Digital BW, The Print

When I was at Photoplus last year the Epson guys said they only broke even
on the hardware.  I doubt that this is the case in, say, the UK where they
charge 80% more for them.  My bet though is that the true profit is in the
ink cartridges and other media (again, look what they charge in the UK!!).
I don't blame them for going after pirates, nor even after those that are
copying their cartridge design to fill with innovative inks.  The former is
good, the latter sucks for us as it does restrict innovation.  On the other
hand, if I were an ink research company and came up with a blow-out formula
but was prevented from putting it in an Epson compatible cart there are
plenty of other hardware companies that one could approach and help get
ahead.  The issue in question is about piracy not innovation.


> From: Paul Roark <paul.roark@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2005 09:18:47 -0700
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Epson & Inks ( Major Concern)
> 
>> 
>> Question - Are Epson printers "loss leaders" that really require
>> considerable
>> ink sales to achieve profitability? Reminds of the Xbox hacking issue a
>> couple of years ago.
> 
> I think we might be getting a bit of a free ride from their business model,
> which I call the Gillette model -- give away the razor and nick them with
> the blades.  For example, the sale price on C86s can be incredibly low.  On
> the other hand, I suspect in general Epson is not selling for a loss.
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com