« Cheap "Pre-n" Routers Could Let Your Neighbors Jump Your Bubble | Main | Video Podcasting: Cure For Apple and Disney's Pocketful Of Pabulum? »
How High Gas Prices Can Save H-P
Digital Cameras & Camcorders | Oct 9, 05
Yesterday the NY Times ran a piece arguing that the economics of printing digital photos at home are, for most consumers, disadvantageous in comparison to printing them at retail outlets like Wal-Mart's Sam's Club. We looked at this issue back in November of last year – see When It Comes To Printing Photos, Should You Drive To Wal-Mart? In a nutshell, after buying a printer (a cheaper proposition lately – more on this below) printing a 4x8 at home will run you around thirty to fifty cents versus as little as thirteen cents at the store, though 8x10s are another story, with the at-home cost about a third of the $3 you'll spend at a retailer. Thus, while home printing is up 68%, home printing's share of all photo production has fallen from 64% in the prior twelve months to 48% today. Now the 'Times failed to note this decline might be due to the entry of the more casual consumer into the market, for whom photo printing is only an occasional activity and the ability to do fine editing and special effects is not an issue. Be that as it may, going forward, another factor the Paper of Record didn't mention may come into play: the price of gas.
It's likely you've noticed that gasoline has become just a tad dearer lately. Burning those dead dinosaurs to drive to a big box retailer and print that shot of Junior and his prize hamster Skippy might not be quite so attractive. Wal-Mart, Costco and others have often remarked on the negative effects of higher gasoline prices on overall sales, and it's hard to see how this effect might not apply to the photo printing business. Further, the cheaper printers get, the less painful the price of ink cartridges becomes. For example, the H-P PhotoSmart 7450, which was only around $100 last year, will run you under $75 today.
Time Period: 10/4/2004 through 10/3/2005
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price
To be sure, the printer H-P, Canon and friends hope to make their money in cartridges, and they are what drives the per photo price comparison noted above. But cartridge refills can sharply reduce this cost – see Can H-P Keep Printing Money With Ink Cartridges? And those gazing longingly at the Hum-v stranded in the driveway can console themselves with the knowledge that, whether used at home or at a store, the production of ink and printers involves lots of energy, petrochemicals and potentially toxic materials, so even without that SUV, with each and every photo there’ll be plenty of opportunities to adversely impact the environment. Happy printing!
Posted by jeffrey.trester (Permalink)
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blog.pricescan.com/mtsystem/mt-tb.cgi/85
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference How High Gas Prices Can Save H-P:
» Lipo ephedra free caps from nutrex. from Ephedra.
Twinlab with ephedra. Colorado ephedra attorney. Ephedra. [Read More]
Tracked on January 2, 2008 2:26 AM
» valium from order valium
valium breastfeeding [Read More]
Tracked on June 29, 2008 9:28 PM
Comments
If you drop off/pickup you photos during normal activities (e.g. during you normal weekly trip to Walmart) the price increase of gas would be negligible.
Posted by: JON C at October 30, 2005 2:26 PM
