They lure you in with high quality prints and multi-functioning fax, scan and copy. It’s all packaged nicely and the price tag is reasonable (and sometimes FREE) with a hardware purchase. You get your shiny, new printer home and all set up correctly, but what you don’t realize is that the OEM ink cartridges included with your printer are only ¼ – ½ full. You’ll be dropping dimes in no time for a full color pack that will almost exceed the price of the printer! What’s more is your printer’s ink sensor will alert you to the need for a refill long before you’re really in need of such. Some printers are even programmed to cease operating until the sensor registers the ink cartridge has been replaced. Could you imagine your gasoline light coming on at half a tank and refusing to start until you “fill ‘er up?”
Like a car with no gas, your printer is useless without ink. What’s really sick about that analogy is that some printer ink on the market runs the price tag of $20,000 per gallon. And you dared to protest $5 gallon gas.
Farhad Manjoo at Slate.com has written an article that helps you fight back and it has little to do with public transportation third party cartridges. Godspeed.
via: Gottabemobile, Slate, Hub Pages
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Finally people are speaking up about this crap! Unbelievable what manufactures are getting away with. FYI there was class action lawsuit settled out of court brought on by consumers of ink.
I have heard an alleged $8,000 a gallon, that’s a heck of a price to pay for the pleasure of holding a piece of paper. And that’s before we consider the costs associated with manufacturing the cartridges
nice blog….Robin,What are Compatible Ink Cartridges?
$20,000 per gallon but it illustrates a good point. A lot of consumers are finally catching on to this and are demanding some better alternatives. To get the most bang-for-your-buck, it's best to go for a continuous ink supply system (aka: bulk ink) that works with your printer. But beware of the low quality CISs made in China.
Highway robbery is an BIG understatement. I've been seeing more and more OEM pushback from companies providing compatible cartridges or bulk refill systems.
They won't give up either, it's too lucrative of a market.