EU to tackle printing costs

Printer manufacturers may be forced to reduce the price of ink cartridges, after the European Commission announced an investigation into charges. "We intend to examine pricing in detail," EU competition commissioner Mario Monti told a conference in Brussels.

IT managers have long argued that cartridge prices are too high and have railed against proprietary designs that force lock-in.

Alan Wellstead of software developer Screen Technology said his firm uses HP LJ4000 monochrome and HP LJ4500 colour printers. "The Colour LaserJet seems very expensive to run. Each cartridge costs over £70 and you need four. So a set of refills is £300. I would rather see a fair price for consumables and a realistic price for the printer. If this means a price hike, then fair enough."

Chris Hinds, printer product manager at Brother UK, admitted that manufacturers' pricing is very confusing, and suggested that in some cases the manufacturers' recommended prices were inflated. He said that EU involvement could counter this. "I think that the industry would appreciate some sort of legislation," Hinds said. "It would help everyone if companies were working on a level playing field."

One IT manager contacted by IT Week said, "The iniquitous bit is where vendors practically give printers away in a package to hook you, then charge a bomb for the refill."

Other IT managers are currently looking at ways to cut printing costs. Canadian software firm Strydent said its InkSaver product could cut printer costs by up to 75 percent. Costing £30, InkSaver analyses data before it is sent to a printer and adjusts settings to reduce the amount of ink required.

Another way to cut costs is to buy reconditioned cartridges, or refills for existing cartridges. However, IT manager at PDG Helicopters Jerome Davies said, "Such options are helpful but do not address the basic question of cartridge costs."

Davies added that his other concern is the environmental impact. "There are times when it is cheaper to buy a new printer with cartridges rather than buy replacement cartridges on their own, which from an environmental point of view is dreadful," he said.

Another IT manager, Jamie Turnbull of real estate firm Girlings, said, "We use a firm that recycles toner cartridges. Why pay for an authentic cartridge when I can get a reconditioned one for less than half that price?" He added that despite a few problems with some cartridges he was generally satisfied.

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