Defeating the Desktop Menace

"They cost 6 to 20 cents apiece or more, but there's no way to quantify it unless you have a print management system," says Barron. "The hope is that I would get responsibility for leasing all the machines and dealing with service and with charging for supplies—that's where the majority of the cost is. By having a chargeback system, people can buy cartridges at Best Buy all they want, but they'll be charged for every print they make and that will go towards buying their supplies. The goal is to make them captive. I hope to give them competitive pricing, but it's controlled."