As if I hadn't had to replace

Pixma MX372

computer and A/C in the last month, my 13-1/2 month old 4-In-1 Epson Workforce 520 printer jammed and flat quit working last week. This makes the 3rd printer in the last 5 years that has jammed to death. Thank goodness I had purchased a 2-year extended warranty on the Epson, even though that cost 1/3 the price of the printer but turned out to be about the same the cost as only 1 of the 2 required black ink cartridges - a pretty sore issue for MANY REASONS including the fact it used 3 or 4 times the amount of ink of any printer I have ever owned. And that despite the fact I printed almost exclusively in black draft mode and never in color. To be honest, while it had some nice features (all totally unrelated to printing), I despised the thing and am glad to be legitimately rid of it.

The first time I had had to replace BOTH black cartridges to the tune of about $40 (only $20 less than the initial cost of the printer including ink, and shockingly far too soon considering how little printing I actually do these days (none in color, and still those cartridges are all but empty) I started thinking about replacing the whole !#@!@## thing. But I hadn't gotten that far as I still had a smidge of ink left. Still I was on the verge of having to replace 2 blacks and 3 color cartridges to the tune of $90-$100. New printer, including ink - about $65.  Took Epson back to Frye's expecting Repair Dept to spend a couple of minutes removing tiny piece of still jammed paper I couldn't see at home. Instead they didn't even look at it and sent me back to Customer Service to have it replaced. Really? Long story short, I finally agreed to swap Epson for the Canon Pixma the warranty would approve of, however, IT would only come with a 30-day warranty - which I expressed considerable polite concern and polite consternation about. In the end, however, they replaced the Epson with the Canon and I paid $21 for a new 2-year extended warranty. I felt like I got a good deal, and I'm hoping when I get everything attached and plugged in it works. The  drive to Frye's is a real hassle.

I'm hoping I haven't been snookered on ink usage and cost yet again. It's utterly ludicrous and an environmental disgrace. Printers have fallen to amazingly low prices. The cost of ink, however, has skyrocketed. It's less expensive to toss the printer into a land fill and buy a new one than shell out thick wads of cash for a new round of ink!