It used to be called the razor blade business model before printer manufacturers massively outdid them.
For people who need to print stuff, it’s better to get a laser printer if you can. The upfront cost is higher, sure, and the price of toner can look quite scary, but toner lasts a very long time and you won’t have to replace it nearly as often as inkjet ink, so the economics work out in the medium to long term.
“But what if I need to print photos?”
The vast majority of people who say this don’t actually print nearly enough photos to justify this. If you actually need to get photos printed, it’s cheaper to just go to a print shop and get something higher quality than what you currently have.