Comments on: Graph compares price of inkjet ink to other liquids http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Fri, 24 May 2013 21:44:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: woid http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675846 woid Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675846 The graph goes back at least as far as November 4th, when Gizmodo published it... http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/hp-ink-costs-more-than-human-blood-booze-212444.php The graph goes back at least as far as November 4th, when Gizmodo published it…

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/hp-ink-costs-more-than-human-blood-booze-212444.php

]]> By: kpallist http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675595 kpallist Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675595 Going by memory, Starbucks espresso ($2.00 for a 40ml shot) would put it at #4 on the above chart/list Going by memory, Starbucks espresso ($2.00 for a 40ml shot) would put it at #4 on the above chart/list

]]> By: jamsie http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-676881 jamsie Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-676881 I'm still using a bubble jet printer that has to be at least 14 years old (Cannon BJ-200). I have a couple of cigar boxes filled with spare parts that I collected when people were tossing these things in the garbage years ago, and have repaired it so many times I can't count. I print very little, my daily crossword and my end of month expense sheet, and some other misc. stuff, so it does the job. But last month I went to but an new cartridge and it cost me $38.00! Seems to me the last time I bought one (3 months or so ago) it was under $25. I'm asking myself 'do I really need a home printer'? I'm thinking no. Time to start doing my crosswords on the computer. I just hope that old printer lasts until the ink runs out. I’m still using a bubble jet printer that has to be at least 14 years old (Cannon BJ-200). I have a couple of cigar boxes filled with spare parts that I collected when people were tossing these things in the garbage years ago, and have repaired it so many times I can’t count. I print very little, my daily crossword and my end of month expense sheet, and some other misc. stuff, so it does the job. But last month I went to but an new cartridge and it cost me $38.00! Seems to me the last time I bought one (3 months or so ago) it was under $25. I’m asking myself ‘do I really need a home printer’? I’m thinking no. Time to start doing my crosswords on the computer. I just hope that old printer lasts until the ink runs out.

]]> By: SKR http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675362 SKR Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675362 What, no Dom Perignon? What, no Dom Perignon?

]]> By: soubriquet http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-676898 soubriquet Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-676898 My car uses imperial gallons, but I put them in from a pump that packages them in litres. My car's fuel tank incorporates an automatic litres/gallons convertor, and, with a little sound of sawing, hammering and shaving, converts every four point five-four litres into a gallon. Unused part-litres are stored in a metric annex of the tank, and returned into the converter on the next fill. What I'd like to know is why the oil industry persists in charging us for barrels when we know they're using pipelines and tankers to move the stuff areound, resulting in the bankruptcy of barrel-investors. I'm so happy that grandpa rejigged the barrel-production -plant way-back to make micro barrels for HP. phew! otherwise I'd have to live along with the poor people, who don't have multi-engined jets. My car uses imperial gallons, but I put them in from a pump that packages them in litres. My car’s fuel tank incorporates an automatic litres/gallons convertor, and, with a little sound of sawing, hammering and shaving, converts every four point five-four litres into a gallon. Unused part-litres are stored in a metric annex of the tank, and returned into the converter on the next fill.
What I’d like to know is why the oil industry persists in charging us for barrels when we know they’re using pipelines and tankers to move the stuff areound, resulting in the bankruptcy of barrel-investors. I’m so happy that grandpa rejigged the barrel-production -plant way-back to make micro barrels for HP. phew! otherwise I’d have to live along with the poor people, who don’t have multi-engined jets.

]]> By: johnhazard http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675367 johnhazard Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675367 What in the hell are we supposed to do about THIS?!? What in the hell are we supposed to do about THIS?!?

]]> By: ROSSINDETROIT http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-676903 ROSSINDETROIT Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-676903 Hate printers. I let the color tanks go dry in my HP all-in-one and print in monochrome only. I manually refill the black tank until it won't work any more. Amazingly, once when I had a duff print cartridge, the thing wouldn't scan a document until I replaced the cart with a good one. Printing is irrelevant to scanning but HP made me buy ink before I could scan. THAT pissed me off. Hate printers. I let the color tanks go dry in my HP all-in-one and print in monochrome only. I manually refill the black tank until it won’t work any more. Amazingly, once when I had a duff print cartridge, the thing wouldn’t scan a document until I replaced the cart with a good one. Printing is irrelevant to scanning but HP made me buy ink before I could scan.
THAT pissed me off.

]]> By: nixiebunny http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675368 nixiebunny Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675368 This is why I stick with laser printers. This is why I stick with laser printers.

]]> By: phisrow http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675369 phisrow Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675369 Be fair guys. Genuine HP Black Ink #45 is made by washing Karl Rove's soul in the tears of unicorns, for maximum opacity and colorfastness. Cheap 3rd party cartridges just aren't the same. Be fair guys. Genuine HP Black Ink #45 is made by washing Karl Rove’s soul in the tears of unicorns, for maximum opacity and colorfastness. Cheap 3rd party cartridges just aren’t the same.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675385 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675385 thank zombie-jesus this graph is in 3D. otherwise it would have made no sense at all. thank zombie-jesus this graph is in 3D. otherwise it would have made no sense at all.

]]> By: auilix http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675391 auilix Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675391 I wonder if new technology like Polaroid's ZINK stuff will start becoming more popular? I wonder if new technology like Polaroid’s ZINK stuff will start becoming more popular?

]]> By: Xenu http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675396 Xenu Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675396 I'm filling my veins with HP ink from now on. It will make me a more valuable person. I’m filling my veins with HP ink from now on. It will make me a more valuable person.

]]> By: dculberson http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675397 dculberson Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675397 A significant amount of the cost of a cartridge is the delivery mechanism, ie, the jets themselves, which are replaced along with the ink. You can't just take the cost of a cartridge and apply 100% of the cost to the ink it contains. That's like taking the cost of a car and applying 100% of the cost to the fluid it contains. Then magically oil and gasoline become the most precious fluids on earth! Having said that, ink cartridges are ridiculously overpriced. I've not owned an ink jet printer in years for that very reason. A significant amount of the cost of a cartridge is the delivery mechanism, ie, the jets themselves, which are replaced along with the ink. You can’t just take the cost of a cartridge and apply 100% of the cost to the ink it contains. That’s like taking the cost of a car and applying 100% of the cost to the fluid it contains. Then magically oil and gasoline become the most precious fluids on earth!

Having said that, ink cartridges are ridiculously overpriced. I’ve not owned an ink jet printer in years for that very reason.

]]> By: Marshall http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675398 Marshall Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675398 Yet another reason I print all my documents in Type AB-. Yet another reason I print all my documents in Type AB-.

]]> By: feltmountain http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675400 feltmountain Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675400 What about Chanel No.5 ? What about Chanel No.5 ?

]]> By: Lady Katey http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675659 Lady Katey Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675659 I'm a graphic designer/printer and I can't stand desktop printers. My one at home is like an enemy to me and I try to use it as little as possible. The cost of the ink is only the beginning. These things are made out of PLASTIC! Tiny plastic cogs and gears! The more trouble it gives me the more I love my 2300 lb hunks of cast iron and steel at work. And black in for them costs.. wait for it.. $10 for a 1 lb can. Can't translate that into volume, as, well, 'real' ink just isn't measured that way. I’m a graphic designer/printer and I can’t stand desktop printers. My one at home is like an enemy to me and I try to use it as little as possible. The cost of the ink is only the beginning. These things are made out of PLASTIC! Tiny plastic cogs and gears!

The more trouble it gives me the more I love my 2300 lb hunks of cast iron and steel at work. And black in for them costs.. wait for it.. $10 for a 1 lb can. Can’t translate that into volume, as, well, ‘real’ ink just isn’t measured that way.

]]> By: Tzctlp http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675915 Tzctlp Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675915 "Hospitals put a price on blood: if you are even given blood while in a hospital, it should show up on your bill." In civilized countries blood is always free to the person that needs it. “Hospitals put a price on blood: if you are even given blood while in a hospital, it should show up on your bill.”

In civilized countries blood is always free to the person that needs it.

]]> By: aspro648 http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675663 aspro648 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675663 Printing out a borderless 4x6 for grandma to take home with her: Priceless. Printing out a borderless 4×6 for grandma to take home with her: Priceless.

]]> By: napstimpy http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675410 napstimpy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675410 What about Chanel No.6 ? What about Chanel No.6 ?

]]> By: bobk http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675667 bobk Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675667 Rob at Cockeyed.com investigates how much is inside an ink tank at: http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/printer/printcart.html Rob at Cockeyed.com investigates how much is inside an ink tank at: http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/printer/printcart.html

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-685909 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-685909 I might print this graph. I might print this graph.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675674 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675674 These kind of comparisons are rather silly. Don't compare inkjet ink to blood. Compare it to the cost of running a darkroom, which was what we used to have to do to print photographs. These kind of comparisons are rather silly. Don’t compare inkjet ink to blood. Compare it to the cost of running a darkroom, which was what we used to have to do to print photographs.

]]> By: Izomiac http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675421 Izomiac Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675421 Ah, but AB- is the rarest blood type, composing only about 0.5% of the human blood in the world. Surely this would elevate the cost.... Ah, but AB- is the rarest blood type, composing only about 0.5% of the human blood in the world. Surely this would elevate the cost….

]]> By: rightbug http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-676190 rightbug Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-676190 This is why I fill my printer with blood This is why I fill my printer with blood

]]> By: Rider http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675688 Rider Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675688 This chart also shows why I never donate blood anymore. Gives us something for free so we can sell it to a person who is dying. This chart also shows why I never donate blood anymore. Gives us something for free so we can sell it to a person who is dying.

]]> By: Chloramphenicol http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675952 Chloramphenicol Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675952 This graph has been around for years, and by now the pricing is probably really off. Bottled water, if you assume a price of $1.50 for a 20-oz bottle in the store, comes to $0.02 / mL, so that hasn't really changed, but crude oil is now up to about $0.32 / mL (assuming $80/barrel and roughly 209 L per barrel). My problem with it isn't the pricing per mL, but rather the fact that these fluids all have different rates of consumption, which is just as important as price per unit volume. For example, I use bottled water by the L, and it typically lasts an hour or so. My car uses a crude oil derivative (gasoline) by the gallon, and I get about two weeks' worth of driving on a full tank (roughly 60 L). By contrast, my ink cartridge contains a few mL of ink, but it lasts months at the rate I print. Sure, if I was still in college it might not last as long, but that's the way it goes. This graph has been around for years, and by now the pricing is probably really off. Bottled water, if you assume a price of $1.50 for a 20-oz bottle in the store, comes to $0.02 / mL, so that hasn’t really changed, but crude oil is now up to about $0.32 / mL (assuming $80/barrel and roughly 209 L per barrel).

My problem with it isn’t the pricing per mL, but rather the fact that these fluids all have different rates of consumption, which is just as important as price per unit volume.

For example, I use bottled water by the L, and it typically lasts an hour or so. My car uses a crude oil derivative (gasoline) by the gallon, and I get about two weeks’ worth of driving on a full tank (roughly 60 L). By contrast, my ink cartridge contains a few mL of ink, but it lasts months at the rate I print. Sure, if I was still in college it might not last as long, but that’s the way it goes.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-677235 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-677235 i like the gold to chocolate bar analogy. i would assume most of the people here either have common sense or basic knowledge of capitalism resulting in their acceptance of various liquid prices. interestingly, i was at first shocked at how comparatively cheap bottled water was as i heard once it was more expensive than jet fuel per ounce. just another example of how important a frame of reference is. i like the gold to chocolate bar analogy. i would assume most of the people here either have common sense or basic knowledge of capitalism resulting in their acceptance of various liquid prices. interestingly, i was at first shocked at how comparatively cheap bottled water was as i heard once it was more expensive than jet fuel per ounce. just another example of how important a frame of reference is.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675445 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675445 Soooo that's where Michael Jacksons semen went... that explains a lot... Soooo that’s where Michael Jacksons semen went… that explains a lot…

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675453 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675453 What about BBC Channel 2? What about BBC Channel 2?

]]> By: benlong http://boingboing.net/2009/12/30/graph-compares-price.html#comment-675455 benlong Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-675455 Ignoring for a moment the fact that this image is like 12 years old, this chart is not exactly scientific. In addition to what dculberson (#7) says, I'm curious how the value of blood is calculated. What brand of vodka is used, Popov? etc. Ignoring for a moment the fact that this image is like 12 years old, this chart is not exactly scientific. In addition to what dculberson (#7) says, I’m curious how the value of blood is calculated. What brand of vodka is used, Popov? etc.

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