[IP] more on printer ink cost more per millilitre than vintage champagne.
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 13:26:21 -0400
From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [IP] printer ink cost more per millilitre than vintage champagne.
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I'm curious if IP readers think that the situation with printers and
printer ink is any different than, for example:
- video game consoles and game cartridges
- cell phones and minutes
- cameras, film, and developing services
In each case, the market has rewarded those companies who lower the entry
cost, and raise the ongoing costs. It's also true that there seems to be
little lock-in to a particular printer - if you think the ink costs too
much, it's really cheap to buy a new printer that uses cheaper ink.
On a technical point, for some manufacturers, the cartridge is actually
more high tech and difficult to develop than the ink - with custom silicon
VLSI in each cartridge and precision machining of very fine mechanical
parts. The printer is very little more than a box to hold the cartridge
and move it around. Perhaps it would make as much sense to argue that the
cartridge is underpriced.
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