Printers can cost less than the ink

A new computer printer for under £40 may seem like a bargain. However, a new study has found that buying replacement ink for the printer could cost you £1,700 over 18 months.

The study found it is often cheaper to buy a new printer every time you run out of ink.

"Manufacturers are ripping people off by charging high prices for ink cartridges," said Dylan Armbrust, the editor of Computeractive magazine which carried out the research.

Mr Armbrust said: "This is something that has been going on for years, and we are calling for manufacturers to put a stop to it."

The investigation looked at printers from the big four manufacturers, Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark.

Responding to the claims, Lexmark said the research was flawed, because it did not compare like with like, while Canon said it could not comment on the survey because it had not seen it.