Jason,

Yes, I think I appreciated that the printer was a loss-leader. I've been 
involved in the design and manufacture of electro-mechanical products long 
enough to know that you can't sell a printer for £30 and have all the links in 
the manufacturing/distribution chain make some margin. It hadn't occurred to me 
though that new printers might not have full ink cartridges. Partly I'm pleased 
that such a cynical ploy hadn't occurred to me, and partly I'm now yet more 
offended. They have us over the proverbial barrow. There must be a better bet 
though than over £70 for a set of inks.

And on that subject, I've just bought from "Happy Printer" on Amazon a complete 
set of compatible inks for £7.99. Now all the Amazon customer reviews say 
they're the best thing since white sliced, but there was something about the 
language of the reviews that made me wonder if they hadn't all been written by 
the same person. One who of course has no links to Happy Printer. We'll see.

Phil

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On 1 May 2011, at 17:58, Jason Davies wrote:

> Phil Ward wrote:
>> won't send my blood pressure through the roof (and cash reserves through the 
>> floor) when the ink runs out?
>> 
> the deal, I'm afraid, is like mobiles. You pay very little up-front but they 
> get you on the ink (monthly contract, in my analogy). The printers come with 
> cartridges about 1/4 full when you buy them new so you'll be back here before 
> you know it. The printers are loss-leaders, or break-even leaders, basically.
> 
> 
> Laser printers don't do this, I think. Check out the initial pricing (and 
> they're still expensive for ink)
> 
> Printing colour *costs money*, I'm afraid...
> 
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