[onion2k]

The 200k machine just has to be a small bit better than the 2500 machine for it to pay off so fast it is ridiculous. A commodity approach to printing sounds like it would involve a lot of quality checks and other really pricy manual things that would eat up that 200k in under a year.

Owning the 200k machine has to be better than owning 80 of the cheaper machines for it to be better. In a lot of scenarios that will be the case - if you need the improved resolution, reliability, etc that the 200k machine offers then the cheaper machines just aren't an option. In time though, as the cheaper machines improve, the expensive machine may stop being a better option.

[bonzini]

> Owning the 200k machine has to be better than owning 80 of the cheaper machines

No, his point was that with the cheaper printer you might need to hire one guy to look after the quirks of the 2500 machine and customize each part so that it works fine with the cheaper machine. If the 200k lasts more than 3 years, it's already paid for itself, because after 3 years the cheaper machine would cost you 2500 for the printer and 200k for the guy.

[lawless123]

"In time though, as the cheaper machines improve, the expensive machine may stop being a better option."

Or in time the expensive machine gets cheaper.

[onion2k]

That might also happen, but in general cheap things get better faster than expensive things get cheaper.