jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Yesterday I purchased a little Canon PIXMA printer, with cartridges, for $34 plus change at my local Walmart. In the next aisle they sold various printer cartridges. The two cartridges for this printer would have totaled $40 plus change. Who wudda known? I don't know if this is an issue for high end printers or not because I have prints made commercially.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

All the printer companies do it. They sell the printers at or below cost as "loss leaders" then make their money on ink cartridges. It is why so many people who do their own printing use third party ink. But you have to be careful which brand, some of it is junk. I use Precision Color, they get their ink for their cartridges from a company that makes ink for the OEMs and large commercial printing companies. Some people rate that ink as better than some of the inks in Brand Name Cartridges.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

This is exactly what EVERYBODY complains about!

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

It is not the price of the cartridge, but the price of the print that counts. And, it is very hard to calculate. A company called Red River Papers makes their living selling photo print paper. To establish actual costs they printed a huge number of standard prints on a variety of photo printers and counted ink cartridges used.

In the end, it did vary some by brand. But, the average cost per print comes out about the same as prints from "quality" printing services.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

I guess at this time I will just look for new printers instead of replacing cartridges if they keep making these offers. :shock:

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Thanks Chris, it's one of the reasons I don't print at home.
JackM

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Thanks Bill. I'm not trying to use this little printer for photo prints, just simple household use. I send out for photo prints because for me it less expensive. My old brain is maxed out with Photoshop, no room left to understand the intricacies of printers and printing.
JackM

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Not me!

On a good month I might get a dozen prints worth putting on the wall in a frame. In reality, probably half that. Even if the price of the ink doubled, it would make a noticeable difference in my photography life style.

I might go so far as to say that if it really rates as a "wall hanger", I jump for joy at getting the best ink my money can buy!

On the other hand, if I was trying to compete with Costco in the volume printing business for a profit, I might complain.

tomc601 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

Canon sells their printers with starter cartridges now. They're supposedly good for 80 pages of text.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Personally, I think there are some distinct advantages of printing at home which, for me, make the process worth it. This starts with total control being in your hands and goes on to include things like the ability to choose, or try different papers! With all most of us have invested in what we love to do, it doesn't seem to me that a reasonably priced printer add that much more. Additionally, one is able to make prints when desired or requested. Again, personally, I choose to limit my output size to 13" x 19" and go outside for anything larger. Works for me, and I enjoy it! (Mostly!)

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Different story! And, I must make a confession....
Printer 1 is in my wife's room/office. It is a Brother Laser that we bought when an old HP all-in-one broke a hinge. It prints B&W really cheap. The high yield toner cartridges, are about $50 but can do a couple thousand pages and prints both sides to save paper.

Printer 2 is a Epson all-in-one ink jet in my room/office. It works well if we have to have color prints and for copies. It does have an optional high capacity black cartridge that lowers the cost of copies.

Printer 3 is a Canon optimized for photo prints. As I wrote, I don't care that it is expensive to use. It is competitive with photo print services even though the price per ink cartridge is hight.

All three printers were purchased on "deals" and were not much more than what you paid.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

The Canon photo printers like the Pro-100 come with "regular" cartridges.

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

I can certainly relate to this train of thought. For many of us, producing a gallery quality print of our images is an important part of the total photographic experience, that simply cannot be matched by having a lab do the printing. And, despite the high cost of OEM inks, if one uses quality art papers, the cost of home printing is actually far less. A 13x19 print on Moab Lasal Exhibition Luster will run you $52.30 at BayPhoto. The same print, on the same paper, using Canon OEM inks and printed at home costs a small fraction of that. And by printing at home, I can "massage" the print a number of times to get it "just right" in a single work session, with no running back and forth to the (not so local) Costco, or having to wait for days for a lab shipment each time I adjust the image.

The one time I do find labs (or Costco or Walgrens) to have an advantage is the time where I want to print out a double set of 150 4x6 vacation snapshots. In that case the high volume printers offer a price that is difficult to beat, and with far less time and effort expended.

Large prints, for most people are probably best done by labs, unless you have a need to do a fairly high volume of printing ( for instance, if you sell prints like I do). What is interesting is that wide format printer (say 17" and wider) the ink tanks are way larger than most desktop printers and the cost per ml of ink is <50% of the cost per ml on a standard 13" photo printer!

tomvanb Loc: Anthem, AZ

and didn't Kodak sell cameras cheap so they could sell film? Tom

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

And they all do it. Look at razors. Tesla on their car don't have oil to change so they have a "Checkup" for each year at $600 to maintain the warranty. I gave up on home printing because of the cost of cartridges. For a while I would refill my own with kit that included all you needed. I use Costco. Upload and pickup in an hour.