How come these devices only ever make it to their third anniversary, if that?

Some of the low-cost inkjet printers sell for roughly the price of a set of ink cartridges, so maybe it is true that the printer manufacturers are actually ink makers, who throw in free printers. So anyway, I had to call it a day – and had to spend a good number of hours choosing the new printer.

Device cost. Cartridge cost. Reviews. Expected lifetime. Ability to refill individual colours versus a single multi-colour cartridge. Cost per page in black and white. Cost per page in color. The desire to have a really nice printer. The desire to make a sensible purchase.

Honestly, I am overwhelmed by the task to balance all those factors. There might be more difficult decisions in life, but choosing a replacement printer must rank pretty high on that list.

In the end, I chose a Samsung CLP-315 Colour Laser Printer. The cost comparison might just work out if the device makes it through three years. I am certainly happy to confirm that the print quality is superb.

I am curious regarding the lightfastness of the prints. This was poor with ink; the ink prints change colour pretty quickly when exposed to light. We’ll find out; I have a number of reference prints for comparison.