The State of New Jersey is once again proposing legislation that would require manufacturers of inkjet printers to include the average cost per page to print 1,000 impressions on the device’s packaging. The bill, which had been previously introduced but expired without gubernatorial action at the end of the State’s last legislative session, has been reintroduced and approved by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee; it is now bound for the full Assembly.
Under the law, it would be illegal to sell a printer in New Jersey unless the packaging or a conspicuously placed tag or label attached to the packaging includes the average cost per page for printing 1,000 pages in monochrome and, if applicable, for printing 1,000 pages in color. The cost would be calculated by dividing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for each cartridge by its rated yield. The law would also make it illegal to sell ink cartridges unless the packaging or a tag or label on the packaging displays the ink cartridge yield determined using ISO standards.
Violation of the law would result in a penalty of up to $10,000 for a first offense and of up to $20,000 for any subsequent offense.
Assemblyman Paul Moriarity, one of the bill’s sponsors, noted, “Many consumers are unaware of the real cost of a printer when they purchase it because they are not provided with enough information about the cost of ink. This bill would help establish a rational mechanism for people to ascertain the lifetime costs of owning that printer.”
To help buyers determine the true cost of owning a device, BLI offers cost per page and total cost of ownership (TCO) information in its printer and scanner reports. And, notably, the cost analysis for printers is based on tested toner or ink yield, rather than the rated yields. In addition, the Calculate TCO feature on bliQ enables buyers to calculate a device’s total cost of ownership, including supplies cost per page.
