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From: "David J. Rosen" <DJRosen@theworld.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-technology@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-TECHNOLOGY:2583] Re: Cost of printer ink
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Steve, and others,
For three years, I have been buying cheap black and color inkjet cartridges
by mail for my Cannon printer from:
http://acsmsupplies.com/tourbus.html
So far no problem, and even if they do eventually destroy the printer, as
you point out, printers are cheap.
I subscribe to the Internet Tourbus, where I first learned about this inkjet
vendor. The Tourbus is a free, weekly (more or less) e-newsletter by
Patrick Douglas Crispen and Bob Rankin. Great tips for the general Internet
user in plain English (well, plain Southern English, I guess, since one of
the newsletter's features is Crispen's Southern Word of the Week .) To sign
up for the Tourbus, go to http://www.tourbus.com/
Do others on the NIFL Technology list buy cartridges by mail?
David J. Rosen
DJRosen@theworld.com
Steve Linberg wrote:
>Those of you who have had to hit up Staples or some such after emptying a
>print cartridge in one of those amazingly cheap inkjet printers you can
>get these days have probably felt a growing awareness that DANG, these
>things are expensive! My Stylus 740 color costs about $40 to refill.
>
>Well, Hewlett-Packard has just crossed a line that I think hadn't been
>crossed until very recently. With their new Deskjet 656C, it is actually
>cheaper to THROW THE PRINTER IN THE GARBAGE AND BUY A NEW ONE than to
>replace the ink. I wish I was making this up.
>
>The printer retails on HP's own site for $49.99.
>
>One black cartridge is $29.99, and one color cartridge (the printer needs
>both) is $31.99. Total cost for an ink refill: $61.98. Again, cost of
>the printer: $49.99.
>
>It's the old give-them-the-razor, sell-them-the-blades philosophy.
>
>I wish I had advice for inkjet printer users other than "use your printer
>sparingly," or "make sure you have a big budget for ink." Third-party
>refill kits can sometimes be had for less than new cartridges, but you're
>rolling the dice on color matches and it almost always involves getting
>really dirty (at least in my experience). Also, some manufacturers are
>now "booby-trapping" ink cartridges so that once the ink level drops below
>a certain level, they disable themselves so that they can't be refilled.
>
>Buyer beware, I suppose.
>
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