I am back writing on the top of the cost of printer ink again. Seems like I’ve dedicated a lot of time to this, but it is a hot topic right now. It takes about two seconds to find a plethora of articles, online, that detail the high cost of ink. It takes even less time to find the forums filled with folks complaining.

Remember now, there are alternatives to the “high priced” printer ink we all complain about. Remanufactured/refilled cartridges are plentiful, as are compatible cartridges. For whatever reason, quality being the most often cited, these alternative cartridges have never really hit the main stream. Sure there are a lot of people using them, but the vast majority are still unaware or unwilling to use them.

With the alternatives pushed aside, we are left to discuss the manufacturer’s cartridge, or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), and we return to the question . . . Why are they so expensive?

The better question might be, “Are they really as expensive as we think they are?”

Since the invention of the inkjet printer, prices have continually decreased. The capabilities and print quality of printers continue to increase, and yet prices still remain steady around the $100-$200 price range. Have you ever stopped to think what the true cost of one of these machines might be? What if we had to pay a real retail value for them. Think of all the years of research and testing (research and development actually costs companies money) that go in to one of these machines. And yet, we can get one for under $100. Manufacturers attempt to recuperate the cost of selling printers at low prices through the sales of printer cartridges.

Despite what most people think, a printer cartridge is not just a plastic case that holds some colored liquid. Cartridges are surprisingly complicated. How would you describe something that fires tiny droplets of ink up to 36,000 times per second and produces the beautiful images we see on paper? Think of the time, effort, and energy it took to make that work. HP claims it spends 3-5 years formulating each new ink it introduces. They test up to 1,000 prototype formulas  and spend $1 Billion a year on inkjet research and development. $1 Billion! HP needs price inkjet cartridges as they do to pay for, and continue to fund, the improvement of inkjet cartridges.

Finally, I think printer cartridges are so often complained about because they are a high priced consumable. Consumable being the key word, something we use and then throw away. Make a quick mental list of all the consumables you use in your life. Most are inexpensive. It’s hard to pay a lot for something you know you are going to throw away. But, that is the wrong way to look at it.

If you print photos, are you really left with nothing when your printer cartridge runs out of ink? No. You’ve got all those wonderful photos to look at. Is it worth the $30 plus dollars you spend on printer ink to have the enjoyment of those photos? Probably so, no one says the happy feeling you get from looking at them is to expensive.

So take a quick second and evaluate your opinion on printer cartridges. Maybe they are expensive, maybe they are not.

After you’ve taken a second to evaluate, take another second to leave some comments below. I want to know what you think about what I have written. Thanks!