Xerox’s announcement on September 24^th, 2007, may have some customers taking a look at Solid Ink technology for their color business printing requirements. We hope customers take a close look at the technology, and the history of Solid Ink vs. Color Laser or business-focused inkjet devices and make an informed decision about which technologies are the best.

It’s important to consider that Xerox acquired Solid Ink technology when they purchased Tektronix in January of 2000. In the 1980’s, Solid Ink printers had captured an early niche in the graphics departments as proofing devices. Graphic artists liked the 11”X17” format and glossy, vibrant colors that solid ink offered. And, at the time, the nascent inkjet technology business was just emerging. Inkjet was delivering only 180 dpi on special paper. Color laser printers were not commercially feasible back then. We dreamed of someday selling a Color LaserJet printer for $1,000. Today, of course, the technology is much less expensive—HP Color LaserJet printers start at just $299.

But as the technology matured and color printing spread into other parts of the office, color laser became the dominant technology of choice. There were significant differences in the needs of the office users vs. the graphics department. (hp also has strong offerings for the Graphic Arts). Office users needed permanent output that could be handled, copied, annotated and archived. Permanence was especially important in contracts, legal documents, purchase agreements, proposals, etc. Solid Ink technology could not match color laser/dry toner technology in these areas. Also, color laser technology was able to deliver sharper text quality which was also critical in high-value business documents.

General office users also needed fast output. Again, Solid Ink technology had some drawbacks compared to color laser, many of which are documented in this side by side comparison. If a Solid Ink device is turned off, or if nozzles clog, there is up to a 12.5 minute delay to cycle the printer. A color laser printer can be power cycled in less than two minutes. This was another key advantage for color laser.

As laser printers have taken substantial market share from copiers, copier manufacturers have moved toward more of a "simplified" leasing model. In this model, they encourage you to simply look at the Cost Per Page to make a leasing decision. As you might have guessed, the CPP goes down if they quote it using an exceedingly high number of pages. This is like saying, “we’ll save you money if you start printing more.”

Looking at printer-based multifunction products (MFPs) tells a different story. While we previously discussed the more technical differences between printer- and copier-based MFPs, it is important to note the tangible differences. One is that, when you buy an HP LaserJet MFP, you actually get to keep the hardware—you don’t have to pay for the device by printing a lot (with the copier cost being hidden in the CPP, because they are substantially less expensive than copiers). And you don't get to the end of a lease, finding that you've paid alot of money without anything to show for it.

You also don’t have to pay for a service contract (and wait for a service tech to show up) in order to replace the toner cartridges and keep the device working. It is important to note that some customers do want the option to purchase extended break-fix types of service contracts and HP does offer a full range of these services that scale up to a fully outsourced Managed Print Services model. However, this is not usually an option in the copier-vendor model.

We use MFPs in this discussion as most organizations want the efficiency of having all document processing functions as close to their work teams as possible, rather than asking them to hike to a centralized copier center to print, scan, and digitally send documents. When evaluating the acquisition cost for such multifunction hardware, consider that it is a lot less expensive to purchase a printer-based MFP than it is to gain the same functionality from a copier-based device. For instance, you could buy four HP LaserJet M 4345 MFPs that deliver network printing, scanning, digital sending (faxing), PostScript and hard-disk overwrite--for the same functionality in a Ricoh Aficio 3045 SP (from www.buyerslab.com on 12/7/06, actual prices may vary).

A more comprehensive way of looking at costs is through Total Cost Per Page (TCPP). This captures the total amount that you would pay for owning and operating a multi-function device, including: hardware acquisition cost, installation, break/fix service and toner. At an output of 6,000 pages/month, HP’s TCPP is 5.04 cents, while the competitive average is 5.66 cents. At 12,000 pages per month HP’s TCPP is 3.08 cents with the competitive average of 3.31 cents. As 80% of workgroup and departmental MFPs print less than twenty thousand pages per month, chances are your business would save by going with a printer-based MFP. (Competitive averages and usage rates based on substantially similar products from 3 primary MFP manufacturers as of 1/03/07).

Just like when buying a car, you should focus on the overall acquisition cost rather than the “low monthly payment.” If you do, you’ll likely find that you can get at least 3 printer-based MFPs for the price of one derived from a copier. And, as you may remember, HP printer-based MFPs enable balanced deployment and centralized management with HP Web Jetadmin. Some companies do sell printer-based MFPs based on a CPP model, if that is how your organization want to make purchasing decisions. Its interesting to note that many of these companies that lease printer-based devices evolved from the copier business. They are clearly attempting to duplicate their previous business practices with the new breed of printer-based devices--while old habits (or in this case, business practices) die hard, the customer is getting wiser as to meeting their needs without hidden costs.

Editor's Note: I’m going to be changing a number of previous blog titles so that they are more descriptive and it’s easier to find what you’re looking for. Thanks for your patience.

Have you noticed all of these printer cartridge refiller businesses popping up in strip malls across the country? You know, those places where someone uses a syringe to re-fill an ink cartridge (almost sounds like an addiction) or where used toner cartridges are opened and colored plastic is poured in. Many people think they are saving a lot of money by buying remanufactured printer cartridges. However, there are costs that these users probably haven’t considered.