Buying printer ink can hit you hard in the wallet, but Kodak is out to change things with a new line of printers that use cheap ink cartridges. Kodak is selling full-capacity cartridges for $10 (black) to $15 (color), which is less than half the price of HP and Epson cartridges.
Walt Mossberg talks about the benefits and drawbacks of Kodak’s Easyshare printers.
Ink sales typically supplement the purchase price of printers. Once you buy a printer, you’re pretty much tied to the manufacturer’s expensive ink refills, which is where most companies make their money.
Kodak’s new printer line are more expensive than comprable Epson and HP models, but if you go through a lot of ink you’ll probably come out ahead in terms of price.
This has caught HP’s attention. HP is now offering cheap ink cartridges, but unfortunately they come with less ink than normally priced cartridges.