Kodak Survey Says: Printer Ink Prices Stink

Kodak Logo

Kodak said they recently did a survey of printer ink consumers in the UK and the survey said:

  • 1. Almost half the people in the UK think the cost of ink is a rip off, while 74% of people think the cost is far too high.
  • 2. 41% of people who own a printer at home have used the printer at work to print personal documents; in London this rises to 64%.
  • 3. 15% of people admit to having used the office printer to print their CVs while 10% have printed job vacancies.
  • 4. The average person in the UK spends £105 (about $210) a year on ink.
  • 5. Nearly a third (31%) of parents who do not let their children use the home printer and 39% of parents who limit their children’s use of the home printer have printed personal documents at work.
  • 6. The high cost of ink is the prohibitive factor when it comes to allowing children free reign on the home printer.
  • 7. 24% of parents keep an eye on their children’s use of the printer while 13% limit how much their children use the printer, potentially stifling their creativity.

Kodak of course is trying to highlight the high cost of printer ink to bring attention to what they have to offer: the Kodak EasyShare 5300 and 5500 all-in-one printers that the company claims can reduce the cost of printing to about half.

That claim is still contentious. Reviews on the Kodak AiOs have been a mixed bag; some say the price reduction is achieved only if you print draft quality documents. Some say the print quality is okay and Kodak’s claim of reduced ink cost is validated.

Do you own any of the Kodak printers? How do you rate them? Do you think your printing costs have been reduced? Why are HP, Epson, Canon, etc. not apparently bothered by Kodak’s claims?

[Site: Kodak.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.