A tray on the side of your printer that you store ink cartridges in so you can clearly see your supply. When the printer is out of ink, it spits out the empty one and loads a new one.
This would sell a lot more ink because people would be more likely to stock up to fill the magazine. If it's big enough they might even fill it up enough to last the lifetime of the printer.
Another incentive is people might be less likely to get a new printer from another company when they make that regular trip to the store to buy ink, and it's my understanding that ink is the printer companies' bread and butter.
Of course this raises the question: why don't they just make huge massive ink cartridges that last the typical life of the printer? I'm guessing that people are just more likely to buy fifty $25 ink cartridges than one $1,250 ink cartridge.-- doctorremulac3, May 09 2014 Hmm, I'm sure this has been done, but just a printer, or more like a plotter, that just uses normal pens, most prints are just black text. Save a small fortune on ink.
Use felt-tips for coloured graphics, crayons to knock out kid's drawings and assuming you can get it under the printer, a bit of charcoal to do rubbings.-- not_morrison_rm, May 09 2014 You can get retro-fit kits that mount a giant ink tank with hoses feeding the puny cartridge.-- pocmloc, May 10 2014 So are we going to have to deal with the usual "clip vs magazine " discussion? And will this come with the obligatory jam and clear drills?-- normzone, May 10 2014 I may have bunned this idea if it was for a printer that spat out empty ink cartriges with a loud ping.-- DIYMatt, May 10 2014 Presumably you can buy the ink cartridge magazines containing ground depleted uranium for the martial types?-- not_morrison_rm, May 10 2014 //usual "clip vs magazine " discussion? //
Disintegrating-link belt feed, shirley ?-- 8th of 7, May 10 2014 Well, I was going to vote for this as the most boring periodical, apart from "Toilet roll collectors' weekly", or "Extinct Aardvarks Monthly", but I can now see the benefits of knowing which cartridge to buy.-- Ling, May 10 2014 I'm thinking of giving this a bun because I like the concept. Whether or not it's feasible is a whole different story.-- blissmiss, May 10 2014 //Well, I was going to vote for this as the most boring periodical,//
LOL. Clever.
In this month's issue:
"Thermal vs Piezoelectric: Part 36 in our 400 part series"
"Refillables: The sexy new 2014 models."
"What they're REALLY doing with those "recycled" cartridges. The shocking truth."-- doctorremulac3, May 10 2014 I would turn straight to the "letters to the editor" page for sure!-- pocmloc, May 10 2014 //this begs the question//
This does not beg the question and misusing the words "begs the question" in this way harms my beloved English by making it less precise. It needlessly simplifies by substituting the less useful word "beg" for the more precise and helpful word "raises". It's fully as evil as axing a question. You should "of" used the more effective word.
Your abuse of my precious language will remain unforgiven. The question was not begged. NOT. BEGGED.
edit: grammar-- Voice, May 11 2014 //...and misusing the word "begs the question" in this way..// - is almost as bad as misusing the word "word" to describe something that is a phrase.I too imagined that this would be a periodical, perhaps printed slightly blotchily, in garish colours and becoming progressively more faded towards the final pages.-- hippo, May 12 2014 // //...and misusing the word "begs the question" in this way..// - is almost as bad as misusing the word "word" to describe something that is a phrase.//
Yea!
(change made)-- doctorremulac3, May 12 2014 // begs the question //
The "correct" usage of this phrase cannot be derived from the meaning of the words and the way they are arranged. The way this usage is explained is based on the Latin word petitio which can mean "beg", but in this phrase is being used to mean "assume". Since not many people learn Latin or study logical fallacies, it's no surprise that this bit of the language is changing, and I don't see much use in fighting it.
It will be annoying for future generations of students studying logical fallacies and reading pre- 21st-century works that use the archaic meaning of this phrase, but anyone reading old texts needs to be on the lookout for such changes in language. At least the meaning has changed in a way that will simply leave a naive reader confused rather than misled. And of course it will allow these students to feel a sense of superiority because they understand the original use of this phrase.
I don't get the assertion that "raises" is more precise and helpful. It seems like anyone with the education to appreciate the traditional meaning of this phrase would also appreciate the fact that English is full of subtly different synonyms. Do you really not see the difference between "begs" and "raises" in this phrase?-- scad mientist, May 12 2014 Well, don't know about voice, but for me, I was just changing it so the Shakespears in the audience wouldn't get their pantaloons in a twist.
Personally, I could care less. ;)-- doctorremulac3, May 12 2014 ^Heh!-- AusCan531, May 12 2014 random, halfbakery