Printer scam

I picked up another camera the other afternoon. I’m down to just one or two, and while I’m not cheap, okay – maybe I am cheap – the camera itself did cost less than $100. I’ve been through several, and the Kodak cameras I’ve used, while the pictures have been good enough, the first one didn’t survive swimming and the second one hasn’t taken to riding around in my shorts too well. The camera started to skip images, recording only a blank image when I knew I had something lined up. That’s two Kodak cameras who have died. One Polaroid dead. I think there were some others, too. Two or three phone cameras, yeah, those count, since some of the images are done with them.

No access.
Judson’s Candy Building sign.
Amol’s Jack.
Judson’s Candy Building (old) sign.
Relocated Amol’s Jack.
Judson’s Candy Building old view.

According the population/demographic/census statistics I found online, government sponsored, of dubious authenticity, the San Antonio downtown zip code, where those images are from? 90% Hispanic. That’s the way it was listed, “Hispanic.”

That one project is virtual treasure trove of images, though, as it looks nothing like it did when I was wandering the mean streets of San Antonio’s South Side. Which, for my time, is far prettier than anyone I’ve heard gives it credit for.

The latest camera is needed for the summer’s trip to Europe. On the cheap, on the fly, a little Shakespeare, and a quick jaunt to the City of Love, or City of Lights, or City of haughty French people. The sales clerk at the camera store (Cancer), the deal, and it shows that some old business models have adapted well to the web culture, it was basically a printer for $69.95 – bundled with the camera, and a printer mail-in rebate for $70. Means the price of the printer is tax and rented time for the check to arrive.

The scam with printers, the other printers I have? One was freely given to me, matter of fact, two of them were, the scam, like that $69.95 printer with a $70 mail-in-rebate? The scam is buy the damn ink cartridges. The smaller the printer? The more the cartridges cost. Haven’t figured that out, good for less than 50 pages, almost costs too much to bother.

I’m sure that’s been more quantitatively documented by others. Give the printer away and make the money on the ink. As far as the operation of the printer itself? Plug and play. One word: Mac.

About the author: Born and raised in a small town in East Texas, Kramer Wetzel spent years honing his craft in a trailer park in South Austin. He hates writing about himself in third person. More at KramerWetzel.com.

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