[paxys]

Because you can get a basic inkjet printer with included cartridges for $30 vs $350 for a color laser printer + toner. I'm sure the latter makes sense if you are printing at scale, but for occasional use there's really no point spending that much.

[MarcusE1W]

I think this shows the problem though. When I was younger you had to save for a printer for a considerate amount of time, the equivalent of hundreds of dollars was normal.

Now there are customers that think they can buy a printer for the equivalent of a round of beer, and when that doesn't work out as expected it's only the evil companies.

More often than not the consumer goes for the cheapest, and that's what they get and the company has to make the profit elsewhere.

I appreciate that with all the legal wrangling and anti-competitive behaviour the supplier companies don't paint a very attractive picture, but the consumer decisions have made the bed for this market as well.

[dragontamer]

But if you are only printing occasionally why not go to FedEx and print your document there?

I've chosen to have Black and White only at home, and go to FedEx for my color pages. I do black and white text often enough that it's worth it. But I really don't do color enough to warrant a printer (or upgrading to a more expensive color printer even)

[paxys]

Because I want to print at home? And don't want to pay $1+ a page?

[dragontamer]

Uh huh.

You know it's 10c a page, you can email it to them and pick it up later... right?

It's also a FedEx, so I'm pretty sure they can FexEx you the printout for an additional fee and deliver it. But FedEx Office Centers are all over my area and are common pickups during grocery shopping or other tasks I have around town.

There probably is a cheaper local printer that you should support rather than big business FedEx btw. Local marketing and local printers would likely accept your print jobs and supporting your town is a good idea.

--------

Consolidated office print jobs also stock rarer papers (cardstock, oversized, legal, etc. etc) and support more styles of print jobs anyway.

You should have a home printer for your most common printing task (which is almost certainly jost plain black and white documents). But if you need serious print jobs with good bindings, cover sheets and less common paper weights (ex: 100lb cardstock or something) in colors and other advanced features that's a printer you go to.

I mean the printer in your local towns main street, and FedEx if they've taken over your town.

[Loggias]

Because it’s really inconvenient and not the best use of my time?

[tshaddox]

The problem I have with cheap inkjets for occasional use is that they tend to stop working after just 1-3 years. A lot of people say it's because the ink dries up and clogs up the works if you don't print regularly. I'm not sure if that's an accurate explanation, and maybe I'm just unlucky, but reliability is the only real complaint I have about inkjets.

[Blackthorn]

It is, unfortunately, an accurate explanation. Inkjets need to be regularly run.