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Why can I buy 24 ink pens for less than a dollar yet printer ink is seemingly the most expensive liquid known to man?(r/AskReddit)
Because if you print photos ever, you need to have two printers. And because laser printers are seldom given away for free.
I have a Canon Pixma MP510. It’s an all-in-one with individual color tanks. Every post in /r/Youngluck was scanned with it. I got it for free for buying a Macbook in 2007. I can get three black tanks and a full set of color tanks, third-party, off Amazon for $7.50. That much color ink lasts me about six months… I can’t remember the last time I bought black. My total investment in that printer is under $50 and I’ve had it for more than three years.
If I need to print black’n’white, I generally need to print a lot of black’n’white. With any decent corporate affiliation you can get b&w from Staples or Office Depot or whatever for 2-3 cents per page. So when I need to print out 400 pages, I’m looking at $8-12… whereas that much toner on a home laser would likely run me $30-40.