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23 April, 2009 08:15

Black and white dominates office print

by Robert Munro

The mono printer remains the weapon of choice for most office reproduction tasks. Although colour machines are cheap and plentiful, business buyers continue to think of them as an unnecessary luxury, and the stoical mono churns out copies day in, day out, without a second glance from anyone.

Epson M2000

Despite a huge marketing effort by vendors to push colour sales, the majority of print output in businesses is still black and white. This seems to be reflected with the number of new mono standalone printers launched in the past year, although analysts figures show a drop in mono sales overall.

Current trends

As the recession bites, IT hardware sales are beginning to plummet. Equipment investment is way down the list when it comes to spending precious capital and many businesses are adopting a make do and mend attitude.

And nowhere is this more evident than in the business printer sector.

In March, industry analysts Gartner released its latest report on the printer, copier and multifunction printer (MFP) market. It makes for gloomy reading with an 8.4% drop in sales year on year as businesses delayed product upgrades and/or
cancelled investment in new office devices as budgets
and cost containment policies became a priority.

Sales have dropped as businesses delay product upgrades or cancel investment in new office devices as budgets and cost containment policies become a priority, said Gartner

"The fourth quarter of 2008 was a pivot point for the world economy, creating a very challenging selling environment for all printer, copier and MFP hardware and software providers. The rapidly deteriorating economic environment is forcing technology providers to look at their business models and make significant adjustments," said Gartner senior research analyst Tosh Prabhakar.

Analysts IDC forecast a very faint glimmer of light at the end of a long dark tunnel. "In terms of shipment activity, the professional market offers the largest market opportunity throughout the forecast period. More than half of all printers will be sold to the business environment," said IDC European Printers group research manager Julio Vial.

The end of the great consumables swindle?

Printer manufacturers traditionally sold their hardware cheap knowing they could recoup costs and generate profit on the back of costly consumables such as ink cartridges and toners.

The growth of an energetic and innovative re-manufacturing industry has seen that revenue stream dry up as customers queued up to buy cheap third party inks.

Now printer vendors have seen the light and are offering models with at least 50% better ink consumption rates and are instead putting their faith in managed print services as a way of protecting revenues.

Whether this will work remains to be seen but it is, of course, great news for business users. The consumer market, however, is stuck with high cost consumables. In some cases, it is cheaper to buy a new printer than replace the ink in an old one.

Managed print services - more for less?

With acquisition and operating costs a fundamental preoccupation for business buyers, the attractions of managed print services (MPS) are becoming more compelling.

"Most organisations do not know how many devices they have and how many pages they print," said Ken Weilerstein

MPS has grown out of a recognition on the part of hardware vendors that they can close out the competition by offering a one-stop, turnkey solution for businesses struggling to manage the spiralling cost of peripherals.

"Most organisations do not know how many devices they have and how many pages they print," said Gartner printing analyst Ken Weilerstein.

In many companies hardware buying is the responsibility of different departments with copiers bought by facilities managers, printers by the IT department and fax machines by office management.

The end result is a complex web of multiple service contracts and a baffling and costly mire of different brands and consumables - most notably ink and toner cartridges, usually the largest money pit. "It is not unusual to see dozens of suppliers and hundreds of different models," said Weilerstein.

Hence the MPS revolution. While it may appear counterintuitive that hardware vendors are advising businesses to buy less of their products that is precisely what MPS is all about.

By offering a total management solution, manufacturers such as HP, Xerox and Konica Minolta hope to tie in customers to their products for years to come, trading volume sales for long-term commitment.

"The printer and multifunction (MFP) market is characterised by falling prices and shrinking margins. In this increasingly commoditised market, selling services is the key to capturing new revenue for both manufacturers and resellers. For customers, an MPS is a way of reducing capital investment and lowering the ongoing costs associated with inefficient printing practices, such as the cost of purchasing and storing consumables, costs related to high paper usage, as well as reduced productivity as a result of printer downtime," said Quocirca principal analyst Louella Fernandes.

MPS - what's on offer?

Typically a managed print service will include the following:

Identify financial pain-points such as multiple invoicing and costly, time-consuming maintenance currently being performed in-house
Offer comprehensive solution to managing hardware for a single monthly cost
Remote monitoring of peripherals to ensure seamless re-supply, repair and maintenance with no input from the customer
Planning and implementing a hardware acquisition programme based on the individual needs of the business
Monitoring use and controlling access to hardware to minimises costs and maximise efficiency.

MPS - the main players

Canon's e-Maintenance service system uses networks to provide automatic detection of problems involving Canon network digital devices. If consumables run out or a problem arises, the system automatically notifies the center server, which in turn contacts a Canon service base for prompt delivery of the required services.

HP offers its Remote Monitoring service in both its direct managed print services and channel Smart Printing Services programme.

Kyocera 2020

Kyocera has launched KYOprint Pack which allows customers to purchase a device with a support guarantee and plans to include remote monitoring.

Xerox has developed the Xerox Office Tool Suite for larger businesses to monitor and manage an entire fleet of devices offering automatic meter reading, proactive supplies replenishment and proactive service management.

Inkjet or laser?

When it comes to buying printers, there are essentially two choices, laser or inkjet, and there are some obvious differences between the two print technologies.

Laser printers

Laser printers use light to glue toner to a drum which then applies the ink to the paper and are available as monochrome or colour machines. They are the default choice for offices due to their fast print speeds and the high initial cost is offset by lower operating costs.

Pros: High quality prints, good print speeds, low cost per black-and-white copy
Cons: High initial cost, colour toner can be expensive to replace

Inkjet printers

Inkjets using a liquid ink technology to spray text and images onto the paper.
They are cheaper to buy, but running costs may be high. The traditonal inkjet
disadvantage is the expensive consumables.

Pros: High quality output, vivid colours, ease of use, low initial cost, no warm-up time
Cons: Price for ink cartridges, slower print speeds, printhead nozzle clogs

Buying in a recession

While prices for IT hardware may be tumbling it is a great time for businesses to upgrade on peripherals. Printer manufacturers are not only offering significant reductions in purchase costs but there are also bargains to be had in maintenance and re-supply contracts. Add to this a range of new inkjet printers, which claim a 50% reduction in operating costs thanks to improved ink usage and it makes sense to upgrade if you can afford it.

Printer manufacturers are not only offering significant reductions in purchase costs but there are also bargains to be had in maintenance and re-supply contracts HP is one company that is falling over itself to sell to business clients. It is currently offering discounts of up to 47% on support services such as Insight Remote Support, which acts as a direct link between businesses and their solutions provider and provides remedial action without the need for human intervention.

"HP is making it easier for customers to purchase technology to remain competitive and emerge stronger. These new solutions build on HP's commitment to prioritise the top priorities of cost-conscious small to medium sized businesses," said HP vice president Duncan Campbell.

Buying tips

When it comes to the final purchases, here are a few tips to smooth the route to acquisition.

Always factor in the total cost of ownership, including the price and availability of consumables
Consider printers with higher-then-average capacity toner cartridges
Consider whether a contract based on page output can save money
Remember to consider speed of use and warm-up time, a big factor when printers are being used by large numbers of people.
WiFi connectivity is becoming the norm for workgroup printing and pretty much standard these days for anything other than personal, desktop machines
For larger, networked machines, fully investigate maintenance contracts and warranty conditions.

Look for added bonuses such as the HP Creative Studio for Business, which aims to provide SMBs with marketing strategies that may help in the growth of their businesses with free advice on brand marketing strategies and features webinars and articles by small business experts.

Not only is the commodisation of printers leading to a disposable culture but the large amount of waste material in consumables generates a huge quantity of landfill

Green issues

Printers are, quite rightly, considered bêtes noir by those concerned with environmental issues.

Not only is the commodisation of the machines themselves leading to a disposable culture but the large amount of waste material contained in consumables generates a huge quantity of landfill debris.

With an eye to growing awareness of the non-green nature of their products, printer vendors are falling over themselves to convince us they are taking the problem seriously.

Epson, for example, is trialling a new type of inkjet printer that comes pre-loaded with toner. Once the ink runs out, after around 8,500 colour pages, the vendor will collect and replace the unit. The original printer will then be sent back to be recycled, much like milk bottles.

The move is expected to increase Epson's green credentials, due to the lack of disposable components and, if anyone suspected the company of pure altruism, will shut out third party
consumable suppliers, long the thorn in many a printer manufacturer's side.

All the major printer manufacturers now offer recycling programmes for their products and HP
even offer a buy-back scheme where they will pay the market price for ageing products.

Latest technology

Advances in printer technology are eroding the traditional boundaries between laser and inkjet machines. Cheap to buy, but expensive to run, inkjet models are being superseded by printers that offer running costs comparable to lasers.

HP has recently introduced three inkjet business printers firmly aimed at undermining the laser market. The HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One series is a premier inkjet all-in-one, featuring colour document quality at laser-comparable speeds; for smaller customers, the HP Officejet Pro 8000 Printer series offers wired and wireless networking, fast speeds and automatic two-sided printing. The company said that the new printers offer high-quality laser output at low cost, supported by a range of economically priced print cartridges.

Cheap to buy, but expensive to run, inkjet models are being superseded by printers that offer running costs comparable to lasers

Not to be outdone, Lexmark has just launched its 650 series of mono business laser printers designed to build on the technology's reputation for reliability and low operating costs.

Small enough to fit on a desktop, the printers all feature Lexmark's customisable and multifunction e-Task colour touch screen, which offers simple access to a range of features and easy user authentication for enhanced security.

With the optional Lexmark Embedded Solutions Framework, small and medium workgroups, typically three to 10 people, have access to the same customisable or industry-specific solutions used by large workgroups to streamline paper-based processes, increasing productivity and reducing page volumes. Add in instant warm-up fuser technology, which reduces the time to first print to as fast as six and a half seconds and the new series is a very attractive proposition.