Also, keep in mind that many of these printers arrive with their toner / ink cartridges half full. Replacing the old printer with a new one, just to get an ink refill, doesn't necessarily make good sense.

Amusement: despite claiming it was out of black toner, the pages were coming out of my printer as black as ever. I was waiting for it to truly run out of toner, but the printer eventually refused to go on, without giving any explicit status message to that effect, beyond the red lights that I had been happily ignoring for weeks.

Anyway, for low-volume printing, such as my own use, I don't think cost-per-page is the right metric. What really matters is dollars per year to keep the thing going. I spent $180, up front, on the laser printer and now, two years later, I spent $60 for a new black toner cartridge (which is actually full, unlike the old one which is shipped half-empty from the factory). I figure I'll get another two years out of it before a lightning strike or some other calamity takes it down for good.

At that point, I won't feel so bad about the costs.