4 ms·

It looks like a product but is a subscription

25 points by pcr910303 5y ago

PaulHoule 5y ago
About 10 months ago I started a hobby printing art reproductions on an inkjet printer. I realized right away that the printer would dry out if I didn't use it every day, so I committed myself to print something every day. It's been like a road trip where I decided to go drive west without much of a plan then hit the west coast and turned my car into a hydrofoil. My printer is a https://epson.com/EcoTank-Supertank-Printers/c/hc110 https://epson.com/EcoTank-Supertank-Printers/c/hc110 and doesn't need cartridges. I print mainly 4″x6″ cards and use expensive paper and my material cost is about 8 cents for that kind of card, 20 cents for a 8″x8″ card. 15 cents for an NFC sticker looks expensive in comparison! If I had a large format printer I could do some amazing things in principle but with the small card I can afford to take chances, make mistakes, and get good at it. For borderless prints of subjects like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Non-Objective_Composition._Color_Painting_(Rozanova,_1917_(RM)).jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Non-Objective_Composition... you have to be very careful because the algorithm is designed for "color snaps" and the printer doesn't know exactly where the paper edge is and you have to finesse it if you want to keep the narrow strips of yellow at the top and bottom which I think is an important detail. So I don't trust the print shop or shutterfly with my prints, they do pretty good but not good enough. I think today's printers are a miracle and don't regret in the slightest what they cost.
- andreareina 5y ago
  We always did borderless prints on inkjets by including a tiny margin (IIRC ~3mm) and trimming that off.
mikestew 5y ago
The average user prints exactly one colour page during the lifetime of their colour printer. It is usually the test page. Really? So I guess I'm one of the few that accidentally prints in color more than once during a printer's lifetime?
ricardobeat 5y ago
This was a good read but the section on cars is not right. They are a special kind of asset in that they depreciate incredibly fast, which makes leasing not so much of a bad proposition. In places where interest rates are low, you might end up spending a mere 10-20% more, and in turn you don’t have to deal with insurance, maintenance or selling it at the end of the period.
- OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
  Leasing is still terrible unless you're a business replacing your vehicle on a schedule. If you buy a car new and keep it for a decade, you'll be ahead even including maintenance. Many dealerships offer free maintenance during the warranty period, then continue to offer free oil changes for as long as you own it. You have to carry insurance on a leased car at your own expense as well.
  - vetinari 5y ago
    > You have to carry insurance on a leased car at your own expense as well. Not only that, you have to have a plan by insurer that the lessor has chosen (and yes, they do earn money here). With your own property, you can find your own deal.
  - jnwatson 5y ago
    The devil is in the details. If you can predict how many miles you drive, it is essentially an agreement to sell your car at a predetermined price. The main problem is that when buying a car outright, there are two parameters the dealer can screw you with (price and interest rate.), with leasing, there is a third (sell price).
  - ricardobeat 5y ago
    Indeed, the math falls apart getting 3-4 years in. Makes more sense for people who want to always have a relatively recent model.
- calpaterson 5y ago
  The lease usually takes into account the depreciation. Lessors aren't usually in the business of just eating the cost of depreciation. That said there are _some_ arguments in favour of leasing (https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/ow97zp/it_looks_like_a_product_but_is_secretly_a/h7gyfko/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/ow97zp/it_l...) but a) I don't think they're enormous and b) most people on a PCP don't really appreciate that it is a lease.

25 points by pcr910303 5y ago

About 10 months ago I started a hobby printing art reproductions on an inkjet printer. I realized right away that the printer would dry out if I didn't use it every day, so I committed myself to print something every day. It's been like a road trip where I decided to go drive west without much of a plan then hit the west coast and turned my car into a hydrofoil. My printer is a https://epson.com/EcoTank-Supertank-Printers/c/hc110 https://epson.com/EcoTank-Supertank-Printers/c/hc110 and doesn't need cartridges. I print mainly 4″x6″ cards and use expensive paper and my material cost is about 8 cents for that kind of card, 20 cents for a 8″x8″ card. 15 cents for an NFC sticker looks expensive in comparison! If I had a large format printer I could do some amazing things in principle but with the small card I can afford to take chances, make mistakes, and get good at it. For borderless prints of subjects like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Non-Objective_Composition._Color_Painting_(Rozanova,_1917_(RM)).jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Non-Objective_Composition... you have to be very careful because the algorithm is designed for "color snaps" and the printer doesn't know exactly where the paper edge is and you have to finesse it if you want to keep the narrow strips of yellow at the top and bottom which I think is an important detail. So I don't trust the print shop or shutterfly with my prints, they do pretty good but not good enough. I think today's printers are a miracle and don't regret in the slightest what they cost.

andreareina 5y ago
We always did borderless prints on inkjets by including a tiny margin (IIRC ~3mm) and trimming that off.

mikestew 5y ago

The average user prints exactly one colour page during the lifetime of their colour printer. It is usually the test page. Really? So I guess I'm one of the few that accidentally prints in color more than once during a printer's lifetime?

ricardobeat 5y ago

This was a good read but the section on cars is not right. They are a special kind of asset in that they depreciate incredibly fast, which makes leasing not so much of a bad proposition. In places where interest rates are low, you might end up spending a mere 10-20% more, and in turn you don’t have to deal with insurance, maintenance or selling it at the end of the period.

OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
Leasing is still terrible unless you're a business replacing your vehicle on a schedule. If you buy a car new and keep it for a decade, you'll be ahead even including maintenance. Many dealerships offer free maintenance during the warranty period, then continue to offer free oil changes for as long as you own it. You have to carry insurance on a leased car at your own expense as well.
- vetinari 5y ago
  > You have to carry insurance on a leased car at your own expense as well. Not only that, you have to have a plan by insurer that the lessor has chosen (and yes, they do earn money here). With your own property, you can find your own deal.
- jnwatson 5y ago
  The devil is in the details. If you can predict how many miles you drive, it is essentially an agreement to sell your car at a predetermined price. The main problem is that when buying a car outright, there are two parameters the dealer can screw you with (price and interest rate.), with leasing, there is a third (sell price).
- ricardobeat 5y ago
  Indeed, the math falls apart getting 3-4 years in. Makes more sense for people who want to always have a relatively recent model.
calpaterson 5y ago
The lease usually takes into account the depreciation. Lessors aren't usually in the business of just eating the cost of depreciation. That said there are _some_ arguments in favour of leasing (https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/ow97zp/it_looks_like_a_product_but_is_secretly_a/h7gyfko/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/ow97zp/it_l...) but a) I don't think they're enormous and b) most people on a PCP don't really appreciate that it is a lease.