A change in models, huh? Could the razor and blade model that has worked in the inkjet printer industry for so long be coming to and end?

Kodak is trying to do just that with their new line of printers and printer cartridges. Instead of selling their printers for next to nothing, Kodak proposes to charge more for a printer and then charge less for the printer cartridges that is uses.

As most consumers are aware, printer manufacturers have taken offering printers at very low prices over the last few years. This in an attempt to get the printer on to your desk and then create a need for printer cartridges that they would sell to you at a high price. This approach created space for the “aftermarket”, or printer cartridge suppliers who did not specialize in manufacturer brand cartridges, but instead third party manufactured compatible cartridges and remanufactured/recycled cartridges. Dell then came along and topped everyone by giving a printer away with the purchase of a Dell computer system. The world was in love until it saw how much Dell brand print cartridges costed (and experienced the low quality level of some of the original Dell printers).

So now comes Kodak offering a line of printers priced from $199 to $299 (still somewhat affordable), and printer cartridges priced from $10 to $15. While Kodak is new to the printer market, they are making quite a splash with their initial prices. They have also dedicated a web site to educating consumers on the economics of ink cartridges and promoting their printers. They have titled their campaign thINK (as in use your brain and think about how much you are spending on printer cartridges).

It really comes down to the amount of attention Kodak can get for their “revolutionary” way of thinking. Can they steal enough of a consumer base to make this venture work for them? Will consumers be forward thinking enough to spend more now to save later? Only time will tell.

Oh yeah, their idea has created at least one copy-cat (for now) Epson has been utilizing the same type of strategy in China. They have been promoting the sales of their printers through a promise based on a lower cost of supplies.