Kodak announced today that they were entering the inkjet market with a new line of EasyShare All-In-One printers. I’m pretty sure that these aren’t the first inkjets that Kodak has released, but regardless this is pretty big news in the world of printing? Why? Well because Kodak is making a statement by charging very low prices for their ink cartridges. They claim that it will basically be half as expensive to operate one of their machines versus what it would take to run an HP, Epson etc.

The new printers that Kodak is releasing will use a black cartridge that costs $10 and a color cartridge that costs $15. Obviously those prices are pretty low, but they don’t mention how much ink is in each cartridge so it’s hard to accurately predict how much cheaper their ink will be. But, unless their cartridges have like 1 oz of ink in them, $10 for a new cartridge is certainly going to catch the attention of the other printer manufacturers. When announcing these new printers, Kodak mentioned how studies have shown that people consider the cost of ink to be an obstacle to home printing (which is true) and that their new line of printers will usher in a wave of change (possibly true).

Here are the three models they are releasing:

• The Easyshare 5100 all-in-one - featuring print, scan and copy capabilities, delivers high-quality documents and photos for users who enjoy printing without limitations. This machine is rated at 32 ppm in black and 22 ppm in color, and print photos from PICTBRIDGE-enabled cameras without a computer. It will retail for $150 and will hit stores this March.

• The Easyshare 5300 all-in-one - builds on the 5100’s features by offering a 3-inch color LCD display that enables photo viewing and cropping directly from the printer. Memory card slots provide an additional quick and simple way to print digital pictures without a PC. It will retail for $200 and hit stores this March.

• The Easyshare 5500 all-in-one - is “the perfect solution for home-office users and connected families who want to do it all with no constraints.” It has the same features as the 5100 and 5300 printers, plus fax capability and a 2.4″ LCD display, an automatic document feeder and a duplexer attachment. It will retail for $300. It should be on the market by May.

These printers will be for sale exclusively at Best Buy.

New Line of All-In-One Inkjet Printers [Press Release]