Digital BW, The Print

> So, they are padding the costs for the parts they don't really make and
> working hard to prevent consumers from using those same consumables
> direct from the original manufacturer or other 3rd parties..
>
> I'm not saying they don't have a right to make money.  I'm just saying
> that it would be MORE upfront, more honest, and less anti-competitive
> if the costs lay where they fell..

Just out of curiosity, would you or others be willing to pay twice as much
for the printer (say $1000 for a printer that currently sells for $500), in
order to be able to buy Epson ink for half price?

I'd venture a guess that perhaps 90% of Epson's printer sales are to a
market segment that doesn't do a whole lot of printing, therefore won't be
spending a lot on ink cartridges (maybe two or three cartridge sets per
year, and two to three years before printer replacement). This means Epson's
current marketing strategy of cheap printers and expensive ink works out
well for both Epson and consumers. We've all heard of instances where new
low-end printers are being sold for less than the cost of a set of
replacement cartridges.

With the new 7600/9600 printers, they're priced low enough that a lot of
photographers will be able to purchase them. Most photographers are selling
their prints, and the cost of consumables would normally be factored into
the sale price of the prints.

The cost of 220ml ink carts for the 9600 printer aren't too bad. The target
audience for the 7600/9600 seems to be oriented to photographers and the
like, where print quality is more important than speed.

The Epson 10000, on the other hand, is still quite a bit faster than the new
series of printers, but it costs almost twice as much. For high volume
printers, the cost of inks for the 10000 is lowest of all the Epson
printers.

I'm not too happy about Epson's high ink prices either, but in all fairness,
it seems that they are trying to accommodate all of the different market
segments. If you buy one of their consumer printers, you'll be able to buy
it cheap, but expect to pay a lot more for ink. For the low print volume
consumer market, the high consumable pricing is probably necessary in order
for Epson to turn a profit. As you go up the printer scale, you pay
proportionately more for the printer, and less for the inks.