Why printing is so expensive
Think about shaving. You can get a new razor handle for cheap; sometimes they’re practically free. Much like a printer, you buy a beautifully-designed gyroscopic handle for $5, and you walk away thinking something like: “Boy, what nice fellows those guys at Gillette are! This mega-corporation sure is looking out for my best interests!” But once you start shaving regularly, you discover the real business model: the replacement blades. They’re expensive, and because they’re only designed for that one gorgeous handle you were so excited about, you have no choice but to keep buying them.
This is the same playbook printer companies use. The printer itself is sold cheap to catch your attention, with flashy features like wireless printing and full-color capability. But once it’s on your desk, you’re locked into buying the ink or toner it needs. That’s where the real money comes from.
Why the Cheapest Printer Isn’t Cheap at All
Take a look at how this works with a real-world comparison. An HP black inkjet cartridge might run about $22.50 and print around 200 pages. That means each page costs you roughly 11 cents in ink. A Brother cartridge, on the other hand, might cost $33. At first, that looks more expensive, until you see that it prints 500 pages. Suddenly, the cost per page drops to 6 cents. Over 2,000 pages, the HP setup will cost you about $220 in ink, while the Brother setup costs closer to $120. That’s $100 saved simply because you chose a printer with cartridges that last longer. Multiply that over the lifetime of a printer, and you’re looking at hundreds, sometimes thousands, in savings.
What you can do
Printer companies don’t hide what they’re doing. They just know most buyers don’t think past the initial price tag. A low-cost printer gets them in the door, and that’s often all it takes. The good news is that you’re not powerless. Before buying your next printer, take five minutes to do the math:
- Look up the price of replacement cartridges
- Check how many pages each cartridge is rated to print (the page yield)
- Divide the cost by the yield to figure out the cost per page
It’s not unusual to find that a printer that costs $30 or $40 more upfront will actually save you hundreds in cartridge costs over time. Avoid this trap by carefully considering the overall cost to print versus the cost of the printer.
The next time you see a bargain printer, remember the razor blade trick. That low sticker price is bait, designed to lock you into years of overpriced cartridges. The smarter move is to judge a printer by what it costs to own, not just what it costs to buy. Choose wisely and you’ll spend less, stress less, and still have a beautifully-maintained beard.
—I mean a nice printer.
