FTC Tells Kodak to Amend Printer Ads

Remember how HP called out Kodak for its ads claiming that consumers can save “on average $110 annually on ink by switching to Kodak ink and printers”? To recap, HP brought its complaint to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD). But after Kodak skipped out on the complaint proceeding, the NAD referred the case to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

So how did it all turn out? After some deliberation, the FTC has ruled that while Kodak can continue the ad campaign, it needs to clarify that the savings occur after “printing only four pages per day or 1,500 pages per year.” As a result, Kodak’s ads will now tell consumers they can “save on average $110 a year on ink, based on as few as four pages a day.” The case is now officially closed, and the amended ad is officially up at PrintandProsper.com.

Overall, Kodak seems to have made out pretty well, despite having to go through the complaint process. In fact, the recommended FTC wording enables the company to imply that the more you print, the more you save. That said, the reviews I’ve read so far for the Kodak ESP all-in-ones offer a familiar refrain – photo quality is good, but print speeds are slow, and document quality could use some improvement. Are the lower ink costs worth the mediocre performance and specialized functionality? Maybe, if you’re an avid photo hobbyist. Regardless, the next step for Kodak may have to involve putting its money where its mouth is, and putting its low-priced ink to better use in better printers.