I picked up a Lexmark Z816 colour inkjet printer today at a second-hand shop for $19 -- the box had never been opened. I didn't know much about the printer, but I figured I couldn't go wrong for $19.
When I got home and checked the Web, I discovered the Z816 had originally been priced at $79, had already been discontinued, and had received middling reviews, but I tried a few test pages of colour text and photos, and was pleased with the results.
Heck, for $19, when the ink that came with the printer runs out, I could toss the whole thing in the trash anyway. Not that my anti-consumerism conscience would allow me to do so, but it's rather frightening to think of how easy it would be to do just that. What with the price of inkjet cartridges, it makes more personal economic sense to buy another $19 printer!
There's something wrong with this picture... What a wasteful society we live in. One that does not calculate the true economic costs of producing and trashing stuff like Lexmark Z816s...
Posted by Paul at July 12, 2008 06:05 PM