@dangoodin the ink in each standard cartridge costs less than a penny to make. the plastic costs a few pennies. so you can imagine why they're so enamoured with keeping customers buying stuff from their consumables ecosystem at premium prices. the profit margins are ridiculous. that's also why in the mid-to-late 2000s there was such a race to the bottom on printer prices, offering them for £30 or even less. they sold them as loss leaders knowing that the median lifetime ink purchase made profit.

@gsuberland @dangoodin Good info. Thanks. I decided long ago never to buy another HP product when I learned that my multi-function printer (Office jet Pro 8600 plus) wouldn't scan a page unless it had a full complement of ink cartridges. Interested to know what you use for printing.