Экономия на дешёвых принтерах обернётся убытками: эксперты рекомендуют переходить на модели с картриджами

Are you still buying those cheap throw-away printers every time you need to print a book report? Yes, they’re cheap, but they end up costing you way more money than you think they do. I get it, that cheap printer really is cheap But it'll cost you more than you think. Printers can be both cheap and expensive. Some printers actually cost less than the ink to refill them. The problem is, those printers aren’t actually all that great. When you’re in a bind, that dirt cheap sub-$40 printer at Walmart, Staples, or Office Depot looks mighty tempting. It’ll get the job done, print what you need, and then can be tossed to the side when you’re done. It almost seems like the perfect option when you’re in the store. However, what if I told you it’s actually not the choice you should make? Normal ink jet ink can cost more than a cheap printer Do you buy more ink or a new printer? Let’s take the cheapest printer I was able to find at Amazon, the Canon TS202. This printer costs $38 and does everything you’d expect: it can print, scan, and copy in full color. It is nice that the Canon TS202 comes with full-size ink in the box, but you’re only getting around 180-page yield out of the included cartridges. When the ink runs out, and you go to buy new cartridges, you’re actually only spending $1 less than the printer itself. So, new ink costs $37. A whole new printer costs $38. In this case, why would you even spend money on new ink when you could just buy a new printer? Most people call these “throwaway printers” because that’s how they’re treated. This throwaway mentality is terrible for the environment, and also terrible for your wallet. You’re spending around $0.21 per page in ink to print. That’s astronomical in the grand scheme of things, especially when you compare the overall print cost to other types of printing, like tank-based ink jet printers. Investing in a tank-based printer saves money long-term and is the better option Up-front investment brings long-term savings. While normal cartridge-based ink jet printers are the tried and true that most people are used to, the newer tank-based options that came out around 2020 completely changed the game for ink jet printing. Sure, these printers do cost a bit more, but the cost per page is astronomically cheap comparatively. A few years ago, my wife and I needed a new printer. We did the research, and found the Epson ET-2803 EcoTank printer cost under $200 and offered very affordable ink. The official Epson ink bottles cost $72 for the full 4-bottle kit and gives you a 5,200-page yield. That works out to just $0.01 (really, $0.014) in ink per printed page. However, going third-party saves even more. Since there are no chips for tank-based printers, you can easily use off-brand ink (as I have for years) and be just fine. Going off-brand for ink makes each page cost just $0.004 per page. That’s less than half a penny per page in ink. Compare that to the $0.21 per page you’re going to pay for the throwaway printer, and the savings start to become clear. “But Patrick, the other printers are simply cheaper!” Yes, if you’re only printing less than 200 pages per year, the throwaway printers are definitely cheaper. However, by the time you print 800 pages with a throwaway printer, you’ve spent $160. For the $180 that the ET-2803 costs, you’d still have 4,400 pages worth of ink left for $20 more. Epson EcoTank ET-2803 Ink Jet Printer - Brand - Epson - Type - EcoTank The Epson EcoTank ET-2801 ink jet printer features a tank-based ink resivior to help reduce cost and increase page printing yield. The included ink tanks will print 5,200 pages before needing to be refilled. There's also a built-in flatbed scanner/copier, making this a versatile printer for your home. Spend more on a printer and less on ink If you’re printing with any type of volume at all, it just doesn’t make sense to buy a throwaway printer. The ink cost is through the roof, and you typically are better off throwing the unit away than buying more ink for it. Next time you’re ready for a new printer (or just need new ink), consider investing in a more economical option with a tank-based printer. You don’t have to go Epson, but you definitely shouldn’t go with a cartridge-based printer ever again.