July 14th, 2008
#550 - Switched
The first time my printer ran out of ink I was shocked to discover that a new set of cartridges cost nearly as much as the printer did. It seems as though if you always watch for a super printer sale you could save money by just purchasing a brand new printer every few months. Now I just purchase the ink refill kits and the cost doesn’t seem so ridiculous any more.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Damned ink. Always runs out way too fast. Those freaking octopus carcasses are really starting to pile up…
The Duck Has Spoken.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:19 am
That’s what I do, almost monthly, purchase a new printer to use the ink cartridge that comes with it. As a side bonus, the old printer can be sold (for almost full price) on e-bay, so keep the box it came in.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:26 am
I wonder what biff would do if he found an obstacle course…
July 14th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Instant classic. It strikes an extra chord with me because I hate both my printer and squids in general.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:02 am
I hate printers that won’t print in black and white if you don’t have a usable color cartridge.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:26 am
I know color laser printers cost a ton more but in the end they are way less hassle.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:26 am
This wouldn’t happen to be the same squid Biff uses in his noodles, would it?
July 14th, 2008 at 1:48 am
@torg, yes it would. biff recycles. he makes noodles whenever he runs out of ink.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:36 am
That’s actually the idea with printers, if I remember. They’re either cheap or complimentary; I got mine when I bought my new computer. However, you’ll end up spending more money on ink than you ever would the printer.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:50 am
They call this “lock-in system”. It’s the same with razors. A set including a handle and a blade is very cheap but the replacement blades aren’t.
Refueling printer cartridges is a smart way to save money, but the manufactors works at systems to make this impossible. One method is to place a chip at the cartridge. When the ink is used, the printer writes empty at the chip. And of course the printer is programed to not work with an empty declared cartrigde - even when it is refueled!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:36 am
There are some companies (I forget which) that but an expiration date on their cartridges. so even if you refill them (or not even use all of the original ink I hear), the printer won’t even use them after a certain date.
Pathetic.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:17 am
That’s why we use an old HP LaserJet 4M here. It’s black-and-white, but a $160 cartridge (as low as $80 refurbished) will last for roughly 8800 pages.
Modern “cheap” lasers definitely have more expensive per-page costs for toner refills, but they’re still a lot cheaper than inkjets.
If it weren’t for the difficulty finding a Linux-compatible color laser that doesn’t print tracking dots, that’s what we’d be using here. (The FBI asked printer manufacturers to have color lasers print tiny yellow dots that encode the printer’s unique serial number, the date and time of printing, and possibly other things)
See this EFF project for details: http://www.seeingyellow.com/
July 14th, 2008 at 6:16 am
I love my old 24-pin dot-matrix printer. For text (mostly all I print), it was cheap, and my stash of spare ribbon will last until the end of he next decade.
July 14th, 2008 at 6:40 am
I just bought a really expensive HP and the ink is uber cheap compared to the cheaper printers (Lexmark…)
July 14th, 2008 at 6:54 am
ill stick wiv my old epson stylus photo 750, can get 3 black and 3 color cartridges for £30
havnt found a prenter with cheaper cartridges yet 
July 14th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Hey, the mop he’s using looks like a squid!
::lightbulb::
…ohhhhhhh.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Misunderstandings of Office Supplies Week?
July 14th, 2008 at 9:07 am
I got my cartriges refilled and now the printer won’t recognize them.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Holy crap, I laughed SO hard when I read this!
Keep up the great work, Chris!
July 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am
@ Gato: do you have an HP? I wouldn’t be surprised if they made it so you have to purchase new ones rather than refill them.
HP is a terrible company nowadays.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Back in the day, when I was Sysadmin for a Recruiting District, Natinonal HQ bought nothing but HP fax machines. Recruiters fax a LOT - it’s the nature of the job. Fully HALF my IT budget went to replacement ink, even when I *could* find reliable re-filled cartridges, which was hit-or-miss, at best.
Try explaining that to a technophobe XO, though…
July 14th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
- Is it just me, or is this the 4th or 5th Biff comic with a squid or octapus?
- How does he get colored ink? All squid ink is black.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
@random person: feed food coloring to different squids and repeat what he does in the comic, of course.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
that looks alot like my printer,mabye I should try that.Thanks Biff!!
July 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Hilarious XD
July 14th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
@ Dan Squids don’t make ink. Octopuses do. Sorry, just had to correct you there. But if Biff had a pet squid, it might squirt ink. Of course, Biff probley would have a pet Dr. Zoidbirg.
Don’t Panic: FSOneblin
July 14th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Squids have ink just like the octopus. Squid ink pasta is a popular dish made with it.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Printers tend to come with sample cartridges that are only about 1/3 full. Doesn’t stop ink from being ridiculously overpriced (I think it’s literally worth its weight in gold), but it’s really not cheaper to buy a whole new printer instead of a refill.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
@taber_man- No, it’s a Lexmark, but it is 4 years old already.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
uh. “… Biff has to struggle… ” week?
July 15th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I hate printers, and yes chuck, mine does that all the time too it won’t print if I don’t have color even if I just want black and white~!!
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I used to work for HP, and they are correct. The cartridges that the machines ship with are not a FULL size cartridge, they are minis.
Oh, and just as a side note the ink is only designed to last a couple years so if you print off family photos don’t expect them to stay pretty for much longer than, that even in an album.