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Quote:Eastman Kodak shoved its way into the tough world of desktop printing Tuesday by tipping a sacred cow of the segment: the overpriced inkjet cartridge. For a decade, other printer makers relied on the model pioneered by Gillette, which gave away its razors but charged customers a premium to buy replacement blades. Printer companies, including market leader Hewlett-Packard, sell printers for less than cost but earn huge profits by substantially marking up the price of the ink cartridges...

Kodak unveiled its new Easyshare All-in-One Printers Tuesday, saying it will "save consumers up to 50 percent on everything they print." Kodak's first foray into the desktop printing market will offer lower priced inkjet cartridges. The new Kodak cartridges will cost about $10 for black ink and $15 for a five-color unit...

Quote:As part of its long, rocky journey from film to digital photography, Kodak just introduced a line of home inkjet printers. The company has decided to go after its rival Hewlett-Packard, which dominates consumer inkjet printing.

Kodak's main weapon in this new war is cheaper ink. Traditionally, H-P and other makers have sold the printers for relatively little, then made most or all of their money on the ink cartridges.

So, Kodak decided to reverse that business model. Its three new printers start at $149.99, not sub-$100 bargain prices. But its black ink cartridges cost just $9.99, and the color ones -- which combine five color inks -- just $14.99. And these are standard-capacity cartridges, not small or starter versions. Comparable H-P cartridges vary in price, but can easily cost double that, or more...