Buying Dell Ink By the Barrel

quarterly earnings conference call

(Emphasis added.)

Printer ink hasn't exactly been a product in Dell's wheelhouse. In fact, judging by OEM numbers over the past 18 months from Lexmark - - which has listed Dell as one of its biggest OEM customers - - printers in general have been closer to a bust for Dell. The brick-and-mortar retail segment is a different animal for Dell, so maybe Staples' strategy will work. But of all the areas for Dell to compete with rival Hewlett-Packard, whether retail or commercial, printers and consumables would appear to be much less favorable than other areas.