Supplies and suppliers are often given short shrift by vendors of computer systems. The simple statement, “Plan for supplies,” is often the only clue vendors give you that computer supplies will be a big part of your life. This is unfortunate because the cost of computer supplies is not at all trivial. Whether you need printer ribbons that cost $5 apiece or disk packs that cost $1,200 apiece, you will keep buying these items, over and over again, for the life of the system.