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Analysis | Printer ink is a scam. Here’s how to spend less. (wapo.st)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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Washington Post: Americans waste $10 billion each year on name-brand ink. So we tested low-cost options including remanufactured cartridges, ink injection kits — and even making our own.

My advice: get a mono laser printer. Printing is handy but relatively infrequent for a lot of people these days. If that's your use case, mono laser is the way to go. Toner does not dry out or go bad.

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[–] 6 points 3 years ago (2 children)

Commercial printer here! There's some validity here, but health risks for at-home printing would be minimal in my opinion unless someone is printing a lot. Toner machines tend to release ozone from the corona wires that are used to charge the drums.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    There is a safety concern that you shouldn't clean anything involving toner with ammonia-based products (window cleaners, etc.) It reacts with the plastic in the toner. Isopropyl alcohol can be mixed with a smaller ratio of water to use as a cleaner. I do agree with the original message and always recommend people buy laser over inkjet for most tasks.

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