December 18, 2009 - The Eastman Kodak Company says that it's received notification from the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Advertising Practices (FTC) that will allow it to continue advertising that consumers can "'Save on average $110 per year on ink with KODAK All-in-One ink-jets." The company has been aggressively marketing its ink-cost claims (see here) since it entered the ink-jet All-in-One market in 2007.
However, Kodak says that it's also accepted the FTC's recommendation that it "disclose more prominently" that a consumer will achieve the stated average cost savings by printing only four pages per day or 1,500 pages per year. The FTC indicated that no further action is warranted at this time and that their investigation is closed.
Earlier this year Hewlett-Packard had challenged Kodak's ink-jet advertising at the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (NAD), an advertising-industry self-regulatory forum. Kodak declined to participate in the NAD's voluntary process and the NAD, per their standard procedure, referred the matter to the Federal Trade Commission.
Kodak says it first introduced its ink-jet All-in-Ones in 2007 to address what it says is consumers' number-one dissatisfaction with home printing - "the high cost of ink.
Kodak says it's solved that issue by charging a "modest premium" for its ink-jet All-in-Ones (six models ranging in price from $99.99 to $299.99), and what it says is a "fair price" for ink---$9.99 for black ink and $14.99 for a 5-color ink cartridge. Information on how Kodak arrives at its ink costs is available here.
According to Randy Brody, director and vice president of Marketing at Kodak's Inkjet Systems Division, 'We will continue to communicate our unique value proposition as compared to the leading ink-jet printer companies and we appreciate the FTC's assistance in making our claims even clearer and more relevant for consumers. Despite competitor attempts to cloud the issue, the savings consumers can experience by switching to Kodak ink-jet printers is significant and is backed by extensive data and thorough testing by independent third parties."