Hi all,

Great post! I'd like to give you all an additional perspective.  The cost element is certainly key, but there are other factors including quality and durability of print.  Durability for my purposes would be how well the ink withstands fading, water, humidity, sunlight, etc.  Here, Kodak has a different story to tell than many of the printer manufacturers you all are using.  This is primarily because they use a dye based ink, which will not hold up to water and other conditions. 

We believe that ink is too expensive, and agents should invest in their business, not in printer ink!  I encourage you to check out our new line of office All-in-One printers, the Kodak ESP 6150 and 9250, which have the lowest total ink replacement cost in the industry.*

For what it's worth, Kodak printer ink is $9.99 for a black cartridge (425 page yield*) and $17.99 for a color cartridge (420 page yield*) for most of our business class printers. 

 In addition to the ink savings, there are some other tangible benefits for you which Kodak uniquely has that would be good to consider:

1) Kodak ink is a patented, pigment based ink. This makes it water resistant and fade resistant.  You can literally print a listing brochure on plain paper or premium paper, and spray it with water.  It will not run! 

2) Kodak's ink is also fade resistant.  Leave it in the sun for a few weeks and see, it won't fade on you.  Try that with another brand, and you'll see your print washout in a few days.

That's what I mean by durability.  You won't get that with a refill 3rd party in our inks, and thanks to our pricing you don't have to settle for that.  The average agent I know refills their ink twice per month.  At less than $30 to replace both cartidges, we have been able to reduce the yearly ink cost for many agents by $300-$400!!!  What could you do with that extra money?

We'll be coming up with more data for you to consider but we believe that our value proposition will greatly benefit the real estate agent on the cost and quality front.

For the record, here are some reasons why you wouldn't want to refill ink for general purposes:

http://www.myofficeportal.org/4-reasons-why-universal-refill-kits-just-do-not-cut-it.htm

This doesn't necessarily apply to all printers, and I realize that the argument cuts both ways when you factor in cost, however at least with Kodak I can say that whatever ink you refilled with, you would not only lose on the print quality, but you would also not get the water/fade resistance with the refill brand. For real estate agents using our printers to print photo quality flyers and save money, it would not be worth buying refills and dealing with that pain to lose the durability of the print.

Hope that helps and feel free to email us with questions!

*1) As compared to leading consumer inkjet printers‚ total ink load replacement costs using manufacturers' recommended standard ink cartridges available in single quantity pricing (i.e. no multi-packs, high capacity, combopacks, value packs or special promotions); excludes printers that use only one cartridge. Based on independent third party price survey data obtained June 2010. 2) Ink yield values obtained by continuous printing in accordancewith ISO/IEC 24711 (black text documents using ISO/IEC 19752 test target), utilizing KODAK All-in-One Printers. Actual results may vary. 3) Results based on continuous printing of black text documents in accordance withISO/IEC 24711 using ISO/IEC 19752 test target or Kodak testing methodology and mixed text and color graphics documents in accordance with ISO/IEC 24711 or Kodak testing methodology, with KODAK All-in-One Printersand standard cartridges. Actual results may vary. 4) Page yield comparison based on ISO/IEC 24711 using ISO/IEC 19752 test target or Kodak testing methodology, utilizing KODAK All-in-One Printers. Actual results mayvary. See kodak.com/go/inkdata for details.

Hi Anthony,

It's about rain, humidity and sunlight.  Many agents print their brochures and leave them at listings, in windows, in listing boxes, and in display windows at their offices.  If you live anywhere where there is a lot of sun, humidity and moisture, then your print will fade or will run when water hits it.

Try it! It's one of the main things about our ink that agents love..

If you are actually going to spend the money on the print with your printer for a listing brochure, factor in the cost:  5-15 cents per page for the paper you are using,  8-25 cents per page for the actual print itself, and then you print 50 of them to leave at a listing or put on a postcard to mail to the community.

That's a lot of money - and if they get destroyed due to any of the reasons I named above, then you are printing all over again.

Sorry - not meant to be an advertisement as much as a perspective on this subject - but there are more factors than just cost when discussing printing.