HP explains why printer ink is so expensive

Everyone knows that inkjet printer manufacturers earn their main profit not from printers (which can be sold even cheaper than prime cost), but from consumables: ink and photo paper. This is a standard business model. The same HP sells a small cartridge for $ 35 and fiercely struggles with "fakes" and refillable cartridges that supposedly print worse and reduce the life of the printer.



The cost of $ 35 for a vial of ink causes well-founded outrage among some consumers who feel deceived. In order for printer salespeople to be prepared to answer user inconvenient questions, HP chief marketing officer Tom Brown (Thom Brown) prepared a special presentation for them entitled “Why are printer inks so expensive?”.

Tom Brown explains that ink is rightly one of the most expensive liquids on the planet. HP spends $ 1 billion a year on R & D ink research. He cites the results of a study , according to which disposable cartridges last longer than refillable ones, as well as the results of a survey of 17 users, among whom the majority are unhappy with “junk ink” (that is, counterfeit). Tom Brown says that those companies that sell ink for their cheap printers (for example, Kodak) certainly sacrifice quality and reliability.