March 13, 2009 - You may have seen the television commercials in which an Eastman Kodak representative exhorts viewers to switch to Kodak ink-jet printers and save hundreds of dollars on ink costs. Today, Eastman Kodak announced that it is going to redouble such efforts, and will continue to press the ink-cost issue with a global marketing campaign to promote its all-in-one ink-jet printers. Called “Print and Prosper,” the new ad campaign will continue to stress how much money U.S. consumers spend on ink versus how much Kodak claims they could save using comparable Kodak ink-jet devices.
Indeed, Kodak claims that consumer ink-jet printer/MFP users could have saved approximately $5.0 billion in 2008 if they had used Kodak's ESP 3/5/7/9 All-In-Printer versus comparable consumer ink-jet devices (based on 2008 U.S. annual ink revenue obtained from ink-jet devices).
Kodak's flagship ink-jet MFP is the ESP 9 All-In-One Printer, which lists at $299 and provides color print and copy, scan, fax, automatic duplexing, Ethernet network connectivity, WiFi wireless interface, and 10" color touch screen. Kodak rates print speed at up to 32 (B&W)/30 (color) ppm. Ink cartridges consist of a black ink cartridge that lists at $9.99, while a five-color ink cartridge lists at $14.99. According to Kodak's custom third-party testing, using ISO 24712 test method, the black cartridge yields 346 pages, while the color cartridge yields 385 pages, for a B&W consumables' cost per page of 2.87 cents, and a color consumables' cost per page of 3.89 cents. While the B&W cost per page is average, the color consumables' cost per page of 3.89 cents is exceptionally low. For more information visit kodak.com/go/inkdata.
Left: Kodak's ES 9 All-In-One Printer.
Right: Kodak says that its ink cartridges are priced lower than competitive ink cartridges, and also yield more pages.
Kodak first introduced its consumer ink-jet line in 2007. Its installed base of ink-jet printers has grown to more than one million the past two years. In 2009, Kodak aims to double that number with the help of a series of marketing initiatives, including the “Print and Prosper” campaign.
Notes Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President at Kodak, “Kodak’s approach is to let consumers know there is an alternative to high-priced ink. We sell reasonably priced printers that use reasonably priced ink, which can save consumers who print a lot an average $110 per year on ink."
The new ad campaign, which will urge consumers to switch to Kodak "and stop overpaying for ink," is being created by Deutsch NY. It was launched March 29th in the United States and Canada, and will be launched in additional countries over the next several months. The ad campaign will consist of television and newspaper placements, as well as marketing on Kodak Web sites such as www.printandprosper.com.
In November 2008, Kodak tapped Deutsch to support the company’s ink-jet marketing initiative in collaboration with longtime agency partners Ketchum Communications, based in New York, N.Y., for public-relations, and Partners + Napier, based in Rochester, N.Y., the latter of which handles business-to-business marketing.
At Kodak's www.printandprosper.com Web site, consumers can calculate how much they would save in ink costs according to Kodak if they switched to KODAK All-in One Inkjet Printer. Kodak has also engaged consumer advocate Laura Rowley to help expound on the subject. Ms. Rowley writes a Yahoo! finance column and personal blog concerning finance and consumer value.