New Printers Detrimental to Printer Cartridge Industry

In the recently-concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, printer manufacturers showcased their newest product innovations. In a way, the event managed to attract the public through new product lines particularly the cartridge-less printers. But as someone from the printer cartridge business, I could not help but think about how this can affect the printer cartridge industry.

Printer manufacturers were given the chance to display their new printer or copier devices that are cartridge-less. Yes, this means that they can print even without inks and toners. More and more printer and copier manufacturers nowadays are now adopting a new technology that allows the devices to print without ink or toner cartridge.

Though this may seem convenient for the users, it may also bring about significant effects on the printer cartridge industry. For example, the Lexmark Platinum Pro905 all-in-one inkjet printer which won the CES Innovation’s Award utilizes a new type of ink cartridge that is a whole lot cheaper than those produced by other printer manufacturers. The black ink cartridge costs $4.99 and the color cartridges cost $9.99 each.

Other printer or copier manufacturers like Dell, Polaroid and Xerox launched a new line of printer or copier devices that print even without a cartridge. This type of technology is called as ZINK for zero-ink. Instead of an ink cartridge, the device requires a special type of paper that is embedded with crystal color. The crystal color gets activated or becomes visible when heated by the printer.

The introduction of these technologies or products will definitely affect the printer cartridge industry. According to one industry commentator, Patricio Robles, printer ink is a $ 45-billion per year business. The margin can be as high as 60%. With ZINK and products with cheaper inks soon to be released in the market, printer ink businesses will surely have lower figures in terms of profits and ROI. On the other hand, these new printer products can usher in a healthier competition. It can influence OEM manufacturers to lower the prices of ink cartridges.