Printer ink: Tired of feeding the cash cow?

#1 Macworld

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 07:36 AM

Post your comments for Printer ink: Tired of feeding the cash cow? here

#2 quakerotis

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 08:30 AM

Interesting and informative. I only print when I man forced to.

#3 jrandersoniii

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 08:32 AM

Ditto "quakerotis" print less.

Need color photos? Print to you local Wallgreens, Walmart, etc... pick up when running errands. Plus quality will be better.

#4 MrVegas

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 08:56 AM

As other said, I don't print to paper unless I REALLY have to (eg. airplane boarding pass). And then, I have a B&W laser printer: the toner lasts for darn near forever and for about 1000 prints (going on about 4 years now on the original toner cartridge).

Otherwise, print to PDF.

#5 gcoghill

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 09:08 AM

MrVegas, on 28 March 2012 - 08:56 AM, said:

I was just about to post the exact same sentiment. I just got a nice duplex laser printer by Brother for $80 on Amazon. If I actually need color (which is almost never), there are tons of places with much better machines that can handle the job for a reasonable price. I got the laser as I almost never print, but the few times a month I do need to were becoming a pain going to the local copy palace to have it done. Well worth the price over the life of the printer and toner I am sure. Laser toner not drying up was the deal-sealer.

#6 ignatiusreilly

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 09:26 AM

Get a laser printer. You can get one with wifi and built-in duplexing for under $100 now if you keep an eye on sales and rebates. Trouble-free and consumables are a fraction of the cost per page.

#7 mainecoonmaniac

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 09:45 AM

Cheap razors = expensive blades

#8 blecch

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 10:08 AM

ignatiusreilly, on 28 March 2012 - 09:26 AM, said:

Get a laser printer. You can get one with wifi and built-in duplexing for under $100 now if you keep an eye on sales and rebates. Trouble-free and consumables are a fraction of the cost per page.

If you want a cheap, compact, color, duplexing printer with wifi, inkjet is your only option.

#9 maelsson

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 10:32 AM

I had a professor convince me to buy a laser printer 8 years ago after she noticed my papers had the occasional inkjet smudge. I haven't looked back. I've only purchased 2 or 3 toners since that time. I would normally purchase two or three inkjet cartridges each year prior to that. Upgraded to a multifunction HP B&W, and it's a powerhorse.

I would never go back to inkjet. Having to constantly clean the heads (wasting ink in the process) was truly frustrating.

#10 EdBeachwood

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 10:49 AM

Not being a business user I really don't have a need to print often. When I do, it's usually in B&W so a wireless Brother laser printer does the job for me. My only real color need is for printing on CD's & DVD's, and an Epson printer does that job. I am not, however, looking forward to replacing all those color cartridges.

#11 sbowen

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 01:29 PM

jrandersoniii, on 28 March 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

Ditto "quakerotis" print less.

Need color photos? Print to you local Wallgreens, Walmart, etc... pick up when running errands. Plus quality will be better.

I concur--Walgreens/Walmart for snapshots, Costco for enlargements--much better than the expense/hassle of printing at home. I've been buying a completely new printer for $49 instead of buying ink cartridges that cost more. That's not a very 'green' solution, even though I recycle the printers.

I am going to look into a cheap Laser printer. One MUST have a printer occasionally if not all the time. Laser makes sense to me now.

#12 ptesterman

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Posted 28 March 2012 - 07:32 PM

I'm with the other posters who minimize their printing. A Color inkjet makes perfect sense for me - reasonable quality, the ability to print in color if necessary. The fact that I don't print as much as I used to means the cost of the ink becomes almost moot. I tried some refills and rapidly figured it wasn't worth the couple bucks I would save every few months.