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

Issue #0619/1 - Smaller and more keenly priced A3 printer has more in common with the new model from Kyocera Mita than it does with the new model from Hewlett-Packard.

Since Issue #0615 "Hewlett-Packard and Kyocera Mita launch new A3 mono laser printers" Of TCPglobal was distributed, with an evaluation of new A3 mono laser printers from Hewlett-Packard and Kyocera Mita, Epson has announced a new compact A3 mono laser printer of its own – the EPL-N2550 – to replace the decidedly aged N7000.

Epson EPL-N2550

For a category that sees very little change year-to-year, and where products can remain on market for up to three years, to have almost the entire category offering roll around within a matter of three months is unusual. However, apart from Konica Minolta, we now have an entirely new range of A3 printers.

In point of fact, with Epson traditionally using Konica Minolta engines as the base for many of its laser printers, it would not be at all surprising for a new Konica Minolta A3 printer to be launched in the very near future, completing the total roll-around of A3 products.

Epson has actually pushed downmarket with this printer. Where the N7000 was a 35ppm machine, the N2550 is rated at 30ppm. Epson indicates that although the N7000 is being withdrawn, and that the N2550 is not a like-for-like replacement, it will ensure a more competitive stance in that particular category.

This speed difference, in itself, is not a big difference but it does make it the slowest machine in the group.

More significant is that it has a maximum duty cycle of 100,000 pages per month – a figure that is one-third lower than both its predecessor and the Konica Minolta PagePro 9100 but also one-third lower than the recently launched Kyocera Mita FS-6950DN.

However, with its 65,000-page rating, it is still the new Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 5200 that stands out as having the lowest duty cycle of all.

Overall then, we are seeing the competitive nature of the category realigning the hardware to cope with the demands placed upon it whereas it is probably true to say that A3 printers used to be over-engineered for the requirements.

By this I mean that A3 printing accounts for only a few percent of the total hard copy throughput of a corporation and, although a facility for A3 may be desirable, it is not the mainstay of the hardcopy requirement.

Epson tackles this issue head on with a device that has “a comparable footprint to an A4 laser printer”, setting A4 as the default page size. In this mode, the paper tray is entirely integral to the machine. It is then extended to the front of the printer when A3 printing is required. In terms of footprint, the N2550 is actually slightly wider than the FS-6950DN from Kyocera Mita but the same depth – meaning that Epson is not unique in using an extendable tray configuration for A3 paper to keep the footprint small.

Flexibility of operation is certainly what Epson is aiming for with this printer. As well as featuring Epson’s own ESC/Page, EXC/P2 and FX page description languages, the new printer is PCL5e and PCL6 compatible and features Adobe’s PostScript 3. In addition, IBM Model 1239X emulation is included.

To compliment this flexibility, the N2550 is equipped with USB 2.0, parallel and 10/100 Ethernet interfaces as standard.

Furthermore, paper flexibility is impressive. The N2550 beats Kyocera Mita’s 1,350-sheet maximum paper capacity by 150 sheets – maximum capacity is 1,500 sheets. However, this is from four sources in comparison to the six sources available with the FS-6950DN. Bearing in mind that high volume may be more attractive than a high number of paper sources, some users may prefer Epson’s 550-sheet paper feeds rather than the 250-sheet feeds from Kyocera Mita – fewer interventions from bigger feeds and higher maximum capacity.

One other unusual and advantageous feature of the N2550 paper feed configuration is that the general purpose feed will handle up to 150 sheets in addition to the main feed of 250 sheets, making a standard capacity of 400 sheets in comparison to 350 sheets of the competing models.

Unfortunately, Epson’s duplex unit is not only optional but is also an add-on whereas duplexing from Kyocera Mita is both standard and integral.

Note that for this group of printers, the long-term Cost of Printing over three years shown in the accompanying table has been calculated on the basis of 8,000 pages per month; is based on the use of maximum capacity supplies; takes into account any standard, or starter, supplies shipped with the device; and also includes the cost of purchase. All prices are manufacturer’s recommended prices without tax.

This does not mean that the N2550 is poor value for money though! At a starting price that is 22% lower than its predecessor (which is included in the group for comparative purposes), the Epson N2550 is beaten on starting price only by the old Konica Minolta PagePro 9100 and the new Kyocera Mita FS-6950DN.

Taking a DTN-configured comparison though, the N2550DT competes even more keenly within the group. With a duplex/network/twin paper feed (DTN) configuration price of £1,363, the N2550DT may be priced 15% higher than a Kyocera Mita FS-6950DTN configuration but it now undercuts the Konica Minolta by 8% and is a significant 28% less expensive than the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 5200dtn.

Kyocera Mita
FS-6950DN

So, Epson’s newcomer is a healthy competitor to the Kyocera Mita FS-6950DN and clearly outshines the older machines currently still available. We must wait and see what Konica Minolta may have in store for us in terms of features and capabilities.

Hewlett-Packard
LaserJet 5200

This entry was posted on Friday, June 16th, 2006 at 12:03 am and is filed under Hardware, New Products, Comparisons, 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.