Editing Printer (computing) (section)

===Economics===
In order to fairly compare operating expenses of printers with a relatively small [[ink cartridge]] to printers with a larger, more expensive [[toner cartridge]] that typically holds more toner and so prints more pages before the cartridge needs to be replaced, many people prefer to estimate operating expenses in terms of [[cost per page]] (CPP).<ref name="measuring_yield" />

Retailers often apply the [[Razor and blades model|"razor and blades" model]]: a company may sell a printer at cost and make profits on the [[ink cartridge]], paper, or some other [[spare part|replacement part]]. This has caused legal disputes regarding the right of companies other than the printer manufacturer to sell [[computer compatibility|compatible]] ink cartridges. To protect their business model, several manufacturers invest heavily in developing new cartridge technology and patenting it.

Other manufacturers, in reaction to the challenges from using this business model, choose to make more money on printers and less on ink, promoting the latter through their advertising campaigns. Finally, this generates two clearly different proposals: "cheap printer&nbsp;– expensive ink" or "expensive printer&nbsp;– cheap ink". Ultimately, the consumer decision depends on their reference [[interest rate]] or their [[time preference]]. From an [[economics]] viewpoint, there is a clear [[trade-off]] between cost per copy and cost of the printer.