HP opens up on cartridge yields

HP has confirmed that page yields of both standard and sample cartridges will be printed on the boxes of new printers from autumn 2007.

The move follows complaints, highlighted in PCW last year, that sample cartridges disguise the true cost of a printer. They run out very quickly, and replacements can cost almost as much as a new printer.

Stated pages yields will be based on new ISO standards, though there is not yet one for photoprints.

HP is far from being the only company to sell printers with sample cartridges. But UK sales director Andrew Forsyth said it no longer does so with inkjets.

The company is offering a new "value" ink pack across its range of inkjets, and on many models there is a new 'specialty' pack for photoprinting.

Its sensitivity may not be unconnected with the advent of a major new player in the market HP dominates. Kodak is due this month to launch two new all-in-one inkjets, the Easyshare 5300 and 5500, which are said to print photos at between a third and half the cost of rival systems and up to four times as fast.

Forsyth said their claimed page rates appeared to be 40 to 50 per cent lower than HP's equivalent Officejet Pro L7000, and he questioned whether Kodak's cited printer costs were based on standard pages.