One of Kodak’s Verité Eco printers
The OEM, alongside global inkjet printer licensee Funai Electric, has launched the Verité Eco range of wireless inkjet printers.
In a press release, the OEM stated that the machines are being showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas by Funai Electric, and noted that the machines are an “eco series [that] showcases the easiest way to save on your inkjet printing costs” and “help people save even more ink”. Funai Electric operates as the “worldwide licensee for Kodak consumer and SOHO inkjet printers”, with the series “already on shelves in the US and UK”.
The range was developed to “address lingering consumer dissatisfaction with the high cost of ink and cartridges that run out of ink too quickly”, with Funai having “a long history of manufacturing inkjet and laser printers for recognised brands around the world”. Kodak claims that the series is “the first to provide a new innovative cost-savings feature”, the Eco button, which allows users to “use up to 30 percent less ink and save up to 70 percent or more on their printing costs”.
Consumers, the OEM pointed out, “get the satisfaction of knowing they can use less ink”, and can also buy XL and 3XL high-capacity inkjet cartridges that “provide the convenience” of “double the print yield” and “six times the yield of a standard cartridge” respectively. The 3XL cartridges cost $44.98 (€42.45) for black and $59.98 (€56.60) in colours, which Kodak claims is “equivalent to” over $280 (€264) of ink “when using other leading manufacturer’s ink cartridges”.
Other features of the range include “exceptional ease of use and wireless connectivity”, alongside the Kodak Verité Printer App for both Apple and Android devices for mobile printing and Google loud Print and Apple AirPrint compatibility. A “Mega Series” bundle includes a printer and two 3XL cartridge, equivalent to “12 standard cartridges” at a cost of $192 (€181), with the bundles available for between $99 (€93) and $149 (€140) “depending on the model”.
The printers are “available at major retailers around the US and on Amazon”, while replacement cartridges “are also available at retail and online” for $11.99 (€11.31) for a standard, 200-page yield black cartridge and $19.99 (€18.86) for a standard, 180-page yield colour cartridge.
Tsuneki Yoshida, OS Division at GM Funai Electric, commented: “We know that people are looking for easy ways to print and scan from mobile devices. We also know that consumers are looking for ways to save on ink costs. The KODAK VERITÉ Eco Wireless Printers will solve both of these needs.”
Brian Cruz, Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Products at Kodak, added: “Kodak has always stood for high quality and ease of use. We are pleased to partner with Funai on this evolving product line to give consumers a solution to the ongoing frustration of paying too much for ink.”
The OEM also launched other “imaging-focused products” at CES, including a photo phone case, photo printer dock and mini photo printer, with Steven Overman, Chief Marketing Officer at Kodak, commenting that “Kodak has enabled generations of people to get creative through its iconic film and photography products. For years Kodak’s been quietly behind the scenes of some of the world’s most extraordinary creativity. We are now in the process of letting people know the role we play in helping creativity thrive”.