shit, i wonder if i could even claim the printer. i haven't received that letter of doom, though. kind of drawing attention to myself...

it's essentially a business expense.

and, if it doesn't work out, for whatever reason, i found a source for cheap lightscribe discs. so, this is all worked out...

good. because i'm hungry.

wait....wait....

there are some cheap epson models at best buy that get me under $75 with taxes. i can't go until tuesday, so that gives me time to wait for kijiji, but it's a totally legit option.

bah....that canon's out of stock everywhere, anyways.

the way they sell it though...

"only replace the colour ink tank that runs out."

yeah. so, spend 4x as much on ink.

i like the idea of printing the insert in higher quality, too, i have to admit. glossy paper. costs an extra $0.50 or something but it's a big difference in looking pro.

i've been talking about a distribution deal, but i kind of want it to be secondary. i'd rather run things out of my basement.

and, if i can get something set up, i wouldn't mind floating the idea around here of actually distributing things for other people...

i can't find evidence, safe to assume they don't...but i'll ask if i end up going in to print the inserts....

the one new one that does what i want and might be obtainable cheap enough seems to be a canon model, the pixma mx922...currently honing in on this....

but, ugh. it comes with half-filled ink tanks and takes five cartridges.

i'm not sure if you've heard about this, but they're actually putting *chips* on the cartridges, now, that shut down after a set amount of prints. that means you don't buy the cartridges until they run out, you buy 300 or 400 prints. that's criminal, really. and they've put 128-bit encryption on them. why do we have regulations, when companies can get away with such blatant robbery?

the canons are the only low price option. the thing is they get you in the end with the ink.

i'm not going to buy a new printer every time i need ink. i'd rather get something a little older.

some of the higher end brothers seem to do it, but the price of course falls over time. i'm hoping i hear something back from one of them.

if it had anything to do with ensuring print quality, they wouldn't use 128-bit encryption. it's beyond overkill by any excuse.

that encryption is there to disable perfectly good cartridges.

this is why i've been printing at the library for the last ten years...

i didn't even think to wonder if they print cds. seems obvious that they don't. but their mandate as a public service can be surprising at times. i should look into it, i may be pleasantly surprised...

no, i think i was right the first time.

if i pay $40 for something on kijiji (and there are some), it's going to be more like $100 after i get ink. but i can't find a model for less than $100 (they all come with ink) online, either.

let's see what response i get from kijiji. if it's weak, i'll have to take a walk around.

i don't want to spend more than $75 total, really. if it gets more than that, i'll have to order the lightscribe discs and keep to the initial plan.

i mean, there's a logic to it, right: if i have enough generated to buy a printer, buying a printer is worthwhile.

yeah, there's some cheap options there, it's probably the best option.

for $50, i may actually be able to get a brand new one. i was thinking something like this would cost a lot more. i'll go down on tuesday....

there's been this problem with printers for a while: it's cheaper to buy a new printer than it is to buy ink.

gah...

couldn't find lightscribe discs anywhere. the salesperson talked me into buying some discs i knew wouldn't work and they do, in fact, not work. have to bring those back on tuesday....

i think i've exhausted options in town. there's always detroit, but i may have to order them online. it's an older technology, now, that didn't really take off. but i can't afford the type of cd printer that did take off. i'll have to get one cheap eventually, but it's going to be a while...

well....unless i *can* find a printer for cheap, i guess.

see, here's the thing: i've sold one cd. i'm not yet optimistic that i'm going to sell a whole lot more. a printer is very useful and everything, but you have to put it in context. $200-300 on a printer (which would pretty much clear me out) isn't really a justified expense right now.

but if i can get one for $50....see, it's a general tool that is useful to have.

let's see what kijiji has to offer...

see, the actual printing is way better. lightscribe kind of fades after a while. i'm not putting any abstract art on it or anything, but the value of the commodity is the *number* that appears on the disc. that's what i'm selling, really, at this point - is having a numbered demo from somebody that may (or may not) end up being recognized as substantial.

my plan was to sell the number burnt with lightscribe (because that's what i have) until i've sold enough to buy the printer, then use the funds i've generated to buy the printer. but that might not really be feasible due to the difficulty finding the lightscribe media.

i have lightscribe dvds, but they're not going to read on all players. i don't really like the idea.

you have to put money down if you want to build something. i get that. it's just a question of return value. i'm happy to see the sale - and this guy is going to get something with a number burnt on it, he can be sure of that - but i'm not really convinced i'm going to see return value from the investment.

but, like i say, i need a printer anyway. just how much are they.....