The great environmental scam?

[rpm]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Hardware/1194.html

 

[Abe]

Something that needs to be taken into account is that cartridges supplied with printers only have to be half full by EU standards. Consumables are a big rip off.

 

[AirWolf]

We use a few HP 1200 printers at work. The cost price of these printers range from R1000 to R1200.

The cost of:

• an original toner is +/- R600;
• a compatible toner is +/- R300;
• a refilled toner is +/- R180.

 

[TheRoDent]

Agreed. The dirty little IT secret this one. How can a harddrive, with complex mechanics, servo's and perfectly balanced platters, come in cheaper than a printer cartridge?

Ludicrous.

 

[Tommygun]

Great article with good questions. If Lexmark are that interested in a returns policy they should work it like return bottles, I should be able to return the empty to any shop selling new cartridges...(slap me with a wet fish if this IS how it works)
@Sky.Akash...do the refills work as well as the originals?
@all...I know they do comparoisons on Toms hardware and the like but off the top of your heads what are the best lazer and Inkjet printers (b&w & Colour) regarding price per page and cheap refills?

 

[krycor]

good question.. i was thinking the same thing about prices some places charge per page printed. especially this one retailer down the road which charges R10 to print a file from a disk[with no changes ] excl page/paper cost.

 

[DragonLogos]

Been looking into this for many years, you would be amazed at some of the things that go on

 

[Gatecrasher]

Long ago I vowed only to buy Canon deskjet printers because the ink is so much cheaper and the cartridges contain only ink - no electronics at all. The electronic printer head is a separate re-usable unit that comes with the printer. It makes running the printers far more economical. You can get inks for about R70 each online (usually R100 retail). There are also third party inks available in the R20-R40 range.

 

[TheRoDent]

When I bought a new printer (after the shock of replacement cartridge prices on the previous CrapMark) I simply went to the cartridge shelves first.

I picked the cheapest cartridge, and then simply took the first printer that came with it.

It was a Canon.

 

[CirclingTheSun]

... Louisa Craig, marketing manager at Lexmark, says that locally, the company - which, like others, goes to some effort to portray itself as environmentally and socially conscious - operates a programme in terms of which users of its product can return used consumables for recycling

Sometimes when I run out of ink I'll just get a new printer so maybe it's wise for companies like Lexmark to just start one of these lil programs for their printers too.

 

[NoADSLyet]

Have a colour laser Samsung CLP500 in the office. Cost me R3000.00 now the replacement cartridges in total costs R3600.00-R4000.00. A newer model printer, faster now is priced at R2600.00-R3200.00 with xxx% filled??? cartridges. Must do the economics, maybe cheaper just to buy a complete replacement printer as the same old model now can be got for R2000.00. Then you have new roller and transport mechanism as well.

 

[Glordit]

Pah! buy a new printer!!

 

[Moederloos]

Get a Canon.

I did the exact same thing as TheRodent - looked at cartridge prices, and then bought the printer that was compatible,
Pay R20-R40 per cartridge now.

I used to have a Lex!Mark, and when I went to get a new cartridge, it was almost the same price as the printer. I have now used in the region of 10 cartridges on the Canon, so, my saving is:

10 * R500 for lexmark ink = R5000
less
10 * R30 for Canon = R300
less cost of Canon printer = R600
+ scrap value of Lexmark = R0 D)

SAVING: R4100
not bad.

 

[AirWolf]

We use a few HP 1200 printers at work. The cost price of these printers range from R1000 to R1200.

The cost of:

• an original toner is +/- R600;
• a compatible toner is +/- R300;
• a refilled toner is +/- R180.

@Sky.Akash...do the refills work as well as the originals?

We do have 2 refilled toners in stock for those printers but haven't used any yet. We have used refilled cartridges in our Canon 5650 which works fine. If you refill a Canon original or Canon branded compatible the toner low function still works.

 

[Sneeky]

but they donate to a 'baby days fund', not sure what though but they donate.

Dragons

 

[Tns]

in all sense if the printer cost R600 and the replacement cartridges cost R600 or more it's better to get a new printer and sell the old printer,thus you make some money

Canons cartridges is still the best since it only holds ink, the cartridges with the printhead built in costs a fortune. The same holds for cannon, price the a new printhead and you will see it's cheaper to buy a new printer.

 

[jetpacman]

This is sick and there should be some kind of formal regulation controlling this

http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/comment/2183548/printer-yields-inconvenient

 

[noxibox]

Something that needs to be taken into account is that cartridges supplied with printers only have to be half full by EU standards.

I have had that with HP printers, but my Canons came with full cartridges.

Great article with good questions. If Lexmark are that interested in a returns policy they should work it like return bottles, I should be able to return the empty to any shop selling new cartridges...(slap me with a wet fish if this IS how it works)
@Sky.Akash...do the refills work as well as the originals?

I'm wondering what they do to make their customers aware that they can return cartridges for recycling.

I buy KMP products wherever possible. They are not a huge amount cheaper than originals, at least not with Canon cartridges, but they are cheaper and they guarantee their products will not damage your printer.

Hans Dummer, Epson SA GM, does not see why a R700 machine, which has a replacement cartridge priced at R700, is an environmentally poor practice.

Why buy cartridges when you can get the latest version of the printer for the same money? I buy ink for my Canon inkjet because it is cheaper than buying a new printer. If it were the same price I'd probably just buy a new printer each time. With the price of decent printers these days I probably wouldn't bother to have them repaired or serviced.

 

[DGremlin]

A rule I have worked with for years is staying away from Lexmarks, they have always sold cheap printers and nabbed you on the ink.

The horrible truth, with lexmarks some HP's and sometimes Canons is that you may aswell buy a new printer when you run out of ink, that way you get your refill, a new printer and 1 year warranty ( if your ink lasts that long ) ... oh yes and you can sell your old printer for laughs

 

[AirWolf]

@sneeky, I have sent back a few empty Lexmark cartridges. The packet to return it in does ask for contact details but I've never received even an email from them @Tns, no one is going to buy a printer without cartridges, believe me I've tried