"Probably" is not the correct term. They ARE ripping us off.
At one time Cannon sold printers that required only an ink tub replacement.
You kept the same print head. Trouble was two fold. 1. it was very easy
and very cheap to fill the tub ( I found a source that would sell ink by the
gallon, $70.00USD), Cannon made no money on this beyond the original sale of
the printer. 2. After about five tubs of ink the print head started to clog
up, but, it too was a user replaceable unit, which meant it could be easily
removed from the printer and, say, soaked in warm water (you where supposed
to buy a new print head), again Cannon lost a sale.
Then the printer manufacturers realized that if they sold you a cheap
printer, say for $50.00USD they would then have you by the short and curlies
for supplies, like print head ink cartridges. Kinda like Gillet giving away
free razors, then having you come back to buy their blades for the next
twenty years. But then the refillers came along with ways of refilling the
cartridge. So they made smart cartridges, that count each drop of ink
expelled, then shut off the print head after the last drop was spit out.
Now you have no choice but to buy their new, expensive, cartridges. Some
cartridges can be reprogrammed, some are however encrypted, and once dead,
they stay that way.
Ever wonder why laptop batteries die instantly. Its cause they have a
micro built in that shuts them off after so much usage. You can't even
replace the cells and have a "good " pack again, the micro just would come
back to life.
Ah, isn't technology wonderful.