HP revamps inkjet cartridge line

Customers can customise for ink cartridge needs

HP is to overhaul the way consumers can buy its range of inkjet cartridges over the next few months.

The company will drop the conventional 'one-size-fits-all' inkjet system so consumers can pick and choose the size of inkjet cartridge most suitable for their printing needs, saving waste and cutting costs.

Buyers of printer models HP launches this year will be able to choose from two sizes - a smaller 'standard' cartridge and a larger 'XL' model - of the company's standard value and specialty cartridges. These will be colour coded blue, green, and red to make it easier for consumer to pick the right cartridge.

The high cost of OEM inkjet cartridges has angered consumers who often feel ripped off by the printer manufacturers.

In 2002 the Office of Fair Trading ruled that the major printer manufacturers had to devise a standard testing method for inkjet cartridges that would show consumers the true cost of ownership of their printer.

Many consumers also get annoyed when they are forced to replace cartridges even though only one colour has run out. HP has therefore made its new cartridges interchangeable.

So for example, users who print large amounts of text-only documents can use an XL black cartridge, which will be 30 to 45 per cent cheaper than the standard model on a cost per page basis, alongside the smaller standard colour cartridge in the same printer.

Pradeep Jotwani, senior vice-president of HP's Supplies, Imaging and Printing group, said the move aims to bridge the gap between light and heavy users.

Light users, he explained, use their printers only once or twice a week and are more concerned with the cost of each cartridge than with the number of pages that a cartridge yields.

More frequent users focus on the number of pages per cartridge. Overall prices for the cartridges were not released by HP and will be dependent on the printer model; but for the more price-conscious consumers, standard cartridges (blue packaging), will cost around €14.99 (about £10);

The higher-yield, XL value cartridges (green packaging) are expected to cost €29.99 but HP claimed print up to three times more pages, and require fewer replacements than standard cartridges.

A third cartridge type, or specialty, (red packaging) will be aimed primarily at users who want to print the highest-quality photos possible and priced around €23.99. HP claimed these cartridges will print approximately 150 photos each.

These new cartridges have been ready for some printer models since February, but this is the first time HP officially committed to moving its entire inkjet line to the new system. The cartridges will work with older HP printers.

HP has also said that it would be adding new "ink guides" and other retail promotional materials to educate consumers and guide them to the new inks.