I went looking for a new printer. I did my Internet research and then I spend hours in the stores comparing the different printers. I looked at the initial cost of each type of printer. I examined the cost of the ink or laser cartridge refills to see the long term cost. I even read the information on the outside of the boxes. I thought that I had figured it all out.

Well I was Wrong.

I got my new HP printer home and decided to research it some more. I had looked at so many printers over the last few days that my head was spinning with all the different details. It was looking at a HP and a Lexmark. HP has the reputation and I have had an HP IIIP laser printer for over 10 years and it served me well. The Lexmark printer has a lot of very nice features. It would print duplex and it was already setup to do Wi-Fi or wireless printing. But I would have to get a wireless router and set that up and I don't have time to mess with that right now. It had a fax, and it would take memory cards and input them into the printer and print them out without ever going though the computer.

So I decided to not open the HP printer ... yet. I went to bed last night and figured I would sleep on it.

Got up this morning and started to do more research. Then I looked at the Box holding the HP Printer and noticed a picture of the USB cable on the box.

The one end of the usb cable looked different than the one I bought to work with my new HP printer.

Then it dawned on me. HP got me! They didn't put the USB HP PROPRIETARY printer cable that connects the printer to the computer. The $15 ten foot long USB cable that I had bought will not connect to the new HP printer. HP uses a Proprietary type USB Printer cable that you can only buy from HP.

This is the catch. I can't even use my new HP Printer for Christmas as I don't have the proper cable.

This is the second time HP got me. My first HP Printer didn't have all the memory installed inside. I had to buy extra memory cards to get it to print graphic images. And I had paid over $800 just for the HP IIIP printer when it was brand new.

So if you in the need for a new Printer be careful and make sure you get everything that you will need to make it work when you get it home.

Mean while I am going to take my HP printer back to the store and return the all the ink cartridges that I bought for it along with the photo papers. The paper and ink cost almost more than the printer itself. $20 for 10 ml of blk ink is outrageous.

I think I'll look for a simple laser printer that can print black text on regular white paper.