Issue #0502/1 - As a newcomer to the MFP category, it is interesting to see what Oki has made of its first offering. Well specified and fully functional, it is rather more expensive than one might have hoped.
Whereas so many of the higher level MFPs are shipped with just a basic platen cover on the scan unit, lower-level A4 format MFPs (frequently referred to as All-in-Ones to distinguish them from the A3 units) are generally fitted with an Automatic Document Feeder as standard.
So it is with the new 20ppm, A4, B4500MFP series of four-function print/copy/scan/fax MFPs from Oki. As Oki’s first venture into the world of AiOs or MFPs, the B4500MFP shows that the company has had its eyes wide open over the last few years, carefully watching the development of the technology and the market. Even though these are Oki’s first MFP products, the company has controlled all the necessary technologies – print, scan and fax – for many years.
Not only are the B4520 and B4540 capable mono laser printers but they are also highly specified, fitted with duplex capability in the standard 50-page ADF that feeds the colour scanner units. This brings additional functionality such as colour scanning to PC, direct scan to email or FTP and 33.6Kbps fax. The devices even have such advanced features as security access codes and SMS messaging from the MFP’s keypad.
While the B4520MFP is a GDI machine with parallel and USB interfaces, targeted at personal and small office use, the B4540MFP is a PCL/PostScript-based machine that is also network-ready from the box for use in small to medium-sized workgroups.
Additional 500-sheet paper trays are available as options for each of the machines and a duplex printing unit is also available for the B4540. To complete the versatility of these new MFPs, each is shipped with PC fax software and, more importantly, Document Management software for archiving and management of digital documents.
Consumables are based on the two-piece arrangement typical of Oki’s printers, with 12,000-page high capacity toner unit and 20,000-page drum – although the starter cartridge supplied with the MFP is a pathetic 2,000-page unit.
For this category of machine, 12,000-page yield for the toner is high. For instance, the 20ppm Brother multifunction machines have toners that yield only 6,700 pages while Hewlett-Packard’s LaserJet 3380 AiO is limited to 4,000 pages and the Xerox WorkCentre PE-120 to only 5,000 pages. Even the yield of Kyocera Mita’s FS-1018MFP is only rated at 7,200 pages.
Closest to Oki’s 12,000-page yield is Lexmark’s X422. In many ways this machine sits in a higher category despite having a similar print speed to the other devices compared here. Firstly, its duty cycle is much much higher, at 50,000 pages per month compared to the more typical level of 10,000 to 15,000. Secondly, the higher purchase price reflects this higher level of durability. The result is that although Lexmark’s toner is priced very competitively against the other models here, the hardware purchase price is double that of the lowest cost machine here – and this is after the recent reduction of 17.6% has been applied.
Overall, therefore, at the page count used here, the Lexmark X422 compares poorly with the others, at 2.43 pence per page printing 2,500 pages per month over three years, compared to the next highest of 2.23 pence per page from the Oki B4540AiO. However, because it is capable of handling much higher volumes, we must assume that none of the other machines here would be up to the same job.
For Oki, the combination of high yield toner with the use of two-piece consumables should give Oki a significant advantage over the machines that the B4500 series competes with.
Brother MFC-8440
Hewlett-PackardLaserJet 3380AiO
Xerox WorkCentrePE-120
Kyocera MitaFS-1018MFP
| UK |
Monthly Duty Cycle |
Purchase Price |
Nominal CPP |
Long term CPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oki B4520MFP | 12,500 | £456 | 1.55 pence | 2.05 pence |
| Oki B4540MFP | 12,500 | £620 | 1.55 pence | 2.23 pence |
| Brother DCP-8040 | Not quoted | £429 | 1.31 pence | 1.71 pence |
| Brother MFC-8440 | Not quoted | £549 | 1.31 pence | 1.84 pence |
|
Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 3380 AiO |
10,000 | £497 | 1.29 pence | 1.86 pence |
|
Kyocera Mita FS-1018MFP |
10,000 | £449 | 0.68 pence | 1.21 pence |
| Lexmark X422 MFP | 50,000 | £879 | 1.36 pence | 2.43 pence |
|
Xerox WorkCentre PE-120 |
15,000 | £424 | 1.62 pence | 2.09 pence |
Note that for this level of machine, the CPP over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 2,500 pages per month using maximum capacity toners and takes into account any standard, or starter, toner cartridges shipped with the printer and includes the purchase price.
In addition, the B4500MFPs from Oki are not necessarily the most attractive pieces of office hardware (not that it is any less attractive than its competitors) – they could be compared to a rabbit sitting upright, alert to some impending danger.
However, on a positive note, looking at Oki’s product range, the only categories essentially now missing from the Oki range of office laser equipment are departmental MFP and colour laser MFP.
~End~
