Printer prices dive as costs balloon for ink, peripherals

Aside from the computer itself, one of the most oft-used peripherals I would imagine has to be the once-lowly printer. We've come a long way since the dot-matrix days, both in terms of print quality and pricing.

I thought I had hit the big-time on my Commodore 64 when I could print out my pages of BASIC code on my $499, nine-pin dot-matrix beauty. I later upgraded to an impact printer that gave my work the appearance of being typewritten, which was really impressive for the time.

In my IBM days there was nothing finer than the workhorse HP LaserJet, which would print lovely black and white copies until the cows came home. If the print got dark you took the toner cartridge out, shook it up and put it back. That trick was good for another 500 pages every time.

My, how times have changed. Laser printers are under a hundred bucks now; inkjets seemingly come in Happy Meals. Dell usually tosses one in with every computer sold unless the moon is high. A cheap color Lexmark will run 40 bucks.

What happened, of course, was cheap offshore manufacturing and competition. The printer market is as bloody as any out there, and the main game is to get the unit in the house or office. (Because that's when the fun starts.)

All of the manufacturers have patents on their ink cartridge designs, so the goal is to get the printer purchased and in use. After that, it's all about the consumables. Paper is paper, of course (although they try to convince you to use a certain brand for photos). The money is in the ink.

Because you're locked into one brand (if you get a "free" Dell printer, you're locked into buying Dell-brand ink) there is a captive and therefore lucrative market for a hugely high-margin product. Where else can you sell an ounce of anything for $40?

I called this the "Barbie" concept in a paper I wrote for my MBA class (give the doll away and sell the clothes for $15), but there are a few things you can do to save some money.

• Buy the USB cable you will need online. A USB A/B cable (square on one end, rectangle on the other) will cost two bucks on eBay or at an online tech store and $25 from Dell or a big-box retailer.

•The jury is still out on refilled ink cartridges. Some printers can tell the difference and won't work, some leak and some are fine. Your mileage may vary.