3.05.2008

The Inkjet Refill Racket


    At up to $8,000 per gallon, inkjet ink is among the most expensive liquids by volume one can buy.
    Printers are sold using the razor blade business model—the printers are dirt cheap, but you have to keep buying ink for eternity. And wouldn’t you know, it turns out that printer ink, especially for photos, is probably the most expensive substance per volume you’ll ever buy—more expensive than gold, oil, perfume, even blood in most cases.
    If you’re buying name-brand ink cartridges, which typically hold a few milliliters of ink, you’re shelling out the equivalent of between $3,000 and $5,000 per gallon. (Suddenly, spending $45 to fill your car’s gas tank doesn’t seem so extravagant, eh?) Just as an idea of how valuable this particular golden goose is, more than 40 percent of HP’s $2.63 billion operating profits from last quarter came from it’s imaging and printing group alone. In other words, ink keeps printer companies in the black.

    Link

    "It's about time for most everyone to switch to colour laser. Expensive initially, you almost get your money back right away when you don't have to buy the aforementioned printer ink."

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