Printer costs ridiculous

Much of the real cost of a home printer is the ink. In fact, refill cartridges can end up costing more than 500% of the cost of the printer itself over the life of the machine, according to a 2008 study by the American Consumer Institute, a consumer-protection group.

No wonder so many of our readers now refill cartridges at office-supply stores or print out only essential documents. And they're not alone. Hewlett-Packard executives recently acknowledged that fewer Americans are printing at home.

Ink is so pricey that some printer manufacturers discount their machines in order to sell more of the models with the highest ink expenses. The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research found that consumers could save $6 billion a year if they opted for printers with lower ink costs rather than those with the lowest sticker prices. The center has a calculator on its site to help consumers estimate the cost of owning a specific printer.

Bing Shopping: Find a home printer that suits you
From MSN Money's message boards: "These prices always make me crazy," "TobyRadloff" wrote. "There's always the option of having your ink cartridges refilled. Retailers such as Walgreens and OfficeMax refill printer cartridges . . . (are) much cheaper than buying new. There are also do-it-yourself kits for refilling ink cartridges, but those can be messy."