how come

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i can get a toner cartridge for 40 bucks delivered or pay 100 plus at staples?

[Marnoot]

Some products just have ridiculous markup at brick-and-mortar stores, toner being one of them, a/v cables of all kinds being the foremost example. Compare just about any kind of cable at a store with the prices at Monoprice.com.

[Brad Johnson]

Original mfg branded cartridge or generic replacement?

Also, there are some cartridged with mfg names but that are really relabled generic Chi-comm knockoffs.  There's a huge problem with that in the memory card market.

Brad

[Tallpine]

How come you can buy a printer for $30 that includes a $50 cartridge and a $15 cable 

 

[Brad Johnson]

Loss leader.  All they want is for you to cover their hard cost on the equipment and product development.  After that you get to buy their high-margin cartridges.  The next year, once the aftermarket has caught up and is making cheaper knock-off cartridges in volume, they come out with another design so the cycle starts all over again.

Brad

[never_retreat]

http://www.databazaar.com/

Free shipping on any order. Cheap cartridges.
I just ordered color toner for an HP 4600 40 something bucks almost 200 at staples.

[Nitrogen]

I have no problem buying aftermarket toner carts, but I will never ever buy refilled ones.

[Tallpine]

Loss leader.  All they want is for you to cover their hard cost on the equipment and product development.  After that you get to buy their high-margin cartridges.  The next year, once the aftermarket has caught up and is making cheaper knock-off cartridges in volume, they come out with another design so the cycle starts all over again.

Brad

Screw that :(

Just run the printer till it quits, pitch it in the trash, and keep the USB cable 

[RevDisk]

I have no problem buying aftermarket toner carts, but I will never ever buy refilled ones.

Plenty of printer companies are thinking of implementing crypto modules into their printers to only accept "authentic" carts.  Sure, hardware hackers could bypass it in seconds, but it's aimed at lock-in for businesses and average home users.

[lee n. field]

You'd be surprised how often printing problems can be resolved by replacing the junk aftermarket cartridge with the genuine article.

I'm not disagreeing that pricing on new name brand cartridges isn't a horrendous gouge.

[AJ Dual]

Plenty of printer companies are thinking of implementing crypto modules into their printers to only accept "authentic" carts.  Sure, hardware hackers could bypass it in seconds, but it's aimed at lock-in for businesses and average home users.

I'm all for it.

Then the world will FINALLY go 'paperless'.


And put them out of business. 

[Jim147]

I can't say you won't have a problem, but i haven't in almost ten years.

http://www.lasercycle.com/index.html

jim

[Brad Johnson]

http://www.databazaar.com/

Free shipping on any order. Cheap cartridges.
I just ordered color toner for an HP 4600 40 something bucks almost 200 at staples.

Chances are that "HP" catridge you just ordered really isn't.

Brad

[sanglant]

on the cheap inkjet printers, too things to remember. well three.

first the cheaper the printer the less pages per cartridge. (yes the same carts.)

second the carts that come with the printer are half or less full.

third if you don't use it every few days the nozzles will clog.

i gave up on the ink jets, bought a laser(B&W) and use wink-flash for prints. saved a fortune, already.









oh and monoprice for cables. why pay more?

[BridgeRunner]

Heck, I'd love to get to the point of needing a new cartridge.  My second laser multifunction this year has crapped out on me.  First one was brother, current one is Samsung.  Fool that I am, I can't quite bring myself to realize that yes, they really are selling printers designed to not last more than a hundred pages or so. 

[sanglant]

hmm, my samsung is a ml-2550(2w if it matters) (cartridge for it) it's build like a horse. other than wanting to turn itself on at random time(from standby) i haven't had any trouble. one thing i have found out is if a printer holds less than a full ream.(yeah i had to check to see if that was the word i thought it was ) the paper feed system is weak, lost a couple of printers to that. what's going on with yours?(i'm not going to be at a computer today, but then i ain't the best one to look to for ideas either. )

oh, "multifunction" what do you need that particular setup for? i hate having more than one device in a box. not only does one thing failing mean replacing what still works, it makes upgrading one component overly expensive. have you considered a copier that prints? yeah there high, but when i was looking for my last printer they were the only way to hit my mtbf numbers with a scanner printer and copier in a box.

anybody know if these scanners are worthwhile? my old hp is trying to die, or kill me.

[lee n. field]

second the carts that come with the printer are half or less full.

When I bought my little HP 1006 laser, they were straightforward.  Right there on the box, this is a "starter cartridge", good for 700 pages or so instead of the 3000 that a regular cartridge should be good for.

[HankB]

How come you can buy a printer for $30 that includes a $50 cartridge and a $15 cable  

 

If it's an HP printer, it's not a $50 cartridge - the one that ships with the printer isn't nearly full. They want you to empty it ASAP and buy a new one with a big gross margin. (Some years back, HP was sued over this.)

[roo_ster]

The Samsung desktop B&W laser printer we bought nigh on 7 years ago is still running.

The Samsung multi-function dealie we bought 3 years ago is having troubles.  But, I attribute most of them to it being within reach of our toddlers, who (at one point) were using it as a climbing aid.  And slide thingys into random slots for Daddy to find later.

[Brad Johnson]

If it's an HP printer, it's not a $50 cartridge - the one that ships with the printer isn't nearly full.

It is a $50 cartridge... at full retail price.

Nothing about a cartridge price has to do with what they cost.  Production cost on cartridges averages $0.25 to $1.50 (the latter only if you include product development and tooling costs for production).  It's a brilliant marketing model, really.  Sell you the printer and accessories at cost (or even a loss) to get you started on a run of cartridges that cost a few cents to make but can be sold for $25-$35 ea.

Brad 

[lupinus]

Which is why I just buy remanufactured carts at a quarter of the price.

If I was printing pictures or something similar it might be worth it to pay full price, but for basic printing tasks they work just fine, provided you find a good retailer.

[Brad Johnson]

My luck with refills is, at best, spotty. Some work, some don't.  For photgraphic works there's no question... factory carts.  The refill inks advertised as "photographic" are a pathetic joke.

Brad

[lupinus]

I've had good luck with inkjetsuperstore.com. Never had a bad cart from them and my latest printer (Lexmark 6150) hasn't complained about the remanufactured carts sitting in it right now.

Though I do agree, for pictures or something else where highest quality is desirable I would look to factory. But for everyday tasks I find they work just fine.

[Nitrogen]

My luck with refills is, at best, spotty. Some work, some don't.  For photgraphic works there's no question... factory carts.  The refill inks advertised as "photographic" are a pathetic joke.

Brad

I bought refills until I had a refill blow up in a printer.

When you need to clean partially fused toner "puddles" out of a printer they won't let you replace, you will no longer buy refilled carts.

BTW, toner classified by the FDA as a carcinogen, so there's that, too.

Heck, I can remember the days where you filled toner bottles in printers and copiers, and didn't have cartridges...
I'm sure the FDA ruling had something to do with that.

[GigaBuist]

I bought refills until I had a refill blow up in a printer.

Stop buying Hamas branded refills!