Apple Archive

The Rise and Fall of Disposable, Low-End Inkjet Printers

- 2005.11.11

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With prices on printers dropping every year, they have almost become a disposable commodity. People often replace their printers after as little as two years of use.

Low-end Macs are one thing, but how about low-end printers?

Sure, I'll replace my computer when it's become too slow after years of software upgrades, develops problems that can't be fixed cost-effectively, or becomes incompatible with other hardware I want to use. But my inkjet printer?

I've got an Epson Stylus Photo 1200 from 1999 connected to my Power Mac G5. It's a wide-format printer, meaning that it can print pages up to 13" x 44". It uses a smaller ink-drop size than the printers it replaced (although the models that replaced it - the 1270 and current 1280 - use an even smaller ink-drop size). It's resolution is "only" 1440 x 720 dpi, compared to the 1280's 5760 x 720 dpi.

Even though I typically end up printing nothing more than papers for school and the occasional photograph, I like having the ability to print out something in a wide format if I ever needed to. The photos it prints out are definitely "good enough" for framing and placing on a wall, and 1440 x 720 is more than enough to print out basic word processing documents.

There's also the fact that the current version of my printer, the Stylus Photo 1280, costs roughly $500. It essentially offers me nothing more than the features I already use on my 1200, and spending that amount of money to replace a functioning printer would be ridiculous.

At home, we have an old HP DeskJet 870Cse from about 1995 connected to our PC. Sure, it's only 600 x 600 dpi, and it's obsolete when it comes to connecting it to a Mac (it has an old Mac serial port on it and no USB), but it still connects to a modern PC via a parallel port.

Why throw the printer out if it still prints fine? After all, that's pretty much what you buy a printer for.

Whether you're printing out directions to somewhere you've never been before, an email with flight confirmation numbers on it, or a paper for school, any printer is pretty much going to do a similar job.

Unless, that is, you get into high-resolution photography where the printer, type of ink, and type of paper are critical to having a good printout.

However, most home users have no reason to throw out their two-year-old printer. Many do find it frustrating, though, that they have to spend $75 on ink while a new printer is on sale for $49.95. I've even heard a story of someone stocking up on $29 Lexmark printers simply because the ink costs twice what the printer does. (Editor's note: Buyer beware - sometimes the printers come with "starter" ink cartridges that don't hold as much as the replacements you'll buy.)

There are a couple ways around this. The first is to buy the "generic" replacement cartridges. At one point they were only available online or on eBay, but now even Staples and Walmart sell them in their stores. It's become a big business to sell ink cartridges at a discount price - almost everyone uses an inkjet printer somewhere, whether at home or in the office.

Almost everyone is also discouraged at having to pay the full price to replace ink cartridges. If you've got a fairly common printer, chances are you'll have no trouble whatsoever finding replacement ink from a source other than the manufacturer.

There's also the option of refilling your inkjet cartridges. At one time you could only order kits online, but now stores such as Island Inkjet are opening up that will do the refilling for you, and many office supply stores and general retailers stock these kits as well.

If your replacement ink is only going to be $30 and not $75, that can make your printer last longer by reducing the temptation to buy that new $49 printer just for the ink cartridges.

You can also help keep your printer in good condition by printing regularly. If you let an inkjet printer sit for months, the ink can dry up and the nozzles can become permanently clogged.

While no printer will last forever, a decent model should be able to outlast two computers for most home users.  LEM

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