The arrangement, it said, would be similar that of the printer industry.
Based in Kentucky, Lexmark is a small player in the personal-printer industry compared with HP and Canon.
The printer industry works on the "give away the razors, sell a lot of blades" principle, so the printers are relatively inexpensive: The Canon costs about $210 online.
Ricoh, its rival in the copier-and-printer industry, derives half its sales—and half its operating profits from overseas markets.
"It's a blue-chip company that dominates the printer industry and is a strong player in other areas," he said.
That makes them not merely faster than comparable laser printers, but 25% cheaper to run as well.Kodak, meanwhile, has just surprised the printer industry with a range of inkjets that undermine the traditional business model.
Strategy 4: Get the Last Drop The printer industry wants you to do two things: use lots and lots of ink and, when the time comes to replace it, use its name-brand cartridges for refills.
Rick Aristotle Munarriz, a senior analyst with the Motley Fool, the financial investment Web site, said that for razor companies the revenue model "is pretty much the same mantra as the printer industry," which makes little or no money on printer sales but a much larger profit on replacement ink cartridges.
The challenge, Stotz and other printer industry executives agree, comes as more small businesses become networked.
Among the analyst's top concerns is the lack of meaningful improvement in the printer industry.
