Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 06 March 2008 09:30
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 4
Kodak’s assault on the Australian (and world) inkjet printer market
continues with the local launch of their ‘Easyshare 5500’ all-in-one
model with features designed for small offices and home businesses,
although it comes several months after it launched in the US.
When
Kodak launched its Easyshare 5300 AIO (all-in-one) printer on the Australian and global markets last year, it caused a few waves because it promised one key thing: to cut users’ printing costs by up to 50%.
Given that most people complain that while printers are often quite cheap, and that it’s the replacement ink cartridge costs that really get you every time, Kodak’s market entry was quite revolutionary.
This was despite the competition having moved to individual ink tanks years previously in an effort to have customers save money, or at least think they were making monetary savings, when compared with the days of old when colour inks came bundled in the one cartridge.
But Kodak’s ‘up to 50% saving’ claim came despite Kodak not even using separate colour tanks – the colours came in one tank, and the black in another – yet Kodak’s tests indicated substantial savings being made anyway, with a black cartridge costing AUD $14.99 and a colour cartridge costing AUD $24.99.
It flew in the face of accepted separate ink tank wisdom, and the anecdotal reports of a couple of friends that have purchased the Easyshare 5300 seem to effectively back up Kodak’s claims that their printing/ink costs will be reduced, which is exactly what Kodak intended – although at a, relatively speaking, much higher upfront cost than many of the sub AUD $100 and sub AUD $200 inkjet printers and multifunction units on the market today.
That said, Kodak’s printers come with full ink cartridges with every new printer – unlike the half-filled ‘starter cartridges’ some competitors resort to, forcing the consumer to suddenly run out of ink quickly and race out to buy new cartridges at prices that could, in some cases, go up to and even over AUD $100.
But when Kodak launched the Easyshare 5300 AIO in Australia, it was actually launching three new Easyshare models in the US – the 5100, the 5300 and lastly the 5500, the model which Kodak is now launching down under.
For all the details of the new 5500 Easyshare AIO model, please read onto page 2.
