Printer turnover rate

[mystvearn]

10 years ago, I had a HP505C printer. And it is still functional, but I gave it to someone else. The ink is expansive. I just bought a Canon S400SP less than 3 years and its already giving me problems. I'v eread in the newspaper saying that printer tunover rates are getting shorter & shorter. Why does this happen? Companies not making printers like they used to? or is this some kind of sales pitch?

[Hi Ho]

Think about it. Many printers cost less than the ink they use. What does that tell you about the quality? I bought my current printer, HP Deskjet 882C, several years ago for $300. It is still working fine. I am planning to purchase a Cannon i860. After seeing that thing in action I cannot buy anything else. It prints an 8x10 in under 2 minutes and the pictures look professional. The ink is also cheaper and lasts longer.

[glc]

Consumer grade inkjet printers have evolved from a piece of machinery into a disposable commodity. VCR's are in the same category. Build them as cheap as you can.

[DragonNOA1]

I'm like Hi Ho in that I have a 882C from years ago that works great. And to tell you the truth, I've had it for about 5 years and I haven't changed the ink cartridge yet! and my sister and I are still in school! I'd hate to have to buy ink cartidges as often as everyone says they do.

[Hi Ho]

You must not print much. I print photos once in a while and I print a lot of text. I have changed the ink many times.

[DragonNOA1]

I have an extra ink cartridge here. I'm waiting for it to dry up anytime here but it just hasn't happened yet. I do print all of my papers with the "draft" quality, but still over five years of papers, pictures, and charts you would have thought it would have been empty long ago.

[Hi Ho]

I use draft for text as well. It makes no difference in how it looks but it save a lot of ink and time. I print charts and stuff in normal and photos in best.

[mystvearn]

Originally posted by glc
Consumer grade inkjet printers have evolved from a piece of machinery into a disposable commodity. VCR's are in the same category. Build them as cheap as you can.

i'll will still try to fix this machine. I don't want to change printers that often, it must have solid performance. Otherwise, I wake up one day, want to print my thesis just to find out the machine has failled.
I have 2 VCR's, both above 10 years, still using it to record (no Tivo here yet).

[glc]

They built VCR's well 10 years ago - I'm referring to today's machines.

[mystvearn]

They still built VCR's today? What happend to VCD, DVD?
Why are machines so faulty/crappy nowdays?

[glc]

I know I bought one 3 years ago for $69. The one before that, I bought 15 years ago for $400 and the new one is better but I'll bet it won't last that long. They are crappy because they no longer spend money on quality components, they slap them together as cheap as they can to compete - the average consumer only looks at the bottom line.

[Hi Ho]

I usually choose to spend more for quality and use something for a long time than buy cheap things and buy more often. I bought my first VCR to $1500 and it worked for 17 years. I bought my current VCR in 1996 I think. I paid $250. It still works fine. I have a friend who buys the cheapest he can find. He must have gone through 6 VCR's in the last 5 years. He didn't have a DVD player until someone gave him one. I think my Aiwa DVD player that I bought in 2001 for $300 will last a while.

[mystvearn]

DVD player- I have my pc for that, does anyone make anything good nowdays. Looks like better get something vintage for all products?

[Hi Ho]

does anyone make anything good nowdays
Yes, they do. You just have to pay for it. Take my example. Brands like Panasonic, Dennon, Sony, Aiwa, Onkyo, and Toshiba generally make quality, long lasting components. You pay for it though. Look at THIS (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-oUh8b9iCAcX/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=033DVD2900&id=morephotos&a=0&s=0&cc=01&g=54400#morephotos) one. $1000 for a single disc DVD player? The back panel doesn't look any different than mine. Sanyo makes very reliable TV's. RCA used to be in that group. I have an RCA video camera from 1987 that cost me $2000. It must weigh 15 pounds. It's extremely bulky and featureless compared to todays camcorders. It still works though. I have not been impressed by any of RCA's products over the last few years.

[glc]

The only problem with buying vintage is they usually are technically inferior - are you going to buy a 200 MHz classic Pentium computer, for example?

[mystvearn]

anything that works-like until I hate to see it. 200mhz Pentium is vintage? Great for old school gaming. HOTU has lots of games :D
Just today, my 3 year old nokia 3350 failed me forever( I think) and I am beginning to hate it. Maybe it has a life of its own :) knowing the master does not want it any longer.