Price of ink jet ink - upto $8,000 a gallon

[law guy]

I was reading a blurb on Dell's new $99 laser printer today, (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050621-5022.html) which contained a link to an interesting story that noted that ink jet ink sells for an effective price of upto $8000 a gallon. http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?doc_id=7159&layout=rich_story.

I had never thought of it that way. In little cartridges bought one at a time, it doesn't seem that expensive. Makes me look at inkjet ink in a whole new way. I suppose this shouldn't dissuade folks thinking about buying an inkjet over laser as the price per page is what matters, but it is interesting to mull over.

 

[Bibulous]

I bought an HP c6578d for $34.99.

19 ml of ink in one cartridge.
1 gal = 3785.4118 ml
(3785.4118/19)*34.99 = $6971 per gallon

I know you can't buy just any liquid and pour it on a page to make a picture, but this still seems a little pricey.

 

[stoid]

And you thought gas was expensive! That's like 336,000 dollars a barrel!

 

[thehuncamunca]

calculated my ink to cost only $4000 a gallon HP56

looks like i'm getting a great deal (or NOT)

 

[mcarnes]

Inkjet ink worth it's weight in gold, and then some.

Who'd a thunk.

 

[wiseguy27]

Better to use someone else's printer for "free"?

Jokes apart, isn't photo printing (or color printing) at home a lot more expensive compared to printing at retail outlets (or wholesale outlets)?

Long ago I read about the addition of smart cards in some OEM cartridges to ensure that gray market cartridges would be rejected by the printer - although I understand that the marketing model for printer companies is to make money on the ink/toner, it seems like they're ripping off customers way too much.

 

[cwerdna]

yeah

I'd heard about the insane prices per ounce for inkjets but never did the math myself till now. From the MSRPs, an HP 57 color cartridge for my PSC 1315 all-in-one runs $34.99. It has a whole 17 ml of ink = $7791/gallon. The HP 56 black cartridge is $19.99 for 19 ml so it's "only" $3983/gallon.

 

[Prelude2Tragedy]

From the MSRPs, an HP 57 color cartridge for my PSC 1315 all-in-one runs $34.99.

Not to mention with the tri-color tanks you never use up all the ink since each color isn't used up evenly. Just imagine how much ink/money your wasting.


Ill stick to my individual color ink tanks.

 

[cwerdna]

Not to mention with the tri-color tanks you never use up all the ink since each color isn't used up evenly. Just imagine how much ink/money your wasting.


Ill stick to my individual color ink tanks.

So far, I've printed nothing in color other than the initial alignment page and maybe a test page. I'm only using it as a b/w copier. It's not even hooked to or near any computer.

 

[Prelude2Tragedy]

So far, I've printed nothing in color other than the initial alignment page and maybe a test page. I'm only using it as a b/w copier. It's not even hooked to or near any computer.

I print photos and color stuff all the time but i have a free and almost unlimited supply of ink and photo paper. Just a few perks of sales repping for a printer company.

 

[Mass Hysteria]

epson 2100

I used to buy epsons carts at UK £12 each (7 colours in all) for 17ml,

I found a place that does compatibles for 76p + VAT each!

magenta is 8% lighter but dialled that back in on the printer settings. (They also recommend that you change the carts every six months - ho hum)

spoke to an epson rep –*they don't make money from the printers at all and sometimes make a loss. This is like the disposable razor thing, cheap handles and pricey blades.