I do not own a printer. Most of the time if I truly need to print something out I will try to do so at work, or from the library after work. The library charges about 15 cents a page, and some things I send to the work lounge printer seem to accidentally disappear because someone else grabs it accidentally or moves it. This makes me extremely hesitant to print out anything personal or sensitive in nature, such as bank records. However I don't mind sending an occasional business letter through as long as it is innocuous. I have been thinking about all the things I purchase such as business cards and return address labels, that perhaps I could be printing on my own. I am also considering how much I spend at the library on a weekly basis to print out things. However since I have never owned a printer, I am not sure how much upkeep it costs to keep refilling the thing with ink and paper, or how long they tend to last. I don't want to spend a wad on something I purchase once and can't refill the ink. I have enough dead gadgets wasting space. How can I know if buying a printer is worth the expense? I budget my money tightly and would only consider buying one if it would save me money in the long run. Can experienced printer owners give me advice what to look for? Is this a wise purchase to make? Is it cost-effective?
Buy a 3-in-1 printer - a scanner, printer and photocopier in one go. If you buy a printer that has all these functions, you'll be able to save much and add more value to your printing experience. They don't cost that much but if you don't buy a printer, you'd be making the library and Internet cafes rich with your printing expenses. If you buy a printer, you can print any amount of pages to your heart's content. If you're the only one using it, then you have a say on how frequently you refill the ink and can set the printing options based on your preference (whether you want a clear or economical copy depends on you).
If you use it regularly then I'd say it's worth it and even more so if you have access to "bootleg" ink which costs only a fraction of what the official ink does which is so expensive to replace. Do some research first to know if you would be able to find these resources or if you would be paying less on official ink if you can't find the bootleg one when compared to what you spend on the library prints. The printers themselves don't really cost much as you can get the cheapest ones at $40 or even lower.
My husband and I are both computer users. We bought our first home desktop in 1993 with a good printer which later on we used for our business. When we closed the business, we still have a computer but we didn't buy another printer when our first and only printer retired. Since that time, we haven't bought a printer. When we need to print, we just go to the nearest computer shop and pay the per page cost. For one year of printing, we spend about $10 in total. That's very cheap compared to buying a printer and the cost of the ink as well.
As a printer owner for a long time now, I can say that it's really wiser and more practical to buy and use your own printer especially if you print frequently or you print in bulk. Another thing I like about printing on my own printer is the safety and confidence of the data I print on my own.
I think it is worthwhile in the end especially if it scans as well as most do. Don't buy a HP as the cartridges don't last long and you can't refill them. My Canon printers have always served me well and you can buy cheap cartridges (generic) or refill with ink that doesn't cost much at all.
I totally agree with you. My printer is an HP but I really want to buy Canon. I just don't want to buy one while my HP is still working out well. But if I had a choice, I would buy Canon because of the availability of cheaper ink refills that could last longer than the ink cartridges HP has.
No unless you have to print a lot. I remember owning a printer during my elementary school days because teachers usually assign written essays and other stuff that kept my printer quite busy and saved me some money in exchange. I used it a lot in college too. But not anymore.
I also don't have a printer. When I want to print something, I save the file in a USB drive and go to desktop publishing shop. I can print a page for 5 cents. If I need color print I will have to spend 50 cents. Printing charge I pay is so little that I have not considered having my own printer. Nevertheless, I am also considering to buy a printer. This will saves me time.
You can do a lot of neat things with a good printer. With mine I make greeting cards which are inexpensive, very personalized and come out really cute. Everyone seems to enjoy them. I also print shipping labels for eBay, Amazon, and Etsy. This saves a lot of time and bother, because the mailman can pick up my packages right from my front porch. I use it to print coupons too. All of these things are real money savers for me, and it comes in handy for other things too. Sometimes we need to mail documents. Printing them at home saves us from having to drive an 80 mile round trip to town. I have an HP ENVY wireless. I have been using it about 8 months and still on my first cartridge of ink, but it will need to be replaced soon. I consider a good printer to be a must have in our situation.
