Kodak printer ink surprised the printer ink industry a couple of years back when it introduced very low-priced ink cartridges for Kodak printers. This followed Kodak’s relatively young venture into the world of printers, while contemporaries HP, Epson, and Canon still ruled the market. Kodak used the low cost positioning of its ink cartridges as the main differentiating factor that motivated people to choose it over other brands.
Most of the market’s attention when Kodak entered the scene was fixed on the low prices of Kodak inks, so not enough attention was given to the Kodak printers. These were surprisingly inexpensive but still offered excellent value and reliable performance. Kodak is still in the process of expanding their collection and are set to come out with more photo printers to add to their existing collection, which consists mostly of all-in-one color document printers.
Kodak Printer Ink and Printer – A Low Cost Combination
- Kodak’s unique strategy
- Kodak printers
- Kodak discounted ink
1. Kodak’s unique strategy
Kodak’s move was a surprising one, seeing as many top brands in the world of marketing used a completely opposite strategy wherein they charged a lot for consumable products and offer their main products at low prices. Kodak, however, seems to think this is unfair to consumers who pay so much more for the consumables than they are really supposed to. Thus, Kodak offered consumers affordable and reliable printers, but also offered low-priced ink replacement cartridges.
2. Kodak printers
Some of the most popular printers from Kodak include the Kodak ESP or EasyShare Printer model 5250, an all in one printer model that extended from Kodak’s ESP-5 series. The printer can print 4×6 prints in just 29 seconds and prints text documents at a speed of 30 ppm for black and 29 ppm for color. The printers are very convenient and easy to use with Kodak EasyShare cameras with its build-in card reader and EasyShare connectivity. You can even connect wirelessly to gadgets such as iPhone or iPod Touch so you can print media from your phone or mp3 player. The Energy Star printer even offers lab-quality prints for photos. The best part is that it sells for only around $150 or even lower.
Other models in the collection include the ESP 7, ESP 3, ESP 5300, ESP 7250, ESP 3250, and so on.
3. Kodak discounted ink
Kodak’s style to profit differed from that of other printer manufacturers. The company wasn’t merely concerned with earning money as fast as possible. Instead, the company is looking at the long-term advantage of winning over consumer’s trust by providing them with fairly priced ink cartridges for Kodak printers.
Kodak now offers a 5-color ink cartridge containing premium quality pigment ink at only $18, a black pigment ink cartridge at only $10 and $16 depending on the cartridge size. You can also avail of an ink combo pack which contains a black cartridge and a color cartridge in one package that costs only $28.
Now, more than a year after the low-priced Kodak printer ink packages were released, the unique strategy Kodak used seems to be working.
The Option of Using Remanufactured Kodak Printer Ink Cartridges
You also have the option of using remanufactured Kodak printer ink cartridges. Remanufactured ink cartridges are used cartridges that are examined, cleaned, repaired, refilled, and repackaged for repeat use. Since original Kodak inks are pretty affordable, some people find no reason to go for remanufactured ink for their Kodak printers. Sure, they can still save some money, but this is offset by the effort it would take to look for a good remanufacturer when they can just as easily contact their Kodak supplier.
There is, however, yet another reason why remanufactured cartridges still make sense even in the face of low-cost OEM inks. Remanufacturing cartridges will help lessen the piles and piles of ink cartridges that are filling up the landfills. This means you don’t just get an ink refill; you also help save the environment from more trash. That’s why it is still a good idea to have your Kodak printer ink cartridges remanufactured if you don’t have anything better to do with your empty cartridges.