Razor-blade makers sell consumers the shaver at low prices and then make a killing selling replacement blades. Printer manufacturers do the same thing--selling their printers on the cheap and then making bank on expensive consumables like ink. It's a time-tested practice that's inspired a lively aftermarket of cheap ink from third-party suppliers.

The printer makers--the original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs--claim that their ink is worth the premium prices they charge for it. OEM ink, they say, creates images that are more accurate and color-rich, and longer-lived. Third-party suppliers, on the other hand, say that their inks are just as good but cost a lot less. For example, HP charges US$18 for a black ink cartridge for its Photosmart C5180 printer, but the same cartridge remanufactured by Cartridge World costs only US$8.75.

Who's telling the truth? To find out, we teamed up with the Rochester Institute of Technology, a respected research university known for its top-notch laboratory for testing imaging products. Using popular ink jet printers from Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, and Lexmark, we ran side-by-side tests of brand-name and third-party inks to compare image quality and fade resistance. We also tracked how many pages each cartridge churned out before running dry.

Our tests show that all of the third-party inks in our test group yielded more prints per cartridge--on top of costing less--but that, with some notable exceptions, the printer manufacturers' ink we evaluated usually produced better-quality prints and proved more resistant to fading. Of course, our conclusions apply only to the printers we tested. We couldn't test all of the printers that are available (partly because you can't get third-party ink for all of them), so we picked a set of mainstream inkjet printers from recognized brands as a way of taking a snapshot view of the ink market.

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The combined printer, copier and multifunctional product (MFP) market in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) totalled 23.8m shipped units in the first half of 2008, an increase of 2.2% said Gartner.

"The results for the first half of 2008 showed single-digit growth across the print markets in EMEA, with second quarter results showing signs of an economic slowdown, which could continue into the rest of the year," said Tosh Prabhakar, an analyst at Gartner.

Gartner said economic uncertainty had led to caution among consumers and businesses. Sales of consumer and office print devices were down 6% year-on-year in the first half of 2008.

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We reviewed the Samsung SCX-4500 in all its sleek, black glossiness a few months back, but knock just 200 off the model number and £100 off the asking price and you have the SCX-4300. This is also a mono, laser-based all-in-one printer, decked out in black plastic, but it has a much more conventional design and in some ways a more practical approach to what is needed.

The SCX-4300 has a neat footprint for an office all-in-one machine, a little wider than a typical personal laser printer, but with very similar depth and height. The sides of the machine flare slightly at the top to accommodate the A4 scanner mechanism which, unlike the SCX-4500’s, sits across the laser engine from left to right, rather than from front to back.

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Xerox®, a dominant player in the copier industry, is rapidly becoming one of the three top makers of color business printers in the U.S. As more Xerox printers enter the market, this evolution marks a growth opportunity for service dealers who repair printers. But these dealers face a challenge: a closed distribution system means a limited supply of parts. In an effort to help service organizations capture new business and drive more revenue, (SEE THIS)! will stock and sell Xerox parts.

"The innovative Xerox color technology produces documents that rival the leaders in the color printer market. As the market continues the transition to color, Xerox is well-positioned to be a major player," said Jason Jensen, Vice President of Business Development. "For service dealers to stay competitive, they will need to service Xerox equipment."

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For £149.99 from 1 September, the latest addition to Epson's all-in-one line-up will be available.

The Stylus SX600FW is a scanner and photocopier with fax and Wi-Fi capabilities.

Epson says that the key features of this machine are its automatic document feeder, large LCD screen and its individual ink cartridges system (each cartridge costs from £7.99).

Copies and photos are delivered using Epson’s Micro Piezo print head technology, which can deliver speeds of up to 38ppm.

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Canon has been going through a particularly good phase with its printer line up, both in the inkjet and laser printer markets, and it has a strong range of mono and colour laser printers in the i-SENSYS brand. The LBP5100 colour laser comes in at a very competitive price, but has too much been snipped away from its feature-set to compensate?

The slightly-sloping, blank fronts of Canon’s i-SENSYS laser printers have become something of a trademark and this colour unit looks cleaner and blanker than most, thanks to a thin line of just eight LEDs at the top and no control buttons at all.

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Snapshot printers, beware: Hewlett-Packard's new inkjet-based Photosmart A636 Compact Photo Printer sets a high standard-and rewards impatient users in the process.

Unlike its similarly portable sibling, the Photosmart A526, this midpriced model is fast: The 4-by-6-inch photos we printed came out in less than a minute each; other snapshot printers we've tested have taken almost twice as long. Most colors looked realistic, with good detail except in dark areas. My only gripes: Fleshtones seemed a little orangey, and monochrome photos had a slight pinkish tinge.

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An office supplies dealer has been charged with using bogus copier leases to scam area businesses and nonprofits.

Scott Arthur Waddell, 49, of 8012 Llewellyn Court in Raleigh, was charged with eight counts each of forgery and obtaining property by false pretense. He was being held Wednesday in the Wake County Jail under a $1.25 million bond.

Waddell ran two companies, Modern Office Solutions and PST Consultants, and sold copy machines and other office supplies to businesses for years.

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I'll never buy another printer that requires a cable. Wireless printing, that's the ticket. Fortunately, you don't have to pay a premium for this enviable capability, as evidenced by Dell's V305w--an all-in-one model currently on sale for $79.

Shipping is free (make sure to choose three-to-five day delivery at checkout), though you'll probably have to pony up a few bucks for sales tax.

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Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) announced today that the company's consumer all-in-one (AiO) inkjet printers have received PC Magazine's 2008 Readers' Choice Award in the Printer Category. The results from the 21st Annual PC Magazine Service and Reliability Survey reveal that PC Magazine readers rate Kodak's AiO printer ink the highest for photo quality and for its low cost of ink compared to other market competitors.

The KODAK All-in-One Printer portfolio allows consumers to print up to twice as many photos and documents for their money*, while saving consumers hundreds of dollars on printing at home.

"We're thrilled to learn that consumers have embraced our family of all-in-one inkjet printers and have truly benefited from the quality of our premium inks and revolutionary value proposition," said Susan Tousi, general manager of Kodak's Inkjet Systems Division. "We bring consumers intuitive products that provide superb-quality and allow them to save up to 50 percent on everything they print*."

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