They’ll get you by the ink

Handle your printer like a pro

The first man to reputedly give away a product and then wait for the customer to come back was King Gillette, inventor of the safety razor. He knew you'd be back for blades and that's how he wanted to make money. And that's how he did make money. Then came the cell phones, but they didn't come all the way. They want to make money out of your calls and not from the phones. Third in line are the printer manufacturers who just know you'll be knocking on their door soon after you buy one.

A bargain?

The inkjet printer you just bought after much deliberation, checking the reviews and speaking to your friends was a real bargain, right? Wrong! You haven't started paying yet. That printer cost less than a set of replacement cartridges. It may be cheaper in many cases to simply replace the printer when the first lot of ink runs out.

I have often taken a Payday Cash Advance Loan to pay for ink refills. And then I'm out of ink again before I've repaid the loan

Those manufacturers

When you buy a printer, it may often have "starter" tanks with enough ink to whet your appetite, enough to print just a few pages. By then you're hooked by the print quality, smoothness, speed and good looks and you're off to the shops for your first set of expensive replacements.

Other options to ink cartridges

Soon you will be trying compatible, refilled or generic ink cartridges, anything to save money. There are hundreds of alternatives to a manufacturer's original ink cartridges, with varying levels of success. Some of them work just fine and others are a disaster, especially when you try and do your own filling from a large bottle. I once spilt ink from a liter bottle onto a cement tile floor and it soaked in before I could clean it up. I guess the people who live in that apartment now have a large carpet! ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "They'll get you by the ink"