The great printer ink rip-off

9 years 11 months ago #370181 by Tony Imaging
The one downside to printing prints from home is the moment your printer blinks a warning saying "out of ink".  You check for spare cartridges and you find none.  So you head down to Staples or Office Depot and find out you need to drop nearly $100 bucks to replace your ink cartridges.  Ouch! 


I was complaining to a friend about this the other day and this morning he sent me this article: http://www.britphoto.us/2014/03/the-great-ink-rip-off.html  

Not sure if this was to add salt or re-confirm what I had a hunch about.  What do you think?


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9 years 11 months ago #370191 by garyrhook
I think the author is quite naive.

Fact: printers are computing devices and expensive to design, program and manufacture. At the consumer level we get them via the same model as is used for cell phones (in the US), paying for their actual cost via consumables.

There's more to ink than "some water and pigments", especially when you consider archival quality.

Off-brand ink, in my experience, and in others' that I've heard from, does not perform the same as the ink sold by the manufacturers. Also, The inexpensive cartridges don't go as far.

I think that if you find printing at home too expensive you should go to a lab. Your purchases are going to pay someone's annual bonus no matter what; it's just a matter of deciding whose bonus.

I hope someday to afford an Epson 3880 ($1200 printer), wherein a set of cartirdges runs $500. But I won't be using it to decorate my walls; I'll be using it to create prints for purchase by clients. And therein my profit will lie.

Frankly, I find it tiresome to continually read rants over this or that alleged conspiracy (corporate or political). I like to encourage people to actually investigate and think but alas, that's often an unreasonable expectation.

Perhaps someone else will interpret the facts differently, but this is how I see things.


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9 years 11 months ago #370265 by Roblane
:agree:  stay away from off brand ink, it's horrible for your printer.  


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9 years 11 months ago #370301 by effron
The biggest rip off in the history of mankind are colleges and universities, and whatever the US federal gubmint decides to spend tax dollars on. Printer ink is back in the pack with Comcast, maybe.....:angry:

Why so serious?
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9 years 11 months ago #370353 by Vahrenkamp

effron wrote: The biggest rip off in the history of mankind are colleges and universities, and whatever the US federal gubmint decides to spend tax dollars on. Printer ink is back in the pack with Comcast, maybe.....:angry:



Isn't that the truth!


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9 years 11 months ago #370409 by Jim Photo

garyrhook wrote: I think the author is quite naive.

Fact: printers are computing devices and expensive to design, program and manufacture. At the consumer level we get them via the same model as is used for cell phones (in the US), paying for their actual cost via consumables.

There's more to ink than "some water and pigments", especially when you consider archival quality.

Off-brand ink, in my experience, and in others' that I've heard from, does not perform the same as the ink sold by the manufacturers. Also, The inexpensive cartridges don't go as far.

I think that if you find printing at home too expensive you should go to a lab. Your purchases are going to pay someone's annual bonus no matter what; it's just a matter of deciding whose bonus.

I hope someday to afford an Epson 3880 ($1200 printer), wherein a set of cartirdges runs $500. But I won't be using it to decorate my walls; I'll be using it to create prints for purchase by clients. And therein my profit will lie.

Frankly, I find it tiresome to continually read rants over this or that alleged conspiracy (corporate or political). I like to encourage people to actually investigate and think but alas, that's often an unreasonable expectation.

Perhaps someone else will interpret the facts differently, but this is how I see things.




$500 for a set of ink?!  How long will it last?


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9 years 11 months ago #370559 by garyrhook

Jim Photo wrote: $500 for a set of ink?!  How long will it last?


I don't know; I've not gotten a precise reading on that from a friend that has one. I don't own one, but when I get to the point where I want to control everything about making a print, I'll get one.


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9 years 11 months ago #370639 by Don Fischer
My nephew has a big Epson. I don't recall the model but ink cartridges run about $100 each. But, there's a whole lot of ink in them. My Canon 9000 MKII cost me less than a penny a sq inch according to an article I red on a paper company site, Red River I think it was. When I was using my HP 7200 I figured it ran about a penny a sq inch. I suspect even the bigger printers only run in that neighborhood too. The difference being the size of the ink tanks that are needed. If your printing a 24x30 photo, my nephew can, you'd hate to run out of ink in the middle of a picture. Same stuff just more of it. I had an Epson Picture mate when it first came out, they claimed it cost .24 to print a 4x6. About the same now! Recently got a Canon iP100 and it has small tanks but used it two weekends at field trials and didn't keep track of the ink I used but certain it more than paid for itself and I don't chg much for photo's. I sold two 13x16 photos today with frames for $40 ea and one 8x10 for $15. Will print them with my 9000 MKII which will do a really good number of 13x19's. Got $95 for the three today and cost to me was about $25 out of pocket, including non glare photo glass! Ink is  cheap! Don't get after market ink, your printer manufacturer finds out and you have trouble it will void your warranty. I keep reading where this printer of that use's a lot of ink; I doubt that but rather think the printer has small tanke! With my HP 7200 I didn't buy the reg tanks, to expensive compared to the XL tanks.


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