Epson has been quietly test-marketing a home or...

Epson has been quietly test-marketing a home or small office printer in Russia for the past four years that reverses the razor/razor blade marketing model that has driven some printer manufacturers out of the market. Instead of charging next to nothing for the printer and trying to make money from very expensive ink cartridges, Epson’s new EcoTank printers come with a large ink tank on the side. The tank gives “virtually limitless printing for up to two years,” Epson said. When the ink finally runs dry, the user pays a nominal price for each of four 70 ml bottles of black, cyan, magenta and yellow ink, and squirts them into the tank. Why test-market in Russia? Said Neil Wilson, Epson U.K. business manager: “The market there is special. Most homes are spending their money on essentials like food, and printers are used mainly by small businesses, which is at odds with the situation in Western Europe and the USA. Recently we also did some trials in Western Europe … and found that the market is changing there too. We saw Lexmark withdraw from the printer market because whereas cellphone handsets are subsidized by a contract to buy data, there is no contract to buy ink. So we thought it was time for a new choice.” Epson’s “new choice” EcoTank printers also will spare millions of ink cartridges from being dumped in landfills, the company said. The printers are now rolling out throughout Europe, with an initial exclusive deal with Dixons Carphone stores until January. Sales in the U.S. will begin in about a year, Wilson said.