Printer ink...

[crispy2010]

Bought a all in one lexmark x3350, whilst at store I figured I would get extra ink and paper, you know new toy kids will use ink up real fast! Plus I figure they only fill the stock cartridges up 1/2 way.

We have used this printer for about 6 months on a regular basis. After the first month or so it started moaning about it was low on black ink, then color soon after. I have yet to change them and every time we print it barks about low ink, "danger ink is low", but the prints come out fine.

I have got more work outta the printer since it started asking for ink then before, is this the norm? Is this a known fact? Or are ink fairys filling my cartridges as I sleep?

Just a little rant!

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

I have the same problem. I'm not sure it's intentional, exactly, but who knows? Mine is an HP 3745.

It's not too terribly off, though. Once the warnings start I know the time is somewhat near.

 

[emoxley]

Printers are setup to let you know ahead of time, before you actually run out, so you can order, or go buy more. You don't want to suddenly run out of ink, in the middle of a print job, with no warning. My Epson software has a button to click on that says "Remind Me Later", and still prints for a good while. When the red light on my printer starts blinking, I need to change the cartridge, then.

 

[Zap Brannigan]

Why does printer ink cost more than fossil fuels? lol

 

[slpaulson]

Originally posted by: Zap Brannigan
Why does printer ink cost more than fossil fuels? lol

Lots of liquids cost more than fossil fuels...

 

[bruceb]

Supply and demand .... you need the ink & they got it
And with some printers requring factory cartridges to
work they have the user over a barrel.

 

[Zap Brannigan]

Originally posted by: cRazYdood

Originally posted by: Zap Brannigan
Why does printer ink cost more than fossil fuels? lol

Lots of liquids cost more than fossil fuels...

That still does'nt answer my rhetorical question though! lol

 

[shabby]

Originally posted by: Zap Brannigan

Originally posted by: cRazYdood

Originally posted by: Zap Brannigan
Why does printer ink cost more than fossil fuels? lol

Lots of liquids cost more than fossil fuels...

That still does'nt answer my rhetorical question though! lol

Because thats where they make their profit, printer ink is simply water + food coloring. The profit margins are HUGE....

 

[fatpat268]

Well, lexmark has always been known to be one of those companies that will gouge you printer cartridges. They sucker you in with cheap printers, but you'll pay boatloads for the ink.

As far as I know, lexmark cartridges don't actually monitor ink levels, they just guess... and more often than not, the software tells you to replace it well before it's actually empty. Although, I will admit, most printer companies do this to prevent the printhead from getting clogged/dirty, but some step over the line. I had an old HP printer that would routinely say my black is gone, but it would last for at least 100 more pages.

From my experiences, the best printers to buy if you don't want to be gouged on ink prices are canons and epsons... or just about any printer with multiple color cartridges. My old canon i560 had four cartridges: black, cyan, yellow, and magenta... and each cartridge was about $10... much less than the 40-50 bucks a lot of stores charge for lexmark carts. The epson r220 i own is similar, except it has six cartridges... same concept applies.

Anyway, I'm sure you're perfectly happy with your printer, but for your next printer purchase, you may want to look into a slightly more expensive printer with lower ink costs.

 

[SynthDude2001]

:heart: generic 99 cent (per-color) ink cartridges for my Canon iP4000....