THE NEWS IN PRINT

Kodak has hired Braun Research, a private marketing and public opinion research firm to get the inside story on home printing. Recently Kodak had also hired professional testers to test the price of printing for each page using different printers and inks. This time the research is not aimed at glorifying Kodak but to obtain virtual publicity by taking credit for the survey.

A survey conducted in the United States reveals that 50% of the home printer users would print more if the ink was cheaper. 60% of the respondents felt that the printer ink was expensive and they try not to waste it. It may be a good thing for the environment that the expensive inks are conserving paper; it doesn't matter how our environment is protected, as long as they are protected.

The survey also reveals sacrifice, compromise and even sneaking around in the name of ink savings, such as:
-- Printing in black and white to conserve color ink (59%)
-- Printing in "draft" or "economy" mode (33%)
-- Denying themselves a hardcopy all together - choosing to view things on screen instead of printing (57%)
-- Avoid printing photos (30%)
-- Printing at other locations, such as a friend's house (25%)

The survey might have been conducted in the US but I am absolutely sure that a similar response would be obtained if the same was conducted in the UK and Europe. There is a sequel to this post; next up will be how home printers satisfy their craving of needing to print more and more.

via Yahoo Biz

Kodak's strategy since its re-introduction into the inkjet printer market is the slashed prices of ink cartridges. There were several reviews and views that Kodak maybe underselling itself in a bid to capture the market. Kodak has set the battle back in its favour by funding tests to identify the cost per page value with 12 other printers. These tests were carried out by QualityLogic Inc, a professional testing corporation. The testing procedure for black/white and colour prints is in adherence with the ISO standards for measuring ink cartridges.

From QualityLogic's ink yield data, Kodak developed an ink cost-per-page analysis, comparing cost of ink and printer photo paper for all printer models tested. The analysis confirmed that in every case, Kodak EasyShare AIO printers offer consumers more pages for every $5 of ink purchased. Savings are based on printing of documents and photos, using average ink costs of comparable consumer inkjet printers.

The truth is out; Kodak is cheap and best in the market today. HPs tactics of midget ink cartridges might backfire but with HP backers in every nook and corner, it is still a close race to come out on the top. The profit/loss results will be out at the end of present quarter which should give us a clear picture on the market leader.

When I bought my first HP Deskjet 200 printer long time back, I was finding the cartridges to be extremely expensive for a student. I managed to replace them a couple times but when the pinch was too much; I jumped in for some experimentation. I bought an independent printing ink from a store and a syringe from a local drug store. I was able to refill the ink cartridge successfully more than 5 times. The results were good but not amazing. When the time came for a change in printers, I bought Epson XXXX. I could find third party cartridges which worked just as good as the original ones. Today, Epson is fighting a losing battle against third party cartridge vendors as their cartridge sales have dipped dearly.

Epson has openly come out against a third party vendor in Australia, Calidad, proving through some test findings that Epson cartridges produce better results and is forty times long lasting than its competitor.

The conclusion of tests, according to Henry Wilhelm, President of Wilhelm Imaging Research, which conducted tests for Epson is that displayed prints made with genuine Epson DURABrite pigment inks on Epson paper will last more than 40 times longer than prints made with the Calidad inks on Calidad paper.

Honestly, the OEM ink cartridges are far beyond common man's reach and the only way anybody would satiate the hunger for printing would be to choose cheaper ink cartridges. Maybe the Kodak model of cheaper ink cartridges would bring an end to the third party cartridge vendors.

via IT Wire

This is a sequel article, following on from the one I wrote last month; Low Cost Cartridges by HP. There was a mention that HP would be introducing colour codes for ink cartridges. Since then, we have gained a little more information regarding the coding system to be adopted. This system is a superficial attractive marketing strategy that is intended to help users buy the ink they want based on the price of it. Hmmm"¦

HP have segregated all the ink cartridges in the market into three colours; blue, green and red. The standard cartridge (blue packaging) is cheaper and is intended for users who print on a weekly basis. It isn't the quality of printing that has been compromised but the quantity. The value cartridge (green packaging) is for the bulk printers. The value cartridge is economical on a cost per page basis as the cartridge contains more ink and is available at a lower cost. HP claims that users can save up to 30%-45% and print three times more than a standard cartridge. The specialty cartridge (red packaging) is for users who need additional performance as the name suggests ; an example would be photographers. These cartridges are expensive as the quality of prints would be much superior than the other two cartridges.

This hype about colour coding is aimed at gaining market not just by the prices but by the colourful looks they offer. This strategy might work for a while until the customer realises that it is the same potion in a new bottle.

via Lets Go Digital

Kodak has found a short path to printer business monopoly by slashing the prices of printer ink cartridges. Kodak 5100 cartridges are available for as low as £5 for black and £7.50 for colour cartridges while the printer itself costs just £75. Kodak, a photography giant is clearly trying to make inroads into the printer business by luring customers with low prices.

Famed columnist, Walter Mossberg, decided to test the Kodak 5300 printer with alongside a HP Photosmart C6180 printer. The Kodak 5300 costs £100 while the competing HP Photosmart C6180 is priced at £150.

Here's the conclusion: My conclusion was that the Kodak EasyShare 5300 is a pretty good printer, with a good enough combination of quality, speed and functionality to satisfy people attracted by the lower ink costs. In my tests, it was better than the H-P at some things and worse at others. Read the full review.

In response to these cheap ink cartridges, HP has also announced production of cheaper ink cartridges for their future printers. Contrastingly, HP's lower priced cartridges contain less amount of ink as compared to full fledged volume of Kodak cartridges.