WEEKEND MFP INDUSTRY NOTES
4-20-08
The following is a quick review of copier/MFP industry news from industry publications.
- “Konica Minolta is one of the leading printing and imaging companies in the world and has without a doubt caught, and in some cases surpassed, its rivals” – as quoted by Ann Priede, Vice President of Lyra Research.
- According to Gap Intelligence, the average color cost per page (based on 5% of each color) is:
o Just over 25 cents per page for an A4 color MFP (A4 means that it prints on letter and legal size paper only)
o Just under 10 cents per page for an A3 color MFP (A3 means that it can print on 11”x17” paper or larger)
- Jim Marggraff invented a pen that “remembers” the words you write, so that they can be downloaded from the pen via USB port to a computer. The pen is called Livescribe Pulse Smartpen. Pricing unknown.
- More info on the new Hewlett Packard Inkjet Web Press:
o Actual model number not released yet
o Is designed to replace a traditional offset ink press
o From the new HP Inkjet High-Speed Production Solutions (IHPS) division
o Was created in San Diego, and the one and only demo model is headed to Germany for upcoming DRUPA show
o Uses the Edgeline inkjet print heads from the Edgeline CM8060 color MFP
o Uses 35 inkjet printheads total, 7 printheads wide, and 5 deep
o Total of 370,000 inkjet nozzles to apply ink
o Can fire up to 9 billion drops of ink per second
o The first row of inkjet heads is used to deliver a bonding agent which allows for better ink adhesion
o Handles up to 30” wide rolls of paper
o Top speed of 122 meters per second (in low quality mode)
o Auto duplex
o Max monthly duty cycle of 70 impressions per month
o Base MSRP of $2.5 million
o Ink cost per page of $0.0015 for b/w and $0.0095 for color
o Not 8 bits per pixel
- Canon’s Senior Director For Production Systems, Janet Cain, admitted in a press briefing that the company had only sold 300 of the new imagePRESS C7000VP production color system.
- Hewlett Packard announced the supply cost of the new Canon-made color laser MFP/printer (CM6030mfp, CM6040mfp & CP6015n printer)
o Black toner for $194.00 each with yield of 16,500 pages based on 5% coverage
o Color toners sell for $303 each with yield of 21,000 pages based on 5% coverage
o Black drum with yield of 35,000 pages for $112.00
o Color drums sell for $315 each, with yield of 35,000 pages each
o Mylar film transfer belt yield of 150,000 pages for $210.00
o Fuser has yield of 100,000 pages for $210
o Feed tire kit yield of 150,000 pages for $30
- Hewlett Packard announced it won a bid to supply $400 million worth of printers and MFPs to the U.S. Air Force. The secondary vendor, also with a $400 million contract is Xerox.
- Hewlett Packard won a bid to supply 10 each of the Edgeline inkjet color MFPs to Highline Public Schools of Washington state. (if you are competing against these models, remember that besides the inferior print quality, that these engines are running Microsoft Windows operating systems, which can be penetrated by viruses, unlike the Emperon system)
- More info on new high-speed color laser MFPs from Toshiba:
o Unlike models they are replacing (4500C & 5500C), these are made by Toshiba, not Ricoh
o These are not production print models, so are designed to compete against bizhub C451/C550/C650 series
o All used the same color laser print engine, from a brand new design
o Toshiba claims it filed 365 patents for this design
o 4 tandem OPC drums with mylar film transfer belt
o Can replace toner and paper on the fly
o Uses pulverized toner infused with wax (does NOT use polymerized toner)
o Toner particle size as small as 6.5 microns
o Waster toner bottle yield of 24,000 color pages based on 5% coverage per color
o Fuser roller life of 250,000 pages
o eSTUDIO 5520C/6520C/6530C models offer base MSRPs of $25K to $32K:
55cpm b/w and 55cpm color for 5520C, max duty cycle of 225K/mo, based on b/w output
65cpm b/w and 65cpm color for 6520C, max duty cycle of 250K/mo, based on b/w output
75cpm b/w and 65cpm color for 6530C, max duty cycle of 275K/mo, based on b/w output
o Toshiba recommended volume of 50,000 pages per month (based on b/w)
o Document feeder offers top scan speed of 77ipm, and hold up to 100 originals
o Up to 1200x1200dpi print resolution (maximum of 4 bits per pixel, and does NOT offer 8 bits per pixel)
o 600x600dpi copy/scan resolution
o Uses Toshiba eFINE to enhance resolution
o Standard paper capacity is two 540 sheet universal paper drawers, 2320 letter size tandem drawer and 100 sheet stack bypass
o 4,660 sheet maximum paper capacity with optional side mount paper deck that holds letter paper only.
o Bypass supports up to 12”x47” (banner printing) or 13”x19” sheets, up to 110lb. cover stock
o Auto duplex standard, but does not support postcard stock
o 10.4” color LCD touch screen display on an armature
o Finishing options offer include; stapling, hole-punching, bookletmaking and cover insertion
o Built-in generic eBRIDGE controller offers: (optional EFI Fiery also available)
USB and 10/100/1000 BaseT ports
1.2GHz processor
1GB RAM
PCL and PostScript print drivers
Scan to FTP/folder/SMB/network/LDAP
o Optional fax board
o Black toner hopper yield of 53,500 pages based on 5% coverage
o Color toner yields of 23,000 pages based on 5% coverage each
- Toshiba launched the eSTUDIO 2330C, 2830C, 3530C and 4520C color laser MFP models offering:
o Replace the existing 2500C, 3500C, 3510C & 4500C models
o Uses the same print engine as the previous models with 4 tandem OPC drum design
o Pulverized toner infused with wax (does NOT use polymerized toner)
o 2330C offers 28cpm b/w and 23cpm color, with 46K/month max duty cycle
o 2830C offers 35cpm b/w and 28cpm color, with 56K/month max duty cycle
o 3530C offers 45cpm b/w and 35cpm color, with 70K/month max duty cycle
o 4520C offers 45cpm b/w and 45cpm color, with 70K/month max duty cycle
o Top scan speed of 55opm with optional document feeder holds up to 100 originals
o Up to 2400x600dpi print resolution
o 600x600dpi copy resolution
o 8.5” color LCD touch screen display
o Black toner yield of 24,000 pages based on 5% coverage
o Color toner yields of 21,000 pages based on 5% coverage
o Drum yield of 50,000 pages each
o Two 550 sheet universal paper trays standard
o 100 sheet stack bypass standard
o Up to 12”x 47” paper in the bypass
o Finishing options include; stapling, bookletmaking, hole-punching and cover insertion
o Embedded generic print controller: (EFI Fiery also available in future)
512MB RAM (can upgrade to 1GB RAM)
10/100BaseT & USB ports
Scan to SMB/FTP/network/folder/LDAP
PCL & PostScript print drivers
- Toshiba announced that it will replace/refresh its complete line of b/w copier/MFPs later this year. The company also announced that it will source low end b/w models from Sharp. The fastest model that Toshiba will actually made is 85ppm, with faster models sourced from the competition.
- Toshiba plans on continuing to relabel desktop laser printers and MFP from Lexmark, instead of making these on their own.
- Ricoh announced plans to conduct seminars on Production Printing around the U.S. this year:
o Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit and Houston.
- Xerox claims that it saved a large bank a total of $200,000 per year in electricity costs by upgrading old copiers with new Energy Star rated Xerox MFPs. (almost all current MFPs made by every vendor are Energy Star approved)
- Xerox announced bought a copier dealer in the Netherlands for $68 million, named Veenman, which was formerly a division of Corporate Express. The company will dump its current brands, and focus solely on Xerox products.
- Walgreens Drugstores recently ran an ad offering free inkjet cartridge refills with coupon, either b/w or color. This is believed to be the first time printer supplies were offered for free.
- Information Week magazine surveyed 400 IT professionals, half of which stated that they are being forced to cut back on IT spending, including MFPs and printers in 2008.
- Fuji, maker of most Xerox printers and MFPs, announced that it is now using Light Emitting Diodes (LED) in future color print engines, instead of laser.
- Xerox announced it awarded a $263 million contract to EDS to support its IT needs for its 55,000 computer users.
- Epson won the “Best Photographic Printer” award for its large format color inkjet printers, the Stylus Pro series, from the European Digital Press Association.
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