To Print, or Not to Print

I remember when the Dot Matrix was the hottest product on the market for home printing. Although I had one, I regret it- the printouts had characteristic streaks and the paper jammed.  Now that technology has evolved and a plethora of options currently abound for printer hardware, the notion of printing at home has become much more attractive.

The main problem is that when your inkjet cartridges run out, you have to go to the supermarket and you might find that you don’t want to spend the $50-$60 to replace your black and color cartridges.  Not to mention that you might not find the right cartridge for your model.

Let’s consider the alternatives.  If you are printing a standard size page with standard ink, the copy shop down the street will probably charge you $0.10 for a black and white copy or $0.15 for color.  Let’s say you print off 500 pages at this rate, for black and white printing you will spend a whopping $50.00!  Sure, Kinko’s might give you a discounted rate if you are a master negotiator, but they’re obviously pulling in plenty of profit by this scheme, since they are buying ink and other supplies in bulk.  In fact, there really is no better alternative than using your own equipment for your average printing needs.

Now, consider the convenience factor.  Printing from your home or office saves you a trip downtown, increases the privacy of your operations, and allows you the flexibility of using your own computer to customize your printing processes.

The icing on the cake is that you can do even better buy looking for inexpensive inkjet cartridges online.  The selection is bound to be adequate and many sites also offer free shipping because cartridges weigh so little. Bottom line: if you can afford to invest in some reasonably high quality home printing hardware, why pad the copy shop’s pockets?