New Legislation Would Force Printer Manufacturers to Acknowledge the High Cost of Ink

The cost of printer ink cartridges has gotten absolutely “ink”-sane.

That's what two Democratic assemblymen said earlier this year when they introduced legislation that would require printer manufacturers to disclose the cost of ink per 1,000 printed pages.

Now, one ink and toner retailer is jumping on board. Cartridge World, which operates 31 stores in New Jersey, has launched the "Stop the Ink-Sanity" public relations campaign to spread the word that printer manufacturers aren't giving consumers enough information when it comes to the high cost of ink.

"The 200,000 small businesses in New Jersey easily pay $3,000 per year in printer cartridges," Greg Carafello, who owns Cartridge World franchises in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., said in a statement. "That adds up to $1 billion in New Jersey alone."

Indeed, that was the reasoning behind Assembly bill A628, which is co-sponsored by Paul D. Moriarty (D-Camden/Gloucester) and Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex).

"You may pick up a printer for a reasonable price, completely unaware of how much you are really going to spend long after that purchase for the ink," Moriarty said in a statement back in February, when the bill was approved by the Assembly's Consumer Affairs Committee.

"This bill would help establish a rational mechanism for people to ascertain the lifetime costs of owning that printer."

The bill would make it illegal to sell a printer without indicating the average cost for 1,000 printed pages. It would also be illegal to sell an ink cartridge without noting how many printed pages it would provide. And it wouldn't be enough to hide that information in user manual fine print: The bill stipulates it must be on the packaging or on a "conspicuously attached label or tag."

There would be a price to pay for those manufacturers that don't abide. Fines for a first offense could cost up to $10,000. Any subsequent offense could reach $20,000.

Carafello said businesses should steer clear of cheap printers that "drink ink" and tri-color cartridges that run out quickly.

"We clearly understand the support for the bill," he said in a statement. "Buying printers and ink without consumer labeling information is the equivalent of buying a car without knowing the MPG."

Source: NJBiz