The cost of maintaining a printer gets higher as time goes on.  Depending on the type of printer that you buy, the initial cost can be very reasonable. However, the cost to maintain the printer over time can prove to be quite costly. 

Let’s suppose you purchase a reasonably priced inkjet printer in the range of $70 to $100.  Not too bad of a deal! However, most printers that are sold today include only a “starter set” of ink cartridges.  This means that very soon (or possibly at the time of purchase), you will need to buy a new set of ink cartridges. If you are lucky, you may get away with about $35 - $60.00, a little more than half of the printer price.  Most inkjet cartridges in this price range will produce roughly 300 printed copies before you will need to re-purchase ink again.  All in all, your $70-$100 deal has now increased to around $110 to $170 or more, not counting taxes, service contracts, printer cable, paper, etc.

Some printer suppliers now offer an “XL” line of ink.  The “XL” cartridges contain a higher yield of ink in the same size cartridge. This type of cartridge costs about twice as much, but it would produce about 3 times the amount of printed copies than the standard cartridge would produce.  Another way to reduce the cost of ink is by purchasing refill kits.  A black re-fill kit for your printer costs about $20.00 and color is the same price as well.  Each kit claims to provide you with six (6) refills.  If you have patience, these kits work well. If not, have someone do the re-filling for you.  One thing to remember though; if you experience problems and need help with your printer, the manufacturer may not provide you with support if they know you are using third party products in their device.  But if you are looking to save money, consider this:  Spending $20.00 for a refill kit as opposed to purchasing a new ink set 6 times for $35.00 will effectively save you $190.00 in the long run.
You can also save some money on ink purchases by recycling your old cartridges. 

There are some stores that will give you a $3.00 - $6.00 credit for each cartridge that you recycle, and you can usually recycle up to 10 per month.  This credit can reduce the cost of future ink purchases and make the cost a little less painless.

If you are not concerned with printing in color, another option that can save you money is purchasing a laser printer versus the inkjet type.  Although the upfront costs may be a bit more, you will realize savings over time.  Actually, Hewlett Packard sells a very inexpensive laser for about $150.00.  I have seen this model on sale for $99.00.  The black laser (toner) cartridge can run from $70.00 to about $130.00, but you will get thousands of printed pages as opposed to hundreds with the inkjet.

You might elect to purchase an inkjet for color printing and a laser for black.  This would give you the best of both worlds in terms of speed, long-term savings, and frequency of ink purchases.

For your computer questions or concerns email bsparks@dispritech.com.