General : What is cheaper? A new scanner, printer & copier, or inkjet cartridges?

I urgently needed a new set of inkjet cartridges for my HP Printer Scanner Copier 2355, so I popped to my local computer superstore rather than buying online.

11ml HP 338, single cartridge £19, or a twin pack at £28

14ml HP 344, single cartridge £32, or a twin pack at £47

So, that is a minimum of £51 and maximum of £75 for both twin packs. As you can expect, I almost choked at £51 for cartridges for a three year old home printer, scanner and copier. Who are they kidding?

Epson Stylus DX7450, printer, scanner and copier £50

That can't be right? A whole new printer for less than two HP cartridges and the EPSON cartridges cost £26 for a complete set or £6 individually. So, I brought a new printer!