On 8/21/2012 4:11 AM, Brian wrote:
On 20/08/2012 23:10, J.G. wrote:
Point is, the ONLY reason HP ink costs as much as it does
is that it is an integral part of their sales strategy.

I, for one, will NEVER buy another HP ink-based printer
again, the rest of my life for this very reason.

The strategy is used by virtually ALL the inkjet makers, not just HP -
they sell the printers cheaply, sometimes at a loss, and then make their
money on the replacement cartridges.

I worked for a printer company in the 1980's. The big money was still in
supplies (back then it was print wheels and ribbons). The margins on
supplies were huge because the supplies were so cheap to manufacture.
Back then there were machines for re-inking ribbons to save money. We
made regular ribbons that could be used until there was no ink left and
then be re-inked, but we also had single-strike ribbons that produced
better quality but that were single use. But you could not repair a
broken print wheel.