A survey by Kodak has revealed that almost half the people in the UK think the cost of printer ink is a rip off. The average person in the UK spends £105 a year on ink. Consequently 41% of people who own a printer at home have used the printer at work to print personal documents, and in London this rises to 64%. 15% of people admit to having used the office printer to print their CVs while 10% have printed job vacancies!

Kodak UK Press Release

PRINT AND RUN: THE NATION’S PRINTING HABITS REVEALED

Research by Kodak shows impact of the high cost of ink in the office and home

LONDON, November 07, 2007 - The price of ink stinks according to recent research carried out by Kodak. Almost half the people in the UK think the cost of ink is a rip off, while 74% of people think the cost is far too high. As a result people are less inclined to use their home printer, particularly when there is a cost effective alternative at hand – the trusty office printer! 41% of people who own a printer at home have used the printer at work to print personal documents and in London this rises to 64%. The average person in the UK spends a whopping £105 a year on ink.

Working Overtime
From the everyday to the eccentric and the risky, the office printer is made to work overtime printing maps, holiday details, employees’ family trees and even job vacancies and CVs! 15% of people admit to having used the office printer to print their CVs while 10% have printed job vacancies, a sure fire way to get in deep trouble if spotted by the boss. However, as only 1% of people have reported their colleagues for printing personal documents it appears that the risks are worth running. The male population certainly seems inclined to run the printing gauntlet more often than their female counterparts, particularly when it comes to printing maps (24% of men have printed maps versus 14% of women), perhaps because they are so loath to ask for directions.

Home Values
Those employees with children have marginally more morals when it comes to making free with the office ink but they are among the most hypocritical printer users. Nearly a third of parents who do not let their children use the home printer (31%) and 39% of parents who limit their children’s use of the home printer have printed personal documents at work. Aside from worrying that their children will plaster their walls with pictures of Ronaldo, the high cost of ink is the prohibitive factor when it comes to allowing children free reign on the home printer. 24% of parents keep an eye on their children’s use of the printer while 13% limit how much their children use the printer, potentially stifling their creativity.

“When it comes to the high cost of ink, the people of Britain have been ripped off for far too long now and they know it,” said Enrico Bradamante, Head of Inkjet Printing, Europe, Africa and Middle East, Eastman Kodak Company. “Some things are better printed at home and, thanks to Kodak, now there is simply no excuse not to. From fantasy football dream teams and recipes, to Kodak quality photographs, CVs and application forms, printing at home is the way forward.”

The End of the Print Sprint
Kodak’s commitment to changing the rules in the inkjet industry in favour of the consumer, paves the way for limitless home printing and spells the end of the office print sprint. According to independent ink yield test results from QualityLogic, commissioned by Kodak to calculate and compare the cost of Ink Per Page of the KODAK EASYSHARE 5300 and 5500 AiO Printers, consumers are now able to print up to twice as much for their money’. Compared to other consumer inkjet printers, covert office printing can become a thing of the past, as Kodak AiO Printers offer British consumers substantially-reduced printing costs.

About Eastman Kodak Company
Kodak is the world’s foremost imaging innovator. With sales of $10.7 billion in 2006, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on helping people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work. Consumers use Kodak’s system of digital and traditional products and services to take, print and share their pictures anytime, anywhere.

Businesses effectively communicate with customers worldwide using KODAK solutions for prepress, conventional and digital printing and document imaging; and Creative Professionals rely on KODAK technology to uniquely tell their story through moving or still images.

More information about Kodak (NYSE: EK) is available at www.kodak.com.

Kodak, EasyShare, and Perfect Touch - are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.

THE PRINT FACTS
41% of people who own printers at home, have used the printer at work to print personal documents – 19% have used their work printer to print leisure information, 18% have used it to print holiday information and 18% have used it to print maps

15 % have even used the work printer to print a CV

80% of them did not think it was necessary to ask permission before using the work printer and 11% did not ask because they were worried that their boss might object

66% of them said their colleagues were aware of their office printing

97% of people experienced no repercussions at all

Whereas 19% only use the work printer at lunch time and 14% only use it outside work hours, 61% say they use it anytime

24% of people think printing at work should be regarded as theft and 14% are unsure

Just 1% of people have reported a colleague to the boss for using the work printer to print personal documents

74% of people think the cost of colour ink cartridges is far too high and 48% are careful about how much they use the printer

39% only print documents at home if it’s absolutely necessary, 32% are very selective when printing photos so they don’t waste money on ink cartridges and 12% would rather print at work because it’s free

Out of printer-owning parents who have children at home, 40% keep an eye on their children’s use of it, 22% limit their children’s use of the printer and 8% are concerned that they limit their children too much from using the printer sometimes

People who own colour printers spend nearly twice as much on ink cartridges per year (£108) than those who own black and white printers (£60)

If people could get print cartridges for half the price they currently spend, 23% would do more printing at home and 50% would spend the money they’d save on household items. 20% of parents would let their children do more printing at home and 27% would spend the money they saved on their children

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