Printer ink one of world's most expensive liquids

 Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S2lYXf-uu0

When we think of expensive liquids, high-end champagne or French perfumes come to mind. You might be surprised to find out  that printer ink is one of the world's costliest liquids. A survey from the U.K. consumer watchdog "Which?" revealed that some printer ink that is sold by tech companies is pricier than many champagnes. It reported that printer ink from printer makers can be up to 286% more expensive than alternative ink from companies that do not make printers. The watchdog said that some branded printer ink can cost as much as $846 a litre. A consumer rights expert from Which? said: "Printer ink shouldn't cost more than a bottle of top champagne or Chanel No 5."

Which? said non-branded ink cartridges can be as good as, if not better than the cartridges made by the big printer makers. The expert said: "We've found that there are lots of third-party products that are outperforming their branded counterparts at a fraction of the cost." Which? calculated that buying non-branded ink could save consumers around $398 a year. It added that deciding which ink to put in a printer should be "a personal choice and not dictated by the make of your printer". Printer manufacturers said they produce better quality ink. Epson said: "As non-genuine inks are not designed or tested by Epson, we cannot guarantee these inks will not damage the printer."


1. REGULATED: Students A strongly believe the government should control the price of printer ink; Students B strongly believe it shouldn't.Explain
2. TECH: How important are these technologies? How could it be made better? Complete this table.

 

Importance

Improvements

Printers

 

 

TVs

 

 

Smartphones

 

 

Laptop computers

 

 

Games consoles

 

 

Watches

Your product

 

 


3. EXPENSIVE: Rank these with your partner. Put the things which should never be expensive at the top.  

  • Printer ink
  • T-shirts
  • Internet charges
  • Bread and rice
  • Gasoline
  • Newspapers
  • Chocolate
  • Education

 

4.Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1.

high-end

a.

A look at the opinions or experience of a group of people, based on different questions.

      2.

find out 

b.

A type of product made by a particular company under a particular name.

      3.

survey

c. 

Very expensive in price and very good in quality

      4.

watchdog

d.

Become aware of a fact or situation.

      5.

alternative

e.

A person or group who monitors what companies do and look for examples of bad things.

      6.

branded

f.

One or more things available as another possibility.

      7.

expert

g.

Someone who knows everything about a subject.

    Paragraph 2

      8.

cartridge

h.

A person who purchases goods and services for personal use.

      9.

third-party

i.

A container that holds photographic film, ink, gun shot, or another item.

      10.

counterpart

j.

A small or tiny part, amount, or proportion of something.

      11.

fraction

k.

Decided what someone must do; ordered.

      12.

consumer

l.

A person, company or group besides the two involved in a situation.

      13.

dictated

m.

Make a promise about something, especially a product.

      14.

guarantee

n.

A person or thing holding a position or performing a function that is the same to that of another person or thing in another place.

5. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. expensive
  2. find out 
  3. revealed
  4. alternative
  5. expert
  6. cartridges
  7. fraction
  8. calculated
  9. dictated
  10. guarantee
  1. containers
  2. substitute
  3. worked out
  4. costly
  5. promise
  6. made public
  7. controlled
  8. specialist
  9. tiny amount
  10. discover


6.Role play: Choose one from the list and tell us why you think it is overpriced yet successful: 

Role  A – Bottled Water 

Role B - Cosmetics

Role C - Designer Clothes

Role D - Movie Theatre Popcorn

Role E -  Starbucks

Role F -  Designer Clothes

Role G - Diamonds

Role H -  Something not from the list 

 

6.Fill in the blanks:

1.If you are working all day and night because you must meet a deadline, then you are working around the                       .

2.If your shift at work is from midnight until 8 am , you are working the                   shift 

3. If you must work from the office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then you must work from the office                                                                . 

4.If you work less than 20 hours a week then you have a                                      job.

5.If you were ready for a promotion but someone else was chosen instead, then you were                     .

6. The people you work with are your                                                                  .

7.If your friend is complaining to you that the atmosphere where he works is very aggressive, where every person is backstabbing and trying to overtake the others, then the atmosphere where he works is very                            .

8.If your week had some good days and some bad days ,  then your week was 
                                   .
9. If, after some time has passed, you are beginning to enjoy your new job after disliking it initially, you can say your new job is                                         .

10. If a co-worker tells you the company has secured a new client,  you can say that this is great news  or this news is                                                    . 

Discussion - Printer Ink

  1. What do you think of printers?
  2. What do you think of the price of printer ink?
  3. Why is printer ink more expensive than expensive perfume?
  4. Should we print less?
  5. Is it better to use non-branded ink?
  6. Who would pay $846 for a litre of printer ink?
  7. What can printer makers do to make ink cheaper?
  8. What do you think of the printers you use?
  1. What do you think of when you hear the word 'ink'?
  2. What do you think about what you read?
  3. Do you prefer branded or non-branded printer ink?
  4. What can we use instead of printers?
  5. How often do you use a printer?
  6. Why do printer companies want us to use their ink?
  7. Do you think printer companies produce better quality ink?
  8. Is printing now out-of-date technology?
  9. What questions would you like to ask a printer company CEO?


 

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