Cmptr Printer budget 15K

Some thoughts on printers :

Pricing - the Gilette Razor Blade model
---------------------------------------
Gilette invented the razor blade pricing model, and swept the market.
Unfortunately, since them, more and more consumer companies have adopted this model - to the detriment of customers.

What is the model :
- Price Razors below cost, to entice consumers to buy the razor
- Lock in the buyer with a proprietary blade
- Price blades extortionately, to then milk the customer

HP was the first printer company to jump for this model.
- Their printers are priced dirt cheap - way below manufacturing cost
- You can only use HP ink cartridges
- Their cartridges cost the earth

HP ink is , per ml, probably the costliest liquid sold on earth.


Unfortunately, the downsides of applying the "Gilette" model to printers are :
- Printer quality has really deterioated, since companies try to minimise their loss, by cutting cost and using cheaper parts.
- Vendor lock in has gone bananas. HP goes to absurd lengths to ensure only genuine HP cartridges can be used.

My HP inkjet printer from 1995 worked for 15 years without a single problem. It also worked just fine with 3rd party ink cartridges.
Since then, no printer has lasted, and has always given problems.



Connectivity :
---------------
- Wired is best. No questions. You need to use a printer once in a while. When you need it, you dont want to spend 20 minutes fiddling with things to get the PC to recognise the printer. With WiFi, this invariably happens.

- Ethernet is absolutely reliable, but USB is fine too. Very few homes have wired ethernet networks. But if you do, a printer connected by ethernet cable is rock solid. You will never have a problem connecting to the printer. In the absence of that, do consider a USB wired connection to the PC. It is also reliable.


Laser v/s Inkjet :
------------------
A laser colour printer with scanner probably costs Rs 1 lakh. So simply not viable for a home environment.
Unfortunate, as laser printers are more reliable and long lasting.

Therefore, Inkjet is the only viable option for homes, unless you are fine with a mono (ie black and white) printer , with no scanner.
In that case, do consider a simple Brother laser printer. Very reliable.



To summarise :
---------------
- Don't be taken in by predatory pricing and fancy features. Look for solid build quality and reliability
- Be ready to pay more for a printer, if the build quality is better, and the consumable (ie ink) is cheaper


Sorry for the long post.

This is a pet peeve of mine.
 
Some thoughts on printers :

Pricing - the Gilette Razor Blade model
---------------------------------------
Gilette invented the razor blade pricing model, and swept the market.
Unfortunately, since them, more and more consumer companies have adopted this model - to the detriment of customers.

What is the model :
- Price Razors below cost, to entice consumers to buy the razor
- Lock in the buyer with a proprietary blade
- Price blades extortionately, to then milk the customer

HP was the first printer company to jump for this model.
- Their printers are priced dirt cheap - way below manufacturing cost
- You can only use HP ink cartridges
- Their cartridges cost the earth

HP ink is , per ml, probably the costliest liquid sold on earth.


Unfortunately, the downsides of applying the "Gilette" model to printers are :
- Printer quality has really deterioated, since companies try to minimise their loss, by cutting cost and using cheaper parts.
- Vendor lock in has gone bananas. HP goes to absurd lengths to ensure only genuine HP cartridges can be used.

My HP inkjet printer from 1995 worked for 15 years without a single problem. It also worked just fine with 3rd party ink cartridges.
Since then, no printer has lasted, and has always given problems.



Connectivity :
---------------
- Wired is best. No questions. You need to use a printer once in a while. When you need it, you dont want to spend 20 minutes fiddling with things to get the PC to recognise the printer. With WiFi, this invariably happens.

- Ethernet is absolutely reliable, but USB is fine too. Very few homes have wired ethernet networks. But if you do, a printer connected by ethernet cable is rock solid. You will never have a problem connecting to the printer. In the absence of that, do consider a USB wired connection to the PC. It is also reliable.


Laser v/s Inkjet :
------------------
A laser colour printer with scanner probably costs Rs 1 lakh. So simply not viable for a home environment.
Unfortunate, as laser printers are more reliable and long lasting.

Therefore, Inkjet is the only viable option for homes, unless you are fine with a mono (ie black and white) printer , with no scanner.
In that case, do consider a simple Brother laser printer. Very reliable.



To summarise :
---------------
- Don't be taken in by predatory pricing and fancy features. Look for solid build quality and reliability
- Be ready to pay more for a printer, if the build quality is better, and the consumable (ie ink) is cheaper


Sorry for the long post.

This is a pet peeve of mine.
should i go for a wired printer then...will cost me abt 11K(dcp 220)..brother versus 12k for dcp 420 and 14k for 520??
 
should i go for a wired printer then...will cost me abt 11K(dcp 220)..brother versus 12k for dcp 420 and 14k for 520??
Hi.

I am not recommending any particular brand or model. Just wanted to call out some points to be considered.

Yes, I do believe wired is better.
 
Wired is better no doubt, but nowadays, most printers costing upwards of 10K will have wifi too.
So no harm in going for a wifi model...it will anyways have USB in case you prefer wired connection.
Most important is cost of consumable (i.e. cartridge) so do consider that inktank is much cheaper than regular cartridge models.
 
should i go for a wired printer then...will cost me abt 11K(dcp 220)..brother versus 12k for dcp 420 and 14k for 520??
Wifi is super cool. It is so convenient and can be placed anywhere in the house. Not everywhere you will have ethernet cables and wall outlets especially in older houses.

And if color prints are not important I would recommend laser over inkjet anyday. I owned Canon inkjet from 2003 till 2008 and then HP all in one inkjets till 2019. In 2019 I bought a laser wifi printer and life is now so cool now. :)

With HP it was really painful to spend 700-800 for the cartridge whenever we needed few prints. You have to take the print out every 2-3 days to prevent the ink from drying in inkjet printers.
You don't have worry about it in case of laser printers.
Above is my real life experience with owning different printers.
 
please advise it it worth to buy a 2 yr extended warantee for my printer brother dcp 220..@ Rs 4700.00 or n ot
IMHO warranty price seems high for the printer. I personally would not go for it, my use is limited so chances of failure should be relatively less. If your usage is very high and printer is very critical for you may be then it could justify taking the warranty extension.
 
IMHO warranty price seems high for the printer. I personally would not go for it, my use is limited so chances of failure should be relatively less. If your usage is very high and printer is very critical for you may be then it could justify taking the warranty extension.
ok..just rechecked from Brother india..they offer no warantee extension on inktank printers
 
Get the Wharfedale EVO 4.2 3-Way Standmount Speakers at a Special Offer Price.
Back
Top