Plan your next printer purchase carefully

Last year I bought a Samsung 1700 series laser printer for the amazing low price of $40, after the rebate. Boy, was I happy. I do most of my printing in the office so for about a year this home/office printer served me in good stead. Then I needed toner. The toner cartridge for this printer was $94 at Staples, $97 with tax, twice the cost of the printer. At the same store there is an HP 1018 laser printer, a bet

Last year I bought a Samsung 1700 series laser printer for the amazing low price of $40, after the rebate.

Boy, was I happy. I do most of my printing in the office so for about a year this home/office printer served me in good stead.

Then I needed toner.

The toner cartridge for this printer was $94 at Staples, $97 with tax, twice the cost of the printer.

At the same store there is an HP 1018 laser printer, a better name than Samsung in printers I would suspect, for $65 after the rebate.

Toner cartridges for this printer are $70 for one and if you buy two at a time the price drops to $62.50 per cartridge.

By the way both the Samsung and HP toner cartridge lasts for 3,000 pages.

So, my bargain $40 Samsung is costing me $137 for the first year.

If I buy the HP at $65, plus two cartridges at $62.50 apiece, and each cartridge lasts one year, then it costs me ten dollars less, $127.50, for the first year of ownership and I have a brand new printer.

The following year will cost me only $62.50, the price of the second toner cartridge. The Samsung will cost me another $94 for the second year.

In fact I get a starter toner cartridge with the HP that the salesman said will last for about 1,000 pages, that alone is about $30 additional savings, figured at three cents a printed page.

So if I want to be a smart shopper I guess I should just throw out the year old Samsung and buy the new HP printer. I wonder how many times that tactic will work?

My advice to anyone in need of a laser printer is don't be fooled by a laser printer at a low, low price. Instead price the cost of the toner cartridge not the printer.