TCPglobal - news, views and issues on total cost of printing

Issue #0920/2 – A massive 47% price increase on the Ricoh SP C232SF, as units bought (by the supplier used as the price source in last week’s article) under a special purchase came to an end, demonstrates more clearly than ever before that the purchase price is almost entirely irrelevant to the long-term Total Cost of Printing of a printer, AiO or MFP.

Issue #0910/2 – Twenty five years seems to have passed rather too rapidly for my liking but, having worked alongside the IT/printer industry since the days of Hewlett-Packard’s LaserJet II and the first Apple LaserWriter, it amazes me that newly announced laser printers are still able to cause excitement – but, from time to time, they certainly do. While the technology and the market have both come a long way, Hewlett-Packard’s celebrations of a quarter century of LaserJet production seem to be very low-key, especially considering how many Hewlett-Packard laser printers must still be in use and the implications that has on companies offering a Managed Print Service (MPS).

Issue #0910/1 – As follow-up to the TCPglobal article "Printer manufacturers are keen to encourage printer sales by any means necessary and – is Lexmark breaking the law in the process?", printer users are able to take advantage of a wide range of special offers from Hewlett-Packard around the world, notably in the US where cashback rebates as high as $1,000 are available on laser printers. The breadth and scale of the offers further underline the desperation of printer manufacturers to keep product moving, prevent a build-up of inventory and ensure that the effect of the current financial downturn on revenue and market share is minimised.

Issue #0908/1 – Over the past few weeks the desperation of printer manufacturers to keep volumes of new printers flowing has become increasing clear. Almost every day, new emails arrive from resellers containing details of discounts and special offers on a variety of models. Manufacturers are also offering a range of benefits directly, almost all of which are currently scheduled to expire at the end of March.

Issue #0906/2 – Even though we are familiar with technology prices consistently falling through the floor, it still comes as a shock to see a mono laser printer on sale in the UK for the price of a typical meal for one in a decent restaurant (or for two in a low-cost restaurant). Oki is not usually associated with such groundbreaking, low prices but here we have the 22ppm Oki B2200 available on a special offer for just £41.12 including tax (£35 excluding tax).