Back in April, I wrote about The Truth about Print and Proper's Cost of Ink Claims and how I think Kodak misleads the public about the true cost of printing. To recap, I feel their claims just don't add up. And I'm not the only one who's reached that conclusion. In recent head-to-head reviews of comparable models, professional reviewers have found that in tests of varying printouts (comparing black and white document prints and color photo prints, for example) the cost per page is very close and in some cases HP prints can actually be more affordable than Kodak. Check out the objective reviews and tests by respected media such as The Boston Globe and Hardware Geeks.

To bring you up to date: HP filed a complaint with The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. On August 31, the NAD issued a press release stating that it had referred advertising by Eastman Kodak to the Federal Trade Commission for further review. Earlier today, the NAD released another statement to clarify certain facts about the inquiry into Eastman Kodak's advertising claims: Although the company asserted its claims are substantiated, Kodak refused to participate in the review process or provide evidence in support of its advertising.

To be perfectly honest, I'm grateful to see that the NAD set the record straight (you can see their release here).  I'm proud to work for a company that welcomes healthy competition with open arms, but which also respects and upholds truthful and accurate advertising.

As the market leader for more than 25 years, HP embraces industry standard testing methodologies. When HP conducted apples-to-apples testing and comparison of specific HP models vs. comparable Kodak models and used realistic home inkjet print volumes provided by Lyra Research, we came up with very different results than Kodak's misleading claims. In fact, when you compare the print volumes of typical home customers, the savings could actually be as little as $1 a month. ^*

What's a buck worth to you? From the many conversations I've had with customers, they overwhelmingly agree that the superior print quality, reliability, performance and peace of mind you get when you buy HP is worth much more than a dollar. Want to learn more about the printing costs of HP printers? Go here.

As always, I invite your questions, comments and suggestions.

Angela LoSasso manages HP's Creative Wiki and HP's Small Business Wiki. You'll also find her on Twitter.

* Comparing HP and Kodak products priced at $199 and $299. Calculated using page yields provided by HP and Kodak based on ISO 24711 test methodology, 4x6 photo yields provided by HP and Kodak including the cost of HP Advanced and Kodak Ultra Studio Gloss media and cartridge prices from HP and Kodak web sites. Annual document volume assumptions provided by Lyra Research, Inc.: "Types of Documents Printed on Home Ink Jet Printers: 2006 U.S. Ink Jet and Laser Home User Survey," published 1/26/2007.