Digital Home Thoughts: At $65 an Ounce, I'm not Buying Ink Anymore

"For about $200 you can get the Hewlett-Packard Photosmart 8250 that in just 14 seconds spits out a photo that equals the quality of those coming back from the photo finisher in an hour. For the same price, Canon's iP6600D prints a borderless 4-by-6-inch photo in 46 seconds, but also prints on both sides of dual-side photo paper. The catch is that after you make an initial investment, you are going to pay at least 28 cents a print, if you believe the manufacturers' math. It could be closer to 50 cents a print if you trust the testing of product reviewers at Consumer Reports. In the meantime, the price of printing a 4-by-6-inch snapshot at a retailer's photo lab, like those inside a Sam's Club, is as low as 13 cents. Snapfish.com, an online mail-order service, offers prints for a dime each if you prepay. At those prices, why bother printing at home?"

I used to be really big about printing at home, at least until a CVS opened right around the corner. Just the other day, my Canon i960 needed new ink so I went to Staples to get refills (5 of the 6 where low) and walked out after learning that I would have spent almost $70 on ink. Now I'm in the market for a cheap laser B&W printer and I'll be printing at the CVS or the Costco a couple miles away. Who would have though that in 2005, I wouldn't have a color printer at home?