for the once-every-250 pages that I really need to be printed in color.

That's the LaserJet I have and it's been rock solid for the 3 years or so that I've owned it. And I like the fact that it connects to all my computers and devices wirelessly through my WiFi network.

 

[netgear69]

Printer manufacturers will tell you inferior or counterfeit inks will destroy your print heads
of course they will say that when they know full well you can buy a bottle of ink and a syringe for a fraction of the price of a ink cartridge that has the manufacturers logo on the front
you can buy cartridges that have a chip or you can just use the old empty cartridge and re-fill them with a syringe i have done it for years and have yet to kill a print head

 

[telleutelleme]

Yep the cartridges and there is a new set for each model. Seems as soon as a third party makes a clone or provides refills, they change the design and model for basically the same kind of printer. I sold an old Designjet 36" plotter a while back and the biggest selling feature was all the unused cartridges I had.