# What makes used ink cartridges so valuable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841 "2011-10-16T20:20:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841/21 "2011-10-18T12:25:00Z")
I’d use the drugstore photo service for colour pictures, because they offer a special photo editing software and have the necessary special photo paper and ink along with it. That your local printer shop is staffed by idiots I’m sorry to hear, and a bit baffled: do you live in a small town? Around here, the university quarter has half a dozen copy shops for the students, there’s a special shop for the State library (colour prints starting at 0,35 Euro/page) as well as a small shop out in my suburb which is very generous with trial prints. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841/22 "2011-10-19T00:22:29Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > A brand-new print cartridge from the company itself costs 70 Euros about, and you need 1 black, 1 reddish, 1 blue-ish and 1 yellow. Is they really that expensive in the EU? Most consumer-level low-end inkjet printers here take one black cartridge and one tri-color cartridge, and they run about $25 apiece if you buy them at a retail store. Probably cheaper online. The more expensive ones that have separate cyan, yellow, and magenta ink cartridges usually seem to charge about $20 for each color, so you spend a bit more but you don’t have to replace the tri-color cartridge when one of the colors (usually yellow in my experience) runs out. **ETA:** the university bioinformatics lab that I work at bought a color laser printer last year for $499. The high-capacity toner cartridges cost $38.99 apiece; we need to buy four of them, but they last 4000 pages. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841/23 "2011-10-19T00:25:21Z")
I believe that **constanze** was referring to the price of laser printer toner cartridges, not inkjet cartridges. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841/24 "2011-10-19T00:28:26Z")
Not in the post I quoted. Or at least, not in the part I quoted. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841/25 "2011-10-19T09:31:46Z")
Yes, I was giving the price for normal inkjet cartridges, but the last time I looked in the retail stores was several years ago. Prices may have gone down due to competition, but I haven’t looked recently. I have seen several shops offering re-filled cartridges spring up over the last year (which also offer buying empty cart.s) but haven’t looked to see how they’re doing now. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841/26 "2011-10-22T11:42:45Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > In private homes and small offices, speed is really not the issue, cost is. > > And if the replacement cartridges still last 5 000 pages (like lasers usually do) compared to 500 pages of inkjet, it’s still worth the cost even at 80$ each, since inkjet cartridges cost just as much too. Here in Australia, the average yield on a black laser cartridge for a “standard” (ie the sort most people would buy and not a commercial-scale one) laser printer is between 1,000-3,000 pages (cost $60-$200 or so), in my experience working in computer & electronics retail for the last too many years. Also, you can’t generally print onto photo paper using a laser printer, so if you want super nice photos then an inkjet is still the second best option after going getting them printed from a kiosk somewhere. There’s a whole heap of other factors at play, but the edited highlights are if you plan on doing colour printing, an inkjet is still the most cost-effective way to do it for most people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-used-ink-cartridges-so-valuable/599841.md?page=1)