Why do they keep changing printer toners/cartidges?

[JohnSheppard]

Up

0

::

Hello there,

I have been wondering for a while now, why it is that they keep changing ink toners and cartridges and thought perhaps someone here might be able to shed some light on what the motives are.

If anyone has walked into an office supply store, they will see the 1000’s of different toners, cartridges, ribbons used in printing devices. In all honesty to the average consumer it seems like insanity. The same story is true of typewriter ribbons in the 80’s. There are literally thousands of them (a cross reference book an inch thick)

So….why? I can only think of the follow theories;
– They change them to keep ahead of the after market cartridge makers to keep there margins intact.
– They change them so people who have spare cartridges need to repurchase (bastards…but doesn’t seem all that profitable)
– They change because the print making machine in china broke (They could just make another one machine the same which would be cheaper)
– They change just to f with the retail staff (poor buggers). (Humourous thought, but probably not the real reason)
– They change to confuse consumer so they can’t make logical decisions based (surely this would only benefit the market leader)
– They source the devices from a different cheaper supply (unlikely).
– Consumers get bored. They want new shiny things and are happy to pay extra for it (I can see this working with cars, but printers? They’re a utilitarian device).

If any, I would probably pick my last theory, seconded by my first theory.

Anyway, I’d really like to know if anyone has any insight into that. Thanks!

[poidb]

Up

0

::

Given that you can buy a good printer these days at under $100 you can safely assure that printer manufacturers make their money with the supply of cartridges.

If you were a printer manufacturer would you put all your eggs in one basket by having a universal cartridge knowing that the day it is copied/reproduced by a 3rd part then your income stream takes a massive blow.

[JohnSheppard]

Up

0

::

poidb, post: 69294 wrote:

Given that you can buy a good printer these days at under $100 you can safely assure that printer manufacturers make their money with the supply of cartridges.

If you were a printer manufacturer would you put all your eggs in one basket by having a universal cartridge knowing that the day it is copied/reproduced by a 3rd part then your income stream takes a massive blow.

Now that you put it on those words, sounds logical

Makes one ponder how inefficient capitalism is. Sure we all work hard and produce lots of stuff, but none of it’s very good.

[John C.]

Up

0

::

Keeping the money coming in from the sale of their unique cartridges is probably the main driver, although there are probably many other reasons that contribute to the problem – such as changing technology, a need to change the size / shape of the cartridge as the printer changes, a never ending search to minimise their component cost as they try to increase their profits, etc.

The same issue applies to mobile phone chargers, headphone sockets, laptop chargers, laptop batteries, computer components, car parts, bicycle parts, etc, etc. There are some organisations that do good work trying to standardise such things – think of the mini usb connectors now common on many mobile phones and cameras – but even those standards change rapidly due to evolving technology and often competing manufacturers disagree on which standard is best. I don’t know of any such standards for printer cartridges.

In relation to the cheap printers costing less than $100 – sadly, often it’s cheaper to buy a new printer than to replace the cartridges, which many people now do. It’s terribly wasteful.

[Craig_Longmuir]

Up

0

::

New printers come with test inks, which last nowhere near as long as a a regular ink cartridge. So buying a new printer @100 isn’t a great idea unless you actually need one .

[bluepenguin]

Up

0

::

Sometimes they improve the technology or develop better inks/toners, but I think a lot of the time, it’s all marketing.

People like to feel that they have the latest and best piece of technology, usually oblivious that nothing has changed expect for the colour of a light and a sticker. The same reason why Apple releases an updated iPod every 14 seconds.

It’s true what craiglongmuir said about new printers. They come with starter kits installed which are usually much less than half full. How much you get depends on the brand… If you’re buying a printer, it’s always good to check this. In many cases, the big companies sell their machines for cost or less and rely on the consumables to make their profits – this is particularly true with the lower-end products.

You will generally find that the more you pay for the machine, the less the consumables cost.

I always buy 3rd party inks and toners for my printers as they are far cheaper. For instance, 4 cartridges for my canon inkjet are about $100 at Officeworks, but I can get 30 cartridges for about $50 on ebay.

It can also be worth searching online for ways to make your cartridges last longer as many machines will tell you they are empty after a predefined number of prints, even if the cartridge is still half full. Sometimes it’s as easy as changes a setting in the menu.

[John C.]

Up

0

::

craiglongmuir.com, post: 69302 wrote:

New printers come with test inks, which last nowhere near as long as a a regular ink cartridge. So buying a new printer @100 isn’t a great idea unless you actually need one .

Yes that’s very true. I didn’t mean to imply that buying a new printer when it was time to replace the cartridges was a wise decision. It’s horribly wasteful and ends up costing more in the long run (financially, and environmentally).

It would be nice if manufacturers did away with “test inks” and were more transparent about the true cost of printing and the longevity of cartridges in a way that would enable an easy comparison between brands and models. Of course they have no incentive to do that until consumers and governments start to demand it. Opting for quality third-party refilled cartridges is a good way for consumers to show the printer manufacturers that they need to change their practices.

[JohnSheppard]

Up

0

::

onsiteTECHS, post: 69326 wrote:

Yes that’s very true. I didn’t mean to imply that buying a new printer when it was time to replace the cartridges was a wise decision. It’s horribly wasteful and ends up costing more in the long run (financially, and environmentally).

It would be nice if manufacturers did away with “test inks” and were more transparent about the true cost of printing and the longevity of cartridges in a way that would enable an easy comparison between brands and models. Of course they have no incentive to do that until consumers and governments start to demand it. Opting for quality third-party refilled cartridges is a good way for consumers to show the printer manufacturers that they need to change their practices.

I know the Brother range at current comes with 65% full ink cartridges (or so it says in the manual)….but nowhere on the outside box….which is in my mind an outright lie…

None of the other brand printer boxes say anything about their cartridges not being 100% capacity fills. It is thus impossible to make an informed decision.

What’s terribly sad about it all is that, what you pay doesn’t seem directly proportional to the cost. I refuse to believe that a full ink cartridges costs them any more to manufacture than a 65% full ink cartridge. (Although perhaps I’m just willingly ignorant). Seems like just incredibly stupid waste from a society gone mad lol…

Say consumers did start demanding transparency, where would one start?

[John C.]

Up

0

::

JohnSheppard, post: 69392 wrote:

I know the Brother range at current comes with 65% full ink cartridges (or so it says in the manual)….but nowhere on the outside box….which is in my mind an outright lie…

None of the other brand printer boxes say anything about their cartridges not being 100% capacity fills. It is thus impossible to make an informed decision.

What’s terribly sad about it all is that, what you pay doesn’t seem directly proportional to the cost. I refuse to believe that a full ink cartridges costs them any more to manufacture than a 65% full ink cartridge. (Although perhaps I’m just willingly ignorant). Seems like just incredibly stupid waste from a society gone mad lol…

Say consumers did start demanding transparency, where would one start?

The difference in costs between a full cartridge and a 65% full cartridge could probably be measured in cents. Before I changed to a colour laser printer for home, I was in the habit of importing ink from overseas to refill the 6 colours in my Canon inkjet. For less than the cost of one cartridge I could import the ink and associated bits and pieces to refill the cartridges over a dozen times, and this was their smallest batch of ink – larger bottles could be purchased much more economically. The ink was a premium one which produced as good, if not better, results than the originals. Obviously not everyone wants to go to this trouble, nor do I any more, but it does give an indication of the markup the manufacturers are working on.

I agree that this topic is an indication of a wasteful society gone (maybe going!) mad. In regards to how best to demand transparency – well that’s a tough question. I’d suggest that purchasing third party cartridges and refills is a good start, as it will hurt the manufacturers bottom line (especially on the models that they are selling below cost on the assumption that they will make the money back on cartridges), and force them to rethink how they market their products. Big businesses and governments can directly influence their policies by making the request for transparent cartridge capacity and estimated page counts part of their tenders, but retail customers don’t really have that influence – we can vote with our wallets though and go for the brand which is the least worst at the time.

[IgniteDM]

Up

0

::

I read a story a few weeks ago about HP being taken to court for false advertising or some such thing – all to do with the printer cartridges – read more here:http://tonernews.com/Message.aspx?vy=bb&id=23090

We refill cartridges for customers it saves them at least 50% on the cost of a new cartridge.

If anyone has some random old printer that requires a specific ink cartridge PM Me… Ive got heaps here that just don’t sell anymore as they are old models… I may just have what you are looking for !

[Author]

Posts