From 1991 to 2005, HP DeskJet printing cost has decreased 68 percent while speed increased 900 percent; and from 1987 to 2004, HP LaserJet printing cost has declined 52 percent while speed and quality increased over 460 percent.
Furthermore, the cartridge price for products designed for low-volume printing has reduced by over 40 percent between 1998 and 2005. In addition, HP's new individually replaceable cartridges are priced at just US $9, and its most popular integrated cartridges now come in twin packs that offer up to 20 percent saving for high usage customers, says a press release issued here on Tuesday.
But there are hidden costs, which can come in the form of ink and toner leakage, the need to reprint inconsistent or poor quality printouts, cartridges which need premature replacement, and unscheduled downtime and overall loss in productivity due to unplanned printer servicing and repair.
"The real problem is perception," first, printing supplies are not a commodity, as not all inks and toners are made equal. The price of original supplies reflects the fact that they are R&D rich technology products. Second, not only do we see a declining trend for overall HP printing cost, even our cartridge prices have come down," explains John Solomon, HP's Asia Pacific/Japan Vice President for Imaging and Printing Supplies, speaking at a recent international exhibition of IT held at Singapore.-PR