Bleeh Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) Went into staples today, wanting to get a nice new cheap printer, the old one was from 1994 and wasn't really working anymore. Anyhow, found a nice one for £39.99, nothing to fancy but as I wanted to just print black and white, this was no big deal. 'That' will do!' I foolishly thought. I lugged the thing to the counter, where the Girl scanned it, then said 'You do know the ink cartridges in here are only starters ones, there about 10% full, you'll need to get more''. Annoyed at this obvious theft, I asked for 'Multi-pack containing all the colours' that was shown on the box, the girl went and fetched it and for a mere £20 I thought this sodding printer would now work. As she scanned it, I then noticed it didn't contain any black ink in the multi-pack - How foolishly did I think that black was a colour. Annoyed, I ask her to return the multi-pack and just get me the black ink, a mere snip at £6.49 (240 pages worth, or so the printer tells me). (or 2.7p for the ink per page.) Well, thinking everything was fine, she then said 'Oh, the printers don't have USB cables anymore - you'll need one of those too, there about £12'. Now, I could argue the toss, I could go home and find a USB cable (I'm sure I've got one somewhere), or I could get one off eBay for a hell of a lot cheaper, but I just wanted the sodding thing now, as I wanted to print some stuff off tonight. Annoyed that my £40 printer had magically increased in price by 50% to a £60 working printer, I had the urge to scream and declare to the world that I was being ripped off. But I won't. I just won't go to staples ever again, or for that matter - buy a new printer again. And they wonder why everyone shops online. Edited March 11, 2010 by Bleeh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 don't blame staples, blame the printer makers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 The STARTER cartridges that she mentioned will probably last for ages anyway. I bought an A3 printer reconditioned of Ebay and it said that the cartridges that came with it were good for at least 60 pages. I did over 500 A3 drawings before I had to change them. The reason they can sell printers so sheap is the cartridges are such a high price. I always buy refilled ones of t'internet and they always seem alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docholiday Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 The STARTER cartridges that she mentioned will probably last for ages anyway. I bought an A3 printer reconditioned of Ebay and it said that the cartridges that came with it were good for at least 60 pages. I did over 500 A3 drawings before I had to change them. The reason they can sell printers so sheap is the cartridges are such a high price. I always buy refilled ones of t'internet and they always seem alright. me to, they have been all I have used on my epsom printer, but the printer recognises them as not epsom ink and keeps asking me if I am sure I want to use them b.......... cheek doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Keep the empties and refill them. Type in to You Tube the make and number and then type Refilling. I do mine and it is really easy. Good way to get your own back. Ink cheap in Tesco or Ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slated Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 It's not the printers maker charging £12 for a USB lead. they are about £1 on ebuyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeh Posted March 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 It's not the printers maker charging £12 for a USB lead.they are about £1 on ebuyer I know, but the cheap **** deside not to include the sodding things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno 357 Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 1m USB printer cable are £1 from pound land and world and and and ...... 3m cables are £3 The ink that you get with new printers are not full and they contain a small amount of oil in the ink apparentley to stop the ink jet nozzles from blocking. If you pay a little bit extra for an Epson P50 or R285 or even a Cannon pixma IP4500 you can get very good quality cheap ink carts for about £7 for the full set of colours and both black ink tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swift4me Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I agree Mr. Bleeh.... but your anger is misdirected. Staples had a store close to your house so you could "print off some pages tonight", and that has a cost. I know the same frustration, and hate paying for ink, but you are the person who decides how much to print, vs. just reading it on the screen. Another tip is to always go to preferences and print in grayscale. So much stuff on the web and in emails is slightly colored to purposely drink color ink. Bad news is you could have spent about ten pounds more and had a cheap multi-function copier/scanner/printer and made photocopies at home. Your old printer did its job for 16 years. Not too bad. If it was a toaster or a lawn mower, you'd be proud. Enjoy your printing. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSPUK Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I have a Canon Pixama MP520 and it flashed up Monday black ink running low - went online and if I had bought a pack of Canon with two black and three colour that would have cost half price I paid for printer - got two black one's today - one standard and one oversize for £10. Robbin dogs Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delbert Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I've learnt my lesson I've been using Laser Printers for black and white very economical and the cart's do not dry out between prints. A new budget Samsung one will set you back about £70 and last for about 2500 pages before needing a refill. TBH I've not had to refill my HP Laser in 4 years of use. (and I got it for free to start with) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Samsung laser for bulk printing and cannon or epson are best for ink prices as the ink is seperate to the heads, Lexmark/dell the worst dont bother even its free HP best all rounder IMO I have a HP scanner printer fax for colour and quick stuff and a samsung laser for heavy duty tech docs and stuff. I once went to an office where they were using 6 Dell branded lexmark inkjets and spending £200+ a month on ink they had a standing order for 4-5 carts a month... swapped to 2 HP network lasers and it went down to under £40 a toner every other month (they kept one inkjet for colour as they had just had a new batch of carts delivered!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 My last 4 printers all worked off the original USb cable. Dont part with em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyoftheboy Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 toner ink....... by weight, most expensive product in the world!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.