Price war leads to 'disposable printers'

The cost per page of home and office printing has risen by 15 per cent in a year because manufacturers have locked themselves into a "suicidal" hardware price war and try to compensate by charging more for consumables, according to the author of a new report on the industry.

The problem, once restricted to inkjets, has spread to laser printers with the advent of low-price consumer models. It has led to the absurdity of the "disposable printer", when buyers conclude that it is cheaper to buy a new model than replace a cartridge.

Philip Grote, a business-printer analyst at Current Analysis , said manufacturers dare not make the true cost of printing transparent because it would cause havoc in the market.

"They do not want to compete on cost-per-page,’ he argued. ‘Even manufacturers with a low cost want to avoid it. They are scared of the reaction they will get."

The confusion is compounded by the fact that printers are sold with less toner or ink than you get with replacement cartridges, obscuring the real start-up cost by 50 per cent or more.

Grote, who is due to publish his report on Friday, cited the Lexmark E120N, which comes with enough toner to print 500 pages, wheras a refill can print 2,000. The practice allows the printer to be sold at a lower price, and the buyer soon needs an expensive refill. This is far from the only example.