I’ve got a couple of printers, and the cost of ink cartridges is absolutely outrageous.  In some cases, it’s cheaper just to buy an entirely new printer rather than replace the ink cartridge, because the ink that comes with the printer costs more than the printer itself!  I’ve actually done this before, not that I’m terribly proud of throwing away a perfectly good cheap printer, but me saving money is more important than me saving the environment.  When you’re on a budget, you have to do what you can to get around the Inkjet Hustle.

I have a couple of those print cartridge refilling things right now, one for my Epson and one for my HP, and neither of them actually works all that well.  However, I used to print a ton of stuff for college, so I bit the bullet and rather than pay per page at the school library (or print for free because I worked there and could just walk behind the desk and take what I printed off), I’d dutifully jab a syringe into a plastic cube and hope that some of the ink took.  It got messy sometimes, especially at 5 AM after having been up for the preceding 36 hours.  These days, if I need printed stuff, I just do it at work.

Shh!  Don’t tell!

I consider the razor/blade marketing style slightly objectionable, but really, I can’t complain.  I’d balk at paying premium prices for printers, just like I balk at the cost of ink and the cost of new blades for my razor.  If you see a wild-eyed mountain man with a Grizzly Adams beard, make sure you say hi to me.

Tags: printers, ink cartridge, rip-offs, economics, epson, hp, money-saving tips

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