[sf-lug] Looking for a cheap printer

[Akkana Peck]

Michael Paoli writes:
> I also happen to print very little ... so - ink ends up a huge
> cost in my case, especially per-page, for inkjet,
> as those darn ink cartridges are generally only good for about a year
> max. even if you print nothing or almost nothing.  So, my case, it was
> about $30.00 to $100.00 USD or so (also thinking the "Mom" case) any time
> some printing needed to be done, as the cartridge(s) would no longer do it,

Same here. I liked the quality of inkjet prints on special papers
(and I had quite a collection of specialty inkjet papers, most of
which don't seem to be available for laser printers) but after a
while, it got to be too much hassle to try to remember to print
something every few weeks whether I actually wanted a printout or
not, or else buy a new cartridge every time I printed something. It
wasn't really the expense that bothered me (the cost of an
aftermarket cartridge a couple of times a year really wasn't that
much), it was the hassle of never knowing if I could print or if I'd
have to go on a shopping trip first.

Rick:
> > (Obvious solution if you might need to print colour once in a blue moon:
> > Either know a few friends who own inkjet printers, or visit FedEx Office
> > when Blue Moon Day comes.)

I tried to print some holiday cards at Kinko's and similar print shops
once, for an article I was writing on creating holiday cards in GIMP.
It was a frustrating experience: the printers there didn't have any
sort of consistency in how well the image would fill the page or
whether it might be offset, so it took a lot of experimenting which
had to be repeated for every printer in every shop. Or else print
smaller and plan on trimming the cards to less than standard size.

        ...Akkana