printer ink is an issue with all brands... i now make it a point to chech cost per page before buying a printer. A year ago i bought a brother printer (a plotter) and it was an absolute steal :)

Up till recently we had some such appliances as well, but recently changed them.
Though if you think about it the cost of such appliances has greatly decreased in the last 20 years.
Stoves for example fell from 2000€ to as little as 300€.