Berto Shocked: Free Printer When You Buy a Cartridge

Berto Shocked: Free Printer When You Buy a Cartridge

Do new printers come with cartridges? Many first-time printer buyers ask this question. The short answer is – yes.

Most printers do include cartridges in the box with your printer but it is important to note, the majority of cartridges that are included are called “starter” cartridges. These “starter” cartridges are intended to get your printer up and running. They have a smaller amount of ink than a standard yield cartridge, and will probably last for a couple of weeks if you print occasionally, so expect to order a new set of ink relatively soon.

Cartridges can be expensive, particularly if you use the genuine branded cartridges or the same brand as the printer itself. In fact, ink and toner cartridges can be so expensive that you will spend much more on cartridges in two years than what you spent on the original printer.

Berto muses in this cartoon that with the price of supplies, the printer OEMs can almost afford to give away the printer, so long as you continue to purchase their expensive supplies to feed your printer.

Cartridge World has a network of stores across the world. This company has found that with a cheap printer (under $200), the average cost per page using black ink is 5.5 cents and the average cost per page in color is 8.9 cents. However, a more expensive printer (more than $200) typically yields lower costs per page – 3.9 cents using black ink and 8.3 cents using color ink.