Moderators Bravus Posted October 24, 2009 Moderators Posted October 24, 2009 We ran out of yellow ink for our (HP Officejet Pro K550) printer today (it has separate cartridges for black, blue, yellow and magenta), and the blue and magenta ones are getting low. Went looking, and the colour cartridges are $38.00 each. Just bought the yellow. But while we were in the shop we noticed that we could buy a whole new colour printer/scanner/fax for $64 - not much more than half the price of buying the three ink cartridges we need! We briefly considered it, but as well as the fact that the existing printer is excellent quality and has nothing wrong with it, morally I just couldn't justify buying a new printer and getting rid of a perfectly working old one. But the market's model of pricing printers and ink sure doesn't offer the right incentives for that particular conservative impulse of mine... Quote Truth is important
Members phkrause Posted October 24, 2009 Members Posted October 24, 2009 I have the Photosmart 3310 all-in-one, Bravus, it has 6 separate ink cartridges. 5 of them cost $12 a piece, the black costs $20. I've had it for about 3 years, I believe. I guess if thought out carefully we will always pay more for the ink than the printer. The question I guess than would be, is the printer worth it. But you can always buy the ink from ebay. I've that to be very helpful on occasion. pk Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
GreatLakesGramma Posted October 24, 2009 Posted October 24, 2009 Manufacturers price their printers low, at cost, or even at a loss, because they expect to make a huge profit on the ink. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis
Moderators Bravus Posted October 25, 2009 Author Moderators Posted October 25, 2009 Yeah, I understand that strategy they have: my question was more about (a) whether it might be backfiring on them and ( what it costs environmentally and perhaps even ethically. How many people, placed in the situation we were - $114 for new ink or $64 for a whole new printer with new features - would buy the ink, and how many the printer? Particularly if money was tight? Then they'd throw out their old (inkless) printer and use the new one... until it ran out of ink. It doesn't work well economically, because the printer makers are selling the printers cheap in the hope that people will buy ink, but instead people buy new printers. It doesn't work well environmentally, because people throw out perfectly good printers - all that money, energy and raw material ends up filling a landfill faster. And you don't have to be a 'greenie' to think that that's poor use of resources. It doesn't work well morally, because it reinforces the 'throw it away when it's used up' mentality that favours cheap, disposable junk over well-crafted, lasting quality, in relationships as well as in consumer goods. Quote Truth is important
Members phkrause Posted October 25, 2009 Members Posted October 25, 2009 Good point Bravus. pk Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.