REALLY inexpensive laser printing

[Mr. Harley]

I bought a Samsung laser printer a year ago, with rebate for $50. Bastards use a toner cartridge that they don't fill, so it only hadles 500 copies before going light. Well, I've read about toner refill kits for years, so I decided to try a it. For a variety of reasons, not just price (the company I went with was not trying to jack me around with the install kit bit, which if just a screw on funnel lid in this case) I chose Refillkitz. Oh, and they answer emails very quickly, and actually read them.

Easy. Really easy, and I am getting good copy that doesn't rub off. Between the printer - now it's the Samsung ML-1740 and CompUSA has it for the same $50 this week - and the three toner refills for $30 with shipping included - my cost for toner is .4 cents, as in a little under half a cent, per refill. That's assuming only 20,000 copies from three refills, I should get more.

For any of you that do ALOT of printing, I thought you might like the tip.

[Urban Ranger]

500 pages isn't a whole lot, though it can last you for several years, unless you use it in your office.

[Mr. Harley]

The standard cartridge last 10,000 - they just take one and fill it less so you need to purchase a new cartridge at $70.00.

[Urban Ranger]

Not anymore I am afraid. Now it lasts around 3,000 - 5,000.

It's the old Gillette tactic, one that has been used successfully by razor blade companies and video game console companies.

[Provost Harrison]

I find that kind of tactic very worrying. Those toner cartridges look fairly complex and difficult to manufacture, and probably resource intensive too. Things like that should be recyclable and refillable...I find it completely negligent of the companies involved that they are not...

[Koyaanisqatsi]

They are recyclable...at least, the ones we've always used were. You get a sticker that you can just slap on the box when the toner's low, and it goes back to HP (or whoever).

[Mr. Harley]

Sigh - I had an old HP4 but it's having paper path problems, and the price just to get it opened exceeds the price of the Samsung printer and cartrigdges. So if I get 10,000 total copies from three refills, the price is still 0.8 per copy. That still works out.