EPSON Selling Inks at Lower Prices

Epson Ink

Epson has exploded a bomb in faraway China with reverberations expected to be felt around the world. The bomb: a 70% price cut on ink.

A report from Taipei says Epson has begun selling ink in China at nearly one third the price it charges in Europe and the US. This is raising fears among printer makers of a price war that could hurt manufacturers’ profits. At the same time, this is welcome news for consumers who buy the printer at a low price but bleeds through the nose when buying what is now the most expensive liquid in the world.

Printer makers have heretofore followed the so-called ‘razors and blades’ business model of selling the printer at a loss then selling proprietary inks at prices they dictate whimsically.

I’ve read a feeble justification for this somewhere on the Internet, saying the research and technology that goes into printer and ink are worth it. Baloney, I say. Bring down the price of printer ink and more people will be able to afford it, not avoid it. More buyers of ink will mean more volumes of ink sold; more volumes, more money even with slimmer profit percentage-wise. The Chinese have long known that.

[Via: VNUnet.com]

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.