N.J. Assembly bill spells out ink cartridge requirements

The New Jersey Assembly has passed legislation intended to help consumers save money on the ink cartridges for their computer printers.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Camden, says the measure would require an  ink cartridge to display the estimated number of pages it could print before running dry.”Printer’s ink could possibly be more expensive than Dom Perignon Champagne or the most expensive Paris perfumes because you get less than an ounce of printer’s ink in those cartridges and yet sometimes you’re paying $50 for less than an ounce,” he said.Moriarty says replacing cartridges often ends up being more expensive than buying the printer. He says knowing the expected pages per cartridge would help consumers make better decisions.It’s unclear whether ink makers would comply with this mandate to keep selling in New Jersey.  In the past, electronics companies have bristled at tailoring products to individual state regulations.