I have been in the printing and copying industry for over 25 years and
in that time I have witnessed some groundbreaking changes. When I
first started repairing photocopiers and printers back in 1985, the
choice was limited to mono machines with standard features such as
reduction and enlargement and very mechanical sorting features on
photocopiers and basic A4 mono laser printing. The first laser printer
available to the small business was the HP laserjet released in 1984
using a canon engine sold to Hewlett Packard — a company
synonymous with (and often mistakenly credited with inventing) the
modern commercial laser printer.
As the home computer market grew so did the influx of different
printers and by the end of the 1980’s the first colour inkjet printers were
hitting the market. It wasn’t long before the first colour laser printer; the
QMS 1000, hit the market in 1993. So there we have it. The choice of
colour printer is set by inkjet or laser apart from one interesting variant
of the printer which was pioneered by the Japanese maker Oki in 1987:
the LED printer replaced the laser with a dense array of light emitting
diodes.
From that point on nothing much has changed in the technology of
laser, LED and inkjet printers but the plethora of choice, increased
speed and the falling cost of purchase which has opened up an
interesting debate on which printer to buy. There is also the price of
consumables to take into account. The replacement consumables over
the years will cost much more than the price you paid for the printer in
the first place. To a greater or lesser extent, all printer manufacturers
use sales of consumables to subsidise the cost of the printing
hardware. The straightforward reason for this is because there is a
price point, below which the sale of printing hardware alone becomes
unprofitable.
Now for the facts
I have taken four current colour printers in the small to medium
business use range to demonstrate the total cost of ownership of a
colour printer. This includes the toners that we all know need regular
replacement and also the other consumables in a printer that often get
forgotten when calculating the running costs. When we start to add in
maintenance costs to the equation, the difference is quite staggering.
I have taken the prices from the best available on the internet on all
models here. Prices and yield of consumables vary greatly as do
maintenance call out charges. I have not added in maintenance
charges as the choices are so varied.
Printer 1
Kyocera FS-C5350DN £530
30 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 7.45 pence
Total cost of ownership over 100,000 prints £7970
Overall view: Designed by Porsche, boy it looks ugly, but it is a
contender in this report as the third cheapest machine to run.
Printer 2
oki c710dn £897
32 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 6.01 pence
Total cost of ownership £6907
Overall view: Close second in overall running cost and a very real
prospect if you need quality colour printing. This is a very nice high
quality printer.
Printer 3
Oki ES3032a4dn the most expensive in this report at £997
32 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 4.43 pence
Total cost of ownership £5428
Overall view: The highest priced printer but with The lowest overall
running cost at £1500 less than the identical OKI Printer with a different
number on the front.
Now for a laugh.
Printer 4
HP CP3520 £599
30 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 10.8 pence
Total cost of ownership £11396
Overall view: last time I compiled a report like this, the HP offering came
a close second to the OKI. I was amazed when I did the calculations
and found the absurd running costs of this printer.
All of the above prices are calculated on the 5% coverage on an A4
page, however OKI actually work their coverage out on dots per page,
or more simply, density of ink. If their declaration is correct their 5% is
more like 9% coverage compared to the other printers.
An even cheaper way to print in colour
A couple of printer manufacturers are offering service inclusive cost
per page contracts on their printers. This means you can pay a price
per print and not pay for any consumables or colour toner only (colour
exclusive)
There are great benefits to doing this. You get full cover for all parts,
servicing and call out charges for the duration of the contract. You
know exactly what you are paying so you can gauge monthly costs
and budget for any planned excessive usage. You won’t have a sudden
cost for a whole set of drums or a major breakdown repair cost. You will
get more for your money if you are on a toner Inclusive contract, and
get discounted rates if you are a heavy user.
Two companies currently doing this are Xerox, who are offering a
centrally serviced cover and OKI Executive Series who offer
dealerships to local companies with fully trained technicians.
The Major benefit of having local dealerships is exactly that, LOCAL. If
there is a problem you know the engineer is only a few miles away. You
may have the most cost effective service cover in the country but it is of
little comfort if the engineer is 150 miles away and won’t reach you until
a week on Tuesday.
So to the conclusion.
OKI Printers came out top in our impartial price breakdown AND OKI
printers come out top with their local service options.
Can you now see why MiKopy choose OKI Executive Series as the
choice amongst an alarmingly un-stiff opposition?
in that time I have witnessed some groundbreaking changes. When I
first started repairing photocopiers and printers back in 1985, the
choice was limited to mono machines with standard features such as
reduction and enlargement and very mechanical sorting features on
photocopiers and basic A4 mono laser printing. The first laser printer
available to the small business was the HP laserjet released in 1984
using a canon engine sold to Hewlett Packard — a company
synonymous with (and often mistakenly credited with inventing) the
modern commercial laser printer.
As the home computer market grew so did the influx of different
printers and by the end of the 1980’s the first colour inkjet printers were
hitting the market. It wasn’t long before the first colour laser printer; the
QMS 1000, hit the market in 1993. So there we have it. The choice of
colour printer is set by inkjet or laser apart from one interesting variant
of the printer which was pioneered by the Japanese maker Oki in 1987:
the LED printer replaced the laser with a dense array of light emitting
diodes.
From that point on nothing much has changed in the technology of
laser, LED and inkjet printers but the plethora of choice, increased
speed and the falling cost of purchase which has opened up an
interesting debate on which printer to buy. There is also the price of
consumables to take into account. The replacement consumables over
the years will cost much more than the price you paid for the printer in
the first place. To a greater or lesser extent, all printer manufacturers
use sales of consumables to subsidise the cost of the printing
hardware. The straightforward reason for this is because there is a
price point, below which the sale of printing hardware alone becomes
unprofitable.
Now for the facts
I have taken four current colour printers in the small to medium
business use range to demonstrate the total cost of ownership of a
colour printer. This includes the toners that we all know need regular
replacement and also the other consumables in a printer that often get
forgotten when calculating the running costs. When we start to add in
maintenance costs to the equation, the difference is quite staggering.
I have taken the prices from the best available on the internet on all
models here. Prices and yield of consumables vary greatly as do
maintenance call out charges. I have not added in maintenance
charges as the choices are so varied.
Printer 1
Kyocera FS-C5350DN £530
30 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 7.45 pence
Total cost of ownership over 100,000 prints £7970
Overall view: Designed by Porsche, boy it looks ugly, but it is a
contender in this report as the third cheapest machine to run.
Printer 2
oki c710dn £897
32 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 6.01 pence
Total cost of ownership £6907
Overall view: Close second in overall running cost and a very real
prospect if you need quality colour printing. This is a very nice high
quality printer.
Printer 3
Oki ES3032a4dn the most expensive in this report at £997
32 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 4.43 pence
Total cost of ownership £5428
Overall view: The highest priced printer but with The lowest overall
running cost at £1500 less than the identical OKI Printer with a different
number on the front.
Now for a laugh.
Printer 4
HP CP3520 £599
30 page per minute mono and 30 page per minute colour
Cost per print 10.8 pence
Total cost of ownership £11396
Overall view: last time I compiled a report like this, the HP offering came
a close second to the OKI. I was amazed when I did the calculations
and found the absurd running costs of this printer.
All of the above prices are calculated on the 5% coverage on an A4
page, however OKI actually work their coverage out on dots per page,
or more simply, density of ink. If their declaration is correct their 5% is
more like 9% coverage compared to the other printers.
An even cheaper way to print in colour
A couple of printer manufacturers are offering service inclusive cost
per page contracts on their printers. This means you can pay a price
per print and not pay for any consumables or colour toner only (colour
exclusive)
There are great benefits to doing this. You get full cover for all parts,
servicing and call out charges for the duration of the contract. You
know exactly what you are paying so you can gauge monthly costs
and budget for any planned excessive usage. You won’t have a sudden
cost for a whole set of drums or a major breakdown repair cost. You will
get more for your money if you are on a toner Inclusive contract, and
get discounted rates if you are a heavy user.
Two companies currently doing this are Xerox, who are offering a
centrally serviced cover and OKI Executive Series who offer
dealerships to local companies with fully trained technicians.
The Major benefit of having local dealerships is exactly that, LOCAL. If
there is a problem you know the engineer is only a few miles away. You
may have the most cost effective service cover in the country but it is of
little comfort if the engineer is 150 miles away and won’t reach you until
a week on Tuesday.
So to the conclusion.
OKI Printers came out top in our impartial price breakdown AND OKI
printers come out top with their local service options.
Can you now see why MiKopy choose OKI Executive Series as the
choice amongst an alarmingly un-stiff opposition?
| THE BIG REPORT This report, updated in 2010, will amaze you with the massive difference in seemingly alike colour laser printers. |
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