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

Issue #0439/1 - Konica Minolta would like us all to bury our ink jet printers in favour of its new magicolor 2400w. But, would that be a wise decision?

So says Konica Minolta on the launch of its new ultra low-end personal colour laser printer, the magicolor 2400w, that is available at £280 in the UK and at €463 in the Euro zone! Note that this printer is not yet available in all European countries, nor is it available yet in the US.

Presumably the magicolor 2400 is set to replace the magicolor 2300 series but has not done so yet. All 2300 models are currently still available.

Thankfully, Konica Minolta has broken the mould it has traditionally used for its ultra low-end colour laser printers. Never an admirer of the design of the magicolor 2300 (and derivatives from Epson), I realise that the 2400 may be criticised as being bland and ‘traditional’ but it is now based on a far more pleasing ‘full frontal’ design.

Although Konica Minolta makes a big deal of the fact that the magicolor 2400w comes ready to print right out of the box in all its publicity for this printer, nowhere is there a photograph of the machine actually in ‘ready to print’ mode with even its consumables in place. There is reason for making that comment and being concerned about the lack of demonstration!

Even though the printer is much more attractive that the 2300, it still relies on a protruding paper input tray (in this case a fold-down flap) and also has a paper catch tray that folds out on the top. The literature does not make this clear and users may be misled into believing that the 2400 is an ‘all-enclosed’ device like the other devices listed here (with the exception of the Konica Minolta engined Epson AcuLaser C900).

It has to be said that folding out trays are more vulnerable than fixed/enclosed trays because of the nature of the design and also means that the paper is exposed to the air, dust and falling objects/coffee! For some users, particularly where the paper tray might overhand the edge of a desk, the protruding trays may be a problem.

Because the trays are not enclosed, however, the core machine itself is very compact. The magicolor 2400 is smaller than the 2300 series and so, because all access is from the front and with the service hatch at the top, the effective footprint (including access space) is considerably reduced.

Increased print speed (5ppm colour / 20ppm mono) pushes Konica Minolta’s ultra low-end offering to the same speed, in colour, as the recent introductions from Dell and Xerox, though mono print speed is 5ppm short of Dell’s 25ppm and just short of Xerox’s 21ppm.

We have become familiar with Konica Minolta’s aggressive hardware pricing, particularly at the low end, but in this instance Konica Minolta has not been able to get down to the level set by Dell with its 3000cn. At £280, it is priced at the same level as the magicolor 2300w and is 8% adrift of the Dell machine.

Running costs are typical of the product category, with its CPP figures generally falling around the middle of the range. Only Dell’s 3000cn and 3100cn challenge the market in terms of mono CPP and only the 3100cn in terms of colour and long term CPP.

Which all begs the question, “is it really time to replace that inkjet printer” as Konica Minolta would have us believe?

Hewlett-Packard recently introduced its new Business Inkjet model, the 1200 (see TCPglobal Issue #0431 - "Wide range of new Hewlett-Packard consumer inkjet products to be available by Christmas") with a nominal CPP in colour that is one-third lower than the average of all the other machines (except Dell’s 3100cn). At the time of writing Issue #0431, the purchase price of the Business Inkjet 1200 was unknown. So, to find that it is priced at just £131 / €198 / $199, which is 53% lower than the magicolor 2400w and 50% lower than the Dell 3000cn, means that inkjet is still a clear alternative to laser where low purchase price and Total Cost of Printing is required.

Note that for this level of machine, the mixed mono/colour CPP over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 2,500 pages per month using maximum capacity supplies, takes into account any standard, or starter, supplies shipped with the printer and includes the purchase price.

Hewlett-Packard
Business Inkjet 1200d

This view is only reinforced by the fact that the long term CPP works out at 22% lower than the average colour CPP on these laser printers. Only Dell’s 3100cn is able to challenge the position held by the Business Inkjet, with CPPs of 0.75 pence in mono, 5.87 pence in colour and 2.4 pence in the long term. Even then, the colour CPP is higher than the Business Inkjet 1200 and, of course, the user has to be prepared to spend over £300 in the first instance instead of just £131.

So, in conclusion, the magicolor 2400w from Konica Minolta is sure to be a heart-winning product with its new design, higher print speeds and USB 2.0 interface but for those with a keen eye for productivity combined with economy, it could still lose out to Hewlett-Packard’s Business Inkjet 1200d with its low running cost and built-in duplex capability.

~End~

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 30th, 2004 at 12:02 am and is filed under Strategy, Hardware, New Products, News, Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.