The Printer Cartridge Game

Think you got a great deal on a printer? Like the rest of us, you probably paid $50 to $75 for a decent Epson or Lexmark printer. What's the catch, you might have asked? Most salesmen would say there is no catch. They'd probably go into a rant about how the printer market has gotten more competitive, driving prices way down. While that's a true statement, it isn't the primary reason for such inexpensive printers these days.

So, why are printers so inexpensive? It's pretty simple ? printer manufacturers need you to buy their printer model so you're forced into buying their outrageously-priced ink cartridges. It's kind of like the relationship between a gasoline company and car manufacturer, except in this situation the printer company is supplying both the automobile and the fuel. Gas companies wouldn't make any money if no one owned an automobile. In the case of printer manufacturers, things are a little different. They don't make any money on selling printers ? they make their money by selling you the replacement ink cartridges.

It makes a lot of business sense when you think about it. A consumer buys a printer every few years, but may buy ink as much as once every three months. Printer manufacturers would much rather have this steady stream of income. Consumers don't factor ink cartridge costs into the equation when they buy a printer. They look at the features and price tag. Sure you're getting a great printer and not paying a lot. But if you use your printer on a fairly regular basis, the cost of ownership over a year or two (thanks to high priced ink cartridges) may exceed $500.

Before you buy your next printer, remember to do some research on printers, paying particular attention to the cost and longevity of the ink cartridge replacements. A little research ahead of time can save you hundreds of dollars. We don't recommend Lexmark printers because Lexmark ink cartridges are generally mc more expensive than those of other brands, like Canon or Hewlett Packard. Because Lexmark embeds a special chip right into the cartridge, the cost of buying replacement Lexmark ink is astronomical.

Bill Smith is an expert on printers and printer repair. Check out helpful online printer reviews at http://www.buythebestbuy.com

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right, hugs his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the end of a press conference on Tuesday Jan. 6, 2009 in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Sarkozy said Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009 that Israel and the Palestinian Authority have accepted an Egyptian-French plan for Gaza.   (AP Photo/Eric Feferberg/Pool)AP - The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Thursday night calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in Gaza. The U.S. abstained from the 14-0 vote.



Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house.  (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.



President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.



In this Jan. 5, 2009 file photo, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff leaves U.S. District Court in Manhattan after a bail hearing in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)AP - The many Bernard Madoff investors who withdrew money from their accounts over the years are now wrestling with an ethical and legal quandary. What they thought were profits was likely money stolen from other clients in what prosecutors are calling the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Now, they are confronting the possibility they may have to pay some of it back.



AP - An anti-tax group will consider new legal action after a California appeals court tossed out a lawsuit that sought to block tax increases passed by Democrats in the state Legislature, the group said Thursday.

Directors of the BART transit agency listen to public comments on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. Speakers criticized the agency for its handling of a New Year’s Days incident involving a BART police officer who shot and killed unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)AP - In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back — then looks up.



U.S. General David Petraeus, the commander overseeing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, talks during a conference in Rome December 9, 2008. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)AP - U.S. policy to win in Afghanistan must recognize the poor nation's limitations and its neighborhood, especially its intertwined relationship with U.S. terrorism-fighting ally Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander in the region said Thursday.



AP - An 82-year-old businessman was charged Thursday with running a Ponzi scheme that took in at least $17 million from a clientele gleaned largely through ads in Catholic newspapers.

AP - A funeral home might be a place for eternal rest, but police say an Arkansas man saw an opportunity to build a methamphetamine lab undisturbed by the living. There was just one problem — the funeral home was across the street from the sheriff's office.

Florida's Tim Tebow (15) tackles Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy (93) after McCoy intercepted a Tebow pass during the second quarter of the BCS Championship NCAA college football game in Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)AP - Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford traded touchdown passes to start the second quarter and No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Oklahoma were tied 7-7 at halftime of the BCS national championship game Thursday night.



A Lebanese child shouts slogans during a protest organized by a leftist group in front of the Egyptian embassy in Beirut, against Israel's attacks on Gaza January 7, 2009. (Ali Hashisho/Reuters)Reuters - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but Israeli warplanes launched intermittent attacks on Friday.



President-elect Barack Obama at a news conference in Chicago, December 7, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.



People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



Usama al-Kini, Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, is pictured in this undated FBI Most Wanted photograph. Al-Kini, also known as Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on January 8, 2009, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership. Operations chief al-Kini was thought responsible for attacks, including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad that killed 55 people in September, and an unsuccessful attempt to kill former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated in a separate attack, the official said. (FBI/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.



Reuters - Some friends of accused swindler Bernard Madoff considered him a "warm and charming" man, and one of his alleged victims praised him just before his death in 2005, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (L) delivers remarks after being announced as the new Democratic National Committee chairman by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, January 8, 2009. (Jim Young/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.



A man works near a pressure gauge at a district heating plant in Skopje January 8, 2009. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)Reuters - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev.



US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks to an unidentified aide during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations. The UN Security Council voted to call for an AFP - The UN Security Council voted to call for an "immediate, durable" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip leading to the "full withdrawal" of Israeli forces, but the United States abstained.



A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.




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